The two took a seat on the lush, green grass that spread across the rolling hills as the breezy wind gently tousled their hair. A beautiful view was stretched out in front of them; the great blue ocean shimmering in the sunlight expanded beautifully towards the horizon.
Despite the beauty of the environment around him, Emery was entirely unaware of the fact that he had accidentally brought Gwen along to such a romantic location. In fact, it wasn't made clear to him until the princess leaned her head against his shoulder, sighing dreamily.
She stayed in that position for a while, completely unmoving. Her deep breaths made it seem as though she was taking out all her troubles and weariness into his shoulder.
Emery could only imagine what she had gone through within the last few weeks.
Gwen let out a long sigh. "Time does fly so fast, doesn't it, Emery...?"
Emery merely nodded, giving the girl an opportunity to speak her mind.
"Look at us all changing…" She trailed off for a bit before resuming. "I mean, you becoming a great wizard, me becoming just another ordinary girl, but the sea… The sea, it seems unchanging."
Gwen raised her arm and stretched it outwards, one eye closed tightly in concentration. It was as if she was imagining that she could grab the ocean with her hand, if she tried hard enough. "But it's still out of our grasp."
For a moment there, Emery saw the same look on her face that had captivated him so much in the first place. Behind Gwen's wistful expression was a dream, a deep longing, for what was beyond the sea.
Emery wasn't sure to bring her for his quest before, but now he couldn't think of going on the journey without her.
With this sudden burst of reassurance, Emery suddenly piped up. "Let's do it!"
His unexpected enthusiasm startled her somewhat, and as she turned she saw that his eyes were glinting with a kind of determination. "What are you saying, Emery...?"
"Let's do it! Let's just go, let us see what is beyond that sea, all those cities and people we only saw in drawings. Let's go see them."
Upon saying this, Emery could see that Gwen's eyes had lit up with an almost childlike glee. "That would be amazing, Emery... I really want to see Rome, and to see all the temples in Greece."
"Yes!" He responded, face split into a wide grin. "We can grab a ship and start sailing, we can go even further, to the east where the Asians are. What do you think?!"
Gwen's smile grew even more, and a light, airy laugh passed through her lips. When Emery did not respond, however, her expression gradually dissolved into confusion.
"...Emery." She started, knitting her eyebrows together. "You are not joking aren't you?"
"Of course not," the magician replied. The corners of his smile began to weaken. "I mean, why not? Let's make it happen."
Gwen was taken aback. It was like Emery had just told her something completely absurd. All at once, thousands of thoughts rushed through her mind, and the way her face fell seemed as though she was broken out of a reverie.
"We… We can't."
Emery's chest tightened. "Why can't we?"
Gwen could tell that this was not the response he wanted. Quickly, she grabbed his hand tightly in a reassuring gesture. The reality of her situation began to dawn on her, and she realized that Emery's request worries her.
"Emery…" She started, speaking slowly in a gentle manner. "We can't… I can't… I can't just leave… There are some things that I need to do… I really can't…"
Emery could somehow guess what those things were from what he had seen today, especially considering the way she talked to the Pendragon king and the knights that surrounded her.
"Emery… These people… They are depending on me… If you only saw what I had seen these past few weeks… I… They really need me. I can't just leave… not now."
A heavy silence hung in the air between them. The roar of the sea that had been so soothing before was now far too loud, torturously grating at Emery's eardrums. He closed his eyes for a moment, and suddenly, he was hit with an epiphany.
He took the princess' hand, rubbing her palm.
"Gwen, these people… They will always need something, and I have a feeling that if you don't let go now, you never will."
Emery's words seemed to have struck something inside her, like a bolt of lightning through the very core of her being. She remained quiet for a while, and Emery held his breath in anticipation, waiting for her response. But it seemed that she had no words left to say.
"Gwen," he said when it became apparent that she was not going to reply. "Actually, it was the High Priestess, she needed me to go."
"What…" Her eyes quickly snapped upwards, catching his, but she held herself back from saying anything too brash. "Yes… must be something important, I am sure, something I can't hope to understand."
"I would love to explain really, but it's just that I can't."
This time, Emery was telling the truth, since the academy prohibited him from disclosing any confidential information. The months they spent together, the clever princess would eventually realize the many gaps in his story that he couldn't explain.
Gwen seems to return to her senses. "When do you have to leave, Emery? How far? How long?"
Emery was not sure, but he knew that he would need this to finish this before his third year recall, hence he said he would be gone for about a year and a half at the most.
"But Emery, you have your magic, right? I mean we can return anytime we want."
Unfortunately, Emery couldn't be sure how far his spell would be able to reach. Even with the stone formation in place, he wasn't sure that he could go back and forth so easily.
Gwen was conflicted. For her, this one year would be one of the most crucial times for her people. For her, there would always be time for Emery in the future, it's just that she needed to settle her current matters first.
"Emery… I... I don't know, please give me time, one week. Or a few days. Just a little time."
The word time was a difficult issue for him. There were others who were waiting for him; the High Priestess, Killgragah, many people were counting on him to quickly finish the problems at hand.
Emery didn't answer, and Gwen understood that it was probably a difficult question for him in the first place, so she didn't push it. The only thing she could do now was lay on his lap, watching the sun descend on the ocean before them. A watercolor of purple and orange hues burst across the sky; a beautiful scenery with a burden on her heart.