Starry Resonance Ch. 08

"He'll probably be back soon," he told Maria with a smile which she returned before asking, "can I get you guys anything else?"

Yvain was about to say no when Roesia spoke up, "Do you have strawberry cheesecake available?"

"That we do sweetheart, would you like an order?" Maria asked.

"With two spoons please, for her and I," the sorceress said with a wide smile and bright hungry eyes as she pointed at herself and Nora.

"Anyone else want dessert?" Maria asked but Saya and Yvain opted out.

He didn't mind sweets from time to time, but he was fine with just taking a bite out of Roesia's plate.

"Then I'll be right back with your order," Maria said to Roesia and grabbed a few empty plates and glasses before leaving.

"What's strawberry cheesecake?" Nora asked the sorceress excitedly.

Yvain panicked a bit as Saya looked curiously at his girlfriend.

Roesia was too excited to mind the slip of the tongue though.

"You'll see," she said with a grin.

We really do need to go our separate ways, Yvain thought with a mental sigh. Any small slip of the tongue was a possibility for disaster. He had his lunch. He got to see his childhood friend one last time. It was time to go.

When Maria brought the dessert, a small battle ensued as Yvain wanted a piece of the cake and Roesia wouldn't allow it. She happily shared it with Nora though and his girlfriend came closer and closer to tears with each bite. Saya found it weird, but she didn't put much stock to it other than a quirky trait, thankfully.

When it came time to pay, everyone, even Saya, found out that there was no need to give anything. It was all covered by the church because of the event going on. So, with some embarrassment, Yvain asked for a container for Selt's meal before the group exited the restaurant.

"So where to first!" Saya asked excitedly.

Stars damn everything, Yvain thought. This wasn't going to be easy at all. He looked to the two 'dragonesses', as Roesia had coined, and said, "Can you guys give us a moment?"

Neither of them protested and said their goodbyes to Saya before going to a kiosk that was showing off some macabre art trinkets a bit farther away.

For her part, the nun said goodbye with enthusiasm. Enough so that Yvain felt that things might be simpler than he thought after all. But without giving him a chance to speak, Saya put on an empty smile.

"I guess I should have seen this coming," she said.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously, somewhere deep down hoping that she had understood what was happening so that he wouldn't have to directly confront her.

"You're going off again and I can't go," she said straightforwardly.

Thank the stars, he thought. It was much easier to give truth to her theory than it was to directly tell her she couldn't join them for their errands.

"You know how it is," Yvain said with an awkward laugh Saya didn't join in, instead pinning him with furrowed brows and aggrieved eyes.

"Ever since!" she began heatedly, but stopped and took a breath before continuing, "Ever since you guys created Draconian's Tavern it felt as if though you grew farther and farther away from me. Always dodging questions and keeping information from me because of my "safety". I haven't even seen you in two years and you're already sending me away. Am I that untrustworthy? Did I do something wrong? Is it because of how I feel for you?"

Yvain wanted to say that none of what she questioned was true. He would easily trust his life to her. Yet, it didn't feel like anything he could say would assuage her. And a lump in his throat wasn't allowing any words to come out either.

She really does still have feelings for me, he thought. He had hoped that time would have changed that. That maybe she would find someone with him gone.

Saya hugged herself and looked away, "And it wasn't just your parents who you didn't say goodbye to, you didn't even come to me before leaving. I had to learn by word of mouth that you were banished along with the prince. And no one could tell me what had happened."

Saya shook, her eyes watering and voice cracking, "I had to live with the idea that you might die Yvain, and I would never know any better. I wouldn't be there to tend your wounds as I did whenever Elly would beat you up."

When his childhood friend looked back at him with agonized eyes, Yvain felt as if he might break down too. He hadn't known she was going through all of that. Didn't even cross his mind.

"Every excursion I took out of Allsworth with my sisters was for the sole purpose of hopefully finding you," she said. "Month after month after month I would go out with hope that I would see you again and for two years I failed. Then when my search finally bears an impossible fruit, I realize that nothing has changed. Elly shuts everyone up and me out, and you follow along."

