Journey to a Better End (An Add x Ara Story)

Chapter 9

Hope you guys are liking the book so far. I've got a lot of writing to do.
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       The first thing he noticed was that he wasn't dead. He then remembered that Ara had shown up and he had hurt her. It wasn't intentional but he'd still done it. Add opened his eyes, then realizing that he was in an environment much different from the snow he remembered. He was surrounded by warmth that was provided by the blanket around him and the multi-tailed white haired girl whose arms he was wrapped in. Wait...what?

       Add remained still, unsure of whether he should take any action to free himself. The girl looked extremely familiar aside from her tails and white hair. Add realized why when she opened her eyes and he noticed the red markings under them. "You're awake now I see. The child will be pleased at this news," the girl said with a voice that was most definitely not Ara's. This voice startled Add and he pulled himself away from the girl, almost falling off of the bed in the process.

        The girl tilted her head and looked at him with curiosity. "Who are you and what have you done to Ara?" Add demanded. The girl then seemed surprised but the emotion was replaced with a small smile. "I'm Eun. I am currently inhabiting the child's body. She asked me to keep you safe so I thought it to be appropriate to keep you warm as well. You seem frightened though. Did I do something wrong?" Eun said. Add just stared at Ara, well no Eun without saying a word.

        He was actually speechless, not exactly believing what he was seeing. Eun's expression changed to worry. "What troubles you, albino boy? Do you not believe my words? I could awaken the child if you wish to speak with her," Eun said. "I...Ara's still...wait what?" Add muttered, still quite confused. Eun sighed and closed her eyes. Her hair began to fade into black and her tails disappeared along with her face markings, revealing Ara's familiarity.

       Add was immediately relieved, but still unsure of what was happening. Ara fell over onto the soft sheets and remained there for a bit before waking up again with Add still at the very edge of the bed keeping a careful watch of her. As Ara got up, she noticed him sitting there with a cautious look on his face. "Add, you're okay. Eun must have taken care of things for me," Ara said with a slight smile as she rubbed her head.

        Add could see that she seemed to have a headache but he was more concerned with their location than worrying about asking her about it. "Ara, where are we?" he asked, putting aside the many other questions he had regarding her and Eun's interactions. He was suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed upon the realization that Ara had been so close to him. "I don't exactly know but there are these two people who are letting us stay in their home for now. One of them seems to trust us but the other doesn't seem to like us very much. Eun took over for me so that they'd leave us alone I guess. I don't really know what happened while I was out," Ara admitted.

       Add was somewhat grateful for the last part of Ara's answer since he didn't exactly feel comfortable with her knowing about Eun's actions. He wouldn't be telling her about them either. "They're likely outside of the door waiting for us to exit. They said something about sending for Hamel guards or Red knights or something. They were going to turn us over to the military. We can't stay here for long if we plan on getting back home," Ara explained.

        Add froze at her mentioning of Hamel guards. "You didn't say Hamel did you?" Add asked, hoping he'd just heard her wrong. Ara tilted her head at him, likely wondering why he'd asked such a question. "They did say Hamel guards. I guess that means this city is called Hamel. I'm sorry, but I don't remember what you said about places outside the village," Ara said but Add had stopped listening. He had begun to get flashbacks of his time in Hamel back when he and his mother were still travelers.