King

CHAPTER VII

It was an impulsive move but after making sure that Al and Zynrick were asleep, I went to the Magic Preservation Centre. After arriving at the laboratory I immediately went to Alystair’s office. I used the access key he gave me when I was still training here. I went through all of the files I could find but I didn’t see any of Zynrick’s.

“My intuition was right for following you,” I heard a voice behind me which made me jolt. I turned around and saw Alystair leaning on the door. He had his arms crossed while staring at me.

Shit! I thought he was asleep. I can't believe I didn't even notice that someone was tailing me.

“What are you looking for?” He asked and raised his eyebrow at me. I bit my bottom lip and stared at him for a while. “It’s nothing,”

“You wouldn’t be here in the middle of the night if it’s nothing,” He said and walked towards me. He grabbed the papers in my hand and scanned them before returning them to the drawer.

“You’re looking for Zynrick’s documents aren’t you?” He asked and I looked away. He sighed and dragged me out of his office so I glared at him.

“What’s that all about?” I asked in anger when he almost shoved me to the ground.

“You won’t find any of his documents here.” He said and did something on the ID scanner before turning his head towards me.

“You asked me to be his trainer so why aren’t I allowed to handle any of his documents?” I asked. I just wanted to know at least a small bit of information. If we're going to do this as a team then he shouldn't be so secretive. He's even the one who asked me to help them.

“I did ask you that but I didn’t say anything about having personal aspects involved, have I?” He asked making me grit my teeth. This is one of the things I hate the most. I despised being kept in the dark. I want to know everything about people or situations I’m dealing with.

“If you won’t tell me then I’ll figure it out myself,” I said and walked to the door. It made me wonder why Alystair didn’t follow me but figuring Zynrick’s past is my priority.

“f**k!” I yelled when I was electrocuted by the scanner. I turned my head towards Alystair and he was just staring at me.

“You’re not allowed to enter anymore. The door is already protected by a seal so any attempt of breaking in is futile.” He said but I’m the most powerful dark witch in history. A simple seal wouldn’t stop me from breaking in.

I released my powers and formed the magic concentrated orbs. “We’ll see about that,” I said before directing it towards the door. I was expecting it to break but I was surprised when my powers were reflected towards me. I was thrown towards the wall when I received the shock from my own powers.

“I told you,” Alystair said with a victorious smirk on his face.

I wiped the blood dripping from my nose and stood up. “Isn’t it unfair that you almost know everything about me and you’re still keeping everything a secret? Aside from that you’re not even telling me anything about the person you asked me to train.” I said. It didn’t feel good that I know nothing about them and what they’re doing right now is making me feel like they still don’t trust me. But what I don't like the most is the fact that I'm slowly losing the trust I have for them.

“Even if I want to tell you, I can’t. If you want to know who Zynrick is and what is past it's best if you ask him. I may not seem like it but I respect the fact that I shouldn’t be the one telling you what you need to know about him. It should come from him himself.” He said making me scoff. I can't believe this is coming out of his mouth when he's got information about me.

“What about my background?” I asked making him sigh. He looked at me straight in the eyes and I could see the visible frustration on his face. If I felt bad for him earlier now I don’t care if he’s tired. What they’re doing isn’t fair.

“Your case is different. We needed to do research to make sure we don’t make a mistake.” He defended but I didn’t believe him. If they know my background then I should know theirs as well.

I turned around because I didn’t want to see his face. He’s making me so damn mad right now. “You’re such a hypocrite, Alystair. Sometimes I don’t even know if I should trust you or not.” I admitted with my back on him.

“It’s best you don’t,” He answered making me turn my head to look at him. He had his head bowed down and I saw how his fists were clenched. But the anger I was feeling was stronger than the concern I have for him right now.

I continued to walk away. I didn’t return to the chateau immediately because if I did I’d just see Al’s face. I went to a café in the middle of the city. I was thankful that I quickly caught up with the modern world’s lifestyle. It’s so different from ours but it was easier.

