Requested by T0XIC_G0R3 😁

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Keep your eyes open, loves. The statues in this place are awfully livelike." We heard Bierce warn us.

"Tsk," Raphael clicked his tongue at this as he ran his fingers against his messy, raven hair. "We literally survived against some creepy monkey killers, an insane school girl and now... This? Statues? Like, what the hell will these do? Shoot lasers from their eyes or somethin'? Come back to life and chase us?" "Beats me.." I sighed as we made our way through the portal.

Raphael was a boy my age that Bierce teamed me up with. He was rather tall, slim and he had fair skin. His eyes were honey brown and he had a nostril and spectrum ring in his nose. He wore a camouflage hoodie with some jeans.
It was rather awkward at first, as we were simply strangers and he could get a bit annoying at times, as he had a habit of talking a bit too much. On the other hand, however, it seemed like he was a rather easy going and determined person. He was the reason why I was still sane and alive - He helped me carry on and lead me to the right paths. If it weren't for him, I would have died on the very first challenge. I felt rather bad how he had to carry me through all these times, but he didn't really seem to mind it. In fact, he had someone to talk to, at least.

Once we reached to our destination, my eyes widen. The place was not like the ones we were at during the previous rounds. In fact, we were outside, in front of a massive manor, not in a closed area. We were in a spacey garden which was filled with lots of grass, plants, as well as a gorgeous water fountain. The dark blue sky and fog somehow made the whole view even more beautiful, yet creepy. I would have enjoyed it much more if it weren't for the fact that we could die.

I took a look at Raphael to see him staring at his reflection in the water as he fixed his hair, once again. "Damn it..." I heard him whisper before he took his gaze away from the water. "Such a beautiful place, isn't it? If we are going to die, at least we know that we will be buried in luxury instead of an ugly place.. Or inside stomachs." "Come on, stop fooling around..." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "You're too chill for this, you know... Please don't talk about us dying." He chuckled as he shrugged at me, raising his eyebrow. "What? It's true, people that have their graves here must be very lucky." I let out an annoyed sigh as I dropped my arms to my sides and continued walking. He quietly followed behind me.

We found ourselves in front of a giant, golden statue that captured our attention between some other marble stairs. He was giant. He was facing the garden and he held his hat with one hand, as well as a proud look on his face. I walked closer to it and read a sign made of gold. "Beyond these gates, judgment awaits...." I hummed. "Well, that rythms." Raph said as he walked beside me and placed his hand on his hip. He tapped his fingers against the statue as he walked up the stairs and started tapping his nose and whole face. I raised my eyebrow and looked up at him. "Uh... What are you doing exactly?" "Oh," He smiled and looked down at me. "Just making sure that he is not alive." He then crossed his arms as he looked at the statue again. "Sucks to be you, huh? I cannot imagine how saddening it would be to just be an empty statue, unable to move..." He spoke dramatically as I stared at him with no interest. "Plus, you're ugly." I laughed at him. "What?" "Yeah, he's so ugly, just look at him!" He pointed at the still statue with both of his hands. "You won't be finding yourself a girlfriend with that face anytime soon, man. Unless she's a .... gold digger." He winked at the statue and then glanced at me, to see a bored look on my face. "It's funny because he is made of gold!" He laughed. However, neither the statue or I were laughing. "I think he is much more handsome than you are, friend." I told him, just to see his reaction. "Well, at least I have a girlfriend." He noted as he held his face up high and pointed at his chest. "Do you have a girlfriend, mister Goldy-cheeks? If you don't," he then attempted to wrap his arm around the statue's neck and he pointed at me with his other, "I think this girl right here think's you're handsome, so come chase her if you're single." I face palmed and laughed. "I cannot believe how your girlfriend hasn't broken up with you, yet." "She has good taste in men." He said as he continued walking and I followed him up the marble stairs.
"I think he has a very big idea of himself." I heard Bierce sigh. I was not even sure if she spoke to me exclusively or to both of us, but I assumed he did not hear anything, as he did not make a comment on her words.

