"Hey. We should see each other more often, shouldn't we?"
There was a bring pink blush on her cheeks like the color of the cherry blossoms falling from the trees and there was a curt fondness on her lips.
He loved the playful glamour in her eyes, the way she spoke so elegantly yet freely, her shining skin against her summer dress, draped over and hiding the bandages on her leg.
An angel had descended upon the Earth.
And She was talking to him.
She was sitting next to him with her hands on her lap and her words filling the empty gaps between them. Enjoying each other's company like they had months upon months of tales to catch up on. She turned her blushing face away from his every time their shoulders would brush against each others, sometimes accidentally, other times not.
She made a promise to him that bright sunny morning, that she would meet him here, underneath the cherry blossom tree. Everyday their would meet and talk for hours on end, keeping a distance between them and rocking their hearts whenever it was breached even in the slightest. It felt wrong, a good kind of wrong. As if what they were doing was meant to be done.
They laughed at dumb jokes, argued about who was taller and how much they would outgrow the other. Irrelevant things filled up their talks but they were important at the same time. He got to know her with every word she spoke, every laugh she tried to subside by putting a hand on her lips and when she forgot to do so and laughed freely, she quickly felt embarrassed and apologized.
They fell for each other the entire summer.
She saw him, miserable at times, working jobs while managing school, trying to get to college to sustain himself and get an education promising he'd become self reliant.
And he saw her little facade of regality break and she became closer to him. Talked with him without a filter, said things as crudely as she could and as real as she could remember. He saw her struggling internally and slowly working up the courage to confront her parents and family as to allow her to study more so she could become someone capable of being proud of herself.
He also saw the bruises she would have the next day after these conversations.
He never asked about it, what if he said something that she didn't want touched up on? She was happy—or at the very least she seemed to be every time he was with her.
Yet, he had this strange knot tying up in his chest, an enigmatic wrath of his heartstrings pulling and clutching in every way they could to make his heart ache.
And eventually, he did ask her.
She didn't run away from him. Simply stared at him. Searching his eyes for the slightest hint of jest in them which she never found at that moment.
From then on, whenever they spoke, he always found a certain degree of warmth and closeness to it, like they were whispering secrets to one another. Secrets never to be revealed to anyone in this wide world except those two fools giggling like little girls under the tree shade.
When the news came, of tanks trampling over streets and planes flying overhead of the city, bombing hospitals and apartment complexes, he ran to the same place searching for her.
He found her, battered and bruised.
But she didn't say anything to him.
She smiled at him through her teeth, flashing the bandages on her cheeks and the black eye openly.
He cried so hard when he saw that he thought his tears would run dry for life. Alas, God would grant them many more days and nights where they would weep. He would also give them moments where they would sit and just look at each other, falling for one another once again.
Soldiers were marching through the streets and the flame lit the cherry tree that once loomed over them ablaze.
She made another promise to him under the gaze of the goddess whose eyes bore into them through the embers of the tree.
A promise that they would be together forever.
She pulled him closer and his lips met with hers.
And she handed him a gun to go and finish what he had started.
※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ ※
"I suppose it is time for departure then?" Asked the sly voice of a Thomas, grinning like a child.
"Swear to god, whenever I see ya like that, it makes me wanna punch ya so hard ya teeth fall off."
"Nicholas." He pointed his index finger towards him and thought for a second before speaking again, "Are you a detestable dog? One that barks with all its might but loses its teeth when it has to bite."
"Mr. Trivola, we should really get going." He reluctantly interfered.
Johann had already had a bad day as is, putting up with Thomas's shenanigans would only cost him to loose more braincells than to gain any. His head was on fire, it hurt to make sudden movements with his body.
He had not slept properly yesterday after having that fight with Anastasia. On top of that he couldn't bring himself to sleep on the same bed with her while she sulked, so he got up and headed for the couch.
Except the distressing part was that Anastasia wasn't sulking. What they had wasn't simply a small quarrel over dinner regarding which character in a western movie was better, no, he saw her in a new light today.
Her poker face had become more unreasonable, she didn't bother to look at him or greet him even when he tried to do the same unsuccessfully.
For the first time in his life, she had treated him with an air of indifference.
So with a head full of flies and two grown men with extremely unpredictable natures, he was sure that today would be the day that he would loose his grip on reality and fall with a thud on the ground as soon as Thomas took to doing some bullshit.
"Ahh! Is your hand alright now, Mr. Everett?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah. It's better now." He raised his hand which had most of its dressing removed and only a faint redness remained in its place on his slim hands peppered with hair occassionally.
"Hey! Hey! Mister! What happened to your hand?" A shrill voice asked him.
"It's nothing Molly, I just got into a little accident."
"Ohh." She nodded and looked to Nicholas to see how he would react.
Nicholas put an arm around Johann's shoulder and nudged his chin towards Thomas, "Mind moving your ass now?"
"Yes, of course. Before we depart for the train journey, I have things I must show to all of you. And Nicholas." He turned to him with a concerned look.
