Chương 15: Chapter 14: See You Soon, Brother!
Even the drops of rain courted for my attention outside. Yet not a single curtain lifted within my room. Tears rolled down non-stop all over my face. I was just another girl and no matter how much I tried, Grade was an existence long extinguished, far far away.
"So who am I?" I tried to think, but it was impossible.
My heart had sunk into the pit of despair now. Fred hadn't replied yet and the bird hadn't arrived. On top of it all, despite being a mage at such a tender age, I was not qualified to be in M.T.S.
"..." I sniffled and cried until my pillows were wet, and then turned to wipe my tears and snots on the bed sheet.
Pink was not my style anymore. Things were so dark and bitter that I felt like I was worse than trash all over again... nobody would want me. Nobody cared.
While I was busy with my ambivalent feelings all rushing out and questioning my true identity, a knock on the door, instantly averted my attention. At the time, the back of my mind, clogged numerous anxieties, with everything else seemingly... pointless.
So I put the blanket down and tip-toed towards the door. I knew who it was the moment my ears pressed against the new wooden door.
The door was carved, especially to be slightly different, compared with the other rooms and thus, easily recognizable. The wooden carvings were simply as elegant as the Victorian Era paintings back on Earth. Each carve swayed with it's own unique personality.
As I leaned closer towards the door, my right ear pressed tightly against it, I heard that overly familiar voice. A voice full of arrogance and nobility. Talking to 'his' subjects.
Who else could it be, but Charles? I yawned without interest.
"The week has passed and she still won't open the door, sire." I heard a maid report to Charles.
"Her food had been left untouched until the past two days though," another maid opened her mouth, "of course, we have been diligently exchanging the course of every meal... sire."
"Good," Charles's voice sounded cold.
"Sire, if I must," a steward tried suggesting, "perhaps Miss Gloria would feel it better if you bring her a gift or stroll over town..."
Charles just coughed and said nothing.
For sometime afterwards, everything indulged in silence.
Busy footsteps were all I heard. Surely they had left? I pondered, lost in thoughts.
"I'm worried if this continues on..." I heard a faint voice speak.
"Let me handle this, George," I heard dad's rough voice whispering, "I'll talk to her."
There was knock on the door again and my poor eardrums were the worst of its victims.
Frankly, my ears were still ringing from the vibrations, as I rushed to push myself backwards. I stood in the middle of my room, speechless. The showering rain outside was still, as gloomy as ever.
"Gloria, honey," Dad spoke in a rather sweet and concerned tone, "we won't bite. We just want to talk to you... Could you please open the door...?"
"..." I paused for a few seconds, suddenly craving the urge to slam open the door and shout out loud how pathetic I felt deep inside.
On the contrary, I did none of that. Instead, "...I don't wanna..." I held a long pause before giving them my answer in a rather arrogant and selfish way.
The only person I longed for at this moment was my big brother, Fred, but he was a long distance away. I just couldn't grasp these uneasy emotions that spoke from the guts... I worried, now and again, whether he was truly in danger or not.
I crouched down with pain as hunger echoed in my stomach. It was the worst possible moment for me to think about food...! "Not now!!" I heard a tiny whisper from my mouth.
"Please sweetie," Dad exclaimed in a much lower tone, "Open the door..."
"C'mon Gloria, please," I heard George say with a slight haste, "Father hasn't eaten at all for the past three days. He won't eat unless you come out. His face has gotten so pale with only drinking water-"
George stopped short.
Again, only silence greeted me. However, this time there was something new about it, "OPEN THE DOOR, GLORIA!" Prince Charles's dark personality commanded, "EITHER THAT, OR I'M CRACKING THIS DOOR WIDE OPEN!"
"You're just bluffing!" I tried to reply, my voice shaking.
"If you think I'm joking then think again!" He seemed full of himself, "Just get out of the way or I'll blast you along with your beloved door!"
This guy had the nerve to threaten me!
"Cute," I replied with a devious smirk plastered on my face, as I got right in front of the door, "Give it all you've got!" I shouted back at him.
"Threaten me all you want," I thought to myself, "but that trick was overrated even before I was born, sucker!!"
Suddenly, the earth beneath me shook. Standing there felt like I was on a massage chair that was vibrating throughout every bone in my body.
Out of the blue, a quicksand appeared below me and sucked me in. All of me... within seconds! It felt like drowning in a tornado... I was suffocating the entire time. Was I underneath the earth? Was I within the sea or air? No, I was caught in a dusty place where the golden quicksand all around... But worst of all, my movements and even the feeling of touch, had disappeared.
