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"You're getting rusty,"
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Harvest stared blankly at the words in the book, his breathing low as he sat alone in the abandoned section of the library.
His jaw clenched for a moment, before closing the book. He leaned backward into the soft chair, running a hand down his face with a deep sigh, mind far off.
He couldn't help the feelings of regret drawing deep within him, and yet it was unclear what he was regretting, conflicting thoughts lying rampant in his mind.
This wasn't a feeling he was used to, everything was always built around him, and he always knew what he wanted-
It was hard for him to believe that whilst many had tried to get under his skin, it had to be the quiet mute girl who couldn't hurt a fly.
He scoffed at this thought, eyes opening once more, staring out into the open space, lips pursing in a hard line.
His gaze dropped to the mark on his wrist for a moment, looking at the intricate design, his breathing even lower as he thought of her.
If only it had been the ordinary tethering, and yet somehow, despite his better judgments, she had managed to sneak one by him.
Before it was easy for him to say there was nothing, but now there was a heavy feeling stuck in his chest, one that was bothering the hell out of him.
That a being such as himself would be tricked by something as trivial as a mark.
This was a game he was always good at playing, but now it felt as if the game itself wasn't the same, that the rules had been twisted, to the point that whether they existed or not was a debate in itself.
The conversation that he had with his father formed in his head at this thought,
[You have always been good at winning, you have one more remove left to finally take the crown your blood so rightly deserves.-The girl is mute- ]
Her face mirrored in his memories at this-
[She is clueless and harmless]
Her stubborn attitude, forged in his mind, her little acts of rebellion when she bravely kissed his forehead played in his mind making him right out a chuckle.
The thought he had read in her mind, her anger towards him for not picking her.
He shook his head at this, amused. She was so complicated and yet delicate. Rough and soft, angry and sweet.
So sweet.
He let out a loose breath feeling delirious for a moment.
So gentle-
[and yet you hold her symbol]
He paused at this, throat constricted as he adjusted himself in his seat, dark blues glancing at the notebook he couldn't keep his hands off, only because he felt even after reading her mind, her notebook was a little more sacred, something that was even more private.
From between those pages, he could tell what she had been thinking of weeks ago, how her heart translated her feelings, and most importantly- all her suspicions of him.
At least, that was what he told himself.
But there was a reason he hated what he read, why he had these feelings of regret.
Though unable to understand which part he regretted-
Was it what he knew he had to do? Was he regretting revealing too much to her that would risk everything he had built for years?
Or was it much simpler?
Did he regret the fact that he had something to lose in exchange in the first place? Why did he feel obligated to tell her anything? Obligated to speak the truth?
He grabbed the notebook again, jaw clenching as he read the poem again, it was worse that these were his words. His poems she had written down.
That she had memorized them line for line.
[You have always had a weakness for innocence- but you must remember, light is always attracted to the darkness, and darkness will always consume it-]
He suddenly exhaled at this, head twisting quickly when he spotted a figure leaning against the library shelves, only a few feet away, hands in her pocket.
"Fuck, Raskei," he cursed, looking up at her with hard eyes at the startle she had given him.
She only smirked, the shelves that were around them shifting and becoming blurry and he let out a low sigh, until everything seemed back to normal, despite him knowing he was in a chamber.
"You didn't know I was here," she stated, eyes narrowing on him.
His jaw tightened but said nothing, getting to his feet, dusting off his coat, and glancing at the book before him.
He was tempted to open it again, but since he was in a chamber, in memory of Raskei, those pages would be empty as she had no clue what was in them.
It was only a figure in a chamber.
"You're getting rusty," Raskei continued, knowing that Harvest could spot a soul long before they ever showed themselves.
The remark caused him to slightly roll his eyes,
"Because-" Raskei dragged, "you're consumed by her."
His eyes snapped back at her at those words, his father's last words echoing after, playing in the chamber for just a second
Standing a foot away from him, by the wilting tree in the center of the forest as it drained to ash, his body disappearing away with the ash as heavy eyes on him, a warning in his tone
[Consume it, before it consumes you.]
She raised an eyebrow at the memory flash, as it darted through the next moment, a Harvest was quick to conceal it. pausing abruptly unable to believe that he could be this out of control.
"Oh, you're definitely losing it," Raskei chuckled, surprisingly amused by a slip-up so great.
Harvest was built like armor, he was tactful and straight. There was no way, the Harvest of two months ago, would allow a memory slip up like this.
"Shut Up and Get out of my head," he growled, back turning away, running a hand through his hair for a second in frustration, his shoulders falling before slightly turning back to her, tucking his hands in his coat pocket.
"I'm just tired," he stressed.
"I see," she hummed, "and when you're stressed....you read?" Raskei asked in amusement glancing down at the book.
Harvest scoffed at this, knowing she was messing with him, and yet somehow there was truth in that, as he glanced at the book, eyes staying there for a second
"Sometimes."
She paused at his unexpected reply, folding her arms as she leaned against the shelves.
