Gamble It All

An Adventure Begins

"You..sure...?"

A soft yet, quiet voice. It came out from the same person and yet, it felt so different. It wasn't the arrogant tone she heard before, it was rather a softened tone. He wasn't looking at her but she could say he's nervous.

"Of course."

She let go of his arm and smiled delightfully.

You might think she was a cold and straight protagonist. But she's a soft-minded one. She was delighted to meet two new friends. It was lonely for her. But not anymore...

Then, she turned around and faced the sun. She held her left hand high and cheered,

"Now, let us go!"

Aralyn didn't say anything and stood still for a while. Then, she turned back to Keith.

"Are you planning to leave me like this?"

Her words made Keith confused. The boy raised one of his brows and kept a straight face. The words, "What are you saying" were written on his face. Aralyn looked at his face and sighed.

"I'm telling you to reply."

She lifted both of her shoulders and waited.

"Reply what? I have no idea what you're saying."

Keith's reply made Aralyn more frustrated. She walked towards him and held his two hands in hers.

"Okay, then. Nevermind it. Shall we get going now?"

She stared at him. Once again, he raised one of his brows. And once again, he had no idea what she was saying.

"Go? Go where?"

She let go of his hands and replied.

"Anywhere. Anywhere we can go."

"Why? Didn't you come here to stay here?"

Aralyn shrugged.

"Not really. I just go here and there. I don't have a place to stay or go back."

"So, where are you going this time?"

She smiled and turned around once again. Then, she pointed towards the woods.

"There."

"No. You're not saying you're really going into the woods?"

"Yes."

"You can't be serious, Aralyn. That's insane."

The boy looked at her and waited her reply. Instead of a reply, she smiled and nodded. He was surprised and said,

"I can't believe it..."

So then, an adventure of our protagonists began.

"I still can't believe you were serious about this."

"I still can't believe you didn't take me seriously."

Keith stared at her and Aralyn smiled back.

"Let's take a rest. It's been a while."

"I thought you'll never ask."

They looked for a shade to rest and sat under it. Keith slightly closed his eyes and felt the coolness of the shady tree. Aralyn looked up and stared at the leaves. Then, she turned around and looked at the boy sitting right beside her. She smiled and went back to looking at the leaves.

"It feels nice, isn't it."

Aralyn tried to start a conversation but Keith only replied her with a hum.

"How cold of you, Keith. If someone's talking, pay some respect."

"Please, Aralyn. Let me rest just for a little while. You made me walk around for hours just so you know."

He finally replied but he kept his eyes shut. After resting for a time being, they decided to walk again.

"If you're feeling hungry, you can have bugs and leaves, Keith."

"Stop messing around. You know there is no living eats that."

"Aw, I was being serious about it though."

Aralyn's reply made Keith surprised that he even stopped his steps.

"I'm starting to be afraid of your seriousness."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"It's been a while since we're going around."

"Stop whining, will you? You're not a little child."

No matter how long they walked, the woods were endless. Everywhere looked similar. It was like as if they were walking in a circle. Every step they took only leaded them to more trees and bushes.

But our protagonist didn't give up easily. She had confidence and faith in her own actions and words. And, she had a lot of energy.

The sun set and it became darker and darker. At the end, Keith became frustrated and had zero energy to keep up with Aralyn.

"Alright. That's it. I can't take this anymore."

As soon as she heard him talk, she turned around to look at him.

"Take what?"

"I can't-no, I won't keep up with you anymore."

"Really?-"

She started and grabbed Keith's arm. Then, continued her sentence.

"Just a few more. I know it. I can feel it."

But Keith pulled his arm away, which made Aralyn confused.

"You've been saying that all day and we're still here. How am I supposed to believe you?"

"But-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the leaves started rustling. Both of them could hear it clearly since they were the only ones in the woods at that moment. The bushes were making noises, loud enough to think that there might be a great creature.

And something, someone was running around. They could hear the steps on the dried leaves. Aralyn tried to look around but it was too dark to see a thing.

Right at that moment, a tiny bright light came from Keith. When Aralyn looked at him, it seemed like he was also surprised by it. And at the same time, Aralyn's bag became filled with light. It was the flower that Slyvia gave her before. The petals shone so bright that you can even see the trees and the leaves near by.

"A-Aralyn..."

He was trying to say something but his voice was too quiet for Aralyn to hear. The way he called her name made Aralyn thought he's whether scared or surprised. But his tone was trembling. He broke out in cold sweat and it was enough for her to see from a distance.

"Keith? Are you ok-"

"D-Don't say a word. We're surrounded by B-"

Right before he could finish his sentence, both of them were knocked out on the ground.

"Delia, Master will love this....."