Eyeing one of my blue marbles, I took a deep breath as I placed my fingers near it, ready to flick it. Cassie, Nat and Lani were watching us closely, munching on their snacks. "Come on, Bugsy, you can do it," Cassie cheered, with her mouth full. "I know you can beat the crap outta him."
I licked my dry lips as I kept my eyes on the marble, trying not to let my hands shake. You can do it, Bugsy. You can do it. You've played this game with Naomi and Ferdinand millions of times. You can surely beat Nat.
"Hurry up, Bugs," Nat whined, resting his hands on his cheeks. "We don't have all day, you know."
"I know," I groaned, trying to focus on my marble. "I'm just thinking, that's all."
I breathed in and out, again and began to flick my fingers on the marbles, letting it roll in the small, circular arena around it. The crowd stood up as we watched it roll towards Nat's red marble, praying for my victory. Before I could raise both my hands in the air and cheer, my blue marble rolled away from Nat's marble, stopping outside the line.
My jaws dropped as Nat stood up, with a bright smile on his face. "I won!" he yelled, jumping like a cheeky monkey. "I won, I won, I won!"
"Dang it," I cursed, yanking my hair with both hands. "I'm terrible at games."
Gatsby and Lani jumped with Nat who was celebrating his victory while Cassie came up to me and rubbed my back. "You'll get him next time, Bugsy."
I gave a nod as I got up from my seat, pouting. I should have flicked the marble sooner. Goodness, why am I so stupid when it comes to this game. It's humiliating for me to lose against a boy who doesn't even know what insolent means.
He came up to me and gave me his hand. "You did great, Bugs."
My lips curved upwards slightly as I shook his hands. "You too, Nat," I congratulated him. "You were good back there, I have to admit."
And I can't believe I'm swallowing my pride towards him. I should have ignored him and sulked instead. Oh well, I'm just following my aunt's advice. Learn from your mistakes.
"Well, I know you'll beat me in the next game," he assured me, leading me outside his quarters. I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "Yeah, well, I'm pretty lousy at games."
Cassie burst into laughter as she walked beside Nat. "Bullshit. I know you're good at something."
"Well, I prefer chess and Monopoly," I answered, lifting my shoulders. Nat let out a yawn. "Sounds boring."
"I think it's fun. I get to study my opponents' moves, and his or her mind as well."
"You'll get along perfectly well with the Sarge," she pointed out, as we walked inside the briefing room and lined up in straight lines. "He always beats us in chess. Maybe you could try to play with him when you're free."
I gave a small smile as the Sarge walked in with a scroll in his hands. "Alright, cadets," he spoke, in his usual gruff voice. "We have a situation. Apparently, there was a woman who sent us a distress call from the village of Peersom."
A distress call from a woman. What kind of problems is she encountering? He placed a voice box on the table and pressed the play button, playing the message which was recorded. "This is Maria Konopova calling from Peersom. I have been pursued by a-"
My heart froze as the tape went on, with the sounds of glass breaking and loud screams echoing in the background. The Sarge switched off the machine and sighed. "Unfortunately, she couldn't get to finish her sentence and I assumed something must've happened to her while she was trying to reach out for us."
"Do we rescue her, Sarge?" Nat raised a question. He nodded his head. "Yes, but at the same time, we must be extremely delicate. We cannot let those assailants slip from our fingers. They must be brought to justice. Am I clear?"
"Sir, yes, sir," we chanted in unison, saluting. "Now pack your things. We're leaving."
We did what we were instructed to do and headed to the horse stables. Climbing onto our horses, the Sarge led us out of our base, galloping into the deep, dark forest underneath the night skies. With the high-pitched howling echoing in the air.
Fireflies hovered throughout the whole forest, lighting up our pathways with their iridescent, golden light. With the crickets playing its orchestra in the background, I stared at the star-encrusted sky, with glowing red clouds. One of the fireflies landed on my nose, making me cover my mouth and sneeze. It flew away from my nose, instead of sitting on my golden hair.
"First time seeing a firefly?" Sergeant A'tynn let out a soft laugh, riding beside me.
"My third time, actually," I answered, looking at the red clouds. "The first time was when I was about four or five, I guess."
"Were you alone or did you watched it with your parents?"
"With my parents," I smiled disappeared, remembering them. We were camping in the middle of the forest, the four of us, mom, dad, Em and I when we saw them glowing in the night skies. I was chasing one around our campsite while Dad was trying to catch me in his loving embrace. I was giggling endlessly as my mother watched me and my father, cradling Em in her arms.
"Bugsy?" the Sarge called out, snapping me back to reality. "Yeah, Sarge," I focused my eyes on the road. "I'm here now."
He noticed my frown on my face and nodded slightly, as he checked his map from his front pocket. "We have an hour left before we reached a rest stop."
The Knights of Moon all groaned in frustration, including me. Is he serious? An hour left before we reached a nearby pit stop. God, I just want to get out of this forest right now. This is not a good place for me.
"My arms ache," Nat complained, wriggling one of his hands. "And I'm going to fall asleep."
"Fine by me," Lani sighed. "But don't crash at a tree."
