16 - Cookies Square

356 22 16
                                    

...

The tension in the air dissipated, as Ara emanated a subdued giggle at Add's precipitous decision. It was undoubtedly true that the offer appeared to have been worth it, but it seemed suspicious and skeptical to the girl, that Lu would throw in such a packaged deal at her. She thought about it, consolidating rational responses to the matter. The treats from Ciel did make it seem better, and Add had already agreed to it...

However, despite how gullible she usually was, she kept questioning; hesitant of her future actions. The Royal Guard looked absolutely trustworthy with his mellow maturity, but the Noblesse, on the other hand, was the opposite. She believed that if worst came to worst, Ciel would step in to do something. And so, after her long moments of debating, she added in to the disputed deal.

"I'll accept, under one condition. If it looks like Aisha is perfectly normal, and isn't up to anything 'bad', then I have the right to halt and end our trip. I don't want to invade her privacy, after all..." she said, expressing her concerns and worries.

Luciela crossed her arms. "Hmph! Whatever you say. Now, shall we leave? Ciel and I will inform you two of your situation afterwards."

She nodded with a pressured smile, picking up her eye-patch and wrapping it back around her eye after dusting it off. "A-Alright, lead the way."

Ara Haan was scared. She was afraid of her current phenomenon, and all the odd events transpiring ever since Add had materialized into her bedroom. Add, the amnesiac albino. Elesis, the strong-willed, yet soft teenager who died in an ominous fire. Lu and Ciel, the seemingly non-human duo who were allies of Brother Aren. And last but not least, Aisha-- the mysterious, upbeat female, who rose the intuitions of LuCiel-- if they were telling the truth, then, was she truly a friend? How much did the younger Haan actually know about her? Were they all bittersweet lies sugarcoated in sweets? It pained her to think about the small chance of the reality being true. It hurt to think, that if Lu was attempting to warn her for her safety, who Aisha really was.

~

As they headed to their destination, the Royal Guard handed the gang another neatly-packaged box of scrumptious chocolate chip cookies, which Add promptly scarfed down. His mouth was full, and crumbs were beginning to form. Though, he flinched at his own behavior, and had ended up borrowing a napkin from the butler to wipe the areas around his face, sanitized.

Ara had let out another faint laugh at the sight. Despite not having any sweets for herself, it was fun to watch him eat. "Did you like the cookies, Add? I'm sure Ciel wants some feedback."

His eyes lit up, nodding. "Y-Yeah. They tasted good, so thank you, Ciel."

The butler smiled, pleased with the answer. "Good to hear."

Lu glanced back at the three behind her, muttering under her breath. "Add, Ava... they're so, different than what I had remembered. Uuu... this is bothering me now..!"

After recomposing herself, the noble simpered, her lips curving ever so elegantly. "You know, it's quite... rude, not sharing with your girlfriend, Add."

Such a statement, as usual, had made Ara flush tremendously. Even the present Add, who was usually calm, had his cheeks tinted a slight rosy pink.

"Y-You're mistaken, Miss Luciela...! L-Lu, we're not in that kind of relationship!" she protested.

"Oh, you aren't? Why else would you two be living together?"

"B-Because... ah, well. W-Wait! You should know why, since you said you knew more about our situation then we did!" the Sakra Devanam cried.

"You're exactly right. What I said was a hint to you. If you aren't a 'couple' yet, then I wouldn't be surprised if you two got together soon." she laughed. "Huhuhu...!"

Add rolled his eyes. "Shut up..."

"That's enough, Lu. Quiet down, we're almost there." Ciel sighed. "You can be such a handful sometimes..."

They arrived at the major square of the town, rows and rows of buildings towered above all. The sun shone brightly; its illuminations reflected and baked the streets. A soothing wind flew by to refrain the temperature from being too hot. Swarms of people were buzzing around like bees on such a beautiful day. However, Aisha's purple hair stood out from all the rest. A boy with flaring red hair stood with her, Ara assumed that he was Elesis' younger brother, as they shared many physical attributes and similarities.

"They're there. Now, make sure to conceal your presence, and see what the two are up to in an orderly fashion. Hide yourselves as best you can, and if all else fails, retreat immediately." the servant instructed sternly, it almost seemed cool and admirable to Ara and Add.

Lu smirked. "Indeed! Listen carefully; we're going to unravel the real Aisha today, if all goes well."

At that point in time, Ara was truly horrified. She was utterly terrified of the reality that could have been gradually being revealed to her.

...

[Elsword] - Masked RenegadeWhere stories live. Discover now