Silverton's Journey

Chapter 25

After a few days of falling from high places, Ophelia was finally able to fly on her own. She fell in love with flying in the sun over the soft white clouds. It reminded her of the days when she was in Algercia where the sun shone brightly.

She was accompanied by Leon during the flights. In spite of his discomfort to fly in the light, he was still there to make sure everything was alright. However, for Leon's convenience, most of their flights were nocturnal.

It was daytime and the two of them were sparring in the clearing surrounded by red pines in the woods. Ophelia had improved a lot by then, and Leon wondered if she would become more skilled in swordsmanship than him.

"Sir, am I doing it right?" asked Ophelia, placing her feet firm and holding her sword tight.

Leon only nodded, tired of responding to the same question every time they sparred. He attacked first, swinging his sword from the right.

Unable to block such a sudden strike, Ophelia dodged it. The man shot her a glare.

Ophelia laughed sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, I just can't help it."

Leon rolled his eyes and said while striking down to the left, "Try this."

She was able to defend herself; she blocked his attack with her sword and pushed his sword away. Their wooden weapons thudded as they fought.

"Sir, why don't I get to use a real sword?" she asked as she withdrew her sword and swung it towards Leon.

The attack was sudden to him; he immediately blocked it with his weapon. However, Ophelia's sword had slightly grazed his shirt. "This is why," Leon answered. "But I do hope that you improve faster."

His words caught her off guard; she could not anticipate the approach of another strike. This time, she could not defend herself. While trying to dodge the attack, she stumbled backwards and yelped.

Falling onto a pile of dried leaves, Ophelia cackled. Leon only stared at her in dismay.

"What is wrong with you today?" he murmured.

"I don't know. Perhaps it's just not the day to practice," replied Ophelia, taking a deep breath. She looked at the red treetops, reaching her arms out for the overcast sky.

Leon sat down at a distance from her and looked above. It was calm and tranquil. After a short while, he uttered, "Do you want to fly?"

Ophelia thought, pouting her lips. "Maybe not today... I just don't feel like doing anything."

"Let's go home, then. But you have to be serious tomorrow," he said as he rose to his feet. He began to walk out of the clearing through the curtain of crimson leaves.

The girl hastily got up and walked towards the sparkling waterfall. Collecting some water in her cupped hands, she drank it and rushed out of the clearing to catch up with Leon.

Ophelia followed him, trotting and looking around. Leon suddenly slowed down, taking more careful steps. At one point, he stopped.

"What's wrong, sir?" Ophelia asked as she stood in front of him. He had a concerned look on his face as if he could apprehend that something was about to happen. His eyes scanned the entire place, near and far, and once he was sure, he sighed.

"Ophelia, go back," he said, looking sternly into her eyes.

"Go? Where? What do you mean, sir?" she asked in perplexity.

Placing his finger on her lips, he shushed her. "Go back to that clearing, quick. Don't say another word."

She did not have a good feeling about his behaviour. She was sure that something was wrong. Still, she listened to him and ran back to the clearing, wondering what the matter could have been.

Upon reaching the place, she hid herself behind the curtain of crimson leaves and peeked through it. Leon was standing still, holding his sword tight in its sheath. Ophelia's heart began to race.

He made the slightest move and several soldiers rushed towards him from behind the trees. Leon drew his sword out and parried the blow of one of them.

His sword, however, was not the only thing he used. He had to use magic to ward off soldiers he could not handle alone.

Their swords clashed, leaving sparks in the air. Ophelia looked at the faces of those who were still alive and fighting with Leon. Something within her told her that they were there not here to take Leon, but something much more precious.

Their intentions were not right.

Ophelia began to feel that her body and mind were not hers anymore. Feeling a surge of rage, she rushed out of the clearing.

Leon's attention diverted to her and his eyes widened. "What are you doing here?"

She did not answer. Perhaps his words did not even reach her ears. Leon noticed a strange glow in her eyes as she picked up the sword of a dead soldier and sliced the head of one with it.

He was astonished. Meanwhile, one of the soldiers managed to injure Leon. The blade of his sword grazed his arm, drawing blood.

Leon leapt a step behind and kicked him in his jaw. When the soldier fell with a groan, Leon ran his sword through his heart.

He continued his fight using magic while hearing the clashing and slashing of Ophelia's sword. He had killed some of them by then, and knocked some others out; Ophelia kept dealing with the rest.

The men looked at her with widened eyes. They looked terrified. One of them said, "Who is she? We were never told about her!"

As their attention had been disturbed, it became easier for Leon to get rid of them. He sliced the heads of some of them and their blood splattered on his face.

When there was no one else left, the surroundings became tranquil again. As Leon gave out a sigh of relief, he heard the sound of a blade stabbing into someone's body. A soldier had been still alive; Ophelia fixed it by stabbing through his heart.

She turned her head to Leon with that strange glow in her eyes, panting. Her hands slowly let go of the sword.

"Ophelia?" Leon muttered. He was afraid what he had been anticipating about her had actually come true. He walked towards her and said, "Are you alright? Are you hurt"

The girl did not respond; she only stared into the void.

"Ophelia," he said again, waving his hand in front of her face. When that did not work, he tapped on her cheeks several times. "Wake up."

Her eyes came back to normal and her face began to display dread. She suddenly became pale and her body shivered. She stuttered, "Sir? What happened?"

She stepped away from him and looked around. Seeing the corpses lying in pools of blood, Ophelia looked at her hands. They too, were covered in blood.

Taking deep, noisy breaths, Ophelia said, "Did I do this?"

Leon walked closer to her and said, "Look, even I was surprised by how sudden it was, but it was inevitable."

"No... How could I do this?" she whispered, falling to her knees. She looked at him with wet eyes and said, "Believe me, sir, I didn't mean to... I don't even know how it happened. I-I didn't feel like myself..."

"Ophelia, calm down. This was meant to happen someday," Leon said while crouching in front of her.

She broke into tears and sobbed as if the guilt were consuming her. She had just taken a number of lives; this thought made her feel dreadful.

Not knowing what to say to comfort her, Leon said, "I felt the same when I killed someone for the first time. Trust me, you will get used- you will recover."

Ophelia knew what he meant. She was supposed to destroy an entire kingdom. It was just the beginning. Feeling a strong resentment for that fact, she told him with bitter tears, "I don't want to become a monster like you."