Away ⥃ Nishimura Riki

.Fifty-One.

A HUM TRAILED the air as Seulhyun walked along the corridors with a basket full of fruits. One of them were her favorites, twinkberries; the sourness and sweetness compliments each other which she loves. The maroon glaze it had on its skin made it look scrumptious. When you cut bite into it, the juice fills your mouth, the flavor bursting in your mouth. It's like tasting heaven in a bite.

"You're drooling, Seul." A deep voice pulled her back into reality as his hair fell loosely in front of his pretty eyes.

Seulhyun shot daggers at him and rebutted, "Everyone would be drooling for some twinkberries." A smile grew on her lips as she imagined herself eating it, "it's best when it's cold."

Niki frowned, displaying his disagreement with her opinion, "It's best when it's warm." He told. The brunette stopped in her tracks, offended by his statement.
"Don't tell me you're one of the odd ones that loves to heat it up first before eating it." She squinted her eyes.

Hearing her, Niki grew even more offended, mirroring the brunette's previous facial expression. "What do you mean 'the odd ones', you should try it first before judging!" He exclaimed, earning a firm disapproval from the girl.
"I can't believe you like warm twinkberries!"
"Its texture is better that way!"
"Baby, no! When it's cold, it's not too soggy!"

Then, the prince grew silent. Way too silent for her comfort. Did she say something wrong? If so, she didn't know what she had said. She looked at him and noticed the tips of his ears burning red as the blood rushed down to his face. Wait- is she seeing this correctly?

Was the Nishimura Riki blushing? Because of her? A teasing smile painted her features as she snaked her arms around his waist, as Niki avoided eye contact with her, trying to pry her off of him.

"Awww~ Is Niki shy because of me?" Her loving gesture stirred a reaction from the boy. Gosh, he's adorable.

"Stop it." He mumbled against his hand on his lips, his face still facing the other way. In that moment, Seulhyun had the biggest urge to squish his cheeks until it's red.

"Baby..baby..baby!"
The more she repeated the word, the louder her voice got and Niki felt like fainting. Holy shit. Her arms were wrapped around him and he swore she could hear his thumping heart. And for goodness sake, her eyes will be the death of him.

Her hazel eyes looked up towards him, twinkling as her cheeks lifted up with her smile. Niki sighed as he looked away again. Why must she be this cute?

"Niki, I can call you that right?" Seulhyun innocently asked, giggling as she cupped his face, turning it towards her direction. This, only made Niki even more flustered.

He felt his knees grew weak as he crouched down, burying his face in between his knees as one of his hands were held by the brunette. Seulhyun chortled at his reaction, having the time of her life teasing him. "You're cruel, Seul."
"No, I'm not. I'm just in love with you."

At this point, anyone could see the smoke fuming above Niki's head. "Shut up."
It only made Seulhyun cackled her lungs out.

Then out of nowhere, Niki sprung up to his feet and captured her lips with his hands, silencing her, causing Seulhyun to freeze in her actions. Her eyes quivered left and right, wondering what had provoked such a reaction out of him.

She looked at him in the eyes and he put his point finger on his lips. That was when she heard the heels clacking against the floors, the sound similar to what she had heard on that night she eavesdropped Princess Aera.

"So, how is it going?" The chipper voice said, "have you done it?"
Seulhyun and Niki glanced at each other, both understanding each other's thoughts as the same vampire came into their mind. It was Princess Aera.

"I-it's in progress, Your Majesty." A soft-spoken voice stammered.

Seulhyun frowned. It wasn't Mrs. Kang. The voice was way too smooth for it to be Mrs. Kang. Although the elder has a smooth voice herself, hers is rather hoarse because of her older age. From the sounds of it, the voice she had just heard was around her age.

"Goodness! Can't you speed up the process? Ask for that witch for help, I pulled her for a reason!" Aera sighed exasperatedly, "I need him in my reach as soon as possible."

Witch? Who is the witch she was talking about? Could it be Mrs. Kang? And who is 'him'? Is he someone she knows? Is he someone important? Maybe King Jungwon?

Questions floated in her head, yearning for it to be answered but she had nothing to respond it with. Her lips were sealed tightly as the conversation continued.

"I need it to be done by tomorrow. If not, you'll face your consequences."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Niki swiftly pulled Seulhyun into his embrace, hiding their presence from the Princess as Seulhyun could feel her heart pounding in fear. So, is Mrs. Kang really involved in this? Did she really betrayed her?

She needed to know.

.•.•.

Meanwhile, Prince Sunoo was walking on the cobblestone path, towards the gateway of the castle as the sky began to darken. He squinted his eyes as he reminisced the feeling of his cozy abode. The air in Enlypse was way more comfortable and the people there are way friendlier. He missed a particular red head causing him to shake his head.

Suddenly, a pair of strenuous arms gripped his shoulders and his clear blue eyes stared into his dark ones. Sunoo frowned, shocked by the sudden proximity with him and shook his grip off of him.

"I thought you were sent on a trip?" Sunoo questioned the man, earning a curt nod.

"I was." Prince Daehil spoke, "That is until I heard of all of the things my sister has done."

At the sentence, Sunoo couldn't help but grow curious. "Your sister?" Aera?
Prince Daehil nodded. From the way his body moves, he looked agitated as if he was seconds away from exploding. "Wait, what did she do?"

Prince Daehil sent Sunoo a pointed look. "Before that, do you perhaps know someone by the name Seulhyun?" He inquired.

"Specifically, Kim Seulhyun."

Okay, just to make everything clear from my Author Episode—I'm not discontinuing the Eternity series. I just don't know if I will immediately start another Eternity book after Away ends because if you see my profile, I have two unfinished books. Besides, this series holds me on a chokehold too 😀

Anyway, Happy New Year to everyone from around the world. Let's all start a new year with happiness! ❣️❣️

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