Dedicated to L1veNotJustSurv1ve for commenting so much - you make a writer feel appreciated!
I let out a shriek when I saw Akaden. What was he doing here? I wondered uneasily.
Akaden shushed me. “Shhh! You don’t want to wake up the whole house,” he whispered.
I crossed my arms in annoyance. “Why are you here, Akaden?” I demanded to know.
“Can’t you guess?” Akaden rolled his eyes and sighed. “The Master himself sent me here to find you.”
I shivered at the thought of being taken back into Hell. Clutching his arms, I begged Akaden, “Please don’t take me back! Not yet!”
“I don’t want to take you back either Princess, but we cannot defy the Master’s orders,” Akaden said apologetically, bowing his head.
I sighed in frustration. Father must have known that I could and would blast his Trackers into pieces with my powers if I was forced to return, that is if they managed to find me, so he sent his best Tracker and my close friend Akaden after me, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to hurt my own friend. That alone told me how much he would do to make sure I returned.
“Please, Akaden, think about me and my future. Do you truly want that sort of future for me?” I asked him softly.
Akaden’s dark eyes were saddened as he gazed at me. “No, of course not,” he said vehemently. “I wouldn’t wish that fate on you, Kelafiel.”
I knew he was speaking the truth when he addressed me not by my title, but by my given name. Yet I knew that at the same time, he was bound to obey my father’s commands. Caught between his Master and his childhood friend, Akaden could not be having an easy time, and I felt bad for what I was asking him to do. But all creatures are by nature selfish; even if it meant that Akaden might be in danger of being punished by Father, I would not return to Hell until he acceded to my wishes. Besides, Akaden is one of Father’s most trusted and closest subordinates. He wouldn’t hurt Akaden, I told myself. I knew I was taking a dangerous gamble here; if Akaden really ended up hurt, I only hoped that he would forgive me eventually.
“I’m sorry, Akaden, but if you want me to return, you’ll have to take me by force,” I said apologetically, but firmly.
Akaden sighed and turned away from me when he heard what I said. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that,” he muttered, and his hand reached into the pocket of his leather jacket that he always wore on his missions on Earth. Secretly I always thought that he looked good in that jacket and so did Oria, but we never told him. Focus, Kelafiel! Stop thinking about these kinds of thoughts at this moment! that little voice in my head said again. I blushed at the directions of my thoughts, glad for the cover of the night’s darkness to hide my red cheeks.
I tensed at Akaden’s actions. What is he doing? Is he going to harm me? A momentary pang of doubt shot through me, and I instantly berated myself for thinking so. Akaden would never harm me. How can I think such thoughts of him, after spending eighteen long years together? I was ashamed that I had even doubted him in the first place.
And indeed, I was wrong. Akaden withdrew from his pocket 2 boxes and gave me. Examining them, I asked curiously, “what is this?”
“Contacts,” Akaden supplied. “One box for you and the other for Oria. The instructions on how to use them are on the box. You do remember how to read English, right?”
I heard what he said, but my mind focused on something. “Wait. How did you know Oria is here?”
Akaden rolled his eyes at me. “Come on Kelafiel, I’m a Tracker! Besides, didn’t you think I would stop by her quarters first before coming to Earth to find you?”
I must have been too tired if I can’t even think of this, I thought. “Good point,” I conceded. After all, a lady knows when to back down, or that’s what Miss Aza said. “So, by giving me these… You aren’t going to bring me back to Hell?” I asked hopefully.
“Bring? You mean drag?” Akaden chuckled. “No, I’m not taking you back. Like I said, I don’t want to see you suffer that fate. Even if it harms me, I’m going to help you, Kelafiel.”
My eyes brimmed with tears at Akaden’s words and I turned my head away, not wanting him to see me cry. His words had really touched me. Ever since we were young, he had always protected me, even if it caused him to be punished instead.
Flashback
“Is that my mommy?” I asked, pointing to a picture of a beautiful blonde woman with blue eyes.
Akaden and I were in Father’s study, having snuck in while he was out on his tour around the different dimensions in Hell. He had always forbade us children from entering, which caused us to be more curious and determined to see what his study was like. And we finally had our chance today.
Akaden looked in the direction I had pointed at. Studying it closely, he said, “Yes, I believe so. I overheard the servants whispering before, that your mother had blonde hair and blue eyes. I don’t think the Master has anyone else close to him with those features, so this should be your mother.”
I gazed at the picture, tears welling up in my eyes. I whispered to Akaden, “I want to hold the picture.”
Akaden, being taller than I was, reached up to the desk, took the picture and passed it to me.
