The next day, all of my bags were packed, and I was getting dressed to head out. While Victor was trying to help me pack at first, I sent him off to help everyone else, especially Lorenzo, considering he had a good amount of stuff and wasn't going to come back for at least a couple more months.
I changed into something simple, a black trench-coat styled long-sleeved shirt that had long sleeves puffed at the shoulder area, and three different tails, one in the front and two at the back. I paired it with black leather pants that had buckles on them and buckled combat boots.
Putting my hair in a ponytail and swooping my bangs to the side, I grabbed my trunk and headed for the door. Looking down the hallway, I saw Praxis standing by the staircase, his hand on it. I then noticed the sound of people talking downstairs.
"Praxis, is everything alright?" I asked, walking over to him, "You seem troubled. If something is bothering you, you can always tell me."
I offered that to him with a smile, but he just looked at me with a pretty face devoid of emotion, much like a doll's. "Everything is fine, my apologies for making you worry, Master," He replied, intertwining his fingers in mine and squeezing my hand before pulling away.
"Well, remember that that offer is always on the table, alright? Let's head on downstairs now. It seems that everyone is waiting on us," I smiled at him once more and headed down the stairs, Praxis following at a distance.
Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, it seemed that everyone was busy with something. Lorenzo was teasing Sephtis over who-knows-what, Victor and Arwan were going over something, a piece of paper, perhaps a list to make sure they had everything, and Nari was sitting somewhere else, in her smaller form and kicking her legs in the air.
"Good morning, everyone. I hope we didn't keep you all waiting too long," I greeted, causing everyone's heads to turn towards me.
"Hey, it's no worries!" Lorenzo chimed, Sephtis' ears perking up and his tail sticking straight up like a cat's, "If anything, us waiting for you gave us more time to make sure we grabbed anything we might've accidentally left behind."
As Lorenzo shrugged and nodded along to his own words, Sephtis wouldn't make eye contact with me, blushing when he caught me still looking at him. Praxis walked past me and took Nari's bag, who followed Praxis as he went towards the front doors.
"My Lord, if I may," Victor said, coming and grabbing my bag from me, "Your things, along with Praxis' and Nari's, are the last few bits of luggage, so please don't dilly-dally with saying farewells to the manor, the teleportation circle is already set up and it is quite difficult to hold it open."
Victor's British accent was still as mechanical as ever; the sweetness that he had displayed the previous day had all but vanished. It was a lie to say that I wasn't at least a bit disappointed, but it was also a good reminder to myself.
"Right, right. Haaa, no need to worry, it's good to leave as quickly as possible," I commented, reciprocating his emotionlessness. But I did agree on getting a move on; I had no idea the current whereabouts of Llyr, nor any idea of how far away he currently was. For all I knew, he was already in town.
'Let's not think about that right now. All I need to do is follow Hunapo's advice. At least…I hope that's what is best for right now. Knowing how much he's let me screw myself over in the past, ya can't say much.'
"My Leige," Arwan interjected, bringing me out of my thoughts as everyone headed out the door, "Is everything alright? You seem to have a lot on your mind."
'Ho? Arwan isn't usually this observant, he has most definitely improved while I was away!'
"It isn't anything of note, Arwan. Thank you for asking, though, knowing that you care makes it better already," I smiled softly, putting a reassuring hand on Arwan's shoulder as blush crept up his face.
"Of-Of course! I'm happy that I can help at least a little, even if it is simply giving a few words," Arwan beamed, returning a similar smile, but his seemed to have a deeper meaning to it.
I smiled and nodded at him, then turned my head forward and looked at the doors with a straight face, opening them and walking outside. As the sun hit my face, I put up a hand to block the light, feeling the warmth of the sun overtake me.
I stared up at the sky for a moment, thinking of the words Hunapo had said to me before: "It is because you are the only one who can control your fate." That one sentence held quite a bit of weight to it. At the same time, though, it was also kind of relieving to hear; it made me realise I had more freedom than I thought I did.
"Master, is everything alright?" Nari asked, hovering in front of me, her wings buzzing like a hummingbird's.
"Hm? Oh, yes. I was just lost in my thoughts. Let us head out now," I replied, joining everyone else on the teleportation circle, Arwan activating it shortly after.
***
A few moments later, after Lev and his group had left for the Andraste estate, a carriage was seen a few miles down the road. In the carriage was the coachman and one lone passenger, who was staring off in space, seeming to be in deep thought.
"You know, I went down this road just a few days ago!" The coachman said, bringing the passenger out of his thoughts, "Except it was a trio of adventurers in my carriage, not a seemingly lone wolf, hahaah!"
"A lone wolf, huh? Is that how you see me?... I suppose the current me could be described that way, but instead it is more like, 'a wolf without his pack' or at least that's what I feel," The passenger stated, seeming to talk to himself as he replied to the coachman's comment.
"Ho? Boy, I am curious now. What would cause a fine gentleman like you to travel alone? I mean, I have never seen a person with such unique teal hair before. Would you mind telling this old man a story?" The coachman asked with grace, trying his best to be as polite as his mere farmerman self could.
