The Last Celestial

The Taurus Woman

Right after Andrew heard Hyacinth's story, he did not think twice about waking up Timothy, his mentor, and asking for the older male's guidance. The two of them rushed towards downstairs where Timothy was probably staying.

"Are you sure about this, Hiyas?" Andrew asked. He began to call her Hyacinth as Hiyas since he had trouble pronouncing her name. And since Darlene knows Hyacinth more than she knows herself, the Elder Keeper told him to call her Hiyas instead. Which Hyacinth accepted with no complaints.

"I'm sure." Hyacinth replied, not even looking Andrew in the eyes as the two of them ran down the stairs. "I heard him call me in my dream. He called me..." Hyacinth stopped on her tracks, and was a bit flustered. She covered her reddening cheeks almost immediately so that Andrew missed it. "...he called me 'My Love'."

Andrew, who was a step ahead of Hyacinth, looked back and smiled at her, almost teasing. "Sounds like you're really fond of the Scorpio, aren't you?" Then he left Hyacinth, running towards Timothy's room as he laughed. Leaving her blinking stupidly as she bit her lip, released it and said, "I---I can't help it! The Taurus lives within me! She---she's the one who likes him, not me!"

Hyacinth followed Andrew, and when she went down the stairs, Andrew was already knocking on Timothy's door.

He saw her standing on the first step of the stairs, then signaled her to come closer. "Come."

She nodded her head and jogged towards him, minutes later, Timothy opened the door. Obviously, he wasn't happy that someone disturbed him as he slept. Timothy looked like he was ready to give the young man a scolding as he grumbled and mumbled under his breath.

"What?" Timothy asked the two who were standing in front of him. "It's the middle of the night, what do you want, kiddo?"

And by knowing the Keeper, Andrew knew that Timothy isn't a morning person and his mood becomes worse when someone wakes him up during the middle of the night. However, this is important.

Andrew looked behind him and glanced at Hyacinth who was fiddling with her fingers as she looked down at her hands. Obviously was shy and didn't want to tell the Keeper about her dream. It's either that or she's actually feeling guilty about disturbing others.

The young man then turned back to Timothy, who looked awfully impatient.

The Keeper crossed his arms against his chest, as his fingers tapped against his arm. Clearly, he was waiting for some sort of explanation from the two who were standing in front of him.

Andrew licked his lips and prepared to explain and tried to remember all the details Hyacinth told him. So he starts. "Hiyas had a dream."

Timothy looked uninterested. He tilted his head to the side, scowled and said. "And...?" He shook his head lightly and narrowed his eyes. "...and this concerns me because?"

Again, Andrew and Hyacinth had a brief exchange of looks. But before Andrew could speak, Hyacinth stepped forward and said.

"I had a dream about Scorpio..." She said, a bit tentative and spared Timothy a glance before looking down to her fingers again. "...and it's important."

Timothy's mood immediately changed and his expression softened. "What dream?"

This time, Hyacinth looked up to the tall Keeper. "It's about Scorpio, and I think he needs my help. I think... something happened to him."

====================

"Why didn't you tell me that it's an important dream, Andrew?" Timothy continued to scold the young man as they followed a trail. They were walking through the forest of the Zodiac. It was 2 o'clock in the evening and during this time, the forest glowed beautifully.

It was the first time Andrew saw this and he was completely mesmerized, and so was Hyacinth. They were trailing behind Timothy, as they both looked up to the tall trees. Andrew particularly looked up to the rubber tree in the middle of the forest. It was the tallest one there, and he never saw a rubber tree as tall as this outside the forest.

He and Hyacinth were so distracted by the beauty of the forest that the two of them stopped walking. Andrew did not even notice the slipper Timothy threw at him.

"Ow!"

Timothy's shoe hit the side of Andrew's head, making the young man wince and Hyacinth flinch.

"Hurry up, you two!" Timothy screamed. "Elder Diomedes said he'll be leaving the forest of the Zodiac before daybreak and we need to tell him about Hyacinth's dream!" He began walking again, but he noticed he was not wearing one of his slippers. He turned to Andrew again and said, "Hurry, come here and pick up my slipper."

Andrew rolled his eyes after hearing Hyacinth giggle. "That was totally uncalled for... that old man." He grumbled under his breath as he picked up the slipper.

Using their speed, Hyacinth and Andrew immediately caught up with the Keeper.

