Our world was peculiar, I often thought. Wealth disparity? An inevitable outcome in a society of aristocrats. What I rejected the most about our world was the supernatural. Not the supernatural itself, but the ramifications caused by its existence. The difference between humans and animals was a large one. How could the difference between humans be larger? Simple. A human with the ability to dominate over tens of regular people would cause that difference. They were the existences known as the Adept. Throughout my life as an accountant, I had avoided them. As far as I was concerned, we lived in different worlds.

Those two worlds intertwined the moment that my brother came back home. He came to me excited, I wondered if he had picked up something pleasant. He called my name repeatedly, "Henderson, Henderson, Henderson!" I gave him a small smile as if I was expectant. I was quite tired then but I didn't let it show. I hadn't seen my brother in months, I didn't want to make him feel like his natural desire to share something with me to seem like a bother. I forced myself to jolt awake and I excitedly said.

"What do you have, Rey?!" I slammed the table, beckoning him.

He looked behind him and then leaned in to whisper the news to me.

"I found the love of my life." He said softly.

"That's great," I said blankly. After I actually thought through what he had said, I hurriedly yelped and questioned him.

"Since when!?"

"From very long ago. I wasn't sure then. I didn't want to tell you. I'm sure now. She has to be the person I marry." His eyes flashed with longing. I squinted my eyes at him and frowned. He can't be getting distracted in his thoughts about her mid-conversation, could he?

"Does she feel the same way?"

His lip quivered a slight bit. He looked at me with a worried gaze and he quickly said,

"Her parents do not approve." I waited for another moment for Rey to begin elaborating, but he never did.

After a moment of silence, I quietly said,

"Is she an Adept?"

"Yes." He looked a little downcast and he quickly looked at me again. He swung his hand in front of him aimlessly and reluctantly said, "Look, could you ask me about something else? Thinking about that makes me a little sad." He looked at me and waited for me to say something.

I thought for a moment. An Adept? Their relationship was doomed. I sighed resignedly. I closed my eyes and looked outside at the scenery.

"We live in a beautiful town," I said to myself. It was true, in fact. My brother had come late. Dusk had just finished and the moon had risen a fair distance. I looked to the stars.

"Normally, the moon is visible at night," I said to the scenery. "Occasionally, the moon is out while the day is progressing, but it never lasts. After all, the daytime is the time for the sun and the nighttime the time for the moon."

He looked at me, biting his lip softly. He finished my metaphor.

"The mortals are the sun, the adepts the moon. You mean to say that our relationship is doomed to fail?"

"No. If it is common sense that the sun and moon are destined to be apart, shatter your common sense." I frankly said.

"What are brothers for, if not to depend on?" With those words, I stood up. "We will leave at dawn."

"Leave where."

"Your girlfriend's parents, where else?"

***

Rey led me to the residence of his beloved. I was here to meet his parents.

"Her name is Leira Snow. Her father's name is Elnir. Her mother's nam-"

"Stop. I don't need to hear this. It is your responsibility. I am merely here to make sure you don't screw up."

"What am I here to do?" Rey asked me.

"Are you dense? You said you are sure she is the one for you, yes? You will be asking for her hand in marriage! You seem mad in love, I am assuming that she feels the same. If love is not to lead to marriage, then what else!"

He looked at me with a bit of fear. Then, as he stared at me, his own thoughts seemed to stir madly. Something about his demeanor changed then.

"I understand." He clenched his fist. "I have to be serious about this."

With that resolution, without any more prodding from me, Rey told the attendant manning the residence gates,

"Inform Elnir that I have arrived."

The attendant looked a little perplexed. She thought for a moment about what to say in response. She hesitatingly questioned,

"Who are you, sir?"

Rey did not think for a moment about what to say,

"Leira's Boyfriend."

"Wha-" The attendant corrected her confusion, "Immediately, sir!" She hurriedly looked at me, expecting an answer.

"I will be accompanying him."

"Of course." She said, nodding her head in agreement.

"Will we be let in while we wait for him?" I asked her.

"I apologize." She bowed to us. "You would have to be escorted by someone who can confirm your identity for us to allow that. Please understand."

The attendant left and we were left standing in front of the gates.

The attendant quickly returned and informed us she had informed Elnir and someone would come to escort us in soon.

We waited for an hour.

"He's being difficult," I remarked to Rey. Rey stood silently. He retrieved something from his pocket. It was a hair pin. He held it close to his chest, breathed in, and then breathed out.

A voice exclaimed from behind us.

"Rey!?!" I saw a girl approach Rey with enthusiasm. The attendant stood watching, a little uncomfortable to see the girl start to embrace Rey. Her face scrunched up. I gave a similar reaction. These two were a little bit too enthusiastic about their love in front of us.

"Is that my hairpin you're holding?" She gave him a huge smile. Rey was forced to nod to her question.

"I mean, yeah." He said, blushing. This must be Leira, I concluded. A sad smile overcame me. They looked quite good together.

She spotted me nearby. She looked at me blankly, vague recognition flashing on her face. "You look similar to Rey? Are you related to him?"

"I'm his older brother."

"You're much older than he is." She commented.

"It's one of the dynamics of our relationship, I suppose." I mused. Remembering something, I looked at her,

"Say, could you let us in?" Leira cringed a little, turning her head slowly to Rey.

"I don't know if it's ok."

Rey insisted that we be let in. "Your father already knows that I am here."

She looked at him with even more worry.

"Then why are you out here?" She asked innocently.

"Well, I suppose your father would know. He hasn't let us in."

She painfully groaned. She straightened her back, pushed her hair back, and opened the gate.

"Follow me."

Our walk was silent. Leira seemed to be deep in thought. She sharply turned to face Rey, placed her hands on his shoulders, and said some terrifying words,

"If my father tries to kill you, please run." Then she turned back around.

Rey swallowed his spit and pretended he did not hear anything.

A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead. I stared at Rey, who only looked forward, away from me. I looked at his body. I couldn't help but feel that his body was not sturdy enough to survive the incoming encounter.

Leira brought us inside and all three of us looked a little bit stunned to see that Elnir was signing documents without minding his surroundings. His eye darted up for a moment toward us and back down. He continued his work. A moment later, his eyes came back up and showed a little bit of surprise.

"How did you get in?" He said, not noticing his daughter was beside us. He noticed the second after and regretted asking his stupid question.

"Through the gate."

"Naturally." He declared. "I will see you in the living room in a moment," His voice went ice cold, "Rey."

Leira showed Rey to the living room and I remained in front of Elnir.

"What is the issue with Rey, Mr. Snow?"

"It is obvious to you, no? We are Adept." He pointed at me. "You are not."

"Your daughter seems like a smart woman," I said.

"Naturally." He declared.

"Then why do you fight her choice."

"She doesn't know what she is doing."

"I don't think you know what you're doing." I accused.

Elnir narrowed his eyes. My eyes traveled down his waist. A sword remained sheathed on his person. I saw his eyes move downward toward it quickly as if he was making sure that it was there.

I took a small step backward.

"Who are you? His uncle?"

"Brother of Rey, Henderson."

"It is not your place to be here." He simply said.

"Who's place is it then?"

He stood up from his chair, he was much taller than me, and suddenly, I felt small.

"A parent's plea, I can forgive. A brother, I do not respect." At his insensitive response, I seethed silently. Did he say that knowingly, or was it something that didn't matter to him? Rey and I, our parents were not part of our life. During my young years, my father was a drunkard. He beat his wife, our mother, but that was not what caused him to leave our lives. He stabbed a man in the neck with a broken beer bottle. He was currently in prison. Our mother died in childbirth. Rey never met his father or mother, I often thought it was better that he didn't.

"An accident, or provocation? Those words of yours just now." He looked at me, bewildered. "An accident, clearly. Remember this, your son-in-law, has no parents to speak of!" I confidently declared.

