The Serpent and the Maiden Fair Chapter 3
*Special shoutout to my friend Sasha! Thanks for the comments and suggestions. This chapter is dedicated for you! :)
Enjoy!
Cedric looked at the clear blue waters of the lake again before letting out a sigh. It will be long before he can see the peaceful view of that part of the forest again. He sat on a nearby rock and closed his eyes; he tried to remember how he found that special part of the woods. Although it was not really a good memory, it was still important for him because what happened that day changed his life. That was the day he saved Avery.
Her parents were really grateful that he saved her and offered him sanctuary at their castle. At first he was afraid to take the offer yet when Avery told her parents that he was a Naga and the couple never hinted any disgust, he gladly accepted it. It was the happiest day of his life. Agatha and Sebastian von Heinrich were the most understanding people he ever met. They took him as their warden and gave him a surname. Their own surname, he was soon legitimized by the Queen as a member of house Heinrich.
He had lived with them for three years now and during those three years, he grew closer to Avery. It was like his world revolved around her. She gave him the inspiration to live and to fight. She was the most precious person in the world to him. He was in love with her.
However his feelings were unrequited and their love story is doomed for tragedy as she was already promised to another. Unfortunately for him, his love is betrothed to the Prince, his best friend. Avery was also the reason why they met. The Prince was always visiting West Nubar for Avery. Although Avery was still young still it was a custom in Meridian that as soon as the girl reaches her fifteenth year, she is too marry whoever is engaged to her. In this case, the Prince.
It crushed his heart to learn that she could never be his but then what was her future with him? He was no one in that land. He was just an orphan who was taken by her family and raised him as their own. That is the reason why he chose to go to the capital and train in the military. That way he can just forget her. Or maybe not. He knows he can't do it. He gasped as he felt a tear fell from his eye, he immediately wiped it away. Why is he crying? He went to this lake to keep himself from being emotional and not cry. He was here to savour his last day in West Nubar. To be happy, yet he was crying there like an idiot.
"You're here." He winced as he heard her voice. She was here and she found him when he does not want to be found. Yet she was here and she found him again.
"You shouldn't have come." He told her. Even if he can't see it, he knew that she was smiling. Her footsteps sounded louder as she came close to him. His eyes widen as he felt her arms wrapped around him from his back.
"I will miss you Ceddie." She said while calling him by his nickname. He sighed, he turned to face her. She was looking down. He rested his hand on her chin and slowly lifted her head. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were drenched with tears.
"Why are you crying?" He asked as he wiped her tears away. Avery hugged him again.
"You're leaving me." Avery said as she buried her head on his chest. His heart pumped rapidly as he inhaled her scent. She smelled like lilies, pure and innocent. She was making it hard for him to leave but then he must. It was the only way he can stop himself from further falling for her. He bent down and put his hands on her shoulder.
"I will come back. I promise." He lied; he knew that he won't be coming back. As soon as he will enter the military, he will be assigned in the capital and he can never see her again.
"I will miss you." She said and tears started flowing from her eyes again. He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I love you Cedric." She softly muttered. His eyes widen in shock by her words.
Sunday.
Since she was free today, she said yes to Peter and Matt's invitation to eat at the Silver Dragon, which was owned by Hay Lin's family. The food there was really great and she likes talking to Hay Lin's Grandmother, Yan Lin. Yan Lin was such a nice and cool grandma, one time, she even went out to ski with them and she likes listening to her unusual stories.
Peter and Matt texted her earlier that they will just meet at the Silver Dragon and Peter can't pick her up because his Dad used his car, so she was now on her way to the restaurant. It was just a few blocks away from her house and she does not really want to spend a lot of money on taxi fare so she decided to walk.
'Elyon?' She thought as soon as she saw her younger sister coming out from a store the moment she turned from the alley. Her forehead creased. What was she doing here? She asked herself. Earlier this morning Elyon left to visit Cornelia's house, saying that the will go to the mall so she find it weird that she saw Elyon there, alone. She looked up to check the name of the shop, maybe it was some sort of boutique that Cornelia often visits.
A bookstore? She cocked one eyebrow when she read the sign hanging above the door. That was a new one. Elyon rarely goes to bookstores. Or unless, there was a cute guy in there. Well, she better find out. She hurriedly walked towards the opening. She pushed the door and was startled by the chime of the bell above it. She was just checking out but she might look like an idiot if she'll just enter and leave. Her mind rattled as she was thinking of what kind of book she will pretend to buy.
