Echoes Beneath the Frost
The door creaked open, and cold light poured into the upper hall. Eira stepped through the door. She was calm, deliberate, every motion contained. The wooden practice spear rested against her shoulder, faint traces of frost still clinging to its shaft.
Kain rose from the bench, his expression unreadable but his posture loose, almost casual. The air between them was thick but not hostile. However, it was humming with everything they hadn’t said in years. She looked up at Kain due to her standing at 173 cm tall while Kain stood at 186 cm.
“I saw the end of your duel. That final strike… it was flawless. The way you moved was beautiful.”
Eyes widen, realizing too late where his words were leading.
‘Shit! Kain would never had said that. Fuck...screw it at this point. I am not him.’
The compliment hung in the air, fragile as glass.
Eira froze mid-step. A flicker of surprise broke her composure as color touched her cheeks, faint but unmistakable beneath the pale light. For the briefest moment, the poised warrior was replaced by something softer, the echo of the girl who once smiled easily in Kain’s presence.
Then, as quickly as it appeared, the warmth vanished. She straightened, her tone cool again.
“You always did have a way with words”
She paused for a moment.
“Though I never could tell when you meant them.”
Kain exhaled and look towards the training grounds.
“I meant it”
He said quietly before facing Eira again.
“Every word.”
Her composure broke once again as her eyes widen not believing what she just heard.
For a heartbeat, neither spoke. The silence stretched, heavy with what they both remembered, shared years, lost trust, the distance neither could quite bridge. She regarded him for a long moment, her heterochromatic eyes flicking across my face, searching for the person she once knew.
Eira sighed before regaining her composure.
“I did not see you for training. You’re skipping training again,” she finally said, resting the butt of her spear against the ground.
“Father will be furious.”
“I’m aware. I got lost in the forest just beyond the keep. I was searching for something” Kain said.
“Searching for what?” Eira responded while looking curious.
Kain could not help but notice how her curiosity softened her features. How her face took on a moment of innocence that hearken back to their childhood where moments like these was a one of thousands.
‘How can she be so cute one moment and beautiful the next? Damn it, Kain. How the hell did you screw this up? Jealous of her? I can feel my protective nature coming out just standing here next her’
“Myself...although I was out since morning, realization hit me while I was out there. It felt like waking up for the first time in a long time.” said Kain with a genuine smile.
Eira studied him in silence. The hall was still besides the ongoing sounds of sparring underneath and the gentle wind blowing. The sincerity in his voice unsettled her more than any insult ever had.
“You’ve always been searching for something, but I never thought it would be yourself”
Her tone carried no mockery, only quiet observation. She looked away toward below where Henry saw her staring again and instantly waved in happiness. Henry then look towards Kain and instantly his face hardened with a cold but subtle killing intent.
“Perhaps the forest was kind enough to give you an answer. Most aren’t that fortunate.”
“Maybe...or maybe I just needed to stop running from what I am and resolve myself of what I need to do to change,” as Kain step up next to her before continuing while he looked into those heterochromia eyes.
Eira’s eyes flicked back to him, the gray one cool as mist, the red one glowing faintly in the dim light.
“If that’s true, then don’t waste it. Words fade easily, Kain. Change does not.”
She turned, the hem of her training coat brushing the floor.
Father won’t forgive another absence. Be in the courtyard by first bell tomorrow.”
As she moved past him, the faint chill of her aura lingered in the air, crisp and clean. For a moment she paused beside him, voice lowering so only he could hear.
“I’m glad you came back, but don’t make me regret believing that.”
Before he could answer, she descended the stairway, the echo of her steps fading into the vastness of the hall.
Kain stood where she had left him, a small, genuine smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. The cold light from the setting sun filtered through the window caught his smile.
‘Echoes beneath the frost...that’s all that’s left of us...or so I thought. Maybe...forgiveness begins in moments this small.’
Kain exhale before looking up.
‘Tomorrow is going to be rough. I knew what comes next, the eventual dismissal of Kain from the family. The moment Kain’s life unraveled. There must be a way, but the novel did not go into detail about this at all. This part...its new. Maybe that means I can change it. No I have to change it. First things first, I need to figure what where I am in skill.’
He flexed his hands and sighed.
‘No callouses or mark of any training done. Unawakened. No aura. Great, I am just a weak noble with a pretty face. Of course, I am stuck with the guy destined to die. Guess I’m just playing on hard mode.
Currently, I know Kain is unawakened with no access to his aura let alone know what element it is. Based on the nonexistent callouses on his hands, I figured he has not even done training in awhile or years possibly.’
“Just great, you could not just had made me the protagonist? You just had to give me the person destined to die...like I am playing hard mode.”
As Kain stares at the hallway where Eira just left.
“But at least the view is beautiful”
