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An hour?
A minute?
She didn't know how long had passed since she peeked through her tightly shut eyes. She simply laid down among the purple flowers, sullenly watching as the heavy gray clouds cleared out to give way for the clear, blue sky. The soft caress of the crisp wind against her skin calmed the once erratic pounding of her chest─the same one which cushioned her fall before her brain splattered into the ground. It must have been a figment of her disoriented thoughts, too, but it was as though those winds took a transparent human form that very moment, embracing her figure to ensure a safe landing.
The merry chirping of the birds caught her attention. Not seconds later, a flock of them flew above her; circling and playing among themselves like some giddy children in an amusement park.
An hour or minutes ago . . .
I should've been dead.
With those thoughts in mind, pieces of previous events came flashing before her eyes. The sense of emptiness and hopelessness eating her alive at a full charge that very moment; the lifeless walk by the street under the heavy fall of rain; the sight of the old bridge; the strong current of river as she stood on the guardrail, not minding at all what would happen if ever she lost balance; the bitter-sweet memories flooding her mind as she fell head first; and the sense of relief that embraced her as water filled her lungs until she could no longer breathe.
No one should have survived such a fatal fall.
Should have. She thought, throat constricting as her eyes glistened, a hand extending to reach up the sky.
Those mysterious voices earlier . . .
They were the ones responsible for this all, weren't they?
She fisted her hand, trembling as her shoulders shook and her vision blurred with tears. Soft sobs shattered the solemn atmosphere. Her hand fell limp to her side. She brought it over her tear-stained eyes and sob some more until exhaustion claimed her to the realms of infinite darkness . . . All the while screaming an enraged question in her mind.
Why couldn't they let me be?
• • • •
The servants of Anwaru Lord's Residence were busy running around the household, searching for their young lord who had mysteriously gone missing without any notice yet again. There was a heavy and tense atmosphere hanging in the air. Such thing was pretty evident on their pale faces as they continued their search, running frenetically in and out of the residence to report.
Such a fateful day was supposed to be a joyous celebration for everyone in Anwaru, a small village in Altair Prefecture. It truly was for the heavy black clouds finally cleared out, revealing a clear blue sky after decades of nonstop raining which plagued the entire country of Grevus. The other three heavenly clans of the nation must have been on their feet preparing for a grand festivity in their respective turfs as well. But for Anwaru Lord's Residence, the home of the third and youngest lord of Ferguan Clan entrusted with the element of eternal fire, such merriment was near to impossible as long as their missing lord was yet to be found.
"Has anyone found him yet?" A tall man in his late twenties shouted across the courtyard from an open hallway at the side of the house.
His veiny hands gripping a wooden red fan were raised midriff. His once crease-free piece of loose clothing with large long sleeves belted at the waist was now disheveled and speckled with dust and spider webs after joining the search hours ago. Even his once glossy, long black hair neatly done in a low ponytail had already lost its shine and vibrance with all the loose strands all over his washed-out face.
The few frantic servants momentarily stopped on their tracks. Some even stifled a fit of laughter after seeing the haggard appearance of their young lord's right hand. Everyone had a similar look on their faces suggesting that they had yet to find their lord. In unison, they responded no.
Shun's unruly eyebrow quirked up. Despite being young, the deep wrinkles dotting his forehead and scrunched-up face made him appear twice older than his original age. His angry veins started to pulsate just thinking how much trouble their lord was causing everyone yet again.
"That brat! I'm going to wring his neck when I saw him!" he said through gritted teeth, one hand clenching the wooden red fan midair. "Continue searching for─"
A manservant came rushing into the courtyard. "T-the lord," he said, stopping outside the house's doorstep where Shun was, panting heavily on his knees. "I . . . found . . . L-Lord Rayo."
Shun's wrinkle lines seemed to magically smoothen in a heartbeat. "You found him!" he exclaimed, catching the attention of the few servants taking a quick break by the lawn nearby.
