Never

Chapter 5: Taking care of the enemy

In the middle of that vast garden that the white lady had claimed as her own, a young mantis lay defeated at the feet of a pale-skinned warrior, which emanated as much elegance as mystery through her dense clothes and her crown of hair that fell down. The mantis was defeated, but not subdued and even with the fire of resentment shining in her eyes, she dared to shout at the one who had brought her down.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Kill me!" The girl shouted furiously.

"Mai! Le'mer should not seek her end so vehemently. Nahlo, nahlo" The strange way in which this female spoke denoted that she was a foreigner, she did not seem to master the language of the place very well.

"Only the end awaits a mantis that has been defeated. I can no longer present myself to mine! Kill me and save me the shame, will you?"

"Che' doesn't want to end a girl so young, che' can't"

"You are cruel... You destroy my life and then you don't want to repair it"

"Le'mer had responsibility, invaded the gardens of Meled 'Queen' Che' had to stop her, it's not her territory, but che' doesn't like violence and doesn't want such a young girl to end Moina. Wai Le'mer doesn't go home with her family? They sure worried.."

"Moina is dead?" The way she spoke made it a bit difficult for her to understand. "It doesn't matter. If they see me in this state and guess my defeat before the sworn enemy, nothing good will hold my destiny"

The silver knight cocked her head curiously.

She knew the brutal customs of the mantis, but she did not understand them. How could they condemn someone just for losing? Everyone goes through moments of weakness but that does not mean that someone is weak. She looked at the girl in front with grief. Poor mantis, someone so young did not deserve to see her future shattered by so little. After all she was Ze'mer, one of the big 5, few or none could match her in strength. The girla was doomed to defeat from the moment when they started fighting

She sighed and made a decision. She couldn't leave her abandoned to her fate. What kind of knight would she be if she did? Perhaps Driyya scolded her for such an act of folly, after all this girl belonged to the tribe that opposed her beloved king, but she simply could not leave her, something in her yelled at her to help her. She reached down and extended her hand to the mantis.

"Come. Che' will take care of Le'mer until she gets well and can return home, nobody will know le' lost. It's a promise. What is Le'mer name?"

The mantis looked at her with a puzzled expression, almost as if she thought she was crazy. But in her desperate situation she had nothing to lose. She knew it was a dishonor to accept help from an enemy, but at the bottom of her heart, she wanted to live and if this strange knight offered her that opportunity, she would put all her hopes on her. She extended her claw and trusted blindly.

"My name is Clover."

........................

Ogrim opened his eyes waking up from his reveries. For an instant an old memory that he believed lost had resurfaced in his mind. The first encounter between her dear friend Ze'mer and that mantis that would later be her lover. That was an inevitable tragedy that nobody could foresee. He wish he could have done something in that time, but as always he didn't realize anything. The dramas always went around without him noticing and by the time he finally realized, it was too late, all help was useless.

If he had intervened perhaps that girl would not have died and Ze'mer would not have been consumed by sadness. He couldn't even help her fulfill her last wish. It was Hollow who delivered that precious gift to Clover's grave helping her Ze'mer rest in peace. That was another of the faults that the poor beetle carried on his back, he was a lousy friend, he was never for those who needed him. That was why he was now so determined to be useful, and he focused all his energies on the training and education of the young vessels, that was the wish of his new king and he intended to give his life to it.