I touched my mother’s cheek. The words that I had been meaning to say all along gushed out of me, like a dam broken. “Mommy… Where are you? Why have you left me? Where did you go? Why didn’t you bring me with you?”
I continued, the tears now flowing freely down my cheeks. “Why did you leave me alone with Father? He hardly ever pays attention to me. Mommy, why? I miss you…”
Akaden embraced me in a tight hug, and wiped the tears on my face away gently. “Shhh… Your mother surely loves you, Kelafiel. There must be a reason she did what she had to do,” he consoled me, rubbing my back.
“Is that true?” I blubbered. Though I usually did not like Akaden to see me cry for fear of him calling me weak, at that moment I did not care. He could tease me all he wanted. At that moment, all I wanted was reassurance. Even if he told me lies, I didn’t care. I needed to know that my mother did love me.
Akaden gave me a small smile and stepped back, letting his arms fall to his sides. “Of course it is, my dear Kelafiel. All mothers love their children.”
“Then why did she leave me? Why did she abandon me? Why? WHY?” I cried.
Akaden cast a panicked look to the door, then made a hushing gesture. I was beyond caring about being discovered at that point, wailing loudly in despair.
“What in Hell is this ruckus?” the door to the study suddenly opened, crashing loudly with a bang against the wall, and in strode Lucifer, with a thunderous expression on his face.
At the sudden loud sound of the door opening, I accidentally dropped my mother’s photo onto the floor. The world seemed to have slowed down for one moment; I watched as the picture slipped from my grasp and headed straight down for the floor, yet I was unable to move, suspended by shock, fear and sadness. The photo hit the floor, and the impact caused the glass to shatter, fracturing my mother’s face into a million pieces.
Lucifer gasped at what happened, crossing the room in four long strides and snatched the photo from the floor. Seeing the damage done to it, his face contorted in anger and grief as he turned and directed his glare at me. “Who gave you permission to enter my study?!” his voice was like the rumble of the thunder, terrifying and threatening, as he demanded to know.
Frozen by terror, my father’s intimidating stare rendered me speechless. I tried to come up with excuses, but my mouth refused to heed my brain’s commands. I could only stand there mutely, withering under his accusing glare.
“Well? I’m still waiting for an answer!” Lucifer roared.
Seeing the situation, Akaden quickly jumped in. “It was my idea, Master,” he said, bowing his head to show that he was regretting his actions.
Lucifer spun around and faced Akaden. “What? Why would you think of doing that?” he asked Akaden.
“Well, we were bored…” said Akaden, “and we were curious about your study since you forbade us from entering, so we decided to sneak in while you were out. We’re sorry for having disobeyed your orders, sir.” Then Akaden pulled me down to my knees alongside him to appear remorseful.
I whispered to Akaden, “Why did you take the blame? We both know it was my idea, and Father’s less likely to punish me if I said I was to blame.”
“I can’t let you get hurt, Kelafiel,” Akaden smiled gently. He squeezed my hand to let me know that he didn’t mind being punished.
I couldn’t let Akaden get hurt either. I opened my mouth to protest, to tell Father that it was my idea, but Akaden gripped my hand tightly and shook his head imperceptibly. I refused to listen to him and turned to Father.
“Well then, I will have to punish you for your disobedience, Akaden. You know very well that I have my reasons for not letting you enter my study, and yet you still disobeyed me and even dragged Kelafiel with you. Since you instigated it, you will have to be punished. And Kelafiel will not receive any food for three days,” Father proclaimed.
Punished? How? I wondered. My eyes widened in horror as Father lifted his whip off its hook on the wall. No! Not the whip! I must do something!
Moving in front of Akaden, I shouted, “No, you can’t do this Father!”
Lucifer narrowed his eyes. “Whyever not, Kelafiel?”
Akaden pushed me aside and, shooting me a look to stay quiet, said, “Please pardon the Princess, sir. She did not mean to oppose you. I will receive my due punishment.”
“Akaden…” I murmured, tears welling up in my eyes at the thought of him sacrificing himself for my sake. But I was not a brave soul, nor a noble one. All I did was to cry silently, afraid of further angering Father’s wrath, while the whip crackled again and again, and Akaden’s screams echoed throughout the palace.
~~~
“Well, I must be going now. I’ll make up some sort of excuse for you, Kelafiel, so don’t worry,” Akaden gave me another of his gentle smiles. “By the way, whose house is this?”
“It’s mine.”
I turned around to see Jeremy standing in the shadows. How long had he been standing there? What did he hear? Does he know who we are? Thoughts raced through my mind as I processed Jeremy’s presence.
Akaden narrowed his eyes. “Who are you?” he asked, then turned to me. “Why are you staying in his house? I thought you’ll be staying in an abandoned house.”
Ignoring Akaden’s question, Jeremy asked instead, “An abandoned house? Why would Keela be staying there?”
“Keela?” Akaden questioned, before noticing Jeremy’s gaze on me and realized that was my human name. “Oh yes, well, I meant that a distant relative of hers has a house here, but since nobody had been staying in that house for many years, we often joked that it was an abandoned house,” Akaden quickly lied. Wow, Akaden’s great at lying, I thought, seeing how his calm countenance did not betray the fact that he was not telling the truth.
“Keela never mentioned this house when my brother offered her and Ofilia a place to stay,” Jeremy said, puzzled.
I quickly jumped in. “Uh, I called my relative just now and she said she had sold that house a year ago, so we can’t stay there anymore, Jeremy,” I continued the lie, shooting Akaden a glare to not ask who Ofilia was, since I didn’t manage to tell him Oria’s human name.
“I see,” Jeremy said slowly, looking from me to Akaden and back again. “Well then, I suppose you could continue to stay here…”
“Really? Thank you!” I said happily, and momentarily forgot who I was and hugged Jeremy in gratitude. His eyes widened in surprise at the sudden contact, before gently pushing me away. I guess he’s not a very huggable person, was he?
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Akaden flinch and look away. Why is he reacting like that? I thought, but didn’t say anything since Jeremy was there.
“Anyway, what’s this stranger doing in my house? I can have you up for trespassing, you know,” Jeremy addressed Akaden.
Before Akaden could say anything, I interjected, “he’s my brother. Well, Ofilia’s brother too, I mean. He heard about the argument with our parents and came to look for us.” Akaden frowned when he heard me saying that he was my brother, but didn’t say anything.
“Is he here to bring you and Ofilia home, then?” Jeremy asked, a hopeful look on his face. What a human male, I thought. Does he want to see us gone so much? Why isn’t he as nice as his brother! Such an annoying human, perhaps he’s not actually Cayden’s brother but a stray picked up from the garbage! That thought made me smile internally, though I knew it was not nice of him to think such thoughts. Miss Aza would be horrified at such evil thoughts, ha!
“No, our parents are still very much cross with them. I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you to let them stay for a few more days,” Akaden said, bowing his head.
“Oh, well then. I don’t think Cayden wants to see them gone either. He seems to like Keela a lot,” Jeremy commented, and Akaden flinched again. What’s with him? I wondered.
Just then, the clock in the living room struck two. Jeremy looked at the clock, then back at Akaden. “It’s already two in the morning. Do you want to stay for the night, before going… Well, wherever you need to go?” he asked Akaden.
“Thanks for the offer, but no. I need to be going. I’ll be back soon, Keela,” Akaden called me by my human name, which sounded weird coming from him for some strange reason. Coming close to me, making sure Jeremy couldn’t see, he passed something into my hands. “Here’s some money. You’ll need it while you’re here. Just spend it, and I’ll check up on you two later and give you more money if necessary.”
“Akaden…” I tried to give him back his money. I was already putting him in danger by not returning with him; I couldn’t take his money as well. But Akaden pushed my hand away, giving me the look that said ‘don’t argue, just take it’. In my mind I knew that we would definitely need the money, so I grudgingly accepted him. “Thank you,” I said softly.
Akaden smiled again and patted my head. “Be safe, Kelafiel,” speaking softly enough that Jeremy wouldn’t hear us. Turning to Jeremy, he threatened, “Jeremy. Keep my sisters safe. If you let any harm come to them, you’ll regret it.”
“Akaden!” I hissed. Now Jeremy was sure to resent us further. But to my surprise, Jeremy nodded. Akaden seemed satisfied, and proceeded to leave. “Take care, Keela.”
I did not know what to say. ‘Goodbye’ sounds too final, while I really don’t want to see him soon. I settled for a smile and a wave.
“Come on, it’s already past two. I want to sleep,” Jeremy said, motioning for me to go upstairs.
Halfway up the stairs, I turned to look at Akaden’s diminishing back. I could not help you that time, nor could I return to ensure your safety now. But I promise you Akaden, I will do anything and everything I can to make sure you are not hurt by my actions again, I vowed.
A/N: Bad bad bad. This was quite a bad chapter :( I’m sorry, but I couldn’t think of how to make this better. Amazingly, I managed to update despite my procrastination lol... But anyway, Akaden finally appears! And he meets Jeremy! And we see a little of Keela’s past! :D What do you think of Akaden? Vomment away!