I entered the café and ordered a cake. I took a seat near the window and looked outside watching people pass by. I tried to distract myself from Zynrick’s past by trying to sense whether the person who passed by has magic or not. Might as well improve my senses while I'm out here.

“Am I getting rusty?” I asked myself when I was having difficulty in identifying whether the people passing by are magical or not.

Come to think of it ever since I arrived I was only able to sense some people with powers. I took a deep breath when instead of relaxing I became even more stressed. I wanted to be with my people. I don’t care what race they are as long as they have magic then that would surely calm me down. I suddenly want to visit the fairy realm to talk with Yuriko again but I suppressed the urge. They're not in a good situation and being there would only make it worse.

I looked outside and saw Erin walking alone. I felt myself quickly standing up and running to catch to her. “Hey,” I greeted after tapping her shoulder. I felt her jolt when I tapped her but she released a sigh of relief when she saw me.

“Please, don’t do that again.” She said with her hand clutched on her chest. I nodded as an answer and we proceeded to walk side by side. I wanted to ask more about Zynrick but doing that didn’t seem to be a good idea since we’re outside the laboratory. Who knows who's lurking around and listening to our conversation.

“What are you doing here late at night?” She asked while looking straight ahead. I wasn’t familiar with the path we were taking because I was used to riding a private car or a taxi.

“I was just out to have some cake,” I answered. She doesn’t need to know what happened between me and Al so I decided to omit that part.

“Well, Alystair isn’t a fan of sweets so I understand if you’d have to come down here for it.” She said with a small smile on her face. It seems that spending time with her is beneficial. But I need to be careful of what I’m saying. This girl runs her mouth without thinking.

“Yeah,” I answered shortly not knowing what else to say, “What about you what are you doing here?”

“I was just walking around. I wanted to be surrounded by people who aren’t my workmates.” She said and giggled. I nodded because I understood what she was feeling. It was tiring seeing only the people at the lab and Zyn and Al’s face. Being down here is so refreshing.

“I didn’t know you feel that way,” I commented and she smiled. “I’m a person too so as much as I love work I also get suffocated from time to time.”

“How about we do something you like? I haven’t been able to hang out girls ever since I woke up.” I said because I wanted to be distracted.

Ever since I woke up all I was train and rest at the chateau. When I visited the fairy realm I felt like I was able to breathe. It made me realize how sick and tired I was of training.

“Sure, why don’t we have a sleepover?” She asked making me raise my eyebrow.

“You know, you sleep in my house and we gossip, dress each other up, wear make-up, all those girly stuff.” She said with an excited expression. “You see I haven’t been able to spend time with other girls around my age.”

I was watching her as she spoke and I could feel the sadness in her voice when she said she hadn’t been able to spend time with people her age. “Don’t you have any friends?” I asked and she shook her head.

“Why not? You seem friendly,” I said and she smiled. “I’m still young, you see, I graduated from school early. All I ever did was study and pass. I didn’t think that doing that would make me so lonely.” She admitted and smiled at me.

“How old are you?” I asked and she hit my shoulder. “What was that all about?”

“It’s not polite to ask other people’s age,” She said and winked at me. “But I’m 25.”

“Well, I’m your friend and we’re having a sleepover so don’t be sad, okay?” I said and she smiled. She jumped and hugged me which was weird. People during our time wouldn’t do this unless they were close.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” I said when a minute passed and she didn’t let go. It was making me feel uncomfortable. I even questioned why I agreed with her but that doubt faded when I saw her smile at me widely.

“Thanks,”

“So, what do you guys do when you’re at a sleepover?” I asked and she pointed at the grocery store.

“First, we buy food, since, I live alone I don’t have a lot of food so we need to buy some.” She said and dragged me in. We bought a lot since she kept on putting everything that attracted her.

“This is a lot are you sure this won’t go to waste,” I commented since we were both carrying two plastic bags. “It’s fine. It’ll be my supply for a month.”