A huge impact caused the quicksand to shake violently and I felt sick to my stomach, but then it went with it's usual pace. My stomach growled and my eyes continued to lose hope.
Everything started to become blurry. I could barely blink my eyes and a strange numbing sensation grasped a hold of me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say bluntly, my body was gonna disintegrate.
"Calm down," a mysterious voice suggested.
"Breathe... come on... just move your hands..." was all I could remember hearing at the brink of unconsciousness.
Moving my hands upwards little by little, still shivering from the coldness, I gradually opened my eyes. I could feel the sensation of my eyes moving, my hands shivering while holding George's hand and the look of pity in everyone's eyes.
Only one figure stood out at that moment in my memory.
Charles, as he looked right at me, annoyed and expressionless.
In less than a handful of seconds, my head began hurting and before I could ask any question, everything turned pitch black... sleep overwhelmed my nerves... it was too blissful to ignore.
__________
___
I could feel my head tilting from one side to another, but my vision was by now, lost in darkness. I could obviously hear birds chirping outside and the leaves rustling up against the wind. Yet, my body did not feel the urgency to wake up.
"We have to go." I heard Dad.
"But Father, what about little Glow?" This was George, without a doubt. A soft spoken gentleman.
"She's yet to awaken." So he was here too, that damn Dark Prince.
At that moment, I felt my left hand index finger nudge a little. Was this out of spite or just a coincidence? I was intrigued to find out.
"Did you see that?" George implied with fascination.
"..." Dad and Charles were silent.
I could feel myself trying to stimulate contact.
"I think she's restraining herself." Charles bluntly chose his words to spite me again.
"Why?" Dad asked.
"She just doesn't want to face the cold hard truth." Charles grunted.
Okay, okay, that's ENOUGH. I wanted to smack his words with mine. This dude was clearly trying to trample me with my insecurities now!!
"No way... but Baby Glow's always been the brave one." Dad added.
"Then what about the bird?" George asked, his voice seemed tensed.
"Bird...?" My mouth opened up, surprised and shivering.
I felt my eyes open wide with concern. My hands were still paralyzed and my body didn't coordinate well either. Only my head to neck felt the mobility to move at all, despite the fact that it hurt everywhere.
"The... the..." George looked at me, puzzled.
"Look Windy," Dad called me, "George and I will cover this situation. You should rest..."
"Tell me, w-w-wh-aat?" I barely managed to speak.
"The bird returned. There's no return letter. So father and I are going to the frontlines." George replied, hurriedly.
"..."
"No return letter..." my mind went blank with misery. "He hasn't called... ever."
I just nodded and looked away towards the window. George seemed awfully concerned with what to say next, but never uttered anything.
Within minutes, I was alone in the room, staring at the roof. I felt my nerves relax and my body felt light. It wasn't much of a surprise that I wasn't in my old room anymore. This room was painted yellow and green. Naturally, very positive.
My muscles relaxed and my eyes shut down... all I could remember was falling into deep slumber...there remained nothing but haze.
...
A tickle on the nose was enough to irritate me. So why was the wind outside acting up and the leaves just going along with it's tune. I couldn't get a minute of sleep, the moment the storm attacked.
Unexpectedly, an entire day had passed by the time I woke up, again. My senses were more sharpened and relaxed. My body felt as alive as a jungle cat and the dizziness I felt before had vanished completely.
A maid rushed to my rescue, running hurriedly with all her might. I recognized her pretty well... she was the one who had almost tied of strangulation by the Dark Prince!
"I am so very sorry, Ms. Gloria," she apologized frantically, not allowing her emotions to show too much, "His Highness had ordered me to open up the window so you could inhale some fresh air. I was in the kitchen downstairs preparing your supper. I am extremely sorry, Miss, there wont be a next time."
"What's your name?" I asked, curiously.
"Pardon?" She was surprised for some reason.
"Your name..." I wondered what I said wrong.
"Oh, yes," she smiled sheepishly, "of course!"
However, just as she was about to introduce herself to me, a recurring knock on the door interfered. As always, it was His Highness, the Cunning Crown Prince.
The maid slightly bowed to me and then slid past Charles, whom she once admired, but now her face looked petrified instead.
"Avalon and George have left." Charles said when only the two of us were in the room. His eyes felt very chilling.
"I see..." I stared down on my bed sheet, scared and sad.
My heart began thumping once I realized we were alone. This was the first time. Surprisingly I was well aware of this emotion... utter fear!
Most people would have mistaken it for love, but not me, I knew instantly what this was... I was suffocating the entire time he was here. He was more powerful than me, so how could I feel safe? Heck! I wasn't even sure whether I should consider him a friend or foe.
