Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been a question which had loomed in his mind since he had seen Aurora Namid. Of course, it loomed in a manner where it would just rather suddenly pop in, and as soon as he felt that he had properly ignored and forgotten the sentiment, there it was again to further remind him of what he had done.

By the time he had come home from "work," his mother was ready to sit and watch him like a hawk for the evening. It made it difficult for him to go seeking out some clarity on the events of the day.

However, every person needed to go to sleep at some point. Feigning exhaustion, Howl slipped into his bedroom. It was unlikely his mother would go checking in on him. There were only two ways out. He could exit was through the room she was sitting in that very moment (reading a romance novel), or he could attempt taking a several story drop out his own window. He suspected Mother was quite smug, thinking she had effectively prevented her son from going out and reeking havok upon the world.

The woman indulging herself in romance was not aware that magic had a factor in all of this and effectively trumped her assumptions. It simply took a shift to his Squire's uniform and a quietly recited oath, and the lad had the change of scenery he had sought out.

Familiar enough with the surroundings of his wonder, the Squire easily turned to avoid sight of the waters surrounding the space and began to walk purposefully to the painting at the wall. His gloved fingers easily pressed the damaged portions into their proper place to reveal the face of his Princess.

Just seeing her face was enough to soothe him for a brief moment, allowing him to take in a cooling breath to his lungs. "....Princess...." he uttered softly, the emotion he typically cut from his usual manner of speaking seeming to all bleed out of his mouth now.

"...please... tell me... the senshi.... she was wrong, right? You did not skip out on reincarnation... you have come back to us..." His fingers curled against the canvas, causing one corner of a tear to loosen a bit. "...Have I been deluding myself, Princess? Has.... has it all been for naught?" What had he been fighting for if she wasn't there?

He leaned in close to the painting, but before he could say another word, another voice drifted in.

"What do you think you are doing, young Squire?"

Turning as if he had just been caught doing something rather embarrassing, the lad found himself facing the familiar spirit that loomed throughout this place. The ghost's expression read as something serious and disapproving. Minding his manners, Howl stood himself up to his feet. "...I... I was not expecting you to join me this evening, Ancestor..." he said in a vaguely flustered tone as he dusted off his pants.

The tone of the spirit was sharp. "I am always here, young Squire. You may not see me, but I see everything that happens here. Now, please answer my question!"

Offering an apologetic smile, the current bearer of the title "Nysa" attempted an explanation. "I came here to clear my head, Ancestor. I have come across many challenges while attempting to uphold my duties as a Squire, and sometimes I come here to try and get some clarity..."

"...and defile my paintings with your lips...?"

The Squire's face turned quite red upon being called out about his previous venture to this place. He didn't dare ask how the spirit knew, since the spirit had just finished explaining the exact reason. He was always here. "I apologize for that... but... the Princess has been my inspiration... my muse... she is what I am fighting for. I have lost my weapon trying to defend her name..."

"Lost?"

"Yes, lost my weapon. It broke in the midst of battle, so I have been unable to defend myself since then."

The spirit moved forward, his eloquent cape billowing behind him as he moved. Folding his arms behind him, the lad's ancestor instructed "Summon your weapon."

The lad's eyes widened at the instructions. He was not going to talk back to the deceased, since it was like talking back to one's elders. Extending his hand to his side, he concentrated upon bringing forth his weapon. He already was anticipating he was going to have to pick up a million little shell pieces off of the floor when the handle appeared between his fingers. When his gloved fingers dared to wrap about the base, the rest formed, the blade glowing as it grew until it was completely formed once more.

"....wait... how in the world?" The squire moved the weapon about in his hand, inspecting it completely. It was like new again. He had witnessed the demise of the weapon, so how could it be here like nothing had ever happened?

The spirit did not seem nearly as impressed. "I will tell you what I think is going on here. I think you are a presumptuous child, just assuming that you know how everything is and how it works. Assuming that just because your weapon had seen hard times in a battle, it was no longer of use to you. Assuming that your whole purpose is to find a woman who once was in line to rule this world..."

Dismissing his weapon now that he knew it was still capable of defending him, the Squire boldly stated "I am destined to be with the Princess!"

The spirit did not take kindly to the interruption, seeming to lunge out with the back of his hand and swiping at the Squire's cheek. Had the Ancestor been flesh and blood, a rather loud slapping sound would have echoed through the room. However, having no body of his own, his hand passed right through the Squire's face, leaving the living one with a slight chill in his cheek where he should have been slapped.

"Learn your place!!! You are a Squire and she is a princess!" The ghost's voice had grown past harsh and now was literally shouting at the living soul. "Stop pretending to be a lovesick boy and do your duty! A knight is never destined to be with a Princess. A Princess marries a Prince, not a Knight!!"

The teal-haired squire lifted a hand and rubbed a gloved hand over the spot that should have been slapped. His eyes glanced back to the painting, the Princess' face no longer visible since he no longer was there to hold the pieces in place. "...Pray tell, Ancestor.... what are my duties? I... just feel so lost..."

The spirit seemed satisfied that he had managed to make some progress, so he paused to take off his monocle and seemingly wipe it off. When he put it back in place, he took a less harsh tone. "Alas... I am not on Earth right now, so I cannot assess the situation as to why you would awaken in service to Neptune. However, the duty of all knights is to serve and protect those of the Silver Millenium. It is not just limited to serving one Princess, but extended to all who lived in that time of peace. We existed to preserve the peace."

With a gesture, the ghost beckoned "Come..." as he began to make his way towards the dreaded window to the ocean.

When the Squire hesitated, the spirit mentioned "Please do not tell me you are going to faint again..."

"...I... I am not able to swim..."

"I assure you, the glass will not break if it has not broken over the thousand years it has been there."

Cautiously, the Squire made his way to the window, looking out to the overgrown gardens just outside. As he gazed over the plantlife, the spirit continued with his explanation.

"My duties here at this outpost were to tend to paperwork and to the gardens. I was never the sort of soldier that was sent to the front lines. Instead, I wrote treaties to maintain alliances. And the gardens you see out there were my duty to maintain. This area was used to grow the various foods we needed for this planet. However, I made certain that it all looked aesthetically pleasing.... unlike this attrocious overgrown jungle..."

The Squire still felt quite queasy looking out, but the explanation seemed to settle the nerves inside of him. "...this is why my weapon was a quill pen to start with... correct? Your duties were as a negotiator, not a warrior."

"This is correct... I learned to use the sword for sport, not for battle."

No longer able to look at the garden and the watery surroundings without buckling, the present Nysa turned around to face away. There was silence for a moment before he offered "...I apologize for acting out of line, Ancestor. I did not mean to disgrace the sanctity of this wonder..."

"...just make sure to learn your place, Young Squire..."

Nysa turned to face the spirit as it spoke, but by the time the elusive statement had been made, the spirit had faded out of sight for now.

However, now he knew that the previous title bearer was still present in spirit. The lad glanced to the painting now at the other side of the room. Before he could even take half a step, his own internal voice told him one word.

...No...

His ancestor had a point. It had taken a long time for him to even understand his place, but now he knew his place was not as the Princess' partner.

There were still some uncertainties nagging at the back of his mind, but lingering in this wonder would not do him any good now. For now, he retreated, reciting his oath to go back to his bedroom on Earth.

He would have plenty to think about for the next day.