E I G H T E E N
Luck In Life

WHEN THE WORLD regained its glorious colors instead of the black and white mist, I felt as though my entire axis had just been tilted in the wrong format. The ground seemed shaky, trembling beneath my feet as I landed onto the ground on all fours with aching palms and burning knees. I was well aware that both Calvin and Fabian still stood tall behind me, grounded properly and securely that such a great magical move had not affected them one bit.

"There there, golden girl." Calvin gently patted my shoulder, arms reaching around to grasp me by the upper arm, hauling me to my feet. "You'll get used to it after some time."

"She's been teleported plenty of times and with each time, it only seemed to get worse for her," Fabian idly commented with a scoff.

"What can I say?" I giggled nervously, pressing down hard on a gag reflex due to my unsettled stomach. "I am not cut out for all this magic stuff. Makes me weak."

"Well, you'll have to deal with it a little longer. Magic is never far from us and it seems like you're stuck in Hell for a much longer time than you would've originally thought." Laughing, Calvin threw his head back slightly, arms reaching down to clutch his stomach. In perfect synchronization, Fabian and I rolled our eyes at his antics.

"How hilarious you are, dear brother." Patting Calvin on the shoulder without much sincerity in his words, Fabian began his way forward.

Before us was an entirely different scene as to what I was used to. In fact, we were underground in a dimly lit sewage system, a stream of water rushing right by our feet as it led off into the dark. There were a few torches that provided just enough light for us to see but the entire place still made me shiver. It greatly resembled the appearance of the tunnels that led to the Heart of Hell and when I recalled back to the events that had happened down there, I couldn't help but bite my bottom lip in dread.

"It sure looks like there hasn't been anyone here in centuries," Fabian commented, swiping his finger against the wall only to withdraw in disgust. "It's filthy here."

"It's the inside structure of a drain. What did you honestly expect?" I deadpanned. "Come on, after you kind sir."

Not appreciating my snarky comment, Fabian threw me a deadly glare before scowling, turning to walk down into the dark. Every time he walked away from the torches, he seemed to be able to blend in nearly perfectly well with the eerie darkness in which was a result of the lack of light. I turned to Calvin who was still standing beside me, beginning to follow after Fabian in his steps.

"It is so dark in here. Why doesn't he just use his tattoos to get a little light?"

Calvin shook his head. "Fabian's personification is black in color. If he used it, the light still wouldn't be of much use as ours. Besides, ever since her death, Fabian had been the most emotionally unstable one out of us four. If he used his tattoos, he might accidentally starve the people near us to death."

I remained silent at Calvin's revelation, simply walking beside him without words exchanged between the both of us. Fate had been all too cruel to Fabian, taking away the love of his life as well as the chance for him to be happy. Sadly, there was nothing in which I could do to bring Ida back to be with Fabian. If she was one of my past lives, to let her live would be to have me die. As selfish as it was, I just couldn't picture myself doing that to both Dimitri and myself.

With my mind so far off into my own thoughts, I hadn't even noticed that Calvin was already a few steps ahead of me. The path before us was becoming more and more narrow, trimming down so much that if we were to continue on our journey, we had to continue in single file. Judging by how we were now, there definitely was not a single problem with that.

"And why do you look so down, Addison?" A familiar voice murmured from beside me, causing me to whip my head over to my side in shock.

Ida's translucent figure was floating right beside me, gliding right above the water as she kept up with my pace. It was as if I was looking right into the mirror, seeing the same pair of blue-green eyes staring back at me. However, though I was in shock, Ida seemed like the dictionary definition of calm and composed. She looked as though she had not a single care in the world. Seeing that she was dead, I would imagine that to be the case.

"How are you here?" I whispered, dropping my voice to a lower volume before quickly casting the two brothers a swift glance to make sure that they hadn't heard me. Luckily enough for me, they continued walking on without even realizing that there was an extra addition to our team at the moment. "You are supposed to be... well, dead."

It seemed as though I would be seeing Ida more than I wished to. My past life smiled serenely at me. However, it was a smile that did not quite reach her eyes.

"As your days run out, you become more and more in touch with the old world and your past lives. I am here because you thought of me." Ida simply replied with a shrug. Her long Victorian style dress dragged along behind her, the dark midnight blue fabric trailing perfectly as if she was a princess straight out of a fairytale. When she noticed my silence, her tranquil expression cracked to one of worry. "It's about Fabian again, isn't it?"

"Well, your boyfriend isn't that much of a sunshine to be with. He seems so gloomy all the time and it is painful to watch. Even I, someone that is barely even friends with him, kind of wished that he could have better luck in life."

"Yes, believe me, I understand that all too well."

Fabian was the one that led us, hence walking all the way in front. The distance between us, of course, was not enough to stop Ida from staring back longingly at him. My heart couldn't help but break a little at the scene. To see such a beautiful pair of lovers separated by the painful conditions of life was agonizing.

Ida bit her bottom lip, seemingly deep in thought as she held her arms behind her as if she was standing to attention. With a long dreadful sigh, she tore her eyes away from her past beau only to look at me with eyes downcast.

"Luck is a funny thing in life, Addison. Sometimes, it can bring so many blissful things into your life and show you an entire side to living. It was a mere unfortunate circumstance that I was not that blissful thing in which luck brought to Fabian. Instead, we became each other's downfall. While I died because of knowing him, indirectly, he is dying every single day over and over again. I honestly don't know for sure which fate is a more painful one but I suppose it is his."

