Tangled By Fate

Ironin warned her, "Don't let Arthur know before we confirm what happened to her."

Zinnia stared at him. She knew he wasn't joking.

"Do you think it will be a good idea? What excuse can we give him?"

Ironin opened his mouth to reply when Darius barged in.

"This is bad. I heard Veronica was shot to death," he announced.

"Weren't you with Arthur?" Zinnia vigilantly asked.

"I was. I came down with Arthur. We asked a few elves. They said two nights ago Veronica tried to leave with an elf child and was shot arrows until she fell on the cliff."

Upon hearing the reply from Darius, the other two exchanged glances. Having a bad foreboding, Zinnia and Ironin dashed out of the tent.

Darius was confused. "Hello? I'm still here?"

Lamenting that no one cared about him, he came out. He spotted his two comrades not too far away.

"Damn it! They are leaving without taking care of the elves. Am I supposed to handle that?"

He could only curse and feel remorse.

Zinnia and Ironin interrogated a few elves to find out where actually Veronica did fall. The elves couldn't answer correctly as they walked miles in two days.

Those two had no choice but to walk on the cliff trail. The trail was steep, and they might fall from there if they weren't being careful enough.

Using the fire torch, they strode forward. After walking miles, they finally found a black figure.

"Arthur!" Zinnia recognized him and was relieved.

Arthur didn't look back as though he didn't hear her. His knees were on the stony ground. His back was bent. His fingers lightly touched the ground.

At that moment, Ironin and Zinnia came forward. With the light from the torch, they could dry blood on the ground.

"Someone bled here and then fell off the cliff," Zinnia evaluated as she checked the trail. "It could be Veronica."

Ironin clenched his jaw. "The person bled too much."

Zinnia peeked out of the cliff. She couldn't see anything in the dark. However, she could smell something wet.

"A river is down there. If she has purely good luck, she might be alive. But if there are stones…" she didn't finish the sentence.

Ironin's heart sank. He glanced down at Arthur who didn't say a word.

Zinnia's mouth was dry. She started to like the girl she met. The girl was a free-spirited sweetheart who always thought of others.

Her heart ached thinking Veronica was no more.

If she felt that bad, what could Arthur feel?

Zinnia felt sympathetic toward her comrade. She languidly stepped forward and touched Arthur's shoulder.

Just then, a strong gust of wind circled around Arthur and almost threw Zinnia off balance.

She quickly regained her balance and composed herself. She anxiously looked at him.

"Arthur, what are you doing? Don't do this. If you feel sad, you can cry and scream. We will be with you. We will always support you."

"…" Ironin lowered his gaze. He didn't bother to stop Arthur.

Who was he to stop his friend from mourning for his wife?

Zinnia's words made the winds even stronger. The wind circulated around Arthur who was still lowering his head. He looked like a defeated soldier who lost everything.

Ironin and Zinnia couldn't get close to their mourning friend. Their hearts throbbed as they gazed at him.

Soon, a purple light flashed, and Arthur vanished into thin air.

"Arthur!" Zinnia called out but he was nowhere.

"He is gone," Ironin confirmed.

"Hey! Hey! What just happened? I saw a light."

Darius finally caught up to them. His eyes darted around his two comrades.

"What's wrong? Did you not meet Arthur?" he inquired.

Zinnia let out a deep sigh.

"Arthur doesn't believe Veronica died. I think he went down there to look for Veronica's body. He won't stop until he finds her."

"So… she is dead…" Darius mumbled. He suddenly felt empty in his heart.

Veronica was half of his age. She was so lively and cheerful. She had a strong sense of justice. She was eager to learn.

It was hard to imagine that she wasn't alive.

He blankly stared at the edge of the cliff. "How can someone live after falling from here with two bloody arrows?"

"We would be alive, but her…" Zinnia bit down her lower lip.

"What did you do with the abducted elves?" Ironin changed the topic.

Darius answered, "What did I do? I handed them over to Felix's men. They will guide them in a safe spot. After recovering, they can contact their elf people and they will go to their land.

"But, shouldn't we go with them as well? Our mission was to take down that elf guy who killed many people. But now this…"

"Taking down the assassin elf wasn't our mission. It was Veronica's. If she isn't alive… what's the point?" Zinnia lowered her head.

"I think we should help Arthur look for her body. What if she is alive somehow?" she suggested.

However, Darius didn't want to back down.

"What if she is dead? Logically speaking, she should be dead. I know you are being emotional but think about it from my angle. If we catch the guy and punish him, her soul will rest in peace."

Zinnia took a deep breath. "…Maybe you are right. Her birthday is next week. She was supposed to turn twenty this year. The head body of that assassin would be a great gift."

"Right! Because of her birthday, we were trying to hurry to find her. We wanted her and Arthur to celebrate it together. Who would have thought…"

Darius felt regretful.

Two months ago, they found out that a certain group of kidnappers abducted elves and took them somewhere secret.

They thought they could help Veronica gather clues about elves. While they were looking for more information, she suddenly disappeared.

It took them three days to find out that she was kidnapped by those elves' abductors.

They didn't eat or sleep until they found out information regarding the abductors.

They followed the abductors' track and attacked them as planned.

But what did they get from their two months' hard work?

News of Veronica's unconfirmed death?

Why was Goddess Juvena so cruel to Her blessed child?