CHRONICLES OF AADYA

Episode Twenty-three

BELLAMY

I got off the room not wishing to succumb to some internal demons that were threatening to devour me or drive me to mourn over my decisions. All I now ask is for my mate to hold off just a little longer for me. I wove through the passageways into a smaller hall with tons of lengthy benches, presumably their dining hall, though with merely a few populace at the moment. Three young maidens were at the far end of the room and a little too fixated on a vacant bench, howbeit, I begin to hear a distant heartbeat just as soon as I paid close attention to the vacant region.

Dragging my now devoured flesh across to the presumed vacant bench, and yet halted at the moment I reached the bench near it. A young fellow lay backwards on the wooden bench with a book over his face and was mindlessly having his rest. “I loathe to interrupt but clearly, you got company" I allowed the words to come forth gently yet scoffingly like one testing to poke fun at another.

"A day of total hush seems more difficult than I believed" He mumbled taking off the book from his face. "I do rather prefer to be left alone to read" A fellow werewolf would have glared at me for crossing my boundaries but humans, well, they have their own habits.

"Oh, my my, you're one with books I see, though I'm afraid you're doing much more sleeping than you're reading at the moment," I say, gently thumping my sole on the floor. "You appear to be in the depths of despair" I noted while he raised aloft from the bench to a sitting position, the book tossed to the side. From the look of things, the young maiden seems to have some likeness in him though I don't believe it's the same to him. Although, with the way he looks, there was all justification for them to desire him.

A smug smile pecked up my lip as I attended to the maiden's murmurings "Thou you are one to ignore the stares of the maidens?"

"If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling" He let out unexpectedly, I watched him for a while and everything about him mysteriously became clearer. To his beauty, he had this sad appearance that uttered his look, consternation, and distress, typically caused by something I'm yet to single out, one does have to look solely to catch a glimpse of them, an irremediable sorrow. I felt a sting of melancholy and disarray, it has forever been arduous for me when I see an individual in such misery.

"What might that be that bothers you this much?" I genuinely appealed.

"Only if it was that simple to tell. I am my deepest enemy" I wasn't sure what he meant, regardless, I chose to ignore them. "You are not a warlock and neither are you from their bloodline. What then are you?"

"You are right," I said reaching for the book he had dropped, yet his sudden action confused me, I might not comprehend his excuse for not permitting me to fetch the reader but he had also set much effort to evade any bodily contact with me. "I'm a werewolf" I answered straining to get rid of the impulsive awkwardness.

"A werewolf? That's why you have an aura of wild energy" It was unusual how his face lightened up yet dismal. His youthful features talk about one in his early adulthood and by some means tend to come off like that of a child. Two faces, one body. “There were times I hear tales about your kind. Much was of cursed humans who turn into a wolf or lycan during the full moon, and another saying you're the offspring of foul sorcery a diabolic creation. Though I never believed it to be valid”

"It has been my notice that the more I come across humans the more I hoard diverse origins about myself. I might have to ask, what is it you believe to be true about my likeness?”

I watched as he puffed out, adjusting his position before turning to peek in the direction of the entrance. “I never believed your kind exist, though now I am driven to learn more about your likeness”

“We are all bonded to one another, like family. Elders, leaders, brothers, mates, offspring... Just like the rest of the world. Though in all, we're beings that guild our territories from the world of men” That was the utmost portrayal of Irpinia to humans. “Though we could be predators, not ordinary predators. Failure to understand the good side and its evil side will tear you apart. When our wolf self awakes and takes control, no matter the fur or claws, we are still ourselves, once more, a defender”

“I wonder what it must feel like to have such certitude in life” He uttered barely audible, hollowed out by sadness that one might fail to glimpse. “What it feels like to truly belong"

“So, tell me what it is to be your kind, what ilk of warlock are you?” His misty eyes flashed across, revealing a great sense of weariness that sweeps over them though unnaturally he tends to look usual. He just sat there for a period, more like he was straining to defy an unbeknownst surge.

“I am yet to understand what it is to be my kind, what it is to be a seer as that power hunts me. And for that, I am yet to learn who I am. In me a scar was planted, it is my deepest hostile, one which preserves me awake most nights and tends not to allow me even in the light of the day. Though no one understands my pain, and till this moment I am yet to learn who I am, the courage the strength... It's too far to reach” His reaching out was unforeseen, regardless, I was more concerned about what he could be battling, I had watched solely as his face was clouded by a mixture of grave despair and fear, his voice heavy with emotions, he was struggling.

“Courage is letting yourself feel whatever it is that you ought to feel at the beat. Strength is feeling deep when the world foresees you to mask your keenness. Strength is retaining the courage to face who you are no matter how many bits you have been hurt before. It is unto you to decide what breaks you” The slight sign of light that gleamed across his eyes gave me hope he would thrive to outrank his demons. “It's not what we get out of life, but what we put into it"

For the first time, he smiled, although it appeared quiet “It's the first time I have ever been spoken to in such a manner, yet all you said makes such magnificent sense, it's as if I do been waiting my whole life to hear it” He was the future, I thought. “Thank you” It was hollow and honest.

I looked at him and gave a few slow pleased nods, indeed he would strive, he only needed those proper few words of inducement to be able to fight. I've come to realize that the most ordinary mortal bodies are housed by spectacular souls. He was pure and true, I could tell by the way he portray himself. I observed as the two young maidens rose from where they had settled and started walking away, except I didn't miss catching the affectionate gaze they cast in our direction as they disappeared from view. My gazes toured across the aisle to the immense window that unveiled the dark atmosphere and I let loose a helpless sigh, feeling layers of unsettling emotion that flowed through me, sucking my energy with it. Everything comes off boring here, I might not have spoken out at the outset but I won't be able to outlive another full moon without inhaling the scent of my mate, and I would indeed die from boredom if I exceed more than three days in this hell hall of a niche. I just hope Ali would be quick.

“What might have brought you to the coven?” I turned to face him as his question cut me off from my trance.

“It is of my brother's quest”

“And that your brother is also in this coven?”

The corner of my mouth slightly lifted as I nodded in agreement “We do be dwelling for a night or two before departing” I informed bringing up my head the instant I perceived Gunnar and watched as he proceeded through an aisle some length away, he likely didn't seem to know I was here, and so I pushed no attempt to call him back.

“Then, I would like to make a request” There was a glint of determination in his tone, and the spirited look in his eyes was one of a person ready to conquer, so I longed to know if I could be that brother to guild him, even if it's just for a brief beat.

“And what might that be?”

“Tomorrow by sundown, meet me at the river”

“I have seen no river,” I told him plainly, although I was prepared for anything that would get me out of this castle, it felt as though the air had been suddenly snatched the moment we entered and a fresh breeze had enveloped my lungs, suffocating me with each passing second.

“It's in the east side of the coven, outside the veil”