Author's Note: Hello! We're going right in with the next chapter =D!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Resident Evil Franchise! All rights belong to Capcom! Any grammatical errors you see I apologize and I hope you can still easily read my story! Happy reading everyone!
"How was it? Did you learn anything?" The Duke had asked as Ethan returned from the errand the merchant had instructed him to follow, searching for the house with the red chimney on the western side of the village and seeking out the man who lives there. Ethan found the house, obviously, but the owner of the house had been killed and gnawed on by one of the many lycans that roamed the desolate village.
"I found these feathers. Now tell me how to fix this like you said you would." Ethan forcefully insisted, bringing out the Four Winged Key that he had just put together after finding the second piece back in the house with the red chimney.
"Settle down. First, you must use that key and collect all of your little Rose's flasks." The Duke attempted to pacify Ethan's anger with a charming smile.
"Where are the rest of them?" Ethan growled impatiently, not taking into consideration anything that the Duke was trying to do.
"There are four in total. You have one, and the other Lords have the rest." The Duke responded with patience.
"Lords?" Ethan asked with a quirk of his brow as the Duke nodded his head.
"Mother Miranda is the cold, calculating ruler of this village. Four Lords serve under her." The Duke said, intending to give Ethan a little 'history' lesson of the workings of this village. "The first you've already met, the Lady Dimitrescu. The second lives deep in a valley of mist, the doll maker Donna Beneviento. None of her playmates have ever come back from the dark, old estate. The third is Moreau, a being of twisted flesh that lives in the reservoir past the windmills. It is said that he is not the only monster that lives in those waters." Ethan nodded his head, though he wasn't as trusting of this 'Duke' character, what other choice did he have if the large man was willing to give him this kind of information freely. "The fourth and the most dangerous is Heisenberg. He works in his factory on the village outskirts. And the project? Let's just say parts of the human imagination are better left alone." The Duke smiled as he pointed to one of Ethan's pockets. "Do me a favor, hand me your map if you please."
Though a bit hesitant to oblige, Ethan did as the Duke instructed and handed the large man his map of the whole village. Ethan had watched as the Duke took out a pen and began scribbling a few things on the piece of paper before quickly handing it back to Ethan. Upon further investigation, Ethan saw that the Duke had marked several things on his map…as well as pinpointed where the other Lords resided.
"If you truly wish to save your daughter, you must first gather the four flasks. I did you a personal favor. I've marked the Lords' locations on your map." Even if Ethan had already come to that conclusion, the Duke was inclined to explain in detail what he had done. "Some treasures, as well, still lurk in this village. I'm sure each one will prove of great use to you."
"Why are you doing all this?" Ethan asked the Duke skeptically as he carefully folded the map and placed it back into the pocket of his jacket.
"Why it's all part of our first-class customer service." The Duke smiled. "Please do come again soon…"
"Actually, I was hoping to purchase a few things from you." Ethan bashfully said causing the Duke to clap his hands, wringing them together almost greedily as he let out a jolly laugh.
"Splendid! Welcome, welcome!" The Duke leaned forward from the seat in his wagon. "Duke's emporium has everything you could ever need!"
Ethan began looking through the Duke's wares and stocks as well as selling a few trinkets he had found along the way from the Castle of Dimitrescu, as well as other things he had discovered in the village. He had enough lei saved that he had asked the Duke for upgrades as well as do a few customizations to the weapons he had on his person.
"Of course, this will only take a second." The Duke smiled as he turned his back to Ethan, turning around in his wagon to fulfill all that Ethan had requested.
Ethan took this opportunity to rest, he was honestly exhausted. After the horrors he experienced in the castle…getting slashed at, stabbed, bitten, and having several close calls with death he was actually happy to be back in the village, being here was better than being in that castle. But fighting against those insane blood-thirsty women was worth it all because now he knew he was one step closer to getting his daughter back.
While Ethan was waiting on the Duke, he decided to look at all the stuff that was cluttered around the Duke's wagon. On the barrels and tables, there were what looked to be jewelry boxes, music boxes, fruits in straw baskets, random treasure, little trinkets, and books stacked high from the table to the bottom of the Duke's wagon. Nothing really popped out to Ethan, aside from him thinking that the Duke was doing pretty good business in this small little village until something had caught the man's attention.
