Thorjen Verse 5 - Choosing a company (Pt.1)

Thorjen

There’s a strange feeling of anxiety running through Thorjens bones. Those majestically shaped almond eyes of hers. He couldn’t quite place a finger on it. But she seemed so...familiar. As though now that she has appeared, a missing piece has finally been fulfilled.

‘This is strange.’ He thought to himself. He wasn’t quite sure what love meant at this stage in his life. He knew he did love his mother, as well as his friends. Threyja held some kind of unique space in heart, But Thorjen was assured that the so called ‘love.’ that many described as a crazed feeling wasn’t what he’d describe what was going on within him right between he and the Princess.

‘A princess...wants to meet me. But why?’

It was more curiosity than anything.

Whilst he struggled to form any clear audible responses to her starstruck gaze, she continued staring deep into his eyes without much to say. He heard someone nearby clearing her throat loudly.

“Well...this all looks fun, but I should be going” said Arya rising to her feet. Not forgetting to dust off the imaginary lint she believed she might’ve gathered by being seated for a short period of time.

“I only came here to thank you on y-your advice-ahem! I misjudged you, it looks as though you know a thing or two about sensing aura’s and it may have...helped me somewhat during my duel, there I've said my peace. So... thanks...and good luck.” Arya’s sheepish response draws a few arched brows from those listening. Thorjen noticed her cheeks slightly turned red as she realized all eyes were focused on her. She gave the princess one lasting look before proceeding towards the closed door. Only her path was suddenly blocked by the tall and large breasted lady with furry pink ears.

“Say you’ve got giant some blood in you don't you?” Ness asked with a curious glint within her eyes

“Ah-h-how-I-mean-n-y-yeah...why do you ask?” Arya stammered awkwardly in response

“Ahahaha I knew it I knew it. Walk with me for a little while. We’ve got some things to talk about.” Ness gave Arya no chance to refuse, swiftly wrapping her arm around the shorter girls shoulder before steering her towards the door. They were poised to leave when Ness seemed to have remembered something and quickly stopped on her heels. Her eyes peered back over her shoulder as they moved from Threyja to Thorjen before landing back on Threyja again.

“Hey you, why don’t you let them have some privacy for a while? He's not going anywhere you know.”

“Wh-why would I do that” Threyja responded with a scowl. Thorjen felt her arm coiling around his own a little tighter. Staring at her side profile, he could sense she didn’t want to let him go.

Ness exhaled a deep sigh, massaging her labella for a few moments before replying

“Listen. I get it, you haven’t seen your boyfriend in forever and you feel scared my beautiful Lana will take him away. I get it, and whilst it is very understandable you need to get a grip and believe in yourself.”

Thorjen almost choked on the little words he wanted to say, he turned slightly towards Threyja. Noticing her entire face turning beet red.

“That’s not...He’s not my...W-we’re...Just” Threyja almost looked resigned to her defeat, she lowered her eyes stealing subtle glances at Thorjen who wasn’t sure what to say in this situation.

‘I mean she just has to say no right? B-but why is she hesitating.’ Thorjen wondered, he felt his heart beating slightly quicker than it normally would. He wasn’t naive enough to not consider Threyja’s feelings. He had always played with the idea since they were little and spent most of their time together, but perhaps it had been the lengthy time they had spent apart. There was something real between them both, he felt it and wanted to understand it even more.

“Hmm now that I think about it, perhaps you might already have a boyfriend. Wait! Was it you who I saw inside of the stadium before? You kind of look familiar now that I think about it. I remember a green haired Elf coming out of the-”

“NO!” Threyja yelled abruptly, Thorjen was a little surprised by her sudden outburst. Her eyes even showed there was some sort of fear riddled within them as well.

‘Green haired Elf? I only know one Elf that fits that description. Marco?’ Thorjen turned his entire head towards Threyja. She could barely sit still now with a sudden lease of energy coursing through her bones.

