Guardian of the Lost Ones

Chapter 5

Sebastian stared at Maddison for a long time and he wondered about the woman’s identity when she asked about Elyon. The King of Kings became recluse after the battle with his close friend, and if Maddison referred to that man, he had to keep her by his side.

“It’s just a dream, Maddison.” He told her but the woman shook her head in denial.

“No, they were too vivid to be just a dream. You know him, right?” She asked while referring to Elyon because she noticed the changes in his facial expression as soon as she inquired about the man in her dreams.

Sebastian narrowed his eyes towards Maddison while trying to come up with a plan to know everything about her. “I’m not sure but I know someone whose name is Elyon,” he replied. “Did you try to kill yourself by drowning?” He asked.

Maddison furrowed her brows and squinted her eyes at Sebastian because she didn’t understand what he’s babbling about. “Drowning? Where do you find me? Underwater?” She replied with several questions.

“You were drowning when I found you,” he said.

Maddison tried to recall the event before she arrived at Sebastian’s place. “I don’t remember anything about it,” she said after trying several times.

Sebastian suspected that Maddison suffered from selective amnesia. “What else can you recall about your previous life, Maddison?”

She remembered her family and someone else. “I remember Lucas,” she smiled as she recalled the handsome face of her boyfriend. “He must be worried about me,” she said.

“Maybe,” he replied with indifference because he wasn’t interested in Lucas whoever that bastard was in Maddison’s life. “Do you want to recall what happened?” He inquired.

“Yes,” she responded right away. Maddison tried to recall why she almost died by drowning when she’s a great swimmer!

“Follow me,” he said.

A few minutes later, Maddison was surprised when Sebastian stopped in front of a verdant forest. She could tell that it was endless and crowded with trees. “Are you trying to kill me here?” Maddison asked worriedly because Sebastian could be a huntsman tasked to kill her. “Who am I in your kingdom, Sebastian? Am I a princess? A threat to the throne, perhaps?”

For the first time since she arrived, he found himself laughing at her jokes. “A threat to my sanity perhaps,” he replied and grinned at her expression.

Maddison glared at Sebastian for joking about a serious matter. On second thought, he wouldn’t save her in the first place if he wanted to kill her. “What is this place?” She asked.

“Shhhhh,” he warned her to stop talking while inside the sacred forest. A clamor of beastly noises, predominantly those of the larger animals reverberated through the air and the croaks of frogs in nearby ponds added to the beautiful sound inside the forest.

“There’s a fountain in the middle of this forest where I can summon someone to help you,” Sebastian informed Maddison about his plan to summon April Buna, the vastly respected goddess in the Kingdom of Bexwell.

Silently, she followed Sebastian until they reached the fountain he mentioned earlier. “I don’t bring any coins,” she said.

A line appeared on Sebastian’s forehead while trying to comprehend every word that came out of her mouth. “Why do you need a coin?” He asked before cutting part of her long hair.

“What are you doing?” She questioned him and her eyes widen in horror when he threw it into the center of the fountain and light emitted from it.

Maddison almost fell to the ground if not because of Sebastian’s steady hold on her when a moan in the void disturbed the silence of the entire forest. “Who is she?” She asked and held tightly on Sebastian’s hand when she came face to face with a horrifying creature of embers and shadows.

Six thorns adorned her head and a wheezing breathe escaped from the creature’s nostrils. When the frightening creature darted towards Maddison, she screamed. “Go away!” She shouted.

“Maddison, it’s alright!” Sebastian said and helped the woman get up to greet their guest. “My lady, I have a favor to ask.” He informed the cursed goddess.

“Such as?”

Maddison was shocked that the frightening creature has a sweet voice. She looked up at Sebastian to tell him that they should just go home. “I want to go home,” she said.

As Maddison was already holding unto him, he got access to her wrist. When he helped her get up, he used his small knife to cut her wrist. The woman yelped in surprise but before she could complain, a drop of her blood reached the bottom of the fountain.

“Thank you, milady,” Sebastian said before April Buna vanished into thin air. When Sebastian glanced at Maddison, he felt bad for her. As he watched Maddison struggled with her painful memory, Sebastian wanted to comfort her.

Maddison gasped for air and stumbled on her feet as the world seemed to spin around her. Memories from a few days ago began to envelop her entire being and she couldn’t stop crying as she remembered Lucas with another woman.

*****

“You lied to me, Maddison!” He yelled at the woman who misled him into thinking that her family approved of their relationship.

