"That was fast!?"
Serenity calmly folded her fan like an experienced person explaining,
"Was it?...That's just how people are...meeting a greedy old man just needs a suitable price."
He thought to himself ,'Witnessing her calm yet dominant presence, I'd buy it if she told me she's actually a person who's in her thirties'.
Serenity turned to the old man who was still biting on the gold asking ,"So where did you get the stones?"
The man didn't even look her way and kept his eyes glowed to the fold but he answered anyway, "i stole it from REGIS'S royal treasury, thinking they were precious but tuens out It's just some volcanic stones collected as a hobby by some dead emperor from long ago, but thanfully they were just stones so i merely took three years of imprisonment"
Ash and serenity stood speachless hearing his answer ,but not only them the entire market fell into dead silence.
"Wow, that man's courage is something else....he robbed the royal treasury and only got three years, i admire this kind of courage "
And just like that with the root of the stones revealed that old ,an turned into a legend in the black market the royal theif who escaped with only three years, that kind of name.
Serenity shoke her head and said ,"old man , you took the mony pack my stuff already"
The old man put the gold in his pants and went to work but serenity suddenlypointed at ash and asked him another quistion,
"Can he try his luck?!"
"Let him try our shop"
"No let him try ours, we have a new patch"
"No ! Ours have the best loots"
All the venders in the market crowded around them wkth greedy hearts eyeing their gold
The old man handed her the stones she selected in a magical sac and showed no objection and opened his arms wide for them,
"Your word is my command golden lady, he can take whatever he wants, and i won't charge him any fees ,consider it our sincerity "
Ash looked at the man feeling speechless at how shameless that man could be ,'What sincerity? He took an amount of gold enough for three lifetimes and say sincerity!...he has such a thick skull for sure'
Serenity tapped on his shoulders ," see if there is something you like,not only from this vender even if from someone else ;i will buy it for you, consider it my present."
Ash nodded and used his magic to examin the loots and started browsing around the place while serenity was standing on the side carefully observing his every move ,
'These stones have a faint scent of pure chaos energy, which means that thing is nearby' he fingers started figiting over her fan feeling so restless ,'i want to see if the resemblance between the two of you passes the line of just some superficial habits....don't disapoint me ash..'
Ash kept looking around him but found nothing interest him between the stones the venders are selling ,so he walked to serenity and told her ,
"Those stones aren't interesting, and i don't really like anything "
'Sure enough...the diffrence is so clear ,and iam the blind one who can't see it.'Just as serenity was disappointed ash leaned closer and whispered something in her ears that made her look at him with a new face.
"What did you just say?!" She asked
Ash pointed at the wall where a long dtagon was engraved holding a wodden ball netween his teeth and said,
"That black pearl....that's what i want."
His answer shoke everyone present without any exceptions, and serenity feeling helpless turned to the old man asking,
"Who owns that pearl ,i want it."
The old man froze stunned for a while then shoke his head and looked at the wall saying,
"The one who engraved that wall died long ago ,but if you need it you can have it for free, but how exactly are you going to get that thing out?!"
Ash tilted his head up staring at that black pearl and said,
"That's the easy part"
Not a moment after he finished and ash jumped right in front of the wall ,He punched It's teeth breaking all of them and smoothly pulling that black pearl out, then landed on the ground as if he did nothing leaving them with dropped jaws.
Ash showed of the pearl in his hand ,
"Told you it's easy."
Serenity unfolded her fan to cover her laughing face saying.
"Iam speechless "
"Is it really that weird?!" He asked
Serenity kept her head buried behind the fan while ash was trying to take a look at her face she was thinking ,' if he wants something then It's his maybe that thing is just not here, i will need to check another time'
"!??!"
Noticing the weird behaviors of the people around them after the he took that pearl some of them placed their hands on their weapons , Ash placed his hand over her shoulder pulling her closer,then pointed at the exit.
