Amber Memories, Forgotten
-The Sun Sets, Night Arrives-
Rating: Teen; unless otherwise stated
Disclaimer: Hoshino owes characters except my OCs
A Noah perceives things only by their physical appearance and their value. These things, be it human or objects, wanted or unwanted, are judged by their significance and are generally chucked aside when they are no longer of use. They mean nothing and have their value used up easily. We lacked the basic emotions to feel, to love and to hate. Yet that had what I used to believe in till I met you.
The place had been serene as usual since there were no groups of people clad in black who appeared occasionally so as to mourn for their lost loved ones. It had been this place which she had enjoyed the most, and perhaps it was this place which he would enjoy being the most too. The fact that it buried their secret made him treasure this field all the more, no matter it was just a blade of grass, a stalk of wild flower or a drop of rainfall. It was a place that only revolved around the two of them.
Tyki Mikk was lying down on the damp soil, ignoring the damage nature was doing to his finely tailored suit, as his limbs stretched out and wide. Pressing his face down onto the cool moist ground as he rolled over, it looked like he was trying to hold on to the soil forever, which was not too far away from what he had wanted to do.
He inhaled deeply. Usually, it would smell of nothing but soil and weeds; but now and then when the rain and season permitted, he got the barest scent of sweet maple apple and of softness, as if she was still here- complete and in his embrace.
Our promise; I'm so sorry.
The rain had begun to fall by the time she got into the carriage to be brought to her destination by her chauffeur. It started to fog up their vision as each drop of rain accumulated to form a heavy shower. That was when they were forced to stop, and that was when she had seen him.
Rubbing her eyes to confirm if what she had seen was not an illusion, she requested for a parasol from her chauffeur cum butler, Charles, opened the door with a satin gloved hand and stepped onto the wet asphalt ground. She ignored the latter when he protested against her getting out of the carriage, and instead began to walk towards the person in particular, slowing down as she approached him. Her heart thumped profusely with each step nearer to him- though she was well aware that it was most probably an illusion or a mistake. She just had to confirm.
The person was shifting his feet uncomfortably in the rain-soaked ground, but there was a determination that she sensed in him to stay put wherever he was. Could he be waiting for her?
There was a mistake, she realized, when she was finally next to him. Rain seemed to stop in their presence with that umbrella of hers- as if there were some sort of special power. Her heart sunk heavily into a hollow pit when he looked back up at her. Blond hair, pale skin, and a clinical mask hiding half of this delicate feature, he resembled her brother, if not for those blue eyes that gave him away. He had black eyes from their mother.
"Thank you," the little boy said shyly as he looked up at her, before having his attention diverted by the parasol. His big eyes glimmered as if he had never seen such an elaborated object before.
She laughed softly in reply and patted the boy's head unconsciously before removing her hand hastily when she found that all too familiar. These were the exact habits she had on her little brother. But this was not him, ain't it? Chuckling gently in an attempt to hide the awkwardness, she bent down to meet his eyes. "Boy, are you lost?"
The little boy nodded his head. "Kind of, but Ezzz's waiting for…"
"Ezzz!" A voice rang out from the misty rain, and it parted like a veil to reveal three men in rugged clothes. "There you are! Good to see you waiting for us here. Now, don't you go wandering about again," coaxed one of them as he patted the little boy's head, messing up his soft blonde hair. Noticing that there was someone else present, the man stood up suddenly and knocked into the umbrella immediately. He was so much taller, she realized. "I'm so sorry, Miss. You are…?"
"My lady, please, your father would be furious if he were to see you with such company…" muttered Charles with a hurried tone as he joined them with his black umbrella.
"It's okay, Charles," she shrugged him off and turned to face the rest. "I was wondering what happened to your little friend, Ezzz- am I right, here since he was all alone and standing in the heavy rain."
"Oh thanks for the concern," drawled the same man who had spoken just now. "Now we're ready to go since our presence seems to bring much disgrace to you."