We found some doors blocking our path and we easily managed to push them open. The movement made some cracking sounds.
We walked through a small path. I looked at the walls on each side to see some words and phrases repetitively written everywhere. 'Never look away' 'They're always watching'
It made me uncomfortable as I scratched my arm. Looking up at Raphael, he didn't seem bothered by the words at all.

When we opened another gate, we saw another beautiful garden. "I wonder who does the landscaping here. Very impressive." Bierce commented. I slowly nodded to myself as she said so. There were some beautiful statues around, a few spots were it had fire for light and warmth as well as some more writings on the walls. 'Free our souls'

Walking ahead, we saw another similar statue to the one before, but a bit smaller. "Hey, another one of these assholes." Raph said as he out his hands inside his pockets as we walked closer to the statue. At first glance, both of the statues we saw looked like pirates, but now they mostly looked like some kind of aristocrats. "Raph, be nice." "Why should I?" He asked in confusion, "Are you afraid they are listening? Do you think that they are alive and they will come back to bite us in the ass?" "Whether they are listening or not, don't be rude. It's rather offensive to speak in this way." He then looked in front of him as he walked. "If he is offended, he can come over and suck my dick." I frowned and crossed my arms at him as I watched him walk.
I sighed and looked at the statue in an apologetic way. "Sorry for that." Before I continued walking.

"You paid no heed, now you shall bleed.. Is this a threat?" I heard him mumble as I approached him and saw him holding his chin as he read another golden sign next to some gates that were waiting for us to open.

"Psst!" I jumped and quickly turned behind me at the sharp voice to see nobody...

But the statue. Turned to me, staring at us.

Raphael seemed to have noticed this as well. ".... He wasn't facing this way previously, was he?" He glanced at me quickly. I slowly shook my head a few times as I still stared at the smiling statue.

"....." "......" Raphael quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me to the gates that lead to the other side. "Let's go." His voice did not held any tone of playfulness anymore. As he did so, I stared at the statue that we left behind, who was still staring at me from the distance.

--------------------

Upon opening another gate, we stepped inside another maze. High bushes were blocking the areas. Bierce warned us to watch our steps as we found some traps on specific places on the ground. Stepping on them on the wrong time would lead to serious consequences.

"So, it begins again, huh? Let's just grab those crystals and get the hell out of here." Raph sighed as we started walking. Suddenly, we heard some loud footsteps nearing us and we immediately looked at each other with eyes wide.

"In case you are wondering, yes, those footsteps are getting louder!" Bierce confirmed as we turned to face two statues on the other side of the path, staring at us still as they were losing, one was saluting us and the other was reaching his hand to us, as if he was trying to grab us. "Wait a second..." I said as Raph looked at me. "Raphael, I think I know what happens... I think that these statues move whenever we are not looking at them, just like the writings on the walls said!" "You could be right.." He whispered. We quickly looked away and then back at the statues. They indeed moved and stopped once we looked at them again.

I felt Raph place his hand on my shoulder, his eyes not moving away from the statues. "Alright Y/n, this should be easy. It is really quiet out here so we can hear their footsteps. We have to stand back-with-back so one can stare at the statues so they don't move and the other will lead. Alright?" "Yeah but..." I whispered, "Do we know if there is more than these two? What if there are more around?" "... Good point. We just have to see." That moment, he glued his back against mine as I was staring at the statues and he on the opposite direction. "Alright, do not take your eyes off of them. I'll lead the way and collect the crystals." "Got it." I nodded with a frown as we slowly started moving.

The procedure was rather slow but effective either way. Y/n would not take her eyes off of the statues' direction and Raph would carefully lead her around as he collected the crystals and helped her avoid the traps. "Raph?" "Yeah?" "... Do you think we can truly do this? I mean... We still have lots of challenges and..." "Y/n, please do not doubt it." Raphael interrupted me. "Look, I understand that you're afraid. But listen... We have already been offered a second chance in life. If it weren't for Bierce, we would have already been... you know...." He whispered in the end and I hummed in apprehension. "So no matter what the future holds for us, we should be grateful. However, I promise you that we won't be dying any time soon, okay?" I heard him smile. "We will return to our world, I'll help you stay alive. You'll go back to your old, happy life and I will return to my girlfriend and family. We can also seek for each other and hang out sometime if you live close once we make it back, who knows?" He assured me as he quickly pulled me to the opposite side of the trap, saving me from getting killed as my body shivered at the thought.

I felt a smile tug on the corner of my lips as his words brought images to my head. I could imagine returning back, waking up on my cozy bed. Oh, how much I would cherish and enjoy life after all this, how many things I would do, how nice I would be to each person passing by...
The car accident was the last memory I had before I was brought to Bierce - who offered me a second chance in life. I knew that I could not miss it. I realized that I was not truly ready to let go of life just yet. I had so many things to do and live for.. I truly regretted not being grateful for the things I had. I always complained about so many things that I did not value the ones I already had... But now, there was a chance that I would loose everything.
Then, I imagined seeing Raph and his girlfriend and maybe even hanging out together? Or what if we would never meet each other? What if we both were about to forget what even happened?

Or.... Would we really be able to go back anyways?

"You know, you need to tell me your phone number or something or at least where you live... You could also tell me your favorite food and drinks. After this, it would be nice to meet up, you know.. To talk about the adventures we are living right now... We would be more than happy to have a party," He laughed which made me smile. He took a breath to talk more, however he quickly stopped moving, which made me bump into him with my back. "Huh? Why did you stop?"

"Y/n... there's another one in front of me." ".... Let's slowly move back, okay?" I whispered to him as we slowly did so, only for me to stop immediately. Despite the fact that I was looking at the other statue's directions... Somehow, they were still close. "... Shit." I whispered. Raphael did not even need to question it as he immediately got the message. Unfortunately... They had us trapped.

"Y/n, I have a plan." He told me. "We have to use teleportation. Listen, I will have to use teleportation to get past the one in front of me and you'll do the same to the ones in front of you." My eyes widen. "Wait, you're telling me we have to separate?" "That's the only thing we can do, unless you have a better idea!" "What if we both teleport on the same side and continue with each other?" "Because by the time you turn around my way, the assholes in front of you will attack you, it is way riskier than this. Let's just trust the process, okay?" "Then what? We'll just have to continue separately?" "Yes...!" He sighed. I could hear the doubt in his voice. "We will have to work separately until we somehow find each other somewhere, okay? Until then, we will have to be extra careful and collect as many crystals as possible. Maybe in this way, we will get the job done faster." I stood there silent. My heart was racing fast. Staring at the statues' faces only filled my fear. "The moment we use teleportation to get past them, just run and watch your back. I promise, we will meet each other again. Just watch your back, grab as many crystals as possible and... And we'll meet somewhere." I gripped his arm tightly. "Fine. Please, be careful. I really do not want to do this alone." "I know, Y/n. But we'll be okay... The same goes for you. Now.." I felt him prepare his teleportation and I did the same as fear and determination rose in my chest. Alright, we can do this!

"Three..." I pressed my feet against the ground. "Two..." Sweat dripped on my forehead and I took a deep breath. "One.." Raph's voice got louder. "Now, go!" The moment he yelled, I immediately used my teleportation, as it brought me to the other side of the statues and I quickly used the boost power. I silently thanked Bierce for giving us these powers as I ran quickly, grabbing some crystals on my way.  The statues laughing like maniacs only made me run faster as adrenaline rushed through my veins and body. They were mocking me. They found pleasure in my fear.
Whenever a trap would appear in front of me, I would either avoid it with teleportation or turn behind me to stop the statues from moving until I could carry on.

The advantage of the situation was that they would remain still for as long as I stared at them, which meant that they could stop moving, unlike the previous monsters than ran nonstop. The disadvantage, however, was that at that moment, it was just me running - no Raphael to help me and guide me. I was confident that he would do just fine on his own, however, I was mostly worried about myself. Even though I knew that I could do this, I was still extremely anxious and paranoid.

