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Kai, Darcy and Samantha were to embark on the journey that most probably will change the course of their lives.
The trio were standing in front of the door, waiting for their ride to pull up. Ever since Gilbert left the mansion, Lord Marshall employed a mortal... Just to be safe. They were dressed in their normal clothes; Kai was dressed all in black, his favorite color.
Samantha and Darcy, on the other hand, wore beautiful dresses of multiple colors. Darcy’s blonde hair was tied up in a bun as all noble ladies were taught to do so; she was tense and did it on reflex, at least to calm herself down.
Samantha, let her hair flow, No one knew where the wind that blew her hair came from, but it was gentle. Samantha’s black hair floated in the wind, giving her a mysterious visage.
It looked as though they were going out for a stroll or something outside of the mansion, but almost anyone could see the tension on Samantha’s face. The fact that Kai didn’t tell them anything concerning where they were going made it worse. man fears what he doesn’t know.
It didn’t take long before Samantha broke down and almost started crying; her eyes had already started watering. “Do we really have to go? I was beginning to get used to the mansion!” Samantha whined almost like a child throwing a tantrum.
“Not really, you can stay if you want to,” Kai said with a warm smile, but somehow it came out as being sinister and like that of a bloodthirsty beast.
“No, I want to go with you.” Samantha said as she felt her life fading away from Kai’s gaze.
“Good girl,” Kai said as he caressed her head.
“Uwu~ Big sister, protect me!!” Samantha wailed out loud with glistening eyes; she looked like a helpless puppy crying for her mummy.
“Am I that scary? I was clearly smiling. Did you not see?” Kai turned to look at Darcy with the eyes of a confused child looking for approval.
‘He can be such a child at times. I can’t get through to him. His thinking process is tiring...sigh.’ Darcy thought before responding.
“She is just scarred from the intense training and tension from the adventure. We don’t know anything about it, and you won’t even tell us.”
Darcy tried her best to contain herself and retain her lady-like stature. But it was hard; it was simply too much for her.
Kai was silent after hearing Darcy’s words. “I really didn’t see it that way; I will tell you when we get into the carriage.” He seemed so serious.
This time his seriousness gave Samantha the feeling of warmth and the sensation of being cared for, just like that night. Darcy, on the other hand, was not sure if she was seeing things right.
“Young sir, your ride is here.” The new butler said with a bow after he came down from the carriage.
The carriage was rather bland and not so exquisite, much to Darcy’s dislike, but it was necessary. The main reason was so as not to draw attention to themselves and to reduce gossip and other small talk among the city women and men.
The speed at which rumors fly could not be underestimated. Be it in the pub or in the market, it will spread like wildfire.
“Right, Ladies first.” Kai pointed to the carriage, with his back bent at a thirty-degree angle. ‘He looks so polite, and well bre- what am I talking about?’ Darcy shook her head subtly.
To Kai and Samantha, Darcy was acting weird. She closed her eyes and was shaking her head violently. It didn’t take long for Darcy to notice that everyone was looking at her. She was close to exploding, she wanted nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
But sadly her wish didn’t come true else our story would have come to an abrupt halt would it not?
Covered in embarrassment she faced the ground and walked up the carriage with Kai’s help. Samantha followed behind her and was helped by Kai to get up the carriage stairs while holding in her laughter.
The two girls sat on each side of the carriage, waiting for Kai to step in, but he never did. Instead, they saw the door close and heard the sound of someone walking up the carriage into the coach box.
At this point, it was clear that Kai was avoiding them. “Ladies, please sit tight things might get uncomfortable!” Kai said loudly.
“Alright!” Samantha said.
On the other hand, Darcy was lost in thought, the ride he talked about was not the ride to the forest, but the journey they were to embark on.
She was sure it was going to change a lot of things, not only her life. The mansion faded out of sight after a bit of time as the carriage disappeared down the hill. The scene was rather nostalgic for Kai.
The trip was a long, smooth and quiet one; Not even Samantha said anything. Darcy on the other hand looked out the window throughout the journey, it was clear that she had a lot on her mind.
Samantha had forgotten that Darcy was from a noble family, the aura of calculated calmness around her was nostalgic to Samantha. Although once in a while, Darcy would flash a weak smile at Samantha, and she would smile back in the same light awkward manner.
Kai was in a state of turmoil ever since Chelsea’s demise. Her loss had thrown him into a whirlpool of emotions that he had never experienced before. He found himself questioning his emotions and motives, unable to decipher whether the fondness he felt for Chelsea was out of gratitude or genuine love.
