Chapter 15 – History lessons.
”So you’re telling me that my banished sister is here in town, and that she kidnapped you from the carnival?” Sion asked.
Unique was well aware that he probably didn’t believe her. The widened eyes didn’t look frightened – they looked as if he were sure that she’d lost her marbles somewhere.
“Yes. And I looked into her past, where she saw me getting married. I don’t remember it though. I don’t even think it was real.”
Sion didn’t answer her. He simply stared at the floor while he rubbed his temples.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“Hmm?” He glanced at her, just now noticing she was even there. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” She frowned. His face was unusually pale, and there was no hint of his earlier playfulness in his eyes. He seemed tired and worn down.
“Yes, Unique.” He rose from the chair. “I’m fine.”
Unique followed him with her eyes as he walked around in the room. She hadn’t gotten a proper chance to look at the insides yet, and with so much on her mind – she hadn’t even thought to go exploring. She stood up and walked over to one of the adjourning doors. Her hand reached out to take the doorknob and twist it.
“Don’t go in there!” Sion’s voice came from right behind her. She could feel his breath on her neck, and her hand hovered over the knob.
“I mean it, Unique. Don’t go into that room,” he said. With every word, a chill ran down her spine. She didn’t move away from the door, and she was afraid to turn around.
His hand landed on hers, and he pulled it away from the door handle. Why was he so warm?
“Why can’t I look?” she asked when she finally found her voice again.
“I wish I could explain it. But for now, just don’t touch anything,” Sion said. He led her over to the couch once more, and gestured for her to sit.
“You promised to tell what this place was,” she said and sat down.
He sighed and looked around the room. There was something bothering him – Unique had never seen him like this before.
“What do you want to know?” he asked.
The question made Unique roll her eyes. What she wanted to know? Well, duh. Everything. She didn’t answer just stared at him, trying to make her face neutral.
“Alright. I’ll tell you.” Sion sat down beside her on the couch. “This place once belonged to one of the Gods. It was a gift – a sort of holiday resort.”
“A holiday resort?” Unique cocked an eyebrow. “On earth?”
“Yeah. It’s a long time ago. But Haims and Earth used to be connected. This place was our gateway into the world.” He stopped talking to meet her eyes.
“What happened?”
“Well. That’s the part you didn’t bother studying. Haims were in an uproar when the negative Gods lost control of their powers. The power overtook them, and they had too much power over the mortal world from Haims.
“The origins and several other Gods tried to save their brothers and sisters. But they were too far gone and couldn’t be saved.” Sion averted his eyes to the floor.
“What happened?”
Unique thought she saw a glimpse of pain in his eyes, but it was gone far too soon for her to be certain. He cleared his throat and leaned back in the couch.
“There were a few Gods, who didn’t back down. When one of the Goddesses lost her life in a vicious battle, Lif and Morticia decided to meet with the rest of the Origins. As a result, all the Gods who had lost control of their powers were banished from Haims.”
There was many unanswered questions, and Unique had to fight to keep them from bursting out.
“Why would banishing them from Haims and have them go down on earth be better? I mean… if they already had too much control over humans?” She bit her lip, hoping that it wasn’t too stupid a question.
“Because of the Core. When we’re in Haims with Lif, we get stronger for each day that passes. With help from the fountain, we can reach every human on earth. Down here, our powers can’t grow, and it’s limited to the people that are exposed to our presence.”
Unique didn’t know how to respond. She wanted to ask which God gave up their life for this, but she didn’t dare – the look in Sion’s eyes told her that she wouldn’t like the answer.
Retro had never spoken about Unique’s mother before, and a part of her wondered if it might have been her that gave up her life for the greater good. The thought scared her, and she shook her head to make it go away.
“So… Once we were connected with humans?” she asked.
Sion nodded. “Yeah. It was almost perfect.”
Unique couldn’t imagine it, but it did sound fantastic.
“What do we do now?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you know… With Envy and all that.”
His expression became pained, and Unique regretted speaking her mind. She shouldn’t have said anything.
“I guess we need to confront her?” she tried.
“No.” Sion jerked up and stared at her. He was serious. “You’re not going anywhere near her. Do you understand that?”
“But she’s planning to harm you, I can’t just—“
“Your worry flatter me.” He winked. “It’s kinda hot.”
Her jaw dropped, and she struggled to find her voice. “D-Don’t give me that, Sion. You can’t go—“
“How about this,” he interrupted once more. Unique watched as he shifted around, leaning closer to her. “If you just focus on staying away from Envy, then I’ll do the same. How does that sound?”
For the first time, Unique noticed something different in his eyes. Hidden beneath his flirtatious behavior, seriousness was shining through. Was he worried for her? She couldn’t see why he would be. They were two, and they’d been in Haims not so long ago. There was no logical explanation as to why they couldn’t take Envy down.
Nevertheless, the odd hint of sincerity in his eyes was enough to make her agree anyway.
“There’s a good girl.” He smiled. “Are you hungry?”
“A bit.”
“I should go out and get something to store here. I doubt that there’s anything in here.” He rose from the couch.
“But what if she gets to you?” Unique asked.
“She won’t. I’m positive. I’ll be transporting, and while it’s easily traceable for others, I’ll make sure to take a long cut and mislead her. She won’t get here.”
“Wait, why didn’t we transport earlier?” The question had nagged Unique for a while.
“Well. You didn’t know how to, and it’s draining. I feel on top though, so I’ll manage.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.” He gave her a reassuring smile. As Unique watched she saw the teasing smile return. “Your hesitation to let me go really turns me on. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost believe you cared for me.”
Unique jerked away. She did not care for him! Not much anyway. A finger forced her to meet his eyes.
“Do you, Unique?” he asked. “Do you care for me?”
She snorted. “N-No.”
It didn’t sound convincing at all, and she knew it. The rough chuckle he let out, just further proved that he didn’t believe her.
“I’ll be back soon,” he said and ruffled her hair. She waved him away, and pouted slightly when he walked to the door. Before he walked out, he turned around. “Please don’t do anything I wouldn’t approve of.”
“Does that mean I have free reigns?”
“No. You know what I mean.” He gave her a stern look.
She nodded. She knew what he was referring to – her thoughts went to the room she wasn’t supposed to go in.
The room called for her attention, and she struggled not to look. Yet, as she heard the door close after Sion, her head snapped around, and she stared at the door. Why wasn’t she allowed to look in there? One look, that’s all she wanted – it couldn’t hurt that much.
With regret, she thought back to the last time she had a similar thought pattern. It had been a mistake to succumb to her need to look – now she was stuck on earth.
Perhaps it would be best just to stay put. After all, Sion would be back soon anyway. She could rest for a bit. Her eyelids were heavy, and she lay down on the couch. When she woke up, there would be food along with company.