Luc finally arrived at his apartment. It was dark and cold as usual. He flicked on the lights and the whole place immediately became bright. He looked around the room and sighed.
It had barely been seven hours since he went into the Glades but with what had happened in the Glades, it felt like it had been a month. He combed his hand through his hair in frustration. Why did life always have to pick on him? First, his father's disappearance,then his mother's death and now he suddenly meets a witch and becomes a target fir blue elves.
He has almost died, twice in less than seven hours. Why? Why was life so unfair? Thinking about this, he sighed deeply. He went into the kitchen and took a glass of water. He looked at his clothes, the were tattered and way beyond repair.
He took off his shirt and threw it in trash. He then went into the bedroom and took off his pants. He walked into the shower and spent about ten minutes in it washing himself. He felt extremely dirty, and the bite marks? He made sure to scrub them extra in case of any remnants of germs, venom or bacteria from those blue-skinned freaks!
After about another ten minutes of all round scrubbing, he went back into the living room with a white sweat shirt and black shorts. He walked to the living room drawer and pulled out a wristband.
It was a wristband developed by the TU which can be used fir communication. It uses biometrics, making it super secure. With a swipe over it, a transparent page/tab with basically everything a phone has, appears. Calls can also be answered without the swipe, just by tapping, it had a mini screen.
Luc wore his wristband. He saw that he had a missed call. It was from an unknown number. He didn't know the person. He tapped the redial button. The call went through and a feminine voice, tinged with elegance and maturity, answered.
" Hello, is this Luc Wilde?" The voice asked. Luc thought that the voice was familiar but he couldn't recall where he had heard it. He answered, " Yes, this is him. Um, if I may ask, who is this?"
The other vouce laigjed before she said in a very familial tone, " Luc, it's Agatha from the Council. Have you forgotten me so soon? I've only been gone for only a short while and you've forgotten me? I'm hurt".
Luc's eyes immediately brightened up as he laughed, " Hehe, it's nothing like that Aggie, I mean Lady Agatha "
Agatha scoffed as she said, " Oh please, I prefer Aggie, I'm off duty for now" Luc chuckled as he agreed. He had always respected Agatha. He had a soft spot for her. After all, she was there for him. she helped him get the job at the ministry. She made sure he didn't get into trouble.
Even when his mother died at that time, he remembered meeting Agatha at a market one time. He had been starving as he had run away from home when he saw his mother and her shadow spirit. Then, he was lost. But Agatha helped him out then.
She allowed him live with her, gave him food, education, and now, even a job. He was greatly indebted to her. He wanted to take care of Aggie, just like she took care of him. But no matter what, he felt he wasn't enough, like his efforts were peanuts to her. Like...he was nothing.
With these thoughts, the light in Luc's blue eyes dimmed. He stared blankly at the floor. But he was snapped back to reality by the worried woman's voice, " Luc, are you still there? Did something happen to you? Are you okay?"
Luc smiled, although it didn't quite reach his eyes, " I'm here, Aggie. I'm just a little bit distracted". Agatha hummed in response. Afterwards, silence enveloped the room. Both sides were engrossed in their own thoughts. It stayed that way for about a minute before Aggie cleared her throat, " Luc, are you home? I'll come to see you".
Luc was about to say okay when he remembered...he still had bruises on his body. And the bite marks...although they were healed, they were still very visible. He couldn't possibly show himself to anyone in this state, else they start asking questions. He couldn't possibly tell them he was attacked by blue elves.
That would make them go to the Elven Glades to look for the elves, and in the process of searching, find Lyra. That would endanger her. So therefore, " Aggie, actually, maybe you could postpone your visit. I'm not really feeling too good today and need some time alone".
Agatha was silent for a few seconds before replying, " Are you fine, Luc? Did someone hurt you? Did they bully you?" Luc chuckled, " Aggie, I'm not that weak. And no, I didn't get bullied. I'm fine I really just need some alone time...that's all".
The other end went silent again, " Alright, inform me when you feel better. Rest well and take care of yourself, Luc. I don't want anything happening to you" Luc hummed in response. Both then talked for a little while before finally, saying their goodbyes.
.....
Meanwhile, in a region near the Glades;
Lyra finally reached her destination. It was an old cabin. It really didn't look like much but as shabby as it was, it still had occupants.
Lyra made her way to the entrance slowly. She could smell the fresh aroma of roasted meat, rabbit id she wasn't mistaken. She smiled. She missed that. Having roasted rabbit with your family....But that was the only thing she could do, miss it. She couldn't relive it.
Lyra smiled self mockingly. Life really was unfair sometimes. It shoved you in the way of success but then stabbed you in the back by pushing you down the huge, high cliff of failure. It was... suffocating. Trying to survive in this world while being a witch wasn't easy at all, she had lost everything. Life just didn't do her justice.
But she shook all these thoughts away. These weren't important right now. All that mattered now was getting answers. She walked to the entrance of the cabin and knocked on the door.
She knocked a few more times before she could hear footsteps from the other side. She stepped back as the knob turned and the door opened.
The person who opened the door was a tall, muscular guy. He looked around Lyra's age, only a bit older. He had short, distinct, fiery red hair and amber eyes that glowed like that of a werewolf.
His physique wasn't bad. On the contrary, it was very good. Muscular but not too bulky, tall but also of average height when among men, long sturdy legs that showed a lot of strength. He was good looking. He was handsome.
The guy looked down at Lyra who was about a head and half shorter than him. A friend of displeasure quickly appeared on his face, quickly indicating that he wasn't a fan of Lyra.
He growled, his fang like canines shimmering. Lyra smirked. ' Still the same as ever', she thought. She didn't care about him, after all, she was here to get some answers, not to check in this animal.
The guy grudgingly asked, " What on earth are you doing here?"