The Demon's Bride

Goodbye

´What the hell did I just saw?´

A certain raven-haired thought as he tried to accept the facts of what he had observed.

Never in a million years would he be waiting to actually see Emma being so near, just passing the forest... Had she always been there? Why was she there in the first place? Who was she with?

Ray saw how she danced so gracefully, allowing the man to twirl her around and back to him, seeing how Emma melted in his arms without any struggle.

Since when Emma knew how to dance?

Since when did she dressed up that way?

Since when... Since when did she ever look at someone like that?

No. This was surely all a trick, Emma wouldn't leave her family without giving a fight. Surely she was tricking the guy so she could find a way to escape.

The owls seemed to notice him as they got louder in the hideout he had found in between the bushes outside the gates and Ray couldn't help but wonder if the owner of the place didn't have anything to do.

Either way, as Ray tried to hide better, as soon as the owls stopped their sounds he got out again, just to curse under his breath as he didn't saw the two anymore.

Managing to jump over the gates, remembering what Emma had thaught him as some hacks to climb, Ray tried to look for them, trying his best to not make himself exposed as he moved in the most silent way as possible.

Somehow, in the large garden, he found himself lost, staying in an aww state under the large expansion of just the outside part of the house - he didn't even want to imagine the insides of the mansion itself.

Ray completely lost the notion of time as he tried to find himself in the unfamiliar surroundings until he heard footsteps coming near, causing him to hide behind of the trees as the two figures walked back inside the house.

The raven-haired trying to look at the unknown person but the darkness didn't allow him to see much, only noticing his traces better when he turned around as if checking for something while Emma had already gotten inside but soon after he followed her, closing the door behind him.

Ray stood there a little more, just looking at the closed door as wondering what he had just seen until his horse's noise broke him back. It should be around midnight and he was aware that if he stood there for much longer, the more dangerous it would be his way back. Suddenly, something seemed to catch his attention.

Walking forward, he reached out to grab something that had fallen to the grass, probably from when Emma and her companion had gotten up, just to realize he held a mask in his hands.

Why a mask? And such a weird format...

Reluctantly, he returns to his horse, finding it was too late for any detailed researches and runs back to grace field, already making a mental plan for the next day.

Phil had a lot of explaining to do.

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For when Emma woke up, it was already around midday, causing her to freak out a little for oversleeping but as she was about to leave her room after dressing herself, she saw her reflection in the mirror and stopped.

She looked like her usual self: messy hair, baggy clothes, yet something didn't felt right.

The words of the previous night were still fixed on her head. Norman told her she was beautiful... Her. Until there, only Mama had told her that, therefor she never questioned how to be "attractive" or see the need of such but she wanted that Norman would look at her like he did last night.