Roy and Georgie

All of a sudden the ground shook heavily, the ground cracked, buildings were destroyed, people were hurt. An earthquake had hit Denil, a mighty earthquake. Its epicenter was the mine site belonging to the Manchester Household. Many miners had died during the earthquake, and many were badly hurt; some were missing limbs, others were bleeding from the head. It was chaos all over Denil, especially the inner regions. The earthquake happened about a week after Ishmael had left the manor with Simon, but since they were still in Denil, they too felt the effects of the earthquake.

Currently, in farmer clothing, both Simon and Ishmael were busy in the fields. Today they were short in members because the earthquake from two days ago had badly hurt some of their colleagues. Currently, they were only fifty-four instead of a hundred and twenty-six. They worked from six in the morning until their lunch at twelve in the afternoon. This was a farm owned by the Dotmon family here in Denil at the city outskirts, Harsh Meadows. Ever since arriving at this place, Davin had only appeared at this place once, and even then, Ishmael and Simon both made sure to keep their distance just in case he would recognize them. The one in charge of the farm was an old farmer named Solomon McCaughey, nicknamed Old McCaughey.

Old McCaughey was the one who hired them, and he had taken a liking to the two of them instantly. But who wouldn't love the two country bumpkins, Roy and Georgie? Roy/Simon was the more outgoing of the two, and Georgie/Josh was nice and shy. Coupled with their good looks, the ladies at the farm were constantly fighting over the two. During lunch, they would receive free food from the ladies, and they would sit with the two.

There was a girl called Fatima and another one called Georgina. Georgina was bright and lovely with short blond hair and turquoise eyes. Fatima was more reserved, with black hair and green eyes. They were much closer to the two, and they even shared the cabin where they stayed. Roy and Georgina's relationship seemed to have reached the intimate stage, while Fatima and Georgie were both still just friends.

Currently, it was lunch, and they were sitting under a tree. It was summer, so it was very hot, but also the rain was too much. They were having a small talk when suddenly Old McCaughey called Roy and Georgie to his office. Upon arrival, the two noticed the rough-looking old man with bushy brows locked at them excitedly.

"My boys, how are you doing today?" he asked with his deep hoarse voice.

"The sun is too hot right now, old man, but apart from that, everything is good," Roy answered. Georgie simply smiled. Having been used to Georgie's shy behavior, Old McCaughey continued, "I have good news. Your hard work has paid off. Master Davin wants people to work in his new estate in Eldermoore in the residential district, and he asked me to recommend some."

Old McCaughey was visibly excited. Roy and Georgie shared a small look before grinning like two big idiots.

McCaughey eyed them suspiciously. "What are you two boys grinning about? Who said I'm going to recommend you two?" he spoke, trying to maintain a strong presence, confusing the two young men.

"Then why did you call us here then, old man?" Roy asked, visibly confused. Old McCaughey burst into laughter, slapping his knee.

"You should have seen your faces. Hilarious. Now, where was I?" Georgie answered him this time.

"The recommendation, Mr. McCaughey." Being the more respectful of the two, Old McCaughey favored Georgie over Roy, but he still liked them both.

"Oh yes, the recommendations. Master Davin needs five people to manage his stable in his new estate. I'm recommending you two, but I need you to recommend three more." He spoke with a much more serious tone this time.

Of course, they were going to recommend Georgina and Fatima, but what about the fifth person? Most of the men hated them since their women were after them, but there was one male who seemed unbothered by their arrival.

"Fatima, Georgina, and Robert," Georgie answered almost immediately, making Old McCaughey smile.

"I knew you would not leave your girlfriends behind. But Robert? Odd choice, but okay." He agreed. Roy and Georgie left to go inform the two women.

