Regrets of The Fallen (Victis Honor Book 1) Read Free Page B

warrior instantly, but she looked tired, gentle even. “I don’t recognize you, and I’m pretty good with faces.”
    “Visitor,” Haruka answered, inspecting the woman more closely.
    She didn’t seem to notice the analyzing, or at least she ignored it. “Oh, so am I. Did you come to Stahl for the festival?” she said with a curious tilt of her head.
    Haruka found her endearing already, which was fairly unusual. She shook her head. “Business.”
    “I see. Well you should take advantage of the festival while you’re here; I hear it’s pretty enjoyable.”
    The monk gave a shrug. “Perhaps.”
    The woman smiled in amusement. “You don’t talk very much, do you?”
    Haruka blushed slightly, avoiding her eyes. “Sorry.”
    “No need to apologize. It’s kind of cute actually,” she said with a soft laugh, increasing Haruka’s blush. “Can you at least tell me your name? I’m Isabella Enyo.”
    Isabella . It was a fitting name, she thought; it had a soft, classical sound, as opposed to her harsh name. “Haruka Saito,” she answered. She wasn’t sure why she gave her real name; it wasn’t a normal practice of hers, especially while on a mission, but for some reason this woman made her want to be honest.
    “Haruka Saito,” Isabella repeated, as if trying out the name on her tongue. She gave her a smile. “I like it. It fits you, Haruka Saito.”
    Haruka raised an eyebrow. “Fits?”
    “Sharp, dangerous… A name for a fighter,” Isabella said with a smile, and Haruka felt in that moment that Isabella could read every detail of her. “But it also has a lot of promise.”
    She frowned in confusion. “Promise?”
    “Haru,” she said with a nod, mentioning Haruka’s nickname. “Ruka.” She then gave a happy smile. “Ruki!”
    Haruka blinked. “Ruki?”
    “It’s cute,” Isabella responded. “And I see no one says it, so it goes unseen.” Her grey eyes gave her a more serious look. “Just like that side of you.”
    Haruka looked away. She didn’t know what this woman was talking about, she really didn’t. As far as she knew the ‘sharp, dangerous’ side was the only side of her. She looked back to the blue-haired woman after a few seconds to see her staring out over the lake now. She was glad for that; the woman’s gaze had been a little intense. “Yours?”
    “Hmm?” She looked back at her. “Oh! My nickname? That would be Bella.”
    Haruka nodded. She looked around, then back to the woman. “Why?” She gestured around them. “Here?”
    “Why am I here?” She turned around to lean back against the wooden railing. “Do you mean in the town or in the gazebo? Never mind, I’ll answer both. I’m in this town because of the festival; someone told me it was something to see. I’m in the gazebo because it looked colorful,” she said with a shrug and a smile.
    Haruka returned the smile , appreciating that this woman simply seemed to accept her manner of speech; most people became annoyed with her short, terse responses, and the fact that they had to discern what she said. It frustrated her because it wasn’t like she could do anything about it; she’d been born with very weak vocal chords. Using them too much was both difficult and painful; she couldn’t really manage more than one or two words at a time without her voice just cutting out. But with Isabella it didn’t feel frustrating; it felt simple, even amusing, because for whatever reason the other woman seemed to like it.
    The other woman’s smile disappeare d as her hand went to her chest; she began coughing, the sound Haruka had heard earlier, nearly losing her balance. Fortunately Haruka was fast, able to catch her as she fell. She helped her sit on a bench and Bella smiled weakly. “Thank you, Ruka,” she said a little breathlessly.
    Haruka looked at her in concern, making sure she didn’t fall over before taking a seat beside her. “Sick?”
    “Unfortunately. It can be a little annoying,” Isabella said with a