UNDERGROUND LIBRARY

                    Chapter 7
Two months had passed and Pierre was finally ready to go on the quest. He was prepared to go to Matanceros.

     "Have a safe journey, and may the spirits guide you", were Mr. Andres' last words to Pierre as he  boarded the ship.

Made by the best men Slashers had, the ship was fully stocked with equipment and supplies to sustain him on the journey. Thanks to Slashers technology, he was saved the trouble of steering - the ship could move by itself.

     "Do you really want to go alone?" Mr. Andres asked.

     "Yes and as I said, I won't let you down."

He sighed heavily as his eyes surveyed the huge mass of blue that surrounded him, with a small portion of Matanceros peeping out at him.

Sooner or later he would be back in Slashers with the Crescentia. Now, he just had to go and retrieve it from Matanceros, a task he knew nothing of.

Aside that, he had left behind a huge issue which needed solving.

                  FLASHBACK
    (Before Pierre's departure)
    
     "This is too much for me to handle, Pierre. Why does it have to be only you? Why would they choose you in the first place? Why did you -"

     "Susan please. Can you quit hollering about why's and start thinking about how I will be successful at this? Come to think of it, I definitely have the spirits if nature with me, so I have nothing to fear. I'll be fine."

It was a week before Pierre's voyage to the ancient kingdom and Susan had suddenly changed. She had began to cling more to her husband than before. There was this irrational feeling lurking in her; she felt she was going to loose him.

She had wanted to prevent him from making that choice at the very beginning, but it was an issue she, as a woman, was allowed to speak nothing of.

Though he had not being able to give his wife a child since their marriage, she still loved him and Pierre was late at realizing that. He recalled the time he had vehemently objected to her proposal of adopting a child, and realised the emotional harm he had caused, for she had been childless for years.

     "Susan", he said in a lower tone when the tension in the room had
cleared, "I don't want you to think of this, but I'm not going to die. Our future - everyone's future - depends on this and if I don't do it,.....well...... you know what's going to happen."

    
     "So then, why did he die? If the spirits knew what he was going to do, why did they allow him to die?"

It was Pierre's turn to look anxious.

     "Jean-Paul, his death was not a suicide, was it? If you had no other intentions, then, why did you do it? Tell me."

To his surprise, she began to cry. He was totally dumbfounded. Someone had found out about the crime he had committed, and it was none other than his own wife.

Then questions began to flood his mind. 'How did she find out? When did she find out? Who else knew about this?'

As if she had read his mind, Susan continued, "Your morning stroll that day wasn't just a walk after all, was it? I knew you hated the outside especially when the mornings were cold, so I followed you. Since then, I had mulled over  what happened, until I saw the bottle of arsenic. Pierre, how could you do this to your best friend.-"

     " Shut up! Shut up! Just stop it!" He raised his hand in an attempt to hit her but was stopped in mid-action by her firm grip on his wrist.

Now she looked scary, at least to Pierre. Her auburn hair looked more reddish than brown, like flames and her eyes were red.

     "Well, I think it's about time she found out, your alibi of long ago has now expired."

Did 'she' mean Janette? No, he had to stop her, even if it meant he had to do it again. That secret must die along with anyone who knew it, even if it was his own wife.

     "What is there to find out now?" A familiar voice shouted. It was followed by a laughter so loud and wicked that Pierre's hair stood on end. Susan released her grip on his hand as they both turned towards the source of the voice.

A strange woman appeared, fully clothed in red. In deep contrast with her extravagant gown was her hair, which looked like an abandoned bird's nest.

The woman was holding something. The thing looked like a bundle of dried leaves.....no, maybe flowers?

Then he remembered. The woman in their doorway was the wife of the man he had killed and what she was holding was the wreath he had destroyed, months ago.

     "Janette Marco", he breathed at last.

     "Janette", Susan repeated.
       
            (End of flashback)

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Hey guys!
This is the first time I'm actually writing an Author's Note, so I'm feeling a little weird......
But voila!....Chapter Seven has finally landed. Phewww!!! 😓

Please read, vote and comment (very important).
               Thank y'all.
                                     -R.A.S