Simultaneous sighs of relief echoed across the courtyard. It was as though a boulder was lift off from their shoulders by the news.
The manservant nodded, still catching for breath. Though relief could also be seen in his face, a sliver of mixed disbelief and worry was evident in his wavering eyes as he fidgeted.
"Where is he?"
The servant looked up. His face was as white as sheet. Wiping off the sweats dotting his forehead, he pointed a shaky finger over his shoulder right after. "B-behind me."
Shun followed where the manservant was pointing at. And there, across the courtyard, was their lord who had been missing for hours, looking regal as ever in his deep blue robe tucked in over an ivory tunic, walking towards them with firmness and aura of authority while carrying an unconscious lady in his arms.
A lady in my lord's arms.
He cringed, pitying the poor lass for meeting his lord.
Such thought only lasted a few seconds upon squinting his eyes, noticing among anything else the lady's odd clothing and her rich auburn hair.
Shun gasped sharply; his jaw almost dropping to the floor. The wooden red fan he had been holding tightly for hours slipped off his hands, cluttering down the doorsteps as his eyes grew wider at the sight before them. His wavering eyes flitted over the clear blue horizon, then back to the lady.
He couldn't believe it. His lord─
"Would y'all just stand the entire day and watch me?" the newly arrived man's at edge voice pierced through the silence. "Call for the physician!"
Everyone snapped out of their trance, jumping on their feet as their lord's authoritative voice roared across the courtyard, sending chills on their spine.
"R-Right away, my lord!" Shun and the servant said in unison, running in haste.
With one last glance, Shun looked over his shoulders, eyeing the unconscious lady with long auburn hair.
Sheer dread overwhelmed his joyous, internal revelry.
It has begun, he thought and scurried off the hallway.
• • • •
Somewhere around the Hortis Clan's territory at Degalla Prefecture . . .
A knowing smile slowly settled in at the man's face as he removed his arm over his eyes. His pair of gentle, coffee brown eyes darted towards the distant dark horizon miles and miles away from the mountain's cliff he had been lying down for the past hour. He whistled in astonishment upon seeing the heavy dark clouds cleared out, blessing the forsaken land underneath with the slivers of sunlight it had been deprived of for the last few decades.
The last one has come, he thought, scratching the side of his head. He chuckled dryly. Finally.
A glint of amusement sparked his eyes when the wind picked up around him, creating a small tornado that swished and lashed through the trees and shrubberies in the area. He sat up crossed leg on the grassy ground and waited until a silhouette of another man clad in a snow-white trench coat and purple boa 'round the neck emerged from the dispersing turbulence.
With a mirthful grin, he waved a hand to the newly arrived redhead man. "Yo, man! How long has it been?"
The redhead man dramatically huffed, crossed his arms against his chest, and popped his hip to one side as he returned the greeting with a deep scowl. "We gotta move now." He pursed his peach rouge lips, frowning. "It has begun. The last of us has arrived, you twerp."
He chuckled at the flamboyant man's grim notion. His gaze darted back to the distant territory in the east. After few decades of a long wait, the inevitable would finally commence─or should he say . . . continued?
A long, deep sigh escaped his lips as he scratched the side of his head again. Dusting off his plain, white dress shirt and brown pants, he jumped to his feet and stretched his tan, tattooed arms side to side.
"A he or she?" he asked with a groan, hands on the waist, bending and rotating it until a soft pop had him abruptly paused, followed by a series of whining.
The redhead man rolled his eyes at his antics. "A she, of course, you idiot."
His shoulders tensed up, stopping him from caring about his aching hip bone. His once calm breaths picked up; heart palpitating as he digested the news. With a trembling lips and shaking cold hands, he clutched his burning chest; a phenomenon his body and mind chose to forget a century ago.
Did he just hear him, right?
He did, didn't he?
Slowly, and almost maliciously, a sly grin crept upon his gentle face. "Shall we visit her, then?"
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