The Cast Die

‘What the heck is she talking about?’

Vac scowled and replied, “Uh, they needed help, and so I helped out. I don't see what you're upset about.”

Medea sighed while placing a palm on her head. With a groan, she looked up at Vac and said, “I assumed that you'd know something as basic as this, but I suppose that was my fault. You came here with me, the princess of Sicily. As a companion to a royal, the heir to the throne, your actions reflect on me and the royal bloodline itself. As such, you cannot debase yourself with actions such as toiling in the fields, and must treat such actions as being above you. It's fine for now, but don't repeat that.”

Vac frowned. This kind of reasoning was completely contrary to the way he'd lived before. “That makes no sense. I get that you and your people have your own rules, but that has nothing to do with me. It's not like you made me follow this kind of stuff around you before. We're friends. What's the big deal now?”

With a scoff, Medea spat out, “Obviously I didn't make you follow this before, because there were none of my people observing. The only reason you got away with behaving in so cavalier a manner around me is because you are not one of my subjects, because you're a visitor from a foreign land. But before my subjects, you cannot act in that manner, as that would undermine the system we stand on.”

Vac knew that in a certain sense Medea was correct, and that she wasn't trying to be mean, but her words still stung. And so he responded, “Like I care. Your stupid system can disappear if that's the kind of bullshit it depends on. You said you were nothing like your father, but from where I stand, you're just like him.”

Medea narrowed her eyes and walked over till they were face to face. Her beautiful golden eyes shone in anger as she said, “And what would you and your people know about what a good system would be like? Seeing as how your people got conquered with ease, I'd say your people’s society is far more stupid.”

Vac snapped at that. He shoved her back and replied, “Screw you! I don't need to hear this from some spoiled princess!”

As he began to walk away, Medea said, “Vac, wait!”

As he kept walking, Medea stomped on the ground and yelled, “I said wait!”

The ground rose up in an instant to block his path, nearly smacking him in the face in the process, as he deftly stepped back. Vac whirled around ready to fight, but his anger faded as he noticed the look in her eyes. He took a deep breath, and with a sigh said, “I'm sorry, I went too far. Let's just talk.”

Medea nodded, the relief in her face was clear.

“Me too, I shouldn't have said that, I just… yeah, we should talk.”

They both sat down on a nearby couch. After an unsteady silence formed between them, Medea broke the ice and said, “Look, I'm sorry about what I said, I should have been more respectful, and it is my fault for not talking to you about this stuff. I know that you think the class based hierarchical system we have here has issues, but it's what I've lived my whole life in, and I do think it's a decent system when used properly. Your people's society was probably nice to live in, but it was also open to invasion. That's just how I feel of course, and I shouldn't have said it that way, but I can't pretend I feel any other way.”

‘That’s true. I've felt like they weren't willing to adapt to changes, and that led to our downfall back then. We were all for freedom, but never really bothered to use it, and ultimately our culture stagnated. I still think it was a better system than this, but…’

Vac shook his head and responded, “To be honest, while I was angry about that, I was also upset about something else. What you said earlier about you treating me differently due to where I'm from, made me feel like that was the only reason you hang out with me. It made me feel like I'm not a friend, like I'm just someone convenient for your own desires, and that anyone else from where I'm from would've been treated the same way.”

Medea shook her head and responded, “I'm sorry I made you feel that way. You're not wrong in that I first chose to spend time with you for that reason, but I consider you to be a friend, and I've chosen to continue spending time with you because I like you.”

Vac smiled and replied, “Yeah, I like you too. It's been a long time since I've spent any time with a friend, heck it's been a while since I've even had one, so I guess I was kinda touchy about it. I do disagree with you on the way your society here is structured, and about the one back home, but I can accept that you feel differently. Though there's something I'd like to ask… Why exactly do you dislike King Pyrrhus? He is your father, and he doesn't seem like that bad of a guy. Maybe it's just me, but your anger at him feels a bit… forced.”

Medea sighed and leaned her head against Vac’s shoulders, without saying a word. The sudden proximity flustered him, but he kept quiet and waited.

Finally Medea lifted her head back up and said, “Okay, I'll tell you about it.”

Medea took a deep breath, and began to speak.

“King Pyrrhus isn't my actual father. My parents were the previous rulers of Sicily. And they were killed by the then General Pyrrhus.”

Vac’s eyes widened in surprise.

‘He killed her parents, and then adopted her? Why?’

Medea continued, “He killed them because of their incompetence. I was four years old at the time, and I still remember that day. I don't know why he let me live, or why he adopted me. Maybe because of my lineage. Regardless, that's why I hate him.”

Then with a sigh, she shook her head and said, “Or at least that's how I should feel, shouldn't I? But you know, he's a pretty good father, and most of what I know was taught to me by him and the instructors he assigned me to. So if you ask me whether I truly hate him… I… honestly have no idea. Some days I remember that day and hate him, others I feel the opposite. But as I grow older, my memories of my parents and the life I had with them fade, and I gain more and more memories with Pyrrhus as my father. At this point, I've had more time with him as my father than otherwise. At this rate, I'll forget my real parents entirely, and you know what? That scares me. What kind of daughter, what kind of person would that make me?”

Medea put her hands to her head and continued, “And so I do put up and act around King Pyrrhus, because I figure that’s the best way to preserve the anger and hate that I should feel. So, that's what I'm dealing with.”

Vac sat there in silence as he tried to give a response.

‘How do you even respond to something like that? I can't claim to understand how she feels. I feel bad for her, but pity doesn't seem like what she needs. I don't get it, what should I say?’

After a brief silence as Vac scrambled for a response, Medea sighed, stood up and said, “It's probably best if you just forget about what I said. Let's just relax, forget about this stuff, and go back to the way we were. You don't need to worry about my strange feelings.”

As she turned and began to walk away, Vac grabbed her hand on instinct and said, “It's not strange!”

As Medea turned in surprise, Vac continued, “It's the way you feel, Medea. It's not strange at all.”

After another awkward pause, Medea turned around, smiled and replied, “Thanks Vac. I appreciate that.”

Vac let go of her hand as his palm grew sweaty, and with a shaky smile replied, “Uh, yeah, no problem. So, should we start working on the bandit problem?”

Medea nodded and with a smirk said, “Of course. I already have a good idea of how we should proceed. Within a few days, this entire problem will be dealt with.”