❝Never. You'll never be a 𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. You'll always be a 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰. You weren't the first, but you're the most memorable.❞
No wonder a cape-and a midnight bet-can bring two people uninterested with romance together.
🏆 ᴍᴏꜱᴛ ɪᴍᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴠᴇ ʀᴀɴᴋɪɴ...
Aiden gathered all his strength and finally propped up his knees on the dry soil. A breathless grunt tormented his lips before he felt a slight sting of shame bubble up in his chest.
He was buffer, larger and more brawny in size, yet this slender framed boy managed— no, effortlessly dodged a well established attack. Single handedly.
Is... Is he going to make a counterattack now? He is desperate to know. How could a fifteen year old handle throwing my body of tendons and muscles?
One regretful glance at the lone spear lying way too far within his reach was all it took to make him perceive the futility of the foolish decision he had done a few moments ago.
Jævla deg.
"You're just so unpredictable, you know," Kangree impatiently tapped his foot, "Kneeling without a defensive weapon, absurdly speechless. And your actions are agonizingly boring me."
Aiden's face darkened for a short while as he averted his gaze from those cunning red eyes, to the unnoticed cerulean blue ones in the shadows of a flawless column.
How could I have realized it just now, Elsa?
He involuntarily went against his own will to stop the obvious sight of his face forming into numerous expressions just to coax his wife to be left uninvolved in this fight. It would be another reckless move on this out of the blue chessboard.
But the clever smirk recognizable on her face proved him there was no point in arguing. Her hands which are clasped around the cold, thin steel of Grimfrost, held endless capabilities to simply freeze Kangree.
But of course, she wouldn't dare. Not that her heart was too soft just as the runaway had acknowledged her husband's.
She just didn't want the poor boy to be another mindless pawn in this makeshift game.
You're too stubborn for your own good.
"Boring you, huh?" The fire king barked out a boisterious laugh, "What am I? A jester? Hired to entertain you? And I thought you're as witty as you seem to be."
Kangree; or the inner demon stared at him in disbelief. This guy is laughing at a simple sentiment that one can ignore.
"But I do know one thing that even you don't know," Aiden, at long last, gravely spoke without any hint of amusement. It was working, this grand distraction which allowed him to finally stand and make slow, but sure steps towards his fallen spear.
Kangree raised a brow beneath the confines of his mask.
"What would that be?" He questioned in contemptuous interest.
The fire wielder quickly shielded the retrieved blade behind his back as he brought his lips near the masked person's ear.
"No man can stay enslaved forever."
"WHY, YOU—" And so a battle was engaged. The noisy clang of metal against metal echoed throughout the spacious garden.
"This body's former self," Another failed attempt for Aiden's neck, "Is nothing but dying embers of a man who was once weak!"
Aiden growled, "You have the guts to call the poor child a man, really?" He boldly spun his trapped spear and managed to prevent the edge of his opponent's blade from going any further for his chest, "Trapped in your wicked clutches is no more than a little boy, scarred for life for the things he wouldn't have done!"
"ENOUGH!!" Kangree roared furiously, before swiftly making a well executed maneuver for his opponent's abdomen.
An abrupt, frosty colored spear served as a strong barrier from getting to his goal.
"I don't want to hurt you, but I really advise you," Elsa harshly admitted, "To get away from my husband."
"You little– GET OUT OF MY WAY!"
Elsa bitterly chuckled, "No," She responded right after whipping the massive katana out of the teenager's grasp with Grinfrost's other edge, "That's useless of you to say that when you know I won't back away so easily."
"Snowflake," Aiden called loudly, "What of the twins?!"
"I have appointed at least two guards to secure each door," Elsa silently answered, "But I placed Magoo in front of our bedroom, most especially."
"May I reward you with a kiss for that smart advance?"
"Aiden, we're literally in a fight."
"Oh, right."
The katana looked like it was a flower protruding from the ground as its edge is firmly stuck between mounds of dirt. As if it was a coincidence, a stream of moonlight made its untamed metal gleam more.
Seeing it untouched left a glimmer of hope in Kangree's account. He practically made a dash for it— before a sudden, sharp pain emitted from his ankle.
He groaned in irritation as another chance to recover his one and only defense crumbled into nothing.
"Apologies," Aiden murmured, "But I had to."
"A-aiden..." Elsa quietly stuttered in shock, "Are you seeing what I am seeing?"
Aiden shot her a look of confusion.
"See what?"
"Those... Those threads attached to his limbs... Can't you see it?" She whispered.
Aiden squinted and tried to find what his wife was looking at. The moonlight, as if on cue, intensified its glow and managed to expose the almost invisible threads connected to each of Kangree's limbs, like he was a puppet at the mercy of strings.
"So those are the so called chains he was talking about yesterday..." He muttered, "Elsa's eyes are quite keen. And to think, those harmless looking things sound way more deadly than it looks like."
"I think..." Elsa concurred, "Cutting those is our thin chance to break his curse."
To be continued on the next chapter...
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ A/N: Sorry for the shortness and the delay of this chapter. But hey, I have a surprise for all of you for getting this book to 54K+ reads as a sign of my gratitude. This, is Noah Gundersen, forty-seven years old.
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A widower who lost his wife many years ago, and they do not have any children. I will reveal his role (which will probably stun most of you) in the next chapters, so stay tuned. Don't worry, he's not an antagonist.