"I know what you're thinking, G," Charles suddenly exclaimed, "but know this... whatever I do, despite the sadness I cause you often, are all for your well being."
"Heh," I just chuckled a little.
"Oh? You think it's funny, do you now?" Charles stated, "Then let me ask you this... why were you asking that servant for her identity?"
"What an absurd question!" I thought to myself, but didn't say a word.
"She stood up to you. I found that very inspiring!" I remarked sarcastically.
"Really?" The dark Prince laughed a little. Then his eyes went deep. Gloomy as ever, he replied, "It sounds to me that you were going to promote her."
"What?" His words hit me like a ton of bricks, "Why?!"
"Its not a remote village, nor a tribe..." Charles replied, indifferent, "This is the Crown Prince's Castle! A part of the royal court." His tone became more and more domineering, "My words are the law. Since you have a higher status here now, followers and servants will naturally be desperate to catch your eye."
"Oh... I get it."
"You do?" Charles gave me a doubtful glance, "But mark my words... If you're not careful with these people, they'll bite you later on."
"So why are you here?" I tried changing the subject.
"To warn you." Charles replied.
"About what?"
"..."
He didn't reply, but his face was smeared with an apologetic smile. This was the first time I'd seen him behave this strangely. Sure he was a big weirdo from the beginning, but he hardly ever acted up. Ever since we came, this time, he was... distant.
"Okay...?" I awkwardly tried to reply.
"At this moment, I'm not sure whether telling you is the right choice... especially because of your reckless behaviour."
"If you don't tell me then won't I barge upon whatever IT is, sooner or later...?"
"Therefore," Charles paused for a moment. The silence was tremendously heavy the longer it drew, "I have a solution. Become my sister."
"...Excuse me?" I managed to choke myself without effort, by his confession.
"There is a way. A Bond."
"Like adopting me?" I asked, feeling nauseous.
"Not really." Charles chuckled a little before he continued, "A Bond does indeed have paperwork and an application that should be approved by the royal court. But, a bond is special."
"Yet, you won't go into details..."
"That's right. I don't want you to plot your cards."
"Tch." I clicked my tongue, "so be it."
...
It was already dreadfully dark by the time I could move my body entirely. The twin moons, as I called them, were glistening above in the night sky.
"Are you following me?" I asked them, giggling to myself.
The room was utterly silent and nobody answered. I looked at both of the twins that were gazing upon me. It had been a long time since Fred and I had watched the moons shining as brightly as diamonds.
I tiptoed down the hall and crept my way up the marble stairs. I had to take my indoor shoes off just so there wouldn't be any sound. After all, the only place left for me to go... was my room.
To my surprise, the previous door that was once new, had already been replaced. The screws were bolted, neatly.
I barged into my room and closed the door. This new room was still clashing against my tastes. Sure, it was refined and had a balcony added, but it was not the old one...
I turned on the lights, but gave them all a dim glow. It would be better if I hadn't been discovered yet. I walked over to the curtains and shoved them all the way, so nobody would spot me.
"Urgh," I grumbled to myself, "It hurts... my head."
I flinched around to search for my prey. It had been carefully stuffed inside a cage and properly placed on my desk near the windowsill.
"Say... how is he?" I asked the bird who didn't know my language.
I sighed. It was no use after all.
I stretched my arms and sat on the chair, wondering what to write. The bird stared at me, meticulously studying my every action. It was annoying.
As I stared into space and yawned over a hundred times, the letter remained blank.
"..."
"Gloria... Gloria..." I heard a voice.
"Don't disturb me." I groaned.
"Wake up, see... it's Fred."
I jumped on my feet the moment I heard this news. "Fred!" I gleefully turned to look behind me.
Immediately, I could pinpoint his location amongst the crowd of people standing behind me. Family members who wore plain white clothes and everybody else who wore pure black... but what about Fred? Well, there he was.
Yes, he was there. Speechless... breathless... and dead. Inside that silver coffin.
"No..." I tried to pacify my shaken self, "No, no, no, no....NO!"
I grabbed hold of my hair, trying to read off everything and just say that this is but a dream...!
And yet, the evidence was right before my eyes. No face, no body, no nothing. Just that coffin.
"Surely, it's not..." I screamed loudly amongst all this anguish, "STOP CRYING! DAMN IT!! I told you, didn't I? IT'S NOT HIM!!!"
"How can you be so sure?" a voice behind me spoke as I froze.
I turned to look behind me and then, there it was...! That stupid bird!!
"It's all your fault!" I yelled to no avail.
"Is it now?" the bird just smirked.