"Son-in-law? Calm yourself. This fact is not negotiable. Adepts and mortals do not mix. Not for cultural reasons, but of status!" He asked me to calm myself but I looked dumbly at him. He seemed very agitated. I saw reason disappear from his face.

Elnir drew his blade.

"Mercy!" I yelled.

Remembering Leira's words of caution to Rey, I did not hesitate to begin running away. I slammed a door behind me as I fled.

He jumped toward me and he seemed to fly. The door separating me and him was ripped to shreds and I tripped to the ground because of my fear.

Elnir lifted his sword as if to execute me, but a voice boomed from above us.

"ELNIR!!!" An elderly voice yelled from the second floor. "Do not shame the Snow name!"

He looked annoyed facing his head upward. Nonetheless, he sheathed his blade and returned to his seat. He sat down. He leaned back and crossed his legs.

To me, it seemed that he was pouting silently. I looked up. The second floor was visible from down here. An elderly gentleman stood on the second floor. He ignored the stairs and leaped down to the ground floor.

"You've scared him silly, Elnir." He extended his hand to me and helped me stand back up. He propped me back up quite well for an old man. "You used your words quite well."

I gave a fake laugh. "Did I?"

"I must say, I agree with Elnir's opinion. Your brother and Leira may not marry. It is a question of practicality. I do not wish for Leira to marry a burden. I have nothing against Rey, I will say. He merely does not qualify as a potential candidate for Leira's future. I must ask that you convince your brother to give up on her."

"I will not do that."

"I understand. In that case, I must ask that you leave, now." He said frankly.

"Are you going to discuss the issue with Rey?"

"There is nothing to be discussed."

"You don't know that." I spat out.

"Dad! Rey is waiting for you." Leira voiced called from the hallway.

The elderly man looked at Elnir, he stroked his chin and looked at Leira.

Stolen story; please report.

"Let us go." The man decided to meet Rey, not for his sake, but for Leira's sake.

"Yes, father," Elnir said, unquestioningly.

The elderly man was Elnir's father. I could not see the resemblance but I believed it to be true. Their features did not show obvious relation but each of them had a commanding air about them.

They left to see Rey, paying me no more attention. Leira peeked outside toward me and made a noise of surprise seeing me standing behind a busted door.

"Where is the bathroom?" I asked her.

She pointed in a direction and I went there.

I washed my face first and foremost. I wet my hair and I looked at myself in a mirror. My hair flopped down from the weight of the water that it absorbed. I combed my hand through my hairline to the back of my head. I rolled my neck and rubbed my collar. My confidence renewed, and I found a towel and dried my hair.

Even without a guide, it was not difficult to find the living room. I simply had to follow the sound of voices.

"I would like her hand in marriage," Rey said. Currently, I stood behind the door. Before I had even entered, the conversation had developed to this point. It was not a suitable time to enter just yet. I stood quietly behind the door and just listened.

"Naturally, Leira is a fine person." He paused for a moment. "That is exactly why I will not hand her to you."

"Why?" Rey simply said.

"You are not adept." Elnir's voice decreed.

Rey stood silent for a moment. I found a peephole on the door to gaze through. Rey stared at his hand.

"That is an assumption," Rey uttered to all in front of him. What the fuck was he saying? I had to interrupt this. I opened the door without thinking and their necks snapped toward me.

Elnir looked at me as if he saw something distasteful, Elnir's father glanced toward me and looked back to Rey. Leira looked at me like I was doing something stupid. Her face twitched. Rey didn't even turn his head to see who had entered.

After a moment, all eyes returned to Rey. In Rey's hand was an object that wasn't there before. A silver coin.

He crushed it with two fingers. It folded and snapped into two. The two halves lay stacked on the tips of his fingers.