"You've finally thought about it," she stated.
His gaze trailed up to her, eyes narrowing down on her with a questioning look.
"About what you're doing with the girl," she hinted, "and don't say nothing. I think we're a little bit past that," she huffed.
Harvest didn't say a word his eyes on her, letting the sentence hang in the air, for a moment.
Raskei smirked, walking toward the pink notebook, and picking it up, knowing that this action, though trivial made him angrier.
It was what to expect from a being like him.
He was very good at hiding his true emotions, but Raskei knew him well enough to know how possessive he really was, and that all he needed was a push.
Harvest watched the action with a blank expression on his face, seemingly unbothered, yet inside there was a feeling bothering him more than anything.
Irritating him to the core, even when he knew this was just a chamber, that the book was far from her hands, and there was nothing she could read from it.
And Yet, just the image of someone else having access to her deepest desires irked him.
Flipping the ebook open, blank pages stared back at her and she looked up at him, closing the book again.
"So what did she write this time? You seem angry," she mocked a shimmer of mischief in her eyes.
Harvest walked to her, taking the book from her, before tossing it in the chair behind him with a short sigh, turning back to her.
"Bothing of her creativity," he replied.
"But?" Raskei echoed.
Harvest's jaw clenched, "she wrote down the poems," he stated.
Raskei paused for a moment, "Which one?"
"both-" Harvest grunted, "but she underlined a few words in the second."
"What was the second?"
Harvest's fists clenched softly for a moment, shaking his head. He thought back to the book, before taking the notebook from where he had disposed of it, opening it to the blank book.
He transferred his memories of it to the page, showing it to Raskei.
She looked down at the words for a second, before looking at him in disbelief.
"You have to be fucking kidding me," she huffed, "of all the poems in the world, you choose the one with the biggest clue," she huffed.
Harvest's eyes narrowed on her, jaw tightening.
"I didn't think she would put it together, and she hasn't- at least she doesn't know she has."
"But she's close," Raskei replied.
Harvest took the book back, shaking his head.
"No, she isn't." he stated," I've looked into her mind and I know-" he paused, "how she feels," he pursed his lips at this, before snapping out of it and looking back up at Raskei.
"She's storing."
Raskei looked at him suspiciously.
"Gathering," he rephrased, with a slight huff, turning around, his dark coat trailing after him as he slowly paced around the room.
"she's unconsciously saving every little detail, putting it together, without even knowing it. She would just need one click- one thing that could make everything else fall into place," he noted, eyes hardening on Raskei, "we can't let that happen."
Raskei thought of it for a second, pursing her lips, eyes studying his figure.
"Why?"
Harvest paused, turning back to face her taken aback by the answer.
"What do you mean why? Must I repeat what's at stake if she does?"
"You don't care if she finds out about the prime, or who and what she is, of what she can do," she grunted slowly, reading him like an open book.
Harvest remained stoic, yet, deep down he knew Raskei was the only person other than HER who knew him well enough
"You don't want her to find out about you- who you are, what you can do," she stated.
"Isn't that the whole point of this?" he asked, his accent deep on each word, swirling his finger around the room, "isn't that the very foundation of the plan, that no one knows what or who I am?"
"You haven't spoken of the plan in a while," Raskei countered gravely.
"Well, my mistake- I was unaware, I had to report to you every damn minute," he mocked.
"Relax, I don't care about the plan," Raskei smirked, "never have, never will. I will go where you lead, simple," she replied, taking a seat on the chair Harvest had been in, as he watched her specifically, "I just thought you should know-"
"Know what?" Harvest grunted, now very irritated-
"That SHE knows,"
He paused at this, silence hanging for a second, "Know what?" he asked, tone dangerous.
"That you summoned your father,"
"The mark," he stated plainly.
"So she summoned the witch," she replied.
Harvest's eyes looked up at her, breathing slowly, not saying a word.
"She was sent to look after you, and she has, believe me, her eyes are everywhere, and the witch knows, so now SHE knows and she isn't happy about it."
Harvest paused for a second, "There's nothing they can do without jeopardizing the plan," he finally stated before turning away-"
"This is the first warning," Raskei blurted out causing him to freeze before leaving, "there will be a second, and then the third will be called upon, you know HER ways."
When he didn't turn back she continued.
"It's either you do as you have been destined and the girl survives or you follow this path, and whilst I'm willing to follow, all I see is death. She will not let the bond complete and Kings are slaves to no one-"
At the sound of that phrase, a memory echoed in his head, one that was from long ago,
[staring up at the dark-cloaked figure, whose cold hands clutched his small ones tightly, a warning in its tone, "don't. touch. her- or you will fall under her spell. Kings are slaves to no one," it echoed]
His jaw clenched at the old memory-"it doesn't matter. That was never my intention," Harvest grunted, "Tell her the plan never changed."
He took himself out of the chamber, staring at Raskei for a moment before taking the notebook and walking past her.
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Any guesses on the mysterious Figure? AKA the SHE?
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