by Xellia Ul Copt Metallium
Prologue: The past returns
"Filia!! Quit running so fast!!"
"Mou! You're too slow!"
"But I'm tired! Besides, it's freezing out here..." Mizuki complained. Normally she didn't mind the cold, but today was one of these days where you just wished you were in bed instead.
Looking at her friend, she sighed. Filia was tall, slim, and had a light-complexion. She was graceful, but look IS very deceiving. Underneath all that grace and feminine form, Filia was quite strong. She could lift an object heavy enough to make a man lose his arm and could swing it as easily as a pillow made out of feather.
...I wonder where did she get all that strength from.
Without noticing it, Mizuki was gazing at Filia, who in turn looked irritated.
"For Cephied's sake, Mizuki. Quit staring at me like that!!" Filia looked back at her friend with her hands on her hips.
"Gomen.. and quit saying "Cephied". You have some weird phrases.. Maa.. we should get going now!!"
Grabbing the slim blond girl's hand, Mizuki rushed them off toward a quieter part of town. She had always loved wandering here. It was a calm neighborhood, but seemed a bit mysterious. Different from other parts of the city, no one really came out, except to go to work and come back. No children ever ran past there if they didn't have to and no adults would ventured pointlessly around there either. But Mizuki loved that place. Some days, she would come here alone to collect her thoughts and write in her diary. Other days, she would just walk around looking at the archaic buildings that were surrounded by giant trees.
"Ne, Mizuki... do you usually take nature walks over here? I don't think it's really safe for us to even be here..."
"Relax, Filia. This place is harmless. Oh, did you know that there's a new transfer student in town? I've heard from Nia that he's gorgeous..."
Filia sighed. Humans fall in and out of love so easily. She'd remembered the last time she had fallen for someone. It was her first time and vowed to be her one last as well. She didn't know what was so attractive about him in the first place. Right, he was tall, handsome, and strong. But he's very manipulative, evil, and ruthless. He'd nearly wiped out her race, single- handedly.
Lost in thoughts, Filia didn't noticed Mizuki behind her until she felt a cold object sliding down her back. She squeaked and turned around facing her smiling friend.
"You're always so absent-minded, Filia. What are you thinking of anyway?"
"Oh nothing in particular."
Mizuki knew she was hiding something, but didn't want to just barge into her personal thoughts so she left it at that. Looking ahead of her, Mizuki noticed a tall, dark house with at least five gables. Big trees stood tall inside the rusty gates as its dead branch scratched the roof, making unbearable noises.
"There it is," she said, pointed straight ahead at the house.
Filia turned around and felt a chill down her spine. Weird feeling. She narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the ancient house.
"What about the house? It's quite creepy- looking..."
"It's where the new guy live...I wonder what he looks like.."
"Mizuki!! Stop dreaming about guys for once!!"
"If I was great looking like you, then I wouldn't. Because the minute I stepped out of my house, guys would be swarming at the doorstep..."
"You're unbelievable..."
Mizuki smiled. Filia could be so serious most of the time that she had to break the icy atmosphere.
"Anyways, let's go home now. It think it's getting dark..."
"Hai hai." Filia followed her reluctantly. While walking back, she saw a moving figure out of the corner of her eyes. From its shape and height, she could tell it was definitely a man. He was hidden in the shadows behind the curtains. All she could see was the dark silhouette of the figure, but she sensed some familiarity of it. Even thought she was far away from where that figure stood, she could feel an emotion rise up inside her. An emotion that she hadn't felt in a long time...
"Eeeekkk!! He's here!! Have you seen him in the hall?"
"Yes I did! My Gosh! He's drop dead gorgeous!! Just look at his eyes! It's just a marvelous color!!"
Filia sat at her desk, mumbling to herself. The noises projected from these girls were causing her a migraine. Just last night, she couldn't sleep because of thinking too much of that house. And now she'd have to put up with all the chattings and gossiping about the new guy. She's been hearing about him nonstop during the weekend, and today would be her first day in seeing him. To be honest, Filia wasn't even looking forward in seeing him. She just wanted to go through life peacefully, without causing any commotions as she breeze her way through the school. But she knew that she can't even ask for that. She was a very attractive girl, and her school was full of lovesick idiots who would crawl on their knees to ask her out. She'd rejected all of them, but they just won't leave her alone.
"Hello Filia! I bought you some roses today!!" A chirpy voice said behind her.
"Koji! I told you many times to stop giving me roses!!"
"But..."
"Please leave me alone. I'm not feeling well.."
"Demo--" Not being able to continue his sentence, Koji was cut short by Mizuki who rushed in.
"He's here!!!"
In an instant, the group of girls who were chatting immediately rushed to their seats and not a sound was heard from them. A few seconds later, the classroom door was opened and the new kid walked in behind the teacher.
"Ohayou minna! Today we have a new student and I would like for you to make him feel welcome --" The teacher started.
Filia started looking up and gasped at what she saw.
The new guy was tall, slender, and extremely handsome. He had short purple hair and was smiling joyfully at the class. Filia's eyes were wide open as she continued staring at him. Mizuki, who was sitting next to her, saw her looking and giggled. She poked Filia on the side and whispered to her.
"I thought you weren't interested in guys..."
Looking back at her, Filia snapped out of it and sat tall in her chair.
"Who says I'm interested in him?!"
"-- This is Xellos Metallium and he had just transferred here from Europe." Takeo-sensei looked around the classroom and pointed to an empty seat behind Filia.
"Xellos, your seat will be behind Filia." Smiling at the teacher, Xellos started walking toward his new seat, eyes locking into Filia's deep blue eyes. As he walked by, the students, especially girls, turned toward him and followed his every move. So did Filia. Instead of feeling the same way as the other girls, Filia felt rage. She suddenly remembered the past, the grievances she had felt for days. Because of him.
Xellos came to a halt right next to Filia's desk and told her in a calm voice.
"Hello Filia-chan. It's been a while, hasn't it?" The response he received was a glare from her. Sitting down in his desk, Xellos chuckled as he heard her reply.
"Namagomi!" She mumbled as she turned around. The class dropped silent as they heard her comment. There wasn't a single noise, except the gasp from everyone's breath, barely audible to the human ears.
"Ahh.. the good old days..."
xellia_metallium@dragonslave.com |