_________________________________________________________________________________________________Lilac's POV _____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Are you ready to leave?" Octavius asked.
"Yes!" Mason and I replied in sync. It was currently 7:30 AM, and the weather seemed to be nice outside. We were wearing our school uniform. We decided to change after reaching the place as it was cold on campus, and it was convenient to wear while traveling. I guess we just got too used to wearing it.
Just as we were about to head out with our bags, the escort in black clothes stood outside our door.
"Wow, I didn't expect you here, this early in the morning." Orion was the first to speak.
"My master would like to relay a message to you. He asked you all to keep an eye out on the shores of Aldrich city along with the other team." He responded curtly.
"Umm... anything else?" I asked.
"He wishes Miss a happy and safe journey." He vanished immediately.
Well, that was strange. With the looks on the guys' faces, I would say it was normal around here.
Hmm... very interesting.
"Rose must be waiting for us. Let's go!" I hurried outside the door towards the library as the others trailed behind me. Max barked, joining beside me.
Wait a second, isn't Max a puppy? "Can Max use the teleportation device with us?"
"Of course." Octavius replied, holding Max in his arms, while Darius took over his luggage. It was a sight to behold. A huge man with broad shoulders and chest hugging a giant fluffy husky. Max barked in happiness, licking Octavius' face, eliciting a laugh from him.
I giggled at their interaction.
We quickly teleported in an alley near the train station. I looked on both sides but saw no one. It was a quite alley. No one spoke anything as I followed Orion, who walked in front of us, leading the way.
This magic thing was pretty convenient if you asked me about it. One didn't have to spend any money; it was easy to use, and it enabled faster travel. Everything that humans back in my world would have poured in tons of money for. I was never raised in a too rich place but not a shabby one either.
Max barked as we spotted Rose with her mates standing next to the entrance of the train station on the platform. They were school uniforms as well. However, Rose's hair was tied up in a pony tail, letting her hair flow down to her waist.
"Max, behave!" Mason scolded and turned to face Yukio with a glare. Yukio rolled his eyes, ignoring Mason.
I giggled and waved at her. "Lila, over here. Come quick!" She screamed, waving furiously at me.
We quickly caught up to them. Almost immediately, I was engulfed in a hug. "I missed you."
"We were only separated for a day."
"A day is long." She whined, making us both laugh.
"Well, I'm here now. Aren't I?" I smiled, patting her pink hair down. She really had the prettiest hair I had seen. Her pink eyes shone brightly, indicating her excitement for this trip. The headmaster did send us out on a mission, but at the same time, it was going to be a relaxing trip as well.
"Ah, my luggage!" I panicked, looking around for it.
"It's with me. No worries!" Orion joined us. I saw him holding my bag, making me sigh in relief.
"Thank you. Let me handle it!" I went to go reach for it, but Orion took my hand in his and planted a kiss on it, making my heart skip a beat.
"Don't worry. Just go enjoy with Rosie." He winked.
He sure has a way of teasing me. But he's being extra sweet today.
I realized that I was almost drooling at his beautiful face. I sucked in my drool immediately.
Great job, Lila! Drool all over the place.
I nodded at him and looked elsewhere but at him. Dangerous! They were all dangerous!
Ah, so embarrassing. I covered my cheeks with my hands.
"Let's go!" Rose held my hand.
We happily skipped towards the train and boarded it.
It was a normal train like any other human would use, except it was more luxurious. There was a small passageway like a corridor that had suite rooms to one side. Red carpets adorned the passageway. We skipped happily towards suite numbers 104 and 105. However, it took us quite a while to reach our destination. This sure was a long train.
"104 is ours, and 105 is yours. Here is your ticket." She handed me a small ticket that said room number 105 and a tiny key attached to it. She then pushed me towards my room until I was standing in front of it.
I looked at her puzzled. "Wait, but I thought we were..."
"Let's meet after you have settled down everything." She waved and left.
I sighed, shaking my head.