He grunted questioningly, "Wha'?"
"Are you sure in regards to bringing Molly with us on this expedition?"
"Yeah, a hundred percent. Missy ain' gonna like it if I ran off somewhere without her. Especially when it comes to ya."
"Oh? Why is that."
Johann sought to not interject this time, eager to see the turn in this conversation.
"I ain' keeping my eyes off you for even a second ya hear me? Those damn hands of yours are always working and ya legs runnin every time to somewhere we can' find. It's one hella frustrating task to find your ass and when we do, you've already committed a petty crime or killed someone."
He raised his head and a low, mocking chuckle escaped him, "Quite ironic coming from a man whose only purpose before joining us was to kill whomever he saw in a different colored unform then his own, wouldn't you agree Mr. Everett."
Johann could only feel sorry. Sorry about the horrors Nicholas had faced and ones that Johann was lucky enough to avoid being thrown into, and sorry that Johann could ever make such a statement.
Nicholas closed up on Thomas and with a grim expression told him, "Ya will never survive even a damn second on a true battlefield. Ya sit there in ya office and wander away on how to fix some random ass issue with some wall near the border, never seeing the damn brutality occurring at the same place. Killin' everyone from a different country yet ya can' save a single person there on the frontline. Great fucking going Thomas."
Thomas cordially looked at him the entire time and added after his statement, "Is that so?" And turned around, gesturing for all of them to follow.
A man ran up to them, he was wearing the new uniform and acting with commendable decency, is that Johann would've thought if he were not fawning over Thomas. Thomas extended and arm and got him off his shoulder.
"Hannes. There are already four of us. It is disheartening to say this, as this is an important mission for all officers but I ask of you to hold back for this moment."
Hannes was shocked, appalled even.
"Huh? Mr. Trivola wha'are you saying? You're taking these lads with you but me? I'm someone you can't be bothered with?"
"That is not what I mean Hannes." he shook his head, "If I were to be honest, you simply are not competent enough for this." he put a hand to his shoulder, "Take care of the office will you?"
He said and walked off with the three behind him as Hannes turned back in disbelief.
They passed the walls of the parliament, with their brown and red zigzag patterns that bled into the lives of the people working besides them, in their offices, signing documents and adjusting meeting plans.
Johann saw a group of people sitting besides a radio, listening to all of its words and writing something on paper.
One of those people them walking away and sharply turned to examine their faces.
A woman's face specifically, turned and looked at Thomas with fear in her eyes but eventually she called out to him.
"Mr. Trivola!" She was a woman with tanned skin, her curly hair no longer maintained properly and hanging loose, and her septum piercing causing a larger gap to form on the side of her nose.
From a glance you could tell Margaret was in a terrible shape, yet she still approached Thomas, making a slight bow first, something she had never done before ever, or at least never before in front of Johann.
Then she went on and on.
How when she was ready to attend the banquet, a rogue driver had emerged, driving from the wrong side of the road and collided with her husband.
"You havta believe me, Mr. Trivola! He was bleeding so much! Such despicable people they are, my husband is in the hospital now and I just couldn't bring myself to leave his side, you havta understand."
"Is that so?" He was listening to all of her words intently, "I am really sorry that you have to withstand such, 'hardships', I will surely not comment on this. And do, give your husband my best wishes, his work as a nurse at the hospital isn't something easy to pull off is it?"
Fear.
Johann had never seen color drain from a person's face so quickly and so ferociously before. She was pallid and she looked down at the floor.
"Hmm? Are you alright? Why do you not look up at me and address me? Is it because I have said something, 'insolent'."
"Hey. Knock it off man, we're going."
"Oh we will be going Nicholas."
"Don't bother the lady anymore Thomas. We're going."
"It's true." She said, "What I said was true."
And there was a silence between them that persisted.
Then there was laughter.
Crazy laughter that reverberated through the now silent halls of the parliament.
He was cackling like a madman. Laughing so loudly one's lungs would burst and it really looked like his were about to as he recoiled back sharply and took hold of the table behind him as support to keep standing.
He had cracked up like a Hyena cornering their next meal. No. That wasn't completely true. The difference was that unlike a Hyena, Thomas had genuinely been unable to control himself. He laughed because he actually had found the entire lie so amusing to the point he fell back on a table.
Johann hadn't even had the time to say his goodbye as that would be the last time he would see Margaret.
Soon enough they were back on their footing, Molly walking side by side of Nicholas, about half the height of this broad shouldered, hardy tree trunk besides whom she felt as safe as a person could.
They made their way up the stairs and entered into a large library, at least a hundred square feet in size lined with columns and columns of bookshelves and compartments upon compartments of old recording that would easily be damaged and thus were kept behind glass.
They held a record of all the words that had been discussed in every formal assembly that had taken place since this technology had been invented, which was about ten years ago.
"I often find myself immersed here, whenever I get the slightest bit of free time. It is really amazing to think that a man such as Douglas Campbell was not only a reformer but also a literary genius, I applaud him for establishing such a library in the apartment itself. I myself encourage all of you to go through here every once in a while like I do and pick up something that may shape your thoughts even more." He said, lost in thought.
