Bab 12: kind of... cute
The back of the man sitting by the window of the corner store stiffened as he rubbed his fingertips. His eyes flickered with some unknown emotion that was fleeting.
The words, "He is my boyfriend," echoed in his mind as he obediently waited for Circe to come back.
Circe sat down with a smile on her face finding the cashier's reaction comical. "Here... eat this one. It's not spicy," she said while swapping out the noodles.
She stirred her noodles before she started eating with no care in the world. After two days of not eating anything she was the least bit restrained.
The man beside her watched her eat at the corner of his eye for a moment his thoughts adrift. Everyone knew her as a demon in human skin but there was a side of her only a few ever got to see.
People used to wonder why her followers were so loyal to her. Many had tried to lure or torture her subordinates to get her weaknesses and betray her but those lured would reject the offer and those tortured would rather die. Circe was drawn to people who one would consider broken or abandoned.
Those who followed Circe became her loyal minions. They would do anything for her, even if it meant sacrificing their lives. They saw her as a benevolent and generous mistress, who gave them a new purpose and a new family. But outsider thought she had bewitched them to do her bidding.
When Circe was executed the alliance mistakenly thought that her followers would scatter and go into hiding but that wasn't the case.
They burnt down the mansion in the mountains before descending and bringing chaos to the alliance. They knew they would all die and didn't want anyone to desecrate Circe's home so they chose to set it ablaze.
They unleashed their magic and their beasts and fought with fierce determination. This fierce battle was just a distraction. Their real target was Ayra and they almost succeeded. Unfortunately, their plans were foiled at the last minute.
After three mouthfuls, Circe glanced at the man sitting beside her and saw that he wasn't eating his food. Thinking he disliked noodles she tore the package of the shrimp cutlet sandwich and pushed it towards him.
"Here, try this. You might like it," she said and stared at him for a long time waiting for him to take a bite. "Go on," she said and he picked it up before taking a bite.
He took a second bite and then a third. It was only then that Circe stopped looking at him. She laughed silently recalling the bear cub she once saved from a trap. When she fed it milk for the first time it hesitated much like the man sitting next to him but once it started eating it couldn't stop. It was kind of... cute.
"Why didn't you go back home? A person like you shouldn't be here," she said and the man who had spent two days watching outside her window had no words. The first night he slipped into her room he almost got the fright of his life. The next night he didn't dare get close choosing to watch her from afar.
Circe patiently waited for him to answer but it suddenly dawned on her that he might not have a mobile device. She smacked herself on the forehead startling the man sitting beside her. She felt around her pocket and realised that she hadn't seen Ci Ci's mobile device ever since she woke up in this place. She suddenly got up and walked back to the cashier. She decided to get a temporary mobile device.
The cashier unlocked the glass case behind him and took out a box. "This one has most functions but it's not the best quality," he said his expression not so good. What he really wanted to ask was whether that man was truly her boyfriend but he felt he would just piss her off if he asked.
"Thanks," she said while tearing the package. She threw the box in the bin and walked back to the table. After making sure all the basic functions were available she handed it to the man.
"Here, call your family so they can pick you up," she said and the man stared at the mobile device in the shadows of his hood.
With a polite smile, she urged him on and the man's thin pale fingers reached over to take it. Circe picked up the half-eaten sandwich and ate it.
The man's eyes flashed with mixed emotions. He wanted to stop Circe but before he knew it, it was already in her mouth. For a moment his chest felt warm like a spring had sprouted dispelling the biting chill but soon the warmth vanished as quickly as it came. The thought that she might be like this with everyone made him feel a little sour.
"I will go make a call," he said his voice raspy and brittle like he hadn't spoken in a very long time.
Circe nodded her head absentmindedly while shoving the rest of the sandwich in her mouth. From where she was sitting she could see the man outside the window on the mobile device. In no less than two minutes he came back inside and sat beside her before handing her back the mobile device.
"No one is picking up," he said and Circe couldn't help but feel like he was pitiful. Just as pitiful as she was when her father left her in the middle of the forest once hoping she would get lost. She was only six and had no way of getting home.
Memories of her thin frame hugging her knees and crying in the rain in the middle of the forest flashed in her mind. A glint of malice flickered in her eyes as the corner of her lips quirked. If it weren't for her Mother searching for her for two days she might have died in the forest.
She twisted the cap of the milkshake bottle and slid it over to him. "This will cheer you up," she said and the man who had repeatedly called a number that didn't exist felt slight guilt.
"Thank you," he whispered as he accepted the bottle. He didn't like sweet things like these but because she offered he didn't want to refuse her. Circe rested her arms on the table watching him. If her situation in this world wasn't so uncertain she wouldn't mind taking him in and raising him like she did to others in her past life.
Hadiah
-- Hadiah diterima Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone