THE ONE SHE RUINED

"You all have your partners assigned in the envelope in your hands. Your mission is also assigned in the envelope. Half of you'll depart tomorrow and a half will depart the day after tomorrow."

The instructor said, Everyone, stood in line on the training ground, each one with an envelope in hand. Once the instructor was done speaking, everyone opened their envelopes. Some hope to pair up with one of their friends and some hope to have an easy mission.

Megara opened her envelope, also hoping to pair up with one of her friends but what she was paired with was beyond it. "Evandros Linya." She whispered under her breath and stared at the name before her eyes traveled down to read the task.

Their task was to eradicate the demons attacking common people in the Waterafll town. It wasn't an easy task for someone like her who only knew martial arts at the moment and a demon cannot be overthrown with just some martial arts, her companion seems no good either.

The day they will be departing is tomorrow, so they have very last time. They do not know the demons which lurk in the shadows of the Waterfall town and they don't have much time to collect information about them means a plan cannot be made.

Her luck seems to suck but she must stay calm. With a deep breath, she turned towards her friends, all of them having different partners and different days to depart. She put the envelope inside her robe, near her chest, and wrapped her arms behind her back, talking to Agnes, listening to her complain.

Agnes got the same partner she fought with not long ago when she was drunk. Megara already knew where this was going according to their world and its soulmate system.

While she was listening to her, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head to the right side and came face to face with Evan. She has to step back a little because he stood too close, no that wasn't the case, he has grown a lot in just a month. When she first met him, he was a little smaller than her in height but now their heights were the same.

She gawked at him before quickly blinking her eyes and fully turning towards him. "You've gotten taller, little boy," Agnes said and he slightly smiled. "I'm not a little boy." He said and Agnes raised her brows at him, she parted her lips ready to say something but Megara interrupted her speech before it could even begin.

"Leave."

She grabbed Agnes' shoulders and turned her around, pushing her away to go find her partner. Agnes passed her a side glare before walking away. Megara again turned towards Evan.

"Are you ready for tomorrow's mission?" She asked and he nodded. He looked very excited unlike her who was depressed within and dead outside. She can't understand how he can still be so energetic and all smiley when coming against her cold and almost dead personality. She wished to be a little cheerful person and not a boring one.

"But you...you don't look happy." He said, a little reluctant. She was a little taken aback by his sense of observing. "Ahh...yes. We have to depart tomorrow and we know nothing about that town or what kind of demons reside in it...and both of us are not that...str--- I mean I'm not strong enough." She said and took a deep sigh.

"No...don't be like that. So what if we don't have a plan? Plan does not always work out and it's not like that...I know my master is strong." He said, stepping forward with a smile so handsome on his face. He was growing and blooming like a phoenix bird in the sky, his pale skin and dark black hair were majestic. His whole presence was an absolute art, every girl would wish to have him as their soulmate, or at least wish to have an affair with him before they get married. But to her...what was he to her? Did she wish to have him like others or was he just a weak kid in her eyes?

She wasn't aware of the answer herself.

"And why do you think I'm strong?" She asked with her left brow raised, her mood much better.

"Because you're my master." He said with a smile so bright on his face, she almost went blind. She pursed her lips in a thin line, to surpass that faint smile appearing on her face. She thought this lad was shy but she was wrong, he is a master at flirting and fluttering with people. She quickly cleared her throat and parted her lips.

"Can you not call me master? I don't like it."

"Then...what should I call you?" He asked and she shrugged. "Just call me like others." She said and he bit his lower lips as if thinking about something. "Hmm...Some call you Megara and some call you Blossom. Do they call you Blossom because you're from the Scarlet Blossom Clan, bloodline Daybrace?" He asked and she slightly narrowed her eyes at him.

"Who told you this?" She asked and he paused, as if caught red-handed, he stroked the rear of his neck and licked his lips before answering her. "My father and mother were talking about you." He said and she stared at him for a while before nodding. Not dwelling much on the matter she walked out with him talking about the mission.

If she had dwelled much in the matter she might have come across the truth, The truth is that it was Evandros himself who requested the higher ones to pair him with Megara.

*********

"Why are you late?" Megara asked in a stern tone while sitting in her house. She held the reins in her hands, her horse continuously moving back and forth as if desperate to run through the wild forest. "Forgive me, father wanted to see me." He said, sounding and looking very apologetic. She nodded and straightened her face.

"Let's go." She said and with that, both of them rode through the wild forest, toward their destiny.

