A Remaining Podeshire 1

Chapter 6 (Part 5)

     Sophia strode towards a sidewalk while walking away from her parents as she glared at the ground. While taking loud paces forward, she heard a vehicle passing by. Sophia quickly turned around and saw a carriage stopping at the Fuers' household. Then, the carriage's door opened.

     Oliver and the Fuers hopped off the carriage. Oliver immediately noticed Sophia far on the sidewalk. His brows arched up in concern as he approached his fiancée.

"Hey, are you alright?" Oliver asked kindly. "I am worried about you."

Looking down, Sophia answered, "My mother doesn't want to hear what I think about our marriage."

     Oliver's face turned cold. His pupils contracted as his jaw hung open. Oliver's breathing hastened, knowing there was no escape from the suffocating weight of expectations.

     In the meantime, the Fuers unlocked their front door and pushed it open. Then, they entered while Evan looked back at Oliver and Sophia on the sidewalk. He raised his voice and waved his hand high in the air.

"Sophia! Oliver! Head indoors now!" Evan shouted.

     Oliver and Sophia heard Evan's call. They immediately obeyed and walked together across the front lawn. As they marched beside each other, Oliver glanced at Sophia and saw her tearful eyes glistening under the sunlight.

     Hours flew by with the cold nightly breeze as the moon rose in the bright night sky. Dim candlelights and street lamps illuminated the city while the grasslands remained shrouded in darkness. As the cold wind howled, the grass swayed with the trees.

     Oliver and Sophia stand on the second-floor terrace, facing the backyard. They look down on the dim, unlit garden, seeing no greenery but darkness. Their forearms lean on the railings as the cold breeze blows on their face.

"My mother is forcing me to be part of the Podeshire lineage. Like... why? So, my kids, our children, would have powers?" Sophia explained in annoyance.

"Geez... I cannot believe it," Oliver said.

"And no matter how much I try... no matter how many times I tell my mother... that... I don't want to get married... she..." Sophia continued, "...she just tells me to shut up!"

"Hey, it's alright..." Oliver placed his hand on Sophia's back.

"Oli... I'm so sorry. My mother is just desperate to have grandchildren with powers..." Sophia glanced at Oliver and shook her head.

     Oliver grabs Sophia's hands and slowly pulls her towards his body. Sophia then lunges forward and hugs Oliver. The two hug, and they feel their hearts touching one another.

     Slowly, Oliver and Sophia let go of their hug. They pull away from one another. And their eyes dart to the ground.

"...What if I..." Oliver's voice trembled. "What if I set us free by..."

     Oliver summoned a pile of sand on his right palm. Slowly, it overflowed through the gap in his fingers. He clenched his teeth as his eyebrows furrowed.