Rynu ran through the hallways of the castle, skidding around corners in his rush. Screams sounded through the halls from the distance, making his heart pound with dread with every sound of her voice. He knew what was happening. How DARE Demetre do this?
He rounded the corner, his mind dreading the scene he knew would come next- Demetre standing over Dela, his hands glowing with his putrid black magic. He had marked her.
Instead, Dela stood in the room, her red hair falling down her shoulders in waves. She had a sad expression on her face when she saw him, her mouth raising slightly in a weak smile.
"Hey Ry." She said softly, clasping her hand in front of her nervously. "I have something I need to tell you before I go."
Rynu walked into the room, watching her in shock. "But… I'm confused. I thought you were…"
"Dead?" Dela spat out in anger. "Yeah, I am. Sort of. Rynu, we're all still here. He doesn't know- but just like he became part of us, we became part of him."
Rynu froze, watching her in shock. "You're not saying what I think you're saying."
Dela nodded gently. "I'm afraid I am. You know it's true, though you don't want to believe it. I wouldn't either. Rynu, I hope you won't let this ruin your life. Live to the fullest- you always focus on the past, and forget to live in the present."
"But-" Rynu reached out to her, cringing in pain as his hand passed through her.
"You know what I mean, Rynu. Forget about me- you know it never would have worked. We had a good time together, but that time is past. Look to the future." Dela smiled softly, her image fading in front of him.
"Wait!" Rynu ran forward, trying to wrap his arms around her to keep her with him.
He shot up in his bed, his face covered in a cold sweat as Medusa startled from lying on his chest.
"Are you okay?" Marina said, sitting in the chair beside his bed, holding a small basin of water and a wet cloth.
Rynu wiped his face, noticing that most of it had been water rather than sweat. He sighed in relief when he realized he had been dreaming. He looked over to Pheona's bed, his eyes widening when he saw she wasn't there.
"Where's Pheona?" He asked, sitting up again. Marina gave him a stern look, pushing him back down.
"She went with Keisin to Avalon. She's fine, and Keisin's taking care of her. Lay back down, you're in no shape to start moving around yet."
"What happened?" He sighed, his sore muscles relaxing as he laid back down. He looked down at his chest, wondering when someone had taken his shirt off.
"Conintor did that. You had a terribly fever earlier- he was starting to panic, but you started to get better again. You should be fine now." Marina watched him silently for a minute. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"Yeah." Rynu rubbed his palm over his face and groaned in pain. "Pretty bad."
"What was it about?" Marina said, trying not to look at the multitude of scars that covered him- it looked like he had been in so much pain, it hurt to see them.
"Dela. Just… nevermind." Rynu growled from between gritted teeth, looking away from Marina.
Marina watched him with an annoyed expression. "Why do you always do that? It drives me crazy."
"Do what?" Rynu looked over at her in confusion.
"You always keep things to yourself- you don't want to tell anyone about what's wrong, and you don't want anyone to help you. Is it because you want to feel strong?"
"No." Rynu growled.
"Then why, Rynu? Do you feel like you don't deserve the attention of those around you?"
"No!" Rynu sat up, looking at her fiercely. "I don't want to hurt anyone!"
Marina sat in silence for a bit, her cyan eyes burning with anger. "Well too late." She said, shoving the basin and cloth into his hands and walking out of the room.
Rynu looked down at the water, looking back up at the door as Marina slammed it behind her. Why was she so angry?
You really are stupid sometimes, Rynu Medusa laughed in his mind, her thin tongue hissing as she relaxed again.
Later that night, Pheona handed Keisin the singed book, looking at him with serious eyes. "I want you to tell me what happened. Why have you been avoiding me all night? You've hardly said a word."
Keisin sighed, running a hand through his hair nervously. "You'll just get angry with me, and I'd really rather not have that happen."
Pheona rolled her eyes. "Even if it was that bad, I'm sure you didn't do it on purpose, right?"
"No, not on purpose." Keisin said, unable to help a small smile. "Though it was kind of nice to know that you have the capability to be that way."
Pheona looked up at him in confusion and scoffed. "Then tell me what happened already- I'm really tired of you avoiding me."
Keisin watched her for a minute and nodded, taking the book and opening it to the first page. "See this symbol?" He pointed to an intricate symbol scribbled on the page.
"Yeah, what about it?" Pheona looked down at the notes, wondering how he could ever understand any of this.
"I got it mixed up with this one." Keisin flipped through the pages, pointing to another very similar symbol- the only difference was a small change in direction at the end.
Pheona's eyes widened when she saw the words 'lust spell' above the symbol. She flushed crimson and looked at him. "I didn't- I…"
"You didn't do anything." Keisin shook his head. "I wouldn't let you do something like that when you're not yourself."
Pheona looked up at him sheepishly, and down at the ground. "I hope you don't think I'm… loose."
"Of course not." Keisin rolled his eyes. "You're one of the most modest people I know- save for the dress thing, of course." He pointed to her off-the-shoulder dress.
Pheona looked down at herself, smiling softly. "I've always liked this style."
"I like it too. Honestly I was glad to see you relax a little. You're always so… tense." Keisin sighed. "I know you're not used to being around a sorcerer."
"That's not why I'm tense." Pheona looked up at him. "I've never met a guy as nice as you are- I just… don't want to mess things up."
Keisin watched her for a minute before smiling. "You won't mess things up, I promise. Just relax a bit- it's not like I'll turn you into a frog or something."
"You better not." Pheona said, hitting him on the shoulder teasingly.
"Ribbit." Keisin poked her side, making her yelp in surprise. She moved away, her face red.
"Don't poke me there- that tickles." She said, moving away when he grinned mischievously. He chased her around the cabin as Russet watched in amusement, letting out encouraging chirps to the two humans. Finally he wanted to play too- and so tackled Keisin in the face, making him yell and fall back against Pheona as Russet chirped happily while standing on his chest. He had won!
Keisin wrapped his arms around Pheona and sighed against her black hair. "Don't worry about making me upset- it would take a lot to make me angry enough to leave."
Pheona nodded, sighing in relief. She had never had a relationship like this before- where she didn't have to watch every word she said in hopes of not making him mad. She smiled and kissed his cheek gently.
"No," Keisin took her face into his hands, kissing her warmly on the lips. "That's a proper kiss."
Pheona blushed and nodded, leaning back against him with a sigh. "We should probably get some sleep. I have a feeling when the kirin comes tomorrow we'll have a long day."
Keisin nodded, standing up and helping her up as well, Russet sitting on his shoulder.
"I… uh… I keep having bad dreams though." Pheona looked down at the ground uneasily.
"Do you want me to keep you company tonight?" Keisin said, smiling softly. "It doesn't have to mean anything else. I'll just make sure you don't have any bad dreams."
Pheona smiled up at him gratefully. "Yeah."
They walked up to Pheona's room, Keisin setting his robe down on a chair as Pheona crawled onto the bed. Keisin laid down beside her, hooking an arm around her waist protectively.
"I'll wake you up if you start having a bad dream." He said against her shoulder, making her blush at the contact. "Relaaaaax. You're way too uptight to sleep." He said as he felt how tense her body was.
Pheona sighed, letting herself relax within his arms. She fell asleep feeling safe within his arms, smiling as she heard his soft snores against her shoulder.