"We will rest here." After three hours of riding, both of them stopped near a running lake and dismounted their horses, walking them near the river so they can have some water. While Megara was helping her and Evan's horse to drink while holding onto their reins, she turned her head to look at Evan who had already lit the fire under the tree.

"That was pretty fast." She whispered under her whiff. Once the horses were done drinking, she tied their reins around the tree and walked up to Evan while dusting her hands off. Once she reached him, she saw him cooking some rice with two bamboo sticks.

He is already cooking?

"You're too fast." She said while settling down beside him. For some reason, he was extremely silent today. He wasn't like his usual talkative self...he was more like when she first met him.

He put the hot bamboo stick on the bamboo leaf before putting it in front of her, with a wooden spoon on top of it. She thanked him and grabbed the spoon. Before digging in she passed him a glance and paused for a second.

"Are you....okay?" She asked but he did not answer her, let alone glance at her. He was zoned out. She raised her hand and put it on his shoulder, slightly shaking him. He blinked and turned his head to look at her. "Huh? What?" He inquired and she frowned. Putting the spoon back on the leaf she turned her head towards him.

"You look upset. What is it? Did...did your father say something to you?" She asked. She has spent quite a time with Evan and she pretty much knows that this father and son duo are not on good terms and it's all his father's shortcomings. He is a maniac who wants his son to be like him. Whenever he is in a gloomy mood, the reason behind it is his father.

She very much understood what kind of a father he was when she first met him

"He...He doesn't like me making friends. He is very upset that I'm close to you. He says...that you look after me out of sympathy... and to be honest I don't mind." He said, his breathing a little upset, she could see him gulping. Even she wasn't aware if she pitied him.

"There is something I want to ask." He said and she nodded, her mind already running wild as to what he was about to ask.

"Why did you help me learn martial arts? Did you back off in our combat because you pitied me?" He asked, now staring at her. His black orbs stared right into her soul. She stared back at him. Her mind was running wild.

Did she pity him?

Why did she back off?

"I..."

She paused, and all of a sudden, he abruptly got closer to her, she fell back on her butt, and both of her hands rested on the dusty ground, slightly supporting her up. "Do it." He said, staring at him with such emotion, she was taken aback. He wasn't looking like a puppy but a hungry wolf desperate to devour his prey but there was something else in his gaze as well, something she cannot comprehend.

"Pity me more." He said, grabbing her right hand and putting it on his cheek. "Pity me more." He continued and kept blurting out the same thing again and again, she sat there in utter shock. Her heart beat faster as he rubbed her hand against his cheek. His eyes closed as he kept saying the same thing as if reciting a mantra.

She was flabbergasted by the sudden change of actions.

"What's gotten into you?" She asked and he slightly opened his eyes, looking at her with his hooded yet dark gaze, his cheeks were red and his lips slightly curved up into a smile.

"Was I not clear enough?" He asked and she frowned. He paused and stared at her in shock. "You don't know?" He asked and her frown deepened. "Know about what? That you've gone stupid?" She asked and harshly pulled her hand away.

He blinked several times before drawing back. "I thought I was pretty clear." He said and rubbed his cheeks as if confused, making her even more confused.

"Looks like I've to be more clear." He said and her jaw twitched. "Just spit it out." She said and he shrugged. He settled down and grabbed his bamboo stick filled with rice.

"We should eat and depart soon." He said and started to eat, completely ignoring her. She narrowed her eyes at him...what was he talking about? She thought. Whatever it was, it was better if it was confidential because she sensed nothing good coming from it.

It was a pure and gentle bonding they had with each other. No bad intentions existed. One was unaware of her feelings and the other was already caught in them, burning in a hidden love and desire, not knowing how to proceed, afraid she might push him away yet not afraid to show her, his feelings.

But he was afraid...she might push him away after knowing what he was. What rested in him and what he was meant to be. He was just his father's weapon for achieving his goal and the one who can save him from his father's claws was only her.

But will she accept him?

Will she protect him?

His inner voice said she will but whenever his father's face came into his sight, somehow deep down he knew he will lose himself in his father's dirty play yet he hoped she would save him.

Just what happened...which turned devotion into animosity, pureness into disgust, and gentleness into behavior not less than a demon.

The smile she had on her lips dropped as she stared at the dirty wall in front of her.

"I'm sorry." She whispered under her whiff. Finally, a sob escaped her lips as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her shoulders and hands were shaking...she remembered what he was and what she made him.

All he needed was her and what she did.

Betrayed him, crushed him to the point he cannot crawl up in the light ever again