Magus Academy 3

Chapter 28

Sophie's POV:

As I trotted my way through the forest in silence, Charles sighed.

Despite the fact that we were on somewhat better terms, Charles was still as irritating as ever.

Every single day, that goddamned idiot would try and "woo" me with flowers and stupid compliments and stupid overly romantic phrases.

If it weren't for the fact that he was still injured, I would've chopped him up to pieces already!

"The weather's nice," Charles mumbled awkwardly, a bad attempt at diffusing the tension.

I simply sighed, "Look, I already kinda forgave you and I'm fine with being your friend so what the hell do you want from me?"

Charles remained silent for a few seconds before mumbling, "I care for you, Soph. As much, if not more, than I did when things were normal. I-I want you back. Not just as a friend."

"I'm sorry Charles," was all I replied with, causing Charles to sigh loudly.

To be honest, I hated hurting him. Hated ending my day watching all the hope and excitement drain from his eyes. Hated that I, out of all people, was causing him this pain.

It was awful. I felt awful.

Every ounce of my body begged me to forgive Charles, to pretend that everything was ok and that we could go back to being as close as we were.

However, I couldn't. Every second I was close to making any sort of progress with Charles, my stupid brain flashes back to the day Charles betrayed us. It reminds me of the pain he put me through.

Me and Charles were continuously overshadowed by our broken trust. That is why we could never be together.

I won't make that mistake again.

Charles's POV:
(It could be Charles' but Google isn't really clear about that)

I sighed loudly at the deafening silence between me and Sophie.

Ever since I've been forced to betray my friends and return back to the dark realm, life has never been the same.

Believe it or not, Arthur used to be a good leader. Fair yet strict, which is exactly why I was so willing to join his side.

However, when I returned from my mission, he changed. There was a sort of dark aura surrounding him at all times and he turned from stern to outright cruel.

He'd put many of us, even if we didn't do a thing, in a torture cell under the castle. They'd keep of there for hours picking out little devices and forcing us all to watch them torture our comrades.

I could remember the screams, the endless begging and the agonized whimpers once the person had finally given up.

I had to watch all of that.

Until it was my turn to be tortured.

At first, I welcomed the blissful pain and, instead of hearing me beg for mercy, I begged for the guards there to end my life.

In fact, they almost did if it weren't for two of my closest friends, Martin and Bethany.

They helped me get out of the torture cell as well as giving me a place to hide from the guards.

Then, the two of them decided to let me go, to let me go back to Magus Academy to right what was wrong.

Of course, I was way too late and that nearly caused the death of Lisa.

Thankfully, however, I made it just in time to stop one of Arthur's minions from ending the young queen's life.

The rest, as you already know, is history.

Now, just under a year later, we'd be going back to Martin and Beth. We'd be asking for their help once more.

I just hoped they wouldn't turn on us when we needed the duo the most.

Sophie finally reached one of the villages, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I could practically feel Sophie's uneasiness and, to be honest, I wouldn't blame her.

The ground was barren; all life that presumably lived on this land was completely erased.

Around us, were multiple dark houses with barricaded windows and doors, some of which were covered in dirt and blood.

I could tell that Sophie's attention was solely focused on the horrible state of the kingdom, so I gently nudged her before mumbling, "Focus. I know it's a lot to take in but we're gonna have to be careful from now on."

Sophie sighed, causing me to then lead us in the direction of Martin's home. 

Thankfully, the guards were yet to come for their daily inspection, meaning that no one was nearby to spot us.

Finally, we reached the house.

I asked Sophie to shift, causing her to hide behind the house, in case anyone saw her, and shift back to a Celestian.

When she emerged, I walked over to the barricaded door.

"How are we supposed to get in?" Sophie asked, causing me to smirk at her.

I crouched down onto the floor, searching for the hidden trapdoor.

Once my hands scraped across the damp wood of the hidden entrance, I pulled the trapdoor open before sliding into the hole.

I climbed down the ladder, almost slipping on multiple occasions due to how goddamn wet the place was!

Anyway, once I reached the bottom, I patiently waited for Sophie, who was about halfway down.

"Are you sure you're not trying to kill me?" Sophie asked, after nearly slipping for the millionth time.

"Look, if I was going to murder someone, I would probably come up with a more creative way than making them slip," I replied, causing Sophie to gulp loudly.

Eventually, she reached the bottom, stumbling slightly the moment she got off the ladder.

I caught her in my arms before she could fall onto the ground, my heart skipping a beat at our close proximity.

Sophie's eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and I could've sworn she smiled a bit, before she quickly flinched back, glaring at me.

"You don't get to hold me like that," she warned, shaking slightly, "Not anymore."

I mumbled an apology before walking straight forwards, through a tunnel that was recently built by myself and my two friends.

I didn't wait for Sophie to start following me and instead focused on the familiar walls that surrounded me. Comforted me.

After what felt like hours of silent walking, we finally reached a locked door.

I did this weird knocking combination before waiting patiently.

Within seconds, the door was opened, to reveal a familiar mop of strawberry blonde hair.

"CHARLIE!" Beth squealed, wrapping her arms around me.

I embraced her tightly before smiling _ something which I hadn't done in a while.

I was home.