Léda was a normal orphan, raised by nuns, just living her boring little life spiced with teen drama. That is until one night she witnesses a man killing two who attacked her... Wait... Why was she attacked? And by who? Who knows, not her for sure, n...
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They were at the outskirts of the city, just passed the Aquapark. Léda sighed, tapped her fingers on her arms crossed over her chest as she recalled her memories from a year ago. Last summer she'd worked there with Kata. It'd been one of her best summers. They'd always stayed after closing time and used all the cool sliders and the pools, sneaked in their friends as well. She'd sported a chocolate brown tan that had lasted almost until December. Would she ever have a chance to do something like that again, she wondered; her premonition said no.
They passed the main road and turned down to a hidden path girded with trees. Léda's eyes widened as she stared at the image ahead of her. The autumn sun peaked through the leaves that flourished in every shade of red and yellow, made it look like everything was made of gold and bronze. The trees bended towards the middle in odd angles, held onto each other, like they were shielding the road from curious looks.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" She was so lost in thoughts, Raiden's voice startled. It looked like a magic gates opened in front of them. She nodded, not trusting if she could put it into words what she saw. The landscape looked like the dream of Tim Burton. "No one really knows why they grow this way," he continued, his gaze directed at the trees with their branches gripping one another. "My mother told me these trees were tamashi no gadian, guardian souls. They sacrificed their eternal happiness together in after life to watch over us. That's why it looks like they try to touch one another. They still find a way to be one." His features and voice softened. His tone turned almost silky with every word that slipped from his full lips when mentioning his mother. Léda was hit by a sudden rush of envy. She's never had a mother who told her stories about eternal soul mates, or scary stories about the boogieman. "Once we reach the gates stay silent." Raiden cleared his throat like he just realized how much he talked and with that, he was back to showing no emotions once again.
"Why? Are they going to cut my tongue out if I utter a word?" She laughed sheepishly but he wasn't paying attention to her anymore. She followed his gaze and the last thing she expected came to her sight; a huge castle, literally, a blindingly bright white baroque style castle. Léda gaped, not sure if she should believe her eyes. They stopped at a ridiculously tall forged gate that opened painfully slowly in front of them. "Are you some kind of prince?" Maybe a horror prince, maybe he'd turn into the Beast as soon as they passed the gates OR maybe he was the servant of the Beast, Léda wondered.
"I'm as much of a prince as a serial killer," he replied and drove through the gates.
"I worked at the Aquapark last summer. I know this city inside and out. How is it possible I didn't know about this?" Surely, at some point through her studies it'd have come up that there was a castle there but she'd never before even heard it mentioned.
"The Bastion's shielded. Humans don't know about it's existence," he explained and stopped at a small building that Léda assumed served the position of gatekeeper.
"Raiden," a cheerful brunette, a couple of years younger than Raiden peaked out from the small window. "You're back," she grinned from ear to ear. Her face turned slightly flushed as she eyed him. She stared at him like he was some kind of rockstar, or maybe Justin Bieber himself.