I just had to believe in myself. Just like he told me.

As I was running, I immediately stopped - almost falling in process, upon finding myself in a dead end. There were only a few flowers in front of me. I quickly turned back to see a statue standing in the middle of my exit back. The moonlight, which was my only source of light, created a terrifying shadow of the statue that was looming over me. His face was dark, yet his shinning eyes would not disappear. He just stood there, staring at me, watching me in silence.
I took a deep breath as I attempted to teleport away, but I could not... For some reason, the distance did not allow me to. "Dammit..." I whispered to myself. Now was not the time for this.

I knew that I had to walk right past him. It would be very difficult and scary. What if he would suddenly turn and grab me?
I swallowed sharply and slowly walked towards him, with trembling legs. The closer I got to him, the more anxious I got. The statue was much taller than me. He simply stared in front of him, to the point where I previous stood. I tried my best to stick close to the bushes and refrained from touching him. Slowly - very slowly, I held my breath as I tried to slip past him.

I did not take my eyes off of him. I was afraid that he would suddenly turn around and slash me with the axe he was holding. Or something else. Who knows? All I knew was that I could not look away from him.

I then suddenly noticed how his gaze quickly turned to me - He looked at me in my eyes with his dangerously glowing red ones. He didn't move his body, only his gaze. He stared at me as if he were the hunter and I were the prey.

I went pale and I felt my stomach drop. My eyes widen and I immediately ran away once I got a bit further from him, not wanting to see the next movement he had in mind. I spared no thought as I did that. Just seeing that statue move in the slightest was enough to keep me running. It felt as if I was the fastest human in the world at that moment.

I heard the statue laugh crazily as he chased after me. I gasped as I ran, my whole body hurt. I screamed once a pair of arms grabbed me from behind and pulled me into an embrace. I did not even know from where they appeared, but they were holding me close.

It was Raphael, who glared at the statue that was chasing me and he lifted a red crystal towards the statue's way, which caused the statue to hold his face and groan in pain. I almost felt bad for him. It looked like he was in pain... But I knew that the death he would offer me would be much more painful than that. Plus, I doubted if he would show the same sympathy for me. "We need to move, this should stop them for a while!" He yelled as he grabbed my arm and dragged me away with him, as the frozen and pained statue stared and glared at us as we ran away.

"Oh my God, you're alive!" I gasped in relief. "Why wouldn't I? I told you we would be okay! Now let's go, nine more crystals to go!" He said while taking deep breaths. He looked just as exhausted as I was. That, however, was not enough to stop us. In fact, knowing that we had just a few crystals left filled us with hope.

The laughing statues only put us on edge. They acted as if they heard some kind of a sick joke that was amusing to them, while Raph and I were literally running for our lives. "Come on, come on!" The two of us ran side-to-side as fast as we could as we collected the last crystals.

"This zone is clear, get to the manor!"

Bierce's voice called out to us as we quickly found our way outside the maze. We pushed each gate open and immediately closed it right behind us, in case the statues decided to follow us outside the maze. We hoped not.
Raphael leaned against the bushes and I fell to the ground as we took our moment to take some deep breaths, as well as relax our nerves. I placed my hand on my chest as an attempt to relax. "H-Hah... See....? We did it...." Raph laughed as he spoke. "Ye....yeah...." I agreed silently. "We did...." He looked at me. "Not as difficult as the previous ones though, right?" "I... I think so?" I questioned, not being entirely sure. All I knew was that I did not want to return back there.

I then turned my gaze to the manor that stood right in front of us. Raph followed my gaze. "Uh, we need to go in there, I think?" He mumbled, in which I nodded. Raph offered me his hand, which I gladly accepted, as he helped me stand on my feet, before we walked out way to the building.

"How nostalgic." Bierce hummed. "I used to have a manor like this. Much bigger, of course.." She mumbled, mostly to herself. "Did you also die in it?" Raph teased, to which Bierce did not bother to answer, nor did I.

