“What do you mean? A duel? Why?”

  “I do not believe I need to repeat myself, Arthur Cross. We will have a duel, with Celia Ingram’s love on the line.”

  Vil’s sword waved in the wind, but he stood with the most serious expression Arthur had seen on the man yet. The strait-laced look almost sent a chill down his spine. It made no sense for the knight he had always seen as just slightly eccentric to be this mature about something. Arthur gulped and looked at Elle, who just sighed very loudly and immediately stepped between them.

  “Alright, Vil, calm down. Go and rest or something, alright? We don’t need any of this nonsense right now. Dee will be done resting up soon, and we’ll be out. You don’t wanna piss Arcadia off before even getting back home. Trust me, I’ve tried and it didn’t go well. Got that?”

  Vil pushed the sword to Elle’s chest and held it there. The two looked at each other in the eye, and the wind increased in speed as if to match their dramatic pacing. Then, even though he gulped to compose himself, the knight spoke clearly and confidently.

  “I am talking to Arthur Cross. Not you. You threw that name away a very long time ago, and so did I. So, stop interfering when other people are trying to reach a resolution, and step aside. I do not have any time to be wasting on the likes of you, Elle.”

  Moving him aside with his sword, Vil stepped forward and locked eyes with Arthur once more. The teacher felt another jolt of electricity make its way through his entire body. Something was just very wrong about this. He did not want to fight the knight. Of course, he did not. Not only was Vil a good friend, but he was also way stronger than Arthur. A duel would mean certain death with no return.

  To stake something as important as his love for Celia on the line was unacceptable. He knew he would lose, and he did not want to. Who willingly picked a fight they were going to lose? A stupid man, that’s who. A little bit of pride would not make him take such a foolish decision. Celia meant something to him. No, she meant everything to him. That ride here on Dee had confirmed that to him. Why did he need to prove it to Vil now?

  “I am not fighting you, Vil. I am not going to entertain you like that.”

  “Why? Too scared, Arthur Cross? Are you afraid that you will lose the fight, and your right to loving Celia, along with that? Do you not have any confidence in what you have achieved up until now? The way you dealt with those assassins. Do you not believe in your own actions?”

  “No, I do.” He shook his head. “I just don’t know why I would fight you, when I know I am going to lose either way. You wouldn’t fight a losing battle.”

  “Losers fight winning battles, Arthur. The ones who truly believe in themselves fight even when they are going to lose.”

  “Because they are na?ve and stupid?”

  Vil laughed, “No. Because they are na?ve, and stupid, and willing to protect that stupidity with their lives if need be.”

  Arthur scoffed and used his hand to push his sword down. Fancy words were not going to make him budge. It was a huge thing between him and Celia already. He had told her multiple times that no matter how much she flexed her English language skills on him, it wouldn’t change his opinions on the extravagant, layered stories she found so interesting. If words could make you change your entire way of thought, then you were weak. Every scientist in the world would crumble and kneel in front of the artist who claimed that the devil existed.

  “I am injured, Vil. Even if I wanted to fight, I am not at perfect health, and it wouldn’t be fair. Is that enough reason?”

  “All the better for me, Arthur Cross.”

  Arthur sighed and crouched on the floor. Behind them, Dee had also stopped sleeping and quietly made his way to them to see what was going on. Everyone had gathered to see the little scene that was unfolding. Everyone.

  Wait…

  He looked at Celia, who had said absolutely nothing the entire time. His face went red. The fact that he was even considering it meant something, right? Of course, he wasn’t considering it at all, but that’s what it looked like from her perspective. From what she was seeing, he was actually wondering if her love was worth fighting for or not. And now, he did not know what was more damaging. The fact that she would find out that he loved her, or the fact that she would think he didn’t consider her enough.

  “Celia-”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  Vil’s sword moved down too. He looked at Celia with the same expression, but his body had already died with those words.

  “Celia, I…”

  “Who do you think I am, Arthur?” She looked at him, “Or, well, you. Vil. Who do you think I am?”

  “The love of my life, Celia Ingram.”

  “Or do you mean the love of your life in your own universe?” She scoffed, “What makes you think that just because some other version of me married you, I’ll be head over heels for the same chance? Because I don’t think you realize, but I don’t even know you. Sure, you’ve been a real help, but all you’ve done since you met me is harass me with your nonsense. Do you not see that?”

