Back at the castle, Ethan had been pondering over his situation and stumbled across a scroll on the ground.
"Man, you really shouldn't leave things around on the ground like this... Ugh..."
He picks it up and unrolls it enough to see the header of what is written
"Evil Plans? Well, that's definitely not trying to hide anything. Wait... does that make me... aw man, I'm the villain, aren't I?"
A loud sound comes from below him as if something had been knocked over, so Ethan rushes to the door of the stairwell. The door, surprisingly, seeing it's obvious age, does not creak at all, nor do the stairs. But as soon as he reaches the next floor down and pushes on the door, it makes quite a loud, unpleasant sound, as if screaming with all of its might for oil.
"Ah!" A voice that sounds familiar to him yelped at Ethan's collaborated noisemaking with the door. "Who's there? Is it any of you guys?"
The female's words take too long to click in his brain, so Ethan simply speaks what he first thinks while processing it:
"Any of who?" And likely in response to his words, words the girl hopes would not be spoken, she turns away so that once Ethan has entered enough to see the source of the voice, she is already faced away, hiding stubbornly.
"Come on, don't hide." Then it clicked. "Oh, wait, I get it! 'You guys' like the seven of us, right? Are you a weaver?"
At the word 'weaver,' the girl immediately whips her head around to see who it is. She is greeted with the familiar face of Ethan, and he with that of his friend Raine.
"Ethan! It's you!"
"Raine! Oh, my goodness, why are you here, I thought I was the-"
She cuts him off.
"Ha, woah, dude, what is up with your hair?" She takes in more of his appearance. "Actually, what's up with your... everything?"
"I was trying to say. I'm the villain for this one."
"Ooh, that's pretty cool. Just don't be more evil than is necessary, okay?" Raine winks.
"I'll try not to be. Hey, so I'm the villain, but what are you? Why are you here?"
"Honestly? Don't feel bad, I know you yourself didn't do it and also don't panic since you'll likely have to do something related to it..."
"But...?"
"But, I think I'm the, ugh, damsel in distress... And I think you might be the cause of the distress...."
"You mean I'm the stereotypical villain who kidnapped the princess?"
She nods to Ethan in reply.
"Aw come on!" He exclaims, and then looks at Raine, seeing her upset expression. "Hey what's wrong?"
"It's just... you think you're having a bad time, but at least the villain gets to have some fun! The princess type character doesn't get to do anything. The only thing I'll get to do is sit here and call for help, look pretty, and be totally underrated!"
"Aw come on Rai, I'm sure it's not that bad. Besides, you're here with me! I'm not that bad, am I?"
"Heheh, no, you're not. Though, you do come on a little strong to all of the girls... Especially me."
"That's just because you're all so great! And, I love you! I don't know why you don't like me. I always try to be nice, and to be someone who you'll love."
"You're so... persistent though. I've told you before that I'm not interested in relationships right now."
"Well yeah, but that's just it! Just because you don't want love now doesn't mean you won't want it eventually. Seeing you reject me just makes me more persistent. I want to figure out what, if anything, I can do that will impress you enough to change your opinions. You intrigue me."
"Ethan... that's a sweet sentiment, but I really just don't feel the way that you do."
"But I really do care about you, I wish you could see it the same way." He sighs. "Let's just get back to the matter at hand."
"Yeah, right. Oh, haha, maybe the villain here kidnapped the princess for the same reasons that you have for always being like this with me. Maybe he thought she could just eventually learn to love him!"
Ethan blushes at the statement, hoping that the girl in the dress before him is being hyperbolic.
"Well, maybe... But, maybe it was just, I dunno, to lure the heroes into some sort of trap?"
"Hmm, maybe. Did you find any sort of briefing for yourself?"
"Yeah, sort of. I found a document with the villain's evil plans on them, but I didn't read any more than the title yet. Maybe that will have an explanation."
"I think it might. Why don't you go check that out once again? Unless it says something about it being secret to all, then bring it here so I can see it too."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. Okay."
YOU ARE READING
Fiction WEAVERS
Pertualangan7 kids are recruited at a mysterious place by an equally as mysterious girl. What for? The hint that they're given is that "stories don't create themselves". What could it mean? What are they supposed to do? And what is Fern not telling them?