I swallowed a lump down my dry throat. The impossible was happening right before my eyes.
"This is just a dream!" I arrogantly stated, stressed out.
"Perhaps," another voice interrupted and before I knew it, everything had faded into a blinding white colour.
"Let me say this now," I felt the voice getting closer to me, more than ever, "STAY AWAY FROM FRED, if you value your life..." it paused, "...and his..."
"What? No! Wait...!" As I tried to stop the voice, a black hole began sucking me inside and when I opened my eyes, I was sprawled on the floor like an idiot, sweating like a sinner, back inside my room. The vision, or rather dream, was gone.
The lights were dimly lit. The curtains were pulled and my injuries were more painful than ever. The medicines of this world were healing potions and ointments, sure, but the flaws were the aftereffects.
The injuries would heal mostly within a few days, even if you lost an arm, regeneration wasn't a problem if you had money. However, what was most severe was the backlash that followed afterwards!
My heart thumped like a forest fire. My lungs were filled with carbon dioxide and breathing itself became a stranger to me. Then came the momentary paralysis effect that numbed my entire nervous system.
"This is a type of Hell." I said to myself.
...
After a few hours of suffering, I found myself free to move again. Sighing, I got up and properly sat on the chair wondering about many things... the letter... the bird... and mostly, about that nightmare.
"I quit." I said to the bird, "I'm not backing out anymore. My brother is definitely alive! I just know it!!"
I smirked and began to write my second letter to Fred:
"Dear Nasty Big Brother Fred,
How are you today? How are things back at the front lines? Hopefully you're still alive, aren't you? You haven't replied to my first letter yet, so... I'm still waiting, y'know?
This bird is useless to me if you won't reply to me... but every time I see it, I'm relieved. I can be sure that you're still here. I'm not missing you, though. Don't misunderstand! I'm just worried that you're gonna cry and beg me to help you later on... so, please, make sure you reply to me this time.
Even if I have to wait forever, I won't stop writing... crying... waiting... never. Don't run away, J.
See You Soon~ Big Brother!
(Signed) G.W"
Just like last time, I strapped my hair ribbon around the letter before attaching it to the hawk's leg. It flew off the balcony when I released it. Swift, silent and only leaving a feather behind.
"This is it!" I told myself.
< Charles's POV >
"My Lord," a voice interrupted my thoughts.
"I'm busy, Hilbert." I said to the middle aged scrawny man who stood in front of me.
"Of course, sire," was all he uttered, "but this might interest you..."
By the time I realized what Hilbert's unusual smirk meant as he carefully put down a letter in front of my desk, I was left speechless.
"You can't be serious..." I gasped as I began to unfold the letter.
This was no ordinary letter. Because along with the letter as white as sheet, came a blue envelop. That envelop was a... telegram.
I opened the letter with shaking hands. Even though Hilbert had insisted he would take over, I refused. "If I'm a royal, then I should act like one. Don't you agree?" I remarked sarcastically at him.
"But of course." Hilbert frowned a little.
Hilbert had always looked after me since my birth. He had been my trusted aid for as long as I could remember. To me, unlike my biological father the King, Hilbert was more of a father figure. A comrade I have never regretted having...!
"You can't protect me forever, Hilbert." I chuckled at the overprotective man.
I took the letter out of the white envelop and read it silently. My eyes felt heavy as I handed the letter to Hilbert and asked him one question, "Where is she?"
"I believe Lady Gloria has gone to town to refresh herself." Hilbert answered while he glanced at the letter.
"Alone?"
"No, your highness," Hilbert replied with confidence, "I've sent guards disguised along with her and a few spies to follow behind them should the need arise."
"Read it." I sighed with a dry throat.
"Dear Friend,
My father and I have been scouting the front lines for the past two days and as you've predicted, there's no survivor here. Blood and icy-snow all the way upto the Northern mountains. I cannot discuss the dire details with you yet in this letter due to the dangers ahead.
However, Fred is still M.I.A. So, please do not let Gloria hear these words before Dad and I arrive.
From the Front Line: Galvous,
George. W"
I heaved a long, heavy sigh. This was no time to be panicking, I hardened my thoughts and convinced myself. This was the time of planning!
"Your Highness, I must agree with Sir George's opinions." Hilbert stated with deep concern.
"..."
I did not reply. There were various suspicious hints in this letter that I could not dismiss. However, what concerned me more was the telegram that was still unread. I waved my hand for Hilbert to open the telegram.
"Are you sure, your Highness?" Hilbert asked again with a frown and deep concern in his eyes as if I was some child that needed his care.