The confusion within him was overwhelming, and he was struggling to make sense of his inner conflicts. While contemplating his next move, Kai felt a pull in two opposite directions.
On one side, he was curious to know what lay ahead in those mysterious places they were headed. On the other, the idea of not seeking revenge for Chelsea’s death was tempting.
Kai’s mind was in a state of chaos as he wrestled with the various emotions and thoughts, unsure of what lay ahead or what his next steps should be. “Sigh…” Kai was simply out of words to express his confusion.
“Is there any problem sir?” The butler asked.
“Not at all, not at all.” He waved his hands to disperse any more questions the butler might have.
“Mmhmhh…” The butler understood the assignment and nodded. He kept silent throughout the journey as well, only periodically accompanied by Kai’s deep sighs.
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Not so surprisingly, the new butler was close to suffocating, figuratively that is. He could feel the dark and saddening aura flow from Kai.
Soon enough after a few hours, the Carriage stopped. The sun, by this time, was all ready to wave its goodbye to the Blue Dragon City. Kai stepped down and opened the door to help the women inside come down.
They had stopped in front of what someone would call the entrance to the forest of death or something like that. They had stopped at the edge of the Blue Dragon City; the City was surrounded by thick forests on all sides.
The sheer height and magnificence— scratch that, the terror of the trees, brought the souls of the weak to their knees crying and begging for mercy. The sensation of being watched by unseen eyes lingered around them as they looked into the forest.
—Gulp—
Soon it was nighttime. The butler had gone, his absence brought forth the darkness of the night.
The group travelled light…or so it seemed. Kai had made some progress with his devil’s space. He had fused it with the void’s door; simply increasing its size by leaps and bounds.
This time instead of a black portal; a small black door, the size of a cabinet would appear and things could be stored inside, no matter its size.
There was something off though, the space in between two void doors of his choosing was simply endless, but he would get to the other door in seconds… Truly odd.
“This is as far as we go, for now, let’s find somewhere to sleep.” Kai said with his hands akimbo.
Darcy and Samantha stopped walking. They had been walking for a bit of time since they parted with the comfort the carriage offered.
It did not take long before they were all down on the hard ground. Kai and the girls had stopped in a clearing and decided to spend the night there.
However, it was not the right choice in terms of security as the clearing was surrounded by thick trees. The trees could serve as a shield for anybody spying on them.
Nonetheless, they still slept there. The moon was out that night; it looked so beautiful. “Kai…” A whisper was heard.
Although it was a whisper, it resounded throughout the forest. It was no one else but Darcy.
“Yeah?”. Kai whispered back as he turned his face to look at her.
Formerly, Kai had been staring at the moon, lost in thought. The moment he turned to look at Darcy, there was instant eye contact between the two of them. “I can’t sleep,” Darcy’s eyes glistened “…I am tense.”
“Why?” Kai’s black abyssal eyes seemed to suck the despair out of Darcy.
“You still have not told us about the mission we are embarking on.” Darcy had longing eyes as she spoke those words.
“Yes… You want me to tell you about it? Ok,” Kai paused for a bit, he seemed really calm and gave off the aura of a caring person.
Kai stared into the sky. He took a deep breath before he started speaking, “I am not sure… Darcy,” Kai looked really conflicted; he didn’t know what made him feel this way.
“Yes?”
“Fu… Have you ever felt that you just don’t know why you do stuff? Like your purpose?” Kai this time turned his body to look over at Darcy.
“N— maybe, I am not sure I really didn’t put much thought into it though. I always did what my father wanted me to…” Darcy kind of shrugged.
Darcy really didn’t put much thought into it. “But that doesn’t mean that you should not make choices, though... At least that’s what they said.”
Although Darcy gave a rather vague answer, the way she said it made it sound sincere. She meant everything she said.
“True… Alright so this is what we are going to do…” Kai spent the next few hours explaining to Darcy about everything.
He told her about the books he had read and the places that the books talked about. Of course, he didn’t tell her everything.
Although he didn’t tell her everything, he made sure to expansively elaborate the parts he told her. He told her where they were going, what they were going to do there and how they would get there.
It would have been better if Samantha was awake to get her drilling on the adventure they were about to embark on.
Samantha was awake, but she was engulfed in thoughts, mostly of jealousy and heartbreak. A few hours later, Kai finished talking and stood up. “I will go for a walk. Don’t wait up; The night is beautiful.”
Darcy wanted to ask where he was going but Kai seemed to read her mind and gave an answer before she had the chance to ask it.
All she could say was, "OK.”
Kai walked away, and Darcy turned around to look at Samantha, who seemed to be asleep.