"Since we're done here, it's time to leave. The others are still waiting for us, and I believe we have other business to attend to."he whispered
Serenity nodded and followed right in his footsteps,
"...alright."
she extended her hand for him, and he took it silently, leaving that place for good.
After walking for a while they were exhausted and hungry,
-growel ~-
"Don't tell me…" ,Ash turned to his companion, and all the majesty from before had crumbled to the ground; her face was all red, and she his it behind her fan.
"Pfft....cough, cough..."he was about to laugh but held it in before it was too late
Serenity used her fan to hide her face from his sight, feeling utterly embarrassed.
"!!?"
Ash tried to comfort her but it was no ise she already heared him laugh at her,
"I...I am sorry...this wasn't on purpose, I swear..."
"It is but whatever...I am hungry." She was embarrassed and dared not look at him directly, and just kept walking ahead. 'If the earth splits open and swallows me whole at this moment, I would be more than grateful.'
Ash hurried behind her and grabbed her hand,
"let's find something to eat. It just so happens that I haven't eaten the whole day as well." In his mind, Serenity appeared like a cornered little white rabbit, 'cute.'
Ash held her hand tightly as they walked ahead searching, each in his own world of thoughts till they finally reached a restaurant.
"Let's settle for this one for now" he said and turned at her but seeinher he unresponsive he held her hand and walked inside.
Ash asked for a private room for both of them to eat in pease; even though the restaurant was somewhat empty, this action made Serenity feel strange.
The ey got a room with two chairs and a wide window staring straight at the moon,
After they took their seats, she asked him,
"You know...we could've just eaten outside; there's no one here anyway."
"It's uncomfortable for both of us."he said
"So it's for me?"
Serenity had an amused smile drawn on her face awaiting his answer; he didn't think much and just added,
"And me…it just so happens I don't like eating with any chance of someone disturbing my mood."
Serenity leaned forward looking at his flustured cute reaction trying to teas him with a provocative tone ,"Aah~...What a coincidence."
The smile on Serenity's face disappeared as she looked out the window and saw the red moon up in the sky.
Ash witnessed the lingering look in her eyes but couldn't tell if she was hate or love.,'that girl is just a puzzle '
Ash's lips suddenly parted as he said,
"It's not like the real one."
Serenity caught onto his words and turned right away,
"Huh?!...What is it?"
Both of them couldn't see it but from behind thise masks their eyes were staring at the soul of the other one trying to understand what kinfpd of fate connected them.
Ash was the first to avert his gaze toward the night sky outside, his voice sounded emotional,
"This red moon is just that...it's nothing compared to the real thing."
"You tell me about the real from the fake; do you think you need to...?"
Serenity turned her attention to the sky; she bent her knees, leaning on her chair backwards, staring at the sky, recalling her old, dream like memory.
"No one knows it better than I do...how the real deal...how the actual bloody nightmare looks like..."
Ash, looking at her dull, glassy gaze that conveys deep emotional sorrow and an irreversible loss.
felt his chest tighten in a way he couldn't explain. He could see but couldn't do anything; all he could say was a plain old "sorry."
"Sorry."
Serenity didn't even care to look, she kept her gaze fixed on the moon, as she helplessly said,
"You don't need to; it wasn't your fault...it wasn't anyone's fault."
"..."
A dead silence covered the room while both of them kept staring at the moon in the high sky, and an unexplained sense of loss swallowed their mind , till the waitress came to reserve the food, and then the silence was finally broken.
-knock...knock...knock-
"!!?"
"The food is ready."
"Come in."
"Excuse us."
-open-
After the waitress finished placing the meal, she handed them a wine bottle.
"This is on the house; enjoy."
-closed-
After serenity saw them leave ,dhe frowned while saying,
"Such good manners!"
He noticed her expression that didn't match her words and immediately made fun of her,
"You think?!"
She caught up on his sarcasm and fought back right away,
"...bullshit; as long as we have money, they will come dancing on their toes."
