See her again

Daniel's point of view:

I can't believe that I've finally found her, even when I wasn't looking for her - she was lacking a piece of my unfinished game. She was always the solution to all of my problems, even when I never thought about her.

I can't notice the fact that she doesn't seem able to recognize or remember who I am - which sort of serves my needs. That also helps me to confirm that she will probably not be able to remember Ethan either. 

She was quite young when they left, about eight-nine years old. The reason why she can't remember who we are. I mean, even at her mother's funeral, we kept watching her from afar, but none of us dared to speak to her.

Back then, I didn't care about speaking to her - but since it was Ethan's orders; I was forced to follow.

For sure, you would be asking who's that Emily girl I'm talking about. That's an old story to tell, yet I'm in the mood to talk...

Emily Carter was our neighbors' daughter. Though Ethan and Ethan were the same age, she was five years younger than both of us. 

I do remember how Ethen used to react in those times when I've tried to bully her. It was as if I was never his cousin, close friend, family member - not that I've ever been. 

Our relation was sort of calling a dog master when you need one of his favors. Still, what I need has nothing to do with his favors. I demand nothing more than what was mine - which is actually everything he got.

Since he was the offspring of grandfather's favorite child, he was giving everything he asked for. Wile me, I have to be his shadow same as father was for him.

Well, I refused to be anyone's shadows, and he's no exception. Though I made my fortune, my name, my reputation away from this my family has made. Still, I can't let such unfairness on my behalf to keep that way.

And I know exactly how I shall do it, especially after meeting that stupid girl, Emily.

Back to the girl, Emily. Though the five years distant between her and Ethen, they used to be so close to each other. Their friendship kept on getting stronger day after day.

Liliana, her mother, used to be a close friend to Ethen's mother Kathleen, which caused both Ethen and Emily to be a bit close to each other. They both used to share a love for music, especially the classic type. She was a very talented girl, which makes it hard for anyone not to notice her.

I still remember that she managed to play the whole 'Beethoven in F Major' since she was just eight years old. Ethen was the quiet opposite of her. Though he used to love music, he was never talented. 

Well, not until she decided on helping him. This was the first step in their friendship story that ended up being a one-sided love story. 

Her life totally changed when her family loses everything they used to have, and from a wealthy family, they become indebted, which led them to become broke. It was all because of her father, who invested all their money on a project that was meant to be a loss. 

The moment the Carters lost their wealth, the knights cut all sorts of connections with them. Leaving them to face their dark future on their own.

Well, not all the knights. There was one that kept on watching Emily from far. He was always with her as she grew - day after day. Until one day, she went missing.

When Ethen was eighteen, he decided not to care anymore for his family's orders. He decided to take his chance and go after his childhood best friend. He founded her as he was planning; she wasn't rich as she was. It was clear to him that she was having so much hard time adapting to the new life she has, the reason why he decided on taking care of her personally.

He kept on watching her from afar, not daring to show her his face after that his family turned their back on hers by the time they needed them. He was exactly her knight in shiny armor. He fixed almost all the problems she was facing back then, without her having awareness.

You might ask me what sort of problem a young girl might face at such an age.

Well, my answer would be - many. She was facing more than what a young girl could endure at her age. There was that time when Ethen had to teach a bunch of bullies a real lesson, since they used to bully her, using her mother's illness as a tool to break her. After that her family lost the fortune, her mother lost her last sight of sanity. 

At that exact time, she was thirteen years old, one year away from her mother's death. Few weeks after her mother's death, Emily left her home. The relationship between her and her father started getting worse after the death of her mother, the reason why she probably decided to escape.

Ethen spent his entire days searching for her until he gave up. She was gone without leaving any clue to follow her by. No phone to track, no credit card to track either, since she never had any of these tools, not even a goodbye letter. Who would've thought that she was always that nearby?

From the way she was looking, I believe that her life didn't get any better after she left. On the other hand, I still can't wait till I see the look on his face when he'll meet her again. 

You might be wondering how did I know all of this, well, it is one of the rare qualities of being a shadow...