In His Arms
2066 Words
"Sam!" Ruthie quickly knelt beside her, raising her head.
"Sam, stop joking," she said, and Samara's eyes opened slowly.
"Seriously? Does this look like a joke? It's a suicide mission, and it'd be better if they just kill me!" She shouted, stood up, but Master Duran had already left, and she inhaled.
"This institute is not for me, but whenever I think about leaving, Superior Aragon's face comes to my head," she said. That's when she noticed the disciples surrounding her.
"Hi, I'm Peony," Peony waved.
"Purple hair? You're a witch too!" Samara said cheerfully.
"Yes, we could be triplets," Ruthie replied.
"Raven, nice to meet you," Raven smiled.
"Krishna," Krishna said, and Cat jumped out of his pocket.
"So cute!" Ruthie gushed in admiration for the black cat.
Ceres and Agatha walked away at the same time, not bothering to introduce themselves.
"Well, the shortest one is Ceres, and the second one is Princess Agatha of Kingdom Sullivan," Ruthie said.
"Royals are allowed in here too? Whoa! I guess it's not as bad as I've been thinking. I'm starving!" Samara held her tummy.
"We should go eat before showering for real," Ruthie replied, pulling her away from the assembly.
Peony followed them, and Raven smiled.
"I guess things will get interesting tonight in the woods."
"Why did you say that?" Krishna faced him.
"I heard the first test is always cumbersome," Raven replied.
"We have Superior Aragon," Krishna frowned.
"He'd only guide us to the entrance, not protect us. We're to protect ourselves from the danger; that's the main test," Raven replied.
"I don't even want to think about it," Krishna said.
"Whatever," Raven replied as they left the assembly together.
"Who'd be the first to come out of the woods?" Echo asked Merlin.
"If it's me, you'd sleep on a wet bed tonight. I'd be the one to pour the water," Merlin said.
"If it's me, I'm eating your dinner tonight," Echo replied, and they shook hands.
"Deal!"
* PAVILION*
Orion sat alone on the steps, staring into space as he had been for over an hour.
He wasn't blinking or moving. He sat still, looking like a ghost.
He didn't blink until he saw Aragon coming from a distance, and he stood up.
He tried to teleport, but Aragon super-sped to him, holding his right shoulder.
"You're to lead the whitehead to the test entrance this evening," he said, and Orion glared before shaking him off.
"I don't want to. Why would I be in charge of her? I might just kill her," he said bitterly.
"If you're guilty about Astrid's death, then take responsibility for it instead of finding someone to blame. She's not the killer," Aragon's eyes sparkled blue.
"You've been blaming me for years about his death. When the f**k will you stop! You were there too that day! We ran to the woods together, but he was already dead!" Orion shouted.
"If only you had followed him!" Aragon yelled, his blue eyes deepening.
"If only you had followed him that evening. You knew he was human, and it's dangerous in the woods for just him. You killed him!" He continued.
"Stop saying that! I hate hearing that the most! My only fault was not following him because I was reading! I didn't kill him, and it wasn't my fault that he was born as a human!" Orion yelled.
"You didn't kill him? Then why did his blood curse you? Why did a demon rise from his blood to curse you with loneliness that evening? The demon has been following you around, and that's why no human can even survive colliding into you, and anyone who forms a relationship with you will die!" Aragon shouted.
Orion clenched his jaw and started climbing down the pavilion, but Aragon ran to block him.
"You're leading the whitehead. It's an order from the master," he said.
"Stop talking about her!" Orion yelled, and his eyes turned red, then a loud thunderclap echoed in the sky.
A sudden rain began falling, and Orion smiled wickedly.
"Don't test my patience, Aragon," he muttered before walking down the steps.
He stepped into the rain, but the rain didn't even touch him as he walked away.
Aragon's eyes returned to normal, and he sighed calmly.
* MELODY HALL*
Melody Hall was Chief Feather's hall, surrounded by tall trees with thousands of birds singing, making it always noisy.
Master Duran came in and met Chief Water, taking his seat.
"Why did you put the whitehead under Orion, even after knowing the harm he'd cause her?" Water asked.
"Orion will never agree to lead her," Master Duran replied calmly.
"Then... she's going alone?" Chief Feathers said, sending the bird on her shoulder to join the others on the trees outside.
"Yes," Master Duran replied.
"That's dangerous. Delos woods aren't easy. There are vampires, zombies, wolves, and other dangerous animals, even beasts," Chief Water said.
"She's a witch, remember," Master Duran replied.
"That doesn't count. Her powers aren't even active outside the bathroom, like you explained," Chief Feathers replied.
"That's why something dangerous is needed to trigger it. And about why Orion is her personal superior, it'd be found out in the future," Master Duran replied and stood up.
"I'll see you both after the test," he said and walked out of the hall.
"Duran's aloofness and Orion's aloofness, which is worse at this rate?" Chief Water said, grabbing a beaded fan to fan himself.
"Orion was a normal boy before Astrid's death, but Duran... his aloofness began right from birth," Chief Feathers replied.
"I'll see you tonight too," Chief Feathers nodded, walking out.
Feathers walked to the door, sighing as she looked at the singing birds.
"It's been a while since the dark forces showed up. What are they planning?" She said,
* AN HOUR LATER*
The three witches came out of the cafeteria after Samara and Ruthie had eaten, and Samara burped slightly.
"Sorry, babies, sorry," she said sillily as they walked down the hallway to their villa.
"I'm glad I met you guys. I was always alone before you guys came," Peony said.