He tried to correct her saying,
"You really do hate people…but not everyone is like that; some just have no other choice."
She had a smug grin on her face saying,
"You think I would care...no matter what, people like them can never gain my sympathy."
'To think the me who is known as a ruthless demon would give her a lecture about respecting others....i don't seem to recognize myself like this' shaking his head in disbelief, then he turned his gaze twards her,
"That's kind of unexpected.....when i see you like this all i can think is ;you do know how to hold a grudge?" He said
She looked at him with a straight face saying,
"Grudge?... They didn't think so when they made a deal with the demons."
"Deal…demons...?" Hearing her words, he couldn't help but recall so Astrum's call with his mother.
He ashed"...Is it something related to the accident back when you were a kid?"
She had a smug expression as she started mocking the situation. "What, don't tell me you too think it was just a coincidence?"
Ash explained what he knowa anout that insident and assure her ,"Isn't it?...I believe Duke Alkana was responsible for the interrogation himself. I know his methods, so I am telling you there is no room for mistakes."
"Foolish!"
A tight-lipped grimace smile was forced upon her lips.
"This thought is pure foolishness.....what kind of person just so happens to faint in front of my carriage asking for help and is accompanied by an eighth-circle magician, and that person just so happens to know my name? Is there really such a coincidence in the world?...If you have ever heard of one, if not planned, feel free to tell me."
Ash's eyes suddenly started twitching ,he asked,
"Why didn't you tell the duke?...If you did, i belive there was no way the person behind it would have survived."
"Or would..." serenity tilted her head and removed her mask glaring at him with a strangely calm eyes ."believe me, I know him, and I know that my words alone aren't enough evidence."
Ash had a shill running down his spine the more he looked into those pair of eyes ,'is it the calm before the storm or is it something totally diffrent?...i can't read this girl at all'
He started tugging on the table asking about her next move ,"pretend to lose memories, then what?...Are you going to leave that person just like that?"
Serenity looked straight at him ,didn't try to hide and clearly said,
"I never pretend anything..... Whether it was ten years ago or now, my mind is set on her head."
A forced smile along with a pair of creepy red eyes was a compination that made him freaked out ,deep in thoughts. 'So was it actually a fake or not?...Truth is becoming mixed with illusion; it's becoming hard to differentiate between them anymore.'
He knew just by looking in her eyes there was no way in hell that lady was going to back down on her revenge .
"I get you have a plan; mind telling me?" Ash asked.
"Waiting" she replied
"Pardon?!" After waiting in anticipation, all he heard was this word, and he started feeling stressed for her ,'is waiting becoming a plan nowadays?'
She looked at the food served saying playfully ,
"Just let fate take its course, and she will eventually meet me."
-chuckle-
The smile on her face disappeared, replaced with a stiff-like expression. Her intentions of killing that person have never disappeared; she is more like a predator watching its prey, waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce.
Although the woman was a clear red line, he still couldn't help but smile in amusement facing that dangerous woman, thinking, 'You're taking the long wait in exchange for the absolute satisfaction.....i approve of this method.'
He calmly looked st her saying,
"I admire you."
He was about to remove his mask catching serenity's attention, 'finally!...show me that face of yours!'
She kept staring in anticipation as he removrd his mask but was utterly disappointed in the end; he still had that eye mask hiding underneath it
Ash poured a cup of wine then raised it to greet the stunning lady in front of him.
"Cheers to those alluring eyes."
"I am still a minor."
"!!??"
He was caught off guard by her hand pushing his away, and that response—that he was speechless for a moment there—
"Just confirming...aren't you Astrum's twin?" He asked
Serenity noded ,"Yes, is there a problem?"
"He...um...he drinks, you know..."
She tilted her head in confusion ,"So what?...don't forget i spent three years in the celestial realm. Both my brothers gets another extra years. Why else do you think I call him 'big brother'?"
