GAMBIT

With the tranquil wind pa.s.sing by, he decides to play his Piccolo just like every night. The melody coming from his Piccolo has attracted a whole bunch of creatures, and one of these is no other than firefly-like. However, these fireflies bear an orange hue.

"h.e.l.lo there." Quartz greets with a smile as he tickles the fireflies" chin.

As a respectful gesture, the firefly drifts across the young man"s head, emitting dust, sparkling in a white hue. From behind the shabby tree, the princess then interrupts, "Those are fairies."

"Oh, fine evening isn"t it?" Quartz tilts his head to the princess, watching her sitting down beside him and leaning her head unto the tree. Due to this unexpected visit, Quartz was left with an uncomfortable mood.

"You could say that." Jupiter murmurs with a frown on her face.

"You fear the loss of Sacchi, don"t you?" Quartz questions and looks to her face.

"Fear? I dread it. Imagine, a world ruled by unworthy men. Peace will only be a figment of our imagination.

I"ve told my father for many years not to surrender yet he still ceases to follow my opinions. To be honest, I think he is a scapegoat.

Although he has a point, a man cannot defeat an army by himself but I do believe he can outsmart it. Even a pack of wolves can be outsmarted by a rat." The princess continues to mumble with a rather lower tone than usual.

"I beg your pardon, but I think your father is right. We are not like the rat, nor are we intended to be. Sometimes, it is not always about winning, it is about how you fought."

The two then stare above unto the twilight cloak, glancing to the beauty of the twinkling stars. The aroma of silence surrounds the night, with all the little creatures playing beside the shabby tree.

From quietude, comes the abrupt disturbance for Quartz has seen the bird once more. The same red bird who attracted him days ago.

"What are you looking at?" The princess questions, gazing her eyes to the young man"s peculiar looks.

"Um, I"ll be back." Quartz stands from the ground and looks to the sky. He then sees the bird and decides to chase it again. Watching him run away, the princess gives out a slight chuckle.

To the woodlands once more, is where the young man heads to. He follows the glimmering word for his curiosity wasn"t satisfied the first time he saw the bird.

"Please slow down!" Quartz instructs. His head becomes confused by watching his footsteps and the bird.

As the night gets deeper, they went further to the forest. With the sword on his left, Quartz slashes to tall gra.s.s and vines which blocks his view of the eloquent bird.

Once more, the bird clings to the tree, glancing at the young man. Finally, Quartz halts his run and cools down his burning lungs. He drops to the gra.s.s, gasping for oxygen.

The music of the night commences, and his ears start to hear a familiar melody coming from a familiar instrument. He then decides to stand and follow wherever the music is trying to lead him.

He ends up at a patch of flowers wherein he sees the same girl who"ve captured his heart. Just like the other night, the girl is playing with her ocarina with the b.u.t.terflies drifting across her bodacious hair.

Just by listening to the girl"s melody, the young man is tempted to play his ocarina in hopes that this time, she won"t run away.

The girl is then left with shock after hearing another tune yet an eloquent one indeed. She stops for a moment, and tilts her head to her back only to be caught by Quartz"s attention.

In the midst of the flowers beneath their feet, with the fireflies spreading their warmest hue and the graceful wind flowing through their hearts, the two of them glance into each other"s eyes.

The girl smiles back and plays with her ocarina to match the rhythm of Quartz"s Piccolo. Once in perfect sync, their music has brought serenity to the night and touches the hearts of every creature who hears it.

The young man decides to make the first move, her queries to the young woman, "May I know your name?"

The woman halts for a while, thinking if he should trust the man he has just met. After a moment of thinking, she then responds, "Virgo."

"Virgo? That"s quite a unique name actually. Virgo...?"

A minute or so, the woman then changes her expression into a look which seems to be avoiding the shedding of tears. It was as if Quartz"s question has brought back a fainted memory.

"No, just Virgo." She murmurs, looking down to the soil.

The serenity is then interrupted by Jupiter"s loud call, "Quartz? Quartz?" She seems to be looking for the young man somewhere near the patch of flowers.

Due to this interruption, Virgo was startled causing her to run deeper into the woods, but before that, the young man holds her hand and queries, "Will I see you again?"

"As long as the flowers bear its internal beauty, you will find me here." Virgo smirks and replies then continues to jolt to the depths of the woodland.

"There you are! Have I not told you to keep out of this forest?" The princess scolds after seeing the young man staring at the direction Virgo ran to.

He then snaps out, and faces the princess, "Um right, about that..."

"Anyways, Balthasar Bluemagic asked me to find you." The princess sighs.

With an exuberant spirit, the princess and the young man return to the kingdom. However, he first takes a look at the tree, only to see the bird gone once more.

As they return, Quartz could not do anything but to imagine Virgo"s image in his mind. Little does the young man know that the bird has just flown to another tree.

Watching him return, the bird smiles with ecstasy and flies back to wherever its nest is. While returning, it chirps with a beautiful voice belonging to a maiden as a tail of warm colors follow its back.