Chapter 12: Duty

The door to Polius’ room opened up, revealing the maiden that stood behind it. She was dressed in her brown fur battle gear with her bow fastened around her waist. 

Her two brush-like eyebrows laid neatly on her face while her emerald eyes carried a solemn calmness. 

The young maiden walked inside, breathing an ethereal air into the room. Yet Polius continued to observe the villagers outside. 

She dropped down on one knee and placed her left palm against her right fist. “Chief,” the maiden said.

“Harmonia,” Polius replied without turning his back.

“Chief,” she repeated.

“Harmonia.”  

“Chief please,” she requested.

“Harmonia.” 

Harmonia sighed as she relented, “Polius.”

The edge of Polius’ lip perked up as a smirk revealed itself. In a swift motion, he turned around to look at Harmonia face to face.

“You are my friend. I’ve told you before when we are alone you should just call me Polius.”

Harmonia shook her head, “You are now the Chief, it’s not the same as before.”

Hearing her words brought forth the hidden loneliness within Polius’ heart. “Did you hear about Daedalus?” He turned around, facing his back to her.

A moment of silence passed by. Harmonia’s resolute emerald eyes dulled at the question as her heart was pierced through by the question.

“Yes.”

“When we were growing up there was five of us, now only two of us remained.”

Harmonia remained silent for a few seconds before nodding. “I understand.”

The silence was a frequent visitor of Polius as no words were spoken as the seconds went by. 

“You should stand up,” Polius said. 

Harmonia pursed her lips together yet she did not get up. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve come here to receive my punishment.”

This time it was Polius’ turn to sigh, “What for?”

“I’ve failed my duty as the Head Hunter, I do not deserve this role.”

“Then are you turning your back against the village when we need you the most?”

Harmonia frowned at Polius’ words yet did not refute it. She bit the bottom of her lip as she thought about what Polius had said. 

“Polius, you’ve always been good with words. Maybe it’s due to being raised by Empo but I’m no match for you.”

Polius brows furrowed together at the mentioning of Empedocles. Harmonia words had struck a nerve as Polius squinted his eyes. 

He opened his mouth ready to retort but Harmonia’s voice cut him off. 

“I’ve failed my responsibilities hence I should be punished. No more. No less.”

Polius sighed at Harmonia’s firm words, he turned around to face her.

“I’ve yet to hear what happen on the day of the bee’s attack,” Polius mentioned. 

“Empo knocked on my door before dawn and tasked me with the mission of scouting the forest, following the tide’s path of destruction.”   

Polius nodded, signalling Harmonia to continue. 

“I led my team into the forest and nothing occurred until we reached near Apis. There we found an area that was torn apart from a battle. With the discovery, I sent back three of my Hunters while I led the remainder to continue with the mission.”

Polius took a moment to take in what Harmonia had reported, “ And what did you find?”

“... There were no survivors. Just a demolished town.”

Polius stared into Harmonia’s eyes, he caught the glimpses of sorrow that lurked within her tranquil mask. 

There were more to it than what Harmonia had described yet Polius did not pursue the details. 

“So,” Polius said.

Silence filled the room once more as neither spoke a word. 

Harmonia looked up and asked, “... so?” 

“Harmonia, you jester. Why did you start this by asking for a punishment?”

Hearing his words, Harmonia’s face froze in time. Her mouth left agape while a thick line ran through her forehead as her mind was thrown into disarray.  

“Huh?”

Polius raised his eyebrows, “What?”

“What are you trying to say, Polius?” 

“I should be asking you that, Harmonia.”

A string snapped within Harmonia’s mind. She got up from her position as her emerald eyes illuminated with a glistening sheen. Like a burst of wind, a violent green aura exuded around her. 

Harmonia’s whole body was encased within the tempestuous aura while her hair began to float. 

“Are you asking for a beating, Polius?”

Polius’ expression remained unfazed and his eyes were like a mirror. In contrast to Harmonia’s intense aura, Polius’ astral energy ebbed and flowed like a tide. 

“What makes you say that?” He replied.

“Don’t test my patience, Polius. And don’t use your words to confuse me.”

Her words cracked Polius’ calm facade as splashes of happiness appeared on his face in the form of a smile.  

“It’s been a while since I’ve heard you say that. That you would beat me up.”

His words stunned her for a split second before her aura flared up once more.

“So you were asking for a beating.”

"Now, now. You said you’ve come here for punishment yet I don’t see any reason to from what you’ve reported."

Harmonia continued to stare at Polius. Her eyes were the window to her inner self. They revealed burning frustration and the everlasting regret that stained her heart. 

Her eyes finally darted away after a minute had passed by, “I should have gone back…”

Polius kept his silence at her words.

Harmonia continued, “Out of the three Hunters I sent back, two of them have now retired. It’s fortunate that they had managed to keep their life.”

Her intense aura did not dissipate but rather mellowed out, becoming a thin layer that coated her.  

“Why bother with the ifs?”

Harmonia’s mind trembled upon hearing Polius’ words. 

“Because I could have done more. Because lives could have been lost. Because…” 

Words flowed out of Harmonia’s mind. She closed her eyes to calm down her unceasing shaking heart. 

“Harmonia, you are the head hunter because you are the strongest hunter in the village. No one came close,” Polius responded. 

Harmonia retorted, “What’s the point of being the strongest when you can’t make the proper decisions?” 

An intense flame burned in her eyes as she stared directly at Polius. It was as if her heart was pleading with Polius to give her an answer, to give her a direction.

Polius in response kept his silence. Instead, he continued to look at her. But in his mind what he saw wasn’t Harmonia but rather himself. 

It wasn’t a beautiful maiden that was in front of him but rather the underlying guilt and doubt that came bearing out. 

The darkness within his heart resonated with her desperation for a question but his mind was unable to give her a fitting answer.

He recalled back to his moment of helplessness, back to when his emotions had devoured him whole. During his recollection, a familiar face always appeared without fail no matter what. 

A face with thinned out grey hair, worn-out green eyes that were plagued with undeniable crow feet at the side. Sometimes the face was paired with a grin that went from ear to ear, other times it was paired with a solemn expression that could cause the sun to turn cold. 

What would that old man say? A thought couldn’t help but sprout up within Polius’ mind which then grew into a towering tree. Hundreds of fruits began to bore out from the tree’s thick branches as a wave of ideas came to Polius’ mind. 

One single thought had helped him wash away the mud that had stained and muddled his mind. 

Polius sighed. 

“I’ve decided on your punishment.”

Harmonia’s heart didn’t tremble upon hearing his words, instead a bursting light illuminated her mind—scattering away the guilt that had stained it. 

She nodded. 

“You’ll host the wedding in my place.”

“Huh?” Harmonia shouted. 

Her enlarged eyes gawked at Polius while her thin eyebrows arched up. 

“A… wedding? What do you mean, Polius? No, what are you saying?”

Polius laughed upon witnessing Harmonia’s reaction, his mind and soul felt light upon realising the method to help his friend. 

“Empo informed me yesterday that there was a couple that had expressed their desire to get married. I would have been the one that took care of it but now it’s your duty.”

Harmonia’s eyebrow twitched as the news settled in her mind.  

In contrast to Polius’ laughter, Harmonia’s mind was a blank page. 

Not waiting for her to answer him, Polius passed Harmonia and walked towards the door.

“Let’s go meet the happy couple.” 

Harmonia turned around to stare at Polius’ back that was getting farther away from her. Yet words still were unable to be formed within her mind. 

“Huh?”