It’s Mia

I immediately recognize Mia when I see her. She still has her hair the same as half a year ago. She has also exchanged her leather armor for chain mail, but kept the metal plates covering her left arm and shoulder.

“Darx!” She yells with a big smile on her face.

She quickly runs into my direction and I can do nothing but smile and hold my arms open for her as she embraces me in a hug.

“I am so happy you’re here, Darx. I missed you.” Mia says.

“I missed you too, my love.” I say as I embrace her in return and give her a kiss on the cheek.

Mia then pulls away from me and I notice how behind her a handsome guy in metal armor is approaching.

“Darx, let me introduce you.” She says excitedly. “This is Roland. He’s the guy who saved me during that bandit ambush a few months back.”

Then Mia turns to Roland and says. “Roland, this is Darx. He’s the guy I’ve been telling you so much about.”

I extend my hand to Roland and say, “Thank you so much, Roland. You have no idea how much I appreciate you saving Mia that day.”

Roland shrugs and says, “Eh, I was just looking out for a fellow guild member. Its what successful guilds do. Guilds whose members don’t look out for one another have a tendency of becoming low tier and then go bust after a while.”

Then Roland shakes my hand and continues, “Thank ‘you’ for being such a great friend to Mia all this time.”

I smile and shake my head thinking, “Sorry dude, but I am more than just a friend.”

“So, Darx. How did your awakening go?” Mia asks excitedly. “You simply MUST have an awesome result. Otherwise they wouldn’t have kept you in the castle. Are you a B ran? Or A? I doubt you’re S, cause if you were the whole city would already be talking about you. Your class too! What is it? Please, tell me.”

“Yeah, about that.” I say hesitantly. “It’s a little complicated. I seem to have some very rare results. How about we discuss it over a drink. Just you and me. It’s been so long since we’ve last been on a date.”

But when I mention the word ‘date’ I notice Mia turns her gaze away from me.

Roland also notices me using the word and turns to Mia.

“You got to be joking.” He says to Mia in an annoyed voice. “You didn’t tell him?”

Mia turns to her friend and says, “Roland, not now.”

“No, Mia.” Roland tells her sternly. “I don’t want you stringing him along. He has a right to know.”

“Roland, this is not the time.” Mia says with an unusually nervous voice for her.

“No. Either you tell him or I will.” Roland tells Mia.

“Tell me what? What’s going on?” I ask as I look at both of them.

Mia sighs then turns to me.

“Darx … you know how sometimes you plan things out, but then things don’t turn out the way you planned it?” Mia starts to explain.

She is unusually trepidatious. Mia is rubbing her hands together and has a difficult time looking me in the eyes. Why is Mia being like this?

“Well, it’s kinda like that. See, ever since that day Roland saved my life, we have been very good friends.”

I don’t like where this is going.

“Mia …” I ask fearfully. “What happened.”

“See, we were just being friends. Nothing more.” Mia continues her explanation. I notice a hint of fear appearing on her face just before she lowers her gaze. “But you were so far away and … Roland was right here and …”

When Mia looks up, I see her eyes have gotten all moist.

“I didn’t plan it, you know.” Mia defends herself. “I simply didn’t think it would happen. Even I didn’t notice how quickly it went. But then one day …”

Mia takes a moment to rub the tears out of her eyes. She then takes a breath before she continues.

“And then I thought that if I told you in my letters you might give up on becoming an adventurer and would never have your awakening and I would never …”

Mia constantly extending her explanation with more and more excuses finally gets too much for me.

I raise my voice and say, “Mia! Tell me what happened!”

Mia then takes another deep breath and presses her lips together. Tears fill her eyes again and her lips are quivering. Then she shatters my world.

“Roland and I are dating.”

I … couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Mia and I … we were a couple. She loved me. We have been together. I have waited to be with her again for a whole 6 months. And now that I am here, we suddenly aren’t any more? I felt like time stopped. I think I stopped breathing for a bit too.

“Darx, please don’t look at me like that.” Mia says, breaking me out of my trance.

“You don’t love me anymore?” I say weakly.

“I still care about you.” Mia replies.

“You said we would be together forever.” I tell her, still in a weak voice.

“Darx, I …” Mia tries to speak but I don’t let her.

“You wrote it in your letters!” I interrupt her with the strength of a sudden anger. “I stayed faithful to you! I trusted you!” I say every sentence louder and angrier than the previous. And as I start yelling at my cheating girlfriend tears start to form in her eyes.

“Please, Darx. Don’t be like this.”

Then my anger boiled over and I yelled, “YOU’RE JUST LIKE AMELIA!!!”

The shock of pain and surprise on Mia’s face reveals to me that she did not take that accusation well. It is clear it hurt her to hear me say that. But I didn’t care. All I wanted was to get out of here. I turn my back to Mia and start walking to the castle gates. I had to be alone.

As I start walking away, I hear Mia call out my name. I knew that if she stopped me, I would only shout even more at her. Knowing how feisty she can be, I expect she would probably shout back at me. I have no interest in this. So, I start running.

Despite Mia pleading me to stop, I run into the castle. The guards won’t allow her to follow me in here. As I run through the hall’s, I think back of all the happy times I’ve had with Mia. Adventuring in the forest, making love in the mossy clearing, training together during our last week before she left. I recall all the promises she made. About adventuring and retiring together. Returning to our village to have a family. Now all of that seems fake. If she can cheat on me like that, did she ever truly love me to begin with?

It is only when I am out of breath and need to stop to breathe that I notice my face is wet with tears. I turn around and … I have no idea where I am. While running through the castle I made so many turns, both left and right. I am so lost.

I rest against a wall and let myself slide down. I think about where I am, how I got here and why I did it. Clearly, I am just a huge fool. Just some dumb kid who can’t even keep his girlfriends. First Amelia, and now Mia.

I sit there for a while, feeling sorry for myself. Then I hear someone nearby call my name.