Aesther had to use some fabricated lies and a good amount of convincing to make Ahzure leave. Despite how much she adored and loved him, Aesther can not bear to burden him with the weight of her punishments.
He was too kind, it was only natural for him to want to help her.
But just when Ahzure agreed to leave, Noah became reluctant.
The little sword fight of last night was still fresh in his mind and he tried to whine but finally accepted her wishes when Aesther convinced him Ahzure is not a violent person.
She had a light-hearted smile playing over her lips as she watched them leave.
Her gaze subconsciously lingered over Noah, but before she could think more about him, an expected arrival made her heart skip a beat.
Ezrahl.
Aesther immediately looked away, busing herself with the nearest bushes of wild roses. But she still wondered why he stopped, what could he be talking about with Ahzure? She wondered how well concealed his hatred of him would be.
She stole a glance and soon found Ezrahl's gaze shifting on her. He looked away too soon, and she too returned to the roses.
Aesther silently prayed he prayed that Ezrahl doesn't stop to question her about Ahzure and Noah. They weren't supposed to be here, definitely not to help her.
But above all, Aesther wasn't supposed to be in the gardens bare-handed either. She had no tools, and the books she borrowed weren't too far either.
If Ezrahl finds out… she would be really annoyed—
Aesther froze.
"Oh, heavens!" she whispered a curse, "Noah!"
But by this time, she could only hope he did not pay much attention to the blonde boy.
.
.
The darkness fell, leaving Aesther to feel nothing but exhaustion.
She had been clipping the bushes for too long, and even now her work in the gardens was from done. Her mind felt burdened and exhausted as she thought about all the things she still had to do.
In moments where her fingers will go numb and her body too sore from standing up, Aesther would try to work upon her magical core. She would first focus on her breathing, making it steady, and then try to feel that feeble flow of mana within her.
Then she tried to weave that together with the soundless invisible humming of raw magical essence in the air.
All those who descended from the Primordial Wolf were born with two kinds of blessings.
One of them was to summon the wolven spirit.
The other to summon the shadows of nature. In simplest words, this allowed the practicers to heal oneself and others.
Since Aesther could never awaken and summon her wolf, she now knew that she can only focus on the Shadow of Nature.
As defensive as this ability sounded, time had taught Aesther its fatal uses as well.
Now as she summoned her mana once again, it first came and healed the scratches upon her hand and then a soft golden light seeped through her fingers and spread within the bloom of rose she held.
It stretched out in such a way that the rose appeared to be made of embers that still carried sparks of fire.
In a city where every form of magical flora blossomed, these remnants of the mortal realm were considered too common and ordinary. There were many flowers that carried better scents, many that were much more enchanting.
But even when the whole world lost favour from Ezrahl's grace, it was these flowers of the rose he still kept nearby.
Aesther often wondered what made these weird flowers so dear to him. It was a mystery and something she thought about more than necessary.
"Why…" she whispered, brushing her thumb over the velvety petals.
"I love rose." Ezrahl replied.
The sudden sound of his voice made her heart nearly jump out. But his words almost made her face red.
Aesther despised her for reacting that way, he meant the flower obviously but she was too indulged in her thoughts to think clearly at that unexpected intrusion.
She glanced back to find Ezrahl standing a little far with a lamp in his hands. The golden light dimly illuminated his flawless features, but it couldn't hide the tiredness of his gaze.
He only muttered two words devoid of emotion.
"Get inside."
And then he turned to leave.
Aesther looked at the rose in her fingers for a heavy moment before she plucks it out and then follows Ezrahl. Her mind went back to the past once again, as the soft brush of rose kissed her skin and the light intoxicating scent wafted.
The first time Aesther met with Ezrahl, they were very both very young.
Perhaps it was when she was just eight years old. She chose him to be her personal knight in the future and thus their lives were tied together.
However, as long as Aesther was within the castle, she won't really need a knight and there was still a lot of time until her official inauguration as the Luna of wolven clans.
Hence, the interactions between her and Ezrahl were not much in her life.
Not when they were still young at least.
But sometimes, fate did bring them together.
It was on one such night, when the moon was waning in the skies, casting silver shadows over this abandoned garden.
She was sobbing, unable to bear the restrictions anymore and the Alpha… she wanted to be grateful to him but the scars he gave wounded her mind more than her body. They etched deep onto her soul.
There was no family she could rely upon, and no friend who could save her from the burden of her life.
And so she ran from her room, deciding to leave the castle once and for all. She chose the Misty Woods for that since no one normally goes there. But her heart was too weak, too scared of the world outside.
She knew so little and what if the horrors outside were much worse than what she had faced?
But Aesther lost her path and she ended up near the Mistfall Manor.
Her eyes were red with tears and as she sniffled, there was someone who heard those hard-to-contain emotions.
Ezrahl.