The room was fairly dark; the curtains drawn across the windows barely let anything filter through. The only source of light was the fire crackling cheerily in the fireplace. Lying on his stomach with his elbows propped up; he turned a crisp page over. The orange glow was all he needed to read the book laying in front of him.
It was an exuberant novel placed in a fantasy world. Pleasant characters and an engaging plot held him in at the best of times but even this world of make-believe had its limits. The story was coming to its conclusion with each page turned. The thought made his brows furrow slightly though what else could he do but pick up another book to read.
Without warning, the door behind him flew open and banged against the wall, causing him to jump in fright. He glanced over his shoulder and found his older sister briefly gaze around the darkened room before her dark eyes found him.
'There you are Neil, I've been looking for you everywhere!' Neil sat up and earmarked his book before closing it. She was jesting as usual considering the wide grin adorning her face.
'What do you want Road?' He asked politely gazing at her as she came to crouch down beside him. Her short ruffled skirt riding up her thigh as she did so. The way her grin slowly turned sinister made him admittedly nervous.
'Can't I spend time with my adorable little brother?'
'Not when she calls him adorable,' He grumbled back while Road poked her tongue at him. Then without warning, she threw her arms around his neck, effectively pulling him into an uncomfortably tight hug.
'H-hey!' He protested but bit his lip as she begun to tickle him. 'N-no, stop it!'
Road laughed while he struggled to pry out of her arms. Unfortunately, she was simply stronger than him much to his frustration. Neil's hand eventually found his book beside him and he swung his arm back, hitting his sister on the head with the hardback.
'Ouch!' She winced and her arms retreated giving him enough time to scramble away, panting. Road scowled at him darkly with a slight pout to her lips. Her hands rubbing circles in her dark blue spiky locks.
'Don't do that! Remember what happened last time?' He grumbled still clutching the book tightly, watching his sister carefully. She, in turn, stared back her lips pulled into a tight line with a sudden serious look.
'It wouldn't happen again if you take your medication,' she retorted slyly and Neil flinched at her tone. 'You did take it right~?'
He didn't answer immediately. Neil might have somewhat forgotten about it as he guiltily gazed at the fireplace. Road clucked her tongue in a chiding manner.
'I forgot.'
'Neil! I'm going to have to tell daddy you know. You can't just forget for your own convenience,' Neil looked back at her in horror. He most certainly did not want his father to know. Particularly when his father would just make the situation all that much worse! Then he had his mother to concern about. The poor woman was already dealing with her own ailing health and didn't need to worry about his.
'Please don't…'
Road giggled darkly at him and Neil couldn't help but grimace under the pressure. She was not the person to cross whenever she smiled like that. But then the same thing could be said when she was mad and he most certainly did not want to relive that!
'Well as long as you go off now and take your medication, I won't tell him~' Neil waited. There was always a catch when compromising with Road and that usually never ended well for him.
'In exchange, I want all your sweets for the next month!'
'You want my sweets again, Road? Argh fine!' He exclaimed as he stood up with his book clasped firmly in his grip, he went for the door. To be frank, Neil had been worried that he would be dragged into another tea party that Road would host. He most certainly was glad that she had not suggested it.
He left the room and glanced around the dimly lit hall. Neil did not want to be caught not taking his medication again. The last time he had forgotten ended up with a very long lecture from the Earl himself. Then there were the other smaller details he'd much rather forget as well.
So far, as he walked down the hall, he couldn't see anyone and that could either be a good thing or a bad thing. The only problem about his family was that they all had a habit of turning up at the worst possible moment. Though Neil was positive Road went out of her way to show up at the most embarrassing situations.
'Where're you off to shounen?' A voice called after him and Neil almost jumped out of his skin. Whipping around he saw his uncle standing a few feet from him, dressed casually in a dress shirt and black pants. If there was one person Neil didn't mind hanging around with, it was he.
The man never asked for much nor expected anything in return. This was a welcomed change when half of Neil's family treated him like a fragile vase that would break with the smallest tremor.
'U-uh, nowhere in particularly Uncle Tyki,' he replied hastily and his uncle raised his eyebrow, suspicion clearly seen in his eyes. 'In fact, I was looking for you.'
'Why is that?' His uncle's tone sounded unconvinced and Neil quickly remembered the book in his hand.
'I'm almost finished the book you gave me and I was wondering what title I should read next?' He said smoothly since it was half true. A thoughtful hum came from the older man and Neil was hopefully that he had bought his lie.
'I suppose I could look around for something,' his uncle pondered but Neil couldn't help but see amusement flash across his uncle's eyes. 'Just make sure you have your medication or else Sheryl will go ballistic.'
Neil cursed under his breath as his uncle walked away snickering. Was he that goddamn readable?
Huffing with irritation, he continued onwards till he came upon his room and hurried inside. Neil walked over to his bedside table and opened the drawer where he kept the small glass bottle that held his medication. Popping open the white lid, he tipped the bottle and allowed two small oblong pills fall into the palm of his hand.
How he hated this medication. It tasted god-awful and left a funny metallic aftertaste in his mouth that not even a strong mint could deter. Picking up the half-filled glass of water from the varnished table, Neil took a sip and downed the pills as quickly as possible.
He grimaced and drank the rest of the water and went to place the glass back onto the bedside table when he heard a light chuckle come from behind him. Neil inwardly groaned and slowly turned around to face the figure sitting at the foot of his large bed.
It was almost like looking into the mirror. The figure was of a boy about his age with reddish brown hair that framed his pale face. The same silver eyes stared back with mirth dancing within those orbs.
However there was only a slight few difference between them. The boy always seemed to wear the same plain white shirt and black shorts. His feet were bare and whenever he stood, he was only slightly taller much to Neil's chagrin.
But there was also something else that set this boy apart from everything else.
Neil was the only one to see him!
'Kris…'
And here is the next chapter (a little short but oh well)! So as you can tell, Neil will have his own viewpoint in this story and with some ingenuity, these POV will cross in the future… I hope…? Again, I will try to make the updates weekly but again I can't promise anything!
So I hoped you enjoyed this and please leave a review!
