Instant regret. In that moment, paralyzed by fear, cornered by a lethal monster, seconds away from her final breath, all Agatha could think about was regret. She regretted not doing something else with her life, she regretted not spending enough time with her family and, more than anything, she regretted not having listened to Demir's advice.

The weight of the demon obstructed her breathing. Two red, bright eyes followed every tiny movement. A row of sharp teeth showed themselves in anticipation of the killing that was about to happen.

Agatha let the darkness take her, she didn't have another choice with the street lights blocked by the immense silhouette. The shadows were gigantic but a bigger force cast them off. Caged in fear, the girl blocked her surroundings until, a warm hand, shook her shoulder.

No sounds of struggling or shouting broke the silence. As if it were a magic trick, the pressure of her attacker was lifted from her body.

"It's okay, they're gone now." Compelled by a voice she heard before, Agatha opened her eyes.

Under the light of a street light stood Ellis, looking deathly attractive as he did hours ago.

"What was that?"

"A demon. You shouldn't be on the streets so late, it can be extremely dangerous for a sweet little bird like yourself." Ellis offered his hand to help her stand up, and the black hair girl gladly accepted. "Let me take you home."

"Thanks but I live four blocks from here, I don't want to bother you."

"I insist, four blocks is more than enough for those creatures to harm you, I prefer not to take the risk." He started walking in the direction Agatha was going before the attack to reinforce his statement. "And it's definitely worth it considering I get to spend my time next to a beautiful girl."

"Are you flirting?"

"Only for you."

"I don't think so."

Ellis didn't deny her words, he kept walking until they made it to Agatha's house. The tingling that ran down the young woman's back announcing the presence of danger did not disappear, instigating her steps to speed up. For her, it wasn't a walk, but a race.

Soon the time to say goodbye had come.

"Thanks, for everything," The young woman expressed her gratitude once again, she owed something to the one that saved her life "What you did was priceless, I don't think I could ever repay you."

"If I can ask for something then I'd like two things. One, tell me your name, and two, go out with me."

"I'm Agatha," she answered before opening her house door. The tapping of her feet became the only sound present in the night for a second. "Go out with you? Do you mean a date?"

"What else could I be asking for?"

"I'm just making sure. I got some free time tomorrow in the afternoon, you can pick me up at five."

The next morning Agatha went to the library for her morning shift. Her mind was still stuck in the events of last night, that was her first encounter with a demon and she prayed to every existing god out there to be the last one. 

Her performance at work got affected, she spaced out constantly and jumped at the most insignificant sounds. Agatha felt like someone kept following her, waiting to drag her into her biggest nightmare. To make things worse, that day the number of customers exceeded the usual and the noise of their movements, their words and even their breathing hurt the young woman.

"My lady."

"My good lord," she greeted Lorcan with a fake smile, trying to cover the little jump her body gave in automatic as a response to his unexpected arrival.
 
"Is everything okay?" The young man approached slowly, asking for permission without words.

"Yes, I'm good."

Lorcan, unconvinced, slammed a book against the shelf. Agatha's reaction told him everything he wanted to know. Her face was the exact image of fear.

"You're not good. What happened? Don't you even dare to lie."

Agatha stopped doing her job and sat on the floor and waited for Lorcan to join her. Words flowed, emotions resurfaced, tears fell. Soon the noises turned louder,  the feeling of nausea gripped her stomach and her head seemed about to explode.

The young man materialized noise canceling headphones and placed them over his friend's ears. Then he stayed by her side, saying nothing.

Little by little the sounds left her head. Agatha closed her eyes and took a deep breath, regaining her calm. She removed the headphones and looked up. It was at that moment that exhaustion caught up with her.

"Can I give you a hug?" Asked Lorcan.

She nodded her head as a small smile appeared on her face. He always asked permission before touching her, Agatha appreciated very much that he respected her space.

Lorcan's arms wrapped carefully around her shoulder. She found comfort between the arms of her friend.

"I'm sorry, for not being there." Lorcan strengthened their embrace as if the guilt that suffocated him will disappear in concordance with the force he exerted.

"Don't do that, don't blame yourself. You have your responsibilities, the Protectors need you more than I do. You're here now, that's what matters. How was the watch by the way?"

"The watch is not important now. What about you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm not hurt, physically. My power won't let me get any important wounds."

"Can you wait for a minute? I'll be back."  Agatha nodded and Lorcan went almost flying to the entrance of the library, that speed was for sure forbidden inside the place.

The healer considered going back to her work, her blue eyes wandering around the tall shelves. How much she hated the height of those things, always forcing her to get on a bench to sort the books. That was a normal situation for her, anyways, the perks of being a short person.

Bumping into a distracted customer with the same forbidden speed, Lorcan returned to her. In his right hand, was a mysterious paper bag.

"May I, my lady?" He asked, offering his hand for her to take. Once their hands were intertwined he guided her to an empty hallway in the quietest section of the library. "I believe it's time for your break."

With a slow pace to create a little bit of suspense, Lorcan took out an ice cream tub and two spoons.

"It's mint chocolate chip, your favorite."

"But you don't like mint chocolate," argued Agatha as she took the spoon.

"I can make a little sacrifice for my good friend." 

Both sat on the floor, not caring about the rules of the place they were in. The horrible memories that tied Agatha minutes ago retracted for a while. She let herself be invaded by the heavenly flavor of her comfort food.

Her gaze landed on the young man next to her. For the first time since they met Lorcan avoided the comments related to the, according to him, awful taste of mint chocolate. Agatha could see the effort he put into controlling his expression of disgust. An unfamiliar warm sensation grew up inside her body after giving Lorcan one more glance, his sweetness cheered her up when she thought nothing could.

"I got a present made especially for you," said Lorcan as he used his power to materialize a silver bracelet that looked like little Jazmine tied together.

"It's beautiful, I love Jazmine, it's my—"

"Favorite flower, you said it last week," Lorcan explained as he helped Agatha put on the bracelet "Because it's made by my powers if something bad happens to you, I will know. I'm giving it to you as a promise, anytime you need me I'll be there."

"Aren't you wasting your power? I thought you could only create four objects at the same time."

"Five,  I got better thanks to the training. I can be more than good using four objects, that's what I'm used to and I'll feel better knowing that you're safe."

The bracelet should feel cold against Agatha's skin but, on the opposite, it was warm. Maybe all of Lorcan's creations feel welcoming, thought the young woman l, admiring her gift. 

"Is it weird that I can feel some type of energy coming from it?"

"It's actually normal, my creations have my energy, that's what you're feeling. It's technically a part of me," confessed Lorcan in a low voice, letting his shyness win. "Maybe you should talk with Demir, he could cover for you so you can go home and rest." 

"I'll talk with him after finishing arranging the books. Until next time then, my Lord."

"I'll be waiting for that day, my Lady."

The good times in life seem to last only a moment, in a matter of seconds,  the smiles could turn into tears. There's no feeling compared to the emptiness that's left behind when happiness goes away. That's what Agatha experienced, Lorcan gave her his hand to get out of the pit she was in but without his hold she fell again, harder than the first time.

Buried in her fears and anxiety, Agatha went back to her routine, hoping that her work could keep her mind busy, at least until her date with Ellis.

Hi! Thank you so so much for supporting the story with your reads, votes and comments. I didn't imagine that people would actually like my crazy story. You have no idea how happy it makes me.
You're the best, I wish you have an amazing day. Love you 💜