Valleys of Time

03.𝓗𝖊 𝓗𝖊𝖑𝖉 𝓜𝖊 𝓑𝔂 𝓣𝖍𝖊 𝓦𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙

"It's Seft, Seft Kein."

"Seft?"

I questioned.

"Yes, Madam Latil?"

He replied with curiosity.

"That's a lovely name you have. Oh, and please call me Latil. There's no need for formalities!"

I answered back, with a warm smile.

"I apologize mada- Latil."

He said with a smile while bowing.

"Apology accepted."

I announced with a wide, closed-eyes, smile. Then we began to walk towards our destination.

As we were walking, I noticed that the forest seemed to become denser and lesser trees can be seen. The sky seemed much clearer now. This most likely means that it will be coming to an end soon. The place was quite silent since there weren't any creeks flowing nearby. The silence was bearable, but I'm not the type of person who would stay quiet or enjoy the silence.

"So where are we heading Seft?"

I asked in a high tone. Seft immediately stopped for a while, then continued walking, without saying anything at all. Surely, it was rather rude to ignore the question, but I don't even know who he is. Yes, I do know his name, but not his personality or anything else about him.

Just a while ago, he was somewhat cheerful and lively. Now, he seems like a self-absorbed, ignorant, insolent, moron who keeps walking in a straight line.

I'm also starting to question if he even knows where we're going. Maybe, he's just trying to get me to give up, so he can leave me here and run away. Just because I look dense, although I am, doesn't mean that I would give up easily. Without annoying him first, of course.

I started sprinting to match his pace and when I did, I lightly tapped his left shoulder, to get his attention.

"HEY, HEY SEFT!"

I said, yelling at his ear. Yet, there was still no response from him. I tried doing it again,

"SEFT, DID YOU FORGET THAT I'M THE WOMAN YOU SAVED FROM EATING THE POISONOUS BERRIES? I'M CONFUSED ABOUT WHERE WE'RE GOING! AND I'M HUNGRY AS WEL-"

He interrupted me when he placed his delicate, warm hand on my mouth. I could have melted on the spot due to it being so soft and warm. This was until, he grabbed my hand, with the same hand he placed on my mouth, and started running in another direction.

After, what felt like an hour of running, we finally came to a stop when a huge, dragon tree came into sight.

I'm rather good at identifying plants and trees. I used to get the "Best at Botany" award, back when I was in junior high school. How long has it been since then? It felt like it's been a decade. And how are mom and Bly doing back at home? Are they alright?

Before my head was filled with questions. Seft, let go of my hand and fell on the ground to relax. And when I had noticed this, I also stopped to catch my breath.

After a while, he sat down and removed the rubber band that held his hair in a ponytail. His, medium-lengthened, hair fell on his shoulders, in elegance. He looked handsome, stunning, and strikingly ravishing. I stared at him in awe, till he noticed me and gave out a light-hearted chuckle. I felt kind of embarrassed and I couldn't say anything nor deny it, so I kept quiet.

The silence was broken when he started saying,

"I apologize for my sudden actions, Latil. It seemed like there was someone who was following us. And, this was the first place that came to me when I thought of hiding."