Kiss of Vengeance | 復讐のキス

Chapter 19 - Nostalgia

A/N: I'd like to apologise, because for some reason it published an older version of this chapter. I have had to re-write the whole chapter since it lost the revisions, sorry for the confusion. x

Rain pattered down from the clouded sky and splattered likes drops of blood onto the floor. The air was icy cold, and every time I exhaled, a small mist would escape my lips.

Pulling my coat more tightly around me, I could sense the seasons changing. It's only been two hours, how could the weather change so drastically in such a short amount of time?

My boredom was on an extreme level, being stuck in a carriage to place that I wished not to go to, alone and freezing I growled and stared out the carriage window watching mountains pass by.

A whooshing sound hit my ears, the sound of someone's body slicing through the gushing wind, and I turned my head to see a smiling Obi climbing through the window. "Hello there."

"What are you doing here? I thought you hated carriages?" I asked questionably and he shrugged.

"Well I guessed you were bored so I came over."

This guy knows me way to well for my own good..

His clothes were completely soaked through and through, a bit of his black hair stuck to his forehead and water dripping from it. He grinned and was about to sit down but I stopped him. "Hey, hey hold on!" I shouted and he stopped. After rustling through my bag to find it, I handed Obi my towel since I didn't want him to get the carriage seat wet. He thanked me and was shivering slightly from the cold.

"Hey, you really should be more careful with yourself." I sighed and folded my arms watching him dry his hair. "You could catch something, and you're still recovering from that-"

I paused for a second, opening my mouth to speak again but the words wouldn't come out. It somehow felt as if I was choking and Obi stared at me. "You don't honestly still blame yourself for that do you?" He asked and I stared at him, still unable to speak. "You do? I thought you might. I knew the consequences of my actions of doing that, don't thrash yourself for that, please."

"Obi.." I looked up at him, his hair was still a bit damp and he gave me a warm look. I felt my face began to blush as red as a rose, confused feelings and broken emotions filled my head. The rain cascaded down like a waterfall from the grey skies above the carriage and our eyes met for a brief moment.

A light of unwonted pain was clear in his cat-like yellow eyes, yet through it was a small torrent of happiness slowly escaping his grasp. So much curiosity drifted through my thoughts on who the man in front of me really was, and how much he was honestly suffering.

I felt my heart heavily beat and increase in pace. I swallowed as we stared at each other for a few long moments, as our faces began to draw closer, my heart beat faster on an impossible level. My chest felt as if it was a bomb about to explode, my heart screaming to gain control over my body's every movement.

Something was telling me to pull back, bright yellow warning signals went off at the back of my head, I was so confused but couldn't feel anything. My body was numb and my mind was paralysed from utter shock. Our faces were so close, but I couldn't see his eyes, they were covered by his black fringe. Soon enough I saw his eyes, as our foreheads pressed against each others, the coldness of his forehead compared greatly to the warmth of mine.

I felt petrification stab me in the back, of the outcome of what we were doing until my body was pushed back by the force of a halt. I groaned as my back slammed against the wall of the carriage, hearing the sound of horses' hooves scraping in the mud.

More rain splashed against the ground, and I heaved myself up, turning to Obi who was rubbing the back of his head. We made brief eye contact and our faces were lit up a bright red as we looked away. Immediately, I felt as if a wall of tension had been placed in between us and I grabbed my umbrella as the carriage door opened.

I saw Hideki looking just as soaked as Obi was when he first came in, but he didn't seemed to be bothered by it. In fact, as I recalled he always had a passion for the rain. I had no idea why it appealed to him that much, but it was quite amusing whenever we went on missions seeing him dancing in the rain.

I swallowed, feeling as if I should refuse to leave this carriage. A sense of disgust filled me as I stared at the castle in front of me. A sickly feeling, that sank into my boiling blood at the sight of this building. It's look was parallel to how it was before the rebellion, yet somehow it radiated a much more intimidating vibe.

"Wait hold on, what the hell? Why are we at a castle?" Obi asked and immediately I turned and looked at him before turning to Hideki once more who had a look on his face that read 'Why wouldn't you tell us this'. He covered this with a fake smile after a few seconds and offered me a hand to help me out of the carriage.

I shot him a look before accepting his hand and thanking him. Feeling eyes glued to me, everyone waited for me to open the umbrella that was in my hand. I growled under my breath, having the urge to throw it as far as I could but I refrained from doing so.

I handed the umbrella to Hideki who was already as if predicting my actions to be exactly that. As I stared at the castle in front of me, I felt as if my heart grew darker with each passing memory of the unutterable sorrows that I had experienced on these very grounds. The recollections of corpses, scarlet red liquid splattering across the floor and my bare feet stained with that very blood so many years ago.

I stood tall, cutting through the wind's force that tried to push me back. I turned my head to see a crowd of various people standing in front of the castle entrance. I pulled down my black hood and turned my head to them, the familiar faces before me. The sound of cries hit my ears and screams hit my ears and my eyes widened. Eyes smarting, I looked at the familiar faces of the very people that served me, actually remembering my presence.

"Our princess! The long lost princess has returned!" Screams of joy filled the air as I watched people run towards me. I couldn't stop the tears from dripping down my cheeks, as they ran towards me and huddled around me.

A few more tears dripped from my eyes, overcome with nostalgia. I looked around and watched all the people around me smile warmly.

"We missed you so much...

...Miss (Y/N)."