"NO!" "FU*K!" they exclaimed simultaneously, glaring at each other in frustration.
The girl who bumped into Liam picked up her phone, frantically trying to restart it. "God, no, no, no... Please start..." she muttered. She then turned to Liam, scolding him for the mess. Liam, however, just stared at her, dazed.
He was lost, drowning in her deep blue eyes, which reminded him of someone he had lost a long time ago. Her eyes were mysterious and captivating, bringing back memories he had buried deep in his mind and heart.
Seeing Liam's vacant expression, the girl waved her hand in front of his face, calling, "Hello, mister!" But he didn't respond. Frustrated, she stomped her foot and walked away.
Rayan came over and looked at the fallen water bottle and the dazed Liam standing there. He shook Liam by the shoulder, finally bringing him back to reality.
"What happened to you, man? Why are you standing here like that?" Rayan asked.
Instead of answering, Liam kept looking around as if searching for someone. Then he turned to Rayan and asked, "Where is she?"
Rayan, confused, asked, "Who are you talking about? There was no one here except you when I came."
"Liam, what happened?"
"I bumped into someone on my way back and... she has the same eyes as her," Liam said.
"Like whom?" Rayan asked.
"Aisha."
"What?"
"I'm not sure if it was her or someone who just looked like her," Liam said.
"But how can that be possible? She died years ago. You need to move on from that incident, brother," Rayan said.
But seeing how Liam kept looking around, searching for the girl, Rayan realized his friend didn't hear a word he said. He couldn't blame him; he knew Liam had been blaming himself for the incident that happened 15 years ago. It was one of the reasons they had come here to study, far away from home.
"Okay," Rayan said, "if what you said is true, we'll meet her again. We're not going anywhere, and this island isn't so big that you won't run into someone a second time."
"Come on, let's go," Rayan said, putting his hand on Liam's shoulder and guiding him back to the tent.
"By the way, how is Lily?" Liam asked.
"Don't worry, she's fine now. After you left, we found a bottle of water under the pillows," Rayan said.
"Dude, where did you go to get water? It's been so long," Vickey said as they neared the tent.
"Nowhere, there was too much of a rush, so I got stuck," Rayan replied for Liam. Then, without giving them time to ask more questions, he said, "Are you guys done? Let's go. It's already late, and we have college tomorrow."
"Yes, let's go," Alex said, getting up. The others followed.
----
On the other side…
"Hey Lea, what happened? Why do you look so angry?" William asked.
"How else do you expect me to look? Some jerk out there bumped into me and spilled water all over my phone. Instead of apologizing, he just stared at me like he'd seen a ghost," Lea said, still trying to get her phone to work.
Seeing her frustrated expression, William said, "It's okay, chill. It's just a phone. We'll get a new one. Don't spoil your mood over such a small issue. We're here to unwind before your college starts tomorrow."
"Yeah," Lea said with a sigh, putting her phone in her bag. She walked towards a food truck with William.
The next day at Princeton University..."God, my head hurts so much it feels like it's going to bust open any moment," Jenny groaned."It's not just you. We're all in the same position," Jude said, resting his head on the desk."We shouldn't have drunk so much," Ria said, massaging her forehead.As everyone kept complaining about their hangovers, the professor walked in and started taking attendance.Just as the professor finished and was about to start the lecture, there was a knock on the door."You're late," the professor said."Sorry, sir, I just joined and lost my way trying to find the class," a melodious voice reached everyone's ears as a girl apologized."A new joiner in the final term? Come in. What's your name?" the professor asked, taking the admission slip from her to confirm her claim."It's Leona Andreese, sir," she said. "We just moved back to the country due to my brother's work, hence the change in university.""Okay, take a seat next to Rhianna there," the professor
"Who is this woman, and why is Liam staring at her like that?" Tressa exclaimed in anger."He even invited her to eat with them without hesitation?" Kira added.Tressa's expression grew darker by the second. She took out her phone and dialed an unregistered number, which was answered within three rings.Even before the person on the other end could speak, Tressa ordered, "I'm sending you a photo. I need complete information about her by tonight.""Okay, let me see what I can do," the person replied before the call ended."Don't worry, everything will be fine," Kira reassured Tressa."Even if something were to develop, Liam's parents wouldn't agree to their union. She's just a normal human. How could she compare to you?""And you said it yourself that your mothers were discussing your union. What's there to worry about?" Kira added."Hmmm," Tressa hummed, her gaze fixed on the direction the group had gone.Meanwhile, in the canteen, everyone placed their orders and settled down at a ta