"The big brother thing now started to make sense ....you are siblings; why is there such a big difference, and above all you turned into a human...don't know if i should sympathize with you or the people around you...?" He said
"Why so serious?!" A mischievous smile curved her lips as she held her fork and started cutting the steak. "While the three of us do have a special aging process, each of us ages differently...I look like this, but who knows? Maybe I am even older than you, but...no matter the method, if we count by legal years , then I am a minor even if biologically I am eligible to drink, but all they know is the human me, don't you get me?!."
Ash started scratching his head in disbelief,
"That's huge... you have my respect."
"Is it worth such fuss?" She asked.
"Most people don't normally care; anyway, the law can't exactly punish them , after all why care when no one sees?..such logic." he said
She looked at him in confusion as if her mind was on another place,
"Is that so?"
He rested his back on the chair ,and tilted his head upward staring at the ceiling ,
"But answer me truthfully: is it that you won't drink or can't?"
She turned her head away saying,
"Funny how you're asking like that, but... I won't tell you."
He stared at her feling stunned , "Come on, it's just a drink. Even thought it tastes like dirt but it Doesn't really have to be this secretive"
She shoke her skolders lazily,
"That's just who I am...got a problem?"
"Not now, but I am sure it will be soon enough..." he said
"Whatever "
Ash and Serenity started cutting their steak as their talk moved on to the next topic.
"Right…you still haven't told me what the people here have to do with your kidnapping!?" ,he said
She had a smug look on her face as she said,
"Where do you think I got my key?"
'Shoot!.... it was one of the kidnappers?..no wonder she hold such grudge ,iam afraid it may have become a defense mechanism for her' ash thought as he kept drinking,
"You're a person capable of hate yourself....." he calmly said but his tone of voice changed almost instantly ,"but for God's sake ,one mystery is unlocked and replaced with several sealed ones...how long do you think it will take me to solve all your mysteries?"
After thinking for a while, she gave him an answer:
"Hmmm...If you're lucky, maybe in this lifetime."
He dropped the fork in his hand instantly,
"Wow...That's so encouraging."
He leaned on the table pressing on his right hand, asking,
"But for real ...you're telling me all of that stuff even though it's our first meeting. Aren't you afraid I will tell on you?"
He just finished his words, and Serenity was no longer sitting across from him but now on his lap, holding her fork against his neck.
"!?!"
"I daee to say do you dare to tell?!"
On her face there was no trace of emotions on her face ;she meant everything she said ,'if i run my mouth she won't mind stopping it permanently!'
"Is this a threat? .....i dare to assume you already know my identity but still dared to do it anyway" Ash calmly asked her, because just from looking in her eyes he could tell she won't hurt him, and she smiled realising he caught her intentions,
She pressed the fork deper into his skin saying,
"What do you think?"
He laughed it out and kept drinking his wine leisurely as if his neck wasn't bleeding at all.
"I risk losing this amusing Pandora's box. Are you kidding me? There's no way in hell." He said
Her grip on the fork loosened as she said,
"Your priorities are questionable, pretty boy."
"I will take it as a compliment...also," Ash suddenly grabbed her fork.
The movement was sudden and breathless. He traps her wrists in his grip, pulling her forward before lifting her effortlessly onto the edge of the wodden table.
In one fluid motion he steps in close ,towering over her, and pins her shoulders down against the hard surface. With the sharp tips of the fork pointed at her eyes, the space between them vanished leaing a thick heavy breathing colliding with the racing pulses of their hearts.
"Threatening someone with a fork upside down is no threat for anyone...next time you want to repeat that, tell me, and I am going to teach you how."
He leans in , ready to mess with her but his gaze locked onto hers.
As he hovers over her , a sudden coldness hits his face ; the slight piece of fabric snapped and the weight on his eyebrows shifted , his eye mask has completely slipped down, exposing his full face.
-fall-
The exact moment he realizes his whole face was out in the air their eyes meet, right then the world stopped. The lively ,fluttering warmth in her gaze instantly evaporated.
