Vance Rayleigh and I were the best of friends. He was a naughty, hyperactive kid who liked to cause trouble. But he was also quite smart and charming. He held a certain charisma even as a child and you really can't help but follow the guy no matter what sort of trouble he gets you into. 

That's what I did anyway. I was his partner in crime. We did many crazy things together. As for what those things were, I'll leave that to your imagination.

Then, there was Felise Hayward. She was a veritable goddess. And I'm not exaggerating. 

She truly was beautiful. She's a sweet and gentle girl, but she could also be firm and unyielding when the situation merits it. All the village kids admired her. 

The sight of her lustrous flame red hair fluttering in the wind as she walked elicited admiring sighs from both the young and old folks in the village. 

She also had Vance and I wrapped perfectly on her little finger. Whenever we went to cause some mischief, she'd be there to reign us in and prevent us from going overboard.

She was also my first crush.

You really can't blame me for falling for her though. Heck, most of the guys in our age group had crushes on her. She even charmed some of the girls. 

Well, all except for one guy. 

Vance, that idiot, was as dense as bedrock. He was more interested in swords and adventurers than girls. Somehow, it seemed quite appropriate though.

***

Vance and I dreamt of being adventurers. He was in it for the thrill and excitement of an unbridled life of adventure. I was in it for silly things like wanting to restore the Evrard house to its (rumored) former glory and attaining the hand of my lady love. 

I was a kid back then. Kids tended to have some pretty crazy dreams. 

We were able to study the sword under Felise's grandfather, Galvan Hayward, after a few rounds of passionate (i.e. desperate) pleas (i.e. shameful begging).

I was pretty into it at first. I followed the assigned training menu religiously. I did my best during spars. I filled several bundles of parchment with research notes about the stances and techniques of the "Sevenfold Paths of Radiance" sword style that grampa Galvan taught us. Most of it were just incoherent scribbles though. 

I even had the gall to declare that I'd use my sword to protect Felise forever. She showed me a meaningful and somewhat mysterious smile whenever I did that. I was too caught up with myself to notice anything though.

But after a while, the huge difference in talent between Vance and me became readily apparent. He absorbed gramps' teachings at an alarmingly fast rate. It didn't take long before Vance completely surpassed me in skill, technique and strength. I was no longer a worthy opponent for him in spars. 

It's not like I was particularly bad at swordsmanship. Vance was just too overwhelmingly gifted at it. Even grampa Galvan started to have trouble with him shortly after he took over as a sparring partner. 

I was proud of him. I really was. He was my best friend after all. But I can't deny being jealous of him either. It's an ugly feeling, but I can't deny it. 

The difference in the looks gramps gave to the two of us when we graduated from his tutelage made it much worse. 

With Vance, there was a look of overwhelming pride. There were even hints of awe and reverence. 

But, as for me, what stood out was pity. I was being pitied. Gramps tried not to show it, but I could tell. And I was truly bothered by it. 

Maybe Vance's talent was just that overwhelming. It made me seem all the more drab and, well, ordinary. But even so, I thought that this still didn't justify the look of pity gramps gave me. 

I was still decent with a sword wasn't I? Okay, well, barely decent. But I could still put up a fight. I wasn't useless. But that look took a serious toll on my self-esteem. 

Felise did admonish gramps about the obvious difference in treatment. A small consolation. But I still felt down in the dumps. Vance, being his oblivious self as always, didn't help either. 

***

I can't ever forget the look of disappointment on Vance's face when I decided not to go with him to register at the local adventurers guild in the neighboring town of Ambrose.

Even the usually dense Vance sensed something from my attitude back then. We stood in silence for quite some time after I broke it to him. We did promise to start adventuring together after our training ends after all. 

But I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to follow after him anymore. I was afraid - afraid I might eventually come to hate him if I continued staying by his side. 

I knew I was being unreasonable. I shouldn't have let jealousy get the better of our friendship. But I was already deeply mired in it. I was simply being petty. And not a day goes by that I don't regret the way we parted ways that time. 

I was the only one who kept up with him no matter what kind of mischief he engaged in. He did tend to get carried away and often overdid his pranks after all. 

I covered for him whenever we got busted by the adults. Being the village chiefs son, my words did hold some weight. So we got off not getting the worst out of it. 

We used to think we were inseparable. But it turned out not to be the case. My insecurities won out in the end. It was the worst. 

But what got me the most was that he didn't blame me. He might have even blamed himself. 

Before Vance went on to start his adventuring career, he tapped me on the chest with his fist in a familiar gesture. I was supposed to tap him back. It was a good luck charm as well as a sign of faith. 

I didn't return the gesture and just continued to stare at him stiffly. He showed me a strained and helpless smile. 

That was the first and last time I got to see him truly close to tears. He departed for Ambrose soon after. 

***

Things got awkward between Felise and me after Vance left. I was still caught up in conflicting emotions and continued to sulk while sporting a gloomy expression. 

She often got out of her way to hang out with me despite my attitude. She never said anything. She just simply sat by my side. But that was enough. It was more than enough. 

Truth be told, I thought she would hate me. I went back on my word and betrayed the hopes of my best friend just because of some unreasonable inferiority complex. I thought she would be disillusioned. But not once did I hear any words of admonishment coming from her. 

Instead, she continued to silently support me. She was waiting for me to open up. But I never got the chance to express my feelings. 

Fate would not allow me to.