"But there were others in here," Ruthie said.
"Krishna and Raven are always together. Echo and Merlin have each other too. Ceres is bitter, and Agatha is a proud peacock who doesn't associate, so it was like that," Peony replied, stroking her purple hair.
"What about the superiors? Aragon and Onion?" Samara said.
"It's Orion. He might be hearing you. He has sharp ears," Peony laughed.
"As if I care," Samara replied, and Ruthie laughed with Peony.
"How are you going to manage it, though? He's your personal superior," Peony said.
"It's cool. Maybe I'll get the chance to stab him too," Samara replied. Immediately, they entered the villa and saw Agatha and Ceres fighting, surrounded by the disciples.
"Oh my goodness!" Samara and Ruthie exclaimed when Agatha pulled Ceres towards her, grabbed her neck, and threw her to the floor.
Ceres bled from her wounded arm as she stood up and used her eyes to direct a flower pot on the rails towards Agatha.
Before it could hit Agatha, Raven intervened, grabbing the pot and throwing it away.
"You both have to stop, please!" he said.
"You just love suffering, right?" Krishna muttered, smiling as he enjoyed the chaos.
"And who said you could intervene!" Agatha shouted at Raven.
"I just blocked your head from getting broken!" Raven replied, and Agatha slapped him.
Raven's cheek swelled, and her five fingers were visible on his cheek.
"How dare you slap my brother!" Ceres pushed Raven away and ran towards Agatha.
Another fight started, and Samara jumped up, laughing.
"Wait, Peony, this is what you guys have been enjoying in this institute? Wow! Finally, I've found something more exciting than Cardi and Megan's songs! I'm dying here!" She said humorously and shook hands with Ruthie.
"They should break each other's heads. Some blood," Ruthie laughed too.
"What's the cause of the fight this time?" Peony asked Echo.
"Agatha bumped into Ceres accidentally," Echo replied.
"It's always something meaningless," Merlin shook his head.
"Wait, it always happens?" Samara asked.
"At least, two times a day," Peony replied.
"Yes!" Samara and Ruthie shook hands again.
Ceres wounded Agatha on the cheek, and Agatha angrily ran towards Raven... who's just recovering from the slap. She punched his chest, and Raven passed out.
"Agatha!" Ceres yelled and was about to attack her when Krishna stepped in.
A single slap from him made Agatha bleed from the ear and mouth as she staggered back.
"Toying with my friend is not allowed anytime you're having your silly fights," he said.
"You!" Agatha gritted with her bloody teeth and made to rush to him, but wind from nowhere swept her off her feet immediately she got close, and the wind threw her into the lawn.
Krishna carried unconscious Raven out of the corridor to his room.
All the disciples present began laughing at Agatha who's just standing up, and she wiped her bloody mouth.
"Your ears are bleeding too!" Ceres mocked, and when she touched her ear and felt blood truly, she rushed out of the lawn, and the laughter got louder from the disciples.
"That was entertaining. When is their next fight coming up?" Samara asked.
"You love troubles too much," Echo laughed.
"Don't mind her," Peony laughed too.
"Let's go take a bath, it's almost evening. The test," Ruthie pulled Samara into her room.
EVENING
All the disciples were already waiting for the superiors for about five minutes before Aragon showed up, and without waiting, he led the way out of the Institute, and his students followed.
"I'll see you when I'm back!" Ruthie waved at Samara.
"Bye boo-boo!" Samara blew her kisses, and Peony waved too till they were all out of sight.
Samara continued waiting for Orion for what looked like forever, till Master Duran arrived.
"Master, my Superior is...
"You're to go alone," Master Duran replied, and her eyes widened.
"What! Alone?"
Without another word, Master Duran sent her out, and she vanished, only to land in the woods.
"It's real! I'm here alone! I'm alone!!!!" She shouted, placing her hands on her head as she looked around.
The leaves are dry, and at each slight move, they rustle noisily, scaring her.
"What do I do? Left or right? Mum, where should I go? I think your daughter is about to die" she said, pulling up the flowing floral gown she's wearing.
"I don't even have any weapon, what if I get attacked by a beast? Huh?" she asked herself, but her eyes suddenly brightened when she saw a peach tree ahead.
"What! Peach!" She ran to the tree, and luckily, there were lots of it on top of the tree.
It was so easy for her to climb since it's not her first time.
Back then in school, she once climbed the principal's house fence with Ruthie just to break his bedroom window because he punished them for saying dirty words in class.
She climbed the tree and plucked a peach, taking a deep bite.
"Delicious! I guess I'd just sit here and eat as much as I want till Master will return me" she smiled and was about to take another bite when the tree suddenly moved.
She thought it was her imagination at first, but it moved again, and the peach fell from her.
By the time she looked at the ground, it was already so far, and her eyes widened.
"What's this? I'm not in jumanji, right? What's happening!!! Master Duran!!!!! Onion!!!!!" She screamed fearfully as she began sweating.
Slowly, the tree transformed into a cliff, and she began shaking as she struggled to leave the edge, but immediately she took a step, the spot cracked, and she began falling.
"Fine. RIP to me" she said and closed her eyes, but halfway through her fall, she opened her eyes and mouth at the same time.
"The RIP was a joke! I don't want to die!!!!! Somebody help!!!!!!" She screamed as she continued falling down the high cliff.
As if the heavens decided to pity her, a strong arm suddenly grabbed her by the waist, and she gasped loudly, grabbing the person tightly by the shoulders.
Her white hair got blown beautifully by the air as she started looking up to see his face.
- Writer