I simply noded and flicked my wrist.
Hilbert bowed and simply replied, "Understood, sire."
__________
___
"I say," the feisty little girl kept on chattering on the dinner table, "You haven't touched your food Charles... is something wrong?" she bugged me.
It was always the hardest to come up with a lie in front of Gloria. Not only did I needed to make it sound more convincing, I had to also act that way, all the more not to underestimate her and talk too much. In other words, I had to check on myself every now and then and satisfy her, while eating.
As usual, I frowned and barely smiled her way. Looked in front of me, where there was no one but a giant door, behind the empty chair a long distance away from where I sat.
Who knows how many times I've had to be careful of my blinking and chewing...!
For a moment I paused while eating and glanced her way, "Do not open your mouth while eating. Act like a princess since you are my sister."
As I stared at the chubby little creature, I couldn't help but smile at her flushed face, red as a tomato.
"... sing..." I heard her mumble to herself.
"It's embarrassing, you idiot prince!" She suddenly burst out loud as she stood up. The chair fell down with a thud -sound behind her.
I sat on my chair, stupefied. Unable to comprehend whether she was courageous and blunt, or simply an idiot herself.
Her ears were bright red and her cheeks were still flushed as before. Her eyes were filled with intense glare directed my way. I sheepishly smiled, giving her the upper hand.
"Hmmph!" She turned her head and stomped towards the door.
"Oh, and..." she paused. Then turned once more and glared at me. With a loud voice that echoed throughout the entire dining hall, she shrieked, "I WILL DINE IN MY ROOM FROM NOW ON!"
"Okay..." I softly replied, my voice cracking up.
"Hilbert," I called after drinking some water to ease my throat, "please be sure to tell the maids to send some food to her room from now onwards."
"Of course, your highness." Hilbert obeyed.
...
"Gloria," I knocked on her room door, "Listen, I'm here to apologize."
Even though there was no answer, I could still feel her presence from the other side. "Even though I have no idea what I've done wrong... might you enlighten me?"
Still no answer...
"...and forgive me?" I continued with a half baked apology.
"You were being rude." a voice replied from the other side.
"Eat your dinner, okay? I'll apologize again in the morning if you've eaten." I ordered.
"... no..." she stated.
"..."
A long pause without a conversation and then she suddenly broke the silence, "If I am your sister, then don't treat me like your subject. I'm nobody's slave."
Her stoic icy comment pierced my heart. I felt as though I had been hit by a bulldozer and survived miraculously, even though I'd lost the sense of 'touch' and left with broken bones.
I coughed and cleared my throat.
"Very well. I will remember as long as you remember to behave yourself, deal?" I announced, half joking.
"Deal." she agreed, bewildering me.
"And by the way," I couldn't help but spill, "Father-in-law and George will be arriving in a few days."
The moment I said these words, I felt a kick straight to the back of my knee. "Ouch!" I tried to hold my voice as I fell on the cold floor, nearly hitting my head in the process. How did she do that?! I became more and more puzzled.
"I never accepted you as my brother-in-law..." the door slightly opened as a pair of bloody cold eyes met mine, "Don't get ahead of yourself, f***er!"
"For a child t-t-th-those are highl-ly inappropriate words..." I managed to choke out a single sentence.
"Heh." she smirked wickedly and giggled as the door closed.
I could feel my spirit floating out my body! A long relief spread down my spine as I slowly got up and walked away to my study. I couldn't help but wonder how much fearsome menace was left in that small body of hers...
"Why do I feel as though this is going to be a long~ long, night?" I questioned myself, feeling hopeless.
...
The clock ticked with the rhythm of my heart beat, spontaneously. I sighed as I signed each of the many contracts before my desk. The pile of papers kept getting longer and longer. I wondered if at some point the ceiling and the mountain of contracts would meet each other face-to-face.
This childish fantasy was my only distraction now. In the back of my mind, conscious or unconscious, only the tension of the Windstorms and the Dark Guild kept piling up.
"Would you like some herbal tea, sire?" Hilbert asked.
"In the dead of the night?" I questioned him back, logically.
"Your health is my most important priority, my Lord." Hilbert smiled.
"Certainly, but I would rather prefer some nice black coffee."
"I cannot do that, Cha- uh, sire." Hilbert answered, "You are still too young!"
"To have coffee?" I asked, amazed.
"Yes," he simply insisted.
"Urgh, fine!" I grunted as I waved my hand, "Then I'll take an hour's worth of break. Just make sure you arrange the stacks when I arrive."
I stood up and stretched my worn out elbows. Ruffling my hair that was straight and dead tired, I reached for the telegram that still stood, undisturbed. "Seems more of a waste to open and worry now," I convinced myself.