"Good morning, my dear queen," Allen greeted as he stepped into the office, closing the doors behind him."Speak," she said, lifting her head to address Allen."Queen Mother's assistant called this morning to inform us that the queen mother has appointed the great sword master, Tang, as a personal trainer for Princess Alina, as she has shown a keen interest in sword fighting," Allen reported.Queen Elizabeth responded with a smile. "Mother dotes on her far too much. It's good to hear that she's taking an interest in something useful."Allen smiled, thinking of the spirited princess. "Continuing," he said.Taking a deep breath, Allen continued, "The expert we invited to treat King Edward has stated that there is nothing more he can do. We can only pray to the gods for his recovery."Elizabeth let out a sigh, rising from her seat and approaching the window for some fresh air. "This is the third such report this year," she noted wearily.Allen lowered his head slightly, then continued, s
"Are you done with yours? If not, I pity you. The line's moving at a snail's pace," Will added."There is no need for you to worry about that" Liam, who had been overlooked until then, spoke up.Startled, Will turned towards him. Feeling a twinge of guilt for neglecting Liam, Lea shot him an apologetic glance, which he acknowledged with a smile and a blink.Without delay, she introduced them. "Will, meet Liam, my classmate. Liam, this is William, my brother's best friend's younger brother."After a brief exchange, both men nodded and exchanged handshakes.Suddenly, Will checked his watch, speaking hurriedly. "Look at the time! I'm late for class again. Can't afford to miss another one," he exclaimed, giving Lea a quick hug and bidding Liam farewell before dashing off to complete his task.For some reason, Liam felt a pang of discomfort seeing Will hug Lea. He couldn't quite explain the surge of irritation towards Will or the feeling of being overlooked. It puzzled him. His reverie was
"Why? You don't like it?" Liam asked with a frown on his face. "Have you looked around you? For the past some time when we were standing near the admin block all the girls around have been throwing daggers at me. It's like they want to strangle me to death given the chance," Lea said with a small smile on her face. Hearing her words Liam just started laughing as they walked toward the class. The corridor was empty as it was near the library and it was almost time for class. "Hearing him laugh Lea stopped walking and said, what are you laughing at ha? I am just stating the truth here. Do you know how difficult it was for me to keep myself composed till now?" Lea added. Liam stopped laughing moved closer to her and looked directly into her blue eyes which were as deep as the ocean for a few seconds and asked her "So you think I am attractive?" with a smile on his face. Lea gulped in some saliva at the proximity at which they were standing. His masculine scent mixed with a flavor o
"Yeah," Liam chuckled. "I know it sounds silly. I was five years old, here with my father and uncle. I was so fascinated by the cars that I wanted to drive like the others on the track. When I asked my father if I could, he obviously said no...""I started throwing a tantrum, and despite my uncle and father trying to console me, my father got irritated and scolded me. It was the first time he'd ever scolded me, and I was overwhelmed with sadness and anger, so I just dashed into the woods.""I don't know for how long I was in there, I just ran and ran, and then when I finally got tired, I stopped and sat on a rock. I realized that I was lost. I did not know what to do or where to go, so I just started roaming around the woods to find my way out.""Wow... you were really brave for a five-year-old, not sitting in the corner and crying when you got lost in the woods," Lea commented."If you say so," Liam replied with a small laugh."So then after walki
Back to the Present"I did not understand his words about the lap timings and all then, but I remembered every word he had told me. After a few years as I grew up, all he had said started to make sense, and I worked hard every day towards it until I achieved it three years ago," Liam said."Then your uncle must be really proud of you, right?" Lea asked.After a few seconds of silence, Liam said, "He would have been if he could see me now, but…""What happened, Liam?" Lea asked."A few years ago, he met with an accident, and since then, he has been in a coma. All the doctors have given up hope of him waking up," Liam said."I... I am sorry... I didn't know," Lea stammered, hearing the information shared with her."It's okay, it is all in the past now. Don't burden yourself with this. I just got a bit emotional coming back to this place," Liam comforted Lea.Lea gave him a reassuring smile in return.Lea did not k
