Creatures of the Light

Twelfth Light

Twelfth Light

Creatures of the Light

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##### Twelfth Light #####

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War, death, disaster....

Oh, such heavenly melody,

So adoring,

So unthinkable,

To hand me the dagger’s edge.

Nothing is out of the ordinary about the sea, but my gut is telling me that something is wrong. Could it be?

“Valline, what do you know about this island?” I ask him while we have dinner.

We are having roasted fish, using the ingredients that we can find inside the fridge, which seems to have been prepared for us. The two of us cooked it. I cut off the bones while Valline seasoned it. The fish tastes kind of spicy with a lot of flavors in each bite ─ something that I find myself kind of liking it.

“The name Infernal Oceanfront came from its spiritual background. Legends said that there are ghosts in this island, which is why no one lives here. Some creatures who do not believe in the legend comes here once in a while for recreational purposes, since the original founder of the island forbid us to stay for too long. This island is around a thousand years old. Beautiful, but known to be rather haunted, though no one has actually seen a ghost appearing in front of their eyes. Why do you ask?”

It seems like Valline is not a believer of this legend, or perhaps he 's just not afraid of ghosts, but that is not the matter right now.

“I just got this feeling, when we were at the beach, that the ocean was staring at us. So I was wondering.”

He looks at me with widened eyes, his fork is just halfway to his mouth when he accidentally drops it. He is sitting right across from me, but his eyes are staring at something else behind me.

“Valline?”

He blinks once, before turning his gaze on me. “You’re not trying to scare me off, aren’t you?”

“No. Of course not. Why would I?” I scoop a piece of the fish and bring it to my mouth. I enjoy the taste before swallowing it. “Do you think it is real?”

“What is?”

“The legend.”

Silence hangs around us.

“Could be. I heard that one of the tourists saw something glowing at the sea at midnight. But they were all very drunk, and it happened nearly fifty years ago.”

“I have seen ghosts before. They are not that scary looking,” I pause when Valline seems to have become calm and begins to eat again, “except the vengeful ones.” And then he chokes on his food.

I drop my spoon and reach to his side immediately, patting his back as he coughs and then bring him a glass of water. “I’m sorry. I thought you would not react too much about that information.”

He drinks the whole water before putting the glass on the table. “You’ve met angry spirits before?”

“Yeah. One particularly who tried to kill me before.”

“What happened? When was it?”

“I banished it before it could end my life. It was when I was still a runaway. I left Sorcier for a period of time with a younger member of my group. Her name was Minny.” I pause when the images of her death appear before my eyes. She died in my arms, all because I was being reckless. I will never be able to forget it.

“Was?” I already thought that he would ask.

“She died at the second year of our escape. A crowd of creatures attacked us when we were asleep. I was too late to block the attack when one of them struck me, but Minny took it instead. She protected me, yet I was not able to stop the poison from spreading all over her body quickly. She died in my arms almost instantly.”

My heart is in pain when I tell him about my past. My chest is aching from the inside as a reminder of how awful it felt when she was gone. But I had to finish this. Someone had to know what happened.

“She was a kind little girl, like an angel descended from heaven into this dark world. It was one of the reasons why I took her and left Sorcier. Working at Sorcier has its perks, and I didn’t wish for her to die in the mission. But if I had known that a much crueler fate was waiting for her, I would never have gone with her.”

I can feel Valline pulling me into a hug when he stands up from his chair, and my own body shaking in trauma. But not even his sweet whispers of words can calm me at the moment. The memory has burned in my mind, and nothing seems possible in stopping me from having flashes of its fragments. Then I feel the need to finish this again.

“I promised myself that I would not let her death go in vain when I rejoined Sorcier. I investigated the source of the killer after I threatened and squeezed the answer out of one of the creatures who attacked us that night. But I still had more to go though. I used my sight-seeing to observe from afar. That was when I saw you for the first time. Then, I saw the killer. The one who sent those creatures after us.”

At that point, I don't even care of the consequences of admitting this to Valline. I do not even bother to think of what he will think of me ─ if he will see me differently after this. I just want to get it out. I have been burying this truth for so long that once I remember it, it begins to suffocate me from the inside. I just need to reveal it.

“It was your uncle, Garret. He murdered Minny, an innocent, little wizard. And even though he didn’t do it directly, or even considering on taking her life along, I still could not find the urge to forgive him. And then, just like what I did to the one who struck Minny, I killed him.” I can hear an audible gasp coming from my side, but I can never feel more relieved after uncovering the truth. “Yes, I killed him. Because if you ever wonder why he was found dead at his manor, it was because of me. I killed your uncle, Valline.”

“No.... That can’t be....” Valline lost his voice, but I know that deep down he already has a suspicion on me. He is not stupid to unable to figure it out by himself.

