Happy WednesdaY
“Presenting High Nobleman Ugroth, guardian of the Mal’Vorican realm.”
Aoi snapped out of his haze the moment the name struck a chord. He had heard that name before, in a dream. He ignored the soldiers and guards who filed into the room, lined up on both sides of the greeting hall, and waited for the Nobleman to enter. They were not Nyxian’s but Mal’Vorican’s. As the last guard took his post, a figure dressed in dark blue leather, a matching vest and duster, and a black shirt entered. A silver gauntlet on his forearm looked quite interesting. He wore a top hat that sat low but not low enough to cover his piercing blue eyes behind silver spectacles, and he was not outdone by the silver, gear-like mask that covered his face from ear to ear.
Aoi watched the guards bow their heads slightly as the guests passed by. To Aoi, the guest didn’t seem like a nobleman, but something more. Like a general. Something stranger was happening: walking beside Nobleman Ugroth was another tall figure dressed in all black, covered from head to toe, with a hood pulled so far forward that his face was shrouded in complete darkness. Aoi’s eyes widened, his breath hitched, and his ears began to ring.
Aoi felt something familiar about the hooded figure, as if he should know him. But Aoi couldn’t hold on to it because something else happened, something so unexpected that he thought he was going to lose his mind. Another man, taller than the hooded figure, walked into the hall wearing a full-face Venetian mask with a white top and intricate gold clockwork covering the nose, mouth, and neck, with narrow, angled eye openings.
Aoi’s eyes darted from place to place as if searching for something. It confused him so much that his skin itched, but he didn’t move a muscle. Not even the urge to touch his chest as his heart raced. He felt as if it were beating so loudly and hard against his ribs that he was certain it was going to break through his skin. Electricity danced across his skin, making it impossible to ignore what he was feeling. His vision blurred, and his knees buckled, threatening to bring him down, but he gripped his sword tightly and held himself still.
Aoi knew words were being spoken, but he couldn’t hear any of them. His focus, and every thought, was on the figure in black. Not what he was wearing, because all he could see were the eyes behind the mask, ice blue, and they reminded him of someone. Then he caught the scent, so familiar he had promised himself he would never forget it, even after his lips had said they weren’t mates. But right there, right now, he felt the truth of everything he had denied. And still, part of him couldn’t believe it. He wanted to deny it, but everything inside him told him it was true.
Until next time
Gia
