Creatures of the Dark

Third Dark

Third DarkCreatures of the Dark

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##### Third Dark #####

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The silent whispers.... The waving shadows.... Everything invites me into darker corners.

I must have become crazy.

That must be why I hear things.

I can’t even sleep in silence inside my room. I keep waking up, afraid of the return of those dark whispering voices. My mind can’t stop thinking of the worst possibilities of what might happen if they come back. Will those ghosts haunt me ‘till I die? I know that the Rainfold’s Manor had been a battlefield before. This land was used to be a seizure ground, after all. Many had fought to gain it. And many had died in the process. I’m not the person those ghosts are looking for, but they might gonna haunt me if they think I did something wrong to them. Hopefully I didn’t. I can’t even remember what I did mostly. Everything is just some hazy glimpses of scenes, like I always have been sleeping this whole time and never woke up. Only seeing things I need to see.

A sheet of weft that barely convolutes my body follows me when I approach the window. The old wooden lumbers look like they are about to crumble to the ground along with the whole shack. It’s thin and tall, giving me quite a lot of the night’s view. Pine trees spread equally around the place as the separator from the main manor. This area only a little bit to the Hollsworth’s that can attack our land any time without any warning, making this quite a dangerous place at any time for outcasts like me. My family never really likes me. I was lucky enough that Aunt Marylin had even suggested the elders to let me still live on their land at the Frontier Forest. Or else I might be living in the streets by now, walking around like a homeless scrounger. In times like this, I really wish I have someone to be with, so that I won’t be in fear alone.

I look up outside, spotting the shining silver moon in the night sky. There are no stars. And there are no protectors of our ancestors to protect me tonight. A sudden chill in the room makes me shiver and hug myself to gain the warmth that I will never get from this state. What I’m wearing now is an old and used nightgown that rumples my body too tight. I still wonder why I find myself keep wearing it. Other than the fact that I don’t have anything else to wear for sleep, I only have two clothes. One for sleep and the other for the day. Unless I can earn money and buy some new proper clothes for myself without stepping out of this manor, then these are the only ones I can have. Since members of Rainfold’s family are so many, we have very limited budget. Except if someone’s parents are rich and hard working, then the rest, along with the abounded kids, only get such little expense. The orphans, like me, only get a deserted shack inside the Frontier Forest and a single bed as the only furniture that really belongs to us.

I tense to wrap the rough sack lying on my bed to warm myself up. But only remembering how uncomfortable it is, I can feel myself start warming up.

What exactly I should do to get sleep, anyway? So I can go back to training again? To enter the Yitzh Champion? Am I even allowed to get out from this manor to enter it? I’ve been prohibited from going outside ever since I was small. I don’t think the elders and adult in Rainfold will ever let me out again after I gave up my chance when I took their offer to stay forever in here. I needed place to stay, so I simply said yes. I never thought staying inside forever will ever be this horrible. To have someplace to stay, yet never really welcome.... It’s too sad.

At least I still have Aunt Marylin and my teammates here.

I run in a breathless state, trying to get away as far as I can. I look back and notice no one is following. But eyes can be deceived easily. I keep running and constantly glancing back to see whether or not he's behind me. The track behind me is clear. But my heart can't seem to find a way of calming down. It’s like I expect him to show up anytime soon.

The edge of the soil track has finally reaches its end, cut through by a running small river. It's very low, yet when I walk across it, it's still slowing my pace down. One of my foot stepped on a sharp rock when I finally get across, making me almost lose my balance. I keep hiking for the next couple of minutes through the tilted dirt. Dried, dead trees starts to show on my way of climbing, yet my heart still feels racing like cars.

When I can't take it anymore, I turn around, bracing myself as I yell, "Get away from me!" It's an ultimate order; one that releases the darkness hidden inside me. Darkness appears as tails, launching at one point and hug back the chaser immediately at the same time, devouring whoever is the wizard that’s been chasing me with no mercy.

His body is torn to pieces with dark red liquid splattered everywhere. Soiling the ground, the branches and finally down to the river. I watch the scene of his last seconds of life with both of my eyes open and stare coldly. I just woke up and I don't like being disturbed. Yet some just don't get it at all. I will not tolerate this one.

I wake up with heavy breathing and sweat all over me. I never dream such horror nightmare before. I saw the entire act right throw the girl’s eyes. And it’s not a very pleasant thing to watch and feel what she felt. Inside her, I can’t even feel pity or sickness or any common sense. All she wanted was to kill anything she thinks is not worth it.

It was frightening.

She was frightening.

Wind decided to bang the window shield in the worst timing ever, making my heart flip in the most horrible way. Those who think that having their heart flip is love are definitely ridiculous. This is pure pain and horror... of mental.

I get up from my dumpy bed and walk to the window. My reflection appears on the surface as I walk closer. I can see my pale skin glowing radiantly the most in this revelation. My hair and eyes blend in with the darkness from outside. While there’s something almost red on my lips. Looking my figure, I realize how thin I have been.

Will the glasses crack? The wind was so strong. The last blow was too much. The window had faced many strong winds, but by time it becomes more fragile. Can this window keep still intact? Or will it break to pieces? Just like the man in my dream?

Remembering it makes me sick and looks away from the window shield.

