Strike At Midnight || Luka Couffaine

Chapter 14 ❧ Meeting Master Shou

Maybe I'm grasping on a false sense of hope, but I'm getting desperate. "My mom could still..." It's difficult to finish the sentence. It would be accepting the fact that my mother was alive for all these years but never came to find me.

"My dear, what are you implying?" He asks me with a strange look on his face.

"You know, they never found her so, she was deemed missing."

Grimm chimes in. "I suggest that we continue this another time. Selene just returned from an arduous task. She needs rest."

Master Shou lifts a hand, stopping Grimm. "No, this is a crucial matter. Selene what do you remember from the Midnight incident?"

I flinch. As Grimm continues. "Master, you're being too severe with your words!"

I shake my head- fingers fidgeting. As I try to recall what happened that day, I'm also remembering why I wanted to forget. "I-It's the day...dad died and mom went missing." That's all I could say about the event so long ago. I couldn't bring myself to say anything more.

"What took place the day after that?"

"Master-" Grimm is interrupted again by Master Shou signalling for silence.

"I don't remember. Does it matter?" I say, losing patience.

"It matters significantly since the funeral occurred on that day." His speech becomes slow and weighted so that I could understand his next words clearly. "The funeral was for both Chiroptera and his wife. Both were buried at Mandai Crematorium and Columbarium in Singapore."

The ground starts to shift under me as I comprehend is words carefully. But my mom went missing. They never had a chance to bury her. Atleast that was what I know. I say softly, "That's not true."

"Who told you your mom was missing?"

I skim through my memories. I can recall the general happenings but couldn't recall the finer details like exactly how everything took place. If it weren't for my vision before, I could never have remembered how terrified I felt of the Sunbird, how Master Shou was still stern and unsmiling, or the warmth of my father's smile. "I guess I just assumed it..."

I rub my temples. How much do I know isn't actually true? Maybe when I was six, I filled in the blanks myself without any proven source of information.

"However, we must tackle the present and not dwell in the past." He shakes his head. "Please give me the miraculous and I will shortly return back to Singapore."

"No, you can't." I cover the ribbon on my collar with a hand and look over to Grimm. "It's the only thing I have left of my parents."

"I don't understand. The Couffaine boy would have informed you of the terms way before we meet."

"Couffaine- you mean Luka Couffaine?" I ask, blood draining from my skin.

"He has been assisting my search for the bat miraculous. In fact, a few months back, he informed me that you possessed it. So I requested that he'd instruct you to return it back to me."

"Luka has been working for you." I conclude, spluttering. "Since when?" All this time, he's been meaning to take my miraculous?

"Selene?" Speak of the devil, Luka enters, holding a red book in his hand. He turns to the open door behind him and back to me. "Did you go through the door?"

"When were you going to tell me you were actually plotting against me?" I demand with mild sarcasm.

"Plotting?" His eyes go over Master Shou by the side. His blue eyes seem to glisten as he fits the puzzle himself. "Oh."

I scoff, twisting the fabric of my shirt. My eyes begin to water, but I rapidly blink back. He isn't even denying it. I storm off, unable to throw a brief warning.

Grimm follows after me, but Master Shou says, "Grimm you ought to convince her."

"Master Shou..." Grimm begins, but I leave them behind before I could hear anymore.

"Selene, wait," Luka says grabbing onto my arm. I rip myself away, staggering back. I try to grasp onto any form of anger to throw at him, but maybe because I'm talking about Luka- sweet and kind- I end up feeling empty instead.

"Do you have any excuse to give me?" I say.

He goes silent as his face contorts into a dismal expression. "I'm so sorry."

I turn away and do the only thing I'm ever actually good at- running away. I'm not quite sure whether to feel relieved or upset that he doesn't run after me.

"Selene!" I hear Grimm far behind, but I ignore his calls and quicken my pace. He catches up anyway without difficulty and plops onto my shoulder. When we reached the Place des Vosges; a park with a fountain at the centre and a carousel nearby.

"I-I thought you're going back with him," I say referring to Master Shou.

"I should," he agrees. "But we reached a compromise. I told him that I had been dormant for several years and only reunited with you quite recently."

I start sniffing and rub my nose uncomfortably. "Is it good news?"

Grimm is quiet for a second before he sighs. "He has granted us seven days before I have to return."

"No! Why do I have to give you back at all! You've been with me forever!" I say, tears welling up in my eyes. Guilt gnaws onto my heart as I recall how I've neglected Grimm for eight years and have brought him out into the light of day for only a month. I clasp my mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry that it took me eight years to open up the box, and I'm so sorry that it was only to use you."

"Princess," he uses his nickname for me. It felt like a lifetime ago that he used to call me a brat and a fool. "I'm not lying when I say that I do not despise you for doing so. I know I remind you of those you loved and lost."

He hovers in front of my face, tiny arms stroking my cheeks. "To confess, I miss them as much as you do. It hurts even more when I see both of them in you. Your appearance and your actions- you're just like them."

"They would never work for a super villain like I did," I say, recalling how my father gave his life to defeat the Sunbird.

"No, you did what you think was right. Sometimes you should look back and reflect. You always try to do the right thing selflessly," he assures me.

I rub my eyes, but tears still leak out. A thought tugs inside my mind. Am I doing the right thing?

"For now, think about yourself for once," Grimm says. My lips curl into a hesitant, wavering smile. "That's it."

Suddenly he groans and falls. I quickly catch him in my cupped hands. "Grimm! What's wrong?"

"I think I have spent all my energy," he mumbles, head lolling.  I fish out a small container in my bag and pull out his favourite snack. He scarves the siomai ravenously.

I chuckle, shaking my head sadly. "You didn't even tell me that you were exhausted."

"Well...it wouldn't appear pleasing to faint... in front of Master Shou," he says between bites. I continue to laugh, not really amused, but trying to laugh the pain away.

"Thanks, Grimm-for everything. I wish I opened the miraculous box sooner. You didn't deserve how I treated you."

"That's all in the past," he says, waving it off. "It's time to live in the present. So with the little time we have left, let's resolve everything one step at a time."