“Ray…” Lily softly whispered by his ear.

Raymond turned to his side and stared into his twin sister’s brown eyes. Earlier, they had pulled the curtains and blown off the lamps; all but one lamp, which was kept in the corner. The dull sound of falling rain and the steady deep breaths kept them aware in the dark night. In the dim room, the twins’ eyes remained locked for a long time before Lily looked past him and towards the window.

The mystique and the silence, a result of not being able to see her properly in the dim, quiet, room, added to her profound beauty. The silhouette of Lily, deep in thought as she gazed into the void, made Raymond want to squeeze her tight and never let go. He shifted towards her and the few inches between them faded with that. The bed was not so small that they would have to huddle together, neither was the weather so cold that they couldn’t do without the heat of their embrace. They just needed it; needed this closeness to satisfy the desperate need for the other.

“Lily!” Raymond moaned her name dreamily as he ran his finger through her slightly damp, dark-brown hair. His other hand, busy behind her back, caressed her soft skin. Raymond was still lost in the feel of her warmth, the hypnotic aroma emanating out of her, when Lily focused her gaze to his eyes.

“Ray… I… can you-” Lily shied away before finishing her words.

He smiled at her clumsiness. In the grey room, he could not make out if it was true, but he was sure that his twin had a slight blush at the moment.

“Tell me,” He encouraged her and gently pressed his lips on her wet, quivering ones. Lily pressed back invitingly, but leaned back all too soon.

Gingerly, she asked, “Ray… do you…”

He coaxed her soothingly as he traced her spine with his hand. “Say it. Do I what?”

“Do you really love me?” Lily asked in a shy tone, her stare searching.

“Of course, I do,” Raymond replied domineeringly, as if there was not to be any shadow of doubt on this matter. “I love you, Lily!” He placed soft kisses on her neck.

“I love you!”

Lily, at those declarative words, suddenly pushed her head against his wide chest and hugged him tight. He could hear her racing heart starting to calm down as her grip gradually lessened from the suffocating hold to being a tranquil embrace of lovers.

“… that is enough…” Lily hummed airily, and then she closed her eyes with a sweet smile on her face, a look of love and contentment.

“Huh?”

“Did you say something?”

Raymond sluggishly stroked her hair and pressed on drowsily when Lily kept mum. “What is enough?”

“What do you mean?” He asked again, his words drowned in lethargy.

“It means… you should follow your heart and not worry so much because this… this is enough for me.”

 “… okay…” Raymond mumbled sleepily, unmindful of her words.

***

Scene 7

Raymond groggily opened his eyes. Looking around, he realized that he was in the infirmary of the palace.

“Finally awake, huh?” Rose mumbled from his side.

“What are you doing in bed with me?”

“Well I was sleepy, and this seemed like a good place for a nap…” With a sheepish look Rose replied and then put her hand to his forehead. “Doesn’t seem like you have a fever anymore…”

Raymond rolled his eyes at her antics. The infirmary was empty and Rose also had her own room in the palace, so it was beyond him why she was making such a terrible excuse.

“How long was I out for this time?”

“A day, more or less.”

“Hmm…” He still felt dizzy and wanted to go back to sleep. The pain wasn’t as intense and there weren’t any bandages on his body anymore, though he still felt very weak. He tried to circulate his mana but was interrupted hallway.

“Hey, Ray!”  Rose screamed and shook him by his listless shoulders. “What the fuck are you doing, you idiot?!”

“Ahh! It hurts…” Raymond foamed at his mouth and collapsed. After a few moments, when he could make sense of things, he groaned again. “Hurts!”

“Serves you right.” She glared at him. “Idiot! Don’t you know that using mana in your condition can be fatal? Are you stupid… Argh! You make me so mad!”

“Sorry…”

Rose huffed while giving him a death stare. Gradually, she calmed down, and her gaze became a lot softer. “Why are you so in a rush? Why don’t you try to be a little patient? You don’t have to be…”

“I- I just-” Raymond choked up. A million thoughts ran through his mind, none of them suitable enough to be revealed. He thought about the scenes of bloodshed and destruction that he had witnessed and a shudder passed through him. He was glad that it was not real and only a dream.

The dream’s only a dream, Raymond consoled his racing heart. It was similar to the one he had had before; however, it was much more dreadful. Frankly, it was horrifying to experience that feeling of unknown fear once again, especially after he had been crushed by Emil. Still he tried to push it away. After all, he couldn’t use it as an excuse and hide behind it. He sighed and turned on his side, away from her. “I don’t know…”

“You are such an-” Rose snuggled with him. Her hand spooned him lightly, while the heat of her body gave him warmth. They remained silent in that position.

Raymond thought about the incredible events of the last couple of weeks and sighed once more. After his “spar” with Emil, it had taken him a complete day to recover. He had been grateful that there weren’t serious injuries and all his bones were intact. Emil had held back, even at the last moment. There was also the difference between their gear.

Though the kingdom sponsored all the awakened warriors who had pledged their loyalty to it, the costs to support a powerful awakened warrior could become overbearing. It was only the awakened who were from old nobles or from wealthy families who were able to purchase the best of magical equipment. Even Raymond had a set of below par armor, before Rose bought him new gear. Gelodesh was a poor kingdom, and the rules were strict, even for royalty.

So pathetic, I’m so pathetic… The pain faded away quickly, the humiliation not so much. Raymond brooded over the whole episode, tried to imagine different scenarios and how he could have defeated Emil. At the end, he always reached the same conclusion: he couldn’t. He couldn’t have defeated Emil, no matter how much he tried to be sly or creative. He just didn’t have the answer for that last spell.

It was amazing... Raymond recalled that sensation; it had been like he was in the middle of a snowstorm. He had no control over his body and it had all happened so instantly that he couldn’t have dodged the hit, even if he had known about it in advance. The sensation of defeat was real and overwhelming. He had regularly tasted defeat because whenever he sparred with Rose, she made sure that he knew who called the shots between the two of them.

It’s different, so fucking different. He was awakened now, not just a magic warrior. He could use spells; his body was stronger… It was impossible to accept that he would lose to someone outside of his family. Even if there was a difference of whole level between us, I shouldn’t have been so helpless…

“Is there such a divide between a 3-star and a 4-star?” Raymond mumbled hoping for a reassuring response from Rose.

“Yes, there is,” Rose muttered and prodded him in the back. “Why do you think it’s so hard to progress from a 3-star level to a 4-star level?” She continued without waiting for an answer, “because even if you have the money to buy an infinite number of magic stones, you would forever be stuck in that level, unless you have the talent for it!”

“Is that so…”

She lightly poked behind his ear and remarked, “Yes, and that’s why you are an idiot!”

“But I didn’t know- I didn’t know that something like this would happen…”

“Oh yeah?” Rose turned him around on his back and then climbed over him. She settled there, over his legs, and gently took his head in her hands. Her glossy hair dropped down and blocked his vision from anything else other than her worried face. “It was your luck that nothing more happened than an injury to your mana pool and mana circuits. Please, don’t be so hasty!”

“Okay…”  

“You have to wait before you go from 3-star level to 4-star level. It has been only over a week since you had awakened,” Rose explained patiently. “And don’t worry about wasting the magic stone; mom should have another one…”

“Huh? Aunt Suzy? What?”

“Haha,” Rose laughed as she fell down beside him. She ruffled his hair and laughed some more until she was in tears.

“What is the deal with you?”

“… Little Ray Ray is going to Beltran!”