3 Chapter 3 -The young lord

-Raining.

It was raining when I first saw him.

Cold droplets of fine crystal dew were falling from the sky. And he was there standing like a tree.His raven hair bathed and exposed to the droplets made him look extra hot despite the cold weather. That wet look his perfect face showed he was standing there for hours. And his lashes that curled smoothly like a feather was wet with salty water.

I couldn't forget this moment, when his eyes bear the scenery, but I couldn't resist looking at those amethyst gleams that reflected the dark sky. It had been raining for hours ever since the wrinkled lady passed and it had been hours since he was left vulnerable at her tomb.

Kal Icarus Marcias.

-The only heir to the Marcias Dukedom who wasn't given the right.

'If I had known from the start, then I would have kept everything in my power to save him'

That was Ophelia's vow ever since she came back to rewrite their future.

Oh, how foolish she must have been to think about her happiness that she ended up with nothing.

'This time...for sure.' She thought.

(Ta, tak, tak) The sound of raindrops echoed

Icarus- 'Why is he here?'

Though she only met him a few times in her childhood and had a vague memory of his appearance. She wouldn't mistake him for anyone, it was as clear as crystal as if she had remembered meeting him for the first time.

Icarus is standing in front of granny's tomb but that wasn't really a problem. What she couldn't grasped was that why was she- a ten year old Ophelia hiding in the bushes as if she was spying on him.

'I don't remember this happening'

(Step, rustle). (Ahh!)

I yelled from the top of my lungs as I fell down in a huge puddle. My foot slipped from a rock and my body was in a state of shock to take in the position I was in.

But somehow Ophelia left it all to fate. It must have been fate for her to drop by and pass through these bushes only to fell into a big puddle of mud.

She was all muddy and wet all over. But what bothered her most was that Icarus, -the young lord would have noticed her by now. True enough with her expectations, in a blink of an eye his footsteps were in a distance coming closer to where she was covered in dirt.

'Gosh, how am I supposed to see him at this state?'

It was a crisis for Ophelia. She didn't want to meet him in such a state, who would? As much as possible, she wanted to be favoured by him, to get on his good side and be accepted as his adopted sister so she can proceed with her plan peacefully.

(Step, step, halt)

"...Ophelia? What are you doing here?"

His words cut through the cold air. His voice sounded so warm and worried but as Ophelia looked up to meet his amethyst eyes, they were lacking those emotions.

'...he called my name...'

Ophelia, in a state of shock and joy and embarrassment -couldn't believe her ears. He called her name so sweetly yet his face said nonchalantly.

On the other hand, Icarus was baffled by his adopted sister's reaction. In the first place, she should have been in her carriage. But here she was, soaked and for a moment had a lost expression when she saw him.

'Is she sick perhaps?'

He stretched out his hand to her as if it were the most casual thing to do. It was for Icarus, he was after all her older brother and they have always been closed to each other. It was always the three of them who shared the warmth of a family until this very day that their granny had lost her life.

"What's wrong, Ophelia? Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Icarus was seriously worried but his face was stiff and showed no emotions despite his sweet words to his sister. He couldn't show his vulnerable face outside, in fear of what it may display to others who might be seeing their situation right now. And Ophelia always knew this, but he hadn't quiet the slightest idea of who her sister was now. She was after all the Ophelia of 9 years from the future.

~'What a cold expression, he must despise me.'

Ophelia's mind was in a state of disorder, she couldn't remember how she ended up here and whether to believe the young lord's words and action despite his expression.

"Y-yeah...my lord, thank you for your concern"

Ophelia managed to compose herself and have not taken the young lord's hand and instead stood away from him in a few steps. She felt cold and utterly speechless.

Icarus felt really weird at her sudden change of behaviour. What was it, ah; she called him 'my lord'. She totally went back to her cold demeanour when she first came in to the Marcias.

'Why is she acting this way?' Icarus wonders in confusion.

(~ahem)

Icarus cleared his throat as if to lighten the atmosphere between them. He felt sick at a loss of a significant family member, but of course he wasn't the only one who felt that. Ophelia must have been in a state of shock too, but he didn't want her pushing him away like that, he wanted to comfort her and at the same receive the same warmth that he'd give her. So why was she suddenly acting this way?

'Never mind, we can talk later'

He thought and offered the lady his jacket without hesitation and placed it on her delicate shoulders and escorted her back to her carriage.

'...give her time, Icarus.' he assures himself and went to his carriage.

-

Ophelia was now sitting inside her carriage, soaking wet and embraced by Icarus' enticing scent from his coat. She never expected this from the young lord. Were they this close before? How could he call out her name like that?

She wasn't sure about how things went down lately. She had her memory blocked from her that no matter how she tried; there was no way she could have been close to Icarus. It was very peculiar how she remembered his face today and he was also very approachable today.

'No, I shouldn't bend like this....'

She thought to herself. Any form of softness or openness could give away her plans of a careful future. She hated this; she hated it when she felt weak and not being able to do anything.

Here she thought she would meet granny mar again, alive and well. And she thought she could have at least found a way to cure her before she died of a heart attack. Things would have been easier if granny mar could have told her instead of her going through utter shit again.

'But this is all part of the risk...I must endure this ... and protect Icarus....'

She thought silently and went to sleep as tears slipped through her young eyes.

Ophelia dreamed of her past this time...

Back then when she was young and carefree about the world, she cried and bawled her eyes out when she lost granny mar. It lasted for a month for her to get outside her room; she locked herself up wishing this were all a dream and that granny mar would come inside any time soon and singing her some sweet lullaby.

She wished for that. But because of her foolish deeds, she chose to run away and closed all doors, all weakness of being attached. She was scared of the fondness that drew her closer to love someone, she didn't want to lose it but when she did, she decided to cut all ties so she could never feel the same pain again. -A coward.

So it must have been her fault after all, her fault for not getting involved with the Marcias. -For staying silent when she needed to intervene. She was scared.

But not today....

Opening her eyes and wiping her tears away. She tried to dismiss such depressing thoughts that haunted her. Just this time, she should kill herself. Sometimes, dying is the only way to live and carry on.

-And that was how, a 10 year old Ophelia -an unloved orphan, overcame her depression from losing granny.