  Vil stuttered for a while, but then looked at the ground. Then, after muttering something under his breath, he looked back up and replied, “It is destined, Celia. That is why I have not given up. It is destined that we must end up together. The stars have written that in our fates.”

  “I don’t believe in fate, Vil. I believe in people and what they do. And all you’re doing is pissing me off. I think it would be in your best interest if you just fucked off, honestly, and left me alone. How dense can a man be?”

  “It is a density that is shared by a-”

  “I still hear you talking, Vil.”

  The knight immediately shut up and looked at his sword. Then, he put it back in the sheath and took a few steps back with his arms raised. He looked at Elle, who was staring daggers at him, and shrugged.

  “Elle.”

  “What?”

  “Tell Arcadia I am not coming back. I either duel this man right here, or I stay in this universe forever and live out the end of my days on this mountain.”

  “Don’t be such a jerk, Vil. Just shut up and go back to sleep. I’ll wake you up when Dee’s ready for the portal.”

  Vil laughed and turned back, “No need to wake me up. Feel free to leave as you want, the lot of you.”

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  The knight trudged over to where he had been lying down just a moment ago and sat down beside his horse. Patting Knuckleduster Joe, he uncomfortably lay down on the grass with his armor still on and gazed at the sky.

  “Melodramatic bastard. He’ll be back when Dee’s ready for the portal. Just ignore him.” Elle assured Arthur as he walked away and finally left him alone with Celia.

  Arthur looked at her, and they shared a quiet look for a second. There was anger in her eyes. He had seen her like that multiple times before, but it had never felt so personal before. Even when she had been mad at him, it had felt detached. As if no matter what, it would never escalate into something massive. She just had that sweet, dependable air around her. But that was not the case right now. Right now, he believed she was capable of punching him in the face and asking him to never talk to her again.

  “Sorry. About that. I got carried away.”

  “Yeah, you did.”

  “He’s just very loud and impressionable, and I said things I should not have. I didn’t even realize I was doing that; that’s it. And…”

  “Don’t try, Arthur.”

  He nodded and made himself shut up before he said anything too bad. He didn’t need to make this worse than it was.

  “Just to be clear about the warehouse.” She put her hand on the lock of hair closest to her right ear and started playing with it, “I just…really respect you. I think you’re amazing and are always doing good things. And it is a very personal thing, which is why I didn’t want to burden you with it, but you get the point. I’ve told you worse stuff before. I’ve just never had to deal with the idea of not talking to someone ever again. Especially someone I was really close to.”

  “Yeah. No, I get that. I understand.”

  “So, please. Don’t make it worse. I’m gonna act like none of that ever happened, and so are you. Alright? And until Dee opens up that portal for you all to leave, I think I’ll go and rest somewhere else. I’ll have calmed down by then.”

  “Yes. Totally. Sorry about that, again.”

  She shook her head to wave it off and slowly walked off to a different side of the clearing. Away from any of them, she sat down against a different tree and started looking at the sky.

  He never could figure out what she was thinking at any given moment. It was his greatest blessing, and his greatest curse.

  _____________

  “Arthur, he’s not coming.”

  “Who is not coming?”

  Arthur looked away from the tree branch and back at Elle, who had walked up to him and was now looking downward. The teacher shifted his weight against the sitting dragon and then took a glance at Vil, who was now talking to Knuckleduster Joe like a man gone mad.

  “I mean, is that really bad? Surely, he’ll just ask to come back after some time, right?”

  “No, Arthur, no! The man had to fight a duel with his father to leave his kingdom and come with us. Duels are the guy’s whole lifeblood. He isn’t going to budge until he gets what he wants. That’s what I’m saying. In Helonia, once you challenge someone to a duel, that’s like the ultimate declaration. You’re saying you’re putting everything into this one thing, and aren’t gonna think of anything else. Do you understand?”

  He did. But what was he going to do about it?

  “I do. But what do you want me to do about it?”