Though I did not voice my agreement immediately, even the blind could tell that Fabian was the one that life had fooled the hardest. To imagine the chance of being on the throne, the chance of living eternally with the love of his life, all torn away from within the matter of seconds was the most barbaric joke the heavens could play on him. His path in life was woven towards that of damnation and his only enlightenment and salvation was ripped away from him. Love was most certainly beautiful but it could also be a tribulation.

"Addison?"

"Hmm?" I turned to face Ida, to which was looking at me with all the worry in the world. The bit of skin between her eyebrows were crumpled, folding in a look of pure hesitation as she cast yet another surreptitious glance at Fabian. "Please promise me that you will look after Fabian. I cannot be there for him but you can as a friend. He might push you away but it is only because he is afraid of being hurt again. I just need to know that there is a shoulder for him to lean on other than his brothers. And, if you can, I hope that you can find someone to open his heart again. I don't want him to remember love as a pain."

"Ida... why are you being so nice to me? Lola has proven time and time again that she is not here to be friends with me but instead take my place here in the material world. I know the brothers trust you but why aren't you like her? In fact, you have more reason to want to stay here." I gestured towards Fabian, shrugging in disbelief.

"I accepted my death long ago. I am only here to help you. Besides, you and Dimitri reminds me of how Fabian and I once were. It is something truly beautiful to watch." Ida paused for a moment, fiddling her thumbs as her gaze dropped. "And when you become queen and gain immortality, I will cease to exist. There is no need for me to try and get too attached here again when I've accepted what is to become of me."

"What?" Taking a step back, my eyes widened in surprise. "You're going to die again, you mean?"

"With my existence erased, Fabian will forget about me. The only one who will remember about us, your past lives, would be you. Once you become queen, he will be able to move on at long last." Ida grabbed my hands in hers, an unexplainable light lit up in her eyes. It resembled the strange glow of hope, one that was filled with childlike wonder and relief.

"Addison?" A voice from ahead called out, causing me to rapidly turn around, pulling my hands out of Ida's grip and allowing them to drop back down to my sides. Calvin was the one that had spoken up, standing side by side with Fabian right in front of a large iron gate.

"Coming!" I yelled back, ready to catch up.

When I turned to look back at where Ida once stood, I was not surprised to see that her figure was already gone. I did not stay to hang around, quickening my pace to catch up with the two brothers and only slowing down when I was by their side. Fabian and Calvin both had their arms folded across the chest and while Fabian stood his stance, Calvin relaxed upon sight of me, throwing an arm over my shoulder to pull me closer towards them.

"I nearly thought that we lost you there. The tunnels were like a maze, honestly. You should be more careful and not stay too far behind us next time." With a handsome grin, Calvin nodded towards the tall iron grids that formed a gate. "Come on. We're finally under the grounds of the church."

"What took you so long?" Fabian asked. For once, his expression was not that of a scowl but rather one of pure curiosity. I shrugged with yet another nervous laugh, shaking my head.

"No reason. Must have been too entranced in my own thoughts, I suppose. I tend to do that a lot, I've been told."

"Well stop it. Your inattentiveness is going to get you killed one day." Just like that, the Fabian I knew was back. His signature frown was back on his face, a scowl filled with what seemed like pure hatred and annoyance.

Walking towards the only gate made for Man to pass through, Fabian placed his hands on the iron grids, ready to pull it open when he suddenly yanked his hand backwards with a hiss of pain. I could see smoke coming up from Fabian's hand and as a curiosity reflex, I edged in closer towards him to take a look. On his palm was a large burning red spot, the skin sizzling like a heated iron as Fabian clenched his teeth in agony.

"Shit," he cursed, cradling his hand protectively against his chest.

"Looks like this one is on you, Addison." Calvin inched forward towards the gate, studying it closely before taking a step away. "It seems like we are unable to touch anything that belongs to holy ground, namely its structures. Even our perks have their limits."

I hesitated, eyeing Fabian's hand one last time apprehensively. It was still red, even starting to blister slightly at the edges where it was pressed the hardest against the metal. The skin was already starting to tear, some bits flaking off with blood beginning to rush out where the exposed flesh was. I shivered in disgust. Though the burn was not on my hand, I could still feel a mirroring effect of the pain against my flesh.

Shaking my head, I took a step closer towards the heavy and rusting iron gates, quickly slipping the unlocked padlock out before tossing it carelessly on the concrete ground. With a mighty push, the entry gate cranked open, screeching horrifically into the void of the tunnels the more it gave way.

I stepped through to the other side, noticing how the water was stopped right at the gates and the floor from this point on was dry ground. Taking a few steps towards the center of the room, I couldn't help but swallow the bile in my throat as the aftermath of the trauma I faced what seemed like an eternity ago returned. The tunnels from where I stood greatly resembled the boathouse where I was stuck in and this made the hair on my body stand on their edges.

"Here it is, I guess." I could hear Calvin's doubtful voice behind me. "Welcome, lady and gentleman, to the catacombs of holy ground."

I am so sorry everyone. I have been really busy with school since it started again and I haven't really got the time to write new chapters on Radish Fiction. I will try my best to post a new chapter soon but I hope you liked this one nevertheless.

Thank you so much for reading and until next time.

xx aurora