"Hi. Can I be of any assistance?" She turned as soon as she heard a voice and she saw a guy with long blonde hair which was neatly tied in a ponytail and he was wearing glasses, it made him look a little bit older but he was so gorgeous! He looks like some kind of movie star with his handsome face and lean body. Then she had a clear view of his eye color: Violet! It was the same as hers! Weird. He seems to be surprised to see her as his eyes widen at the moment their gazes meet.
Have we met before? She asked herself. Something about this guy was familiar. It feels like she knew him but she can't remember how or why she knew him. An unfamiliar sensation entered her system, her heart was beating furiously and her mind went blank.
They were staring at each other for quite a long time until he broke his eye contact.
"I-I'm sorry, I-I don't know what came to me. I uh. My name's Avery." She said as soon as their gazes fell. She held out her hand to him, the guy seems to be reluctant to take it but after a few seconds she felt his hand wrap around hers. She gasped softly as his skin hit hers; it was warm and really natural, like she had held that hand before. She bit the side of her cheek to stop herself from blushing.
"I don't mind. I'm Cedric." He said as he let go of her hand. His voice. It was like music to her ears. Wait, what? Is she having some sort of infatuation with this man? Well, she rarely feels that way when she was around a new guy before. Cedric smiled at her and she felt like her heart fluttered.
"You look familiar. Have we met before?" She echoed her thoughts before she can even stop herself. Gad! She'll totally sound weird. Cedric might think that she was some kind of crazy woman asking a stranger if they have met before. Cedric gently shook her head and just smiled at her.
"No. I'm afraid we haven't met before." He said. The book! Her mind screamed. She needs to borrow a book. Right. But what kind of book will she buy? Even if it's just a pretend book, she will still read it so she better choose something interesting.
"Uhmm. Do you have some books about dream interpretation? I'm actually experiencing some sort of weird dreams for the past few days." She said. That was a good alibi and it was actually half-truth, she had been experiencing weird dreams, so she wanted to know what these dreams mean.
"Of course. You will have to excuse me for a short while." Cedric said before disappearing into a corner. She just remained on spot where she was standing. After a few seconds, Cedric went back with a book on his hand. He handed it to her and she asked how much she needs to pay for it.
"It's on the house." He replied. She was about to argue but he spoke ahead of her. "I insist." Oh. He was such a gentleman. She looked down as she tried to hide the blush forming on her face. Why was she acting weird in front of him? She had faced a lot of cute guys before but none of them gave her this kind of unusual feeling.
"Oh-kay. Thanks anyway." She said and smiled at him as she reached for the books from his hand. She turned her back and hurriedly went to the door; she was already running late for her lunch with Peter and Matt and she does not know what will happen if she stays there any longer. She was about to reach the handle when Cedric called her.
"We'll be having a poetry reading session here on Thursday. I was wondering if you would like to come." Cedric asked. Poetry reading? Well that wasn't her thing but a voice in her mind was pushing her to say yes so that she could see Cedric again.
"Okay. See you Thursday." She said before heading out of the store, her face heavily blushed. She sighed, it was the most unusual day that happened to her. A crush! Who would have thought that she'll be attracted to some stranger-slash-bookstore owner?
She glanced back several times and saw Cedric standing behind the glass display, looking at her, she just waved at him ran towards the alley going to the Silver Dragon. It was quite a long run so she was panting when she reached the door. She drew a deep breath before going in.
As soon as she entered, Matt and Peter waved at her. She smiled at them and started walking directly to where they are. She dragged a chair out and dropped on it and put the book on the table.
"What took you so long?" Peter asked, there was a hint of worry on his voice.
"Bookstore." She said as she grabbed a glass of water in front of her, they must have requested for it when they arrived. Both of them knew that she always likes drinking water before eating.
"What's this? Dreams: Meanings and Interpretations? Are you planning to become a Jedi?" She didn't notice Matt grab the book she had. Then he was trying to mimic some Jedi moves, Peter tag along with him while mouthing the words "I am your father." and Matt silently shouted "No!". She shook her head and sighed, the two just laughed at her thinking that it was hilarious.
"No duh! I don't even have a lightsaber!." She snapped at them when they stopped teasing, it was one of the reasons why she likes hanging out with them, they were geeks for Sci-Fi movies. "It's just that, these couple of days, I'm having some sort of weird dreams." She said while looking at the half-empty glass of water. Those weird dreams and visions seem to be running on her mind for a couple of days now. No, not just a couple of days, it was like forever. When will it ever stop?