It was beautiful among the random trinkets that littered the Duke's little shop, out of place amongst the boxes and tattered books. Without attracting the Duke's attention, Ethan had carefully reached for the hard-covered book that seemed to be beckoning for him to open it, the velvet texture feeling strange under his palms. The color of the book cover was faded red with four golden corner protectors that lost their shine over the years. Ethan turned the book over in his hands but could find no title or any indication of what the book could be about.
He didn't understand why, but something about this book was calling out for him to read it. At first, he was hesitant to open it, several times he had considered putting it back where he had found it, but then he took a chance. Satisfying his curiosity Ethan opened the book only to realize that he couldn't understand a single thing that was written in its pages!
From front to back, all the pages were filled with scribbled-out paragraphs, incoherent words staring back at him, and what he could decipher he had no idea what they were talking about. The only thing Ethan could clearly read…words that weren't completely crossed out or in another language…was what was written on the last few pages as well as the name on the first page. But even the parts he could read it was difficult to tell without knowing the full context of what was written, Ethan could only try and piece things together himself with the few words he could recognize.
Subject Name: Selena Sinclair
Cadou Affinity: Unbelievably Favorable
Brain Functions: Normal
1/5
J̶u̶s̶t̶ l̶i̶k̶e̶ Beneviento, p̶h̶y̶s̶i̶c̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ s̶h̶e̶ r̶e̶m̶a̶i̶n̶s̶ h̶u̶m̶a̶n̶. N̶o̶ d̶e̶f̶e̶c̶t̶s̶, n̶o̶ u̶n̶c̶o̶n̶t̶r̶o̶l̶l̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ t̶r̶a̶n̶s̶f̶o̶r̶m̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶, h̶e̶r̶ m̶e̶n̶t̶a̶l̶i̶t̶y̶ i̶s̶…i̶n̶t̶a̶c̶t̶. F̶u̶r̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ a̶n̶a̶l̶y̶s̶i̶s̶ i̶s̶ r̶e̶q̶u̶i̶r̶e̶d̶, b̶u̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ s̶u̶b̶j̶e̶c̶t̶ s̶e̶e̶m̶s̶ i̶n̶c̶r̶e̶d̶i̶b̶l̶y̶ p̶r̶o̶m̶i̶s̶i̶n̶g̶.
2/5
A̶f̶t̶e̶r̶ k̶e̶e̶p̶i̶n̶g̶ a̶ c̶a̶r̶e̶f̶u̶l̶ e̶y̶e̶ o̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ f̶e̶m̶a̶l̶e̶ t̶e̶s̶t̶ s̶u̶b̶j̶e̶c̶t̶, h̶e̶r̶ d̶e̶v̶e̶l̶o̶p̶m̶e̶n̶t̶…h̶e̶r̶ a̶f̶f̶i̶n̶i̶t̶y̶ t̶o̶w̶a̶r̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶ p̶a̶r̶a̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ i̶s̶ o̶n̶ t̶h̶e̶ s̶a̶m̶e̶ l̶e̶v̶e̶l̶ a̶s̶ Heisenberg A̶s̶t̶o̶u̶n̶d̶i̶n̶g̶!̶ I̶ t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶ I̶ m̶a̶y̶ h̶a̶v̶e̶ f̶i̶n̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ d̶o̶n̶e̶ i̶t̶. T̶h̶r̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ m̶a̶n̶y̶ t̶r̶i̶a̶l̶s̶ a̶n̶d̶ e̶r̶r̶o̶r̶s̶, l̶e̶a̶r̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ f̶r̶o̶m̶ m̶y̶ c̶h̶i̶l̶d̶r̶e̶n̶ a̶n̶d̶ p̶r̶e̶v̶i̶o̶u̶s̶ f̶a̶i̶l̶e̶d̶ e̶x̶p̶e̶r̶i̶m̶e̶n̶t̶s̶…I̶ t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶ I̶ a̶m̶ f̶i̶n̶a̶l̶l̶y̶ s̶u̶c̶c̶e̶s̶s̶f̶u̶l̶. F̶i̶n̶a̶l̶l̶y̶, o̶n̶e̶ m̶o̶r̶e̶ s̶t̶e̶p̶ t̶o̶w̶a̶r̶d̶ b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ r̶e̶u̶n̶i̶t̶e̶d̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶ y̶o̶u̶…m̶y̶ E̶v̶a̶.
3/5
Sinclair h̶a̶s̶ g̶r̶o̶w̶n̶ i̶n̶t̶o̶ a̶ b̶e̶a̶u̶t̶i̶f̶u̶l̶, p̶r̶o̶m̶i̶s̶i̶n̶g̶, y̶o̶u̶n̶g̶ w̶o̶m̶a̶n̶, b̶u̶t̶ I̶ d̶i̶d̶ n̶o̶t̶ p̶r̶e̶d̶i̶c̶t̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ t̶y̶p̶e̶ o̶f̶ r̶e̶a̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ f̶r̶o̶m̶ t̶h̶e̶ p̶a̶r̶a̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ k̶n̶o̶w̶n̶ a̶s̶ t̶h̶e̶ cadou. A̶l̶l̶ m̶y̶ c̶h̶i̶l̶d̶r̶e̶n̶ h̶a̶d̶ s̶o̶m̶e̶ s̶o̶r̶t̶ o̶f̶ r̶e̶a̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶, y̶e̶t̶ t̶h̶i̶s̶ w̶a̶s̶ q̶u̶i̶t̶e̶ p̶e̶c̶u̶l̶i̶a̶r̶…n̶o̶t̶ q̶u̶i̶t̶e̶ s̶u̶r̶e̶ i̶f̶ i̶t̶'s̶ g̶o̶o̶d̶ o̶r̶ b̶a̶d̶ n̶e̶w̶s̶. T̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ n̶o̶ n̶e̶g̶a̶t̶i̶v̶e̶ r̶e̶a̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ n̶o̶r̶ w̶a̶s̶ t̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ a̶ p̶o̶s̶i̶t̶i̶v̶e̶, n̶o̶ g̶i̶f̶t̶ w̶a̶s̶ b̶e̶s̶t̶o̶w̶e̶d̶ u̶p̶o̶n̶ h̶e̶r̶. T̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶ a̶ c̶o̶u̶p̶l̶e̶ o̶f̶ i̶n̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶s̶ w̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ I̶ h̶a̶d̶ t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶t̶ I̶ h̶a̶d̶ s̶e̶e̶n̶…n̶o̶.
I̶t̶ w̶a̶s̶ a̶ t̶r̶i̶c̶k̶ o̶f̶ t̶h̶e̶ m̶i̶n̶d̶, o̶f̶ f̶a̶l̶s̶e̶ h̶o̶p̶e̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ I̶ h̶a̶d̶ s̶u̶c̶c̶e̶e̶d̶e̶d̶. I̶ h̶a̶d̶ u̶p̶p̶e̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶ d̶o̶s̶e̶ o̶f̶ t̶h̶e̶ p̶a̶r̶a̶s̶i̶t̶e̶ i̶n̶t̶o̶ h̶e̶r̶ b̶o̶d̶y̶ i̶n̶ h̶o̶p̶e̶s̶ f̶o̶r̶ a̶ t̶y̶p̶e̶ o̶f̶ r̶e̶a̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ s̶i̶m̶i̶l̶a̶r̶ t̶o̶ Heisenberg, b̶u̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶ r̶e̶s̶u̶l̶t̶s̶ r̶e̶m̶a̶i̶n̶ n̶e̶g̶a̶t̶i̶v̶e̶.
4/5
T̶h̶e̶ s̶u̶b̶j̶e̶c̶t̶ h̶a̶s̶ c̶l̶o̶s̶e̶d̶ o̶f̶f̶ f̶r̶o̶m̶ m̶e̶. H̶e̶r̶ l̶o̶y̶a̶l̶t̶y̶ i̶s̶ u̶n̶q̶u̶e̶s̶t̶i̶o̶n̶a̶b̶l̶e̶, y̶e̶t̶ I̶ s̶u̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶ r̶e̶s̶e̶n̶t̶m̶e̶n̶t̶ c̶o̶m̶i̶n̶g̶ f̶r̶o̶m̶ t̶h̶e̶ c̶h̶i̶l̶d̶ t̶h̶o̶u̶g̶h̶ s̶h̶e̶ h̶a̶s̶ g̶i̶v̶e̶n̶ m̶e̶ n̶o̶ r̶e̶a̶s̶o̶n̶ t̶o̶ s̶u̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶ h̶e̶r̶.
