If I Could Live Again

CHAPTER 18

Clouds began to gather around the sun selfishly hiding the warm light it provides. Elin was still on guard as she waited for Leo to answer her question. But the man just sighed while brushing his hair backward.

“Forget it!”, Leo turned his back on Elin and left without answering her question.

“What are we going to do about this wagon?”, Nero appeared at her side.

“Let’s leave the wagon in a cave and bring the horses outside the forest to set them free”, Elin still stared at the lifeless coachman Leo killed.

“We didn’t get any useful information”, She mumbled as she expressed her disappointment.

Elin hopped on the wagon and led it to a cave located deeper down the forest. She left the smuggled weapons and took the horse with her. She rode as fast as she can finally arriving in the nearby town outside the forest. A town where she stayed a long time ago. She didn’t plan on going there but her heart led her to where she was her true self.

“Where are they?”, she mumbled as Elin strolled down the road looking around. The place was completely deserted.

Elin wasn’t able to visit his foster family after she was engaged to Prince Ansel. She was too busy attending social events while scheming for her grand finale.

Elin planned on living with them when they allow her. She planned on being their protector eventhough they were strong enough to protect themselves. She just wanted to pay them back for all the kindness they have shown to her.

“Should I look for them again?”, Nero looked worried as Elin stopped in the middle of the small town.

“No. It’s okay. I can’t afford to drag them with my current situation. I need to finish what I started”, Elin proceeded. She went down the horse as they finally arrived in a vast meadow. Elin removed her drop earring and changed to her usual appearance. She looked back at the town with a forlorn expression one last time before stepping inside the portal.

Elin arrived at an alley in a lively town a few miles away from the deserted area they were in a while ago. She started heading towards a jewelry store located far away from the busy market. Elin wanted to avoid crossing paths with people as much as possible.

“Can you make a copy of this earring? I lost the other one and mother might scold me for my clumsiness”, Elin lied with a straight face. She provided information so that the jeweler won’t pry for more.

She didn’t leave the shop and waited for him to finish her request. The drop earring had a simple image that a replica could be made in a jiffy. She wanted her drop earring to be worn at all times so that others won’t question her unpaired earring. People tend to be a gossip-monger when they find something peculiar.

Elin couldn’t afford to make a blunder again. The only people she should be wary of now are the other wearers that can see right through her facade but Aurora seemed to be the type to not assist someone with evil intentions unless she was greedy.

Elin kept on thinking about such possibility. Fynn was the one who provided her the details about the witch in the forest. As the myth foretold, the supposed witch was once a goddess praised by the people. But because of human greed, people tried to exploit her. She was about to curse a nation but the kind King pleaded for forgiveness. The King took the blame for the ones who exploited her. However, she couldn’t afford to hate him because he was not the one at fault . Instead, the witch ended up running away deep inside the forest and was never to be seen again.

Such witch was actually an oracle. Elin came up with a guess that Aurora stayed in the dangerous forest because of those people using her for her ability to see the future.

Elin left after receiving the jewelry. She then wore it and her appearance changed instantly. The market was beginning to die down and Elin went and bought some food for her and Nelo but didn’t stay for too long.

“We need to go, Elin”, Nero whispered to the woman who was in deep thought. She passed by a few stalls looking around before going home.

A man stopped and looked at her as Elin passed by. He was wearing a hood that covered his caramel brown hair and marble eyes. He stared at the woman’s back watching her intently. The man decided to follow Elin as she entered through the dark alley. As he was about to follow her trail, she completely vanished.

“How unfortunate!”, he remarked as he stood there perplexed by the sudden disappearance of the woman.

“She wore an earring similar to mine”, the man smiled.