“I mean n-no you must’ve been mistaken. I... don't have any boyfriend...yet.” Threyja gave Thorjen a knowing glance after she said those words. Thorjen felt his heart almost skip a beat. He even felt his own eyes trailing elsewhere in response.

“It’s alright Ness. She can stay if she wants. It bears no difference to me, just as long as Thorjen himself hears it.” Said the Princess gently. Ness’s two eyes opened slightly wider, she stood in silence for a few moments, her eyes eagerly pressed against the princesses profile.

“Sigh, as you wish Lana. I’ll be outside. Come on then little miss I have a proposition for you hehe” Ness soon left the room making sure she dragged the belligerent Arya along with her.

After the pair had left a stiff silence appeared in the room between the trio. Thorjen took a look towards the princess, her eyes seemed to be carrying a weighted burden. Over the years he had seen his mother with the same look drawn across her gaze. But then he couldn’t ignore just how pretty she was too, out of all the women he had met both her and Threyja were perhaps the most beautiful he had ever seen.

Then he shifted his gaze towards Threyja, she looked a little annoyed about something. Troubled even. But he still couldn’t believe how mature and beautiful she had gotten in only a year. Every chance he got to look at her he made sure to admire her beautiful features.

‘I cant be in love...c-can I?’

He found his mind drifting into a state of constant thought concerning things he hadn’t thought about in such a long time.

“Ahem! I guess I should start.” Said Princess Lana, she creased a broad smile which was perhaps the most picturesque scene of a beautiful maiden that Thorjen had ever seen.

“Thorjen do you believe in the fates?” She surprisingly asked him with a clear expression, devoid of the previous shyness she had shown him earlier.

Thorjen suddenly recalled his childhood. The day his mother took him to see the elders of the Azure sect. Their words remained bound to his heart strings since that very day. He was said to be a child of the fates, a boy with a destiny entwined with the future of the world. To him though, he merely inherited a power he had no idea how to control. A few years ago, he had just about given up on trying to understand what being a child of fates entailed. But somehow, he could never truly run away from it.

“I... I think I do.” He replied honestly.

He saw the princess' face brighten from his response.

“G-good! Because I believe we are both fated to play a role in the future days ahead.” The princess shuffled her body closer to his own, Thorjen watched silently whilst she clasped his hand between her two dainty fingers. He was surprised at first, but then felt sightly concerned.

‘So... warm?’ almost too warm, borderline being hot to be precise' which caused him to understand she may be suffering from some kind of illness.

“H-hey what are you...” Threyja voiced nervously

“Hehe don’t be alarmed; I just think it might be easier to show you rather than explain. You can feel it too cant you? I suffer from an illness known as the red lotus Yang disease. It's something which appears once every few thousands of years, it means I cant control my Qi flow. And when I attempt to do so, I am at danger of dispelling too much in one go. I was told by the wise folk from the Mages guild, that there is only one other disease as fatal as my own. They call it-”

“The Cold Ying meridian disease...I...I’ve suffered from that since I was a little boy” He replied, this time both Threyja and Lana looked visibly shocked by what that revelation may mean. The princess recovered much quicker than Threyja did, and couldn’t hold herself back from lightly chuckling beneath her dainty hands covering her mouth.

“My visions are never wrong...I see.” her words struck a suspicious look from Threyja. Thorjen uncomfortably shifted on the bed, Threyja’s grip against his arm changed from delicate to slightly painful at times.

‘Why am I being punished for?’ He smiled awkwardly trying to not show he noticed her slight scowl.

“I... until recently I haven't been able to cultivate. Although I can understand martial forms and somewhat mimic them almost down to a tee. My meridians were...blocked.”

“Wait! You can cultivate Thorj? How? What happened to you?” asked Threyja.

He looked at Threya. Her gaze moistened as he could tell she was fighting the tears back again, even the princess remained quiet, eagerly staring at him with slight concern within her perfectly shaped gaze.

