*A few days had gone by since Shadow Eye and Javan had started working together on the Smile mission. Many of the dealers went underground and stayed low to avoid getting caught like the elf dealer so the good news was there weren’t that many Smile incidents. It was nighttime in the kingdom of Brister and it was raining. The members of Shadow Eye and Javan were in an abandoned building across the street from a warehouse where the supposed meeting between the supplier and dealer was going to go down. Aside from Dust and Saber, Jin and Gael were surprised to see the members of Shadow Eye and Javan getting along together. Despite their previous fights from earlier everyone seemed to like each other. Ryuuji and Brodie were good buds, Jade and Lola were friendly rivals, Morgan and Lukas were discussing tactics, Pennie was in awe over Raika inspecting her guns, Sanada and Wato were performing maintenance on their swords, Violet and Indigo were fawning over Amarti with Indigo hugging Amarti from behind and cuddling him like a stuffed teddy bear which agitated Zia. Dust went out for a food run while Saber was in another room resting. Jin and Gael were on the next floor on lookout duty with their shift almost over. As Jin was looking out his mind kept going back to Saber calling Dust a murderer*
***
*Flashback*
(Saber): Do yourself a favor and stay as far away from him as possible. Before he kills you just like he did another knight.
*Saber leaves the room with Lukas. There was an awkward silence in the air between Dust, Jin, and Gael*
(Jin): Dust, is that true? Did you really kill another knight?
(Dust): It is what it is, rookie. It is what it is.
*Flashback ends*
***
(Gael): Jin. . .Jin. . .Jin!
(Jin): Huh!
(Gael): Did you hear me? Is there any activity going on?
(Jin): Oh, no. Nothing new to report.
(Gael): You alright there? You’re not tired are ya?
(Jin): No. Just thinking about Dust and what Saber said about him.
(Gael): You mean about him killing another knight? Is it that shocking given who we’re talking about?
(Jin): Well if it was a corrupt knight I could understand, but judging by Saber’s tone, it seemed like this was an innocent knight and that’s a little worrying. What reason would Dust have for killing another knight? What do you think, Gael?
(Gael): Hard to say. You know how I can sense auras? Well whenever someone lies I notice that there’s a change in their aura. I didn’t see a change in Saber’s aura but when you asked Dust if this was true I saw a change in his aura.
(Jin): So he killed a knight but at the same time, he didn’t kill a knight?
(Gael): I know, it’s weird. It’s the first time I’ve had this happen. Maybe try asking Dust again?
(Jin): Nah. Knowing him he’ll dodge the question. I’ve known him long enough to know that if you want to know about his past you’ll have to earn it.
(Amarti): And even then, chances are low he’ll tell you anything.
*Amarti and Brodie come up to give them food and drinks*
(Amarti): Sounds like you boys are having an interesting conversation up here. Mind if we join in?
(Brodie): Food for your thoughts?
*The boys take their food and drinks from Brodie as they sit down across from Brodie and Amarti*
(Amarti): So, you boys talking about Dust? Now there’s a conversation you can’t have without me.
(Gael): What do you know about Dust?
(Amarti): I’ve known him longer than anybody in Shadow Eye.
(Jin): Oh yeah, you both came from outside the kingdom. I didn’t know you guys knew each other before joining Shadow Eye.
(Amarti): We were business partners before coming to Brister if you can believe it. I did the talking, he did the punching. We complemented each other and made a good amount of money. So, what’s this about Dust? You got some dirt on him?
(Jin): I wish. Saber says that Dust killed another knight. She even said it back during Kragnarok.
(Brodie): Yeah, I remember her saying that. And what do you think? You’ve spent a lot of time with him. Do you think he’s capable of doing something like that?
(Jin):. . .Yes. Dust is a mysterious guy who doesn’t talk much about his past and keeps to himself, but at the same time he’s a guy who does care about others. It’s not a matter of if he did it or not. It’s why he did it. I’m sure he had a valid reason and I’m just curious what that reason was.