"I…I am looking for the man that captured my heart," Llyr replied, giving the coachman a nostalgic smile, "There is something I must tell him, and something I owe him. And, honestly, I just want him to know how much I need him."
"Ah, I see…Young love is quite the wondrous thing, no? I have met quite a few adventurers with stories like yours, but I can tell it is something truly unique! Make sure you hold onto that love of yours, it might just be understood one day," The old man nodded with a smile, seeming to stare off in the sun shining through the trees in front of him.
"Hehe, yes, I can assure you that I have no thoughts or plans on giving up! I will make sure I capture his heart one day," Llyr beamed with more determination than he had before. He was so close, why give up now?
A few moments later, they reached an estate that had a familiar energy to Llyr. Asking the coachman to stop right as they reached the road up to it, Llyr was now sure that this was the location that Octavius had given him.
"This is the place," Llyr announced, disembarking and handing the coachman a few gold coins. "Thank you for the ride, as well as the advice. If you do not mind, could I ask for your name? I would like to remember it for many centuries to come."
"My, what an honour for this old man! Since you asked so kindly and gave such a generous tip, I am more than happy to do so. My name is Cerys," Cerys introduced, nodding at Llyr with a gentle smile.
"Cerys…"As Llyr echoed the name, he suddenly was able to put some pieces together, the reason why the old coachman was so eager to help him and at the right time to, as well as why he was so willing to tell Llyr not to give up on catching his beloved, "Thank you, Cerys, I will forever be in your dept!"
The old man tipped his straw hat towards Llyr, who bowed in gratitude, but when Llyr straightened himself, the old man and carriage were gone, replaced by a beautiful woman riding a horse.
The woman with wavy pink hair, in a rogue's uniform, merely smiled and nodded towards Llyr, as if giving her approval. Then, looking forward, her white steed grew wings and galloped away, soaring high into the sky as they gained speed and distance.
"Huh, I think I now get why the heroes in the fairytales liked travelling so much…These kinds of moments are definitely worth it," Llyr mumbled to himself, staring up into the sky at where he last saw the God of Love disappear.
Llyr also then realised that maybe keeping Lev locked up in his palace really wasn't such a good idea, though the need to keep him at his side was still just as strong. Llyr knew how much Lev liked his freedom; he had spent quite a lot of time observing and getting to know him, after all.
"I, I really miss him," Llyr choked, turning around and staring at the manor with glossy eyes and pursed lips, "Please, Lev. Please still be there, I need you."
Walking up the road leading towards the manor's front door and its gardens, countless possibilities popped into Llyr's head. The possibility of him being there and immediately pushing Llyr away, welcoming him with open arms, running as far as Lev could, everything Llyr could think of happening.
But no matter the possibility, Llyr continued to make his way to the building, preparing himself to endure whatever he might have to go through next. When he reached the front doors, Llyr was too distracted following Lev's leftover energy to notice the lingering mana of the teleportation circle used moments before.
"..." Llyr breathed in and out, then knocked on the door, awaiting a response. And a response never came, but that wasn't enough to deter him; instead, he opened the doors and let himself in, "Excuse me? Is anybody home? No one responded, and the door was open, so I hope you don't mind me letting myself in."
Once more, there was no response. Llyr didn't care, though. In the front room, the leftover energy of Lev's presence was quite strong, so he knew that he was just here.
Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, he ran his hand along the wooden railing, feeling the same spot Lev had touched as he walked down them earlier. Then, Llyr walked up them, all the way to the upper floor, where Lev's room was.
He walked to the end of the hall, but paused when he noticed a two-way path, both containing large amounts of energy from Lev. Opening the door to the right, Llyr immediately knew why there was such a buildup of energy in that room, which infuriated him, but that wasn't his objective, so he ignored it.
Turning to the left with fury, he opened the door to Lev's room, not bothering to knock for a possible answer. Walking in, he was immediately disappointed. His beloved was nowhere to be found; it was just a room devoid of presence with the exception of Lev's leftover energy and smell.
"...So he hates me that much, huh?" Llyr spoke, choking on his words as he walked over to the bed, sitting on it, "Lev, why? Why must you hate me so? I just want to be loved, by you and you alone….I only need you."
Llyr cried to himself, falling onto the bed and absorbing the scent of his reason for being. Llyr felt as if he truly needed Lev to keep existing, which is why even after this, he wouldn't stop trying to find the poor Viscount.
He truly realised that Lev had no room in his heart for him, but he also knew that no one else took up the majority of it. Except for maybe one person, Llyr was sure, though that with enough time, he could take over the other's room, and be the sole one for Lev.
However, there was someone else in the room who knew that that would never be the case. Putting her arm on Llyr's back, Cordelia tried her best to console her son's broken heart, even though Llyr could never truly feel her presence until his full ascension. Something he wouldn't recognise until he hit the last straw of his obsession.