She still remembers the day when she gave birth to her twins. The words of her brother about how nervous her husband was and what reaction he had when the babies were finally born.FlashbackHeavy winds blew, while it was raining heavily when thunder and lightning struck the ground, and Elisabeth was screaming with pain as her water broke. Her husband Edward was walking back and front outside the room when he felt his heart was being stabbed with a knife hearing his wife's painful screams. When suddenly it stopped, he heard a baby cry and then another one after 2 minutes. As the sounds of the two babies crying chimed in the air "Winds that blow so heavily, the thunder, lightning, and rain everything stopped. The clouds disappeared and the sun started to shine brightly." The man stood there rooted to his spot like a statue when he heard the sound of the babies crying. The head nurse helping with the labor procedure came out and place
Back at the Place the sun was setting as Elena stood outside at the entrance of the palace waving bye to her friends who were flying away on their dragons. Elizabeth came and stood next her looking at the group flying away as she asked “I have sent them away as you requested, when do you plan to go?”. A few hours before… “Is Aunt Beth in her office uncle Allen?” Elena asked Allen who coincidentally came near Elizabeth’s office at the same time as her. Allen smiled as he replied “Yes princess, Her Majesty is in the office only, please come in with me” as he knocked on the door to the office. They soon received a reply “Come in” as both of them walked inside the office. “Elena?” Elizabeth looked at her confused a little but still asked in a calm tone with a smile on her face “What brings you here, Is there some problem?”. Elena smiled a bit tensed as she nodded “Yes Aunty”. Elizabeth got up from her chair behind the desk and came to where Elena was standing as she placed
“What does that sorry count for now? It's not like it can bring back the people I lost” “Yes it can’t bring them back but if you can forgive me and join hands with me we can get our revenge and build back the Knights of Gantrick that has fallen. This time we can be more powerful and more strong, that no one can bring us down”. “What are you saying?” “I will help you take over Asterin by killing the queen and we can rule over this kingdom together and once we have Asterin in our palms it’s not so difficult to track down those phantoms and get our revenge”. “Hahahaha…” Silva started laughing uncontrollably “You have lost it… Hahaha… you have lost your mind completely. You want to take over a kingdom with the help of the handful of people I have under me? You want me to lead the few who survived to their death bead to fulfill your fantasy like that fool brother of mine?” “No one is going to die, listen to my plan first and then come to a conclusion. Okay?” Listening to the confide
At the same time in Tressa’s room she was speaking on the phone with someone standing on the balcony. “You bit*h you dare to call me now after all that we had to go through because of you?” the person on the other side of the line said angrily. “I know what you went through was really bad and I did not accept them to react that way for that human” Tressa said trying to calm down the other person. “Hahaha…” The person on the other side of the line gave out a sarcastic laugh “You did not expect?... fine I will understand that but this question for me, why did you not receive our calls when we were trying to contact you for help?” Tressa balled her fists and closed her eyes as she took in a deep breath to calm herself down. “Speak up you bit*h” the person on the other line roared angrily after not hearing any answer from the other side. Listing to this the anger Tressa was trying to tame broke out of her control as she spoke, “I could not contact you because that damned mother of
"Master there is a small issue but I don't know if it's something to be worried about or not so I called you" Master Kai became instantly alert and asked in a serious tone, "What happened, dear?" "This morning, after I woke up, I saw a streak of hair had turned back to golden, which means my power is coming back. But it is too early this time compared to previous occasions and your estimated time. Will everything be okay, Master, or is the seal broken somehow?" Master Kai thought for some time and then instead of answering asked her a question "Why do you think it's broken? Did something happen recently?" "Elle, what happened?" "I... I was…" Elena stammered "I was attacked by the Knights of Gantrick recently… and I was poisoned by dragon poison during this attack." "What? How dare they lay hands on my only disciple?" Master Kai Von exclaimed, completely angered. Listening to the anger in his voice Elena continued in a meek voice "And I think my powers forced itself to break the