'Now you should be scared, right?' Ash thought with a gloomy face all his life he was used to being feared and avoided by anyone who saw those eyes; that also included but never limited to his parents. While he was waiting to see the same fear on her face, he was met with a surprise.
The magical crystal butterflies that had been granting life to her vision suddenly swarmed, fluttering out from her pupils and turned into dust and left behind nothing but the stark ,hollow truth ; the vacant, unseeing ,dead eyes of a blind person.
But the real shift was in her face; the moment his eyes met her s the unyielding, stone cold mask she always wore completely shatered. For the first time her composure failed, exposing a raw, defeseless wave of pure shoke and disbelief
Ash felt a faint disappointment, especially when he felt her cold shivering hands underneath his.
He thought to himself ,'As expected...you're the same as them…i guess i lost my pandora box'
As the reallization of her expression sinks in, the rigid strength leaves his body . His grib on her weakens and his hands loosen, completely freeing her from the table top.
Serenity doesn't hesitate for a fraction of a second ,
The moment she feels a space open, her hands fly upward, guided by instinct rather than sight, she cups his face , squeezing his jaw qnd cheek bones firmly between her palms. Her touch is disparate, mqpping every line, every contour ,and every familiar curve of his features.
Almost instantly , the shatering disbelief on her face melts away. A wave of pure ,unfiltered happiness washed over her features, radient and overwhelming. Even though her blind eyes remain clouded and still ,she keeps them locked exactly where his eyes are .
With every passing heartbeat that she stare into his gaze , her joy only intensifies ,her smile groing wider and more breathless as the reality of his presence finally sinks in.
'It really is you!'
Before he can even process the warmth of her hands on his face , she moved with desperate force; she hooks her arms around him, pulling his upper body down tightly against her chest. She hugs him with an overwhealming ,almost suffocating grib, anchoring him to her as if afraid he might vanish into thin air if she lets go.
She whispered in a trembling faint voice,
"Iam mever letting you out of my sight....never again!"
Ash was struggling to breath against both her grib and his own rising panic, he nanaged to wrench himself back , by placing his hands on her shoulders to pin her to the table once again.
"Pwaah...huff,huff,huff....cough ,cough..."
Feeling hot all over his body ,his face flushed a deep red , he demands in a sharp ,bewildered voice,
"What in the world are you doing?! Weren't you supposed to be scared?!!"
Serenity doesn't answer with fear , instead , a serene, brilliant smile spreads across her lips. At the exact moment ,the magical crystal butterflies began to assemble out of thin air , materializing in the space between them . They swarmed back behind her pupils, instantly regaining life and vision to her eyes.
"Let me see..."
Through her newly restored sight , she looked up and saw his perfectly engraved face; a striking image she knew by heart.
She could clearly picture his pristine white hair framing his face, and the distinct mole sitting just beneath his pale cruuently flushed left eyelid. She watched as those eyelids parted , revealing beautiful, deep crimson eyes carrying a distinct golden glow ;eyes that screamed absolute royalty. To her ,he possessed a breathtakingly beautiful face.
Her smile softened, and her lips couldn't help but utter the words weighing heavilton her heart.
"Beautiful shining rubies...as always."
His crimson eyes widened in total shock as he realized she could see his intensely blushing face.his voice caught in his throat, and the only sound he could manage to utter was flustered, breathless stammer,
"W-What....?"
She tilted her head innocently saying,
"Didn't hear me?...Fine, I'll say it again."
The moment the words left her lips , serenity's hand shot forward, yanking him tightly by the back of his neck.she pulled him down close ,leaning in to whisper directly in his ears,
"you have the most beautiful face I have seen, as always."
The warmth of her breath and the weight of her words made his heart flutter wildly, hammering violently against his ribs,
Ash's mind was a mess at the moment ,'What's happening to me...why the hell do you keep beating like this over everything...I am going crazy...'