------------------------------

"Wow.... This place is gorgeous!" I beamed. The place was build with gold, marble and it was rather bright. The floor was crystal clear that you could see your own reflection on it. "Hellooooooooo!" Raph yelled in a singing tone as we heard his voice echo through the hallways. "That's amazing, who even lives here?" He questioned loudly as I stared at each detail of the places. Once I looked a bit higher, I caught a glimse of a certain demon, known as Malak. My eyes widened and Raph did not take long to notice. The demon laughed evily before he disappeared, leaving some kind of far fog behind him. He was planning something for sure.

Raphael glared at the area the demon last stood. "Game on." He said to himself. I turned to look at him. He placed his hand on my shoulder. "It seems like we are not over yet. Come on, let's go... We have some business." I bit my lip and nodded as I glued my eyes on the ground as I followed him up the stairs. He pulled some leavers that caused some doors to open. We glanced at each other once we saw that there were more crystals in the hallways. We quickly started running around before snatching the crystals.

The areas were filled with beautiful candles and portraits. If I had more time, I would have paid more attention to them, but our lives were far more valuable. To us, at least...
"Do you think they're behind us?" I asked as we ran. "Can't say I do, but we have to get moving anyways. I believe they already know where we are, so let's grab as many as we can from now. I really want to get this over with.." "Yeah, me too!" I agreed with him.

Yes, Raphael was indeed the type of person to joke and fool around whenever he wanted, but he knew when to save the jokes for later and when to run and think clearly. I guessed that this helped the both of us to continue. I truly owed him a lot. But the question was... How would I repay him?

He had me running in front of him, leaving me to lead this time as he ran right behind me in order to look for any statues near us.
We kept running room to room while avoiding the traps on the ground as much as we could. The statues were already nearing us, judging from the loud footsteps and crazy laughter. "Psst!" Sometimes, they would make some weird noises that would just freak me out even more. It almost fell as if they were right next to us at times.

I stopped dead on my tracks and spread my arms in order to stop Raphael from running on me, once a big weapon that resempled to an axe appeared right in front of my face. It was moving right and round in front of the room's exit door, which was another trap that we did not see coming. Up until that moment, we were only used to seeing the traps on the floor. I was lucky that I did not appear in the way on the wrong moment and that the weapon had not come into contact with me. If I were a little faster and a little ahead of the point where I was at that moment, I would have been sliced by that weapon in two. We simply had to run on the right time, during the seconds it was not blocking our path.

"Raph, be careful! There are more traps right here," I warned him as I quickly glanced upwards behind him in order to take a loot at his face, before I looked back at the weapon.

That's when I realized that upon turning behind me, I didn't catch a glimpse of Raph's face. In confusion, I turned my whole body around. Raphael was not behind me.

What I did see, however, was another weapon, the same as the one in front of me, swinging right and round a bit further from me, indicating that there were more than just one trap. The only difference with the one on my back, in comparison to the one on the front, was that it was heavily stained with blood.
I slowly turned my gaze to the floor by instinct. That's where I met Raph's eyes. His facial expression was blunt; there was no emotion. Not even when I saw blood running from his mouth. It did not take me a lot to notice that his body was laying on the ground right along with his head, but his head was separated from his body completely. There was a pool of blood on the ground and it slowly came into contact with my shoes.

He was decapitated.

Everything became blurry and the world started shaking under my feet. I felt like I was about to vomit and I could not breathe properly. 'Raphael!!!' I wanted to yell his name and fall down on my knees and somehow link his head back to his body, which would magically bring him back to life. He could also make some stupid jokes, I didn't care. I just wanted to save him.

But no words could come out of my mouth. And neither could I save him, or attempt to.

Raphael was laying dead right in front of me, just like that. It all happened within a second. He was running and talking to me just a very short moment ago, and now he was completely lifeless.

Realization finally hit me. Raphael was dead and he would not come back. Now, it was just me by myself. Nobody to keep me company or sane with silly jokes and stories. It was me. Just me, all alone, by myself. I could not rely on anyone - I had no one to rely on.
I was finally alone and scared. The two of us never even shared a goodbye. All these plans of hanging out and having fun back in the real world after everything were crushed, if they ever existed in the first place. He would never get to see his girlfriend or family again, they would never see him either and neither would I see him or my own family and friends.

