5 Claimed (2)

"You shameless scum of a man!" She roared at him and angrily left the table, headed for the door.

He chucked, earning a glare from her but she proceeded to open the door to leave, then finally understood why he had not tried to stop her.

In front of her was a small stretch of land then endless water which she couldn't see the end of. Her heart sank but she didn't completely lose her hope. Surely there had to be a path somewhere around the house?

Alas, she was wrong. After walking two laps around the humongous mansion, all she saw was the vast sea. They were on an island which seemed isolated from the rest of the world, considering there wasn't any other house in her field of view. It seemed that the only way out of here was by ship, but she didn't know where to get one.

…

"Taking walks once in a while is good for your health." Dairon praised sarcastically when he saw Jasmine dejectedly make her way back into the mansion.

"I want to go home." She narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance. She didn't want to belong to anyone. She was not an item!

Dairon scanned her for a few seconds before he waved her over.

"You seem to have a problem with what I said earlier?"

She narrowed her eyes and couldn't speak in her anger.

"Why?" He questioned, taking her silence for a yes. His blue eyes gazed up at her. "Are you married?"

"No." Her answer was weak, as though she was not entirely certain. It seemed like she had somewhat forgotten this part of her life but she had a gut feeling that she was not married.

"I thought so." Dairon gave her a once-over. "Married women don't dress up like you do—at least not those from your state. So I guess you're not engaged either. Do you have a boyfriend?"

She shook her head, wondering why he was suddenly asking such personal questions.

Before she could ask, he tsked. "You don't have a man in your life, yet you came waltzing—no, swimming into my territory. Tell me, why shouldn't I claim you?"

"I do not belong to anyone!" She spat out, resisting the urge to land a slap on his face.

Dairon shifted in his seat. "Well, you don't seem to get my point do you? You didn't belong to anyone until I saved you. You are mine now."

She was so furious that she wanted to explode, but the rascal found it cute.

"Take a seat. Eat your lunch first."

Finally hearing something that lit a spark of hope in her heart, she sat down and quickly ate to her fill. Before she could say a word, the man stood and left the room, and she could only catch up by rushing after him while holding her long dress up so it wouldn't trip her.

When she reached the hallway with many doors, she cursed under her breath as she tried to guess where he could have gone and was relieved when she heard the sound of music at the end of the hallway. Rushing over, she followed the path to a sunroom and finally saw him standing against the window as he looked outside. She thought he was listening to the music until she went closer and realized that the music seemed to be coming from the sea outside.

"Is that the sea?" She asked for confirmation, amazed at the novel phenomenon.

He turned to her and the music stopped, then the waves of the sea calmed instantly. "I like playing music after a good meal. Do you want to listen along?"

She subconsciously nodded even though that was not why she was here.

He led her down a long stretch of staircase that she hadn't seen earlier, which led to a platform on the shores of the sea.

"Come." He called, and she thought he was summoning someone until she saw a large wave of water roll over.

Her heart skipped a beat, making her almost pass out. "Are you crazy?" She yelled at him.

"What did I do this time?" He glanced at her curiously, making her want to beat him up. Didn't he know how badly he had scared her? The last time she saw a huge wave, she drowned and ended up in this strange place and she still didn't know where her friend was.

"Vivian…" Her eyes watered when she thought of the worst possibility. If she was the only one that was rescued by Dairon, then what had happened to her best friend? She turned to look at him with teary eyes. "Do you have any news about Cannon Islands? Anything about a storm or anyone that was rescued?"

"I don't usually hang out near Cannon Islands. However, something did pop up the last time I was there." He started.

"What is it? Tell me." She was on the verge of tears as she almost begged for the news, which made him give her a teasing look.

"A group of six went diving and a storm happened. Which makes me wonder how crazy they are to go diving without checking the weather." He ridiculed, intensifying her urge to slap him.

"What's your main point?" She urged.

"When I left, none of them had been rescued but it was certain that one of them was dead. It was a young woman—Jasmine Cavendish." He continued.

"What?" No way. How could she be dead?

"Judging from your shocked gaze, that's your name, isn't it?" He guessed. When she nodded, he shrugged. "See? News can't always be trusted. You are alive—at least to me."

He left her deep in thought as he gazed at the water and a soft, calming tune could soon be heard. It sounded almost like a piano tune accompanied by the sound of running water, and it took her attention once again. How was he able to do that? Was he a witch? But she thought that witches did not exist.

"Everything happens according to how you believe it. Including the existence of witches and whatnot." He suddenly spoke without pausing the music that only he knew how he made it play.

"How did you know what I'm thinking?" She recoiled, believing that he really must be a witch.

To her question and thoughts, he chuckled. "You are stepping on the water, and water is my forte."

She retracted her feet under her and thought about what he had said. According to the rescue team at Cannon Island, she was dead. Could it be that they thought so because she was the only one they could not trace and believed that she must have died or become lunch for some shark? Did this mean that Vivian wasn't dead?

Somehow she didn't know whether this was good or bad news. The possibility that Vivian was alive was good news, but she didn't want to imagine how sad her parents and sister must be. She should get back to them soon, and she hoped that they were yet to hear the heart-shattering false news.

"No. I should contact them." She decided and looked at the man beside her with a tiny sliver of hope. "Do you have a phone?"

He frowned slightly. "Phone? What's that?"

She resisted the urge to kick his guts. "A telephone?"

He shook his head, and she took a deep breath.

"Any device used for communication?" She rephrased her words, remembering that everything about this place was different from what she knew. Maybe they had a different name for phones.

He looked like he finally understood. Before she could finish sighing in relief, he asked, "You mean a quill? I have one but I'm out of ink. It will take some time before I can get some."

She slapped her forehead. A quill? ink? What era did he think they were in? "How do you communicate over here?"

"Using ink. But if I want to send a message to my mother, I often do so by sending signals." He explained, making her wish she were dead. It was definitely better than having to hear these insane explanations.

Forget a letter written in ink using a feather. Even if she were to send a normal letter, how long would it take before it arrived in Efinchil? Not to mention, she didn't even know where she was.

She continued staring at the sea and wondered how she could get to the other end. If she found someone to help her out, she would make it to Efinchil. As soon as the thought registered itself, she checked herself over and was relieved that she was not touching any water. This man was dangerous.

"Let's get back inside, my sweet Jasmine." He stood with a smile.

"Call me that again and I'll kill you!" She threatened fiercely, earning a chuckle from him.

"Oh? Why don't you give it a try?"