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“W-Well! I’d better get going,” Mappela clumsily put the last of her things in her slime-covered bag. She was off duty for the next week or so along with Eldur and Friede. She was looking forward to visiting her family again, the knights rarely had time to go back home, but Crowlas was kind enough this year to allow 3 of them to return. “Umm, are you going to be okay here?” She tilted her head in concern, Wacht looked like he was on the verge of collapsing… as he always did.
“Uh…huh?” He jolted at his name and remembered Mappela was standing in front of him. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and gave her a sleepy nod. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Me and Hilda got everything covered…” he sighed, thinking about going to see his own family again. Though… he’d be too much trouble with his curse, and he doubted that they’d want to see him anyway.
“Umm…okay…!” Mappela stood on her tiptoes and gave Wacht a pat on his head. Normally, he’d protest this since she always left slime on him when he touched her, but …just this once, he’d allow it. “Take care, okay? I’ll bring you back something nice, I’m sure Eldur and Friede will too!”
“Yeah… Uh, hey, didn’t they leave… an hour ago? Are you gonna be fine on your own?”
“Hehehe, I might be small but you know I can hold my own, don’t you?” Mappela smiled and flexed her small arms. It wasn’t noticeable, but she was rather strong in spite of her short stature. “Besides, it’s not a far journey from here to my home village… Thank you for worrying about me, Wacht.” She smiled and turned to open the door, “I’ll see you in a week, don’t miss me too much!”
“Heh…I won’t.” He waved goodbye as she shut the door behind her. Leaving him sitting on his bed as the sun began to set in the sky. “Man…sure took her forever to pack up… Guess that’s what happens when you can’t keep a grip on anything…” Wacht stood and walked over to his window, the setting sun was accompanied by a million snowflakes which drifted down from the sky, as if they still wanted to remain up in the air just a little while longer. He gazed out towards the horizon, and his thoughts drifted towards home. How long has it been since he moved to the kingdom, how long has it been since he took up arms to bear alongside his current comrades…? It was probably the lack of sleep, but it felt like he had been a knight for as long as he could remember. Nothing else really felt natural to him anymore. His mind wandered then to his family, how they had been so proud when he became a knight… Well, now he was just a knight with a curse and a short temper. He sighed in frustration and went back to sitting on his bed, what a way to spend the holiday season. Not with family, not with friends, the only company he had on this lonesome night were those accursed insect spirits and their incessant buzzing.
The buzzing was interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by familiar footsteps and even more familiar laughter.
“He~y Wacht, hahaha! So we’re both alone this year, huh? Ahahaha!” Hilda laughed as if the situation was funny, rather than lonely. “Ahahaha! So y’know, I figured… hehe… It’d be more fun if we hung out tonight…hahaha!! We don’t have Friede to liven us up this time around, so we gotta do it ourselves, hehehehe…” She giggled more and more, but Wacht could tell she was trying to stifle it just a bit for his sake.
“Yeah… I was just thinking, when was the last time any of us were separated?”
“Hmmm, I don’t remember! I’m so used to seeing your guys’ faces every day that not having those 3 bozos around makes things a whole lot less fun, ahahaha!!”
Wacht smiled at her, the laughter was a bit grating, but it was better to listen to than the insect noises.
“Plus, hehehe…” She stifled her laughter, “Eldur told me that you have a tendency to sleepwalk whenever you do get to sleep, so I’m here to keep watch in his stead…hahaha!!”
“He asked you to do that…?” Wacht’s eyes widened in surprise, he didn’t expect Eldur to be so thoughtful.
“Hehe, of course!! Out of all of us, you’ve got the most horrible, terrible, awful curse! Hahaha!! I’d never wanna be in your shoes, hahahaha!!!” Her laughter made her sound like she was insulting him, but Wacht knew that she was being sympathetic… …probably.
“Ahh…” He yawned, “Well, that’s nice of him… I didn’t think he’d bother.”
“Pfft, do ya think all of us weren’t worried about you or something?”
“All...?”
“Of course we were all worried about you, dummy! Hahaha! Why do you think it took Mappela so long to get out of here? She wants you to be alright too, y’know… hahaha!” Wacht blushed, he didn’t realize that was why she spent so long with him today. He thought she just needed help getting the rest of her things together.
“I should’ve said thank you to her…”
“Pfft, I’m sure she could tell you were grateful. You’ve got a funny way of communicating, but we get what you mean most of the time…hahaha!” She nudged him and sat down on the bed next to him. “We all care about you, y’know…hahahaha! I know you aren’t the sentimental type, and neither am I, but everyone was worried about ya…” She gently gave him a hug, and Wacht held her arm in place. He savored her embrace, even if it was just for a moment.
“Hilda… … Well, what about your family…? Why did you volunteer to stay here?”
“Heheheh, my family can take care of themselves! They’re made outta strong stuff, hahaha! Plus, I’m sure I’d just be an inconvenience to them, like this…pfft…!!!” Wacht was surprised that she felt the same way about her curse, though he never really thought to ask about it in the first place. “Plus…you’re more important to me than all of ‘em, hehehe!” She gave him a genuine smile, and rested her hand on his. “You guys are my family!! Though I’m glad the other three decided to take some time off, I’m sure they- hahaha- wouldn’t take me seriously anymore if they heard how sappy I am with ya, hahaha!”
“Hehe, I think it’s nice to see this side of you, Hilda…” Wacht’s face flushed immediately after he said that, it sort of just came out without him realizing it.
“Ohhh!! Wacht, did ya- hahahha! Actually compliment me?! Awww…!” She hugged him again and squeezed him tighter this time. “Hahahah! I guess we both got some secrets to keep when they come back!” Wacht smiled sheepishly, but hugged Hilda back again. He… couldn’t remember the last time someone held him like this, but he felt happy that it was Hilda that was holding him this time.
“Y’know I’m just sleep-deprived and not a jerk, right? Hehe,” Wacht found himself laughing too. Her laughter was becoming less and less grating, and more and more contagious. He held her hand in his own again and smiled. “Really, though… It means a lot to hear that, especially from you...” He yawned and rubbed his eyes again, but for once he didn’t hear the sound of the insects. All he could hear was the sound of Hilda’s laughter.
“’Course I knew that!” She laughed more, “If you wanna turn in, I’ll keep watch over you…And I’ll try to stay quiet, but no promises, pffthahahaa…!!”
“Well…actually, it’s nice to hear something besides insect noises for once. So don’t worry about staying quiet,” Wacht laid down on the bed and looked up at Hilda. “Also… It’d be nice if you could, stay on the bed with me.”
“Pffft, haha! I didn’t think of you as being so soft-hearted, Wacht!” She teased him, but nodded immediately after. “Of course I’ll stay by your side, we got a whole week to hang out with each other now~.”
Wacht smiled and closed his eyes, and he could feel a warm hand running through his hair as he tried to sleep. As if she calmed the cursed spirit, all he could hear was her laughter and the sound of the belltower tolling outside.