‘Sigh...well here goes nothing.’

Thorjen started to narrate to them all the things which happened to him, he still wasn’t comfortable with discussing the time he had spent trapped in that cave beside the guardian of chaos. Instead, he described a fictious encounter with an elder monk, who passed on a mysterious art to him which would help aid his cultivation. Threyja could hardly believe it when he told her that, she jumped onto his painful body again, hugging him with all her might whilst she thanked the Guardians for granting him such fortune. He felt somewhat guilty about lying, but he understood it might be best for now.

He spoke about the band of knights he encountered soon after leaving the cave but omitted the true nature of their gathering. And how he followed them on a quest in hopes of earning enough money to purchase a seat on a traveler's cart to transport him to the gates of the Lucien kingdom. Of course, they held no reason to doubt his story, but what surprised Thorjen the most. Was how easily he found it to lie all of a sudden.

Nevertheless, the revelation about his blocked meridians had changed the mood completely. Threyja couldn’t stop singing praises to the guardians and revealing her plans of finally journeying with him and Julien across the mainland to fulfil the dreams they all held as youths.

Speaking of Julien.

“Where is he?” thorjen asked

“I’m not too sure, I haven't seen Julien much these days. But don’t worry, I’m sure he’s working hard. I heard he joined a band which your mother is currently part of Thorj! They are known as the white tusk company, they are pretty respected, and in terms of strength not too far away compared to the Crusaders. He’s going to be so happy to see you...alive Thorj.” Every time she mentioned that, her eyes glazed with tears again. Thorjen found it heartwarming, he had truly made them suffer for so long it seems.

‘I wonder how mother will react to seeing me.’ There was a knot in his chest about that. He couldn’t imagine the pain he had caused his mother over this past year. Since his father had disappeared when he was still only a few days old, it had always been just him and his mother. He sighed beneath his breath hoping all of this would one day be worth it in the end.

The princess looked to be in deep thought once he finally placed his gaze upon her. “So you want to become a knight?” she finally said.

“uh-y-yes I...I do- want to become a knight.” He answered spiritedly in the end.

“Hmm...I’m not sure you know this but. Usually after a squire completes his duel, its custom for one of the trainy knights in attendance to approach you and offer you their services at a very base fee. This usually helps you draft into a company more easier as you get stronger. B-but...” The princess lowered her gaze, Thorjen could tell she was hiding something. So naturally he turned his attention towards Threyja for answers.

“Sigh. Well, it goes like this Thorj. Your duel ended in quite a strange manner. I...I thought you lost in truth. To no fault of your own! Trust me that no good knight doesn’t know the meaning of restraint. And its actually what’s weird about it...”

The princess continued where Threyja trailed off.

“After you lost consciousness, bizarrely the judge still rewarded you with the merit, on the count of the knight using his advanced level gear during the final moments. Which you’re never supposed to do during a trainee’s duel. So due to the laws of the event. You won.”

‘Wait...I-I won?’ Thorjen could hardly believe it, he wasn’t sure what took place during the final moments of that duel. He could vaguely remember drawing some kind of inspiration from his training with mastramundus, but after that things were a blur moving forward. He felt a brief moment of gladness within her heart but at the same time, he wondered why the pair didn’t share the same sentiments as he does currently.

“Haha well a win is a win I guess, but why are you both still showing me those sad eyes for.”

Threyja’s gaze slightly twitched, “O-oh Thorj” she said in distress. The Princess was fidgeting with the hem of her oversized gown as she spoke.

“By now you should’ve received some offers from the knights in attendance. Which means...”

“N-no one deems you worthy enough to train Thorj...I'm so sorry.” Threyja gently said brokenly.

‘Ouch! So that’s how it is...just when I thought I had made progress. I was quickly brought down to reality again. Ha! Typical.’

