The Fallen Angel And The Demon In Green

Chapter 5: Emerald Butterflies

A sweet melody fights its way through the bathroom vents, just to reach the man on other side, who was absent-mindedly leaning on the wall.

Every day, after their training sessions, Iris enjoyed a long, hot shower. Zoro had grown accustomed to the only bathroom in the house being unavailable for hours. And he didn't mind, he usually napped until dinner. Zoro and napping went hand in hand, anyway; he would never pass up an opportunity for a good snooze.

However, something had kept him from engaging in his hobby lately.

Indigo was the colour that came to his mind as he listened. Not an overwhelmingly bright shade, not angry as the sky the day they met. It was subtle, silky, the colour of fresh blueberries. It was the shade he imagined peace to be. It had that soft, heavy quality, like a steamy mist, and the feeling of morning coffee clearing his throat. It was the word someone says out of kindness, to ease an awkward silence. It was the warmth of a coat that brought sensibility back into his body, a reminder that there was more to life than living in the bitter cold.

That voice... is it Iris? I could swear it sounds like her, although I've never heard her like that. She's a great singer, who would have thought.

The swordsman rose from his seat and put his ear to the vent. The sound was clearer now, he could even hear her breathing muffled by the shower rain. For a few seconds, he had the impression that he was listening to a mermaid, though not like the one he had met some time ago, a different creature, more ethereal. She never told me she sang, he thought, baffled.

Lately, Zoro's mind was busier than usual. He struggled to understand what was going on with him; every thought seemed to lead to Iris in one way or another. He feared he was going crazy. Zoro tried to take refuge from his disordered thoughts by doing the one thing he held sacred: training. But even when he was in the gym, he couldn't find peace.

Despite putting all his concentration into lifting weights, he couldn't help but wonder what Iris was drawing at the moment, or get lost in imagining what culinary lesson she would give him next. It wasn't exactly the anticipation of learning to cook that interested him, but the proximity of their bodies as she guided him in the tiny kitchen, and her sweet voice sprinkling compliments when she tasted the final product. And if only it were merely that, he would not be so alarmed. Just the image of Iris smiling was enough to unsettle his balance and make him throw the dumbbell to the floor.

Their training together ended up by wiping away all remnants of peace that the swordsman had lingering in his mind. Zoro knew that he needed to be extremely cautious the times they sparred. Otherwise, the slightest friction between them would have set him on fire, or so he felt. Is that how that idiotic cook felt when he saw a girl? Having something in common with the cook triggered a little flash of nausea.

At night, he couldn't help but recall how she had fallen asleep in his arms, or how she had bitten her lip before proposing; "I'll owe you one?"

The swordman closed his eyes and gulped at the memory. There was no escape. Zoro, who normally enjoyed a calm, blank mind, spent his days trying to keep himself from drowning in a sea of musings, and all indicated that he would not be able to stay above the surface for long.

It was maddening, a curse.

A curse...

That word had stimulated the beginnings of an idea. What if... what if he wasn't going mad? What if she had been doing this to his mind on purpose? She had taken him to her house without his asking, and she had demanded nothing in return.

What if this had all been a trap from the start? She had mysteriously appeared in the forest, always avoiding questions about her past. Damn it, she could have made up the whole story about those evil slavers from that day. And her wounds? Well, if she was a witch, she could have made them appear with magic, surely. This could all be a ruse. She could be putting some kind of spell on him to make him forget his life and become his servant. Or maybe she preys on swordsmen? Zoro's eyes widened at this last thought. How could he have fallen for it? She even lives in a small stone cabin in the middle of nowhere. The whole thing screams witchcraft.