Authors Note:
Hey guys! Saph here! Sorry, I didn't update last week, I realized that I wasn't really fond of the way my story was going, (mainly the development between Alan and Caiden, I thought it was going too fast), so I took some time to ponder over their relationship! This is just to say that there was a minor change in the last chapter with their conversation, but nothing too bad. It isn't a big deal for you if you don't feel like reading it, I just toned down their banter a bit and changed some of their actions to better reflect the characters I had in mind. For those of you reading it all the way through to this chapter, it won't make much of a difference! I just felt like I was straying too far from my original character ideals and it made it difficult to see where I was going, oof lol.
Additionally, I don't want to bum anyone out, but my family's first cat that we've had for over ten years had to be put down this morning (July 4, 2021) at 1:20 am due to cancer. We're all doing okay, but this kinda took a toll on my emotional stability a little bit. Luckily, I had this chapter and the previous chapter already created, but that means I might not be able to feel motivated to produce the next chapter next Sunday. Of course, I'll try my best! But, I hope you all understand.
On with the show!
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"So, what does that mean, going forward?" I asked, Romand. Romand scratched at the back of his hand, his ears moving back and forth on his head as he listened to the sounds around him.
"It means that we have to investigate everyone, including you."
"Mage Alan?" I blinked and looked up to see Caiden looking at me from across the room, his face filled with curiosity as I glanced at him with a frown; slowly coming back from my flashback. Caiden sat behind his desk, his left hand flipping a page in a book and his right hand wrapped around a pen that rested against a paper. His brows were furrowed as he watched me with somewhat concentrated eyes. I sat on the other side of the desk, my feet up in the chair and my head resting on my left hand.
"What?" I asked, clearing my throat. After coming back from seeing Romand, I found Caiden tucked away in his office, his sandwich half-eaten and his water still dancing in his cup.
"What did Romand want to talk about?" Caiden asked, his gaze then shifting down to the paper, where he pretended to scribble stuff down. I sighed, and leaned back in the chair, looking past Caiden and outside to watch as the sun slowly started to descend. We had been here for hours already, and that was probably why my mind had wandered off to Romand and I's conversation.
"Well..." I trailed off, my thoughts racing. Was it really something that Caiden should know? Not that I cared much for spouting that there might be a traitor (I knew it wasn't me, so who cares who it was as long as they left me alone) but I, for some unknown reason, didn't want to tell him. Probably because I knew how much he had on his plate already, and I didn't want to add to it. Though it was a first for me, wanting to spare someone like this, and it made me uncomfortable, so I just decided to focus on that later. "It wasn't much, just once again scolding me about staying with you, like always. How long are we going to be here for, by the way? You haven't slept for like, weeks." Caiden's gaze was harsh, as he realized that I was lying to him, trying to get the attention away from the situation and push it back onto him. He didn't seem too happy about it, either.
"You know, I wasn't born yesterday," he lamented, probing me to continue speaking. However, I decided to evade it once more and cocked my head in a slightly confused expression.
"Of course, that wouldn't make any sense." His gaze grew fiery, and his hands clenched.
"Alan, as your king and client, I don't think it is wise to hide things from me." His voice was sharp as he glared at me, however, I wasn't upset. Instead, I was more annoyed at his response. So, I rolled my eyes and sighed exasperatedly.
"It's not like you can do anything about it," I murmured under my breath. I was annoyed that he was trying to get one over me by using the "king" card. But I was more annoyed at myself; for not talking about what happened to begin with, and now causing an awkward break in our otherwise seemingly okay relationship.
"Fine," he snapped, "if you don't want to tell me, then I'll leave it." He threw his pen to the table and stood up, straightening up his jacket that hung loosely over his exhausted shoulders. "I'm retiring for the evening. I'm going to my chambers," he stated, walking towards the door. I rolled my eyes once more at his dramatic manners, but I stood up with a light sigh, my body ready to relax after ensuring Caiden was asleep. However, it tensed right back up the moment he uttered his next words: "I'm going to my chambers, alone." I froze, my eyes focused on his black waist-length jacket as he stood in front of the door. His back was turned towards me, so I couldn't see his face, but I knew that his voice was irritated. However, this was the first time that his irritation was directed towards me.