"What kind of dreams?" Matt asked, the two were looking at her wearing the same curious expressions on their faces while waiting for her reply. At first she hesitated to tell them but she drew a deep breath. Maybe it was okay to tell them, she can't just keep this secret forever, she wants someone to listen to her to or maybe give her some advice.
"Well, there are these two men, they don't have faces. One has blonde hair and the other has straw blonde hair, almost like Elyon's. I have dreamt of them since I was young and they both seemed to be familiar but I can't remember meeting them or I don't even know if we have met before." She confessed. Matt sighed and opened the book, maybe trying to find some explanations on her dreams.
"Well, it says here that if you always dream about someone you don't know, maybe they are connected to your past or future. Like their people whom you met in your past life or maybe you'll meet in the future." Matt said quoting a paragraph from the book.
"That's weird, if I met them before, how?" She asked. If that was true then where did she meet these guys? They were older than her but then she also had a vision about the blonde men when he was young. Is she some sort of time traveler or something?
"Maybe you're from the past and you time traveled to the future." Peter just spoke out her thoughts, they were both looking worried about her revelation. She didn't say anything, her mind was just so clouded and she does not know which is which.
"Hello. Can I take your order?" She looked up to see Caleb, wearing a black shirt, cargo pants and an apron was tied on his waist. Right. He was working here. She reminded herself.
"Caleb! It's nice to see you!" She smiled at him. She almost laughed when she saw a faint tinge on his cheek, he then scratch the back of his head and returned a smile.
"Hi Avery. I haven't seen you in a while." He said and looked at Peter and Matt and the two stared back at him. He must have thought that she was some sort of playgirl dating two men at the same time. She cleared her throat and the three men dropped their gazes.
"Uhmm. Caleb, this is Matt and Peter, they're my best friends. Matt, Peter, this is Caleb, he's friends with the other girls." She introduced the Caleb to her friends. Caleb just nodded to Matt and Peter.
"Anyway, can I take your order?" He asked again. She glanced quickly at the menu, she was drowned with her thoughts about her dreams earlier that she forgot to check what she wants to eat. After taking their order Caleb excused himself.
"You like him?" Peter then asked when they were finally alone.
"What!?" The question surprised her. What kind of question was that?
"Yeah. You kind of look at him in a weird way." Matt then said. She stared at them with disbelief, she can't believe that they're having this kind of conversation and these two men have feelings for her! Which was so awkward.
"No! Of course not! He's not my type." She shrugged.
"You can tell us. We err. We. We are not jealous." Peter said, Matt nodded in agreement. What? Are they out of their minds!?
"I already said it, he's not my type." Awkward. This was a very awkward situation. She was supposed to hang with them so she can avoid talking about boys! But now they were asking her about the opposite sex.
"Then tell us what kind of guy you like." Matt added.
"No. I'm not having this kind of conversation with you." She said as she pushed her chair backwards and readied herself to stand.
"Okay fine. Fine. We're just joking okay?" Peter then said. She sighed and pushed her chair back to the table. Her mind then drifted back to Cedric. If only she can tell them that he was her type of man but then she doesn't want to hurt their feelings, given that she already hinted that they were jealous of Caleb.
She's alive!
Cedric thought the moment Avery left. Phobos lied to him. He was stationed in the northern part of Meridian when the war broke out. He was worried about Avery because Phobos and his supporters would target the Heinrich's as they are most likely to be the ones who will help the Queen and Consort.
After knowing that his mother was pregnant with a girl, Phobos' supporters have attacked the palace, saying that the Prince was the rightful heir to the throne and that Meridian should now have a King and not some naïve young girl as a Queen. They have imprisoned the Queen and was about to execute the Consort if it he didn't help them escape. Yes, he helped them, he was the one who sent a raven to Lady Agatha, he told her about the current situation of the Royals and his adoptive mother have asked him to assist them in escaping.
The plan succeeded. They were safely transported to West Nubar without the Prince's knowledge. When they finally knew about it, Cedric was already sent to the northern Meridian. The Prince's counselors labelled the Heinrich's as traitors and advised the Prince to assassinate them. The Prince pleaded for Avery's safety as she was his fiancee.
He and Avery were still exchanging secret messages until he never received another word from her again after a month of waiting. Worried, he secretly fled from his encampment and went to West Nubar to know what happened.