"Oh! I've read some of these books before!" Exclaimed Molly.
"Is that so? Well you should definitely have more of a go, Molly. You are free to pick up anything you wish from here."
Molly gasped in surprised and exclaimed how she'd love to come here more often, while Nicholas winced, "Whatever propaganda you're hidin here ain' gettin to her, no way."
Thomas sighed, "You surely jest, don't you?" But he didn't wait for an answer and went up to the librarian, who saw him and handed him a note.
"An interesting one today isn't it?"
He read the note and swiftly moved to one of the shelves containing numerous classic literature, out of which he retrieved a green hardcover book and opened it to a certain page and bore his eyes into.
Then he turned and moved quickly out of the library.
"Where are we going, Mr. Trivola?"
"Mr. Everett. Firstly, thank you for taking part in our conversation, it is a blessing, isn't it, Nicholas? Secondly, you'll see yourself."
The next few moments were a blur as they moved to some random room in the west wing and looked inside it, Thomas took to the empty table with scattered papers and stationary and lifted the cabinet and found a six number code and smiled warmly, "Seems I am still proficient."
Afterwards, they walked all the way back to the main parliament hall and entered into Thomas's main office which was secluded from the rest and had the least transparency out of any of the offices, that was, it had none at all.
When you entered the room, it was padded with soundproof material inside the gray textured walls and neatly organized desk.
As expected of a control freak.
He went behind the desk and all of them stood there wondering what on Earth they ought to do.
Nicholas crossed his arms and stood there watching him like he were a crazed animal off a leash, while Molly put her finger to her face and tilted her head in curiosity. Johann was still fighting the internal battle of the flashbacks from this morning and Thomas's own presence to muster enough courage to do anything else.
Suddenly, something clicked.
The Shelf on the back of the table shifted with a loud screeching sound that he was sure wouldn't escape this room, and then they made their way through the dark narrow corridor that had a single broken lightbulb and a door at the end of it.
When they entered, it was as if they had stepped foot into a completely different building.
It was much less lavish with plain white walls and a single large round table in the centre. It was a circular room with small pillars and lions carved into all of the crevices on the walls and there lay, a single metal box with a keyhole in the middle of the table.
"I brought you all here to remind you of what we are facing."
He slid a large album on the table, "These are all the records of communal violence that have occurred in our country in just the last two decades." The large album held gray and white photographs of stills of numerous regions.
Of a palace up north in Marlen where the Aaergalians had successfully set off a bomb in one of the nearby vehicles.
Of a school which had been under protection for years upon years after a supposedly Aaergalian group had sent them threats of shootings.
There was even the photograph of a large ground from the above, it looked like a crater with layers to it, going lower than the level of the rest of the ground, and there lie little smudges—people—as Thomas told them.
Then he took to the large painting on the wall, drawn in its Victorian style by an artist commissioned by the missing Campbell.
It was a portrait of Douglas Campbell, kneeling before a women who sat on a throne with a sword in her hand that was resting on his left shoulder.
"Douglas Campbell was a man of many great feats, he liberated this country from Aaergalian rule and made people realize what freedom really meant. One thing that stood as an outstanding flaw for him though, was his wavering heart and kindness towards the enemy."
He said all of this solemnly, taking his military cap off when he spoke and the rest of them did the same.
"He was empathetic towards the Aaergalians, he hesitated to open fire when a herd of them has infiltrated the border at Gostul which led to all of them flooding the country and becoming an unremovable part of it. They spread their genes and tried to become Marlens. Which they were not."
Herds. Fucking herds.
Johann hated even the thought of addressing people as if they livestock, but the reality is, for Thomas they were, if not even less. While livestock may still have their uses, for Thomas Aaergalians were even lower than them. Being that were alive by the grace of the goddess simply because Thomas hadn't found them yet.
"And we're changing that today."
"What?" Asked all three of them unison.
"Don' ya fuckin tell me.."
"Yes, it is just as you suspect Nicholas."
He stepped forward and lay his hand on the metal box. His fingers waved over it, examining it from all sides. One could tell the strange longing he had for it. The way his eyes laid on it like a mother's lays their eyes on a child who is in need of love. How she looks at him, forlorn and regretful when she can't give him what they deserved.
"I am unable to utilize the most effective of methods at our arsenal, if I were to do so, the entire country would be riled up. I am not afraid of losing my position, or to be throwing in jail, I am fearful of the riots that may occur of the innocent folk that are unaware of the harsh realities than sometimes...the most extreme measures are necessary."
His eyes never left the shining metal of the box in the middle of the table, his hand was fully extended towards it, and he appeared in pain, but not the pain exerted by the force he applies on his arm, it was the pain of having a solution right before you, yet never being able to use it.
"Soon." was the only thing he said to the box
And when Johann heard that, he found a cold air engulf him and a shiver ran down his spine.