I burst out in laughter, making him cross his arms and stiffened his lips. "That's not funny."
"Whatever, Nat," I said, holding back my yawn. "You have a robot's sense of humour."
He raised his eyebrows and glanced at me. "What's a robot?"
I exhaled my breath. Since there aren't any robots in the Faerie Kingdom, it would be pointless to explain it.
"You haven't answered my question yet, Bugs."
"Well, a robot is like a machine where it is programmed by humans to do its bidding."
He blinked a couple of times at me. "I have no idea what that means."
My thoughts exactly. The deeper we went into the forest, the dimmer the glow of the fireflies became. The silhouette of the trees slowly transformed into a shadowy figure as the moon shone its silvery light above us, with the red clouds turning black, blocking out the stars. The air around felt cold and piercing as the howling had softened, replaced by soft whispers in my ears.
I looked over my shoulder and heard rustlings coming from the bushes, turning my breathing rapidly. What was it that was following us in the woods? Are those monsters? Please don't tell me it's monsters. I have enough seeing them all the time.
"Don't look behind, Bugsy," Sergeant A'tynn advised, flashing his torchlight in the forest. "Trust me, some things are not meant to be seen."
I gave a nod as I squeezed my fingers, slowing down my heartbeat. I held the leash of my horse, Mara and rode closer with my comrades, making sure that I don't stray away to a darker path. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally arrived at the inn.
I led my horses to the stable and rushed inside, panting. The inn was made out of wood, with a fireplace in the foyer and old photographs hanging above it, with a family posing in front of the camera, smiling. The lady at the counter greeted us as the Sarge held her hand and kissed it, booking a couple of rooms for us. I sat down near the fireplace and grabbed a newspaper from the coffee table, reading the headlines. 'WOMAN MISSING IN PEERSOM.'
The woman had a small, round face, with silky black hair and had a tiny mole at the side of her lips. She was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and polka-dot midi skirt, matched with Mary Jane shoes. She's so beautiful. She reminded me of my aunt when she was younger. Before I could read the headlines, the Sarge called me, assigning me a room to share with Cassie, Nat and Gatsby. I joined my roommates in my room and lay down on my bed, dozing off to sleep.
As the sun rises from the east, we got up and checked out of the hotel, continuing our journey to Peersom on horseback. We arrived at the dirt road, with the houses built with logs, surrounded by gigantic trees and wildflowers on the ground. I got down and found it quiet and empty. The inhabitants here shut their windows and locked the doors as soon as they saw us.
"This is too quiet," I remarked, tending Mara's mane. "Yeah, I agree," Sergeant A'tynn replied. "Since the new chief was elected, the people here started to put themselves first before other people."
"Isn't that a good thing?" I asked. He chuckled and glanced at me. "It is, but too much is not good in the long-term, Bugsy.
Of course, he would say that. Anyways, he led us to the chief's house, knocking on his door. "Who's there?" a rough voice shouted at us. The Sarge cleared his throat. "This is Sergeant A'tynn from the Knights of Moon. We have received a distress call of one of your villagers, Maria Konopova, whose transmission was cut off before she finished her sentence," he explained. "We are here to find her and rescue her. May we please come in?"
The chief unlocked his front door and opened it, revealing a pale-skinned man with purple eyes and a disheveled beard, clad in a star bathrobe and house slippers. "Maria Konopova, eh?"
"Yes, sir," he replied, exchanging handshakes with the chief. "She was trying to contact us when it was cut off. We believe she could have been kidnapped, or worse."
He led us into his living room and sat on his sofa, pushing his used clothes aside. I noticed dirty dishes piled up in the sink, followed by a dirty bookshelf and the floor, carpeted with specks of dust and sands. Aunt Inara and Chaeyeong would have a heart attack if they saw this. I mean, how long has it been since he last did spring cleaning?
"When was this message last transmitted?" the chief asked, spreading his legs wide opened. "The message was received two nights ago," the Sarge told him, lacing his disgusted tone, playing the message in the machine. "This is Maria Konopova calling from Peersom. I have been pursued by a-"
He stopped the message, leaving the chief dazed. He stroked his beard and looked upwards, with a grim look on his face. "Now that you've mentioned, I haven't seen her all day. Usually, she'll be out right now, fishing by the lake in her small, little boat just by the docks."
"Were you close to her?" Cassie asked, jotting down in her notebook. "Oh yeah. She has the look of a lost princess who was stolen from birth by an evil witch. She would often stop by here and chat with me for hours."
"How long?" I questioned. "Well, she would stay with me once a week, you know, sharing her blanket with me."
"Right, so you both have an intimate relationship?" the Sarge spoke, playing with his fingers.
"Oh yeah, we do. She's the light of my life, you know."
"We'll find her, I promise, but could you give me her address so that we could investigate this as soon as possible?"
"Oh yeah, sure," he grabbed his pen, which was made out of a goose feather. He wrote down the address on Cassie's notebook and put his pen down. "Please bring her back. I can't stand a day without her."
"We will, I promise," I assured him, as we thanked him and left his horrid place. What does Maria see in him? She's such a horrible judge of character. If Aunt Inara sees her, she would have knocked the sense out of her. The chief is definitely not husband material for Maria.