"Yes, sir," I managed to mutter out, my heels instinctively clicking together in a bow as the doors opened before Caiden. Then I watched as his form disappeared behind the doors that clicked together softly. I could only listen to the sounds of shoes lightly traveling away in bewilderment, my brain scrambling to digest the situation laid out before me. What just happened?
"You were scolded," A familiar voice sounded out behind me. My fingers twitched at the noise, and I turned to my left to see Iban, languishing on the sill of the open window, his red eyes heavily hooded as he laid beneath the sun, his tail waving softly back and forth, showing his content.
"Scolded?" I repeated incredulously. "No, wait, what are you doing here? How did you get here? I haven't seen you in weeks." Iban rolled his eyes lightly, and stood up, arching his back in a stretch before hopping down to circle around my legs. His white fur transferring only the black bottom of my uniform.
"I jumped through the window," Iban spoke, answering only one of my many questions. I rolled my eyes at his attitude and lightly brushed his stomach with my foot as a warning. Iban seemed to let out a light chuckle before making his way to Caiden's desk, his paws shuffling through the papers and his eyes glancing across them as if he were reading them.
"I just missed my owner, is all," he answered distracted. I stomped over towards him and grabbed his tail, causing him to shriek and jump a few inches in the air, his body shifting towards me so he could hiss. I glared back at him, my hand in the air as a threat.
"What. Do. You. Want?" I enunciated, hoping he saw how serious I was. We both stood there for a bit too long, our gazes focused on the other in intimidation. It wasn't until a few moments passed that Iban calmed down, choosing to roll his eyes and sit atop a few papers on Caiden's desk.
"Whatever. I just wanted to come and see how the humans we're dealing with the demons." I frowned and slowly shifted my position, placing my arms across my chest.
"Why would you be curious about that? Also, what could Caiden know about all of that?" Iban seemed to shrug and look back down at the papers. He pawed at a few, shifting them around as he tried to read them all.
"Where are they putting the ones who... lost their homes?" Iban asked. At this, his voice seemed softer, timider, as if he personally had something to do with the homes that were lost. I glanced at him curiously.
"They're moving them to a new set of homes that were just built until construction can be done on their previous houses. Why?" Iban seemed relieved at this and choose to look away from the papers he was studying.
"You know..." Iban was soft and quiet as he spoke, as if he had his mind elsewhere, his eyes focused on a spot on the floor and his tail lightly sweeping the papers. "Demons don't mean to be bad. It's not like they all want to kill humans." I furrowed my brows. What was he talking about? Why was he all of the sudden bringing this up?
"Well, that's obvious," I stated. Iban's eyes seemed to grow as he glanced at me with astonishment and curiosity. "Well, demons seemingly have the ability to communicate and have some form of society, otherwise they wouldn't be able to coordinate their attacks. Plus, Romand just told me you all have the ability to evolve. This means you have thoughts and feelings that we don't know yet. I mean look at familiars who are helping fight against your own people; that's just an example that I can see on the surface. It's obvious through all of this that there are probably a lot of you that just want peace." Iban stared at me for a long time, as if processing what I said. However, it made me uncomfortable, so I cleared my throat. "Well, what do I know? I'm just a dumb mage anyway." At this, Iban seemed to snap out of his trance, and what looked like a small smile crossed his features.
"I guess I was right to make you my dumb mage."
"Huh?" I asked incredulously, anger entering my mind as he called me dumb and seemed to think of me as his property.
"Nothing." He spoke up, a slight laugh in his throat. "If I, were you though, I would go find your prince and makeup with him. You two need to be together always, anyway."
And with that, Iban took his leave, entering the same way he came, quietly and through the window.
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As always, please don't hesitate to let me know how I did. Thank you so much for reading, I'll see you all next time!