Camping in General

The Bonus Chapter

T'was a dark and stormy night, and there was only light to be seen in all the Negaverse. It was the light of a sweet-smelling candle; Moroccan rose, she assumed. As she padded towards the enchanted candle's calming aroma, she took a brief moment to glance out of the window. Rain was lashing out at the glass panes, rattling them furiously. The wind was relentlessly howling Let me in! Let me in! Thunder crashed and lightning crackled at the tip of the turrets, drawing screams from youma below. She smirked. She was fearless, unlike those pathetic beasts that served her against their will.

Tip-toeing along the stone-cold corridor, she finally reached the room she was searching for. Still, only one light was to be seen, and it stood proudly in the centre of his room. His room was shut off from the rest of the world, with blackout curtains constantly drawn and practically every essence of life drained from within the four walls. She crossed the room, her feet making as little contact as possible with the freezing floor whilst the storm grew ever-stronger outside. She could hear the screeches of the wind as it scraped past the outer walls of their castle, darting blindly around it so not to deal too much damage to the brickwork.

The distorted yowling of the storm drowned out any other sound, silencing all except the petrified calls for help from those scattered outside. Those calls seemed strangely close and familiar, almost as if seven very distinct voices had made their way past the guards, broken every lock and hidden just behind the floor-length curtains. She shook her head, ridding herself of the absurd thought. The only other person in our castle tonight is Malachite, and I doubt he'd want to impersonate some whining teenage girls and two of his subordinates.

"Zoisite..."

"Oh, hello, my lord. I didn't hear your approach."

She gracefully turned to face him, a flattering smile upon her features. His stunning good looks and caramel skin were a stark contrast to his pale mint green hair and wintry eyes.

"Zoisite, please wake up..."

His voice appeared oddly distant, yet she paid no mind to it. He was here, and that's all that mattered.

"But I am awake, my lord. I'm right here in front of you. Don't you see me?"

"Come on, Zoisite. Something's wrong next door."

Malachite shook her awake, pulling her into a sitting position just as her eyes started to readjust to the dark.

"What—oh, hello again..." she murmured sleepily, her lazy greeting fading out with a yawn.

"Again?"

"Well," she began, snuggling up a little closer to Malachite's chest, lovingly splaying her fingers across it.

Momentarily, he forgot all about the screams and cries from next door. All he wanted was Zoisite, and so he adoringly listened as she retold her dream, sighing longingly at each mention of Malachite. Clearly, the night's activities had had a lasting impact.

A sharp squeal rudely interrupted the tail-ends of Zoisite's dream. "That's why I had to wake you."

Malachite hurriedly yanked on his boots and stuck his head out in the rain, instantly regretting it as an icy waterfall gushed over his shoulders. Surprisingly, the tent walls had actually provided some form of soundproofing against the miserable weather, but outside was a different story. The rain pounded heavily on Malachite's head until he could barely even hear himself think, speedily causing his ferocious headache from earlier to resurface.

"Are you sure it's the rain?" he heard a shout as he crossed the short distance between the tents.

"Of course I am! How else did you think the entire tent got flooded?"