[Mentions of hanging and suicide]
The story was simple. In Ancient Times, a glutton who worked as a priestess got kicked out because of her gluttony and then died. The big tree in front of them was what grew upon her body. She knew of the Man-Eating Tree, of course. Everyone knew of the Man-Eating Tree, whose name was earned when the people who had hanged themselves on its branch had desiccated overnight. The bodies swaying in the wind, a shell of what they used to be.
Adara left the bread sack with Cale and tried calming the children down. She liked children, they always had a unique outlook on the world that was so innocent. And they served for great entertainment too, an adult had never asked her what her favourite type of lizard was. But she didn't want them to be here when they started. "Hey," she said, crouching to their height. "My friend and I are being very careful," she spoke softly. "We won't die."
They looked anxiously at her, and at Cale behind her. "You will die! Don't do it... You can't," the younger practically pleaded, the older joining with his pleads.
Adara gave them a gentle smile. "Here, how 'bout this? I promise we won't die and I'll give you two some bread. We have a lot of it."
The younger looked up at her with his big eyes. "Y— you promise you won't die?"
She gave him a wide smile. "I promise I won't die. We both will still be here tomorrow, I promise." She turned around to Cale and made an impatient motion with her fingers.
He wordlessly threw her two buns of warm bread, staring at her weirdly.
She picked up the buns and handed them to the two kids. The older quickly grabbed the buns and pulled the other along, dragging him to get away from them. She turned around as she ran down the hill, staring at Adara. "You can't die," she said softly. "And the other one too. You can't die."
Adara only smiled.
She turned to Cale, staring at him expectingly. After a couple seconds of silence, with Cale staring at her, almost stupefied, she spoke up, "Well? What are you waiting for? Stop staring at me and let's feed the gluttonous tree."
Cale's face scrunched up into a frown. "You were being nice. To the children."
She made a face right back at him. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be? They didn't do anything."
He stared at her like he was trying to figure her out. "But all those nobles, and adults you're rude to. Like, Billos, or the bread man from earlier. You were rude to them and they hadn't done anything either."
"Kids are different from adults," she explained impatiently. "If you're rude to them they'll believe it was something they did and it will stick with them for the rest of their life. They also don't exactly know the story of 'Adara the Bitchy Cunt' so it will only increase their beliefs that all adults are trash," she shrugged. "Now, let's stop wasting time and just start feeding the tree."
Cale turned to the tree, a loaf of bread in his hands. He crouched down, staring at the dark hole in front of them, right under the tree. She walked behind him, staring from above. "So, the bread is just going to disappear?"
Cale didn't say anything, only put his hand in. The bread dissipated into the darkness as Cale's breath hitched. He pulled his arm out quickly. Breathing in and out, carefully, he explained, "Sorry, I freaked out thinking my hand would get sucked in as well."
"Well," she muttered. "Better stay further away then." She pulled her sack of bread and crouched down next to him, wanting to see the hole from closer. No matter how hard she squinted she couldn't see anything in the dark pit. "I'll make sure to die without a grudge," she said in a low voice, her eyes never leaving the hole.
"I remember reading that we have to feed it until the darkness disappears," he said. "The darkness was formed by the grudge. Once the darkness disappears, the light from behind it will come behind it, according to the book. And then, the Indestructible Shield will be mine." He smiled the same viciously sly smile she knew was on her lips too.
"Then let's get going." She stood up, flipping the bag upside down and letting the bread go down. "Eat your fill."
The bags were emptied in a few seconds and the Tree was still hungry. A low eerie echo sounded through their ears, making the hairs on their back go up. It seemed to have been coming from the tree. Adara shivered. "Oh, I hope it doesn't do that every time we feed it."
Cale nodded, staring at the hole. "I really hope not. Hey, the hole seems more transparent than before." He paused. "That's going to take another 10 bags. And we're already tired." His shoulders sagged. "Let's come back tomorrow."
She raised an eyebrow but shrugged anyway. "Sure. Where are we heading? Back to the Estate?"
He shook his head. "No. I don't want to see Ron yet. Or Beacrox for that matter. Nor the rest of my family. We're heading to The Fragrance of Tea with Poetry. I want to read that book, the back looked interesting." He started walking away from the tree. Her eyebrows rose. Now that makes more sense. Earlier, when they were getting ready to go to The Fragrance of Tea with Poetry Ron had offered Cale sour lemon tea. Whereas her Cale complained and threw a tantrum, this Cale chugged it in one go and thanked him. They left with Ron looking with an unreadable expression at the now-empty cup. He's scared of him. She chuckled before following him.