The mood dampened for a short while. Thorjen stared at his body covered with a white shawl to keep his injured body warm. ‘Have I truly not made any progress? I’ve tried so hard but I'm still falling behind everyone else.’ Whilst his mind sunk into a self-depressed state his hands balled into a fist. Anger started to brew in the pits of his stomach like a cold rousing white flame.

Thorjen felt a warm touch against his white knuckles. He flinched slightly, soon realizing it was Princess lana placing her hand on top of his own. He couldn’t get over how warm her hands felt.

She wore a perfect smile as she said to him delicately.

“Don’t be sad about it. I...I have a plan. I want to help you Thorjen and I believe there is a way you can still realize your dreams.”

‘H-how? Without the proper tutelage from an official Gold ranked knight raised by the kingdom, the Queen wont recognize him.” Said Threyja with concern

“That is true, so then why don’t we find him a Gold Rank recognized by the kingdom who will do exactly that? In fact, I know one who would be more than happy to play the role of ‘teacher.’ Fufufu” the princess’ creased a deviant smirk.

“Only...in regards to the laws, we will also need a Golden ranked knight to act as a sponsor. Basically, someone who isn’t your trainer that can vouch for the legitimacy of our company. Sigh...I’m not on friendly or favorable terms with those Holy Wielders, else they would’ve been the perfect bet. Hmm...I wonder where we can find a Holy Ranked knight who can help us.”

Thorjen remembered what they told him about Golden Rank knights, there wasn’t many of them and the majority of those who were known, were already underneath the thumb of the royal family. ‘Which means we need a somewhat rogue Golden Rank knight who isn’t bound to the kingdom. But where could we find such a fellow.’ he wondered.

Whilst both he and Lana were in deep thought, Thorjen noticed Threyja was making an uncomfortable face. She looked almost in pain whilst slightly...aroused? The sheer thought of the latter made his cheeks turn warm so he swiftly shook his head in order to dispel his lewd thoughts away.

“Threy? Whats on your mind.” He asked her, Threyja snapped out of her daydream. She looked rather surprised all of a sudden which seemed kind of odd to Thorjen.

‘Wonder what she was thinking about.’

“Oh Miss Elf do you have any suggestions?” Lana asked seemingly sensing something

“Erm...wel...I...i might...” Her gaze seemed troubled which started to rouse a questioning discomfort within his stomach.

“Thorj...I...I think I know someone who can help. Sigh...You might not like this but...M-marco. He’s recently become a Golden ranked knight. Perhaps...if we ask him quickly, he might be able to sponsor us.” Her voice sounded so small he barely could hear her, but Thorjen heard that name. And he first felt annoyance overtaking his gentle mood.

‘M-marco? Golden rank?’ The shock was evident as his gaze widened as he stared emptily into the air.

“Alright! That sounds like a good idea Threyja. I take it you’re both rather...acquainted with the kingdom’s newly crowned 14th Holy wielder? Whatever your history try not to overthink it Thorjen. We only need his input in name. Afterall, who expects a Holy Gear wielder to tag along with low ranked quests.”

Thorjen felt honored she was looking out for him like this, but it did strike him as curious as to why she was going out of her way to help him so much. 'Marco's gone so far ahead...and why would Threy suggest we ask him anyway? they were not that close before on the blue mountain.'

“Thank you…P-princess. But pardon me for asking, but why are you going out of your way to help my misfortune’s?” Especially since he knew she was burdened with her own. Thorjen couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it all.

“You can call me Lana firstly. Secondly, I’m not completely doing this out of the kindness of my heart Thorjen. I too have my own dreams, and…and I feel as though empowering you to become stronger might help me realize those dreams. I haven’t told many people this besides Ness, b-but…I want…I want to start my own company!”

“Ehh!” Threyja sounded

That was not what Thorjen expected to hear from the princess at all. But judging by her awkwardness and her inability to sit still, he could tell this meant a lot to her.