“Baby, I’m sorry but I just didn’t want to hurt your feelings,” she reasoned out and tried to get up to go to him, but he gestured for her to remain where she was.

Lucas shook his head to dismiss her stupid excuse. “Do you think I’m happy now?” He shouted, and then he left without saying anything. He was furious that his plan didn’t work to his advantage. He was mad as hell at Maddison for being a liar!

Maddison was aghast that Lucas didn’t want to listen to her explanation and she realized that he was so selfish. He only cared about his feelings and completely disregarded that she was also hurting!

As she watched him walked away, a sickening pain shot through her chest and she pressed her palm on top of it to lessen the agony. It was all she could do so that she wouldn’t collapse to the floor and wither in misery.

Ten seconds had passed, then twenty, and thirty, but the pain never subsided. She chose him but in the end, he chose to break her spirit. She felt betrayed and used! She tried to ignore the painful throbbing of her heart but his rejection earlier continued to bother her.

As she tried to come up with a valid reason why he refused to listen to her, a feeling of lightheadedness and nausea took over her body, and she felt like she would pass out in a few moments. Panic slowly took over her as she ran towards the sink and threw up.

With the passing of each moment, Maddison began to worry because her condition became worse. Her entire body trembled as she kept on throwing up into the sink. Weak and exhausted, she crawled back to the sofa to rest for a bit. She massaged her temple to block out the pain, but it was still there and rolled down on her cheeks.

She was alone and lonely in their dream house.

She waited for him to come home that night but he failed to show up.

For several days, she waited for him, and yet there was no sign of him coming home. She tried calling his phone but it was turned off!

Where are you, Lucas?

She was worried to death that something happened to him while he was away! She contemplated reporting his absence to the authority but she managed to restrain herself.

After seven days, he came home, but he wasn’t alone. He came with a foxy woman and Maddison was surprised at his disrespectful behavior. “Who is she?” She asked innocently when she had the chance to be alone with Lucas.

“She’s my girlfriend,” he replied without considering her feelings. He was done with her, and she should get lost!

All at once, the world seemed to spin around her and a sharp pain assaulted her entire body. It was so painful that she wanted to vomit and hoped that the pain would come out with it. “W-what about me, baby?” She was teary-eyed while asking Lucas about her position in his life. She trusted him! She chose him for goodness sake!

“You can just leave,” he replied.

“What? How about the baby?” Yes, she was pregnant and it was the reason why she was devastated at his betrayal and rejection. Maybe if there’s no baby involved, she would be fine.

“Are you pregnant?” He asked, and she nodded. “Then, get rid of it!” He ordered.

Maddison gritted her teeth and let out a short grunt at his callousness. “How dare you!” She snapped at Lucas for being mean, nevertheless, she was determined to keep going, and to simply swallow the pain and her pride.

“My feelings changed,” he said.

She snorted at his stupid excuse! One deep breath followed another as she tried to mask the discomfort she felt at the moment. “Is it about the money?” Finally, she dared to ask him the question she dreaded to ask for a week.

“No, it’s about your honesty! Don’t you get it, Maddison? You lied to me! You made me believe that your parents approved our relationship!” He shouted at her.

As she listened to his outburst, she realized that she made a mistake. Although her intention was noble, she didn’t consider that he would be hurt because of her lie. “I’m sorry, baby. I’ll do anything, just give me another chance!” She begged him.

“I don’t know,” he replied in a cold voice.

“Please? Just give me one more chance, please baby.” She immediately kneeled in front of him and begged him to consider her request, but Lucas shook his head. As he continued to deny her request, a burning sensation radiated from her chest. Several voices inside her head told her to just let it go and moved on with her life…without him! But how?

“I’m not sure but in the meantime, can you transfer to one of the guest rooms?” He asked her to vacate their bedroom in favor of Jasmine Fox, his new girlfriend.

“What did you say?” She asked to confirm if she heard it correctly.

“You have to stay in the guest room…or you can just leave.” He repeated.

******

Sebastian could no longer watch Maddison suffer from the memories from her past. He regretted summoning April Buna to let her remember whatever was hidden at the deepest part of her unconscious mind.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian apologized before he carried the woman back to the palace.

“Just kill me,” she begged.

“No, you have to live because I need you.” He announced. When April Buna appeared at the fountain, he knew that Maddison Ryan was one of a kind. The goddess rarely showed up in front of anyone after she was punished for disobeying her superior. The once beautiful April Buna turned into a terrifying creature with horns and a tail.