Regal Academy: Stay

Letting Go

About an hour later, Hawk started to turn back into his human form. "What was that for?!" He looked at general directions searching for Lanya in anger, "you just-" "Don't hide it Hawk SnowWhite, I know you more than you believe." Lanya said stepping out from the dark.

"L...Lanya?"

Questions were swarming his head, so much that he felt a bit dizzy. It was Lanya, no doubt about that. But... why does she remind him so much of... her?

"Hawk."

There it was again. Her voice. It wasn't Lanya's voice. Yet at the same time, it was. It's a mix of both. Was he dreaming? Has he finally gone mad? There was no way... no way Rose had used Lanya- No, that's impossible, isn't it?

"Hawk, it's me."

Instinctively, he took a step back, withdrawing the advancing figure. He didn't dare to believe it. Not after struggling from taking the first step forward from the day she left this world. This was just something he was dreaming up, it had to be.

She just raised an eyebrow at his movements, but seemed to get the hint and stopped where she was. A blanket of silent fell upon them as he continued to stare at her. She, in turn, had her gaze fixed on his. Despite the hint of a smile playing on her lips, there was a distinctive look of longing in her soft cerulean eyes. Her lips were parted, but she didn't say anything. Perhaps she was waiting for him to make the first move.

"Y-You...... I......" He stammered, unable to find the words.

"Hawk, it's only been two years. You couldn't have forgotten my name already could you?" She chided. Despite her relatively cheerful front, he could see the mix of sadness, frustration, happiness and relief clouding in her eyes.

"You...... Rose?" The name left his lips as a near-whisper

"Hmm... I guess you haven't."

He never expect to utter her name again and expect to hear a reply.

In that instant, his mouth went dry, and his mind turned blank. "I... I don't believe it." He replied with a shaky breath, taking another half step back and raising both of his hands to clutch his hair. His heart was pounding extraordinary fast, moisture gathering in his eyes. "How- Why-You're Lanya, not-"

"It's my essence. To put it simply, my ghost took over Lanya's body"

How could this be? All sorts of questions swirl in his head and was making him dizzy, he screwed his eyes shut. Maybe this was all in his head, and when he open his eyes again, she would be gone.

"Hawk, take a deep breath. I know this is a lot to take in, but-" She said, obviously nothing the state of distress he was in.

So much for it all being in his head. Which could only mean, this was real.

Rose was here. In Lanya's body, talking to him.

"Hawk? What's the matter?"

"What's the matter?" He repeated incredulous. "What do you think?" He demanded, hot tears blurring his vision of the women in front of him. "Here you are, in Lanya's body, talking to me as if there's nothing out of ordinary!"

"Hawk-"

"I watched you being shot by that beam that day, Rose. I should have taken that shot for you, or pushed you out of the way. You laid right in front of me while I hid behind a bush because I have no guts! How can you be standing here, talking to me-" The man cut himself of abruptly s he choked back a sob. He fell to his knees as he rested his forearms over his eyes, and tears began to flow down the sides of his face and drip his chin onto to rock hard ground beneath him.