Chapter 1.

'I am late... I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!!' the young Lionel Shepard thought to himself, running with his train ticket in one hand and his luggage in the other. On top of that, he carried the extra weight of his backpack on his shoulders. And to add to his problem, the scorching, Veursian Summer heat came of no aid to him.

His eyes remained on the train ahead of him - his train, however, the platform was empty. It was about to depart. He only hoped that whoever was in greater power granted him one more minute so he could make it. If the Summer heat wasn't in his favour, he thought that at least one thing had to be.

And in that moment, he saw a man in a uniform emerge from one of the opened doors of the train. The conductor.

Waving up his freer hand hands, he hoped to gain the attention of the uniformed staff, in turn causing the ticket in his hand to wave in the motions of his hand. "Hey, Please!! I'm late!! I know I am!! But please!!".

As if his request was answered, he managed to make it onboard the train, with the conductor helping him pull Lionel's luggage onto the train. 

"Thank you..." he gasped out, managing to get a second's worth of break.

Behind him, the door closed and with the honk of a horn, the train slowly began its way from the station. "Would you like me to help you with the baggage, Sir?" the conductor inquired. 

Lionel looked at himself before looking down at his luggage. "I think I can manage, thank you!". But his words proved otherwise when, just as he was about to move forward, he pushed his luggage, causing it to the ground.

With them both lowering to get it, the conductor managed to get a hold of it first. And so, raising it back up, he held it in place until Lionel had a grip on its handle.

"T-thank you..." Lionel spoke, his gaze lowered in slight embarrassment. "Perhaps, a little helping hand wouldn't hurt...".

"No worries, Sir. Leave it all to me," began the conductor. "Where do you sit?".

With Lionel showing the man in front of him his ticket, the two were on their way. Passing through 2 carriages, they stopped at the entrance of the third one.

"I will have to leave your baggage in the racks here, due to safety precautions. But you may tend to it whenever you need it, of course.". Taking a mere pause, the conductor took in a deep breath. "Do you need any assistance finding your seat?".

"No thank you, I think I'll manage," Lionel responded. "Thank you for your help and utmost politeness.".

"Thank you for your kind words, Sir. However, it is my job.".

Lionel nodded to his words.

"If you need something more, please don't hesitate to reach out to any of the staff onboard," the conductor added, a small smile patched on his lips.

"Will do, thank you again," Lionel replied before going his way. And that was to find his seat.

The cool air from the running air conditioning was a pleasant change as opposed to the windless, warm air on the other side of the metal shell of the train.

Lionel switched his gaze frequently between his ticket and the space ahead of him, so as to not miss his seat but to also not bump into anyone - respectively. A mere sigh marked the end of his quest to find his seat.

So, shrugging the straps of his bag from his shoulders, he took a grasp of it before lifting it to the overhead storage compartments for baggage. Looking down, since the entirety of the seating configuration throughput of the train was 2-2, he noticed someone was in his way of getting to his pre-booked window seat.

The man had a suit on as well as earphones in his ears. He was typing away something on his laptop.

Looking left and right, Lionel tried to find an extra seat he could move to so as to not interrupt the man at work. However, it seemed as though the carriage was filled to its capacity. And he wasn't willing to walk to another carriage since he considered such unnecessary.

So, clearing his throat. "Excuse me...". No response. The man was still typing away.

Lionel attempted to gain his attention once more. "Excuse me, Sir.". He even lowered himself ever so slightly as if hoping his words would gain more of an impact. However, his try was unsuccessful once more.

If anything, other passengers responded to Lionel by turning their heads and looking his way. It wasn't until the older woman who was mid-reading her book gently tapped the table by the man's laptop, and seemed to have grabbed his attention.

Though inaudible, the man grumbled something under his breath before looking up at Lionel. As if he felt Lionel's presence, but tried his best to ignore him.

