章 30: Haunted

"Wasn't that the reason why you risked your life and came here in the first place? That mother would finally look at you, acknowledge you, and maybe sprinkle in a little bit of praise for her adorable daughter."

I knew who that voice belonged to; it was Aria speaking, no doubt about it. But for some reason, her voice felt a little more… hostile.

Intending to check what was happening, I tried to get out of my sleeping bag only to make a startling discovery. The floor we were sleeping on was covered in silver mirror-like sand.

How? There wasn't nearly enough sand when we went to sleep. My instincts screamed as a chilling sense of foreboding slowly crept into my mind. Thinking of the worst I immediately light up a nearby torch, illuminating the room.

"Looks like that one had woken up after all," Aria spoke once again, sending a shiver down my spine.

My breathing slowed, and I slowly turned around towards the door to see Aria sitting down on the floor, her eyes tightly shut close, and her face turned white in horror.

In front of her stood another Aria, wearing the same identical face, looking down at me with a cruel smile.

"This one is hiding a lot of things, isn't he, Aria?"

Looking at Aria's reflection standing in front of her, taunting her in such a manner. I didn't know what to do; reflections were dangerous for a reason, the biggest being that they were indestructible. I could throw my strongest attack on that…thing and not land a scratch.

"Help me…do…something, I can't take it anymore." Aria whimpered in a low voice as tears streaked past her cheek.

Help her? How? I didn't know of any way to get rid of a reflection. Besides, what the hell had that thing done for her to start crying?

I turned to my side to see Tess was still sleeping in her sleeping bag, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Tess, wake up," I called out, but she didn't answer.

"TESS IT'S AN EMERG-"

"She won't wake up." Aria suddenly spoke up stopping my shouting. "She was awake when this thing appeared, I don't know what happened but she walked past me and went to sleep."

"Thing? You call yourself a thing?" Aria's reflection spoke, her voice as chilly as ice.

"I am thinking of something; you just keep your eyes shut for the time being. And don't talk to her."

Listening to me, Aria reluctantly nodded while her reflection simply smiled.

That's right, there was no reason for me to fear her. She was Aria's reflection, not mine. She couldn't do anything to.

"-Harm you?" Another voice resounded in the room, freezing me to my core.

In front of my eyes, I saw a figure identical to my own stepping out of the darkness beside Aria. His eyes met mine, and I froze where I stood; I didn't even have time to avert my eyes.

The world around me began to distort before being consumed by pitch-black darkness, leaving only me and my reflection behind. I wanted to close my eyes, but something told me it was too late.

That thing looked at me and smiled as if it was looking at something funny. At the same time, my vision began to swim, and before I knew it, I had already lost consciousness.

When I woke up, I found myself standing in the middle of the desert. The sun was high up in the sky, and no matter how far I looked, I could only see the silver sand-covered dunes.

"Where was this place?"

As was my habit, my hand immediately went to my trousers, rummaging and checking through my pockets. Where the hell is all of my stuff? I didn't have my compass with me, nor did any of my other belongings.

"Weird," I mumbled and looked around once again. With no other choice, I began walking in the direction I was facing.

Time passed, and no matter how much or how far I walked, the landscape remained unchanged. Sun was still hung high in the sky, intent on punishing me with it's unforgiving heat.

By now, my stomach had begun growling in pain, waiting to be fed, but I ignored it. Or more like I had to; I didn't have much other choice after all, not like there was anything I could eat.

Step after step, the day turned into night and then again into the day, but there was no end in sight.

The desert seemed endless, yet I kept walking. I didn't know what this place was, but I had to keep walking.

I didn't knew how much time had passed, I had no way to measure how long I'd been walking. Hours? Days? Weeks? but after a while my throat grew raw, lips cracked, skin blistered beneath the relentless sun.

I found myself lying under the shade of a large tree. Surrounded by butterflies and chirping birds, the scent of freshly cut grass permeated the air.

"Urgh, that was a weird dream." I groaned as I stood up while dusting my clothes. Desert, monsters, a grown-up Aria. I've had nightmares before, but that was probably one of my scariest ones.

"There's my little Roye." A voice interrupted my thoughts as I turned around to see the figure of a middle-aged man walking in my direction.

"Damn it, he found me." I cursed before instantly covering my mouth with my hands. It hadn't even been a week since Father had forbidden me from cursing.

"Ha Ha Ha. Don't tell me you are still angry about before." Father chuckled and picked me up in his arms.

I immediately turned my head away. Even though I was glad he hadn't heard me back there, I also knew if I showed even a little bit of weakness, he was going to send me back to spend time with that red-haired witch.

"So you are still mad." Father chuckled and began walking forward. "Son, you do understand that you'll be marrying Aria someday, don't you."

I didn't say anything; I knew where this conversation was going. I have had it a million times, after all.

"She told me you called her names, a 'Hot Sauce,' was it?"

"Not before she called us weird; she said our family was weird for liking corpses and dead people." I snapped back; no way was I going to let that firecracker lie to my father.

Hearing me, Father paused for a while before continuing.

"I see… still, you could have done it in a more private setting instead of shouting it out in front of the maids. Did I teach you nothing about how bothersome witnesses can be?

I lowered my head and didn't say anything; he was right; I had been too rash.

"Alright, listen to me." Father began. "From now on, you are forbidden from starting a fight with Aria. Both of you need to get along; you are going to be spending your entire life together, you understand."

He put me down on the floor. "I'll also talk to Lady Mira, she should speak to Aria. Until then go hide somewhere else, your mother is going to come looking for you here any second."

I nodded quietly.

Looking at me, Father smiled once more and ruffled my hair. He then turned.

I didn't know when it began, but the concept of time had begun to fade from my mind. Perhaps it had been hours, days, months, maybe even years? I couldn't tell anymore.

Every step I took was accompanied by my body screaming in pain, demanding some food, water, and rest.

To be honest, I didn't even remember why I had begun walking in the first place. Was I going somewhere? Was I looking for something?

For the first time, I didn't know how long it would take, so I paused to think. "Why was I even walking in this direction?"

My brain was churning out questions when suddenly I caught something out of the corner of my eyes.

I immediately raised my head to peer into the horizon, only to see the shadow of a person standing alone in the distance.

There was someone there. Excited, I jumped down from the sandy dune I was standing on and began sprinting.

"OVER HERE, STOP." Ignoring my raspy throat, I shouted as loud as I could while flailing my trembling arms around at the same time.

"STOP, LOOK HERE, HERE."

Perhaps the person didn't hear me, but the moment I started sprinting, he began running as well.

"OH NO, YOU DON'T," I screamed. I had finally found someone in this accursed place, and there was no way I was going to let them escape.

To ensure the person didn't escape, I increased my running speed. My legs screamed in pain, but I ignored them.

No way was I going to let that person get away, absolutely no way.

"I know you don't need me to explain this; you're sharp enough to see the bigger picture, but let me make it clear anyway." Mother spoke with a familiarly cold tone while leading Ashe and me toward the grand hall.

"In tonight's event, you are going to be approached by several young ladies who will insist to share a dance with you, the same goes for you Ashe."

"You must reject all suitors. As children of Valthor, this will be the first time both of you attend the ball, and every noble in the hall will be watching your every step. That includes who you choose as your partner for your first dance. Do I make myself clear?"

Both Ashe and I silently nodded, not daring to utter a single word.

"As for you." She looked towards Ashe. "… try to be a little tactful when you reject them."