Chapter 90: Possessiveness
"Hilda."
"Mhm?"
"What do you see?"
Hilda playfully rolled her eyes, "The Prowling Lands."
"Okay, and what do they look like to you?"
"An endless valley that stretches to the horizon. It's scary, really scary."
I see.
"Fine, Hilda, tilt my head slightly so that I can look at Esme."
Hilda promptly followed my instructions, providing me with a direct line of sight to my wonderful twin sister.
Just as I thought.
Her eyes don't have that same level of awe.
Briefly brushing my gaze across the rest of the teenagers, I dutifully absorbed their lingering gazes, each flooded with awe as they stared into the distance; Esme doesn't see what they see.
Nor does she feel what they feel.
But her eyes, they aren't staring at the same veil I'm looking at...
"Esme! Come here for a second!" I instantly called Esme over to confirm my suspicions.
Her eyes lit up with flustered glee. She picked up her pace and hopped over to our side with a bright smile, "What's up?!"
She was way too excited that I had called her over; so cute.
"Esme, can you do something for me?"
"I can, for my dear sister, I can do almost anything."
"Then, block our conversation from everyone's ears."
"Okay."
A blast of Blessings echoed from the depths of Esme's chest and shot towards both of our mouths and ears; It linked us together using a method I could never use.
"What's wrong, dear sister?" Esme's eyes squinted with glaring suspicion; not towards me, but towards all of the irregularities that she had noticed.
"Let me ask you this: what do you see at the end of the horizon?"
Esme paused momentarily, shifted her gaze to the distance, then said, "Snow, endless, boundless snow stretching to the end of the world."
"Right. You see snow. But, guess what the others are seeing?"
Esme's eyes squinted, leaking sizzling sparks of lightning and flame, "They don't see the same as we do, do they?"
Holding back the urge to inform her of the black and white veil, "No, they don't. Just ask Hilda real quick, and you'll figure it out."
Nodding, Esme cancelled the connection between us and faced Hilda.
"Hilda, I have a question."
"What is it, Lady Esme?" Casting a sweeping gaze between Esme and I, Hilda awaited my confirmation, and I promptly gave it to her, "You can speak."
"Hilda, what do you see at the end of the world?"
At that moment, again, I witnessed it; the awe, the fear, the blurry veil of madness clinging to the corners of her mouth and eyes.
Things that should never exist on my precious Hilda.
"The Prowling Lands. The Abyss. Obviously." Her ruby-red eyes glistened as they curled with joy. It was as though she were pronouncing a grand occasion, a monumentous moment.
Yet, the very words she had spoken were tinged with crackling horror.
"Oh..." Esme passed me a frigid look then returned her attention to Hilda, "What does it look like, Hilda?"
Smiling widely, with excitement almost bypassing the joy I witnessed in the carriage a couple of hours ago, "The valley stretching to the ends of the world; The Abyss."
It's gotten worse.
With every step we're taking towards the black and white veil, Hilda's brain is getting further infected by whatever it is that mother and the personification of madness have set up.
"Alright, thank you."
Esme swiftly placed the Blessings back over us, "What's going on?"
"Authority. They've been tricked into believing there's no way forward. And, yes, I also haven't heard of the Prowling Lands before. I assume that the same Authority also wipes their memories when exiting the surrounding area of the borders, or in moments where they interact with people who don't know of the Prowling Lands yet."
Esme's face turned grim at that moment, a face I can hardly recall seeing, perhaps once or twice before.
"You know how Authority works, right, dear sister?" Esme asked me.
And I said, "Yes. It blinds you to the truth, preventing you from even comprehending the facts presented to you. That's the reason why I haven't told you yet."
Esme tilted her head, "Told me? What are you talking about?"
I shrugged inwardly, "I can't tell you. You won't understand it, you should know why."
Esme, seemingly understanding what I was hinting at, slowly nodded her head. Then, the beautiful lass began looking around with suspicion lacing her eyes.
My pretty sister was trying to check if there was anything out of place.
Alas, I don't think she'd ever lay witness to that.
Swivelling my eyes over, I gazed solemnly at the towering veil of black and white.
I don't know why I can see it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's linked with the black and white ocean I swam in that one time.
With the connection between us cut, I ordered Hilda to turn my neck back forwards.