I̶ m̶u̶s̶t̶ c̶o̶n̶f̶e̶s̶s̶…I̶ f̶e̶a̶r̶ w̶h̶a̶t̶ s̶h̶e̶ c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ b̶e̶ h̶i̶d̶i̶n̶g̶, i̶f̶ I̶ a̶c̶t̶ u̶p̶o̶n̶ i̶t̶ a̶n̶d̶ m̶y̶ f̶e̶a̶r̶s̶ a̶r̶e̶ j̶u̶s̶t̶i̶f̶i̶e̶d̶ I̶ m̶a̶y̶ r̶e̶g̶r̶e̶t̶ m̶y̶ d̶e̶c̶i̶s̶i̶o̶n̶. B̶e̶s̶t̶ t̶o̶ k̶e̶e̶p̶ h̶e̶r̶ b̶e̶s̶i̶d̶e̶ m̶e̶ i̶n̶s̶t̶e̶a̶d̶ o̶f̶ m̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ h̶e̶r̶ a̶n̶ e̶n̶e̶m̶y̶. A̶ c̶e̶n̶t̶u̶r̶y̶ o̶f̶ m̶y̶ w̶o̶r̶k̶ w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ b̶e̶ w̶a̶s̶t̶e̶d̶ s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ I̶ d̶i̶e̶ h̶e̶r̶e̶ b̶e̶c̶a̶u̶s̶e̶ I̶ s̶u̶s̶p̶e̶c̶t̶e̶d̶ s̶o̶m̶e̶o̶n̶e̶ a̶s̶ p̶o̶w̶e̶r̶f̶u̶l̶ a̶s̶ h̶e̶r̶ t̶o̶ b̶e̶ a̶ t̶r̶a̶i̶t̶o̶r̶…b̶u̶t̶ t̶h̶e̶n̶ a̶g̶a̶i̶n̶, c̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ m̶y̶ f̶e̶a̶r̶s̶ b̶e̶ j̶u̶s̶t̶i̶f̶i̶e̶d̶?̶ O̶r̶ i̶s̶ i̶t̶ a̶l̶l̶ i̶n̶ m̶y̶ m̶i̶n̶d̶?̶ I̶s̶ s̶h̶e̶ p̶o̶w̶e̶r̶f̶u̶l̶?̶ O̶r̶ a̶m̶ I̶ o̶v̶e̶r̶t̶h̶i̶n̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ i̶t̶?̶
5/5
The subject is everything I could've asked for, and yet at the same time…a complete failure.
I've concluded…though the specimen is perfect in every way, her body is an unfit vessel for E̶v̶a̶.
"Selena Sinclair…" Ethan mumbled to himself, squinting his eyes as he attempted to read the furiously scribbled out writing on the other four pages, but having no such luck…even when he turned the pages over to look at the back to see if the words had made an indent on the other side from the writer having pushed the pencil too hard against the paper.
"Apologies for the wait." The Duke's sudden voice caused Ethan to almost drop the book in his hands as he turned to look up at the large man who tilted his head to the side when he saw the book in Ethan's hands. "Ah, I see that something has caught your eyes."
"Who's Selena Sinclair?" Ethan asked the Duke, watching as his smile lightly fell the moment the woman's name escaped from Ethan's lips.
"A face I had not seen in a long while." The Duke hummed, lost in thought before nodding at Ethan. "Since you've read the contents of that book please feel free to ask away whatever questions you may have. I will try to answer to the best of my abilities."
"Is she a Lord as well?" Ethan asked. "There are two names I recognized in this book, two Lords that you listed."
"A Lord she is not, but with how she's treated she may as well be." The Duke chuckled. "Miss Sinclair is an…enigma, yet at the same time she can be an open book when she wants to be." The Duke claimed as he stared back at Ethan before stroking the bottom of his chin in thought, mumbling quietly to himself that Ethan had to strain his ears to hear, but even then he could only catch little snippets of what the Duke was saying. "…maybe she could…or maybe even you could help…"
"Come again?" Ethan asked as his eyes squinted in the large man's direction.
"Sorry. Speaking to myself there." The Duke chuckled before holding his hand out. "I suppose it couldn't help, I've been meaning to deliver something to her anyway. Might I borrow your map once more?" Ethan simply took out the folded piece of paper again and hand it over to the merchant who took only a second before giving the map back to Ethan.
Marked in the far right corner of his map past Luiza's house there was just a red circle, no picture or any indication of what awaited Ethan past the house. "That's near Luiza's house."
"Indeed." The Duke nodded.
"I think you've made a mistake. The house burned down, there's no way to walk through or around…believe me I've checked." Ethan argued causing the Duke to laugh.
