The Hidden Master #2

"Are you sure you want that one?" Diana turned to look behind her. The sun was too strong that day, almost blinding. Her eyes narrowed trying to figure out who was talking to her. She opened her mouth for a second and then closed it like a fish.

"I think?" She mumbled unsure. In front of her stood the boy she couldn't help but gaze at. He was much taller up close, she noted. She cleared her throat, trying not to stare. "I thought that we weren't allowed to sell glass or ceramics in the bazaar." Her fingers danced on the vase in front of her.

When she didn't hear a reply, she looked up. She saw him walking behind the empty stall with a small smile. "Yeah, but they accept handmade work." His smile widened at her shocked eyes.

"You made this?" He answered with a simple nod. Surprised was an understatement, the vase she was touching was beautiful, to say the least. It was all white, except the center where a golden flower bloomed, surrounded by a few branches and a bird. It was so simple and elegant that she was sure if it was sold anywhere else, it would make a fortune. "It must be special,"

This time she earned a chuckle. "Kind of," He gazed at the vase in silence, but then continued, "It was supposed to be my mom's."

Her expression immediately fell. She had heard the rumors. "I'm sorry." He shook his head.

"It's alright." His eyes were so sincere, totally different from the feeling he had given her when she first saw him. His gray eyes had such a glow to them, so attractive and enticing, it felt that they were striking through her. She couldn't remember anyone that could rock a long black hair as he did.

It looked so smooth too.

He coughed a little, and she saw a light blush on his cheeks. She wondered if he was sick. "You could take it you know," He said, pointing at the vase. "For free, I mean."

She immediately shook her head. "No, no, no need. This is way too important for me to just take i-"

He chuckled. "I insist." He held my gaze. "It would only hurt me more to keep it. I think it needs a good owner,"

She had then blushed.

----

The coin in Bone's hand was flying mid-air. His hand was underneath it as he willed it to levitate. It was rotating in its place, showing one blank side and the other accommodated with a symbol that Diana couldn't quite see from her place.

"Oh what an interesting mark," He whispered as the coin stopped at one side. "Fascinating,"

She frowned. He wasn't supposed to see it. She was supposed to be the only one with the ability to see her fate.

"Don't frown my dear. I obviously can see it since I'm a master." His fingers grazed over the soft print and mumbled some incoherent words. It made her uncomfortable how close he was to her coin.

"You can speak now," He glanced at her. "I only told them not to speak because some people like to rant on about their lives for hours." He sighed exasperatedly, yet still maintained his weird smile. "My ears sometimes bleed." He chuckled then, and Diana couldn't find anything funny in that.

"C-can I see my coin?" She was answered with a flick of his hand, and her coin was given to her right then. It was beautiful up-close. She stared at the symbol silently.

There was an hourglass with wooden frames. The woods circled and twisted to make the handles of the glass and it looked so realistic. The glass itself didn't contain any grain of sand, no. One half was filled with black liquid that had two stars in it. One was floating on the surface of the liquid, and the other was drowning, yet still didn't reach the bottom. The other empty half had a beautiful lotus drawn into it, and it was slowly burning- very similar to the one she was standing on.

It was utterly majestic and surprising. She had never thought that a coin symbol could be this detailed. From what she had read before, it was supposed to be very vague and simple, but for her, she felt she could relate to it and understand. Maybe from what drawn there-

Her coins suddenly vanished from her vision and appeared in front of Bone. "Now, now. Don't jump into conclusions." He tsked at her. "This is the reason we recommended locking coins in the first place. The more you look at them and think of them, the more you become obsessed with the idea of them,"

"Then what should I do?"

He stared at her for a couple of seconds, and it made her feel so uncomfortable. She couldn't see his eyes to know if he was looking at her or not, but his body language was enough.

"I wonder what should you do," He mumbled. "You aren't telling me anything, but at the same time expecting everything from me." He inched closer, and even though her body was telling her to move backward, she fought the temptation. "Your fate is made of millions of lines, but it isn't intersecting with any of them, except for one." He then moved his hand, and she noticed his silver bracelet.

How did he get that?

It jingled as an image was presented in front of her. It was of black space with many silver lines. Only two of these lines were intersecting and creating a golden point.

"What is this I wonder?" Bone asked, inspecting the image. She found the tilt of his head oddly unfitting. " Or should I say, who is this?" His tone was sneaky as if he was trying to uncover her secrets.

He can't see what you don't give.

You already accomplished why you came here, you saw your coin.

He shook his head. "You are using me." She wasn't sure if she loved the idea of him reading her mind. "It is all written all over your face." The water sound had gotten stronger all of a sudden. "You are hiding something from everyone, but I can tell for sure that you lied about your Vision," He was getting closer to her once again. "I won't tell your family since it is so interesting, though…,"

He was so close now, too close for her liking. If she reached out a little, she could touch his cloak. "You have to promise me something,"

Diana frowned, "Promise, what?"

"It is a deal. I won't tell your family about your little-" he touched a strand of her hair, she urged herself not to hit his hand. "-lie, and you have to do something for me too," He said simply.

"What is it that you want?"

"I want you to bring me him when you meet,"

She felt that he was talking in another language she couldn't understand. "Who are you talking about?"

"Just promise me and I will let you go,"

She had no choice. "Fine." He chuckled and let go of her hair, moving back from her. She only noticed how she was holding her breath.

When he was a good meter away from her, he snapped his fingers and the mildly loud sound of water, got too strong to the point she could hear nothing but it. He snapped his fingers again and her eyes caught the sight of his bracelet again. Her eyes got blurry.

She knew she was fainting, and she let herself do so. Between the sound of her thoughts and the water, she heard a whisper, "See you later, my dear."