But as she followed, she thought about other things. Maybe the whole book thing is real, she reflected. Technically, everything checks out, with Choi Han appearing at the entrance, and the Tree. Well, the Tree part could be true if he actually gets an Ancient Power. "Better idea," she spoke, once she was next to him. "You tell me the plot as you know it from what you read. I don't want to always be one step behind you and just waiting until you tell me what you're playing at. But keep it short because my book also looked really interesting," she added, bluntly.
He had a small grin on his lips. "Sure. Let's get there first, though."
Adara knew that the kids had not left, and her suspicion was confirmed when she saw the two kids munching on the bread she gave them. They looked up at the two nobles and stared at them with their big eyes. Cale looked down at them.
"If you want more bread tomorrow, don't say a thing," he warned them.
They nodded earnestly. The older making a point not to look at them.
Adara smiled.
Together she and Cale went down the hill, the eyes of the people following them as usual, only now they noticed the empty bags the two were carrying. She could feel their eyes wondering what they had done up on the hill.
Together they walked, laughing and joking, being noisy since they knew no one had the guts to tell them to shut up.
Once they were in The Fragrance of Tea with Poetry, sitting down at the spots they had reserved earlier, with the same book on the table and tea. Adara looked at Cale. "Well, come on now, don't be shy. Say what happens in the first 5 volumes."
"It's a long story," he said.
"And, as I said earlier, keep the important details in but make it quick, we have time until it's evening, I want to be at least done with half my book by that time."
He shrugged slightly, beginning his recounting of what he knew, of her future. She sighed. Is this her future now? Will she never be able to just relax and drown in wine?
Adara walked down the stairs, Cale right behind her. Her shoulders slightly sagged, her head swimming with what she had just learned. So many deaths, she thought. And so many children. And the dragon. she had to stop herself from clenching her fist and demanding to be taken to Venion so she could beat the shit out of him. Maybe she wouldn't be able to save him, but she could at least kill Venion, possibly even the whole Stan Family, then Taylor would have no other choice but to be the successor.
When they reached the end of the staircase, Billos looked at them in surprise. "Are you two heading out?" he asked, pleased.
That's strange, Adara thought. He's happy we're leaving, but not because we'll be gone.
"Yes," Cale answered.
"I look forward to your next visit." Billos smiled.
Oh, Adara realised. He's happy we're leaving because while we're in here, he doesn't get any money. But if we leave and come back... then he gets some money.
Cale didn't respond, instead turned around to walk out the door. Adara following close behind. But Adara stopped, remembering something. "Oh, forgot to say, the tea was great," she said, nonchalantly.
"Yes, it really was," Cale agreed. "And I only read half the book, but it was very interesting. I liked how the main character's abilities are recognized and how he grows." Turning to Billos, he said, "Don't let anyone else read that book, so that I can read it whenever I come by."
"Yeah," she agreed. "The book you gave me was good, don't let anyone read it either. And remember the number 367 for me."
Billos's smile widened immensely. "Yes! Of course! I will reserve those books only for the Young Master and Mistress. And I will remember the number 367 until the Young mistress comes for another visit. Please come again soon, I will be waiting for you," he added.
They didn't respond, only walked out the door. The crisp, cold air of the night was pleasant as they breathed in. The night was dark, and the lamps were giving off an illuminating effect. Their shadows stretched over the shiny cobblestones.
"So," Adara started. "Which bar should we freak out today?"
Cale shrugged. "Any that sells unsalted roasted chicken breasts."
Her eyes lit up at that. "For the cats, right? Oh, I know the perfect place."
A few minutes later, the door to a bar jingled and in came two people everyone wished they would never see again. The bar suddenly became quiet and the air foreboding. Everyone was trying to look away from the two, and Adara was making a point to try to catch someone's eye.
One of them looked up in a sudden moment of boldness, but then as soon as he caught Adara's eye he dropped it, frightened. She grinned widely, showing the room her sharp canine teeth. The mood dropped lower.
The owner came forward, frightened out of his mind. "Oh, oh my! Welcome Young Master and Misstress!" He bowed so low he was almost touching his toes with his nose. She had the sudden urge to scare him more by telling him not to bow, but she found that would only complicate things.
Cale didn't say anything, only threw a gold coin at the poor man. "Bring two bottles of our usual. Oh, and roasted chicken breast. Don't put salt on it."
