Slap!
With his skilled reflexes, Emery unconsciously caught Gwen's arm midair, stopping her attack. The situation had instantly turned more awkward, with him clutching the princess' arm tightly and being in such close proximity to her.
Why are you hitting me?! Those were the first words that came to mind, but his intuition told him there had to be a reason behind this, as he could practically feel Gwen's emotions bubbling behind the surface.
The princess looked to be in a raging tantrum, but standing this close to her, Emery saw tears reflected in her eyes. She pulled herself away from his grasp in a forceful motion.
"You…!" Her anger was so visceral she could just barely choke out her words. "Why did you lie to me?! Lanzo! Emery! Merlin! Who are you, really?!"
It appeared she had been repressing these questions for a long time and was now finally able to hurl them back at him with seething venom.
Emery drew in a deep breath, trying to preserve his composure. After all, it was an answer she already knew.
"They're all me, all the same. Calm down and I'll explain..."
"Calm down?! Emery, I... I thought you were dead ! ...twice! And now you're just strolling around like nothing happened... why? Why are you hiding from me?"
Her outburst had begun to slow down, this time into a genuine show of anguish and confusion.
"I thought you were dead... why are you hiding?"
Hering this, Emery answered.
"Hiding...? Of course I am hiding… my father, my family… they're all dead! I was being hunted down. Of course I'm hiding!"
"Emery... you should've come to me... me and my father, we could have helped you!"
"Your father…? Oh, forgive me your highness, but it was the kingdom who wanted me dead!"
By this time, his facade of calmness had already shattered. His voice was raised to a resentful shout.
"It was the people around you who wanted me dead!"
Gwen was in shock, in a state of half-belief about what she had just heard. She began to tremble as she started speaking again.
"What about me…? You can trust me… Emery... We have known each other for so long… You can trust me..."
Flinching at her words, Emery closed his eyes. The memory of her on that night two years ago immediately rushed back into his mind. Upon opening his eyes, he stared intently at her, trying to regain the mirage of composure he had put on before.
"Trust you? Did you remember the last time we spoke? You said we couldn't be friends anymore… Don't tell me you forgot about that! You didn't want anything to do with me cause I am a Fey! Just admit it!, you said it clearly that night!"
Emery finally felt as though his pain could be expressed tonight. He felt such relief.
Temporarily feeling a slight triumph in his admission, a moment later, the tears that were welling in Gwen's eyes had started to flow freely down her cheeks.
"You fool, Emery... You hate me for that? I... My mother died because of Fey, can't I have one night of mistakes?"
She stops for a second and continues
"I am sorry for what I said, I really am. There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret what I said…"
She gasped, attempting to hold back her tears.
"And you know what's worse? You went missing right after, presumably dead... How could I ask for forgiveness from a dead person?! You didn't give me a chance... you were dead!"
These words struck something deep inside him. They reverberated throughout his body, making him quiver with emotions. All these years, he had been waiting for her apology for that night. But when it came out like this, Emery wasn't sure he wanted to hear it anymore.
He couldn't accept it… why? Why couldn't he accept her apology…?
Emery was conflicted. Overwhelmed, he began to speak.
"So… What now?"
His hands began to shake. "Are you saying you could accept a Fey now? You want to be involved with the people that killed your mother?"
Gwen was stunned into stillness at being asked such a question so abruptly. She shifted in uncertainty.
"Tell me princess, will the kingdom ever accept me? A Fey boy? No, no... I bet even Lanzo, the young silver knight who gave glory to Lioness... I doubt even he could be welcome well if he was a Fey! Right?!"
This time, Emery had pushed Gwen to her limit. She didn't have the answer, so instead she once again regained her composure, yelling back her response.
"What do you care! What does Lanzo care! I thought Lanzo didn't want anything to do with the kingdom! Don't make up things when the truth is… the truth is… you just don't care about the kingdom… about…" she abruptly paused, as if mustering up the courage to utter the words she was about to say. "You care about nothing but yourself!"
Hearing it from someone else, Emery realized she was speaking the truth. At the moment, his main priority was the Magus Academy. He didn't even care that much about Fantumar anymore. As far as he was concerned, those kings and ministers could just kill off one another, fighting for their stupid titles and thrones.
Emery took a deep breath and said "You are right. That is true."
Gwen's face fell, expression melting from genuine anger to a wounded disappointment.
"Then I suppose there really is no point in arguing with you about this," she said and continue
"You do whatever you want and you can return to being dead for me. Let us both agree to never cross paths again."
Emery could feel a sudden pain blossom in his chest, as though he had been stabbed. His skin was flushed with emotion, hot to the touch. He replied,
"Fine… it's probably what's best for both of us."
Gwen closed her eyes, forcing herself to calm down. Wiping the tears from her cheeks, she regained her composure, as regal and princess-like as ever.
"For what it's worth, Emery, I really did miss you… And I'm glad that you're alive."
She met his eyes once more, this time with a sense of finality in her gaze.
"Good bye, Emery."
She turned around, leaving him standing there, feeling hollowed out and more exhausted than ever. That evening, he received word that Gwen had apparently decided to leave the Quintins' estate with all her knights, not even saying a word to Arthur.
Emery did feel something in his heart shift, but he tried his best to suppress his thoughts.
"It's for the best"