After informing the two girls, their lunch was already over, so they returned to the fields. Night came, and they retreated to their cabin. They took turns bathing, with Roy and Georgina preferring to bathe together. It had only been a week since they met, but they were already behaving like an old couple. Georgie helped the quiet Fatima to prepare food. Through the small interactions, he had discovered that Fatima was not from their kingdom. Instead, her accent reminded him of a certain kingdom located near the Great Zoran Forest, the biggest forest in the whole continent and possibly the world, Kingdom Hentesa.

Hentesa is a very secretive kingdom that does not interact with the rest of the world as much. Most of their natural resources are in the Zoran Forest, and they only trade with the smaller nations next to them. Georgie had once been to Hentesa with his former team on a mission assigned by Her Majesty and the King of Hentesa, King Amadeus. The king had believed that there was a secret organization in his kingdom formed by some of his own subjects, so he needed the help of Her Majesty to uproot the organization since he could not do it himself as it would cause a civil war. In order to blend in, they spent months learning how to speak, walk, sleep, laugh, and dress like a Hentesean. So he would not fail to recognize the unique accent belonging to the natives of Hentesa.

He wondered what was the reason she was here. Was she a spy or a refugee? Shaking his head, he let his mind wander away from the woman's business. He had his own fair share of troubles.

The small cabin was divided into three rooms, two bedrooms, and the kitchen. There was an old shack outside that they used as their bathroom. The cabin was not too shabby, and the three could live there perfectly. [If only life was so simple, I would be a farmer living quietly, but now I'm busy trying to infiltrate a rising aristocrat family.] He thought as they were now by the small table eating.

"I have never been to a residential district before, you know? I wonder what it's like. Is it like the stories I hear, where rich and noble aristocrats have balls and banquets every now and again?" Georgina spoke excitedly, but apparently, none of them had been to a residential district, especially not Roy and Georgie.

"Yeah, me too. I can't wait to get there." Roy added excitedly. Georgie stared at Roy and shook his head. His friend was so dedicated to the role he was playing, but something else was also plaguing his mind. He knew Simon said he would take care of Brianna and Selena. Does that mean he was the one who killed them, or did he send someone else? But judging by his actions, Simon did not seem like he had killed anyone. In fact, apart from suspecting that Simon had secrets, he did not believe his friend was capable of murder. But he could never be too sure.

After dinner, the girls went to their room, and so did the boys. In their room, they shared a bunk bed, with Roy at the top and him at the bottom.

A few minutes after getting onto the bed, he was sound asleep. Unbeknownst to him, a crimson glow lit up the room, and Roy, who was still awake, noticed and looked down. The crimson glow lasted for a few seconds before dimming down and eventually fading. Roy's eyes were on his neck where a faint crescent moon was slightly visible if one were to look carefully.

"The mark of the crescent? You, my friend, harbor many secrets." Roy stared at him for a short while before shaking his head with a smile.

Josh opened his eyes slowly, but he could not see a thing. In front of him was a vast darkness. This time, however, he was much calmer than the first time he had witnessed this.

[It seems like I have found my reoccurring nightmare, old man. Why did it have to be this one, though?] He sighed heavily. The fact that he was calm didn't mean that he felt no fear. And soon, cracks appeared in the darkness, and a crimson light slipped through the cracks, illuminating everything.

Hundreds—no, thousands of cocoons were revealed. And right in front of him, the cocooned old farmer was still where he had left him. His face was filled with agony, and upon closer inspection, he could see shadows moving in his eyes. A chill ran down his spine, and he instinctively wanted to take a step back, but he was still in a cocoon submerged in the eerie dark waters.

A single question was on his mind: "What is this place?" Looking around, he saw only cocooned people and nothing else. [The land of the cocooned, I guess.] He thought to himself. 

Right then, a series of cracking sounds began. The cocoons were slowly breaking, and the darkness had almost faded. The light from the crimson moon seemed to have something to do with the cocoonification. After the darkness was completely dispelled, the cocoons were all broken, and the cocooned had fallen into the dark waters. 

[Here we go again.] He sighed stretching his own body