But a sound, coming from outside, makes me snap my eyes back to find my reflection again. This time, there’s a crack on my cheek. My eyes widen in panic. My hand run through the surface of right my cheek, but it feels smooth as always. So it’s not me. It’s the─

My window breaks to pieces in a split of second. I have no time to dodge the shards as they fly towards me to pierce through my skin. My hands are not even able to move forward to cover some parts of my body.

I can hear the sound of the crashing glasses on the floor. I expect my body to feel hot because of the bleeding. But even the pain never comes. I open my eyes that I have unconsciously closed to look. Just as I take my first peek, I see a dark figure move.

I ended up stepping back so that I can move away from that wizard, afraid that it’s the Hollsworth. But someone stop me from behind, pressing my body to the dark figure’s body so that I can’t move back. I want to jump away, but a pair of arms already circles me in a clocking position.

“─Arsene.”

When I hear that name being called again, I can feel my body tense. The stranger called the name with such a sweet and caring way, as if saying it will spoil the wizard. The way he hugs me, too, also the same way. I can feel his warm breath on the skin of my neck, inhaling and exhaling sweetness. The skin of his palms is pale. From the corner of my eyes, I can see a few strands of his hair that color in white.

Pure white.

Who is this wizard? Her lover? As far as I’m concerned, there’s no one in Rainfold who was named by that. He must have made a mistake.

I try to move away from his hold, but he noticed it and tries to keep me stay still.

“Be careful, my love. There are shards of glass under your feet,” he warns me with a loving tone.

I look down just in case. And he’s right. If I step back, my feet will get cut....

Which remains me. How about my body? I check my body and it’s fine; no cut or scar. How can that be? I was sure that I didn’t even have time to block the shards from flying towards my way. Yet I have no proof that I got hit by those broken glasses.

“It’s okay, dear. I’d controlled the glass pieces so that they won’t hurt you when I broke it,” the figure who noticed my confused answer from behind me.

He broke my window? Why?

“I know that we don’t have enough time before they noticed my presence and come to us. But I just can’t bear my feelings anymore. I missed you, Arsene. So much that my heart feels hurt every time I thought I had lost you forever. But no. I was right all along. And that they were wrong. So wrong. You’re still alive and healthy. They just don’t want to let me see you. That’s why they took you away from me and hid you here. When you look at the reflection of the glasses, I knew right at that second that you’re alive. I came as soon as I can. And now I’m here. We’re together again. I’m so happy,” he say, inhaling another breath from my neck. His words confused me. None of his words make sense to me. He must have mistaken me for his lover.

“No, you’re wrong. I’m not─” I can finally turn to him. But the sight of him surprises me.

He has the purest white hair I have ever seen. Not the one from an old wizard, but from a certain core family member. His hair looks so pure and light, arrange stylishly with left side parting. A silver crystal-shaped earring hangs on his ear with small diamond chains. A symbol appears of the surface of the crystal. He have such light skin and a pair of very blue eyes. It has the shade of color that looks just like one of Ginnie’s dress that I adore so much. They are very beautiful, like precious orbs. His bone structures are also shape perfectly. This person looks like he just came out of a painting. I’d heard that there’s such a magic exist in this world.... But I never thought it will be this beautifully breathtaking as the grace of life itself.

When I realize that I’ve been staring at him for way too long, I let my gaze fall to the floor immediately. I know it’s not polite to stare. Especially at someone who is a strange, who also happens to just broke my window to pieces and sneaked into my room.

“I’m not the one you’re looking for. There for, I might ask you to leave─”

I turn my eyes to him again. But he already disappears.

“─at once.”

That’s quick. He goes just like that. Or maybe this is just a dream? I’ve been having trouble sleeping and hearing things lately, after all.

I go back to sleep again. But the next morning, I find not only that the window that I imagine broke last night has become better than ever. I also find a stalk of blue rose near my newly replaced window.

So I didn’t imagine everything last night. And he still thinks I’m his lover? Why he ever thought like that? He said he looked at my reflection? How come? The Rainfold’s area, even including the Frontier Forest, has been protected by a barrier spell. It was chanted by the strongest elders of ours, even. How can he just break it and got inside? Is he that strong? The Blancorts? Are they all as strong as him?

The elders even don’t say anything this morning, when I finally join the family breakfast. Everyone looks calm. Can this mean none of them notice anything? Not even my friends? They usually tell me even when the elders are trying to keep secrets from me and only tell them. Is this possible to go unnoticed?

Arsene.... Why there are so many who call her lately. Do I really look like her? The dead convicted criminal that was said to have killed too many? How can someone even love her in the first place? Unless....

That’s bad. If my guess is right, then the man from before is even much dangerous and life-threatening than Anthone or the adults and elders in my family.

I’m in huge danger.

Once I head to my room again, I roughly throw the blue rose right to the river near the outside of my shack. I let the breath I’ve been holding out. Not because I’m relieved. But because my action has brought the man from the previous night back to my sight. He’s standing behind me when I turn around.

His eyebrows are bent a little when I look at him. “Arsene, why did you throw away the flower I gave you? Did you not like it? Or do you require more?” He asks, a little bit hurt yet a little bit happy, too. His sight is so beautiful, yet so deadly.