Andrew handed out the slipper to the older man. "Here."

Timothy hummed then stopped for a second to put on his slipper. Right after that he asked the two to hurry it up. "Faster, we need to reach the Elder soon."

"Where is he going, Timothy?" Andrew asked, a bit curious as to why. "And why is he going there before sunrise?"

"The Elder said he needs to patch things up with the Philippines." Timothy wanted to say more, but decided not to since it's a sensitive topic. Hyacinth is beside Andrew, and the Celestial living inside her is one of the reasons why half of the Island of Mindoro has sank.

The rocks that formed the bull created by the Taurus came from the Island itself, and when it fell apart right after consuming the blood, the rocks and the damage created by the seeds from the forest was enough for half of the Island to split.

And the Authorities, the President and the Senators of the Philippines were not exactly happy with that.

They wanted someone to pay for the damages.

Rumor has it that the country consisting of thousands of Islands is conspiring with other countries against the inconvenience the Relic had brought to their land. Trusted sources said the President spoke with the spokesperson of Ecuador.

And by the looks of it, it's not going to be an easy task to deal with those power and money hungry men.

"That is all." Timothy said, giving Andrew a signal that he will tell everything to the young man later.

Andrew immediately understood. He nodded his head, and told Hyacinth to hurry it up. "Are we there yet?" The young man asked.

"We are close."

========================

When the three of them reached Elder Diomedes house, he was already gone. Only his wife and his son were staying in the house. Jacqueline asked for the three of them to stay inside and have a cup of coffee.

But this time, it isn't the same coffee as Nad was drinking, but instead, it's the coffee their benefactors send them.

Jacqueline poured a cup for Andrew and Hyacinth, as well as Timothy. "Coffee grounds from Ethiopia." She said with a smile. She handed over the cups to the three, and exchanged words of gratitude to each other.

"Can you please tell us when Elder Diomedes will come back?" Timothy asked after drinking from the cup. "It's relatively important."

Jacqueline hummed in agreement. "It must be. As you won't come here in the middle of the night if it wasn't."

Andrew and Hyacinth hung their heads low, feeling a bit sheepish because they'd disturbed a lot of people who were trying to rest.

Jacqueline noticed this and shook her head then raised her hand, gesturing that the three got the wrong idea. She was never really good with words, which is why she doesn't speak as much and lets Diomedes --- her husband --- do all the talking. "Don't get me wrong." She said, "You're not a disturbance." She said with a wry smile. "Please tell me why the three of you came by so late at night."

Timothy hummed, then answered, "Hyacinth told us she had a dream about the Celestial her soul is paired with."

Jacqueline, who was about to drink from the cup, stopped midway and said, "What?"

"It is true." Andrew answered, a bit more energetic now since he drank all of the coffee in his cup. "She told me everything, and by the looks of it, I think... I think there's something wrong."

As the two men explained the situation, Jacqueline looked at Hyacinth from time to time. She observed the young woman in front of her. Her head was hung low, and her shoulders were slumped down.

Truly, Hyacinth was far from the Taurus woman that the legends foretold about. But despite all that, Hyacinth can also have the potential inside her. Thinking that just like newborns, Hyacinth was still figuring herself out.

As now, she is this empty shell. She was stripped from her memory. Her identity was also taken away from her. It baffled even the smartest of all Keepers how this was possible as Hyacinth's experience was far from what happened with Andrew.

The boy who inherited Leo's power still remembered his past, while the woman who inherited Taurus' power forgot. It was a mystery, and somehow, a lot of Keepers wanted to know the truth.

But since Hyacinth is still unstable, they cannot ask her any questions regarding her past.

Jacqueline smiled at the two men in front of her. "Gentlemen..." She looked at Timothy then at Andrew. "...can you two leave us be? I want to talk to Hyacinth."

Andrew and Timothy remained silent for a moment. The older man understood Jacqueline's wishes and told the young man to come with him for the meantime. "Elder Diomedes said you have a collection of paintings from the first blood of Haris descendants. Mind if we take a look?"

Jacqueline smiled at Timothy. She raised her hand and signaled to her right. "This way."

When the two women were left alone, Jacqueline looked at Hyacinth and said. "I would love to hear about your dream." Was her soft words to the woman in front of her. "I'm a good listener... and I won't force you until you are ready."