It was after the nurses had taken the girl into a hospital room that Steve finally remembered who the girl was.
"….Nineteen year old Phoebe Cavendish has reportedly gone missing…."
'Yes….she was the young girl who was kidnapped after Nora'
"How is she?"
Steve asked as Grandpa Matt joined him on the bench outside the hospital building.
"She's comatose"
he replied
"Comatose?!!"
Steve interjected
"Yes…her body must have been overwhelmed by the magic"
"Does the doctor know?"
"No, I don't think so, he came up with a diagnosis of 'poisoning' "
Steve took a deep breath and shook his head then asked
"But what do these fiends need with these ladies?"
Grandpa Matt shrugged and said,
"Honestly, I don't know but we have to be glad that they haven't made any public attack"
"Let's go train, we don't have time to waste"
Steve said solemnly and stood up to leave, Grandpa Matt followed almost immediately.
A man in a black cloak who was observing them from the windows of one of the surrounding buildings closed the window as they left,
'Just wait you pathetic Heracles, I won't let you spoil my Master's plan….I promise you, you will all die by my hand'
As they walked out of the gate, Steve asked
"Grandpa, were you able to solve my Mana deficiency problem?"
"Not yet…. I'm working on it okay, don't worry too much"
he replied with a sad smile and patted his back while thinking,
'I'm sorry boy, it's a dead end'
THREE MONTHS LATER, FEW DAYS TO THE BEGINNING OF THE COUNCIL'S CONTEST
'How?….how is this happening?, Everything is falling apart, forty nine girls have been kidnapped in the past five months and the police haven't even been able to identify or catch the perpetrator. After investigating my main suspects, they all proved their innocence and now I'm back to square one…
Phoebe is still comatose and hasn't been able to give us any information about her abduction….
Though my grandson, Steven has transcended enhanced swordsmanship and is currently a supernatural swordsman, he hasn't awakened his Mana yet and that has automatically disqualified him for been able to compete in the contest, he is really depressed about it and he hasn't trained at all this week, it seems that he has given up already…
The council too haven't found any leads on the fiends, they seem to be playing a very careful game here…
Oh…God, we need a miracle right now'
Grandpa Matt was lost in his thoughts as he stared absent mindedly at the TV in the living room of the flat where they stayed.
The cost of maintaining the flat was becoming a huge constraint on them, especially for Alex who was the main breadwinner, Alex had brought up the issue of returning back to their apartment at Lion's boulevard but Grandpa Matt kicked against it on the grounds that it wasn't safe and that led to a full blown heated argument between them.
'This should all end soon'
He thought as he rubbed his forehead.
The door suddenly creaked and opened slowly as Steve walked in slowly, just one look at him and Grandpa Matt could tell that he was going through a lot, his shoulders were slouched and his head was bent.
"What have you been up to?"
Grandpa Matt asked
"I went to the hospital to ask about Phoebe"
"How is she?"
"Same…"
Steve replied nonchalantly and went into his room.
'Haah….I'm so tired…. at this rate, I won't be able to make it to the contest…my dreams are about to be crushed before my eyes just because of my deficiency…'
Steve thought as he lay on the bed shirtless while staring at the ceiling.
"I give up"
he finally said and turned to sleep when his phone vibrated loudly
Bzzzz! Bzzzz!
He looked at the phone screen and it read 'Fiona'
"oh…her"
When Grandpa Matt had lost all his leads on the case, Fiona slowly moved on and forgot about Nora, since then, she never called or came to the motel.
He picked the call and said,
"Hello"
"Hi there, Steve, how are you doing?" Her voice was soft and sweet sounding to his ear.
"I'm…uh..fine, and you?"
He replied, still skeptical about her intentions for calling
"I'm great!…"
She interjected loudly, Steve could guess that she was smiling from the sound of her voice.
"So….Steve are you free this evening?" She asked
"Um….yeah, any problem?"
"Can we meet at the park by four o'clock this evening?"
She asked
"Um…okay..no problem, I'll be there"
he replied
"Okay, thanks"
Steve dropped the phone as he heard the beep that meant that the call had ended.
'hmm…'
***
Steve stalked around the park while waiting for Fiona to arrive, he didn't assume their meeting here to be a date so he dressed simple, he wore a white T shirt with a blue jean jacket on top and blue jean trousers.
Even in the evening, the park was still busy, children ran around while their parents stretched themselves on the grass, young couples were huddled together on the benches, Steve could even see a painter trying to paint the scenery on his canvas, everything just seemed so peaceful. Steve smiled to himself as he revelled in the peace and joy that the place exuded.
Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder and he turned to see Fiona standing there
"Hi"
she said sweetly while smiling broadly,
He instantly felt weak to his knees as his eyes took in her appearance, she wore a green crop top that showed her smooth belly with a green flair mini skirt that left her thighs exposed and she wore little make up that amplified her natural beauty, she looked like a seductive angel.
"It's been awhile"
she continued,
"can we go sit somewhere?"
"Um…yeah"
he replied and they sat on one of the benches
"You…uh..look amazing"
he said as he was able to find his voice
"Oh…thanks, you don't look too bad yourself"
she said and blushed,
"actually, I'm coming from the agency right now, that's why it seems a little too much for an outing in the park"
"No problem"
he said and focused his gaze on an advertising billboard that was close by.
"So… actually, I called you here so we could hang out, you know, get to know each other a little, I'm sorry for ghosting on you guys these few months but I've been really busy at the agency and I haven't had much time to call or come around but now, I'm free and I want to hang out with you Steve"
she explained
"Oh…thanks…I guess"
he said without taking his gaze away from the billboard
"Hey….why are you sounding so….weird?, I said I'm sorry"
She said stubbornly
"That's not it, I understand but I don't mean to spoil your mood but I couldn't help but notice that you haven't told me why you hated me while we grew up"
he said and finally looked up at her
There was a silence between them and Steven begun to feel that he had brought up an uncomfortable topic, he was about to change the topic when Fiona suddenly burst into laughter.
"even her laughter is like music, expect nothing less from Graylon city's finest actress"
"You're always so uptight Steve"
she finally said when she recovered from her bouts,
"I know I should've addressed that matter a long time ago but it's just so embarrassing for me….when we were kids, I had this superiority complex that made me feel like I was superior to kids like you. You were just so plain and classless that I hated seeing you talk more of been associated with you but, that all changed when we graduated from high school, I came to realize that you had a real heart of gold and you were so kind and compassionate. Even then, I couldn't still bring myself to talk to you because I felt embarrassed because of my actions in the past. Well, now that I've confessed everything, I'm sorry Steve, for everything"
Steve was dumbfounded as he heard Fiona's explanation,
"It's fine though, I've forgiven you already"
he said to her with a smile.
"Thanks, so we cool now?"
She asked
"Yeah, we cool"
She sighed happily and leaned her head on his shoulder as the golden rays of the setting sun shone upon them.
'real heart of gold huh?….I doubt that Fiona'