*Amarti and Brodie smiled happily*
(Brodie): *Chuckles* This kid has a good head on his shoulders. He’s got complete trust in his comrade!
(Amarti): As expected from the knight I scouted.
(Brodie): I guess you do deserve to know the truth. Saber claims that Dust killed a knight but in truth, he didn’t. From my point of view at least. This story goes back a few years ago. Back when Saber first joined the order. Right away she had a big target on her back.
(Gael): Why?
(Amarti): When you’re a new kid in the order looking to make a name for yourself, you make a few enemies who are jealous of you.
(Brodie): And that’s what happened to Saber. Don’t get me wrong, she was a great knight. She hit the ground running, performed her tasks correctly, and wasn’t afraid to speak out against those above her. Unfortunately, this isolated her on an island as nobody wanted to deal with her. Not that she minded. However, there was one knight who befriended her, Torrie Yuuki. Torrie was a knight I trained back in the day. Very friendly, upbeat, and optimistic, the girl could bring a smile to anyone’s face and she was a great knight. One of the best I ever worked with. At first, things were rough, Saber shooed her away, but Torrie kept on persisting until one day she managed to get Saber to laugh for the first time since joining the order. They then worked a case together and before long the two became inseparable. Torrie took Saber under her wing and Saber finally had someone she could look up to as a big sister. Something I think she’s been missing ever since the tragic death of her parents.
(Gael): Wow, that sounds like one hell of a lady. What happened to her?
*Brodie’s smile faded and began to frown*
(Brodie): She died in the line of duty.
(Amarti): A few years ago the kingdom of Brister was being threatened by this group of mad bombers. Many buildings and lives were lost by their attacks. The White Knights were working the case and Shadow Eye was offering assistance. We were still new at the time so many knights weren’t exactly open to our assistance. Saber being one of them. Even back then Saber and Dust weren’t on the friendliest of terms, but they were willing to set their differences aside and work together. We finally managed to find their hideout and raided the place capturing all of them, but their leader managed to escape. Luckily, Dust and Torrie managed to chase the guy down but he activated the last bomb which was set to go off downtown. In order to save everyone, Torrie loaded the bomb onto a boat and sailed out of the kingdom as far as she could before it finally went off. She unfortunately died in the explosion.
*Jin and Gael sat there sad to hear what happened to Torrie. Brodie was wiping the tears from his eyes*
(Brodie): She died a death worthy of a hero that day, but to see someone killed in their prime like that will never sit right with me.
(Jin): So I don’t get it, where does Saber’s hatred for Dust come in?
(Amarti): Dust was the one who helped Torrie load the bomb onto the boat. He tried to get her to think of another way, but there was no time, and she was dead set on doing this knowing it would cost her her life.
(Brodie): She was always a stubborn one when it came to performing missions. If it meant saving a life, she would always be ready to jump in at a moment’s notice not caring about the consequences.
(Amarti): From Saber’s perspective Dust allowed Torrie to sacrifice her life and did nothing to stop her. From Dust’s perspective, he feels responsible for her death. He believes there must have been a better way.
(Gael): How did Saber react to Torrie’s death?
(Brodie): Pretty bad. The whole order took it hard but none more than Saber. She was never the same after Torrie’s death. It was like someone ripped her soul from her body, but then one day she showed up completely rejuvenized. She said she was going to make Torrie’s death mean something and make sure another disaster like this never happened again. From there, she went on to form Javan recruiting Lukas and me first. Torrie was a student and friend, so I felt like I owed it to her to watch over Saber in her place. As time went on Saber got better. Started smiling again, laughing, etc., but her grudge against Dust was intense and unforgiving. I always thought over time she would move on and realize that it wasn’t Dust’s fault, but she keeps blaming him for what happened. We all know Dust didn’t kill Torrie and I don’t hold it against him, but Saber does and I don’t think she’ll ever forgive him.
(Jin): Man, that’s a sad story. Haven’t they tried to clear up the air between them?