I nodded at what she said. “What do we do next?” I asked because it didn’t seem like we were heading to her house.

“We’ll buy a few more stuff,” She answered and I nodded but I didn’t expect what happened next.

She dragged me to different shops. We entered a boutique and bought clothes then we entered make-up stores to but some make-up and lastly we went to a night market to buy more clothes and eat. By the time we were done, it was already midnight and we were carrying a lot. Though it seemed like a lot I enjoyed it.

“We’re finally home,” She said when we arrived at her house. It was small which was understandable since she lives alone. I let my eyes roam the place and I wasn’t surprised that the house is clean and well kept.

“You can just leave everything on the kitchen table. Let’s just fix it tomorrow.” She said and plopped herself on the couch.

“You can go ahead and take a shower if you want.” She said with her eyes closed. She had her head thrown back and she was spread on the couch. It was obvious that she was tired but she still had a smile on her face.

“Alright, I’ll go ahead,” I said and went into the shower. After we were both done we changed into the matching pajamas we bought earlier. At first, I didn’t want to buy it because it was cringe but she kept on insisting. She even made it look like she was about to cry and it was starting to become a scene so I just agreed to pacify her.

“What a night,” She said while drying her hair.

“Yeah, I didn’t know that this place is still buzzing even though it’s late. I thought the lights I was seeing from the chateau are just coming from houses and apartments.” I admitted. I was sitting on the bed and am currently watching while eating pizza.

“Well, it’s better to go out when it’s late since that’s when people’s work usually ends.” She said and sat beside me. We are both leaning on the headboard and watching a romantic comedy.

After watching the first movie Erin said she was starting to feel sleepy so we both laid under the covers with the lights closed.

“Elle, thank you,” She suddenly said making me turn my head towards her.

“What for?” I asked and shifted so I could be face-to-face with her.

“Thanks for spending time with me even though we only met once.” She said and I nodded.

“It’s nothing. You don’t have to thank me for it,” I said and she nodded.

“Can I open up to you?” She asked and I nodded.

“I’ve never had anyone over here,” She admitted which surprised me. She’s been alive for 25 years but she never asked anyone to come to her home.

“I’ve always had trouble making friends.” She continued and just kept quiet as I listened to what she was going to say.

“Ever since I was a child I was forced to seclude myself from other children. My parents had always told me that I should study hard because I was the only heir of the family business. Every time I wanted to go out they would punish me. They would hit me and lock me up. I was so jealous of all the kids that were playing outside. It was unfair that they get to play outside while I was stuck in my room studying.” She said and I saw how tears started to form in her eyes.

“I was so jealous of them that I decided to climb down the balcony. At first, I was doing well but then I slipped. Luckily, someone caught me. I was surprised when I saw myself floating in mid-air but I knew I wasn’t the one who was doing it because I felt someone’s arms carrying me. I looked at the face of the person who saved me and saw a charming young man. I was so mesmerized by him that I didn’t notice we were already on the ground. After that we became friends and I found out that he was a vampire, an ordinary one. We continued hanging out by the balcony and when my parents found out I learned that my parents aren’t only businessmen.” She said and the tears from her eyes finally fell. I didn’t know what to do. I’ve never comforted people before so all I did was pat her back.

“I found out that they were affiliated with the AMF and that they killed the vampire boy I was playing with. I started to hate my family after that. So, when I was old enough I decided to leave. After I finished school I ran away and entered the lab,” She still wanted to tell me more but she was already sobbing so hard. It must have been difficult for her to carry these feelings.

Not being able to talk to someone about the pain and hatred she felt must have taken a toll on her that she even told me the story even though we weren’t exactly close.

I comforted her as she cried her heart out until she fell asleep. I pitied the girl so much. It must be the reason she’s so talkative. She wanted people to talk to her until she’s vulnerable enough to say all of these. When she was finally asleep I rolled to the other side and tried to sleep as well. Though I didn’t learn about Zynrick, not Alystair I was glad that I was with her today. At least I was able to help her get things off of her chest.

