39 - Unknown future

THALIA ZAHARA.

As I watched Alpha Ezra walk away, I contemplated running after him to force him to listen to the rest of my words, but Beta Emmag stopped him. The two had a brief conversation and when Emmag started to walk in my direction, he did so with a deep frown.

“He’s acting weird,” Emmag murmured quite loudly.

“Alpha Ezra is acting weird?”

“Oh. Thalia.” The crease on his forehead loosened and he smiled easily. “How come you are here? Why did you leave the room?”

“I had something to do.” I was not ready to let go of the statement he made. “What do you mean by Alpha Ezra is acting weird? Did he say something?”

The man lifted a brow. Now, he was suspecting me.

He asked, “Did you tell him something?”

“I uhm… did not. We weren’t talking about anything important.”

“He looked disturbed.”

“I did not disturb him.”

“Are you ready for your training, Thalia?” Emmag quickly changed the direction of our discussion.

“Uhm…” The training would be a great means to distract my mind from the turmoil of that child’s voice, but I think I would appreciate some time alone for now. It would be preferable to go to the garden and gather my thoughts concerning what I can do to stop the child from tormenting me as per Mona’s instructions.

“Don’t tell me you are postponing.”

“Till this evening,” I sharply added. “I won’t back out anymore. I will ensure I am around in the evening for the training.” With a side eye, he questioned my statement. “I am serious. I will be super ready in the evening.”

His side-eye persisted. “What time?”

“Five-thirty?”

“And you won’t back out?”

I shook my head. “I won’t.”

“Good. We should not delay it any longer.”

“Thank you, Emmag.”

He loosened his firmness. “About the child, how did he enter the room?”

“I don’t. I saw him there when I woke up. Why do you ask?”

“It’s strange that he was able to access the room. It’s almost as though someone planted him there.”

Yeah. Someone. A.K.A your devilish sister.

“I just don’t want the child to keep inconveniencing me,” I said. “I don’t care if my name is music to his ears, he needs to stop saying it and creeping me out.”

“He’s just a child, Thalia,” Emmag tried to justify the boy’s action again. If only he knew. “I am certain he means no harm.”

I could tell him that his sister meant to harm me by bringing the child to the palace, but I was feeling uneasy because of a weird taste in my mouth. I needed no seer to tell me to wash up before I start to smell like I’ve spent a hundred years in a garbage truck.

“I will see you later, Emmag.”

“Should I ask the maids to send food to your room?”

That’s true… I haven’t eaten anything proper in a while. I need to become more serious about getting better.

“I will eat later. I want to get some fresh air.”

“You are taking a walk? To where?”

“The garden.”

“You must love that place a lot.”

I smiled. “It’s calming. Oh yeah, I just found out that we have a garden in the palace.”

“Oh, that?” Emmag chuckled. “That’s the former garden.”

“Why is it a ‘former garden’? It’s still alive and with some attention, it can be more alive.”

“Uh… Let’s just say the place is cursed.”

It sounds like he’s making up words. “Cursed by who?”

“Someone you don’t know.”

“Is it written in the books that someone cursed that garden?”

“No.”

“You are lying to me, aren’t you? The garden is not cursed.”

“Okay.” He pouted. “The garden is not cursed. It’s just a hassle to take care of it because only people in my family can take care of it.”

“Uh…” That’s sort of how only the Luna Queen can take care of the garden I’m tendering. “That’s fascinating. Why don’t you ask your sister to do it? I’m sure she’s jobless, it won’t be too much of a task for her.”

“Trust me, Thalia,” he sighed and looked away from me, “with Mona Billani, everything is a huge task. The last time she looked after the garden, she set it on fire.”

Wait, was that why she was smoking earlier? She wished to repeat her past actions?

Emmag continued, “She almost destroyed the palace. I can’t let that happen again. So I’ll leave the garden as it is. That’s what I have been doing.”

