Standing on one of the many roofs of Rellea, I was currently watching the sun return to its throne in the form of the sky.
For the first time in a long time, I had gone through a night that hadn't been all too excruciating. Though it had by no means been a night where I had gotten to rest, it had been a lot better than the nights before.
So for the first time in what felt like an eternity, I could watch the sun rise with at least some serenity in my heart, filling my lungs with the fresh morning air as I took a deep breath.
Looking down from the huge skyscraper I had jumped to, I saw the endless streets of Rellea, gazing upon all the ordinary people who had gotten up early in the morning to work. Even then, they still seemed to respect the audience of the rising sun, as silence was still allowed to roam freely.
Right now, I felt like I could finally turn my sights forward again, to focus on preparing myself for the future instead of barely hanging on to the present. Preparing myself for the day when the one I trusted the most would wake up.
*Tap*
Then, the sound of someone gracefully landing behind me could be heard, and for some reason, I already knew who it was.
"What are you doing up here?"
Turning around, I was even able to face Dona with a smile, the smile that had allowed me to keep going to many times in the past, as well the smile that would now continue to lead me forward.
"Nothing much. Just enjoying the morning air."
Glancing at the beautiful, curvaceous woman, now dressed in a white tunic and a pair of blue jeans, I once again had to remind myself just how grateful I should be that she stayed by my side.
Crossing her arms, she walked up to my side and joined me in taking in the sights.
"I see. I guess your assimilation is progressing quite nicely then."
"Mm."
Standing in silence, just enjoying each other's company for a bit, I felt like I could sense a tiny bit of discomfort in Dona. As if there was something she wanted to tell me, but at the same time she dreaded to vocalize.
And sadly, I already knew what it was.
Because I had heard her, that one night, even if I had pretended not to. I knew that I had become something that shouldn't be allowed to exist in this world, and I knew that she was still struggling to make a decision as to whether or not she could risk keeping me alive.
But there was nothing I could do about it. Not only did I still need her help, but I was too scared to leave her. Too scared to be alone again. Too scared to be abandoned.
I would rather die with someone by my side than to have to navigate this world alone.
"We should go back. There's a lot of things we need to prepare for tonight."
However, yet again, she did not say anything, biting her tongue as she chose not to bring it up.
****
[Astor's Pov]
'Shit!'
Pacing through the living room of my large apartment, I finally understood the purpose behind my father's actions and why he had invited Aarick to the event tonight. At the same time, it wasn't surprising that I hadn't thought about it as a possibility before.
Because if my thoughts were correct, and he did invite him to duel against Levi in the show match tonight, he would be going against the unspoken rules of giving a smaller household the opportunity to rise in the ranks by 'sacrificing' one of their younger members.
Despite the fact that it didn't make much sense for him to do so, I couldn't see any other reason as to why he invited Aarick. The one thing that I could think of was that my father was trying to shake things up, trying to create ripples in the status quo that he might be able to capitalize on.
'That fucking geezer! I swear...!'
"Calm down, Astor. Aren't you worrying too much? Here, have a drink."
Sitting in my couch with a glass of white wine in her hand, Lucy looked very vibrant tonight as she had already done her makeup and put on the long, black dress that she was going to be wearing tonight.
Even though her looks might not be traditionally beautiful, as most of the upper echelon wasn't too fond of piercings, there was no doubt that she had a lot of admirers that not just wanted her for the Loxley name.
Pouring and handing me a glass of wine, I couldn't stop myself from downing it all in attempt to calm my nerves.
"What's the worst thing that could happen, Astor? I mean, even if it's a pretty unfair situation toward Aarick, it's just a show match. In fact, don't you think he has more to gain from this than he has to lose?"
What she said was true. For an orphan like him to get a chance to show himself on the big stage, it should have been the opportunity of a lifetime.
All he had to do was to get up in the ring, fight to the best of his abilities only to inevitably get defeated by Levi and then hope that he showed enough of his abilities so that he might attract sponsors.
Yes, that was how it should be, and if you asked anyone that knew about the event, they would say that it absolutely would go down like this. However, I wasn't so sure.
Because if there was one talent that Aarick had, then it was to go against the flow. His entire existence felt like it defied any and all of the unspoken rules of Teton, not to mention modern society as a whole.
When he was expected to kneel, he would stand up. When he was expected to hide, he walked into the spotlight. And he had already shown once that when he was supposed to lose, he would win.
So who was to say that he wouldn't go against the status quo once again?
****
[Aarick's Pov]
Sitting beside Dona in her very expensive sports car, with her of course driving it, I was desperately trying to make the shirt collar around my neck feel a bit less stifling.
'This is so uncomfortable...'
Once again I had been dressed up in a white suit, incredibly similar to the one that had unfortunately lost its life in a tragic training accident.
"We're here."
Arriving in front of a huge hotel that was the designated venue for the event tonight, I was a bit surprised to feel that I wasn't particularly nervous about the party. Though I wasn't sure if it was because I finally felt like I had gotten more comfortable in my own skin, or if it was because Dona was with me, I didn't really care.
Because no matter what, I could step of the car without hesitation, meeting the horde of paparazzi's head on. After that, it didn't take long for Dona to get to my side after giving the car keys to a valet.
"Shall we?"
"Mm."
Wearing a very tight-fitting purple dress that showed off her extravagant curves and complemented the color of her eyes, there was no doubt who was the focus of everyone's eyes were as we paced the red carpet.
As we arrived to the entrance, the two guards didn't even say a word as Dona brought out her ID, having already made sure that she would be allowed to participate in the event.
"Welcome, and I hope you two have a great night."
"Thank you."
With that, we entered the venue and it didn't take long until we had been guided to the banquet hall, where a grand sight awaited us.
Tall tables were spread around the room, obviously with the intention of putting down ones drink while talking, and a multiple of servers was pacing around the room with trays of assortments of drinks and food.
People wearing fancy dresses and suits were happy socializing throughout the open space, with the exception of the front most part. There, a large dance floor as well as a broad stage was currently being unused, most likely due to the young age of the night.
Suddenly, one of the many people around the room turned his head to me, and it didn't take long until a yellow-haired young man wearing a neat, black suit made his way to me. Following him, a gorgeous woman wearing a black dressed also made her way here, in the form of Lucy.
"Aarick! I need to talk to you!"
"I'll see you later Aarick."
At the same time, our teacher decided it would be for the best to 'let the kids play', therefore excusing herself, leaving me alone with an Astor who almost looked like he was panicking a bit.
And thus, the event had begun.