“I know what you’re both thinking. Why would a Princess that supposedly has it all would want to start a company right? Considering the amount of resources needed to sustain one, it must sound crazy to you right?”

Both Thorjen and Threyja exchanged a knowing look.

“N-no it’s not strange. It’s just unexpected.” Said Threyja, “ I imagine with the powers the royals have at their disposal, knights and companies wouldn’t be something a Princess would concern herself with…”

“Sigh I know…but perhaps if you understood truly what my life looked like you might feel differently.” She said slightly downcast. Thorjen could sense Threyja was unsure of what to say next. So he took it upon himself to chime in.

“I think its amazing Pri…I mean Lana. It must be hard enough to build your own company let alone to do it whilst being a Princess. Not many people would have the guts to go through it.” His words looked to have stroked her well, he noticed that previous look of worry gently fleeting away from her gaze.

“Th-thank…for calling me Lana.” She lowered her head after saying that so Thorjen couldn’t quite see what kind of face she wore, but he did notice the tips of her ears turning red.

Once Lana’s mood had gotten better, both he and Threyja listened intently to her plan in regards to starting a company with Thorjen spearheading its development. Lana understood the best way to get things started would be to earn resources. Only without the numbers, doing this would take a lot of time. It was getting late so Lana decided on continuing their discussion tomorrow, she also promised to introduce the Gold Rank trainer she had in mind to Thorjen. Not long afterwards the princess said her fair wells and left the duo alone.

Now that it was just he and Threyja, Thorjen felt slightly nervous for a strange reason. There was so much he wanted to say to her. ‘I need to tell her about Geary…b-but how will she take it.’ Thorjen had never been this nervous in a long tine. It was strange feeling this way around one of the few people he felt comfortable to be around the most. ‘I guess maybe our relationship isn’t simply just childhood friendship anymore?’

Each time he stole a glance at Threyja he could tell she was pondering over some things. Her eyes reflected a mixture of anxiety, shyness and surprisingly sadness.

“Threyja is everything alright?”

Her hand slightly tensed, “y-yeah, it’s just…so much has happened. I can’t believe you’re alive Thorjen, and…there’s been a lot of changes within me too. I’ve got so much I need to tell you but…lets wait. Now that we’ve been reunited. We have all the time in the world to do this right.”

“Do this right?” He replied slightly confused

“Hehehe you’re still so naïve. This should convey my feelings properly.” She leant in closer and kissed him passionately against his lips. Thorjen was stunned by Threyjas sudden forwardness that he queried whether or not this was the girl he had grown up beside. The kiss lasted for a few seconds before Thorjen felt inclined to slightly pull away.

“Th-threy…I need to tell you something. You see the time I spent with that band I mentioned before …I met someone. Her name was Geary and…and we-“

“Thorjen!” She snapped abruptly which held Thorjens words stuck in his mouth

“Do-don’t…heh it’s ok is what I mean to say. Whatever has happened was in the past. There’s no reason for us to allow those matters to disturb our future day’s ahead. I will always love you in my heart Thorj…th-that’s all that matters.”

He felt a wave of joy filling his stomach like never before. The implications of Threyja’s words were like a thunderbolt striking him. Before he could compose himself enough to say something. Theyja swiftly rose to her feet and scurried away towards the door. Thorjen could still smell her fragrance lingering in the air once she had left his side. Just before departing Threyja made sure she told him to rest well for the night. She promised to be back here at the earliest of dawn.

Thorjen was finally left on his lonesome. He felt a hefty weight finally unloaded off his shoulders now. His dreams, his loved ones, the new faces he had met. His mind was filled with a constant influx of these different things. At the route of it all he reflected on the guardian of chaos, and the little red bead he housed within his body.

'Would they understand if I told them the truth? Or will I lose them too, the same way I’ve lost everything else? He wondered and reflected until sleep softly drew him into the abyss of his dreams.