5 The Undestined Lovers

Laquadia stared at the starry sky lost on what happened 30 years ago. It was a perfect pair to admire the picturesque sky of Cosignas with his royal blue robe. The dragons that were embroidered with it made the beautiful blooming flowers dance with veneration. In fact, most of these flowers were so rare that they were worth fortunes in the market. That's why they belonged in his private garden inside the grounds of the Ice Imperial Palace.

He preferred to be in this place whenever he felt stressed, and today was not an exception. The lovely scent of flowers that were mixed in with the swaying spring air made the surroundings have that romantic ambiance. The memories that were playing in his mind made the petals and pollens flew in the air forming a gorgeous face of a woman.

How he disliked these plants when they read his thoughts. In fact, some of them had developed sentience more ingenious compared to insects. However, this one made him smile slightly. Laquadia could never forget the last moments he had with the only woman he loved. He wanted to see her again but there were too many things that made it complicated for them to even make eye contact. She was the woman whom he thought would be a perfect wife and a mother to their children, but it was such a bitter delusion.

He paused and replayed again, paused, stopped, zoomed in and out whenever he saw the woman's image in his memories. Whatever he played in his mind, he couldn't take the voice away. 'Find her, tell her your plans, and say sorry,' said his conscience. Laquadia pushed and pulled the air inside him before he called his servant and ordered him to find the woman who was now in the Empire. He felt roots grew from his feet before the servant came back and told him the exact location where the woman was. Knowing it, Laquadia vanished and reappeared at the back of a tall, gorgeous woman on the balcony of her private suite. The woman was lifting her head, admiring the starry night sky of Jandeim City, the Capital of the Kingdom of Gloessa.

Her long golden hair was the wind's student in a ballet class: very fine, elegant and grand. Her curvaceous figure only deserved to be dressed by priceless silks and stones. The phoenix spinning around her chest all the way down to her waist entices Laquadia's eyes. His mind was immediately filled with temptation and dream of forever.

'She never let me down,' he thought when he saw her stunning figure. His hands itched to hold every part of her and her fragrance, 'Oh someone, stop me.'

"Serah..." His voice, how she missed and craved to hear it again. There and then, her soul was filled with longing and grief. One man stopping himself to hug a Goddess on his view. While the Goddess stopped herself from doing the same. A perfect resemblance of a couple destroyed by misfortune and chaos.

For the first time in 30 years, she heard her name spoken by the familiar voice she could never forget. Her fiery green eyes were drowned by her tears. She hated his timing but she loved the moment. "Daniel, it's been a long time," she said it calmly, but he knew behind her calmness was fragile compassion of love, broken by fate. Serah doesn't have the will to turn her back. She knew when she did, she would forget everything she came here and ran with this man at the ends of the Universe.

"Why?" How Laquadia wanted to slap himself with blades for asking that unthinkable word. However, what had been spoken had already been heard. Serah's bones and nerves erupted with unprecedented anger powered by her unyielding heart. This time, she got her reason to turn back and forget running away with this God, she now regretted loving him. Laquadia saw how her eyes tortured and murdered him, however, her traitorous tears said something different.

She wiped those tears away and that was left, was deep remorse on her face. "So, you believe them?! I thought you are in our side, my side, but... How presumptuous of me!" she shouted, furiously.

"I always believed in you, Serah. I don't care what anyone thought. I just wanted you to know that I am with you and I love you," Laquadia said walking towards her, wanting to wipe those tears on her face. His eyes only said one thing, 'I'll do everything for you.'

"Jadasians will think that you are a retard protecting the alleged spy in blasting your Armada Command Ship! Of course, you are my target! You are an imbe..." she said sarcastically but was cut by Laquadia.

"It's true... you know what, I can be an imbecile, an idiot or even the most stupid person you'll ever know because I am doing this for you... for us."

Laquadia spoke those words without holding any feelings he wanted her to know. All those years that he thought he had forgotten her was a lie that made him realize how much he still loved her.

"For us?!" Serah returned the words he just said with an incensed expression. "Us?! Now you're talking about us?! I can never predict that attitude of yours! Stop, saying about us! There's no reason for you to say that word again!" Serah added looking at him angrily and her chest was now going up and down from the furiousness she was experiencing.

"I have waited for more than 30 years, Serah. I might be a God of Mischief, War, and Destruction but I am also a weak man who had fallen so deeply with a gorgeous woman," said Laquadia, he didn't wipe her tears, instead, he grabbed her right hand putting it in the area where his heart was at. "Can you feel that? That's how I wanted you, I cared for you..." he stopped on those lines. 'I am willing to give up everything,' he wanted to add. "Trust me," he said instead.

"Daniel, please don't make my life go round. You might love me today but tomorrow is another day. Let's forget each other and move on," Serah said casually and pulled her hands strongly away from him.

"Serah, don't you love me anymore?" Laquadia asked her swallowing his throat. Asking her this question was one of the hardest things he had ever done.

"The enmity between us after my race had been wrongly accused of doing such a lousy act was insurmountable! I was like a retard hopeful that you were in our side and was the dumbest thing I ever did!" Serah answered him instead and slapped her right hand on his face full force and continued with her remorse, "It really hurts me to the deepest part of my life, Daniel! You don't know how I feel on those 'more than 30 years' you are talking about!"

The slap she gave meant nothing, only wanted him to give up what he was planning to do. She wanted to end them, this instance, this moment, and in this place. She had no reason left to hang onto a thin thread Laquadia was trying to protect. If it ends now, so be it.

"Now that I learned that this 'great' Empire of yours had declared war against my people, let us forget about us! Believe me, there's never an us..."

"There's nothing more to talk about. Remember, you're the only woman I'll ever love. I don't care about the ACS or the death of my subjects. I love you and I know it's true from that day until today. I'll see you soon," Laquadia said cutting what Serah had to say in a very placid tone staring at the wild starry yonder.

"Why haven't you searched for me after that, Daniel?" Serah stopped him from leaving and gathered every energy she had left to ask that question.

"Time, fate, and destiny had interfered," he answered not turning back.

"30 years that those things had interfered? I don't believe that you love me," she said towards him sarcastically. Serah knew that her question was too obscure to say after all those conversations they had.

"Even my life added that to my status cannot outweigh my feelings towards you, Serah."

'Why are we in this kind of situation?' she wanted to ask, instead, it was replaced by a selfish question.

"Then why I am in this situation?" This question was still the same. It haunted her every day she remembered the happy moments they shared together. Now that she had given the opportunity to ask it. She now wanted to know the answer.

"Sorry..." Laquadia immediately left after those words were spoken.

"Sorry?! The usual Jadasian I had loved," Serah said when Laquadia vanished in midair.

It was one of the reasons why she came into the Empire. It was to end everything they had and the hatred she had in this nation was hard to measure. End? Whom she's fooling? She still loved him whatever method she used and his presence only made that stronger. However, she'll deny that, as long as she could. Tears burst out of Serah's face when she confirmed that he's already gone. Gone, not for a moment but forever. She already cleared that up. Cleared, sacrificing her love.

"Daniel, I still love you and I always will," she said looking at the starry sky as the words that came out of her mouth was drifted away by the wind.