CHAPTER II: XYDANE
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The breeze slightly brushed the leaves against one another in the mid-day sun. For Xydane, it had been over a year since he last traveled outside Coerthas and the warmth of the sun was now something alien to him. Slowly taking off his right glove, the knight raised his hand towards the sun and spread his fingers. The gentle wind glided between his fingers and carried an affection that reminded him of many things so long ago. A life he yearned for but have now learned to forget. Frowning, Xydane placed his gauntlet back on and pressed his black metal claws together as he quietly walked towards the girl's house in the Lavender Beds.
Clover Blake.
Even after a year, even after breathing in death when the dragon brought him and his brother off the cliffs during the Dravanian siege on the Gates of Judgement, even after succumbing to the voices that gave him reason to grow in power...
... Xydane would never forget her. No, she had always been in his thoughts. The girl who found him many years ago, nearly dead on the outskirts of Gridania, was the girl who showed him compassion, kindness, and resembled everything about his murdered love, Rose Leon.
The housing community was lively as usual with people going about with their normal lives - a life so different and distant than his. Watching a family attend to their gardens for a minute, Xydane couldn't help but envy the scene. Their lives were not tainted by the horrors of war, murder, loss, pain, and suffering. No, their lives were peaceful, warm, and happy.
The knight turned away, placing his hood back down and continued with his steps. Finally at Clover's residence, Xydane stopped and stared at the wooden door. Exhaling deeply, the knight looked down to see his right hand gripped tightly in a fist and shaking. Was it that he was nervous? What was it? Xydane had hoped for a chance when he could sneak out the borders of Ishgard and travel southwest - back to a place that seemed to carry him away from everything he hated and despised. He struggled to remember a room with chairs by the fireplace and shelves filled with books and stories. What he could never forget was the rare smile that the girl had for she never smiled often. Her heart, however, was always kind.
Inhaling the fresh air, Xydane knocked loudly on the door twice and waited.
And he waited.
Again, he knocked.
And once more, he waited... and waited... and waited until minutes more passed.
The breeze grazed against what little skin shown and suddenly, pain shot throughout his entire body. He raised a hand to his breastplate and snarled, clutching his chest in agony.
What was this, he thought? Disappointment? What he yearned for, what he came for, was nonexistent. He had traveled to see her, well aware of the consequence if he was to be caught, only to have whatever little hope that remained in his soul crushed and destroyed.
His expression unpleasant, he turned around and quickly walked off, staring at the ground while doing so. As he stormed further up the road, a small ball bounced and gently tapped him on the foot. Ceasing in his steps, Xydane watched as a small boy from the family he saw earlier came forward with joy and laughter to retrieve his runaway ball. Gently, the small boy picked up the ball and looked at Xydane with curiosity that belonged only to an innocent child. When Xydane had ran across children in his travels, even when he carried an expression of grief, the children were always willing to make him smile.
But no, not this time.
Instead, the child looked up and saw only a monster.
