So after this accident that terrified my heart, I slowly and maturely signal to Ethan that we need to get out and be careful because we don't know what the Shadow Kingdom will be like. The expressions of the two adventurers, the kingdom, will be freaking terrifying, and I am not ready. So, I hold the hand of Ethan and Sylvia. The child was in the hand of Sylvia, of course, because Sylvia has that magic protection.
After that, we begin walking slowly and maturely towards the kingdom. The sky was so gloomy, but with every step, we were getting closer, and the sky began to clear up as if something had changed. We don't know what it is, but when we are walking towards a kingdom of shadow, we find out it's full of people, and it's so happy. Some people are flying, and we lose track of the adventurers; we can't see them anymore. We don't give much attention to it because the Guardian of the kingdom tells us to show them our adventure cards from the guild to enter the kingdom.
We can't go to any kingdom without an adventure card, so I pull out mine, Sylvia pulls out hers, and even Ethan pulls out his. They use a crystal ball to verify that these cards are not fake. My hand begins to sweat, and I get nervous. Sylvia looks at me, disappointed because she thinks I am the bravest person. She is not wrong, but not always my bravery comes out. We are safe, and we enter slowly. We see everyone so happy. Sylvia is interested in street food, so she goes directly to buy random food.
I am respectful and don't let her eat every type of food. Some of them are spicy, and she has a sweet tooth. Though I don't think she'll like it, for me, I eat the regular one. Ethan doesn't care that much, but we're having fun exploring this kingdom.
During the exploration, we find out that the kingdom is full of just adventurers. If someone doesn't have an adventure card or is not even in the Adventure Guild, they cannot enter. For this reason, so many rumors are going around this kingdom. We look around and find the two Groundpiece siblings, adventurers, in the middle of a crowd, cheering for them. We are answered but confused at first. We wonder why there is cheering, but we find a little girl who is hyped up, jumping around so freaking excited. I look at her and ask with a smile because I don't want to terrify her.
"Little girl, why are you so high and excited? Are these two adventurers so famous, or is it something else?" The girl begins to explain everything, even history. She tells me that these two adventurers are the most famous ones because they've killed so many monsters, protected the kingdom, and even made some dangerous situations into funny jokes. Because of their existence, the kingdom is full of life again. At this point, I was confused. From my point of view, they are dangerous people who can kill when they want and let people live as they want.
How are these two people so famous? Ethan, on the other hand, is playing games with Aria. She's having so much fun; she begins to play and change so much from yesterday. I'm so glad, but for now, we have to find a place to stay for at least one night. So we go around the town, going from one village to another until we find a big place where some people live. We enter slowly, and it looks so fancy. I hesitate a bit because I don't know if someone will be enough for this fancy place. I'm hesitant about spectacle because this one will be answered with expensive. But Aria is so excited and insists on going there, so I don't ask too many questions and go to the register. "Can I get two keys for two rooms, please?" He gives me what I want and is full of smiles. I gave him my money; it was painful at first, but it was okay.
We enter. The problem is that Sylvia and I are in one room, and Aria and Ethan are in another room. At this point, I know Ethan is not the type of man who would shamelessly do anything to little girls, especially to my girl. But it's not good for a man and a little girl to sleep in the same room. So, Sylvia and I changed positions. Now, Ethan and I are sleeping in the same room.
It's not the best idea, but it's safer for the other girls. At least, I have my sword if he gets crazy or something. I go in and put my stuff on the rest of it on the belt. Here I am, thinking about what happened, the position of the Stones I already have. So, I put some on the ground, got the three stones, and put some on the supposed original places. I make my necklace close to the center point of them. The stone moves slightly but further to the place where my mother is, and my happiness. No one can measure because finally, I got close to my mother's place. I can see more and find more, but suddenly, I see Ethan behind me. I get freaked out and look at him from down to up and smile because I am so happy.
