𝐶𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝘨. 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵

001.5: Fate upon the unfortunate (2)

You were still too stunned to much a single inch, even when she was gone. Cathal eyed you suspiciously, and it made your blood run even more colder. You ducked your head down immediately, taking shaky steps toward him. You gulped once you reached your final step in his direction, clenching your fists to stop them from trembling so obviously. After a few dead moments of silence between you two, you heard him suck in a deep breath. At that moment, you feared for your life once again.

"I'm back." Your sister's voice chimed in, opening the heavy door with force. You felt relief wash over you. "You're early." Cathal finally talked. His gruff and deep voice didn't betray his looks at all. Lucianne looked tired. "It was just a quick discussion." She says lightly with an annoyed look. Lucianne seemed stressed.

She sighed heavily, before giving you another apologetic look. Why does she always do that? "Let's go, Y/n." Lucianne tried to smile. It was forced. What happened in her discussion with her co-workers that made her look so frustrated?

You nod weakly, taking the initiative and gently taking her hand in yours, in hopes to make her feel at least a little better. Your sister's smile widens slightly in response. Cathal's silver armor suddenly clacked loud enough for you to flinch. Lucianne takes that as a humorous sign that you and her should go, with her lightly giggling at the man. She started to lead you towards, where you assume, your house.

"What happened during the meeting?" You managed to say, now that you were far from your sister's workplace. "Ah..." Lucianne slowed down her pace, hesitating, but kept walking. "I'll tell you at home." She smiled. You understand; It's probably top-secret information. Whatever happens in a private meeting shouldn't be shared with just anybody. "I won't let my little sibling out on the knightly affairs of this kingdom." Lucianne giggles. "But why? Isn't it supposed to be a secret?" You asked. "Since, you know." You paused. "I'm just a regular person." Lucianne hums for a moment, and it made you second guess whether you should have asked in the first place. "Siblings aren't supposed to keep secrets from each other." She says, confidently. "Didn't you say that?" She raises an eyebrow, teasing you. "Right." You mumbled.

You remember saying that to your sister, but it was way back then, long before your death happened. You were 12, and you saw your sister writing in her diary. Of course, she got embarrassed and never showed you or told you anything about what had been written in it, even with what you said about siblings and secrets. It never passed your mind again after that incident happened, but this Lucianne - the "new" one, still remembered it? This Lucianne was probably different than in your past life - if so, what was the situation that made you say it?

"It's not really the happiest of topics to discuss." Lucianne's face grows serious for a second, before forming a small smile. You swallowed. "Don't worry, though. The royals and some of the higher-ranked knights got it covered." She said, continuing to walk in her prior pace. You had a bad feeling about it. You don't know how far you were into the past, but the future of the Kingdom of Khaenri'ah wasn't bright, and the Celestia was to blame. Maybe the cataclysm was closer than you anticipated... A chill ran down your spine.

You got to your destination faster than you expected. With your sister working as one of the Royal Knights of Khaenri'ah, you should've known your house would be near the heart of the kingdom.

Though, your house's appearance was completely unexpected for you. You thought it would be bland, plain, made out of gray stone bricks, just like every other building, but no. It was covered in vines, flowers, and all kinds of plants.

Your sister looked completely normal and didn't react at all. She was used to it. You sighed inwardly. It must be because of you. There wasn't any other explanation. You probably were the one who planted it all. But, you know what, you sort of liked it. It was a refreshing contrast to all of those plain gray buildings. The pop of color was quite nice. It was arranged rather beautifully, too.