Charlotte walked past me, seeming to be content in the finale of our grand adventure and marveling at the conclusion of it all. Truthfully, I understood the feeling.
It was perfect after all.
We both got everything off our chests and spoke freely for the first time in what seemed like our entire time of knowing each other.
She walked with a faintly unsteady gait as if her body still carried echoes of the battle we'd left behind. Yet, there was a lingering sweetness about her—a taste, perhaps, that she couldn't quite shake. I imagined it like the syrupy tang of candy, sticking stubbornly to her tongue.
I saw it all, understood it, and even admired it. And yet, I decided to destroy it anyway.
"Hold it.", I said abruptly. My voice rang through the quiet air as a lone disruptor. "Don't you think giving up on an agreement halfway is wrong?"
Stunned, Charlotte spun around and looked at me with wide eyes. "What do you—"
"There's another place I want to go," I said, holding her gaze. "And I won't back down on this."
I did my best to adopt a stern expression, though I was certain it came off more like a determined pout. Fierce wasn't exactly my forte.
Charlotte opened her mouth, likely preparing to argue, but the words never came. Instead, she sighed, the sound heavy with resignation. "If that's how it is, then I don't really have a choice." Her lips quirked into a small, weary smile. "I think I owe you more now than I ever did before."
Charlotte didn't look back at me as she made her way to the door. Her steps were heavy, her movements deliberate as if each one required more effort than she wanted to admit.
I didn't, no, I knew that there was a better conclusion for this.
Still, that mattered very little if we never got the chance to get to that conclusion.
Judging by Charlotte's unsteady steps and the limited time we had to get to where we needed to be, I knew we'd have to take some creative liberties.
Talk is just talk, and I was the king of talking big. But, situations like this one required me to back up my talk, something I wasn't used to.
With each step that we took, my mind was racing. Lucky for me, I was far calmer than I was before. Having let every pent-up emotion out, I was left empty and thus was capable of fast, logical thought.
'Should I use a ride-sharing app? No, we'd have to wait for the driver to come pick us up and that might take too much time.'
'Steal a bike? Not bad, but I'm sure Charlotte would get on my case for something so blatantly horrible.'
'How about I—'
I can't say it was the most glamorous idea but at the same time, we'd certainly make it in time.
"Wait," I said, finally grasping onto a spark of inspiration.
Charlotte stopped mid-step, glancing over her shoulder. "What now?" she asked.
I stepped ahead of her, unable to suppress the mischievous grin spreading across my face.
Pulling out my phone, I dialed a number not from my short list of contacts, but instead one that I had memorized.
Before the person on the other side picked up, I looked back at Charlotte and gave her a goudy wink.
"You should feel overjoyed. I'm about to let you experience the Dark King's preferred mode of transportation. The Dark King Express is now officially en route."
***
I stood up confidently, looking out at the empty park where the children had once played. Sadly, they had all left after Charlotte and I went to her old home.
Where was Charlotte?
Well, she's currently sitting behind me on the park bench with a bland, nonimpressed expression on her face.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, "Veri... Did you just want to go on a park date or something?"
"As if I'd ever be so crude as to ask the likes of you for companionship! I've got an entire harem of beautiful princesses vying for my precious attention! You should calm yourself down lest you join their ranks."
Without even looking back I could feel the powerful glare being shot at me from behind.
'The back of my head is gonna melt off...'
Checking my phone, I noticed that it was taking longer than I'd expected.
I did my best not to show any signs of worry, but it was looking like we really might not make it in time.
Come on! You've never failed me before, don't let this be the first time!
Almost as if on cue, I could hear a familiar stomping sound drawing closer.
The stomping grew louder, the rhythmic pounding echoing through the empty park like a drumbeat of inevitability. Charlotte leaned forward slightly, her unimpressed glare slowly giving way to mild curiosity.
"Is that…" she trailed off, tilting her head.
"Oh, it is. You'd better brace yourself." I said, fighting to keep the grin off my face.
She emerged from the shadows of the tree-lined path ahead: Cacophony, the Vampire Empress. Her appearance was striking—long, flowing crimson hair that shimmered unnaturally in the dimming sunlight, a set of my black sportswear covering her as she ran with what could only be described as humanly impossible speed.
Except, it wasn't.
She moved with precision and control that just barely skirted the edge of plausibility, her legs pumping like a trained athlete's sprint, but I knew it wasn't her maximum speed. She was purposely holding herself back and operating on a level that just barely skirted the line of human.
Cacophony stopped a mere inch away from me, her abrupt halt kicking up a gust of wind that rustled the leaves.
We ended up being so close that our noses touched.
"After all that talk about not skipping school this is where I find you? Out on a date with this girl? Are you telling me that feeling up my curves every night isn't good enough for you?"
I groaned inwardly. Her penchant for causing me a world of embarrassment truly knew no bounds.
Cacophony spoke in a stern and serious voice, but I knew that she was only teasing. Thus to not fall for her bluff, I decided to fight back.
"You can't fool my advanced mind for even a fraction of a second. You're the one who always pressed into me so it's not my fault at all that I get a nice feel of your curves!"
