Candela

Wild wind welcomed them as they finally reached the middle of the woods. Absentmindedly, Candela hugged herself behind Primo. Primo is the first one who jumped out from Misty and to is followed by her. Candela couldn’t help but let out a sweet smile at Primo as the child offered his hand to her for assistance.

They just tied Misty on a tree not too far away from them. They both headed under the banyan tree that even from a long distance, was truly noticeable. Its lush leaves give them shadows, protecting them from the sun. There were also leafy bushes around it and it’s shouting a magical aura. Candela isn’t informed about that tree and if Primo didn’t take her here, probably she wouldn’t get any chance to see it by herself.

“I’ve heard from one of the maids that this tree is where the monster lives,” Primo opened up the topic again about the myth. Candela just leans her back on the tree body before tilting her head to look up above. Towering the heights of the tree as well as wondering how the tree grows that bigger.

“Then why are we here? The monster might got mad at us because we’re resting on his territory,” she reasoned out, not because she’s afraid of what Primo had said.© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.

“This is my territory, not his. This place still inside my castle so if there’s anyone who should be mad, it’s not him. But since I’m a good boy, I would let him stay here until he didn’t do anything bad that may harm us.” Candela shook her head slightly, enough to not Primo notice it. The child was acting arrogant for a moment and it makes her grinned at the same time.

“Do you know what’s the real story behind the monster?” Primo asked. “No my Lord. But base on the witness, they said that it was a horrible monster who would eat you alive. Terrifying right?”

“I’m not scared though. My brother taught me how to conquer my fear so there’s no reason for me to get scared of that monster. Plus, I know there’s nothing scary about him. He deserves the curse that the faerie gives to him.” She looked at Primo, wondered about what the child told her.

“Curse? You mean my Lord, the curse had something to deal with the myth?” Primo nodded.

“I heard it from my brother. No, he told it to me before. Base on him, there’s a beautiful faerie who’s taking care of this part of the forest. Every step she made leaves glowing dust. Her hair and skin were as bright as the glistening moon of the night. A glorious faerie indeed but her looks give sorrows to her heart.”

“Sorrow? Who would get sorrows despite being magically beautiful?” she asked.

“Since she was indeed beautiful and blessed, many vampires wanted her to be their wife. Many vampires tried to seduce her, offering her different thing that could give her undying happiness. But despite it, the faerie remained untamed. She kept on lurking herself during the day and when night came, that’s when she decided to roam around the forest. She would go to the falls to take a glance at herself on its crystalline water. She was contented on it not until there’s a vampire caught her attention. A vampire who she admired the most. Who she loves despite being different from each other. Their love grows even more and for the faerie, she couldn’t ask anything not until the love of her life betrayed her. Do you know how betrayal sent havoc to everyone Candelita?” she eventually caught off guard upon hearing the question of Primo.

Her throats even get dry all of the sudden. And when Primo met her gaze, she immediately averted her eyes from him. Does Primo know something about her motives? But it’s impossible, she’s being careful about it. There’s no way Primo could know about it, she was sure about it.

“Her white dress became red. Her white and glowing skin was tainted by her blood. Do you know why?” Primo asked her again even she didn’t still answer the first one. “W–why?” she sputtered, trying her best not to be suspicious bit she think, she already failed on it.

“Because of the man who she trusted the most stabbed her to death. And ’til her last breath, to the last drop of her blood, she cursed the vampire who betrayed her. She turned that vampire into a horrible monster that would frighten anyone who will see him. Do you know what’s the name of that glorious faerie?”

“You’ve been asking me question thrice my Lord but still, I can’t answer it,” she curtly laughed.

“My brother called that faerie as Crimson Lady which means, the lady in red. And what makes her be titled by that is her blood, her crimson blood. There’s someone told me that, that Crimson Lady would come back after hundred of years. Now I wonder, how she looks like. I badly want to see her and hug her because I know, she’s still in pain.”

“Is your brother told that to you also my Lord?” she asked but Primo smiled playfully. “No, he didn’t. I’m just jumping out of the conclusion that she’d probably still in pain. You wouldn’t know how she feels until you experience being betrayed.”

Didn’t experience being betrayed? If the child only knows what is he talking about, he’ll surely eat his own words. Of course, Candela experienced the pain given by betrayal. Of course, she knows how does it feel but she can’t just cry her heart out in front of Primo. Unless the child would get confused with her.

“And you already experienced being betrayed my Lord?” Primo childishly pouted, resting his chin on his palms. “Yeah, always. My brother always betraying me on lots of things. He even gets what’s mine. So if you see him and tried to snatch you from me, please don’t you ever come with him. He’s a jerk, a wholesome rude jerk!”

“You know what my Lord, why don’t we just hunt deer. I’m sure there’s a lot of it here. Just forget the myth and the betrayal thing, you won’t going to experience it again.”

Well, hopefully not. Why does she feel sudden guilt about keeping her true identity from Primo? She knows that Primo didn’t know everything about her. He’s just an innocent kid and that’s making her felt guilty. He’s nice to her in every aspect, treating her not just as a maid but a friend. And for the past few days, she became more attached to Primo and she didn’t like the idea of it.

She’s just being nice and behind it, there’s a motive. She’s a wolf in sheep clothes. She didn’t plan to be attached to the kid, it wasn’t a part of her plan anymore. But how can she get out from that string of attachment when Primo keeps ordering her to be by his side? Damn! It’s making things to be more complicated than she thought.

Primo in her side making her soft and she hated it. She hated being soft because it would only give her pain. She was sick in pain. Darn it!