"What did you do to my sister???" Arslan asked again as he didn't receive any reply.
"She is fine, but if you want to see her again... then, accept Jacob's challenge." Troy said with a serious expression,
"If you were to refuse... who knows what would happen to her..." The vibes Troy felt after seeing Arslan's reaction made him even more excited. He liked tormenting him and the late behavior Arslan had towards him, made Troy desire to make him suffer even more.
'How could I let this happen??? I can't even use my powers because of Elder Oak!' Arslan thought as he blamed himself for the current situation and felt as if he were stuck,
'No, I can't allow my sister to be endangered. Being worried about Elder Oak is useless when Elma's life is at stake. I will think to him after this matter is settled. Now... the only thing that counts is to rescue her... and make these 2 pay the price of such a heavy crime!' Arslan thought as his eyes were filled with determination. He wasn't in panic anymore because he clearly knew what needed to be done.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, relaxed his hands, and the rest of his body, clearing his mind from all the fear and worries he had till that moment. Then he opened his eyes again and spoke,
"If this is what you want, fine I'll accept your challenge, Jacob." His confident expression surprised both Troy and Jacob, who were expecting him to be more scared but they got along with it as they obtained what they wanted. The possibility to crash Arslan in front of every outer disciple.
Jacob got closer to Arslan and put his mouth near his right ear. Arslan didn't move a muscle,
"Good, enjoy your last 2 days on the cultivation path. On Monday you will plead to submit to Cindy and me!" Jacob whispered. After that, he left the residence.
Arslan and Troy stared at each other for some seconds. Arslan's face was serious and didn't let transpire even a bit of fear,
'Your turn is coming, Troy.' Arslan thought as he looked at him with a fierce glare.
Troy was grinning all the time and eventually left without saying a word. Arslan would have remembered the smug face he had at that moment while keeping Elma's headband in his hand.
Arslan headed to Elma's room and witnessed in what condition it had been left. The anger he kept inside for all his life, was beginning to emerge,
'Elma... how must you have felt at that moment?' Arslan wondered as he looked at the disorder the room was in, showing that she tried to fight before getting brought away.
The previous evening Troy and Jacob met each other as planned,
"Troy, are you sure this will work?"
"Jacob, just do as I say and you will have your revenge."
Jacob had just entered the River residence with Troy by his side. The sky was already dark with only stars enlightening it. The full moon was bright in the sky and there was a pleasant cool breeze around the residence.
"This is the room." Troy said as they reached Elma's room.
"So, you sure you wanna do it?" Jacob asked a bit worried by the consequences of such an action. He thought that if Joseph River were to know that a lower family such as Jacob's kidnapped a kid the Rivers were protecting... his family would have disappeared from the face of Earth.
"Don't worry, if news got out, I would take care of it." Troy said to reassure Jacob and make him enjoy the fun they were gonna have.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Elma? Are you there? It's me, Troy. I need to tell you something urgent about your brother!"
"My brother? Did something happen to him?" The little girl suddenly got scared by the worry of her brother being in trouble.
She opened the door as fast as she could and found herself in front of the two guys who had uneasy smiles on their faces,
"T-Troy...? Who is him?" She wondered as she felt uneasy in their presence.
"Grab her!" Troy ordered Jacob, who didn't think twice before acting. He pulled her arm, but she was fast to retract it and ran inside the room but didn't have the time to close the door. They followed her inside,
"AAAAHHH!!!!" She screamed scared, but no one could hear her as the patrolling soldiers were far from her room.
"NO, NO, GO AWAY! LET ME GOOO!" She continued as they tried to grab her again. The room got devastated as she tried running everywhere to avoid them but eventually failed to escape,
"MMMHH, MMMH!!"
They took her outside while blocking her mouth with a hand. They closed the door and ran away as fast as they could. Jacob suddenly heard the huge tremor coming from a thunder right above their heads,
"Troy, look! What happened to the sky?" He asked worried as he looked up after he heard a huge tremor coming from above his head.
All of a sudden, the moon and the stars disappeared under a thick cover of clouds and thunderbolts could be seen everywhere in the sky.
"I don't know but we don't have time for this! Let's go!" Troy said as he ran faster, while Jacob was carrying Elma in his arms.
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Some minutes later, after coming out of Elma's room, Arslan was standing in front of the flowers she had always taken care of in the flower garden,
'I always wondered why she likes these black roses so much... they are so difficult to find in nature and the feeling they give is of death. They are the exact opposite of what Elma is... a shining star in the sky... a yellow flower would have suited her better... maybe it is true that we look for what we are not.' Arslan thought while staring at the roses. They were so beautiful for Arslan, especially because his sister took care of them. At that moment he remembered a sentence his father told him,
'Every rose has its thorns... I wonder what my father meant that day.'