Gazing upon the veil, I put half my attention into observing each of Hilda's steps.
It won't be long.
She can't resist the Authority for too long on her lonesome.
---
That moment came sooner than I had anticipated.
With the gargantuan veil blotting the world less than a kilometre away from us, Hilda's footsteps were beginning to grow sluggish.
Sweat poured from her neck, staining my resting head with its frigid drops.
Those behind us were in similar situations. Vanessa, who took it upon herself to push Yulei's wheelchair, was suffering the most; her dark eyes quaked with terror as they gazed upon the ground beyond the distant veil;
At the so-called Prowling Lands.
Nemora slowed her steps and brought herself to Vanessa's snail-esque pace.
Placing her left hand over Vanessa's, she helped the girl push the wheelchair onwards. Nevertheless, she didn't receive even a dot of gratitude from the girl in question, only a sideways glance.
Ironically, the girl sick with Flamm's had it the easiest.
As she wasn't actively moving herself towards the Prowling Lands, but was instead being pushed onwards, it seems like the Authority planted upon the border of the Domain of Light wasn't bearing down on her with the same volume of intensity.
That's good.
With that aside, it was about time-
"Lady Alora?"
As expected.
"What's the problem, Hildekar?"
Hildekar walked to our side with his silver hair rustling in the frosty breeze, holding his long bangs down, and he shot hesitant glances between me and the distant veil.
"Surely you are not taking us to the Prowling Lands? That would be a death trap otherwise."
As expected, he, too, cannot handle the Authority pushing down on this land.
"I'm not taking you to the Prowling Lands, I'm taking you somewhere else." My words were met by looks of relief from both Hilda and Hildekar; it's funny, their faces are vaguely alike now that I know about their relationship as cousins.
"Hildy, my sister isn't suicidal to be taking us to the Prowling Lands. You should know better than to not ask such misleading questions." My adorable Esme quipped up in my defence.
But-
Hildy?
A mild discomfort clenched my chest.
What the fuck is a Hildy?
The sprout of darkness oozing within my core gushed with a radical flare of emotions; emotions that shouldn't be rearing their heads in this precariously tense situation.
Yet.
All the same, I hated it.
I hated that she called Hildekar 'Hildy'.
Why does he get a pet name?
And I'm still just 'Alora'?
I bit my lips with a forced smile.
"Ah, my apologies, Lady Alora." Bowing his head, the 'Hildy' in question retreated naturally. He didn't even flinch at that nickname.
She must have been calling him that for a while.
An inexplicable wave of nausea loomed at the tip of my throat.
I hate it.
Is this what jealousy feels like?
I contemplated it for a moment in the silence of the snowfields.
No.
This isn't just jealousy.
Heat crept up through my abdomen and into my chest; this is possessiveness.
I didn't want her calling anyone else pet names, I didn't want her close to anyone else; only me, no one but me.
You're mine, my cute, cute Esme.
Mine, and mine, only.
"Esme, carry me."
"Eh? Little dummy?"
Hilda jumped with confusion whilst Esme's eyes twirled towards me with a sparkle in them.
"Pass me over to her; only Esme can do this next part. Don't worry, Hilda, you'll carry me back."
Pouting for the millionth time today, Hilda passed glances over us, the twin sisters, then regretfully pushed me into Esme's outstretched arms, "Take care of the little dummy, don't move her around too much. It'll hurt her."
"Don't worry, I've got it."
Esme's soft fingers wrapped beneath my body and over my lower half and back. My head rested gently on the edge of her shoulder as she gazed down at my eyes.
I didn't do this because I was jealous.
I didn't do it because I was possessive.
144,893,126Ididn't144,911,983
Putting all that aside, Esme connected to me with Blessings once more.
"What's wrong?"
"I need you to guide them forward so that they can follow you against their instincts to stop. Also, listen to my directions."
I stared into Esme's soul through the holes in my mask, "No matter what, listen to me."
Esme's lips twitched upwards with a smirk, "Of course, I will listen to you, my dear sister." Then, she promptly shoved her head into my chest, nuzzling me warmly with a ticklish breath.
"Pft! Wait! Esme!"
"Hehe~ No can do~" Joking into my abdomen, she stuck her lips onto my white shirt and blew warm breath through the fabric.
This shouldn't feel that good!
Hehe~!