We gathered in the lake and lined up, placing our hands at our side. 'Listen up, cadets," our leader spoke. "Maria Konopova is still out there, and we need to find her as soon as possible before something bad happened to her. Lani, Oled, Jay, you'll be searching in the main square. Beck, Alec, Lus, you'll be searching in this section of the forest. And Bugsy, Cassie, Nat, Gatsby, you'll be searching at her cabin while I'll be searching by the lake. Understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir!"
"And if anything goes wrong, signal us."
We nodded as we got onto our horses, riding to our destination. The four of us galloped away from the village and rode together, side-by-side. "So how do we find this woman?" Nat asked, sipping his water from his canteen.
"Were you paying attention or were you listening with your dick?" Cassie teased him.
"Whatever, I'm stronger than you."
"Can we just focus on our task?" I told them off, slowing Mara down as I examined a footprint on the muddy ground. Gatsby jumped down and took out a measuring tape, jotting down the length of the footprint.
"This must've belonged to a man," he pointed out, unveiling the leafy curtains and found a trail of it. "And it hasn't rained for two nights."
I glanced behind at Nat and Cassie, who were bickering with each other non-stop. "Hey guys," I waved, gaining their attention. "We've both found trails of footprints. If we hurry, we'll find Maria."
Cass punched Nat's shoulder as she strutted her horse towards us. "Hey, wait up," Nat caught up with us. She laughed. "You're such a snail."
"Whatever, you're a lark," he stuck his tongue out. "Can you please take your lover's quarrel elsewhere?" I scolded them. "Some of us are doing actual work, you know."
Nat bared his teeth as he gagged. "We're siblings, actually."
My eyes widened as I heard his statement. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Well, my parents took him in after fleeing from Arendia," she told me, her eyebrows drooped. "His parents were killed during The Rose War."
I turned to him and noticed his head hung low. "I know that feeling," I spoke, reaching my hands to his. "I recently lost my dad in a war. Never get to say goodbye to him."
He shifted his focus to me and squished my hands. "I'm really sorry to hear that, Bugs."
"It was on my sweet sixteen," I continued, feeling a huge lump on my throat. "I wished for him to return, and he did, laying in a coffin."
Nat sighed. "I was eight when my parents were killed in front of me. The last thing they told me was to run."
"What about your mother, Bugsy?" Gatsby joined our conversation. "Was she in the picture?"
I shook my head. "She died while giving birth to my baby brother, Carter."
"Oh," Nat frowned. "Did you dad ever remarry after your mother's death?"
I gave a nod. "He did and had Pearl and Kim with my stepmother, Chaeyeong."
"Do you get along with your stepmother?"
"Yeah, though I find it hard to call her mom."
"Hey, I understand," he smiled a little. "It took me three years to finally call Cassie's parents mom and dad, you know."
Noticing the crystal clear riverbank nearby, we crossed the white-coloured bridge and stopped in front of Maria's front yard, surrounded with kitchen herbs, with the aromatic scent in the air. She must have used them for cooking and warding off pests from coming into her house, like how my mother used to in the past.
Taking a deep breath, I took out my pistol from my holster and tiptoed towards the porch, with the rest following me from behind. Twisting the smooth doorknob, we entered a fully-furnished cabin, with blood residue on the floor, which was reddish-brown.
Gatsby kneels as he puts on his rubber gloves, feeling it with his fingertips. "This one's quite fresh."
Fresh, huh? This must've belonged to Maria when she was trying to reach out to us. Nat searched the area around the living room and noticed a table lamp on the floor, with more stains on it. "Looks like she was hit with this," he pointed out.
"Poor Maria," Cassie sighed, showing us a picture of the same woman I saw in the newspaper headlines. My eyes widened. "I saw her on the news," I told them, covering my mouth. "But I didn't read the rest of the content, though."
"Someone must have known she reached out to us and decided to take her away."
"But why?" Nat asked, shrugging. "Because her assailant doesn't want something to come out," I made a guess, analyzing the whole scenario. "My heart was palpitating as I felt sweat drenching through my tunic underneath my armour. "I think we need to leave right-"
Before I could finish my sentences, Cassie collapsed on the floor, with a small dart sticking to her neck. I gasped as I slowly removed it from her neck, checking her pulse. "She's been drugged," I warned, as Nat ran towards the window beside the front entrance and fired at the shooter. He let out a hiss as he was shot in the neck, dropping like a fly. "We need to get out of here," Gatsby shouted, as he crawled towards the back door.
I bobbed my head at him as we both moved on hands and knees towards the back door, only to be thrown something towards us. Gatsby held the spherical thing and tossed it in the corner as it emitted smoke from its small hole. "Cover your mouth, Bugsy," he coughed.
I did what he said and bury my face in my palms, trying not to choke myself in the thick, rancid fog. The Sarge needs to know about this, or we're dead meat. Pulling the trigger of my pistol, I opened fire at the window twice, making the glass shattered all over us. Let's hope he got the message now.
Feeling it slipped from my hand, I knocked my head on the floor and laid beside Gatsby, my vision turning black.
ns 15.158.61.51da2
