I was excited. The figure looked somewhat like Kushana. Although the light was really dim in the den. The figure seemed to be throwing things into the den's fireplace.
"What are you doing there?" I asked.
"Just burning unimportant stuff." a familiar voice said. Not Kushana's. Darn, the voice was male, I could hear an elvish accent. The figure's head turned to face me. The light shone on the face to reveal the smiling face of KSki.
Now, KSki, he was a great friend. He was one of the first Knights to talk to me. Way back in my early days, I didn't know what was going on. KSki seemed like a nice guy, so I asked about the "Knightline". I was confused by all the messages in my head going back and forth right after I put on the golden amulet. He explained that each guild has their own "line". Messages are transmitted through certain objects you wear and you hear them in your mind. There are public and private line messages.
I was still confused, but he said I would get it eventually. And I did. I worked my way up. In my later days, he became a good pal to talk to about my troubles with Kushana. He even tried to find her, but it was no use. He suggested I move on, but I was unsure at the time. I'm still unsure right now. He later on adopted me into his family, so I was his brother by name.
"Ah, great to see you!" I said. I tried my best to hide my saddened voice.
But, KSki was always a good judge of people's moods. He knew something was wrong, and it was noticeable on his face. "Hmmm....you don't look too great though," he said.
I tried to avoid talking about it. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. Ya look and sound a bit sad. What's up?"
I knew I was in a position I couldn't win. "Ah, well you got me." I conceded.
"Then, what's the problem?"
"I've been thinking about her again."
"Her....by any chance is Kushana?"
I nodded. "You got it."
KSki sighed. "I can't believe you sometimes. I'm telling you, that isn't going to be good for you mentally."
"Well...I can't help it. It's my mind wandering. Whenever I got some time to myself, I get to thinking. And eventually I get to thinking about Kushana."
"It's hurting isn't it? Missing her so much?"
"Been since day one."
KSki shook his head in disbelief. "How come you haven't moved on yet? It's been a very long time, anybody else would have forgotten about her."
I honestly didn't know why I waited so long. Maybe because I loved her? Maybe because I didn't have anyone else? Hard question. "I...I just don't want to hurt her..." It was an answer to keep him occupied.
"Hurt her? For all you would know, she could be dead!"
The reality hit me hard when he said that. It had been very long since was last seen. She could be dead. I was waiting for something that would never happen. I didn't want to do it, but I broke down in front of KSki. I didn't cry, but I slowly fell to my knees. In shock.
KSki picked me up off the ground. "Okay, I'm forced to do this." he said.
I sniffed. "Do what?" I asked. I was a bit confused by what he meant.
"I'm going to take you off duty for now."
What he meant by going off duty was that I can't go out and fight in battle. "What the hell? Why are you doing that?" I asked in amazement.
KSki motioned for me to calm down. "Just for now. I can't risk sending you out into battle. If you get to thinking about Kushana again, you could end up with the front end of a sword in your back. You don't want to die just yet."
I sighed. I knew what he meant. If I broke down in battle, I would be good as dead. "Okay, I understand." I knew the basic procedure. I removed all my equipment and stuffed it all into a Knight's pack. I closed it and sealed it. It was a tight seal, but it would hold. I handed it to KSki and he placed it in the racks.
"I'll just pass this through the Elders and get it official. For now though, just forget about this Kushana problem. You work out your problems, and you can come back." KSki paused for a moment. He fooled around in his money pouch and handed me a few coins. "Here, go over to the local pub and have a good drink." KSki smiled at me.
I was a bit unsure of KSki's motives. "You doing this because you have to?"
"No, I'm doing it as a friend, brother, and above all, a fellow Knight. I don't want to see you get hurt out there." KSki said.
I thanked him and waved. He returned the wave, and went back to burning things. As I headed out the door, I noticed KSki take something out of his pack. It looked to me like a crossbow.
"Hey, what are you doing with that crossbow?" I ran back up to him. I was interested in using the crossbow. I was meaning to work on my marksmanship.
"Gonna burn it." KSki said.
"What?" I was shocked. The crossbow was a powerful weapon. Burning it would be a big waste.
"It's broken," he said. He pointed to the broken crossbow shaft. "It doesn't work, so I don't have any use for it."
"Well, give it to me then."
"You want it? Why?"
"Well, I may be no repairman, but I can work my way through weapons well. Might be able to repair it."
KSki snickered. "Sure, whatever. Okay, you can have it. I don't see anyway you could fix it." KSki handed me the broken crossbow. I thanked him, put the crossbow in my pack, and left the den.
I went up to my room, and looked out the window. The sun was just rising. The sunrise looked beautiful. I wondered though, if Kushana was seeing the same sun, somewhere.
