Enigma

Chapter 13

Evangeline was engulfed in uttermost serenity. Gazing off into the other side of the glass window, she was taking her time to simply watch over the tranquility that was submerging the entire mansion. With her right hand gently pressed against the glass, she looked up at the dark sky. At that moment, it was nothing but a canvas painted with different hues of blue, ranging from the lightest pastels to the darkest tinges. Candescent constellations were scattered, illuminating the sky as they took turns of hiding behind the clouds.

Even when she was little, time seemed to be moving slowly for her. And throughout the years, nothing managed to change her perspective. It was as if she was standing in the middle of the void, a mere spectator of the lives that were unfolding before her. Her eyes never missed the subtle movements of the leaves as they danced along with the breeze, as well as the swift rustling of the branches and the soft humming of the grass with the midnight wind.

She couldn't help but to wonder how her daughter sees her vantage point towards the world, predominantly because the two of them were trapped within the boundaries of their similar abilities.

Various piles of paper were stacked neatly on his desk as Benedict leaned back in his chair. A fond smile formed it's way on his lips upon staring at the figure of his wife. Her calm grey eyes were gleaming, and he was only left to watch in amusement.

She appeared to be radiating an arcadian aura as she stood underneath the faint moonlight, looking as if she belonged to the night itself. It was one of the few things about her that time failed to change, much to his appreciation. When he first laid his eyes on her, he found her to be the exact depiction fitting of a Nocturnal.

Then his thoughts began to wander, to the days before they were married, before they attained peace; halting at the time where the war had just begun. The two of them met at the most unpredictable circumstances, and they fought their fair shares of battles. Just as they were lost in despair upon the deaths of their friends before becoming the pillar of salvation to others.

His smile was morphed to that of bitterness as images of their late comrades— those who they considered as their own families— flashed before his mind, along with the silhouettes of everyone who died while fighting alongside them.

“I can feel your eyes around me, you know,” Evangeline said before turning to look at her husband.

“Guilty,” Benedict replied with a chuckle.

She just arched her brow at him before taking a seat on the couch, not too far away from Benedict's desk. With both her arms folded across her chest, her expression turned serious as she studied him, before asking in a soft tone, “What are you thinking about?”

Shrugging, he took a deep breath, before tilting his head to look at the ceiling of his office. “Just the old days.”

Her composure faltered as her eyes darkened with sorrow. Evangeline knew that they won the war, but to her— the casualties they suffered, the grief they lived through, and the people they lost— were more than enough for her to say that they lost the battle.

Her voice turned into the faintest whisper as she asked, “What about it?”

Evangeline understood more than anyone when she received no response. And instead of inquiring any further, she opened the door for tranquility to rein inside the room.

“Do you think Caspian would've been happy?” Benedict asked after a few minutes of silence.

A lump formed on her throat upon the mention of her best friend who stood by her since the beginning. The two of them were close even before the war, and he was one of the few who continued to support her when it all broke out. Caspian remained by her side when her entire family was massacred, with him being her sole source of courage at that time. And when she told him about joining the association, he expressed no hesitation in doing the same.