Expectations When Expecting

Chapter 14

By the time she opens her eyes, she is in a different, much eerier place: the group was standing before an empty cottage in the center of a dark forest. She shivers, every part of her tingling as if giving her a warning. Something evil is here... her gut protested as she looked at the boys, whose eyes were fixated upon the old cottage.

"So this is the Dwarfs' Mine..." Deuce stated in awe. "Long ago, this mine was flush with magestones."

She felt as Grim's small body pressed against her leg in a small attempt at achieving comfort. "Urgh... Who knows what lurks in there now?" He grumbled. Yuu looked down to notice the fluffier looking version of Grim. Oh, poor thing.

She picked up Grim (a way to comfort him and to soothe her nerves. "I can't pinpoint it, but... This place feels strange. Almost... evil." She muttered.

Ace, slightly less visibly disturbed, rolled his eyes in falsified confidence and he gestured toward the haunting cottage.

"Look, I can see a house. Let's see what the people there have to say." He announced, making his way to the doorway.

Yuu felt the old creaking of gears as the door handle turned, and the scraping of the wooden door against the rotting floorboards. Almost immediately, her senses were assaulted with the scent of mold, making her stomach turn. She swallowed a gag, scrunching up her nose distastefully.

Grim jumped from her arms, opting to look around as well, curiosity replacing his earlier unease. He sniffed around whittled wooden figurines.

Ace and Deuce made their way inside, seemingly unphased by the scent of moisture, looking around.

"Hellooo? Is anybody home...?" The dark haired boy called, inspecting the halls for any evidence of the residents. "Must be empty. It looks like it's been abandoned." He concluded.

Yuu slowly made her way inside, attempting to combat the effects of her nausea. She turned to look at her cat monster, who appeared to be about to collide with a spider's web.

"Bwah! I got a spider web on my face!" Grim yelped before sneezing, attempting to get the web off of his nose. She rolled her eyes, walking carefully in the direction of the cat monster, pulling on her long, gray sleeve to wipe the web off of him.

"You've got to be more careful in these things.Geez." She scolded, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "You got lucky that you didn't walk into a spider's nest. The egg sacks are harder to remove." She remarked, as Grim squirmed slightly in her grip.

There was an impressed whistle from behind her, Ace inspecting the miniature furniture in the cottage. "Look how tiny these desks and chairs are. Did children live here?" He pondered before counting. "One, two... Seven! It's like a clown car in here." He remarked, going back to double check his count.

"When the mine was flourishing, this house must have been a lively place." Deuce remarked, earning a hum of agreement from Yuu.

"Well, this isn't getting us anywhere." Ace threw up his hands, impatient and exasperated. "If we're gonna find a magestone, it'll be inside the mine. Let's head inside and take a look"

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"I don't like this." Yuu spoke, staring into the gaping, pitch black hole that was known as the Dwarf's Mine.

"Oh, don't be such a wimp, it's not that bad." Ace rolled his eyes.

"You wanna go inside THERE? It's pitch black!" Grim argued, his tail puffing up again, glaring at the entrance.

"What, are you scared of the dark?" The ginger boy teased, his painted heart contracted slightly as he gave the cat monster a teasing smirk. "Pathetic."

This seemed to irk Grim, as he turned to hiss at Ace. "I'm not scared of anything!" He protested, before standing in a typical Brave Explorer fashion. "I'm taking the lead. You all follow me!"

Grim marched ahead, followed by Ace. Yuu, however, hesitated.

"Something doesn't feel right here..." She mumbled, caressing her belly protectively. She jumped slightly when she felt a poke on her side. She turned, bristling at whoever had just touched her.

"Hey. Are you coming?" Ah. It was Deuce. Her glare eased slightly, however, she shakily nodded.

"Yeah... let's go." She swallowed.

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She and Deuce rushed to catch up with the ginger haired boy and the cat monster, both of which were stupid enough to likely get themselves lost in less than five minutes. The pair reached the two idiots without much issue, thankfully.

Yuu trailed behind the group, mind fogging as she began to analyze their situation. She rubbed her stomach, examining the crooked stone walls as she heard the old creaking of the wooden supports of the mine shaft. She shivered at the sudden cold draft, looking around anxiously.

She looked ahead, seeing a strange, see-through figure disappear into the stone walls that she left behind. She blinked, attempting to turn her attention back to the boys that walked ahead of her.

"Yuu." She stopped for a moment. Was that just her name? She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders to try to calm herself. I'm probably just hearing things. She thought to herself, however, curled slightly inward as if protecting the precious life within her womb. I won't let anyone hurt you.

"Yuu..." She flinched slightly, recognizing that whisper. She felt her heart sink with fear, yet it stung anew with grief.

"... Anthony?" She breathed, furrowing her brows. She whipped her body around, desperate and curious to see where the voice came from. She took a step in the opposite direction, an almost mesmerized expression on her face.

Everything was fuzzy, as if she were in a trance. Yuu's mind was suddenly pulled out of that state as she felt a sudden yank at her arm, stumbling backward.

"Dude! The hell's wrong with you?!" Ace grumbled, dragging her back. She blinked for a moment, delicate features marred with confusion.

"What do you mean? What happened?" She asked, tilting her head.

"Nothing except for your scared ass trying to leave." Ace smirked, earning himself a glare.

"Shut up." She grumbled, smacking his hand off of her as she walked back to the group. She froze suddenly as she felt a familiar chill run up her spine. It was similar to what she'd felt as she entered Ramshackle dorm. Oh no...

"Huh? Hold up!" Deuce yelped, his eyes widening.

"What now?" Ace groaned, rolling his eyes.

"T-There's something there!" Deuce pointed, panicked eyes scanning the area in which two ghostly white beings faded into view, cackling excitedly. Grim gave a terrified yelp as he ran over to Yuu, cowering behind her legs.

"Hee hee hee hee! Visitors! The first in ten years!" The first smiled eerily.

"Do make yourselves at home... You can stay forever!" Wailed the second excitedly.

Yuu simply stared ahead, dumbfounded before sighing. "Of FREAKING course there are ghosts." She growled, done with the chaos.