He looks at the stones, and we can see everything. He is so curious; he doesn't say anything special, but he sits on the ground and looks at me and smiles. "You know, sometimes you make me more curious, excited. You are the most unexpected person in my life." I chuckle softly, knowing that he is telling the truth. So, in my turn, I told him about my first time seeing him, and what I thought about him.
"So, for me, the first time I saw you, I thought you were a spy from the crown prince, put to get closer and take care of me. I began to realize that you are a friendly person, and I am grateful to know someone like you. Not everyone can offer kindness in this world." I get up slowly, going towards the window, where I love to look at the stars. I can't deny that stars are beautiful, shining, and bright. I don't get up; I just see him from afar. He looks hopeful, but at the same time, I can feel the bitterness of sadness. So, I suggested to him. "Ethan, look at me.
I will take a quest; you have to take care of the little girl and Sylvia. Okay, you've worked so hard for me, and today, I will go and get something to do, plus I love to train with my sword." The first reaction was so unexpected; he was worried but looked down and returned with a bright smile. I returned it; he just liked the sun. I didn't disappoint them or anything. I just looked at him and smiled cheerfully to change the heavy thoughts in my mind.
"Ethan, you have to understand, that we're always friends, and this will never change. So, if you sacrifice for me, I will sacrifice for you because we are the same. You can say we are best friends now." I chuckle but not fully happy. I don't think I am satisfied for some reason. I am sure he was expecting something else. But for now, I am so tired. I put some on, just not in the original place. Of course, in that secret jar go to sleep because tomorrow I have to go to the board of quests.
I sleep deeply, feeling the cold wind going through my hair and on my skin, making me shiver. But suddenly, a seductive voice comes from Ethan's mouth. He thinks I'm still sleeping, but in reality, I can hear everything. He touches my hair softly and slowly, saying as if a secret kept in his heart, "You'll never ask me how I feel toward you. I will never let you know; I will never let you hear.
I will be like a silent voice. One day, you will understand what it means to suffer inside, suffer from feelings that never existed, that were never allowed to exist in the first place." I can hear his steps going away to his part of the room and sleep. I return to my sleep, but his words make me think. What makes him suffer that much? What makes him feel so miserable? Is it because of me, or is it because the past is really hard to understand?
But his feelings are beyond my understanding. I clench my face under my pillow; I don't want him to see my anger. Is it because of me, or is it because of people? Soft tears always come down when emotions hit that hard. I hate when my people feel pain, and I can't heal them. But sometimes, I ask myself, do I have to heal everyone? Why do I always feel that pressure, the responsibility that I have to save everyone? Whether it's a stranger, a person I know, or a person from another world, it's just this type of feeling getting toward me again.
I think it's named guilt. I try to drift into sleep again, but nothing works. So, I get up and go out of my room. When I go out of my room, I see the adventurer, the female one. She looked so happy, but my face was only. She looks at me, confused. I take three steps back; I don't want to get close to her. She chuckles instead, "Don't worry; I didn't mean to threaten you in the garage. It's just I love to show people my power, and sometimes people misunderstand me. Don't worry; in this place, nothing is about torture, and I will not kill you." The situation is getting more awkward and weird, and I don't know what to say to a person who tells me she will either torture me or kill me. Like, what is my response?
So, before I say anything, she shows me a bottle of wine with two cups. "Because everyone is sleeping, and you and I are the only ones awake. Let's get a breath of fresh air. Do you drink?" I reply, "Why not," softly, and follow her to the balcony. She puts a candle in the middle and fills my cup with wine and fills hers too. We begin to drink. She tells me strange tales about going through dungeons, dangerous killing, and slaying monsters. I, in turn, tell her some of my tragic tales that I would never share. "So, adventurer, what's your name? Because I never asked." I take a sip of my wine, and she answers with a fully drunk face, "My name is Lily, the most robust adventurer in this world. I will be the most good person in this world." I take another sip of my wine, knowing that she is fully drunk. I chuckle softly, looking at the stars and wondering what more I can explore.