"No, please. Let me, let my chauffeur, bring you to your destination. The rain's too heavy for any kind of walking." She said in a hurry, in a tone that seemed to indicate that she did not want to be separated from the little boy just yet.
"We're not that low to require such charity, Miss."
"No, I am considering the health of this little boy here, Sire."
Charles shuddered with disapproval as he pulled the reins of his horse. He knew very well that his lady would be able to handle the matter well should any incident happen inside the cabin, but the idea of his elegant lady being confined in a small space with three and a half unkempt men still disturbed him.
"So, you work in mines?" asked his ladyship coolly. Her voice was gentle and laced lightly with concern- she was directing the question at the little boy. She still had not yet gotten over his death, hadn't she? The thought made Charles even more upset as he tried to tune out their conversation and focus on the horses at hand.
A deep hoarse voice answered his lady- it was the same man. "Yes, and I suppose you have a problem with that?" Now that they were out away from the rain, she noticed that his eyes, unlike those clear blue ones of Ezzz, were covered by spectacles so foggy that it seemed impossible to even see anything with it. Was he blind? Her eyes scanned through his features discreetly before drifting her gaze to a particular droplet of water that still lingered at the curve of his neck, following it as it slide down in to the shallow valley between his chest muscles. Her cheeks flushed immediately when she realized where she had been looking and diverted her attention out of the carriage window.
"No, of course not," she muttered as she regained her posture, "I was just wondering why those high society officials are not enforcing the law on child labor well enough."
The man grunted with a sarcastic laugh. "And you believe they would? You seem to be living in a rather protected environment."
"Of course not, I just…"
"I believe that you assume that we are abusing Ezzz then."
The young lady looked up in protest. "No, it's just…"
Once again, the man snorted in disgust. "Then we're sorry that we have disappointed you, Miss. We do not make Ezzz work in those mines."
"I didn't mean it that way…"
"Then what is it?" The bespeculated man said sternly; his voice quivering with irritation.
The other two men were now sitting up straight, "Oi, there's a better way to treat a lady." It was strange to see Tyki getting angry by a female- he was famous for twirling them around his finger.
"I know that Ezzz does not work," She paused for a brief second, her tone still stable and nonchalant, showing no obvious unhappiness over the man's attitude. "There are no calluses on his hands."
He shrugged his shoulder and ignored them. Her voice was not at all frightened, but instead was more apologetic that she had made them felt that way. It had made his guts tighten with guilt a little, but he had despised her at first sight- she was just some hypocritical high society lady attempting to do some what she perceived as 'charitable deeds' to the poor. His eyes roamed around the interior of the cabin, it was as expected from someone of the high society, yet he could not help but notice a rifle tucked neatly behind the seat- she hunts? Which decent lady would mingle with vagabonds like them? Which respectable lady would allow herself to…
"Why do you wear satin gloves with your riding habit?" It had been Ezzz who asked the question.
Giving a slight gasp, she glanced at her hands before looking down at her clothes. It was strange alright, elegant satin gloves with hunting clothes of boots and white shirt. Laughing, she smiled. "I have to head off somewhere after this."
"My lady," called out Charles as the horse began to slow down. "We've reached."
The carriage finally came to a halt and the group of men alighted. Glancing up at the kind lady with the pretty thing that was able to stop rain, Ezzz grinned beneath the mask and thanked her shyly while she resisted the urge to mess up that blonde hair of his.
How was one supposed to forget the person you love so easily when there are little parcels of reminders that contained nothing but deceptions and illusions? How was I supposed to forget the moments we shared?
I should have treasure you when I could, shouldn't I?
A/N: That's the first chapter for now, and yes I left out the OC's name deliberately. The first few sentences in each chapters are actually conversations between Tyki and OC, while the titles for each chapter- that's something to be solved. Hope you enjoyed this different setting I have of this new story. I'm giving Tyki my perspective of him as a miner since not much was revealed by the author so he's a little snappy when he's unhappy. How is it?