Samantha had grown in her knowledge and use of time and space. She could look into the future involuntarily now, meaning that a few minutes ago she had seen the awkward silence that would ensue if Darcy turned to look at her.
‘Phew!! That was close!’ Although Samantha had a calm sleeping expression, she was simply on edge.
‘Is it just me or do those Samantha look so beautiful this night?’ in Darcy’s eyes, the moonlight seemed to accentuate the shape of Samantha’s face.
Almost like magic, Darcy moved closer to Samantha as slowly as she could. Trying her best to not make a sound. Soon enough, after a bit of time and effort, the two young women were breathing the same air.
For some reason, Samantha’s heart was pounding against her chest. Likewise Darcy.
‘Is she having a bad dream? I wonder if I can help?’ Darcy was in deep thought as her hands moved to wipe away the bullets of sweat that riddled Samantha’s face.
“Samantha…!” Darcy called out in what would be known as a loud whisper.
“…” No response.
Darcy panicked a little but still called out to Samantha again. ‘if I don’t answer, she might think something happened to me,’ Samantha thought for a bit before opening her eyes. ‘I wonder what I will tell her.’
Darcy’s eyes burned with concern as she looked at Samantha. “Ahh, Samantha, are you alright?” She asked softly.
Samantha nodded weakly before gathering the courage to make a request. “Can I ask you for something?” She said hesitantly.
Darcy could sense the tension in Samantha’s voice and the unease in her body language. She was taken aback by the sudden question. “Of course, anything you need; whatever it is,” she replied, wanting to ease Samantha’s discomfort.
Samantha hesitated for a moment, knowing that what she was about to ask would not be easy. Finally, she spoke up. “Could we come a little closer?” she said. “—I’m feeling cold.”
Darcy could see the vulnerability in Samantha’s eyes and knew that she needed to act quickly to make her feel comfortable. The amount of sheer willpower it took from Samantha to ask this was enormous.
“You want us to hold each other?” Darcy asked, trying to understand the gravity of the situation.
Samantha was silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts and summoning the courage to speak. “Yes, I want to hold you,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Samantha’s heart was in a frenzy; it was simply foreign to her. She had never felt this way. Darcy, on the other hand, had her heart almost jump out of her chest, but this feeling was not new.
The only thing new was how intensely her heart was beating; it never beat this hard for anyone or anything before.
“Is this close enough?” She asked, moving closer to Samantha.
Samantha shook her head and whispered, “No, come closer —I’m still cold.” Darcy moved closer to Samantha, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tightly.
She could feel Samantha’s body relax as she leaned into her, seeking comfort and warmth. Darcy knew that this was exactly what Samantha needed, and she was glad that she could be there for her.
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Kai walked for a bit of time into the night. After some time, he found a fallen tree trunk to sit on and enjoy the peace of the night.
The lake in front of the trunk, the full moon... The whole scene looked like a dream—scratch that, a painting—the scene looked like something that could be imagined.
‘This is perfect... What is this?’ On the tree branch Kai sat on, he found a weird inscription on it.
Xavier loves Martha
“That’s odd; who would have thought that those two would fall in love?” Although he said it to himself, he said it in a sarcastic tone.
Of course, it was bound to happen; it was just a matter of time. “Thinking of these love birds is not what I came here for— What did I come here for?”
‘Oh, right.’ at this moment, Kai became serious again. The reflection of the moon in the clear still water seemed to call out to him.
“That doesn’t mean you should not make choices, though... at least that’s what they said.” Kai recalled Darcy’s words and pondered on them for a bit of time. Throughout the night, Kai sat on that trunk and thought.
He had never sat down to think about his life— Since ever. At the rise of the sun, Kai had come to a simple conclusion. ‘I will think about it later.’ Kai stood up from his seating position and walked towards Darcy and Samantha.
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“…!”
“…!”
Samantha and Darius simply stared into each other’s eyes as they woke up. At first, it was Darcy who woke up first and was simply under Samantha’s spell. Darcy was looking so intently; she wanted to find what made her feel this way about another female.
Sadly, she didn’t find it; she still felt the same way, albeit even more strongly now. Soon enough, after some time, Samantha’s eyes shot open. Last night seemed too good to be real; she wanted to be sure that it wasn’t all a dream.
Her eyes caught Darcy’s fiery eyes. The moment was awkward. They were in each other’s arms throughout the night; as a result, there was not much distance between the two of them.
“Sorry,” Samantha apologized as she tried to get out of Darcy’s arms.
“How was your night?”. She responded instead.
The two girls knew that this was going to be new for them. Truly it would be tough, especially for Darcy, but what they felt was true.