"Thinking over what you said, it does sound like there's some truth to your words. But didn't Master Yi say that he checked Lea by inserting his spiritual energy into her body and didn't find any trace of power?""He did, and I also checked myself without alerting Lea but didn't find any traces of power inside her. That's why I've been cooped up in the library for the past few days, trying to find if there are any artifacts or spells that can block detection when checked with spiritual energy, but I haven't found anything yet." "You should have spoken to Sharen, she knows more about artifacts than anyone else among us.""I did try, but she's been busy with something these past few days. I can hardly see her or Alex in the palace.""Yeah, that's true. Even I noticed. I don't know what those two are up to these days. Anyway, don't worry, we'll figure out something," Rayan said, patting Liam's shoulder. Then, after a moment, he added, "By the way, what's happening between you and Lea th
A few days pass by just like that and then a week later…Liam was standing on a balcony, gazing at the town outside the palace gates, when someone walked in his direction. Turning his head, he saw Rayan approaching."What are you doing here?" Rayan asked, stopping next to him."Just sorting out a few things in my mind... Anyway, what brings you here?" Liam replied, turning back to the scenery below."I was on a call with Peter. He said you asked him to find someone.""So that lazy head is complaining to you instead of doing his work?" Liam said as he walked to a nearby chair and settled down in a carefree manner.Rayan sighed, moving to the empty chair opposite Liam. "He didn't complain but was scared to speak to you since he couldn't find anything about that person even after searching for a week now."Liam let out a deep breath and shook his head lightly. "Expected. How could it be so easy...""But why did you ask him to check regarding Master Kai Von's disciple all of a sudden? Did
Liam, who was walking with Lea to the dining hall, suddenly stopped. He pulled Lea into an embrace and leaned against a pillar."What are you doing? What if someone sees us?" Lea asked, agitated, looking around to check if anyone was coming."Don't worry, not too many people use this route as this route is longer compared to the other one."Lea sighed in relief and then looked at him. "Then why did you take this path?""Because I couldn't take any more of your staring. Now, tell me what's on your mind?" Liam asked, brushing back a loose lock of hair from Lea's face.Lea sighed, a bit embarrassed at being caught. "I... I never knew you had this side to you. It felt really good to be protected like that. Though my father and brothers always stand like a protective barrier around me, what you did today felt different. I don't know how to explain it."A smile bloomed on Liam's face. He bent his head and gave a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I promise I will always protect you, whether we'r
Everyone was stunned. Tressa, one of the kingdom's best in sword fighting, had delivered a powerful strike, yet Lea had blocked it as if it were nothing."Come on, sister Lea, you can do it!" Alina's cheer broke the silence.The crowd's eyes lit up with excitement. "This match is going to be interesting," they thought. "This human is not so bad…"Alisha smiled at Tressa's state and cheered with Alina, "Come on, Lea, you can do it!" The rest of the group joined in, while Kira and a few other lackeys stood there with dark expressions.Furious, Tressa stood up and dashed toward Lea again. Her attacks grew stronger, but Lea blocked each one with ease. This continued for the next twenty minutes—Tressa attacking and Lea defending.By the end, Tressa's body was covered in cuts and bruises, while Lea stood unscathed."Dude this girl is a monster… how can she overpower a dragon warrior so easily, did she go through such rigorous training to attain this level of perfection?" David said to Tim,
Alina looked back. "I don't know… come on, let's ask someone."They reached the corridor and stopped a dragon warrior who was heading to the west wing. "Where is everyone going in such a hurry?""Little princess, you don't know?" Alina furrowed her eyebrows.Seeing this, the dragon warrior cleared his throat and explained, "Princess Tressa and that human girl are having a sword fight in the training room. We're all going to watch as we've never seen a human fight before, and we're curious about their skills."Once the dragon warrior shared this information, Alina let him go and turned to Sapphire. "This evil sister of mine is surely doing this to bully sister Lea. Please help her, sister Sapphire.""How can I help with this?" Sapphire asked, puzzled."You can… If I speak up, they'll silence me because I'm still young. But you know Master Kai Von, my evil sister has to listen to you." Looking at Sapphire still standing silently Alina added."You don't understand, sister Sapphire. That