Confused Decision

Arya kept running through the dark, narrowed secret passage in a fast-paced at the same time, she kept glancing around not to get caught by Edris. She had successfully gotten to the fifth floor of the building. One more floor to be out of the building as she kept on praying silently in her heart.

 She had known this secret passage ever since she was 13, and it was all Michelle's idea as if she knew that a day like this would come. 

After a long run, she finally reached the end, which led to the back of the building. She strode towards the small brown wooden door and turned down the handle, opened it, and stepped outside.

 She tiptoed like a cat in the direction that led to the horse stable, and there she found Edris, watering the flowers as usual. But he was so engrossed in his work that made him not to noticed her presence or anything. 

Just when she thought she could successfully walk past him without being noticed, Edris turned right in time to see her tiptoeing like a criminal.

"What are you doing outside, Arya?" Edris asked with snapped eyebrows, as he dropped the water can he was holding to the ground 

Arya halted at his question, as she scratched the back of her head nervously, trying so hard to fake up a convincing smile. "I wanted to receive the fresh—" 

"Where did you come out from?"  He furrowed his eyebrows, interrupting her, as his deep brown eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Arya stood stunned, staring at the fourteen-year-old boy... Edris is an extremely smart kid and cannot be easily deceived by anything. The fact that he was asking her those questions made her confused because he was the first person to discover the secret passage before Michelle, so why was he asking her now? She shot him a glare.

"Do you know the fact that I'm older than you? And you shouldn't be questioning your elders that way." Arya tried to make her voice sound bold, but surprisingly, Edris burst into hilarious laughter, clinging to his stomach, while Arya stared at him in disbelief.

Edris screamed in her face, "Wait until I tell your father about this secret passage, and I will also tell him about you sneaking out of this..." Edris was saying something, but Arya quickly rushed towards him and coated his mouth with her palms.

"Must you always behave like this, little brother?" Arya twinkled at him, just to tease him.

Edris' eyes widened in shock the moment Arya uttered those words, and words can't explain how much it warmed his heart and filled his stomach with butterflies to hear her call him her little brother.

Arya laughed softly at his shocked expression and said, "You should stop making those faces." She went ahead and hit his shoulder softly.

"And you should stop twinkling your eyes like that because, no matter how hard you try, I won't fall in love with you." He muttered, rolling his eyes.

Arya busted into uncontrollable laughter leaning towards him for support, and Edris couldn't hold back his smile either, seeing how Arya was laughing wholeheartedly.

"Arya, I had a dream about you last night." He muttered, suddenly turning his smile into a deep frown, and Arya noticed his change of mood.

"What was it all about?" She asked in a calm voice, urging him to speak.

He sighed and his shoulders dropped down calmly. "I'm just confused about this whole dream; now I wish my father had not embarked on this journey of seeing his grandmother; else he could've been in the best position to explain everything to me more." He muttered sadly.

"But you can talk to me; perhaps the dream was about me anyway," Arya said. Strangely, she is so curious to know what the dream was all about. "Please," she added.

Edris sighed loudly again as his eyes gazed into Arya's pleading eyes. For once, he wanted to trust her with his dreams because his father had warned him never to disclose any of his dreams to anybody on any account. But he couldn't find himself resisting Arya because this is what he has always wanted. just to be close to her and tell her all his dreams. "Can I trust you?" He whispered.

Arya nodded her head in response.

"In my dream, I saw a group of crowds in a huge building, just like a palace. The multitude there was so enormous that I could barely recognize anyone. But then, I sighted you from afar, wearing this same white dress," Edris pointed at her dress with his finger, This was the exact dress you were wearing. But strangely, you had a baby bump."

 "Arya, I saw you heavily pregnant, and you were tied up on a long pole, which was in the middle of the building." He shivered in panic, gazing around him, but Arya is quick to grab his shoulders to hold him still and signaled him to continue. He took in a deep breath and slowly let it out, which made him calm down a bit.

"Are you okay?" Arya asked in concern while stroking his shoulders softly.

Edris shook his head sideways and said, "Arya, you were covered in your sweat, mixed with blood. You looked so pale and sad." He nervously gulped down nothing. "Suddenly, I saw four terrifying creatures walk into the building through the entrance with their heads all bowed down. Surprisingly, nobody in that building noticed their presence, not even you, because they were so engrossed in their merriment."

Arya's gaze never left his face as her hands gently dropped from his shoulder. "Did you see their faces afterward?" She asked in a soft voice. Her mind buzzed with several thoughts. She don't want to believe what Edris, but his eyes said it all, and the truth was visible. "Did you?"   She asked again when she saw him look so calm. She wanted to know everything that happened in his dream. The fact that he mentioned that he saw her pregnant clarified everything to her, and she wanted to know more.

