Chapter 132 - You Were A Hero

Standing between the divider, Yelena and Felix pointed their handguns at the target which was 25 metres away. Putting on a hearing protector and tactical eyewear, they were all set.

"10 bullets for both of us," Yelena said as she eyed Felix. "I hope you don't embarrass yourself." She teased him.

Trying to not let her get to his nerves, he observed her. "Judging by how you dressed up, you really have shootings in mind from the start." He remarked.

"I always wanted to see your skills." Yelena adjusted her position and briefly glanced at Felix. "Okay, we should really start now."

Felix did the same and the shooting competition between the couple started right away. For the next few minutes, the sound of firing handguns filled the shooting range with the two firers completely focused on each of their targets.

When they were both done, Yelena removed the hearing protector and put down the Ruger 57. Her lips curved into a small smile. Even when she was at the base, this was her way of clearing her mind - to fully concentrate on the target. It always gave her a sense of relief.

She turned her head to the right and see Felix who was already staring at her. "Shall we check the targets?" She said, gently breathing in and out several times.

The target slides forward to them, halting in front of them, all thanks to technology. Scanning the target before her for a few seconds, she turned her attention to the Prince's target. Calculating the points, she whispered, "90 out of 100. Not bad, Your Highness. This proved that you actually received some training."

Felix laughed at her comment and shifted his attention to her target. "It's 98 for you. You're great, Captain. I never scored that much, not even once." He regarded her appraisingly.

"If this was a real war, that means I failed to shot one enemy in the most lethal part, increasing the chance of his survival." Yelena recited as she touched the target. Then she glanced at Felix. "That's what my instructor always told me during my training days. I heard that all the time and it was such a headache." She jokingly said.

"Is it possible to get a perfect score?" Felix asked. If it was indeed possible, how much practising would it require?! Then they took steps backwards, freeing themselves from the divider.

"It's a very challenging task but not impossible." Yelena lifted her hands and removed the tactical eyewear from Felix. She did the same for herself. "Let's get out of here."

Walking out of the shooting range, Felix repeatedly glanced at Yelena. She was quiet but he could felt how relief she was compared to before. "Are you thinking about something?" He asked as he fitted her hand with his. He saw her smiling at her.

"It's my first time doing some shooting at a villa but I often watched my brother doing that." She paused and added, "Before Marvin's death, I never lay my hand on a gun, let alone practising shooting. I was never interested and even if I was, my mother would never allow me."

"But you already excelled now." Felix promptly said.

"That's right. My brother would have never imagined this. I changed so much." She fainted a smile.

"That's because you love your brother so much. You're willing to change for him. He will be proud of you." The couple already entered the villa as they were talking. They took a seat in the dining room to have lunch.

"Have you ever feel scared, wondering if the truth might hurt you more than you thought?" Yelena asked. "I don't know why, but at times, I'm scared of the truth that I didn't even know."

Felix nodded his head. "I understand you. Digging up the truth is like a ticking bomb. You don't know what you might find out, whom to trust and how it will affect you. That feeling is scary. But do you know this, Yelena? Other people still chose to move forward, just like us. Because if we don't, then no one will do. Apart from us, our deceased love ones don't have anyone to fight for them. They are already dead and they cannot fight for themselves."

Yelena remained quiet for a while as if she was processing the Prince's words. After what seemed to be forever, she finally smiled, relief and genuine. "You're right. Now that I'm closer to the truth, I think it affects me a bit." 

"You lost to me in a shooting. Why don't we have the next competition in a field which you excelled?" Yelena suggested.

"You mean... "

"Horse riding. It would be an honour to compete with the President of the Equestrian Federation of Edeladon." She dryly said which made Felix chuckled.

"You will regret. I have no plan to go easy on you."

"We will see that," Yelena said with a menacing smile.

Shooting guns. Horse riding. The Prince never knew that these two could create a fun date! It had never crossed his mind until today. Was this the effect of dating a special forces soldier? Maybe but he admitted that it was not bad.

* * *

In Silveren, Colonel Arias was sitting in the office of Ella's father, Lt. Gen. Haric Geraci. Just as the father said before, he sought out Arias to have a conversation with him. He wanted him to say whatever he wished to.

As his senior officer who inspired him to join the army when he was a child, Arias always had great respect for the Lt. General. But these days, he finds it hard to look at him the way he used to do. The feeling was pure torment for the young Colonel.

"I heard that Ella will learn from your parents starting today." Lt. Gen. Haric said. His keen gaze observed the Colonel who was sitting on his right.

"Yes. My mother decided to devote her night time to teach Ella. She will not resign right away." Arias replied, his tone remained formal.

"I see." Lt. Gen. Haric turned away, narrowing his eyes at the floor. "I was so invested in her military career. It's not easy to allow her to quit."

Arias was tempted to talk about how being a doctor was Ella's dream and that no matter what anyone says, she had the right to pursue it. But he already promised Ella, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Do you still remember the first time we met, Father?" He made a deliberate paused, recalling the day from 19 years ago. He was 10 at that time. "There was an accident on my way home from school. You were a Colonel and you were on your way to the base that day. My school bus flipped over and it caught fire, it could explode any minute."

"The rescue forces, paramedics and firefighters were on their way but you were afraid that it might be too late to wait for them. Because the bus could explode anytime, civilians were too afraid to make a move and... you were the only person who helped us." Arias stated his near-death experience from almost two decades ago.

"Why do you talk about that now?" Lt. Gen. Haric asked. "It's in the past."

"I know. But I couldn't forget how you pressed my wound and follow me all the way to the hospital. You prevent me from losing too much blood. When you visit me later in the hospital, I still couldn't forget what you said." Arias took a deep breath and glanced at the Lt. General's uniform.

"You said that even if everyone runs away saying it's dangerous, you cannot do the same because you were bound by that uniform. You said you were only doing your duty to protect the people, especially children like me and my friends on that bus. For that 10 years old boy, you were a hero, Father."

"You introduced a whole new world to me, who only heard about medicines and doctors. I used to thought that only doctors are heroes who saved other people's lives but you show me that there are other kinds of heroes in this world. You left an everlasting impression on me and I even decided to follow in your footsteps. Now after 19 years, I'm sitting here, wearing the same uniform and rank you wore that day."

Lt. Gen. Haric looked at Arias as the latter was talking. He was surprised by what he saw but he didn't show it. Pain. He saw a hint of pain in his eyes! What's wrong with him?!

Arias closed his eyes and opened again. Sitting straight, he turned his head to the Lt. General. "Before I left the country, you told me to be prepared for this meeting and I did. I always have one question which I want to ask you and after Maverick come to me drunk that night, I felt the urge to ask you more than ever."

"What is it? Stop beating around the bush and just ask me." Lt. Gen. Haric felt his patience running dry!

Colonel Arias looked at the Lt. General right in the eyes. Suppressing all the pressure inside him, he finally spoke up. "Seven years ago, in my final year of training, why did you turn a blind eye to the incident?" He nervously clenched his fist, even squeezing his uniform and then asked, "Why didn't you do anything to help Marvin Arista, Eric Flavian and Nolan Iselin?"