Chapter 11: . Uncanny First Encounter

Nurna glared at him, her gaze traveling down from his sharp brown eyes to his straight nose, and to his Cupid's bow lips. Her eyes settled on them a tad bit longer, and she swallowed.

A slow smirk curled across Canaan's usually unbothered face. He leaned back on the drawer as he pressed the button beside her bed.

Nurna flushed as she readjusted on her bed. "Were you always Canaan?" She allowed the benefit of doubt that it may not be this same Canaan that killed Roe.

"Since when? 7 centuries ago?"

"Yes."

"Did you kill my sister?"

"She would have died either way,"

he calmly said. "I promise, I'll explain it all to you when you're ready."

'His eyes are so sincere' Nurna thought as she sat up.

She then noticed the book in Canaan's hand.

"Why are you with that? Give it back."

"It's blank, why do you want it?"

Nurna sat up as deep lines formed on her forehead, her brows furrowed into a thin line. "What are you talking about?" She asked as she stretched out her hand.

Truly, the book was blank. Were the things she read a figment of her imaginations? She held the books in her arm, her mind wandering around; she was in grief of her sister's death.

"Little Miss!" A loud voice came from outside. It was Filo.

"Why did you do this to yourself?" She cried as she walked towards the bed, with the white bunny in her hand.

Nurna's dull eyes twinkled when she saw Tofi, the little white bunny. Filo insisted on taking care of it instead, as it was still little when Nurna took it from the garden. The light in her eyes dwindled as she caressed the bunny's fur.

Canaan had a call, so he stepped out

"Where do you stay?" Situ asked, the fast movement of his car sounding in the background.

"Stay out of this."

"She only gets hurt with you, do you want to watch her die once more?

Canaan clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white as his breath turned shallow. "Mr. Canaan." He turned back to see Filo.

"Nurna doesn't want to stay here anymore, I don't know the reason, but she seems very sad. A change of environment for a while will help her sort out her thoughts."

Canaan ended the call before speaking. "She'll stay at your place, give her anything she wants."

"Can she leave the house?"

"If that's what she wants. Also, her well-being should not be Situ's business."

Filo nodded, understanding what he meant.

It was a silent drive back to Filo's place. Nurna stared out the window. Though she knew her sister would have died, since so much time had passed, the thought of her being brutally killed with her unborn baby made her heart shatter over and over.

"You'll go and meet your pregnant sister," she reminisced. That man in her first memory spoke like he murdered her sister, the same man that she felt was her lover.

'Was that all Canaan? What is his motive now?' she thought.

She opened the strange blank book once more and sighed. The white bunny gnarled at the seatbelt as it sat on Nurna's lap. This book was the only thing close to truth since it seemed like her memory had been sieved while she was unconscious.

They soon got to Filo's place, and Situ was standing at the entrance. Nurna walked into his open arms. Tears trickled down her face once more. "Roe," she sniffled.

Situ consoled her and took her in. After coaxing her to eat a bit, he tucked her in bed.

In the middle of the night, Nurna gasped awake. She had a nightmare, the nightmare that had been plaguing her for weeks now.

She sighted the book on the bedside table. The flowers had a faint fluorescent glow, and the reeds seemed to be moving.

Nurna hastily grabbed the book. Once she opened it, the pages emitted bright white light at her face. The book slipped from her hands, and her head fell back; she had gone into a trance.

In her dream, she saw fragments of her memory she didn't remember. They felt like an event playing before her in real-time.

Tears pooled in her eyes as she saw a snippet of her and Roe playing with sand. She was younger than Roe by 5 years. Roe was taller, smarter, graceful, and adorable, she was a replica of their mother. Roe was frail, and Nurna doted on her. Roe's dark blonde hair bounced as she ran after Nurna, laughing with mirth.

Another snippet showed Nurna's mother. Mama, as she fondly called her. She held little Nurna in her hands, her lips curved into a loving smile as her face faintly glowed.

She saw herself on a battlefield. Her father had taken her to war. She was only 13, her mother and a blacksmith had to make special armor and war garments for her. After the war, her father had her whipped until she couldn't walk. That was because she couldn't bring herself to kill anyone.

"How will you conquer the world for His Majesty when you can't even kill a bird in the forest?" She heard her father booming as lashes sounded on her back.

She hated "His Majesty." She never met him, but her whole life had to revolve around his ambitious and greedy plans.

She saw Roe hug her in tears on the day of her wedding; they could still visit each other as her husband's house was close, but the thought of not being able to sleep side by side broke their hearts.

She then saw a waterfall. She was now a young lady, and her body had started to change.

She was on the cliff by the waterfall. She wanted to end her own life.

"Well, that's a bit dramatic, don't you think?" a smooth baritone voice drawled from behind her, his voice similar to the soft rumbling of deep waters.

Nurna whirled around, startled. Fire, not tears, blazed in her eyes.

"Dramatic? I'll give you something dramatic!" she yelled, brandishing the little kitchen knife–clearly not standard cliff-jumping equipment.

The tall man that seemed like a stray demon in simple clothing raised an eyebrow, unfazed.

"Honey, that's a kitchen knife. You're gonna need a bigger… blade."

Nurna blinked. "Shouldn't you be...?"

"No, no, no," he said, taking a casual step closer, hands nonchalantly in his pockets.

"For all that angst, you really need to shake the heavens." Seeing her blink in confusion, he let out a grin, and Nurna's heart stopped, as her eyes moistened from opening them so wide.

"Why don't you put down the cutlery, and let's brainstorm some better options. Like this..." He offered, bringing out his sword, slowly out of its sheath.

"I've done this a lot of times, I can serve it any way you want," he said, sporting his devilish grin once more.

"Don't you dare raise your sword at me!" she yelled shakily, her eyes scanning around for an exit. "Do you know who my father is?!"

"I'm guessing the horse shit that is just a doormat to the old ugly coward?"

Nurna gasped. "How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to know that you're a brat?"

"Brat? Me?" she yelled.

As he took a step closer, she subconsciously stepped backward. Unknown to her, she was already at the very edge of the cliff.

"Mama!" she screamed as she wobbled, the cold wind blowing her backward as her hair danced around. Just as she was about to topple over, he caught her hand and pulled.

With a thud, they both landed on the ground, with Nurna on top of the devilishly handsome warrior.