"You'd be surprised what one would do to find a peaceful place to die." The Duke morbidly stated. "Look harder my boy, after all…a secret entrance wouldn't be much of a secret if it was out in the open and easy to find. All one must do is look hard enough, once you see it…you'll never unsee it." The Duke tapped his cigar, watching the burning ashes fall from the end of his cigar to the snow-covered ground below. "And when you do, I suggest you keep following the path."
"And what's waiting for me at the end of this path?" Ethan asked as he stared at the map.
"Someone who may be useful in your tasks with collecting all of your little Rose as well as providing some helpful advice when dealing with the other Lords." The Duke said before pointing to the book in Ethan's hands. "I also hope that you would do me this favor and deliver that book to Miss Sinclair."
"Listen, Duke, I don't have time to be your delivery boy. I need to find my daughter." Ethan argued, close to exploding before the Duke held up his hand, taking a puff from his cigar before letting out a harsh huff.
"Mister Winters," The Duke's voice lowered an octave, calm and controlled. "I am asking you this as a personal favor…considering all that I've done for you without asking anything in return. The woman deserves to see what's in that book I've found and I think that you should get well acquainted with Miss Sinclair. She's quite an…interesting woman." Ethan still looked apprehensive but the Duke seemed to really want Ethan to do what he was asking as he began to push his request more convincingly. "I assure you, Mister Winters, this slight detour will not disappoint you, and I think if you do not go and pay Miss Sinclair a visit…you may very well regret such a decision. However, should you go and visit, it could be life-changing!"
Ethan contemplated what the Duke was saying, though Ethan didn't trust the big man...the merchant hadn't steered him wrong so far. And whatever was at the end of this path, the Duke really wanted Ethan to go check it out.
"…okay, I'll do it." Ethan said as he tucked the map back into the pocket of his jacket once more. "It's the least I could do after you've been so helpful back in the castle…and with this key…and my daughter…" Ethan mumbled as he hesitantly looked back at the faded red book in his hand. "So, how does this work? Am I supposed to give you money for this book to deliver to this Sinclair lady? Or-"
"No, nothing. Free of charge! And as a thank you, I will be sure to have some new items for you to look through the next we meet." The Duke said. "Besides, it was never mine to sell in the first place. I was simply…holding on to it until someone more suitable could deliver it for me. And here you are Mister Winters!" The Duke motioned to Ethan. "Do give my best to Miss Sinclair."
"…right." Ethan grimaced as he tucked the book into the same pocket that he kept the map in. "Any advice you can give me when dealing with this 'Miss Sinclair'?"
"I suggest you don't shoot first." The Duke warned, the end of his cigar glowing red as he took another puff, before giving Ethan a wave. "Have a wonderful adventure!"
"It's official, I'm going to kill that merchant…" Ethan grumbled to himself as he searched high and low in the area to the right and left of Luiza's house. Stepping past the destroyed gate after killing more of those flying creatures Ethan had seen back on the rooftops of Castle Dimitrescu. Ethan attempted to look through the sitting area that was beside the shrine…and came up with nothing! "I don't understand! There's nothing here!"
Exhausted from all the searching, Ethan had leaned on the table that was under the shelter made from sticks and wood pieces, it creaked and groaned under Ethan's weight before it gave way giving the poor father a heart attack. Today was just not his day, and he was beginning to get more annoyed by the second, more so after trusting a man who seemed sketchy in Ethan's opinion. Conducting business with Ethan while he had also seemed to be doing business with every single person in this village, the Lords included.
To vent his anger, Ethan had reached down for the broken piece of wood that came from the table and thrown it into the far corner near the thick foliage beside Luiza's house, but he didn't hear the sound of wood smashing against the wooded gate that surrounded the complex. Instead, to Ethan's surprise, he heard the wood slide across the dirt and go further than he thought possible.
'Could it be?' Ethan thought as he maneuvered his body around the table and toward the large clump of bushes. Ethan pushed his way through the thick coverage and hesitantly reached his hand further in where he knew he threw…and his hand breached open air. "A secret entrance wouldn't be much of a secret if it was out in the open and easy to find." Ethan recited as he forced his way through, pushing and snapping the branches in his way to make a path for him to see to the other side, and once he did he saw exactly what the Duke had told him he would find. A dirt path leading further into the back area past Luiza's house. "All one must do is look hard enough."