"Excuse me? Uh, you don't want to find a seat first?"
Cale started frowning and Adara glared at the man. The man waved his hands anxiously. "Immediately!" he squeaked as he disappeared behind the counter. "I'll bring them immediately!"
Despite being awfully scared, the owner was smiling. Adara guessed it was because they weren't planning on sitting down.
She saw Cale looking around at the scammers and gangsters in distaste. "Tsk." The sound of Cale clicking his tongue could be heard loudly through the silence of the bar.
She smiled again. He was acting how Cale acted when they were at the bar perfectly.
The owner came at that moment, two bottles of their usual and a bag of chicken. She took her bottle and let Cale take the other two.
The two turned to walk out the door, Cale in front of her, with her following closely behind. But once Cale was out the door and she was about to go out into the refreshing night, she heard a unanimous sigh of relief. She stopped walking, hearing their breath hitch. She turned her torso halfway and looked at the thugs, gangsters and everyone in between, with a blank face. Before cracking into a wide smile, all her canine teeth on display, only freaking them out further.
"Bye~," she sang, closing the door behind her with a loud clang that scared everyone out of their skin.
She turned to Cale, the ghost of her grin still on her lips. "So, where to?"
He scoffed, smiling too. "You're unbelievable."
"What?" she asked innocently.
He shook his head, taking a big sip of the bottle, he wiped his mouth and started talking. "Choi Han is 100 steps away from the city gate along the wall, if I remember correctly," he added.
She took a drink of hers too, feeling the warm, cosy feeling in her chest coming up already. "If you remember correctly?" she repeated, incredulous.
He shrugged. "It's fine. He's easy to spot."
She didn't say anything, only took another long drink from her bottle. "If you say so," she muttered.
Together they walked alongside the wall, Adara occasionally taking sips from her bottle, she didn't want to drink it all in one go so she opted only taking small sips at a time.
But as she continued walking, taking a sip of her alcohol, something caught her attention, causing her to choke on her wine. Cale shot her a worried look, but as she pounded her chest with one hand, she waved his worries away with the other. She had just caught a hint of a murderous aura, but not the regular one, this one was amplified to the extreme of her being able to sense it even with her not even in the near vicinity of someone. She hoped it wasn't Choi Han.
A few minutes walking, the aura only getting more suffocating. Ahead of her, she saw the two cats Cale mentioned. Her grin widened when she saw the colour of their fur, one was silver, and the other maroon, with big golden eyes staring right at her. Further away, she saw Choi Han sitting down, leaning against the wall. She looked away from him, unnerved by the fact the murderous aura was coming from him and started walking to get to the cats. She felt his eyes on her back, and she was sure Cale felt them on him too. There was something in the way he looked at them, she found, it was cold. From what Cale told her, she guessed that he was evaluating the two, trying to see if he could take both in a fight even in his injured state. In case they were to harm him, of course. From another thing Cale told her, a few days ago, Harris Village was assassinated. And Choi Han killed those assassins. If he was in their company long enough to kill them, and kill all of them, then he must've adopted their aura. It's not his, she realised, trying to keep herself from smiling, though the aura was suffocating, she was sure she'd not realise it was there after a couple minutes of being in his company. Then there's nothing to be scared of, you stupid bastard.
At the moment, her top priority was trying to appear as harmless as possible. Adara was quite good at pretending to be harmless, after all, she had been doing it since she disappeared, and her brother believed it every time. So she ignored him, crouched down to the cats, and started to talk with them.
"Hey," she cooed, putting her hand in front of the silver cat, the cat poked around her hand, smelling and licking, until rubbing her head on her palm. "It's me, only me," she took one look at Cale above her, "and the idiot above me."
The silver cat growled at Cale as he too crouched and tried to pet her. Adara suppressed a laugh, turning to Cale. "I still can't believe you're not a cat person," she whispered to him.
"Shut it," he grumbled, taking the roasted chicken and ripping it so the kittens could eat it. "You look hungry," he said louder, to Choi Han. But he was looking at the kittens. "You poor things, eat this."
She took the ripped-up chicken bits and put it flat on her hand. "Here," she said in a soft voice. "Can you two eat it, is it too big?"
She grinned as the maroon cat shook its head like a human.
"Eat this and get better soon," Cale said loudly. "Do you have a place to stay?"
When he received no answer he turned to look at him. "Why are you not saying anything?"
Choi Han, having probably decided that they were weak enough, decided to answer. "Why are you talking to me?"