(Amarti): Dust tried a few times, but they didn’t go so well. After that, he decided to accept it. He says that her hatred for him is what drives her to keep on moving forward and to just let things be.
(Gael): Wow, Dust is a bigger man than I thought.
(Jin): Yeah. Why would he do this all for someone he doesn’t like?
(Amarti): Who knows? You said it yourself, he’s a mysterious guy who keeps to himself. Not even I know half the time what that guy is thinking.
(Jin): And you’ve known him the longest. What exactly is Dust’s origin? What did he do before he met you and came to Brister?
(Amarti): It’s hard to say. Just like you guys I really don’t know that much about Dust’s past. One of the few things I know about him is that he was born on Firdous Island an island largely populated by dark elves. When I first met him he claimed he was a mercenary for hire. He displayed exceptional skills, even by mercenary standards and he was willing to work for cheap which was an added bonus for me. However, he was a mercenary I never heard about. So, I got curious and decided to look up his record with the guild. When I did, the guild had no information on him. Not even a picture.
(Gael): What does that mean?
(Amarti): It means that he was working as an unregistered mercenary. Something that the guild would never allow and is impossible to do, but he had a mercenary license and ID number. He could have only gotten those if he registered with the guild and yet there was no data on him at all within their system. Not even Hibana can find information about Dust.
(Jin): So why would he lie about being a mercenary?
(Amarti): I don’t know. But whatever he did before he claimed to be a mercenary must have been something major. You don’t get skills of that level without risking your life.
(Jin): I don’t get it. How can you work with a guy like Dust who doesn’t tell you anything about his past, but knows everything about you?
(Amarti): Simple, it’s because I trust him. While I admit it’s a little frustrating not knowing much about his past, he has proven time and time again that he is someone you can trust your back to. I don’t know if I’ll ever learn much about his past or even if he’ll tell me. I don’t have a lot of people in this world who I can trust to call friend. I can count them all on two hands and Dust is one of them. What matters most to me is that Dust is someone I can call a friend and who will have my back no matter what. All right, you two finish your meal and catch some rest. Our shift is about to start.
*Jin and Gael get up with their food and leave the room to allow Amarti and Brodie to focus on lookout. Jin and Gael made it down to the next floor where they saw everyone had gone to their respective rooms to rest except for Dust who was sitting on the couch eating his food which was some fried rice. He had headphones in his ears listening to music so he wasn’t paying attention to Jin or Gael who sat down at a table to finish their meals and then head off to sleep. As Jin and Gael ate they took turns glancing over at Dust a few times with the conversation with Amarti playing in their heads. Why would Dust lie about being a mercenary? What did he do before meeting Amarti? What exactly was his past and why was he keeping it such a secret? Who is Dust Balor? These questions and more kept playing in their heads. They had to know the answers and they were determined to find them, but for now that would have to wait. They were on a mission that took priority over everything else*
Author’s Notes: And thus we now know where Saber’s hatred for Dust comes from. Dust feels responsible for her death. He was there but could do nothing to save her. Saber blames him for letting her do it. One is haunted by guilt but manages to move on while one is controlled by anger and uses it to move forward. Is it wrong that she blames Dust for Torrie’s death? I think so. But at the same time, her outburst is understandable. For the second time in her life, she lost someone important to her and she couldn’t do anything to save them. In her eyes, Dust was there. He could have done something but didn’t and chose to let her die. Hence why she hates him and why she’ll never forgive him. The fact that someone like him is a knight only fuels her anger for him. Along with this I also wanted to keep building up the mystery around Dust. Like I said, he’s the central figure in this arc so I want the attention to be kept on him and who he is. Despite knowing him the longest, Amarti really doesn’t know that much about him, but doesn’t care. Dust is his friend and that’s all that matters to him. Jin on other hand sees Dust as a mentor first and wants to learn as much as he can from him. That includes the good, the bad, and sometimes unthinkable. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.