Leira looked down. She must have already known. Elnir looked taken aback and baffled. His father mused playfully with a smile,

"Your name was Rey? I am Leni Snow. You are a first-generation Adept? A shame, really." His playful smile became a somber one, "This is even worse than being a mortal." Elnir's father and Leira's grandfather's name became revealed to me. He was Leni. "A first-generation Adept? Do you know what that means?"

"If a mortal provokes indifference from an Adept, then-"

"A first-generation provokes malice." Leni completed. "Our family would be ridiculed for allowing Leira to marry a mortal. This is even more unacceptable. We would be creating enemies by allowing her to marry Rey, a first-generation Adept. This is truth."

Rey looked hesitant to accept Leni's truth. Leni extended his hand toward Rey and cupped his hands as if to challenge Rey.

Rey accepted the challenge and moved to run head-on.

"You fool!" I yelled at Rey. I walked toward him and grabbed his shoulder. I forced him to turn toward me and I looked down upon him, "He will beat you. Both in combat and spirit."

"Even so." He looked at me, "I have to try."

"Even if it means death?" I softly remarked.

"In spite of it, I must charge forward." He decreed.

"Your will is strong," Leni said.

"It must be," Rey said as he charged toward Leni with a fist.

I must say, the events that happened as a result were inevitable. Leni grabbed Rey's fist and then grabbed his head. He smashed his head into the floor without hesitation.

"You're going to kill him!" I yelled.

"An Adept is not so fragile. He will wake up before the moon falls." Rey lay limp on the floor. His face was serious and his mouth was the slightest bit open. Leni looked toward me, "Leave. Take him with you."

Reluctantly, I placed Rey on my shoulders and walked slowly out of the residence. After I passed the gates, Leira arrived. She offered to assist me in taking Rey to my home.

I refused. Not for any particular reason, but because of my own pride. I could at least do this much for him.

I looked toward Leira.

"The life of an Adept? Do you accept it?" She shook her head,

"I do not." She looked at Rey and she touched his hair.

"Your love for Rey, is it eternal?" I childishly asked, not expecting a serious answer.

"Yes." She said softly.

I continued to walk, my thoughts started to progress methodically. I had a solution to their plight. However, it was a selfish solution.

"Have you considered eloping?" Her eyes flashed in surprise and she pursed her lip. Her eyes started to water.

"I have."

"What stopped you?"

"There is nowhere for me to go." She said.

I looked at her seriously. I looked at Rey who lay slumped on my shoulder. I recalled the mother that Rey never got to meet.

"What if...?"

"What if what?"

"What if I gave you somewhere to go?" I said.

She silently pondered. I walked quietly next to her as she considered the prospect. She thought and she thought. We didn't talk for most of the trip back. It was only until we reached my home that Leira found an answer.

"Tell Rey this," She looked toward me, "I am willing."

"I will," I responded.

***

Eloping was something that was dramatized. It was not a showy act. It was not a difficult prospect. All Leira how to do was find a reason to leave home and then elope with Rey.

Eloping was not simply leaving. It was leaving and never coming back. Leaving was easy. I could do it for all kinds of reasons. Never returning? That was a terrifying thought. I could only imagine the turmoil Leira fought in her mind to convince herself that it was the choice she needed to make.

Three days later, Leira and Rey left. I wouldn't see them for a while. I knew that. It was funny. After a long time of Rey being away from home and my anticipation for his return, I sent him away to not come back.

Our mother's parents had been sending me letters for the past few years. They had been wanting to meet Rey and me for a while now. They had offered us a place to stay. I felt comfortable sending them there even while knowing that they might be a little reluctant to see Leira in my stead.

I had met our grandfather once. He was a genuine person. I felt safe sending them there.

I didn't worry about them. I was more worried about myself. My profession was as an accountant. I worked for an aristocrat. I couldn't simply leave the city, I had made contractual agreements to work for the aristocrat for at least another two years.

Rey and Leira were lucky. Nothing was holding them back. I could leave, but then I would become a criminal. I didn't fancy my chances with the law. I would have to face the consequences of my actions one way or another. I chose to confront the Snow family instead of the law. They would come looking for the couple sooner or later. I would be the first person they questioned. Knowing this, I decided to send them a letter, saying I knew why Leira had not returned home.