Adara ignored the question. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm hungry."
She got up, leaving the chicken breasts on the floor for the cats to still eat. She stood in front of Choi Han, Cale next to her. "Follow us."
"We'll feed you," Cale finished her sentence.
As they walked, slower than usual so Choi Han, who was limping, could keep up, Adara took the occasional sip of her bottle. The silence between the three wasn't tense. Well, on Cale and Choi Han's part it was. But she was carefree and relaxed. She knew she could defeat Choi Han in this state, probably even kill him. But she wasn't so eager to get the blood of a traumatised schoolboy on her hands.
Suddenly Adara stopped, turning around to face Choi Han. He had stopped walking, staring at their backs, his eyes calculating.
"What are you doing?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.
Choi Han, at this point had probably seen how carefree and relaxed she was, seen how the soldier addressed the two, as well as how the citizens had avoided the two on their way here. He was re-evaluating them.
"Are you not going to come?" Cale asked, also having noted not his behaviour.
Choi Han nodded, starting to walk too. She guessed his objective changed from getting some food to reporting the Harris Village Massacre and hosting a funeral.
A couple meters later, they arrived at the main entrance of the estate. The soldiers jumped out of their skin when they saw the two approaching. "Y— Young Master and Mistress!" They stumbled verbally.
She sighed. "Yes, hello, how are you two?" she asked, sort of bored.
But their hearts warmed up almost instantly. She asked us how we are, they thought, happy. "Very good, Young Mistress!" they said, a giant smile on their face.
She made a face at their antics. Has no one asked them how they are today? she wondered, sweatdropping. The reaction they gave me is of an attention-lacking child who's happy an adult is talking to them nicely. I'm starting to feel bad for them.
"Head on in, please!" they said, their mood improving instantly. But as soon as they caught sight of Choi Han walking behind them, they frowned.
Adara was painfully aware of Choi Han. He was walking directly behind Cale, having likely determined he was the weaker of the two and was probably planning on holding him hostage if something were to happen. Without realising it, Adara had turned around and was zoning out as she stared at Choi Han.
He frowned, her eyes were pitch black, but calculating. She blinked a couple times, realising she was staring at Choi Han and offered him a toothy grin, her sharp canine teeth only convincing him further of her fake harmlessness. He didn't know why, but the second he saw her he felt iffy, as if something was wrong.
But as they walked in, Cale noticed the two soldiers were following them. He frowned. Turning to them, he said a short command, "Don't follow me."
The Knights flinched. Looking back and forth at each other and at Cale, Adara and Choi Han.
Seeing their indecision and wanting to mess with their heads, Adara spoke up, "One of you can come, I mean," she smiled, mischievously, "one of you has to stay to guard the entrance, right?"
The Knights flinched harder this time. They were instructed to follow the young Thornwin's commands as if she was a Henituse, but, when both Young Masters were saying orders, nobody told them who to follow.
Adara noticing, smiled wider. "It's only natural you want to protect your Young Master," she added. "Of course, there is not much to protect when it's only a harmless stranger like this one," she said, making a motion with her head towards Choi Han. "But, if one of us were to be held hostage by said stranger, that certainly complicates things a great deal, doesn't it?" Her smile was illuminating in the dark. Who to pick, who to pick, one or the other, who to pick? she mused, her eyes like a cats watching a ball of yarn, bright with curiosity and amusement.
Taking one last look at each other, they decided it'd be better if at least one of them was with the Young Master and Mistress and the stranger, and besides, the Young Mistress had said so herself, what if one of them got held hostage?
Cale sent Adara a look, she only smiled. And she smiled further as she felt Choi Han's cold eyes staring into the back of her head. And yet he still stayed behind Cale.
As they walked in, Cale froze as he spotted Ron at the main entrance. Waiting for them.
Ron, catching sight of them immediately smiled. "Young Master and Mistress, you're back."
She knew of course, even before Cale told her, that Ron and her son were assassins, knew that they were from the Molan Family, knew that they were the only ones left. However, she hadn't known that the secret organization had almost wiped out the whole Molan Family making them flee and come to the Western Continent. She thought an accident had happened.
The world is full of surprises.
~~~
[Fun Fact]: Adara is a very late-night owl, it normally takes her until well past noon to properly be awake, and only then does she have breakfast. But she usually wakes up earlier so she can come by Cale's house, and she properly wakes up at one point during her stay there. Except this occasion was a bit different, since the surprise with Kim Rok Soo caused her to wake up faster.