"Hilbert," I deepened my voice, "who is this telegram from?"
"I don't know my Lord." Hilbert replied, "it came along with the letters so I though it might have been from sir George."
"Have you opened it?" I glared at him, trying to read his expressions while watching him neatly stack the papers.
"Nay. I haven't." Hilbert nodded.
I could tell he wasn't lying to me. He wasn't concerned about this either, but too concentrated with the pile of papers in his hands.
"Any news about Fred?" I questioned as I observed his movements whilst opening the telegram slowly.
"No, sire. Not since Sir George's letter. Would you like me to send some soldiers to search for his whereabouts though?" Hilbert asked with a frown imprinted on his face.
Hilbert had an unusual habit of not wasting time on things that were none of his concern. He lived quite simply and had a keen observational power. He did not have mana control so he wore a charm to protect himself from his own powers.
"No need." I licked my lower lip as I scoured through the unbelievable content at my hands.
The telegram was from the spies I had implanted beforehand and the news in the telegram was anything, but suspense. Every bit of doubt in my mind began to clear up... yet all that was left was bad news.
"Perhaps the chances of finding Fred now might no longer be-" the moment I uttered this sentence, the door behind me creaked a little and the sniffling cries of a small child could be heard.
Instantly, I knew who it was... Gloria!
"Why now of all times!?" I thought frantically, as I looked back at Hilbert who also had a pale expression, and then ran after her, "Surely, she'll understand...!"
< Gloria's POV >
"Hiyyah!" I exclaimed as I rode the horse.
"Charles you liar!" I shouted in my head, tears rolling down my eyes, "How could he do this! With that expressionless face and saying those words...!!!"
The grey cloak fell from my head, as the wind brushed my cheeks. I gripped the reigns of the horse tightly and yielded it to stop.
"Slow down fella," I said looking at the broken wooden board that barely hung on top, between two unstable wooden pillars.
A flash of lightning made it easy to read the characters written on the plank of wood.
"Welcome to Ravenwild." it read.
"What the-" I gasped as the horse cried out loud and yanked me along with it. At this point, I could only conclude that it had gone berserk. So I jumped from the horse's back into a huge pile of wet hay.
"Something's wrong," I said to myself, as a cold shiver ran down my spine. "Why do I feel that I'm not alone...?" I thought to myself, feeling threatened.
"Burst!" I heard an unknown voice and immediately jumped by instinct.
Within moments of my leap, the haystack erupted a small explosion as flames lit up, similar to a bonfire. However, within a minute or so, all the hay simply turned into dirt. Icky, mushy and toxic mud. Bubbles popped over it as if the thing itself was still alive...
"Thank goodness!" I said to myself as I landed on top of a tree trunk.
"Tch," I heard someone click their tongue.
I curled myself like a ball and hid behind the leaves. The grey cloak hid me like the background of a scenery. There was a light breeze and plenty of fog. The lightning had stopped for some time now. Not a drop of rain anymore.
I remained silent and slowed my breathing tremendously. The next thing I had to focus on was eliminating my own presence.
"Guess Vel's teachings came to some use, after all!" I sarcastically thought to myself, "But who on earth attacked me?"
Meticulously, my eyes wandered all over the ground, but keeping myself hidden at the same time proved to be a difficult task.
Hey, I said difficult, not impossible.
But what my sharp eyes led me to see was an unforgettable sight!
"Dad! George!" I couldn't believe my eyes, "No... there are two more victims. Shit!"
Two hostages were also present along with my family. A girl and another who's gender remained unclear to me. All four of them remained calm and with their eyes firmed of killing intent.
"Where's that kid!?" a man with cracking voice demanded.
His voice was quite loud!
"Not so loud boss, she might hear ya!" A fox faced man commented.
"Don't order me ya' punk!" the boss bellowed, "I am Sir Croash to you hooligans!"
"Of course," the fox man answered timidly, "but... sir, wouldn't it be better not to reveal our location? It was the Master's order after all."
The boss guy simply grunted and became silent. Three henchmen were still there, other than the two talkative ones. A tall dark skinned masculine man who had an expressionless face, a purple haired woman with a ponytail who carried a blow gun, and last but not least, a dwarf with green hair brown eyes with a dimensional pouch stuck with his belt.
"Burst, burst, burst!" the dwarf man spoke continuously as he simultaneously smacked his fingers against each other, "Burst! Burst! BURST, BURST, BURST!!"
His bloodshot eyes made me tremble. That dwarf only seemed harmless and tiny like a kid. However, he was anything but, that!