Edris tried as much as possible to calm his nerves as he spoke. "They all had long horns on their heads and tiny long fangs. Each of them had a different facial shape than an animal, and their eyeballs looked like those of a cat. They kept hissing like a serpent and prancing towards you, like a predator." He let out a gentle sigh.

Arya's body was covered with goosebumps as fear gripped her body the moment she heard him say that. "Then, wha--what ha--happened to me?" She couldn't help but sputter.

"I think they wanted your blood and your baby." He blurted it out sharply.

Arya's jaw dropped instantly.

"I mean... I saw them sauntered towards you, with their long, dark nails stretched forward towards

 your tummy." He muttered this time around. "Now seeing you in this white dress, clearly shows that my dream is about to come to pass, and I'm scared for you, Arya." He admitted.

Arya, letting out a nervous, convincing smile, said, "Thanks for caring, but I will be fine." Perhaps I'm not pregnant, just like you saw me in your dream. So be less worried." She assured him, but deep down, she was not going to take his dream for granted; rather, she was ready to stand firm on not going to the party, "I will be right back." She whispered with a smile and began to walk away towards the horse stable; perhaps Michelle might be waiting for her already.

*********

Michelle kept pacing back and forth repeatedly, rounding the room with both hands on her waist, in fear and confusion. Her head was filled with numerous thoughts on how to send Mara off, and of course, Mara is a very clever but cunning fellow who won't be dealt off so easily.

Knock!   Knock!   "Michelle, are you planning on keeping me outside here all day?" Or should I force my way inside the room?

Her voice echoed behind the closed door, which startled Michelle a little bit as she kept thinking of a way out. _Think of something, Michelle. You need to find a way out._ She scolded herself mentally, trying to think but losing focus because of the repeated knocking on the door.

Knock!  Knock!   "Remember, I have spare keys to this particular room; I won't give a second thought to barging into this room, Michelle."

Michelle took a deep breath and swiped away the boil of sweat that formed on her forehead with the back of her palm. She cleared her throat softly to fit in exactly what she had in mind, and she hoped it worked out perfectly fine, as she thought.

"Mother, there is no need for you to barge into my room." Father had instructed me not to step outside of my room." Michelle perfectly mimicked Arya's calm voice, and she silently prayed for Mara not to find anything suspicious.

"But Arya, your father personally told me to come to check up on you before I can go to the party," Mara replied with a scowl on her face.

Michelle began mimicking again, "You don't have to worry; I won't disobey my father. Perhaps I'm having a fever." She suddenly felt relief that Mara hadn't noticed anything.

"Just die, just the way you killed your stupid mother; at least let me have peace of mind in my own husband's house." Mara taunted, with a smirk on her face, "Michelle, don't let her step out of this house." She added, before walking away.

"I won't let her go away," Michelle replied in her real voice immediately but chose to ignore her disdainful words towards Arya. She waited for a while before she slowly strode towards the door, and she noticed that Mara had left the doorstep already. She quickly rushed into the room again, toward the window, and she saw Mara riding her horse away.

She instantly breathed out in relief. "Coath cleared. Now I need to go and meet Arya; I might've kept her waiting for too long already." She muttered calmly to herself before heading out of the building.

Michelle hurriedly rushed downstairs in haste and suddenly wished that the six stairs would reduce to three stairs so that she could get to Arya as soon as possible because there was no time to waste any longer.

Finally, she got down to the last stairs and rushed out of the building, running towards the horse stable.

"Michelle, where are you hurriedly running off to?" 

Edris's voice made her halt for a while. She turned around and saw him staring at her with those daring eyes of his, and she gazed back at him with eyes filled with hatred and disdain. "The male gossiper." She mocked as her lips stretched into a wide smirk.

Edris never took his gaze away from her, not even for a second, and Michelle suddenly felt uncomfortable about it. He started walking closer to her, and his gaze kept burning into hers, against her skin, and piercing through her soul. She tried not to be intimidated by that. 

"Why are you gazing at me like that?" She snapped out angrily but got no response, but after a while, he spoke up,

"Your heart is clouded with evil. Your mind is filled with bad intentions, and your tongue is filled with lies! You all are meant to protect her like a family, but you all failed just that simple task."

His words were like a sword, pierced into her soul as she stared at him with dropped jaws before walking away. Instantly, she ran in the direction that led to the horse stable, and she saw Arya, waiting patiently for her. She rushes and pulls her for a hug.

"I don't want to attend the party anymore," Arya admitted pulling away from the hug.

Michelle furrowed her eyebrows and asked, "Is it about Edris? Did he say anything to you?" She rushed her words, searching Arya's face with her eyes.

"He told me about his dream," Arya muttered softly.

"When we get back you can tell me but for now, let's start going." Michelle pulled Arya into the horse's stable to pick out a horse before she protests against it as they both ride away.