标题：Caught in the Tide
作者：CharmedReality
I knew what would happen.
Everyone was out on the battlefield fighting—trying their hardest, pushing their limits—and the entire time I was just watching the inevitable play itself out.
I'm not claiming to be psychic. I didn't know that von Walde would nearly get his ar***iced off. I didn't know Rufus would make a firebolt larger than a horse and stop an entire division with one blow. Actually, I'm still pretty surprised about that particular outcome.
No, I didn't know every specific detail, but I knew the gist of the story. "And so our heroes with their impressive stamina and zeal for battle, stood on the cusp of defeat before their leader did something completely stupid to save the day." I never was very good at writing happy endings. I guess that's why I read books and leave the authoring to others.
Everyone else seemed happy though. Well, wounded and dead not withstanding. It was a time for celebration. We had struck down the enemy by banding together under the direction of a rather convincing (okay, and not so hard to look at) leader.
I smiled at the feast. I smiled at the coronation. I smiled the night he pretended to be tipsy, so he could get away with kissing me.
There was nothing I could do to change the course the river wanted to follow, so why not smile? It was a good time for us, knowing that it would end didn't change that fact.
I was the first to notice the changes in him—not surprising given how much time we spent together. I knew the cause. And he eventually realized it too. I let him tell me when he was ready. I knew what he would want to do. There was no reason to rush it. And part of me hoped that maybe just this once I could be wrong.
I wasn't.
In the end it was all about balance. Good and evil. Gain and give. Happiness and sorrow. The natural order of things can be as oppressive as it can freeing—just another act of balance.
And so it was that our Shinou, the greatest hope, was merging with Soushu, the darkest plague upon our society, and he would once again sacrifice for his people.
Knowing what will happen doesn't make it any easier.
I ask myself if I know so damn much, then why am I so surprised I have chosen to serve him beyond this first life? Why chase myself into the future, saddling each life I live with the burden of knowledge?
Life's joke I suppose. I can predict the outcome of any number of actions, but I can't guess or control my own heart.
作者：CharmedReality
I knew what would happen.
Everyone was out on the battlefield fighting—trying their hardest, pushing their limits—and the entire time I was just watching the inevitable play itself out.
I'm not claiming to be psychic. I didn't know that von Walde would nearly get his ar***iced off. I didn't know Rufus would make a firebolt larger than a horse and stop an entire division with one blow. Actually, I'm still pretty surprised about that particular outcome.
No, I didn't know every specific detail, but I knew the gist of the story. "And so our heroes with their impressive stamina and zeal for battle, stood on the cusp of defeat before their leader did something completely stupid to save the day." I never was very good at writing happy endings. I guess that's why I read books and leave the authoring to others.
Everyone else seemed happy though. Well, wounded and dead not withstanding. It was a time for celebration. We had struck down the enemy by banding together under the direction of a rather convincing (okay, and not so hard to look at) leader.
I smiled at the feast. I smiled at the coronation. I smiled the night he pretended to be tipsy, so he could get away with kissing me.
There was nothing I could do to change the course the river wanted to follow, so why not smile? It was a good time for us, knowing that it would end didn't change that fact.
I was the first to notice the changes in him—not surprising given how much time we spent together. I knew the cause. And he eventually realized it too. I let him tell me when he was ready. I knew what he would want to do. There was no reason to rush it. And part of me hoped that maybe just this once I could be wrong.
I wasn't.
In the end it was all about balance. Good and evil. Gain and give. Happiness and sorrow. The natural order of things can be as oppressive as it can freeing—just another act of balance.
And so it was that our Shinou, the greatest hope, was merging with Soushu, the darkest plague upon our society, and he would once again sacrifice for his people.
Knowing what will happen doesn't make it any easier.
I ask myself if I know so damn much, then why am I so surprised I have chosen to serve him beyond this first life? Why chase myself into the future, saddling each life I live with the burden of knowledge?
Life's joke I suppose. I can predict the outcome of any number of actions, but I can't guess or control my own heart.