  “I…”

  “If he stays here, he stays here. You understand my deadlock, too, I hope. I cannot fight him in good faith if Celia does not want me to. And I also cannot hold myself responsible for him not coming back with us. I mean, it’s not my fault that things happened to him. I want to help him, yes. I really do. But I can’t help him if he does not want my help within my own boundaries.”

  “Arthur,” Elle crouched down and put his hands on his knees, “please?”

  “Elle, no.”

  Elle groaned and bent his head, staring at the ground. Shaking his head, he gave Arthur another pat on his knee and stood up before giving a quick touch-up to his hair and moving away. Arthur felt bad for what he had done, but there was no other choice. He could not risk going against what Celia had just told him. He did not want to ruin this for her, especially when she wanted to say goodbye with happy memories on her mind.

  “What do you think will happen if you lose?”

  Arthur looked up at Dee, who had suddenly spoken up. The dragon had brought his head really close to his, and was giving a quaint, understated smile.

  “Uh, he will keep pestering her? He will think he is free to do whatever he wants and make her miserable?”

  “But how will he do that when he is with us in another universe?”

  “Well, it will still affect her. She’ll know that I let him do that by participating in a duel in the first place. And stuff like that doesn’t just vanish from your mind, you know?”

  “Eh, you’d be surprised at how easily we forgive people we love.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think Celia loves me.”

  “You don’t think that, yes. But you also don’t know that she doesn’t.”

  Arthur smiled and patted the dragon. It was strange to think that a version of him was not only a dragon but actually had enough emotional intelligence to be able to say something like that. Or maybe, enough delusion. He could never be sure as long as it was still him. Either way, it made him look at Celia, who was now peacefully sleeping under the moonlight.

  “So, you’re saying I should fight him?”

  Dee looked at Celia, and then at Vil, “I am not saying that. I am just saying that if she loves you, then she will be willing to hear you out. And if she does not love you, then you are just helping Vil move on. He needs it more than you think, you know. He might be cheerful all the time, but that is only because he is a good man. He keeps himself thinking positively as long as he can. Even now…”

  Arthur peeked at Vil, too. He was laughing as he picked up some grass and fed it to the horse.

  “Even now, he is probably thinking that it is a good thing the duel didn’t happen. Now, he gets to stay in the same universe as Celia with his amazing horse. That’s just who Vil is. Always accepting what is, and finding the beauty in that.”

  Arthur could not deny that. He might have been infuriated and annoyed by Vil once in a while, but he had never felt unsafe. He had never felt like this man would ever do something bad. Even with the worst fate possible, Arthur felt like Vil was the one person who would be able to find a way.

  And yet. Yet, he did not want to decide without Celia’s permission.

  “If he stays here, assassins might keep attacking. And now they know Celia by name and face. They might kidnap her once more.”

  He looked back at Dee with his eyes widened.

  The dragon laughed, “I am not sure about that, but I think it works as a good enough reason, doesn’t it?”

  He sighed and looked at the sky to gather himself.

  Arthur loved Celia. That was a sentence he could utter without a doubt in his mind. And even if the opposite wasn’t true, it wouldn’t change. His love for her would not drop, even if she did not love him back. And when he thought about it like that, he wondered if the same went for Vil. Maybe he didn’t want a duel because he wanted a chance to love Celia.

  Maybe he just needed permission to hear that she didn’t love him at all.

  If he fought, then he would help him with that. Celia might feel angry at her love being traded off as if it were a property, but it didn’t need to be. In fact, now that he looked at it, she actually didn’t have much to do with it at all.

  If Arthur lost, Vil would probably just get slapped by a very angry Celia and move on. Then, she would be angry at Arthur for entertaining him, but he would know she was safe to live here without any worries about assassins.

  If Arthur won, then Vil would once more forget about her and move on. In return, Arthur didn’t need to ask for anything. He didn’t want her love back. He would just move on either way. He would go to another universe to keep his quest up, with his mind assured of the fact that she was safe.

  And Arthur was going to lose. He knew he was going to lose. Celia would hate him forever. But he liked Vil too. He wanted to let him move on and continue his journey. Not to mention, the idea of leaving this universe a completely safe place was a good addition. Having an Arthur here would just be a pain for everyone else.

  Arthur sighed and stood up, looking at Vil as he started walking.

  Maybe he was weak, na?ve, and stupid after all.