Saya used her sleeve to dry her tears as she sniffed. The silent seconds as she wiped herself went by excruciatingly slow.

"And now you're about to abandon me again," she said finally breaking down and covering her mouth, trying her best to not make a scene. Yet even if they were on an outlying street there were still some people walking around, all staring at them; most glaring at him.

Yvain ground teeth. What could he say to any of that? Sorry? It wouldn't be near enough. Explain the situation? He couldn't. Lives were at stake. Not only his, but his friends', his girlfriend's, Charlotte's. Why couldn't Saya just move on and be happy?

What in the stars are you even thinking Yvain? he thought with disgust at himself. She could very well be his sister at this point. His family. He owed her at least an idea of what was happening, if not the outright truth.

"We were banished exactly because we created Draconian's Tavern," Yvain began under Saya's tearful gaze.

"But--" Saya said before he stopped her with a raised hand, "You know how Nelimir feels about Humanism, the fights he constantly had with his family over it. Draconian's Tavern is meant to change our society's beliefs. In the king's eyes his son was not only disrespecting him, but openly going against his rule. What we're doing puts all of us in the guild in danger. A danger that you're not equipped to handle. And even if you were, would you really support our cause?"

Saya mumbled something but it was too low for Yvain to make out.

"What?" he asked.

"I said that it really is about strength in the end," she said and stepped close to him before looking up with still tearful but determined eyes.

"Promise me that we'll see each other again," she said.

"Saya I--"

"Promise me!" the nun almost yelled.

Yvain looked into her eyes. Would it be worse to say something so irresponsible? He didn't know. But it seemed that she really needed to hear such a thing from him, and he would do what he could to sap away some of her pain.

"I'll do everything in my power to see you again," he said.

"That's all I ask for," Saya said before she roughly embraced him and sunk her face into his chest. Time passed with the nun hugging him hard enough that her whole body shook with the effort.

Yvain debated whether to return the gesture at first but, in the end, there was no need to hold back. Even if she did have feelings for him past those of a friend, he wouldn't shun her out just because of it.

"Sorry for not telling you anything back then," he said.

Saya only returned a hum of understanding as she continued to squish him.

The childhood friends embraced for what seemed to him a short amount of time. When Saya pulled back she seemed to have calmed down.

"Tell the rest that I'll see them around," she said and waved goodbye to Nora and Roesia, who had stopped perusing the kiosk and where just worriedly staring at them.

"Will do," Yvain said and Saya nodded before going back into the restaurant.

He just stood in place, thinking over her words. Considering if maybe he could have done or said something differently as he stared at the wet spot she had made on his shirt.

"Are you okay?" Nora asked as she walked up to his side and grabbed his hand in consolation.

"Forget him, how was Saya? We could practically hear her from all the way over there," Roesia said.

"Everyone heard what we said then," Yvain said with a sigh.

"Not exactly, our hearing is just better," Nora said.

"Our?" he asked.

"She means dragons," Roesia said.

"Ah," Yvain said and looked at both women. "We're both as well as we can be, but it's over with, and now we must go tend to our duties."

Nora looked worriedly at him but didn't dig any deeper.

"I'll at least say that I liked her. She has a fire to her not many can develop or acquire," she said.

"And," Roesia began," however much it hurts now, it's much better than having her getting hurt, or worse, just because we let our emotions get the best of us." The sorceress took on an academic pose, acting like some wise professor dealing out life advice to her students.

Yvain could only roll his eyes, but he had to admit that their words were lightening some of the weight he had felt right after his talk with Saya.

"You have the right of it," Nora said and looked to Yvain. "So when are we going to go sign my papers?"

"If he isn't there already, then Nelimir will meet us at Cosmos's branch," he said, choosing to spend his energy thinking on the things they needed to do now instead.

"Let's get that over with already so we can go buy some sweets," Roesia said and began to walk down the street. She then stopped and looked back with an awkward smile.

"Where's the branch?" she asked.

"Follow me," Yvain said with a content laugh.