Nocte Yin: Anti-Villain, Anti-Hero and Anti-Everything Else

Chapter Nine

Marie’s house was a one-storey bungalow with white, aluminum siding and black shingles. It had a dark slate door and cerulean coloured shutters, arranged in a manner that was both modest and homey. It was raised a little above ground to accommodate the basement, but with the many flowers of anemones, begonias, petunias, white carnations, cyclamens, geraniums, yellow hyacinths, hydrangeas, pink larkspurs, yellow roses, one couldn’t tell if the house wasn’t at ground level. To the left (if one was facing the front) was a large-swept weeping willow. In the back and across the street was a forest of oaks, hawthorns and ashes, a little deeper and one could find firs, maples and birches. The driveway was unpaved, connecting the main dirt road to the only singular house that could be found for kilometres.

Nocte took note of all of this when she stepped outside for the first time that early morning. The sun had just risen and Burghard was up ahead starting the car with Marie waving goodbye at the door.  In her hands was an oxygen tank, a hefty reminder of her short comings.

True to Nahele’s word, Burghard was going to show her the nearest city, and neither Nocte nor he were overly eager at the prospect. The only one who seemed actually happy was Marie, who had yet to stop waving. In fact, her eyes were aimed earnestly at Nocte, waiting for her to respond in a similar fashion. And honestly, with such bright eyes, eager smile and dressed in such a cute daisy-yellow cotton dress, Marie wasn’t someone Nocte wanted to disappoint that morning (it’d be like kicking a puppy), so she gave her a wave, a tentative smile, and left it at that.

“Are you ready, milady?” Burghard asked uncomfortably.

Nocte held back a grimace when she noticed another cloud of grey gas spout from the back of the car. If every Earthling had a car like Burghard’s, it was no wonder Earth’s atmosphere was so messed up.

“Yes,” she replied, climbing into the passenger seat and buckling herself in.

“Have fun!” Marie called. “Don’t be gone too long!”

Burghard pulled out the driveway and sent her a smile, content and already missing her, as he steered the car down the dirt road. He must have forgotten about Nocte because his eyes kept on flashing to the rear-view mirror to watch Marie grow farther and farther away. Nocte pretended not to notice, of course, as she set the oxygen tank down at her feet. She smiled though, partially at Burghard’s honest feelings and partially out of her own.

Although she had not known the pair for very long (she could count the number of hours on one hand), she knew they were good people. Misguided, absolutely, but good nevertheless. That was why she had to keep telling herself not to get too friendly, not to be wrapped up by them, for their goals were the opposite of hers.

She brushed her wet hair from her face and adjusted her glasses against the glare of the sun. With the window open and the warm morning air hitting against her face, Nocte watched the forest go by, green, brown and a subtle yellow. Marie had lent her a white shift dress she had hesitantly put on after her morning shower. She had been sceptical of the size.

Nocte caught sight of the time on the dashboard and quickly looked away. In a move to distract herself, she took her glasses off and wiped them clean on the dress. In three hours, her twenty-four-hour deadline would be breached, and she didn’t know what would happen after. She assumed that the deputy headmaster would send someone to fetch her and then promptly punish her, perhaps even make her cut the grass in the academy’s stadium.

She shuddered and Burghard’s grip on the wheel tightened, having not expecting movement. At least he was as wary of her as she was of him.

“Cold?” he asked, tense and a little afraid.