Overwhelmed by the sudden , intense rush of emotions, a surge of panic kicked in. Unable to handle the closeness, he abruptly shoved her away and backed away a few hasty steps, he turned around breathing heavily as he tried to regain controle of his racing heart.
In frustration he said,
"Stop messing around; this is not a joke."
Serenity however remained entirely unbothered in facf she was thrilled. She smoothly got up from the edges of the table ,stepping down gracefully; with absolute calmness she began to brush off the excess food that had spilled onto her clothes during the chaos, acting as if nothing unusual had just happened.
She calmly said ,"I am not joking....in truth my standards for beauty are so high so when I say beautiful, then it really is."
He instenctively raised his hand , covering his face entierly with his palm desperately trying to hide the fierce crimson flush that stained his skin,
"Stop....Just stop it." He muttered, his voice muffled and thoroughly flustered.
althought his back shielded him from her gaze but his heart kept hammering violently in his chest as if she was looking straight into his chaotic emotions
She watched his tense ,rigid shoulders, seeing exactly how deeply her actions had shaken his composure. Her expression softened as she decided to tease him,
"Don't tell me you're allowed to call my eyes like the moon, and I am not allowed to call yours a beautiful gem…"
She tried to closs the distance between them but he raise her hand to stop her,
"Don't come any closer!"
"!?!"
Ash's tone suddenly became so serious her words clearly hit a sensitive nerve. She then recalled his past words when they were out, and she had a rough guess that made her spiral out of control.
"Pfft...hahahahahah...do…don't tell me you think your eyes are scary?"
Ash felt something was wrong. 'This is not how this was supposedto go!?!'
He turned his head slightly at her to see her face but seeing the pure happiness on her face he got pissed instantly,
"You think this is funny?"
She was holding her stomach from the pain.
"Hahaha...just who the hell told you such obvious lies?"
Ash was annoyed with her unreasonable laughter but he couldn't help himself with anything; such reaction was so new to him ,'she's able to laugh and i feel like crying myself.'
He looked at her with a tired expression saying, "It's not a lie when everyone is dead set on it."
She didn't wait before she started denying the words he said,
-tut-tut-tut-
"Their agreeing alone is more than enough of a reason to doubt." She leaned onto the table and with a smug expression she said. "My dear boy...if everyone unanimously agrees on a specific thing, then it's the biggest lie in history."
"That's weird logic?!"he said
She looked at him with sharp know it all gaze in her eyes and said,
"Is it?!...Your eyes have an ability, don't they?"
Ash was taken off guard when he heared her words that for a moment there he couldn't belive his ears ,'this ability is supposed to be a state secret that is known only to the elders, even duke alkana didn't know ,so how...?!!'
He regained his calmness and cold unbothered demeanor, and asked her while looking straight into those knowing eyes of hers,
"How do you know such a thing?"
Serenity simply pointed at her eyes,
"Why do you think I am blind?"
Ash put back his mask covering his face completely.
"Every corner has a riddle hidden in between...can't you just say a full clear sentence about yourself?"
She tilted her head innocently saying,
"My name is Serenity, that's a complete one right?."
She gave him a smug look, with a shocking answer making him stunned.
Ash's voice and expression softened as he talked,
"That's not exactly what I meant, but....it's so like you"
'I just can't seem to have the heart to scold her, maybe It's my fate to surrender to her.' He thought to himself.
Serenity straightened her back and innocently said,
"It's still a full sentence, right?"
Ash shoke his head and started advancing tward the table and held the mask she changed into his palms staring at it wit intense eyes .
"I don't really care about the full sentence as much as I care about what you said before." He said
Serenity tilted her head feling confused about the meamimg of his words,
"I have said a lot of things; which one are you talking about?"
'The way you're talking with me and the way you handled some details around me not to mention the me i feel like i don't know who gets soft around you...I just couldn't help but question myself.' Ash, who was full of thoughts, turned his head at serenity, didn't realize the words coming out from his mouth as his lips moved saying those words,
"Have we met before?"