“And now you know that you have married a killer. I should have told you about this a long time ago, before the deed was done. But this is not my fault. I have warned you to stay away from me all those years ago, when you tried to marry me at the age of ten. But you never listened. You never stayed away. Look how it got you.”

For the first time in a while for avoiding his gaze, I finally brace myself to look at him. He looks betrayed, hurt, and confused. Never angry, though. I can only smile sadly at him before taking my leave from the cottage.

The wind blows strongly outside. I can feel the tension the moment I open the door. I step further away, swaying my feet on the red sand under me. Not even once do I hear Valline trying to stop me.

I walk further away from the cottage, towards nowhere in particular, but just depending on my feet. I keep walking until I feel them getting soaked. That is the time when I stop and take a look on what is range ahead.

The sea looks upset, reflecting what I am feeling inside. I have satisfied myself by pouring out the secret that I have unintentionally been keeping for this whole time. I have brought myself to the consequence of my action. And right now I hate the fact that this will cause Valline to drift away from me.

I have no idea what came over me. I just knew that I could not keep it up anymore. Minny’s death has always been a sensitive subject for me.

Strange. For my friends and family, I can still keep that mask on. But with Valline, it cracked the instant he brought it up.

My eyes watch as the wind blows the waves against the beach, smashing the water volumes against the red shore. It does not take long before it reaches the hem of my dress, soaking it wet. But I care less about it.

Minutes turn to hours as I glare at the dark sea until something rises up from it. It is the same deep blue hair that I saw at the forest boundary. The color matches the background so well that it must have been there for a while now. But the oozing coral green eyes are something that I can not miss easily.

The creature swims toward me, yet I make no attempt to get away. Twenty meters become ten in mere seconds. When it is only a few meters apart from me, its hand resurfaces. The color is pale, almost bluish. But I think it is much because of being soaked in cold water for so long.

Dark blue squamas are visible on its upper arm, looking like a fin. What catches my attention the most is how rather bloated its arm actually is, different from how I thought it would be. The arm and fingers are long, and it is gesturing for me to take its hand.

I just stand there for the next few minutes, looking down at the stretched out hand above the water. The creature is waiting for me, swimming patiently with its head just over the ocean. Finally, I look up to those coral green eyes. Big mistake. It is looking as if it really wants me to take its hand, almost beggingly.

I am just unfolding the arms I have been keeping under my breasts when I spot a movement coming from my side. I turn my head to see Valline walking towards me. When I gaze back at the sea, the creature with long deep blue hair is gone. Then I glance at Valline again.

“Are you sure it is wise to approach a murderer like me?” I ask him.

“It’s cold outside. I think you should get inside,” he mutters.

When I turn away to walk further from him, a hand suddenly places itself on my shoulder and turns me back. I struggle to get free, but it seems like he just does not want to let go. When I try to push him away, he immediately pulls me in and has me landing against chest, his hands trying to keep me still.

“Why won’t you let go?” I ask, almost sounding irritated by him.

He answers me by leaning his lips vigorously against mine. The kiss is deep, yet desperate. I can feel all sorts of emotions that are running through him just from the kiss itself. He feels upset and somehow fear at the same time. He keeps pushing, eventually stealing my breath away. Literally.

“I will never let you go.” A stern look in plastered on his face. I have never seen him looking so determined before. His crystal blue eyes bear into me intensely strong. “Even when you said that you have killed my uncle before.... Even when you have killed for how many creatures there are.... I don’t care. It does not matter. Not because it is the past, but because I love you. My love for you can conquer even the darkest, ugliest secret that you keep. So do not even think that I will let you walk away from me. Ever.”

After giving that speech, there is no way I can ever say no again to him. He escorts me back to the cottage and tells me to clean up while he prepares for my clothes outside. The bathtub is already filled with warm water once I get inside. I strip and get in.

Can’t believe that all of these things happened just because I asked about the island. But perhaps the legend is right. Well, at least half-right. Spirits are swarming around this island, influencing other creatures ─ and perhaps even its entire environment ─ with its negative energy.

My right mind would never break so easily. Yet it took nothing out of simple turn of conversation to cause the two of us to fight. Valline and I never fought before. Not until tonight. And the little incident before has just proved me right.

I ask sinking myself into the warmth of the bath, closing my eyes while losing its strength, when suddenly I can feel another presence beside mine in the bathroom. I open my eyes widely in an instant, and I am welcomed by none other than the creature itself.

Its head is peeking out of the surface of the bath water. I can not see anything below the water, since I am pretty sure that the being does not appear from there. It must be using a portal to come here.

Still, being bare and all, I have to cover myself rather than preventing the creature from going through the portal. When its hand sticks out and places itself upon my skin, I flinch in surprise of the sudden contact. It is not waiting for me to respond anymore, but taking action right away. I have to break free from its grip, but that means uncovering myself for it to see me. And those coral green eyes are staring at me intensely....