She was honestly the best friend I could ever ask for. Oh, I forgot to ask her about the payment. Looks like I'll have to ask her about it afterward. I turned the key in the lock, and the door opened with a click.
Walking into the room, I was met with a red fluffy carpet, on which two huge beds were placed on opposite corners of the room. In the middle of the room lay two big sofas facing each other with a small table in between them. There were two windows covered with yellow curtains in the room while the walls were coated with white paint. Chandeliers dropped from the ceiling, giving it a very royal and vintage style to the room.
I gasped. The air conditioning was switched on as well. So, there are air conditioning here. It's just that the temperature is regulated on campus, but not the weather. This was such an unfamiliar yet familiar world to me.
"Why are you standing here?" Darius asked, sneaking up behind me.
I squeaked. "Stop scaring me. I was just looking for the washroom." I can not get used to these men scaring my soul out of my body every time.
"You are so defenseless." He smirked, leaning close to my face.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, looking into his red eyes, puzzled by his words. His face was so close to me that I could see how perfectly sculpted his face was. Every crevice and line on his face seemed to be such a wonderful flaw. I don't remember seeing his face up this close before.
It maybe because we never stood this close to each other under bright lights. I pursed my lips as he leaned in without backing away. As if on response, my back bent backwards, trying to lean away from him.
His eyes shifted to my lips as he grabbed my waist and pulled my body against his. Gasping, I held on to his chest for support. His other hand tilted my face to make me look up at him.
"Darius?"
His red eyes glowed slightly as he leaned down. I closed my eyes, not knowing what to do, frozen at that spot.
He laughed, making me open my eyes at him. "See, I told you. You are so defenseless against everyone."
I hit his chest away. "Let me go. I know how to protect myself."
He smirked a little. As fast as it came, it went away. His expression turned back to the poker face I had grown used to.
"I really can!" I huffed, stomping my foot on the ground in anger.
"Sure, you can!" He responded, patting my head with a head with an expressionless face. I couldn't figure out what he was thinking about.
Am I supposed to stay here and take such humiliation?
He turned towards the bags behind him and walked in with them like nothing ever happened in between us.
"The washroom is there." He pointed next to the bed on the left.
I narrowed my eyes at it. "It looks like a normal wardrobe. Are you confident?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Suit yourself!" He plopped himself on the sofa and took out a phone from his pocket. Wait, a phone?
I planted myself right next to him. Sitting up straight, I looked at him earnestly.
From the corner of his eye, he glanced at me. "Do you want to see the phone?"
I nodded my head like a little puppy, excited to see it.
He closed his eyes and smiled. "Kiss me then!"
"W-What?" I asked, leaning away from him.
"On the lips!" He looked straight at me, pointing his forefinger at his lips. That same expressionless face with all seriousness covered his face.
I huffed, looking away from him. They just love teasing me a lot. Orion earlier and now Darius. I was so frustrated.
"Oh well. Looks like little Lila doesn't want to see the phone. Then it's all mine." He laughed slightly.
I turned so fast towards him that I thought my neck was going to break itself.
I pouted, looking up at him with glossy eyes. "Please... can I see it?" I asked, extending both my arms towards the phone.
His eyes widened slightly as he was visibly shocked at my reaction. "Fine, you win. Here!" He placed the phone in my hand as I performed a little dance in my head.
Max and the others entered the room and settled our luggage in.
I quickly swiped the phone up to see if no password was on it. "No security?" I asked, not looking at Darius.
"Well, I just received it!" He answered with no emotion whatsoever. Why is he always like that? Anyway, I found a new play thing.
I nodded, swiping to see the notifications. No WiFi or mobile data either. What was I expecting?
I looked at the photos. Blank!
I looked at the messages. Blank!
I looked for any games. None!
Each app was just making me feel like I was in a different world altogether.
I looked at the contacts. Only two. One was named as the headmaster, and the other was Blake.
I sighed in defeat, shaking my head side to side.
There was no hope for these people.
"Do we get to keep the phones?"
"Yup. It's yours if you want."
I looked at the phone happily as the train started to move.
