𝕾𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖘 [𝗲𝗻𝗴 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻]

★[𝐜𝐩𝐭.𝟎𝟓]★

𝐎𝐫𝐚 𝐏𝐎𝐕...

I heard the gentle jingling of keys as Eros opened the door to my cell. The heavy door creaked slowly, and I watched as Eros took the handcuffs from the wall. He approached me, grabbed my arm, and placed the cold handcuffs around my wrist. "Don't make a sound!" he said with a stern tone. A strange feeling flowed through me at that moment. Together, we left the dungeon, crossing the castle in silence. Along the way, our eyes met with Adonis, an older man with a white shirt and blue hair, sitting in the library. After a moment of contemplation, I recognized him as Adonis. It seemed he had noticed us, and his deep red eyes followed us. I immediately averted my gaze – Adonis must not know that I was here.

Eros led us through a back door of the castle to the outside. When we entered the courtyard, he turned me around and removed the handcuffs, which had left painful marks on my wrists. "Rheos has ordered me to take you back to your farm or, in your case, back to your forest, Ora," Eros explained calmly. My movements faltered briefly upon hearing this news. "So, you remember me after all?" I asked, surprised. "Yes, but let's talk about it once we're outside the kingdom," he suggested.

Silently, I followed Eros until the edge of the forest, where he stopped. "I'll keep it brief. Rheos made me a soldier back then. I'm his bodyguard. I can't stay here for too long; he'll suspect something is amiss," he explained to me. A nod of agreement was my only response. I hugged him briefly, and although he seemed tense at first, he relaxed after a few moments and returned the embrace. As I pulled back a bit, I whispered softly, "I missed you, Eros. Alice misses you too. Please take care of yourself." With these words, I turned away and looked at his face one last time. A single tear made its way down his cheek. Eros and Alice had a close connection. He had often looked out for her, but after Alice confessed her love to him, he never returned. With a heavy heart, I walked through my forest. I felt a tense atmosphere, as if something was amiss. The trees seemed restless, and the wind carried an unusual tension.

Distracted and lost in thought, I wandered through the forest when suddenly Arox's howl echoed – a familiar signal that I had returned. Quickly, Alice appeared, flying towards me at light speed and transforming into an elf as she stood before me. "Ora, there's a man at your hut who wants to speak with you," she said. Surprised, I ran to my hut, but as I approached and recognized the silhouette of a man with a white shirt and veil, my steps slowed. "Ora, I've never seen you run so fast. Has the deer within you expanded?" I heard the wise voice of Adonis. "How did you intrude into my forest?" I asked him angrily. "Calm down. I come in peace, unlike my brother," he said calmly. I couldn't believe him; after all, he lived under the same roof as Rheos. "Speak! What do you want here? I'm not seeking war," I emphasized. "Let's first go into your lovely hut, Ora. One should always invite a guest nicely," he suggested. He entered the hut and sat down at my wooden table. "I'd like mint tea," he said, as I turned annoyed to my herb cabinet and took mint leaves from a glass container.

Arox also joined us and sat next to Adonis. Adonis began to pet Arox, and Arox seemed to enjoy it. "Arox still seems to like me, ever since I turned him into a spirit so he could continue to exist," Adonis remarked, while I turned away from him, preparing his tea. In my movement, I paused. "What did you just say? You did that back then?" I asked, shocked. He looked up, piercing me with his red eyes. "Yes, back then I saw Rheos burn your wolf. He wanted to stop him, but Arox was too weak. When he lay on the tree stump, and Rheos was about to approach you, I woke Arox from the coma to save you," he explained and paused briefly. As he spoke of the past, he took a sip of tea. "You still make the best tea, Ora. You could sell it well at our castle," he suggested, taking another sip. "So that Rheos can kill me directly? No way! Continue from your perspective!" I said, annoyed. Adonis placed his cup down. "I saw you burn Rheos. He didn't go to the underworld because he's related to me. I took Arox's soul to let him live on as a spirit," he concluded his narrative. I stared into space, needing a moment to process what was said.

"Why can't Arox speak anymore?" I asked Adonis, while even Arox perked up an ear in our direction. "Because spirits don't speak our language," Adonis explained. "But he understands us," I objected, surprised. "Yes, but he's only a soul, Ora. He'll never live again, neither eat, drink, breathe, nor smell. It's a miracle that he can hear – he shouldn't be able to understand us," he said, contemplating. "I will bring him back to life!" I said determinedly. Adonis started laughing. "Ora, you're strong, too strong in my opinion. You're unique, but even Rheos can't bring someone back from the dead," he said solemnly. But I was not discouraged. I was determined to succeed. Adonis stood up from the chair. "It was a pleasure talking to you, Ora. Take care of yourself. Rheos knows you're still alive. He will come soon," he said and left my hut.