With a bit of difficulty, some snags in his jacket, Ethan was finally able to force his way through the foliage and took a slight tumble onto the hidden path behind Luiza's house.
Getting back to his feet, Ethan had dusted himself off and did just as the Duke had instructed, following and keeping to the beaten path from years of people walking this trail. Right foot in front of the other, Ethan continued forward with mixed emotions and conflicting thoughts going through his head. He wondered why he felt the need to place his trust in this Duke person that he had just met not too long ago, but then again…the Duke hadn't given him any reason not to trust him either. His daughter was his top priority in this hell hole yet here he was going in the opposite direction on where the next Lord was located. Ethan had willingly agreed to go visit this 'Sinclair' lady without so much as putting up a fight, but secretly…Ethan was intrigued. How was this person going to be helpful for him and his daughter? And it was because of that curiosity that Ethan decided to see what was at the end of this path…even though he kept internally scolding and telling himself to turn back and continue with his tasks on getting the pieces of his daughter back.
The path suddenly came to an end, tapering off into what seemed like a dead-end, but through the mist and through the powdered snow that lingered in the air, Ethan had seen something in the distance. The rare moment that the sun had peaked through the dark cloud-covered sky and reflected off what Ethan had first thought was a mirror, but as he got closer it grew bigger than Ethan could've ever imagined.
What greeted Ethan was something that Ethan had only seen being promoted online in travel guides, recommending tourists to visit should they ever be in the area. He's quite sure that he and Mia had at one point gone to a place like this as well except the one in front of Ethan looked more like a palace compared to the one he and his wife had visited.
It was a greenhouse, that much Ethan was certain about as he saw striking greenery and brilliant colors pressed up against the glass walls. Ethan wasn't even sure how big the glass palace stretched for when he attempted to look left and right there was no end in sight, it just kept stretching as far as his eyes could see, though that could also be because of the mist that settled around him and obscured his view. Ethan couldn't even tell how far it stretched back due to the dense foliage and trees growing inside that obstructed his vision.
"Was this what the Duke wanted me to see?" Ethan muttered to himself as he crept closer to the large iron-and-glass complex. After what had happened in Louisiana, Ethan's mind first went to the possibility that as soon as he stepped foot into the glass greenhouse, he'd end up fighting mutated plants! At that thought, Ethan faltered in his advancement.
'Just turn back…we must find Rose.' Ethan thought as he slowly inched forward, cupping his hands against one of the foggy glass panels and moved closer to try and see into the complex, squinting and straining his eyes in hopes to see through the small holes the flora created…only to see nothing. Ethan let out a frustrated sigh, his hot breath completely fogging up the view in front of his eyes. "This was a huge waste of time…"
Suddenly, a man's face appeared in front of Ethan from the other side of the glass wall. It was a friendly face smiling back at Ethan, but due to not expecting another living person to appear Ethan had let out a yelp in fright. Ethan stumbled over his own feet as he tried to put some distance between the man and himself, almost tripping backward and tumbling onto the dirt path as his hand instinctively went to the gun holstered inside his waistband.
But then Ethan remembered what the Duke had advised him not to do which caused Ethan to stop midway from reaching for his weapon. As Ethan tried to regain his composure, taking deep and even breathes to calm his erratic heart, Ethan finally realized that the man was waving at him. Ethan tilted his head as he saw the man's mouth begin to move, but being unable to hear him Ethan had pointed to his own ear and crossed his arms over each other to signal that he couldn't hear a single thing the man was saying.
As if understanding, the man simply smiled and pointed toward Ethan's left before stepping back and walking in the direction he had pointed to.
Ethan hesitated, he had two options laid out before him. Retrace his steps and go back to the village, head to the next Lord's house to retrieve another of his daughter's flask…or he can follow where the man directed him to go. And after much thought, Ethan decided on the latter…and it wouldn't be until the very end of the story that Ethan would be thankful for following the strange man into the glass palace.
I hope the strikethrough words came out okay, I wanted to really show what Ethan can (or can't) see (though we can kinda read it). In the next chapter, we get to meet my darling OC Miss Selena Sinclair! This will be a slow build, not instant and we will get to Heisenberg very soon I promise!
If you are enjoying what you see so far or looking forward to more chapters then leave a nice little review, follow, or favorite just to let me know. It's not mandatory, but it's greatly appreciated. Thank you everyone for reading! Sending lots of love your way!
-SO