"Let's go sit in the lounge?" Octavius suggested, and Max barked in agreement.
So, here we were sitting in the lounge area. There were two black coloured seats facing each other with a small, brown coloured square table separating it. Rose and I were sitting next to each other, looking outside the window. Max laid on the seat opposite ours.
We passed by many small lakes and lush green forests, just basking in the sunlight and warmth. We had a cup of hot cocoa in front of us on the table as we watched the view outside the window next to us. The sunlight entering through the window made
"We are only an hour in, and I'm so bored yet relaxed at the same time." Rose sighed, leaning her head on my shoulder.
I giggled at her.
"Oh, did you know we also have a puppy?" Rose excitedly sat up straight as she told me.
"Like Max?" Max's ears perked up as he heard his name. He opened one eye look at us but continued acting like he was asleep. So cute!
"Yes. His name is Ruth! He is a golden Labrador with the most beautiful green eyes you will ever see." She spoke, clasping both her hands together. "He is a few weeks younger than Max, but he will be joining us at Aldrich City because that's where he was sent for training. It's also a mission of getting him."
I giggled at her response.
"But why did you guys choose Aldrich City?" I was curious about the city itself in general.
"Ah, about that." She snaped her head towards me too quickly, frightening me. "Well, the headmaster commissioned Blake and Jace to go see for abnormal activities, and we had to pick up Ruth either way, so we thought..."
I nodded in understanding.
She shyly looked down at the table. "Umm... so Jace and Blake didn't want to go alone, and Yukio kind of wanted to go too. They said they wouldn't leave me behind, so I had to go with them."
I sighed. "Let me guess. Since the others would be out for work, you thought maybe we could spend some time together."
"Exactly!" She spoke nervously. Her pink eyes looked at me anxiously. "Are you angry?"
I laughed at her. "Of course, not Rose. In fact, I'm glad you thought of spending your trip with me."
She hugged me. "You are the best, Lila! Thank you for being here with me."
I hugged her back. "No, you are the best, Rose. Thank you for inviting me."
We were about to tear up when Max barked, pulling us out of our hug.
We looked at him and laughed, patting his fur as he wagged his tail in excitement. He wanted some attention, too. He was getting jealous.
"Max is the most adorable puppy out there." She cooed at him as he wagged his tail around and lay on the table looking in excitement at her.
"Lila!" Mason placed a hand on my shoulder as I turned around to look at him. "Don't leave my side once we get there."
I nodded in understanding at him.
He mind linked me gazing into my eyes. His golden eyes spoke with all seriousness. "I mean it. Do not leave my side, or else I will tie you up to the bed and never let go of you again." He smirked at the end, showing a tiny dimple.
This man was so cute and made me fear him at the same time. I gulped and furiously nodded in agreement.
"Good!" He replied softly, happy with my answer.
A furious looking Yukio caught up to Mason. "Ha, want to play a round of chess, loser?"
Mason continued paying attention to me, with not even a glance at Yukio, but I could see his eyebrow twitch a little in annoyance.
"Are you scared you will lose? Are you an idiot?" Yukio provoked further.
"Alright, bring it on. I'll beat you up. That would shut you up, wouldn't it?" He turned smiling with anger towards Yukio.
Yukio pretended to clear his throat and pointed at a chess board. "Take a seat!".
They sat right behind us on opposite chairs as a chess board appeared out of nowhere. I was so used to seeing all these things that it wouldn't bother me anymore.
In reality, the chessboard didn't appear out of nowhere, Mason used his wind magic to summon the chess board from a small table kept in the corner of this cabin. This part of the lounge was occupied only by us, given our luxury suites, so I wouldn't be surprised by them behaving without caution, in fear of people catching them for their magic tricks.
Rose and I sighed, looking at them. Kids these days!
"Hey, at least they are fighting over chess and not wreaking things around." I whispered into Lila's ear.
"True!" She giggled along with me.
"Lila, may I ask what your previous world was like?" She asked out of nowhere, making me sweat.
