Adeline and the Ovunque's Key || Ongoing

022

Sighing, I pulled my necklace to stare at it. The key glimmers under the ray of the sun. I hope my mother isn't worrying too much about me. Stress isn't good for her.

"Addie! Why are you still there?" I heard his voice, scolding and concerned, interrupting all my thoughts and pulling me back to reality. My head whipped around fast as I merely stared his way, not quite believing my eyes.

Is it really him?

Are my eyes not playing tricks on me?

"I told you to run and leave me!" His cries of blabbering motherly concern echoed as he ran out towards me.

It is him.

It's my Pierre.

I looked at him with a large grin splitting my face, my heart was overflowing with gratitude and my eyes brimming with tears. Choking back a sob, I ran up to him and the moment our distance close in, I immediately pulled him into a hug. "Oh, It's you! You're okay!"

Pierre stopped moving, his arms in an awkward position as his voice completely quiet down. Slowly, his hand came in contact with my back, patting me lightly, comforting me. "I'm fine, Addie. Were you that worried for me?"

I nodded, slow and weak as my knees grew weaker. "I'm s–sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to come here with me." I pushed him lightly, enough to get a distance between us. My eyes run around his figure, capturing the sight of all his wounds. Red cuts and scratches everywhere.

"If you went alone, It would have made me feel worse knowing that I wasn't there for you."

"I know, but–"

"I'm okay. It's nothing serious. We've come this far and you even made a new friend. Now what we need is the witch's book," he said, his eyes stern as he looked into my eyes, trying his best to assure me.

"Pardon me for interrupting," the red-haired girl started, "If the book you're looking for belongs to a witch who has a pet werewolf, you're going the wrong way."

I cran my head over to see past Pierre's figure, catching sight of the girl. "Really?"

"Wait, Addie. Why should we trust the carrot-deer?"

"I did save your life."

"I would've gotten out of it without your help, carrot."

"Sure, green but my name's Odell. Not carrot, red or deer," she stated, her voice flat. "The east side is where that one guy keeps insisting where his friend, Petal, was held captive. Not really sure why."

Petal?

I stared at Pierre as he did the same. Certain confusion was bluntly written on Pierre's face. One person came to our mind at the mention of 'Petal'.

Nicholas.

"Have you ever gone deep into the woods on the far east side?"

He shook his head. "Why?"

"I have a feeling that people from there know how I could go home. I have a feeling that Pier-..."

"Home?"

"Yes. Home."

"I see. What were you trying to say after that?"

"Nothing."

He must have thought that I was taken there while trying to find my way home. To think he went down this forest alone trying to find me while he was on a high chance of exposure to danger sent a shudder down my spine.

"Did he see you?"

"Did you see me the first time you came here?"

No. I was hypnotized to walk back to town when I met her for the first time.

"He didn't see me, but he came every day. He was very persistent."

Sniffling as I nod, I stared at the two, my head turning from one to the other. Pierre's hand rises and rests on my cheek as he wipes my tears away. "Pierre," I sniffed. "Let's just try following her once."

"But–"

"My, don't you pity the lady?" The girl spoke again as she turned her gaze towards me. "Is it because you wanted to get lost with her all day long?"

"That's not true–"

"Right. Now follow me," she started walking away from us, her strides long, firm yet quiet. "Hurry along. I don't want anyone to know you guys were here."

Nodding lightly, I grabbed hold of Pierre's hand, holding it tightly as I dragged him with me. He made a small protest but despite how much he wanted to argue, he ended up showing his defeat as he dragged his feet following my steps.