T H I R T E E N
One And The Same
I HAD WOKEN up the next morning startled when a pail of ice cold water was thrown over me. When I had sputtered for air, my death glares were met by Wilhelm's very unusually joyful smiles as he grabbed a cobalt blue pail in his hands.
"Come on, sleepy head," he had said. "Training had already started long ago and you're still in bed."
After trudging down the hallways with a new set of clothing while nagging Wilhelm's ears off, he had led us towards the kitchen before calmly tossing me an apple from the table. I was still munching on the fruit when he turned and started for another pathway.
The events of last night was fresh in my memory, with Wilhelm's words echoing loud and clear within my mind. Obviously, as any sane person would, I had began to deny that I was the player this time round in the game between Dimitri and I. He had always been the monopolist, and what made Will think that it would be me this time round?
Sadly enough, my questions were not met with answers even when we had stopped in front of a large double door.
"He's waiting for you inside." Gesturing towards the door with a nod of his head, Wilhelm's smile dropped slightly. "I have to get back to training the other recruits. You'll be fine in there."
His last sentence seemed to be convincing himself more than me, along with that fact that his mind and heart had certainly not been placed along with his attention. Before I could even reply, he turned to walk away, curving the corner and disappearing from my sight though thousands of questions were already placed at the tip of my tongue.
Upon Wilhelm's departure, I was left with the foreboding silence of the entire castle. It rested heavy upon my shoulders, creeping up like dark vines against the base of my heart towards my throat. I don't know why, or how even, but I was so sure that Dimitri, that Death couldn't scare me anymore. It was as if I knew that I had already faced the worst that could come at me.
Of course, the rational part of my brain still whispered tales of caution. And yet, it was as though a new side of me had been found. A side in which was lost during the past year's events and for too long after that. This much braver side of me knew that with darkness, with shadows and monsters and evil, there will always be a light, a silver lining shining through at the top. Just like thunder clouds, it will be placed above and out of sight. And yet, what we couldn't see didn't mean that it doesn't exist. We just had to find a way to reach it.
The palm of my hand rested heavily against the door. I drew in a breath to calm my thundering heart, eyes gleaming with determination.
You have to face your fears one day, Addison. And sometimes, those aren't even your real fears.
Dimitri hadn't noticed when the door opened soundlessly. He was too focused on the object before him, his wrapped fists pounding against a punching bag. With movements light and steady, his feet were barely even grazing the ground. It floated, in a way, as if gravity was something only existing for the lesser people.
And at that moment, I realized just how different Dimitri was from Death. Not just personality-wise, but also on the outside. Dimitri was kinder, much more relaxed, more often or not seen with a lazy grin. And yet his counterpart had an almost sinister smirk hung high on his features whenever I saw him. Death was just as deadly as his name.
Crazy enough, I had to remind myself that the two were one and the same. They are both Death, and they are both Dimitri. Just because one side of our minds said no while the other said yes does not mean that we are two. We still are one. One mind, one soul, one body. Just with two different ideas and perspectives.
I barely even made it half way across the room before Dimitri noticed my presence. He stopped, hands posed mid-punch as his sharp eyes glanced swiftly across the room. Once it landed on me, the lethal glint in his silver orbs melted away into nonchalance and hint of something else I couldn't decipher.
"Addison," his voice was not even a pitch above a whisper, almost as if he had held his breath this entire time only to breathe when I appeared. "You're here."
"Well, you called, didn't you?" Fidgeting slightly under his intense gaze, I shuffled my feet before walking over. Though, I was still cautious enough to keep a distance between us. "Will made it quite clear that I shouldn't keep you waiting."
For a second there, Dimitri was unreadable, more so than usual. He seemed to be almost calculating something mentally, and what would I honestly give to know.
Clearing his throat, the man nodded once before running a hand through his midnight hair, brushing stray strands out of his face. Though his person was here, I could sense that his mind was some where far far away.
"So," he cleared his throat lightly before cracking his knuckles. "There's a war coming and I can't have you running around not knowing how to protect yourself."
"Well, I'd say I can protect myself just fine after what happened last year." Pretending to dust off imaginary dirt off my shoulders, I flashed Dimitri a small confident grin before I was greeted by his blank and highly unamused face. "What? You were the one that tried to kill me."
"I didn't try to kill you." He looked bored, almost, slowly making his way over to the large array of weapons, both modern and old, before examining each one. "I was trying to drag you down to hell. Quite literally."
Unamused by his reply, I simply made my way over as well. Once Dimitri noticed that I had moved from my spot, his eyes left the arsenal of weapons to rake over my body, scanning me from head to toe as a small sparkle appeared in his eyes. When I stopped in front of the punching bag he had been working on before my arrival, Dimitri turned with his back facing the table now, palms rested against the edge as he leaned back slowly with a kick of one leg over the other in a slight cross.
"Hit that," he said, eyes darting to the sand-filled bag for a split second as he urged me on. "Go on."
I gritted my teeth with agitation. With the way his eyes were scrutinizing me, I could feel his doubts about me being even the least bit strong dousing him like oil over a burning fire that wanted to just set its path ablaze.
I was filled with a determination to prove him wrong.
However, the very second in which my draw-backed fist made contact with the punching bag, I immediately recoiled my hand in pain as I kissed my knuckles, a string of colorful profanities streaming out of my lips in concession. I could swear that I had heard something breaking in that punch, and it definitely wasn't a powerful indent made by me on the bag. In fact, the bag did more damage to my hand than I did it.
Dimitri roared with laughter, his hands immediately reaching to clutch his stomach as he doubled over in chuckles. With a perfected scowl placed over my features, I glared daggers at the merry man as he pretended to wipe a stray tear away from the corner of his eyes.
"Oh that was just so funny, was it?" Sarcasm leaked from every word as I continued to kiss my turning-red knuckles.
"Oh yes," he sighed with a delighted nod. "That was the most entertaining thing that had happened to me since last year's party. You really brightened up my life there, Addison."
My next few words could easily be classified as a growl, tone laced with enough venom to kill. "Glad I could be of service, prick."
He said nothing more for a second there, just a smile playing on his lips.
An early update dedicated to all of you for your continuous support. ❤️
Vote, comment and share. 💕
Until next time. 👋🏼