My fists became sweaty as I clenched on to my skirt. I didn't want to tell anyone about it. But Rose wouldn't fear me or run away, would she? She's been nothing but a good friend to me so far. But I myself wasn't prepared to tell anyone.
Rose placed a hand on mine. "If it's something you don't want to talk about, then that's alright. We can choose never to talk about it."
My gaze shifted towards her.
She then added, "But just know that if you ever have any troubles, you can come talk to me, anytime. Even if it its about your mates."
I smiled at her. She was truly such a nice friend. "Yes, I understand. Thank you."
Orion mind linked me. "Baby, if you are going to talk for so long with your best friend, we are going to get jealous."
Darius sighed into the mind link. My eyes immediately scanned the place, searching for them. They were seated behind us after Mason and Yukio, along with Jace and Blake.
"Look at Octavius. The poor wolf is jealous." Orion teased as my eyes searched for Octavius, who was seated in front of us with a book in his hand.
I giggled at him. His eyes turned around to land on mine.
"Tired?" I asked him.
"Yes, a little. I'm going to go take a nap." Octavius got up to go, without any expression.
Maybe I should join him. These days have been so stressful that all I want to do at any given moment is to sleep. I quickly said a goodbye to Rose, who was also yawning and headed towards her suite for a nap.
As I neared the door of our suite, I got a bad feeling. The urge to run away from here made it worse. I gulped, trying to push the fearful feeling down my throat. Without thinking much, I opened the door to our suite as I was met with a dark black magic layer covering the entire room.
"Oops, I got caught!" A shrill voice resonated through the room.
I looked towards the ceiling to see Octavius' hands and legs bound by spider webs to a dark coloured ceiling. He seemed to be passed out.
"Octavius!" I rushed inside the room without thinking. The door slammed behind me, making me flinch.
I felt the room darken to the point where I could see nothing. The windows disappeared as if they never existed. It was pitch black, making my heart race faster.
Wait a second. I recognized this place from the books I read. We were in a domain. The creature had created its own domain.
But how? It was sunny outside. I took a step further but tripped on something landing on the ground.
Ouch! That hurt.
I quickly looked up to see dark purple eyes shining back at me. They were so deep that I got mesmerized by them. It felt like I couldn't look away because there was a power restricting me from using my limbs.
I tried to mind link the others, but it seemed like there was a barrier surrounding this room that didn't allow any connections from outside.
It seems like there is no choice. Mason told me not to use my powers unless and until it was required because it is dangerous for me and those around me. But I must use my powers in this situation.
Remember what Mason taught you, Lila. Take a deep breath in and release it. Feel the particles vibrate around you and your target and imagine the way the target is to be hunted.
I felt a surge of energy emit from my core as I made slices at the creature's eyes.
"It's you!" It screamed in a shrill voice as it closed its eyes backing away from me. "My master warned me about you!"
The trance that I was in seemed to loosen a little as I closed my eyes and tried to break away from the spider webs that were holding my legs and hands in place. But when did the creature have time to tie me up. Any second later, and I would have been like Octavius.
I jerked my hand, trying to get rid of completely and stand up, but some of it still remained.
I opened my eyes to see a giant spider hanging upside down from the ceiling with a human face on it. It had a very ghastly appearance. A white face with long black hair that moved on its own free will. I think that hair is the one that entraps its prey.
"Now, die!" It screamed.
I saw it spew out some acid thing, and its hair extended to grab me again. But I deflected it by slicing it off with the particles in the air.
Mason had taught me that energy manipulation was based on the friction of particles around us. So, it could be anything like air particles could be manipulated in doing the work for me or even a thing. But I had only learned air manipulation and not so proficiently either.
It groaned in pain again.
"Who is your master?" I confronted it.
"Like I will tell a human pest like you." It lunged towards me with its pointy legs pointed at my neck.
I looked around for an escape, but I saw none. The entire place seemed to be dark. Only the glow emitting from its eyes made it possible for me to make out its figure.
I guess we were screwed.