He wanted to say a lot. He should’ve said something, but didn’t know where to start. He expected this and didn’t plan on running forever. However, he never prepared any excuses.

“It’s been a while.”

He finally offered her a plain greeting. She wanted to pour out all her feelings, but her thoughts became jumbled. She needed time to sort them.

“You’re goddamn right it’s been a while.”

She looked at the man she used to like. The lump of emotions in her heart, the affection she held for him, the questions, and her hatred all violently mixed. Then the icy clang of her sword split the awkward atmosphere.

She pointed her longsword at him, against the man who once told her, A sword suits you better than a bow. His indifferent face, engraved in her heart, now appeared at the end of her blade.

“I have… a lot of questions to ask.”

She wanted to sound nonchalant, but the lump in her throat prevented her from doing so. She hated how her voice shook.

“…”

He looked her straight in the eye. He never told her a lot and couldn’t. Not in the past and not now. It might seem like he changed, but he hadn’t. He still...