Eternal Beloved

Chapter 5

He chuckles louder, motivates by her aggravated expression when the door swung open and a man in his late twenties, dressing formally enter with a tray of food in his hand. She was surprised when Deming draped his robe over her. He didn’t even bother to put her arms through the sleeves before tying the robe hastily that resulted with her looking like a poor cocoon imitator.

“Morning sir, madam.” the newcomer greeted them as he arranges the plates and foods on the low console. His face coloured momentarily before it snaps back to his stoic façade, so quick that Yu Qi thought her eyes is playing with her. What was that?

Is this really the first time Deming brought a girl into her room that it’s surprising his assistant or there something more to it. Before she could open up to thank him, the assistant already slips out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

“Am I that bad that your assistant practically running away from me?” she asked, watching Deming picking up a piece of toast and spreading marmalade generously on it.

“Yuan is just good at giving privacy. Don’t expect the same from the rest of my family,” he warned her in between bites as he prepares another toast with a chocolate spread this time, which look a thousand time more appetizing than the previous one. For some reason, she never took a liking of marmalade though she vaguely knew she tried them numerous time before.

“You eat with your mouth instead of feasting them with your eyes,” Deming commented as he feeds the piece of bread to her. Automatically she chews into the bread, savouring the sweet and buttery taste of the toast. Anyone can call her overreacting whatsoever for going crazy over a piece of bread, but its been forever since the last time she eats.

Being a spirit, she could easily forgo her need for food and such but that doesn’t mean she didn’t crave for them.

“Are you sure, you are not a hungry ghost previously,” Deming ask teasingly as she finishes the entire toast in record time and starts eyeing for another piece. Ignoring his comment, she prepares another for herself but disappointed when she found that she can’t eat it on her own.

“Great, I can touch it but I can’t eat it. The universe hates me or something?” she muttered angrily as she drops the toast into the empty plate.

“You can touch things cause you are sharing and basically using my energy but you still a spirit regardless of that fact. You can only eat food that was offered to you,” he explains as he picks the toast and brought it to her lips. Non-committally she ate the new piece.

Dimly she recalled her knowledge on spirits shadow. Similar to how evil spirits possessing human to have access to their qi, the ties between the spirits shadow and their master enable them to share the qi without harming the shadow’s master. Spirit possession, on the other hand, is rather a parasitic relation that harms the host.

The shadow ties can only be revoked either by the master themselves or through their death though in most cases the shadow rather ceases from existence alongside their master. Without the ties, they are merely a normal spirit and nothing can stop them from turning into evil spirit when the years pass.

Given the bond shared, choosing a shadow often regard as an important matter among spirit hunter. It's uncommon to have the decision made carelessly as been done by Deming to rope in an amnesiac spirit as his shadow. She wonders if there’s something wrong with his head, though she’s pretty much sure spirits hunter is not susceptible to head trauma like a mortal.

“You stared at me any longer than this, my face will melt off,” said Deming teasingly as he flicks her forehead softly before he rose to his feet. Embarrassed that she caught staring, Yu Qi busied herself with the saucer on the console and stack them onto the tray.

“Are we going somewhere?” she asked, brushing off her thought as she tails him expectantly. Regardless of his reason to choose her, at the end of the day she still able to eliminate evil and maybe regain her memories and identity somewhere along the way. Her expectation falls flat when Deming crashes land on the bed and rolled into the comforter.

He patted the bed, inviting her over. “We…are going to sleep.”

She stared at him with disbelieves. Maybe this is a wrong decision after all.

She spends the rest of the day roaming around the house, though ransacking is a better description in her attempt to know Deming better. He doesn’t seem bothered by her snooping activities. Most probably glad to see her distracted by something else when he’s busy sleeping. If it wasn’t for his occasional demand for drinks and toilet break, she would have thought he has fallen into comatose.  

The two stories living quarter apparently only a small part of the entire estate, which she has no intention of exploring. There are several other living quarters, varied in sizes At least not without the presence of Deming. Capricious as he is, he is the only one that she knew around here and the only one that makes her feel safe, thanks to their sire bond.

The rest of the house is decorated in a simpler and modern styles interior, contrary to the cosy and warm chamber. The hall is arranged like it was brought out straight from the magazine pages that features some penthouse with New York City night view from its balcony.

The kitchen is divided into two-part with a breakfast aisle in the bigger kitchen. The lack of dining area and the lonely ivory stool at the isle make her wonder if Deming usually eats alone or he rarely eats at home. It still sounds lonely one way or another.    

Occasionally she will saw helpers walking around the compound, running their errand but from their lack of presence in Deming’s quarter confirm her suspicion that he is isolating himself from the rest of his family. Or maybe he just a spoiled brat young master that everyone wanted to avoid.

By midnight she has remembered every crook and cranny of the house, though she spends half of the day getting excited in his library and built-in food pantry, marvelling at his extensive books collection and imagining all kind of food that she wants to eat. Annoyed by the fact that her second wish will have to put on hold until Deming rises up, she decided to settle up with a couple of book from the shelves in the bedroom and curled up next to the fireplace.

The blue flame and musky salty scent exude by the burning log remind her of beaches, which probably the place where the woods came from. She was half asleep when she felt a soft hand touching her bare arm. Deming is standing gloriously before her, with his hand rested on his narrow hip though his hair is a little ruffled from sleeping.

He still half-naked as he was earlier today though he has change into a wine coloured pants, confirming the sound of a quick shower that she heard this afternoon. “Go sleep on the bed, it’s cold down here,” Deming ordered, as he pulls her to her feet, half carrying, half dragging her to the bed. She can’t recall the last time she felt like this, sleepy, famished and worn out. It’s almost like her human again.