Right now was a day after my letter had been sent. I presumed that they would arrive as soon as the letter arrived. I sat in the center of my home and I drank tea. I savored every sip, not knowing what was to come for me.

The door was knocked. I did not stand to go answer it. The knocking became banging. I did not stand to go answer it.

Soon after, the door was broken down. Two men silently walked to see me enjoying tea, with two cups of tea in front of me, prepared for them.

"Sit down," I said.

Leni and Elnir looked at me. Leni calmly sat down in the chair I had prepared for them, Elnir did not.

"Where is she?!" Elnir roared.

"Rey and Leira have eloped." I said.

Leni looked at me with understanding. "I should have expected this." He looked more betrayed than angered.

"Indeed, you made it clear that no cost would be enough for Rey to obtain Leira's hand in marriage." Leni looked toward me and made the logical conclusion,

"Instead, Leira paid the cost." He said while putting a hand on the cup in front of him. He took a sip of the tea in front of him.

"It tastes bad." He said.

"It was the best I could do. I don't make tea." I said.

"I will accept your feelings then." He said as he took another sip of the tea. He added sugar. He added so much that the taste of tea no longer mattered. It was sweet enough to mask the taste. "Elnir, sit."

"I won't accept this!" Elnir said to his father.

"I don't wish to either, and yet, it has happened," Leni said.

"I don't suppose that you will tell us where they went?" Leni asked me.

"Not until you accept Rey."

"Unyielding, I see," Leni said. My words were synonymous with saying never.

After that moment, the two of us spoke a little about our upbringings and how we saw the world. Elnir merely sat on the side silently as his emotions started to fester within him. He was bottling his emotions. Elnirs's apparent short temper and eerie silence worried me. Leni noticed my unease and ordered Elnir to spill his feelings to me.

"I hate you." He said, not elaborating.

"I see," I said. Elnir's expressions started to become easy to read. Any desire of his to explode at me seemed to have quelled and he only displayed malice toward me. I preferred feeling malice to feeling the intent to kill from him.

"Why didn't you flee?" When the conversation started to come to a stall, Leni asked a simple question.

"I couldn't," I said.

"I see. Then, my question becomes this; Why didn't you hide?"

"I thought I could get my feelings through to you Leni. You are a reasonable man. Like this, I could ensure that you would come with Elnir. I don't think I would have survived to tell my story if only Elnir came to confront me." I laughed as I finished my piece. Leni laughed with me.

"That is true!" He said with delight. Elnir started to feel embarrassed and fled to the bathroom. He did not have trouble finding it, my residence was quite small.

"What do you think I'm going to do with you?" Leni asked while Elnir wasn't present, his expression hardening.

"I don't know." I confidently said.

"I can't leave you untouched. Our family will lose face. I must admit, I enjoy your company." Leni said. I smiled after I thought for a moment.

"Just for the sake of your reputation?" He nodded.

"I have a bastard father. He was a drunkard. I've been worrying about him for a while. He's going to be freed from prison soon. I visited him just the other month. He's still a bastard. He tried to convince me to smuggle in alcohol. I was so pissed." Leni smiled at me.

"I see where your mind is at."

"Say, why don't you screw over my father and call it punishment?" It was really a reward, but I thought it would do.

"I understand. I will ensure personally that he never leaves prison." Leni said.

"With that loose end settled." He stood up and stretched. "Elnir! Hurry your ass up and get out of the bathroom!"

He approached what was left of the door and hurriedly came back to me.

He handed me a token of the Snow family and said,

"I'm sorry about your door. I will make it clear, however. If we see that boy Rey again, we will attack him on sight. If not to retrieve Leira, then it is to check if he is worthy." With that terrifying message, the two Snow family heads left.

I said something to Rey, something he would never hear,

"Rey, you will be okay, right?