He was shocked to see that his former home, the beautiful stronghold of West Nubar, was partially burned and that everyone including the young daughter of Lady Agatha and Lord Sebastian was murdered. Angry, he went to the castle to confront Phobos, who was as shocked as he is.
He blamed him for Avery's death. Phobos never said a word to him, making him even angrier. He left and went back to Wayfort, West Nubar's capitol and the place where the Heinrich's castle was located. With the help of some people, they were able to restore some of the burned parts. Since he was legitimized as a von Heinrich, he succeeded as the new Duke of Wayfort.
After a few months of not having any communications with the palace and his anger for Phobos' for not being able to protect Avery, Phobos visited him to offer a place in his court as his military commander. He refused saying that he won't leave Wayfort again but Phobos threatened him that he will likely drain the life force of all the towns in West Nubar if he won't agree, leaving him with no choice but to return to the capital. As a sort of bribe, he was still titled as the Lord of Wayfort.
It took him years before he can move on from her, it was a hard process and he never looked at any woman after Avery. It was like a part of him died when he lost her but now, now was different. She was alive and was here on earth. But after years of living with Phobos and following his evil rule, he became different. It seems like compassion and kindness left him and he lived with hatred, just like his master.
Now, his hope was back. Avery was more than alive. However he can't keep her away from Phobos. If Phobos knows that Avery is here on earth, he will likely get her like Elyon. He needs to keep her safe but how safe can she be with him? If they flee on any part of Earth, Phobos can still track them.
He was so drowned with his thoughts that he almost didn't notice someone come inside. When he sensed the presence of another person, he immediately turned to face her. He needs to focus on his mission first, Phobos will be very angry if he fails and who knows what horrors he will do to him.
It was the girl earlier, on her neck hang the stone of Threbe, the ancient stone used by Phobos' grandparents to track his mother Weira, when she ran away.
"How can I help you?" He asked. The girl moved forward.
"I think I stole this jewel from your window display." She said while touching the stone. It glowed bright green.
"Oh no. It's not a jewel. It's practically worthless." As much as he hated this job, he needs to do it well.
"I don't know why I took it. It's really not like me." The girl said her hands reached the chain of the necklace. "Here, it's yours." She said while handing over the stone to him. On instinct he stopped her, the guardians' powers will be back again and Phobos will not be pleased by that. He sighed as he took it from her. The girl walked passed him to the nearby box, he immediately hid the stone on his back pocket and followed her.
"Are those school yearbooks?" She asked.
"Yes. I'm afraid I'm a bit disorganized but I could use some help." He said while placing a hand on her shoulder. The girl blushed and took a book from the box.
"Don't laugh. This is what I looked like last year." She said and pointed the photo on the yearbook. Elyon Brown. Aha. So this was the identity of Phobos' sister. Now he can report something good to his master when he comes back. Elyon stayed a little longer and finally went home.
He was left again and his thoughts went back to Avery. His mind and heart battled if he will report this to Phobos or not. Maybe not. Maybe he shouldn't report it to him, as long as Phobos doesn't know about this Avery will be safe but then if Phobos knows this, he will be in big trouble and if the Prince finds out that he has feelings for his fiancée he would totally execute him.
He knows that Phobos was in love with Avery. There was no other person in Meridian that Phobos adored more than her; he knows it because he witnessed it. Phobos would visit her every month; he would shower her with gifts and jewels and sometimes stroll with her in the capital. While he watched in vain as he can't do it to her, he was a man with no family and honor. He was a no one in that kingdom and Avery was meant to become a Princess or maybe a Queen if Phobos will succeed in his plans.
But unbeknownst to Phobos, Avery had confessed her feelings for him in the past. However he is unsure if she still feels the same, given that she seemed to have no memories of her past. He hissed as his mind and heart battled again. Love or duty? He asked himself.
*Chapter contains scenes from Season 1 Episode 11: The Stone of Threbe
*Wayfort is just an imaginary name of the place (I took it from a place generator website,lol)
A/N: In honor of Star Wars, I added a joke (which I'm not sure if it's funny). Aside from that I feel like the story kind of became a bit of GOT. Anyway, let me know in the reviews what you think about the chapter. Don't forget to favorite, follow and review afterwards! Phobos demands it! If not you'll find yourself rotting in Cavigor forever! (Insert Phobos' evil laugh)
:P