However, when Lionel's eyes met his, Lionel was struck with a buzz that travelled through his body. He was mesmerised by the intensity of his eyes. "What can I do for you?". His voice further matched the fierce sensation Lionel gathered from the man's gaze.

Without Lionel's notice, his throat dried up, making it harder for him to speak back up, but he made an attempt anyway. In turn, "My seat..." was all he managed to blurt out before pointing to the free space by the window.

With a mere sigh and a slight roll of his eyes, he plucked his earphones from his ears before standing up. "Come on..." he spoke, nudging his head, signalling for Lionel to reach his seat.

A smile of appreciation grew on Lionel's lips. "Thank you very much.". With that, quickly, he plopped himself down onto his seat, relief running through his body.

"I assume the train got held back because of you..." he spoke out just as he sat down and took hold of his earphones to put them back into his ears.

"Was it?..." Lionel inquired. "I- I'm sorry, I didn't know I was being waited on.".

"It should have left on time, left you behind, to teach people like yourself to be early as opposed to late," the man shot back.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly is your problem?..." Lionel's words left his mouth before he could stop them. 

All this time, the man beside him had his eyes on his device, but such a question of Lionel's caused him to turn his head so that his eyes could meet Lionel's.

"You were late. That's what my 'problem' is," he responded, his gaze sharpening ever so slightly. "On top of that, you had to interrupt me and my work so I could stand up and let you sit.".

"In my seat..." Lionel finished his sentence, thinking as though his sentence required a conclusion. But noticing his gaze become that bit more intense, he knew he shouldn't have said anything. "Look, I'm sorry. The traffic in the city centre held me up, had the roads been clearer, I'd have made it on time... Perhaps, maybe I'd have been early.".

"Leave the poor lad alone..." Lionel heard a woman's voice. It was the same woman who had a book in her hands. She had her eyes on the man next to him, she was talking to him. "Besides, a 5-minute delay won't kill anyone, would it now?". Then clearing her throat, her eyes moved to Lionel. "I know how bad traffic can be in the city, so don't you worry about anything.". She then let a small smile grow on her lips. "Besides, looks like the holiday bug hadn't bitten him yet.".

With a mere chuckle coming from the woman, it caused another smile to grow on Lionel's lips. All the while, the man beside him grumbled a few more inaudible things under his breath before letting out a sigh.

Sensing that the commotion reduced to nothing, the woman went back to reading her book. However, not the same was said for the tension between the two.

Lionel felt swirling within the pit of his stomach. He knew that his travel companion now disliked him and there was 2 days' worth of travel until they reached Porto Biondo, Douleur.

He knew that throughout his travel, he had to minimise his communication with the man next to him. It would be impossible not to talk since he was in the way of the train's exit. But he knew, that to avoid exchanges like the one they had a minute ago, he had to avoid being in his way.

Listening to his own advice, Lionel turned his head and looked out the glass barrier that separated him and his fellow travel companions from the harsh warmth, his eyes looking at how they zoomed past all the bushes and trees and the grass that yellowed from the scorching heat.

From his pocket, he pulled out his earphones before inserting the jack into his phone. With that, he turned on some music as he allowed his head to rest against the window.

He thought over everything he booked for his holidays. The hotel he was due to stay at was only a 5-minute walk from the beach. The sand was said to be a white-gold colour, and that the water was so clear, you could see your feet on the seabed. 

Lionel couldn't remember the last time he went on a holiday to the beach, it was usually his Winter expeditions to the vast mountains of Iwa. There, his parents owned a big holiday home in a large town called, Montegrad. At about 35 kilometres from the capital city, it usually took just over 45 minutes to commute. But snow usually made things much worse.

Snow. Something he didn't have to worry about in Veursau. It rarely ever snowed in the Veursian capital. And when it did, it was usually sleet. Snow mixed with rain.

Soon enough, sleep slowly began to creep up on him and before he knew it, everything went dark as his eyelids shut.