I closed my eyes because I didn’t want to ponder about Erin’s story but I couldn’t sleep. It felt as if my body was telling me to think about it more but I didn’t want to. I tried to sleep but it was starting to feel annoying when all that keeps on entering my brain is Erin’s story.

I got annoyed and I didn’t want to disturb Erin so I decided to go to the bathroom. I was staring at myself in the mirror and said, “Okay, what do you want to think about?” I asked myself and focused on remembering Erin’s story.

As I think about her story my head started to pound. It was painful but I knew that this pain meant that I was about to remember something about the past so I endured it. I continued remembering her story and it made me something. It made me feel like I went through the same thing. I could feel my chest tightening as I remembered things from my past. I clutched on my chest when I was already having difficulty breathing.

“You can do this, Elle,” I whispered to myself as I try to remember more. I bit my bottom lip as I try my best to endure the pain.

“This pain is nothing,” I whispered again as I try to encourage myself. I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead but I didn’t want to stop remembering. Something about Erin’s story triggered my memories to come back and who knows when all of this might happen again.

I was so focused on remembering everything when I was suddenly shaken by someone. “Is something wrong?” I heard Erin asked in concern. I looked at her and shook my head.

“This is annoying,” I thought while looking at her. I’m thankful that she told me that story because it triggered something in my memory but it’s annoying that she had to interrupt me from remembering.

“You look like you’re in intense pain,” She said while scanning my figure. She looked so concerned but I was still annoyed with her so I went past her and laid on the bed.

“It was just a bad case of tummy ache it’s nothing to worry about,” I said and covered myself with the blanket.

I felt the foam beside me sink so I knew she was already laying beside but I ignored her. I just closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I thought she was going to say something but I’m glad she just kept her mum.

I was able to sleep and when I woke up the sun was already up. I looked beside me and Erin wasn’t there anymore. I suddenly remembered how I acted towards her last night and it made me feel guilty.

I went downstairs and saw that she was cooking breakfast. I opened the fridge and took the orange juice cart. She looked at me and I did the same. I was waiting for her to speak but she just smiled at me and continued talking which made me feel even guiltier.

“I’m sorry for being such a snob last night,” I apologized and she looked at me. “My stomach was just so painful and my head was pounding so I was acting like a total b***h. I’m sorry.”

“It was that?” She asked after releasing a sigh of relief. “Yeah,” I said as an answer.

“I thought it was because I overshared.” She said and giggled awkwardly. I shook my head and said, “No,”

“I was happy that you opened up. Now, it feels like I know you better.” I said even though I was thankful because it triggered my memories to come back.

“By the way, Al just called and he was looking for you,” She said while fixing the table.

“What did he say?” I asked.

“He said that you should go home. It’s dangerous for you to be wandering around.” She said and finished fixing our breakfast.

“I didn’t expect that from him,” I whispered but it seemed like it didn’t escape Erin’s face. I saw her open her mouth but she ended up pressing her lips together and keep her mouth shut.

Even though I was mad at Al and wanted to stress him even more by not going home I need to tell him what happened. Maybe he’d be able to help me since he knows a lot about me.

“Elle, you should go back to the chateau. Al sounded like he was really worried.” She said after we were done taking a bath. Erin was excused from work since she told Al that she was with me so here we are in her living room watching television.

“I know. I can’t stay here forever anyway. I’ll go home later tonight but don’t tell him.” I said while calmly watching t.v. besides, I’m sure that he’s just acting like he’s worried.

“Why?” She asked. I could see a mixture of confusion, worry, and fear in her eyes.

“We had a little argument so I don’t want to go home yet. I just want to make him worry for a bit.” I said and continued to watch. I even took a sip of my earl gray tea to make her see how relaxed I was. “So, don’t tell him, okay?”

“Okay,” She answered hesitantly.