With each burst that echoed from a distance, the wicked midget laughed more and more horrifyingly. More and more black crystalline marbles floated out from his dimensional pouch. He chanted some words unbeknownst to my knowledge and flicked his fingers.
The tiny marbles zapped away who knows where...
I froze with fright. He wasn't the only one there though. He was powerful, yes. May be more than me... but what about the others? How would I defeat them all?!
"What I need now is a plan..." I whispered to myself.
Instinct kicked into full gear and I jumped out of the tree. The tree burst into flames within seconds and then the top half disappeared just like that!
My eyes veered on that little dwarf who smirked my way, "Found you~ brat!" He roared pointing his meaty fingers at me.
"Kuh," blood spattered from my mouth suddenly.
"ShentaBala!" an unknown voice shouted all of a sudden as the gravity below my feet pulled me down.
I thrashed myself, head first, onto the rotten wooden roof and hit the ground. In normal circumstances I'd be dead already. But the things is... my skull didn't crack.
I'm not thick headed or anything like that... I'm just smart.
Unfortunately for them, I had already created a shield around me moments before I leaped from the tree. It was only a matter of time when they would find me. So, I improvised!
Suddenly, I felt a tiny reaction from the tip of my toe and looked at my shoes with a gasp. Fatigued from my journey, I realized now, how much luxury induced I'd become.
It was a fairly thrilling miscalculation... and not in a bright manner.
I was on top of a quicksand! Furthermore, those tiny dark marbles occupied in dozens over it!!
Thankfully, the shield provided some time for me to escape, but unfortunately I had to jump all over again like some zoo monkey and reveal myself to those bastards.
I was in mid-air, but the situation got even more out of hand when I realized how idiotic I'd been. I flinched to look in front, whilst hastily plucking out my feet from my shoes.
A tall black figure loomed onto my new shield grabbing it tightly, staring at me pop-eyed, yet carefully observant. This was when I could truly feel danger!
*POP*
One of my shoes fell down as the other one barely let go. The marbles still latched onto it... like leeches. I felt the seconds counting down. Those things were obviously tiny time bombs!
Finally, gravity began pulling us down. The dark man jumped up and I wielded my mana manipulation skills in order to ease my landing. He landed on the ground without a scratch, despite the cracks upon the earth, below his bare feet.
I twisted in air, in a full 180 and somehow managed to take off my other shoe, as the shield broke apart and I fell on the ground. I barely landed with safety. Mysteriously enough, the shield was gone...
I couldn't imagine how or why. All I understood was that it was all done by that tower of a figure. Otherwise, even in a thousand attacks, my shield wouldn't have been broken...!
Here I stood, open in front of the enemy, dazed and confused. Yet, none of them so much as flinched. The dwarf seemed to be having a kill joy and the tower guy just stood where he landed doing nothing.
"So they don't think of me as a threat at all..." I figured, slightly disappointed.
Within a moment, the building began crumbling as soon as a loud burst occurred from behind. Yes, it was from where my second shoe had been thrown away.
I instantly formed a spell Dad had once taught me as a life saver. It was what he called a 'partial' shield, which blocked a certain portion of a user's body.
I made the spell to form as an umbrella and impressed him on camp. However, this special shield drained a lot of mana and hasn't been sturdy, nor perfected. The partial shield is my new invention devised and helped by dad.
In this world, most of the population consists of stick-in-the-mud type of people. Not many are that inventive or creative. So I guess, to me, who came from Earth, this type of thinking may be 'typical' and the partial shield is not a big deal. But it's something considered really amazing here.
Luckily, I was protected and the dust and smoke from all this crumbling gave me a chance to escape. My breathing needed to be toned down and it was difficult to abstain from coughing while stealthily sneaking away.
In every sense of the way I felt stupid. An utter imbecile for not bringing my invisible cloak mom gifted to me! Then I could sneak into the enemy territory, undetected, just like in movies of Harry Potter!
Idiot, idiot, idiot!
...
Those people eyed suspiciously at the debris left behind. They nodded to each other and two of them brought along shovels from somewhere.
"Oh no," my mind went blank.
"Master told to search the debris and find the body!" I heard someone shout.
"What? Why?" the dwarf man frowned lazily.
"Check... the... check... debris..." the tower guy frankly stated.
"I'm gonna load in some extra cash then!" the dwarf man grumbled out loud, "This guy here," he pointed at himself, "ain't for free labour...!"
"Whatever." the fox man rolled his eyes.
"Work you hooligans!" the boss guy bellowed.
Anxiety filled me. "What should I do now?"