“I see. If that’s what works for you.” I wished to know why the garden could only be taken care of by his family, but I pushed that question to be asked another day. “I should leave.”

“Oh.” He faced him. “Definitely. I have a meeting to prepare for, so I’ll leave too.”

“If you didn’t have a meeting, were you going to remain in this spot till evening?”

“Huh?” He coughed. “Of course not. I would have followed you all day if I didn’t have anything I was doing.”

My eyes narrowed and I warned, “You had better not try that with me.”

“Thalia, be honest with me for a minute.” He folded his arms and I inwardly told myself to try to escape whatever was about to come out of his mouth. “You don’t like me, do you?”

“Like you? Of course, I like you. You are a good friend who helps me more than I deserve.”

“I don’t mean liking me in that way.”

My lips paused with slight annoyance. “Emmag, not this again. Don’t push it, please.”

“The only reason you keep saying that is because you can’t reciprocate the words I wish to pour from my heart, isn’t it?”

“Emmag, right now, I just don’t want to reciprocate anything.” Is it just me, or Emmag is somewhat clueless? How does he not understand that there are certain times to push out certain discussions? “Listening to confessions, responding to them, or even accommodating them, I can’t do that right now. I can’t do that to myself. Not when I am…” my shoulders heaved because of the emotions that rushed into my soul “… still healing.”

“You don’t act this way when Alpha Ezra confuses you with his fake acts of intimacy.”

“Excuse me?”

“I don’t want to lose you to him.” His statement reminded me of when Alpha Ezra said something similar, but with different wordings. “I have always loved the idea of being with you and now that there’s a chance for that to happen, I don’t want to back down.”

Is it possible to be mad at someone yet pity them at the same time?

“There is no game here, Emmag. Nobody is fighting for me, and nobody is winning me. The only reason we are in the same shoes is because of Lycan Octavius. Once that reason is dead, there’s nothing else tying us together anymore.”

“Wait…” He stepped closer. “You’ll leave once we get rid of Lycan Octavius? Where would you go?”

“The Night Stream, of course. That’s where my home is. I have to restore my parent’s legacy, rebuild the family house, continue advancing the finances of the house and maybe get a few cats.”

“But-”

“That’s what I think I will do. But even though I make a billion plans now, the future remains unknown. So, who knows what will happen?”

“Uhm… That’s true. Who knows what will happen?”

“Just uhm… please don’t confess to me. I can’t allow you to do that.”

Emmag smiled. He seemed to accept defeat. “My emotions can’t be blocked by your words. But, it is fine. I was just hoping to pick up the conversation since we didn’t get to delve into it yesterday.”

“Oh.”

His smile widened. “Your haircut is nice. I don’t think I’ve told you that.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

“You should leave before the morning gets busier. I’ll call the doctor to meet you in the room so that he can check your vitals and change your dressing.”

When he mentioned the haircut, I was reminded that Emmag was yet to question my disappearance at the Market Square. I didn’t wish for that to happen, so with a grin, I slowly moved my legs towards the closest exit.

“I will see you later in the evening,” I said. Hopefully, it won’t be too awkward between us by then. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

As soon as I was out of that area, I rushed to the room, took a nice bath with little struggle, brushed my teeth to get rid of the weird taste in my mouth, and selected one of Alpha Ezra’s shirts to wear as a gown.

Amid my preparation, the doctor arrived and did his part. My injury had healed better but he still dressed the wrist and as he advised me to meet the psychiatrist whom no one told me was around, I stared blankly at my wrist because I still couldn’t comprehend the drive behind what I did.

Once it was over, I stepped out for my walk.

I was appreciating the quietness that greeted me as I descended my path when every step I took was immediately accompanied by the timid voice of that child eerily repeating my name. His wicked giggles filled my mind and his frightening presence wrapped me as though he was right beside me.

I was about to look around to see if the child had strangely caught up with me when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked to my right and, while the voice in my mind didn’t cease, I found some strength to smile. Then, I took the person’s hand and walked with them.