Chapter 46

𝕾𝖔𝖓𝖌 𝖙𝖔 𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖓 𝖙𝖔: 𝖂𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖔𝖜 𝖇𝖞 𝕿𝖆𝖞𝖑𝖔𝖗 𝕾𝖜𝖎𝖋𝖙

***

When Henry said those words, the world looked like flashing through my eyes when I saw him holding a fist and I almost stumbled back if it weren't for someone's help behind me.

I turned to look and saw Cain with his eyes like a cat looking at two of our friends fighting over each other.

When I could hear my own breathing again, that was the time when the world sped up and now, I'm gazing at the two fighting with their fists.

I tried to walk to them but Cain held me up and covered my mouth. I looked at him and tried to understand why he was doing this but when he sighed, I could see that he needed them to fight but why?

"Henry and Claudius had this tension already before I and Celna met them. I know that you might not even understand why but trust me, they would calm down for a bit. They just need a good beating to stop this tension"

"Why is there any tension anyway?" I wanted to know it immediately and I'm not the type of person to try and guess what is slowly happening to my friends when a fight was already unfolding right in front of me

"I guess it can't be helped. Since they're almost done and you must go now"

"Go what----" before I could finish my words, I felt like my body was already moving towards the two but my gaze from Cain stayed only to look at him waving at me with eyes that met the corners of his lips.

"I knew they would catch you"

"Wait, what----"

But it was too late for me to ask him since my ankle twisted and I was already near to stumbling down when I felt many hands on my body.

My mind went blank when I felt as if I was floating to know that Henry and Claudius held me. That's when I saw them sigh as they looked at each other for a few moments before gazing at the opposite sides.

"You two, will you please be friendly for a few more seconds? What if this scenario will repeat when I'm not around, especially in the imperial------"

Henry's pointing finger landed on my lips as he pulled me closer to him, after a few seconds, I only felt a damp wet yet warm thing on my forehead making me widen my eyes.

That's when I tried to look at Claudius but he's not looking at me nor Henry but on the side of the tree where the Lake was located.

Yet, his grip on my waist tightened for some unknown reason I couldn't understand.

I sighed and held Henry's cheeks. But as soon as I was about to say something I heard this familiar voice coming from somewhere when I thought that there wasn't anyone around

"Please come back here, your-----"

"Vestia, are you all right?" My attention got switched from somewhere else to Henry and I nodded. My hand still stayed on his cheeks as I looked into his soul.

"Of course, but Henry could you do me a favor? You and Claudius..." I asked him and there, I pulled Claudius beside me. I pulled our faces together with a few short chuckles before I said what I wanted to say.

"For whatever happens, we may fight, argue, and trick each other but at the very least, no one in my circle will betray each other, understood that?"

I saw them looking at each other only to curl those saddened lips.

"Claudius and I may bicker each time, fight and argue dangerously but in the very end, we will never betray each other especially not our precious friend who's right here. So Vestia," Henry paused while he tried to mess up my hair but Claudius stopped that from doing so and I just chuckled because they seemed to have calmed down for now.

"Do you trust us?"

"Is that even a question, Henry?" I heard him sigh together with Claudius

"Then listen carefully, Vestia. Whatever we may do in the future and how much we changed within the academy, promise me that you'll never forget this, that you'll always trust us no matter what," this time, it was already Henry's turn to pull my pinky finger and I followed him when Henry did the same thing to Claudius.

Cain and Celna came right after and I think Celna was breathing hard earlier but Cain immediately took care of her. I don't know why my chest suddenly weighed again but when I saw that Celna became fine and smiled at me, I returned her expression.

However, my eyebrows raised to Cain but he only coughed and smiled back.

Shaking my head, perhaps, Celna only ran towards this area excitedly.

"What took you three so long to be waited? Verfeil almost throws a fit but instead of following you, he suddenly leaves saying he saw someone familiar"

"I see, let's just leave him be, I know he'll be back later to show us the place he was saying earlier," I say since I believe in Verfeil when he said those words. Because even when I went back to the past of when it was in my previous life, he would always say the truth.

He would never lie, except for withholding the truth, he wouldn't alter true words with false.

After talking and touring around the place, we found Verfeil leaning in a small tree with arms crossing over each other, and eyes that were closed. His silvery hair was being swayed by the breeze but he remained still.

I tried to approach him but the second I came near him, his hands started to capture me and now, I was already the one leaning on the tree while my friends were on the other side.

Though I wouldn't want to try something else, when Henry's hands pointed at Verfeils' neck, Claudius had his hands on the arm and tried to hold me while Cain held my other hand.

Verfeil's look wavered for a moment before closing his eyes again and sighing when he finally let me go but his eyes looked at me once again, there was something in his vision that wasn't right before he said some words that mirrored my expression like the rest of my friends.

"I know I was about to show you someplace for today but I guess, this day shouldn't be the right time to explore the place. I was about to warn Vestia when these men just pointed their sharp expressions at me who was a second prince..." Verfeil managed to exclaim and I was just glad he came back to his old expression

But that was only for a split second before his eyes wandered somewhere

"Why?" I asked since I didn't want to have any misunderstanding with my friends but Verfeil remained silent. Until it was Cain who found the reason.

"Guys I think you should see this..." we heard him say but when we turned our heads to look where he was, our eyes never found his figure until he moved backward from his position.

"Here!" He waved at us enough to see him on the farthest side.

I tried to look at Celna but she seemed fine.

"Celna come here," I ushered her and she nodded with a smile.

"I think you should see what I'm seeing right now..." Cain said and we rushed over to the place where we managed to pass by dozens of trees from the side with small benches.

"I gasped while Celna gripped the hem of my dress hiding on my shoulders. I tried to look at Henry but he was already stepping into the place and Claudius followed with his hands still in front of me as if shielding me from some possible attacks.

As we followed Claudius, I could see how the trees went to fall on the other side. Although it wasn't a sight to behold to any ladies as I asked Celna and Cain to wait on the other side, Celna wanted to come with me together.

The stench of the foul smell, mixed with the scavengers around, made it seem as if these animals of different species had been attacked.

Yet, there were no signs of wounds except for one part, the part of their necks had been bitten by what was claimed to be made by vampires but they were only from mythologies, from legends that were never proven to exist in the first place.

What's more terrifying was when the sun already set down and the sky had become darkened. Cain, Henry, and Claudius went to surround me and Celna while Verfeil tried to do so, his eye caught another sight.

But this time, I could see from his coat a familiar thing and it had a familiar cover just like the book of Reisha.

No, it couldn't be, I tried to muster the courage to deny these things but before I could ask him to come closer to us because the place sounded dangerous, my vision faded into the deepest abyss and I couldn't remember a thing except these golden mists surrounding the place and how the silver hair shone brighter than before.

"Don't worry, Vestia. You're never in harm when you're with me. The same with our friends..."

***

"Milady, are you all right?"

"Anna?"

"Yes, Milady..." I looked at Anna confused when she had a cold towel and a basin at the top of my bedside table

"Why? How? What happened?"

I heard her sigh before finally revealing the answer

"Prince Verfeil came with his carriage bringing you over since you fainted from having so much fun in the South Lake. Claudius and Henry came afterward after they talked with the prince."

"What about Cain and Celna?"

"The Prince said that he had taken care of them. Oh and before I forget Milady, here's a box that Prince Verfeil gave to you," I looked at the box and it was colored gold with a golden ribbon and yet I couldn't open it

There were a lot of questions running through my mind right now, but when I looked around, it was still night.

"Anna, do you believe in vampires or any other mythical creatures that aren't humans?"