Having said that out loud in such a confident voice... I can just feel the embarrassment swelling up in my heart.
Catching onto my lacking resolve, Cacophony smirked and pushed further.
"You could resist, you know," she said, leaning in even further than before. My pulse quickened, without a doubt this was the closest that I'd ever been to another person's face. And of course, it just had to be the face of the beautiful empress. "But no, you sit there and enjoy it. Maybe you're not a loyal servant after all—just a shameless pervert clinging to me."
Cacophony's smirk deepened, and I felt my bravado crumble under her gaze.
Unable to bear anything further, I knew that I'd once again lost to the raw power of the teasing empress. Wordlessly, my gaze drifted off to the side and even with the absence of words, Cacophony knew what I wanted to say.
"You're absolutely adorable Veri."
Then, she took a few confident steps backward and shifted her attention toward Charlotte.
Charlotte, still seated on the bench, raised an eyebrow. "That's your Dark King Express?"
"She's more reliable than most public transportation," I quipped, calming my heartrate and brushing a stray leaf from my shoulder. "And faster, too."
As Charlotte looked at Cacophony, I couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking.
Her face was tense and filled with skepticism. If I had to guess, she didn't have a very positive outlook on Cacophony due to her nonhuman nature. After all, Cacophony was an existence that defied all normal trains of thought. Her very anatomy was beyond human.
For me, Cacophony's existence brought about a kind of salvation, but it wasn't the same for Charlotte. For Charlotte, it was likely that Cacophony's existence only served as yet another mental burden to be carried on her back.
It worried me, but I understood that Charlotte had her own reasons for her feelings.
In return, Cacophony showed very little hostility toward Charlotte. She looked at her with analytical eyes more than anything. It wasn't like a empress was going to back down from the glare of a mere human so I guess this was the only real outcome.
Cacophony spoke first, "We've met once before already, but I guess we never had a proper introduction."
"I guess you're right... I'm Charlotte Toledo and I'm a junior at Shores High School. I've also been Veri's classmate for a long time. It's nice to meet you.", Charlotte's tone was flat as she spoke. If I wasn't sure before, I was now. She seemed to have a complete distaste for Cacophony.
Acting as though she didn't pick up on any of Charlotte's ill will, Cacophony extended her hand politely.
"As you surely are aware, I am Cacophony the great Vampire Empress who once ruled over this land. In the coming days, I will be sure to regain all of it with the aid of my servants. Seeing as you're a friend of Veri, I'm sure you'll turn out to be someone of interest."
With that, the two women with opposite views of one another shook hands.
"So, Veri don't you think it's time you explained why you called me out here? And also what exactly is an express anyway?"
"I'm so glad you asked."
Clasping my arms behind my back, I began to pace back and forth in front of the two women.
"You must not take words for their truest and most literal meanings. Express is merely a word that gives rise to images of trains, but what I seek is something far greater. A means of grabbing hold of the delicate hand of Lady Destiny. To transcend and deliver us to the grand finale of this escapade!"
Cacophony blinked slowly. Charlotte sighed audibly.
"Veri," Charlotte said, leaning her head against her hand, "Aren't we running low on time right now? Do you have to go through the usual spiel?"
'Well... I can't say that she's wrong... I just... I just feel like it's been a while since I got to go all out with a monologue...'
Reluctantly, I skipped the part about traveling to the end of the world and besting a secret organization and went straight to the good part.
"Cacophony", I spoke loudly and pointed a finger at her, "please take us to the promised land!"
Cacophony's smirk grew, her crimson eyes gleaming with amusement. "You're lucky I find you entertaining, Veri."
Filled with gladness, I let out a sigh that I didn't know I was holding in. A part of me worried that she'd say that working as a glorified chauffeur was beneath her.
Charlotte scowled, "Is something like this really necessary? I mean, if you're worried about me then-"
"I won't let you push yourself any further than this. I've heard your voice and so there isn't anything you need to do but sit back and watch. Don't go thinking I was joking, we're grabbing hold of destiny and we're not letting go!"
Charlotte hesitated, her gaze flickering between Cacophony and me. Finally, she relented, and she got to her feet.
As the empress grabbed ahold of the two of us, she murmured, "I can see it in your faces and hear it in your voices. Your plea has been heard and as your ruler, I've a duty to answer in kind."
We bolted off at a speed that I'd never experienced before in my life. We moved so quickly that I wasn't certain if my eyes could even keep up with the constantly changing scenery.
Following my instructions, Cacophony weaved through back alleys and down streets.
Before long, I gave Cacophony my final instructions.
"Right down this street! This is where we'll find-"
At some point en route, Charlotte seemed to realize what it was that I was looking to have her see. Knowing our destination, her face soured and she looked deeply uncomfortable.
Once again, Cacophony showed off her skill at abrupt, unnatural stops.
We knocked up a whirlwind of dust and a stray blade of grass as we stopped.
When the dust cloud came down, Charlotte's brown eyes saw a sight that made her wish to advert her gaze. The sweet taste of sugary candy on her tongue was now being diluted by a swirl of bittersweet emotions.
Turning around with her typical cuteness, the Maiden Jean gave us all an expression of both joy and confusion.