"That's it!" I finally formed an average plan in my head.
I snuck behind the victims while those Darklings were busy and whispered to George, "Here, I'll loosen your grips so..."
George nooded and understood before I finished.
Since Dad and George were bigger than me, hiding behind them was easy. The other two girls looked at me in surprise.
Out of the blue, a red lightning barely flew by me, grazing my left arm. I didn't scream, but the pain was agonizing. Unintentionally, I had bitten my lower lip as blood trickled down.
"She's there." the fox like man with slanted eyes pointed at us.
"How...!?" I hid behind the tree, pretending that I couldn't help the victims yet.
"Yes Master," I heard the purple haired woman's voice answered somebody, "She's behind the tree!" She shouted to her fellow comrades.
"Spread out!" She commanded suddenly.
"..."
Nobody complained anymore and within a second they cleared out...?
"What's going on? They clearly know I'm behind this tree, so why are they just getting out of the way in a parallel like that... it's almost as if... as if..." that's when it came to me, for so long, they had an 'operator' from elsewhere informing and guiding them.
"But where?!!" I panicked.
I flinched my head in all directions and started to matchmake all those gaps. The holes and bugs from earlier. The wheels in my brain began functioning, but a single icicle came dashing towards me.
Instinct kicked in, once again, and I was saved. I flipped myself and avoided the icicle of death. The pain of the left arm increased.
"Wait." I gasped with fright, "that means that he's right in front of me! Covering himself within the faraway fog!! I'm a sitting duck!"
Waves of ice, as if the ground was an ocean, broke out in front of me all of a sudden and before I could even react, a flash of light blinded my eyes...! I closed my eyes tightly and held my arms over my face.
"...?"
"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked.
I opened my eyes in bewilderment. My mouth moved with no words and no sound. I felt my eyes widen and my comprehension level degrading.
"What's going on!?!" I couldn't say. This thought only flicked in my head and then just vanished.
Right in front of me... a little further up the mountain... an unexpected figure stood...
I couldn't believe my eyes. My hands clutched onto my chest. My entire being dropped down on its knees. A painful... silent... reunion?
Beads of sweat flushed down. Time had stopped and my ears went numb. No matter how much whomever spoke, all their voices had gone mute, deaf in my ears. My eyes dropped and I felt myself tremble all over.
"This isn't real." My mind repeated over and over again.
"I'm sorry." finally Charles's voice broke into my consciousness, "I should've stopped you... I'm sorry."
"Its not TRUE!!!" I yelled out at the top of my lungs, slamming my fists onto the dirt ground.
"Its is..." Dad's voice spoke from behind me as tears welled up in my eyes.
"Its a mistake... surely!" I exclaimed with confusion, still shouting loudly.
"So much for being a Master, can't even protect himself right!" the boss guy remarked sarcastically.
The floodgates were released and tears spiralled down my face, greeting me with sadness and misery.
"Why," I stared at the mastermind who was on top of the mountain, vividly visible with the naked eyes now, "Why, why, why, why, WHY!!!"
My anger burst uncontrollably and the earth below us shook violently for a few seconds. Everything else mattered not! Not anymore!!
"Why did you do this!" I screamed at the man who had casually dropped himself from the mountain, light on his feet, staring at me without a word.
"WHY!! FRED!!!"
Finally, he stopped. Right in front of us, about thirty yards away, expressionless and cold, my brother stood.
"Its just a sick joke, right?!!" I hung onto that thin thread of hope, as my lips curled onto a smile. I was already half broken in betrayal, "You can't be real! Tell me!! TELL ME NOW!"
"..."
Nothing. Nobody spoke a word now. Not even Fred, himself. There wasn't an answer.
Eventually, like all walls, even this one broke.
"Fred," Charles's voice echoed into my ears like thorns, "I wouldn't have suspected you unless you hadn't sent this letter addressed to me."
"That letter," for a moment, a tiny whisper came out from me.
"Should I be happy? Should I be petrified? I don't know what to feel anymore..." tears welled up my eyes and blurred my sight.
My shaky legs quivered as I stood up. I rubbed my eyes continuously to clear my vision.
"This letter, by George's name," Charles held something white with his right hand for everyone to see, "Let me spill the beans for you."
Charles smirked.
"You first stated to me, as 'Friend', which is frankly odd. Besides that, you simply wrote off George's name like he was somehow unrelated to my affairs. But, you see, George wouldn't do something that could very well establish his own identity... that's just Lame."
Charles continued when Fred didn't answer.
"Y'see, I was the one who decided the code names when dear father-in-law and ol' George here, went to search for Y.O.U!"
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