Amais looked; they had walked and reached the end and he looked with a deadpan expression. The bones were gone; however, there was no abyssal river like before. in fact, there was nothing...
Did I go the wrong way? Or is this even the same place as before? Or am I just leading us to nowhere? he thought, horrified that he did this in front of her. It's a damn maze. Why the hell did I think I would know? he thought, feeling like an idiot.
"Hmm, so this is where we're supposed to be," she teased, walking behind him, her hands behind her back and resting her chin on his shoulder as she looked ahead at the vast, empty darkness. They had long passed the bones as Amais had an embarrassed grin.
"Uhm, well, not particularly. I... Everything in this maze looks alike; I couldn't really tell," he said honestly and embarrassed as she laughed mirthfully.
"Oh, whatever shall we do, trapped here? The others are probably looking for us; we'll leave them disappointed. Stuck here, imagine them searching for us," she said, acting pitiful with an exaggerated sigh, trying to make him feel guilty.
I want to die.
"I'm just teasing; don't look so glum. We've gotten to know each other well or we would've if you talked more. You need to learn to drive a conversation. I shouldn't be the only one trying here," she said with a pout.
"Haha, sorry," he coughed, embarrassed. "Well, I was curious. How do you know English?"
"Oh, a good one," she mused. "My mother was a human and my dad a vampire, so I learned English from her," she said honestly.
"Really? In your world, humans exist?" he asked, intrigued.
"Well, you saw the portal. Did you really think this is the first time my people have come to your world, dummy?" she asked playfully.
He nodded, feeling a bit stupid as he pondered. The more he thought, the more it made sense. It explained why elves and vampires are known in his world: if people had seen them in the past and recorded their knowledge, which then evolved to be believed as myths and legends, then what about humans? how were they seen there?
He grew curious as to what this meant. All the possibilities. But thoughts be damned, he was more curious about her in this moment.
"So your mother was a human?" he asked, interested as she smiled, happy to tell.
"Oh yes. My father was obsessed with her, from what I'd heard. I don't meet him too often, though. But despite that, our meetings are nice," she said wistfully before happily continuing. "Oh, my mother, you should've seen her. You think I'm pretty, but she was an angel. Took everyone's breath away. I loved her, and she loved us and told us fairy tales of the place called Earth. To be there for real. It was like a dream," she said honestly with a melancholic smile.*
Is her mom dead? Amais thought, blunt and unsure. By the way she talked, it sure sounded like it but she never outright said it, so what the hell was he supposed to say? Easy solution. Just continue the conversation.
"A good dream?"
"Oh, an excellent one. I went everywhere I could and found all these weird buildings made of glass. I could see inside of everything. Though the most interesting thing that happened to me was meeting this really silly guy who was about to die, and the first thing he asked me after I saved his life was for a date."
Amais coughed and grabbed his chin, murmuring, "W-well, I thought it was romantic."
"A little, but mostly cute," she teased as he turned his head bashfully but held a grin.
"Aw, look at that smile," she teased as he chuckled.
"Are you trying to kill me?" he asked as she smiled wickedly.
"Oh, absolutely not," she murmured, her breath tickling his ear as he turned red; she held a triumphant smirk.
They continued to walk and talk, with subtle flirting here and there, mostly from Elentera. It eased Amais's mind. He felt so free. At peace. This moment was just a talk. No worry of monsters or anything. It was peaceful with Elentera. The usual dark, gloomy maze felt magical for the first time. Her eyes glowed, and so did her sword, illuminating the dark like moonlight shone on her. Her hair cascaded behind her, radiant, and she herself was stunning. It was the perfect dream.
He was mesmerized...
and she was looking...
Amais quickly turned his head as she grinned. They walked a while, everything nice and peaceful...
Ching
He was pushed his vision blurred as a flash of silver ran to his chest but was swiftly blocked by another sword just in the nick of time. Silver shined and flashed at speeds he couldn't fathom. Everything happened so quickly. A man in black came, his sword shining up, ready to strike, as he thrust it forward only to be blocked by another as Elentera took the stead of Amais.
Amais simply blinked, taken aback by what had just unfolded, as questions raced as did his heart as he watched the two exchange carefully balanced and coordinated strikes.
Was that the Abysswalker? Amais wondered as his eyes adjusted. He looked and saw a man with blue eyes and slits in each one. A giant of a man, at least eight feet.
The Abysswalker is him? Amais thought, confused.
"Furo ger morda seruvok," the man snarled, his teeth clenched, his voice seething with hate.
"Orv jura grem," she said condescendingly, grinning wickedly.
What does that even mean...? Amais watched as the two fought. Swords clashed as sparks flew, lighting the dark around them. Amais simply watched; he wasn't needed. It wasn't much of a fight, now more of a humiliation than anything, as her face held that cocky smirk. Her aim was true. She struck, disarming the weapon and holding her sword aimed up at his neck.
"Aren't you classmates? Why'd he do that?" Amais asked, curious.
"He blames vampires and elves for what happened to the North."
"The North?" Amais asked, curious.
"It's politics. Don't worry about him. I can understand why, but it doesn't matter now," she laughed as Amais simply nodded, looking up at the boy. For such a tall person, he had such a young and innocent face.
"He tried to kill me. Huh. I feel like everything does at this point," Amais said dryly, looking at him curiously. The slit eyes over there stared back hatefully.
"Should I kill him?" Elentera asked, curious about Amais's answer.
"Kill him?" Amais said, surprised.
It made sense he did try to kill him. However, Amais had seen people dead, but to see a person killed in front of him, the idea scared him.
He looked at her and shook his head.
She shrugged before knocking the side of the boy's neck with her sword. He fell to the ground, and Amais watched. It was kind of funny, though he felt bad, so he didn't laugh.
"So, you killing him. That was a joke?" he questioned, and she smiled.
"You're still too naive. You'll see for yourself," she whispered mirthfully.
He looked at her, unsure of what she meant.
Would she have killed him or would she not? Did he make the wrong or right choice?
In this moment, he did not know.
It was a choice he would not regret.
but one he would sorrow.