Why?

Because I was next. I was the next to die. I was just another weak target that no longer had any company in which I could benefit from.

Sooner or later, it would be over for me now.

I had not even noticed that I were crying. But I was shaken from my own panic by the hysterical laughs that were nearing.
Out of instinct, I started running forward to where I last stopped, not even bothering to look for any traps.

I could not even look back at Raphael's corpse to tell him a goodbye. I could not even go looking for crystals. I could not watch out for traps or other potential hazards on my way. My insticts told me to run blindly and not look back.

Tears ran down my cheeks as I ran. I was a sobbing mess and I almost slipped a few times due to my blood stained shoes that made things easier for me to slip.

I simply ran in vain - I knew there was no hope for me anymore. Not even a miracle could save me. I felt like I was running closer to my death, yet I couldn't stop either way. I would die soon or later - slowly or quickly... Painfully or painless.

I'm sorry, everyone. I failed each one of you. I failed my family, my friends, Raphael, Bierce... And myself.

My cold ran cold when I heard some strange, metallic sounds under my feet. Before I could even look below me to see what caused the sound, I was pulled back by a pair of death-gripping hands that clung painfully on both of my arms and I was pulled back to a strong surface. The next thing I knew was that a trap had just activated itself right in front of me. Had I been standing on that spot for a second longer, would I have been stabbed to death.

'...... Raphael?' I wondered as I expected to see Raphael alive again, standing beside me as he held me back so as to prevent me from dying - again. How many times would he still save me? He truly was my guardian angel, wasn't he?

Slowly - Very slowly, I lifted my face upwards and stared back at the familiar pair of red glowing eyes that stared back at me from above. They did not belong to Raphael. They belonged to the statue from before. It was quite foolish of me to even think it was Raph.

The statue's face was just a few inches away from mine. I didn't move, I couldn't move even if I wanted to. The statue's grip was so strong that it was getting painful. I feared that it would slowly crush my bones.

That was the moment I realized that I did not truly want to die. Now that it was my turn, I realized that despite loosing all the hope I had previously.. I wanted to live. I knew I would suffer even more, but my insticts told me to continue and not stop.

My body moved on it's own. With all my will, I pushed the statue away and surprisingly, he didn't fight back. His grip on me softened and immediately let me go as I continued running -avoiding the moving axe in process-. He did not even try to stop me, he simply stood there and stared as I ran.

Running would get me to nowhere and I knew it. I was in a state of shock that it was difficult for me to think straight or act wisely. Upon turning on a corner, a crazy laugh made its way into my ears as I can face to face with another statue who grabbed me by the collar of my clothe with one of his hands. "LET ME GO!" I yelled, thinking that he actually would. Within a second, he managed to raise his axe... And hit the side of my face, or head, with the back of his axe, knocking me down. It was so quick that I did not even feel the pain as I was consumed by darkness.

----------------------------------

The process of waking up surprisingly took less than I expected. During the time I was unconscious, I was not aware of my surroundings, I was unable to think, I could not see anything and I felt extremely tired to the point where I couldn't move at all. It was a relief that I started getting back to my senses, but my head still hurt a lot.
I tried touching the area where I was injured, yet I flinched and immediately pulled my fingers back. My head was wrapped with a bandage.

I quickly lost interest in my wound and focused on my surroundings. It was a rather small room, yet a luxurious one, that is. Similar to the other areas of the manor, the room, too, had some beautiful decorations and furniture. The bed was very comfortable and the area was very clean, I could not even see any dust on the corners.

I stopped observing my surroundings as I got flashbacks of what happened during the last few hours. I remembered.... I remembered seeing Raphael die. It was over, he was gone. I knew I would dearly miss him, even for a stranger. No, a friend. He was not a stranger anymore. But at the same time, the closer I admitted being with him, the more it hurt in the end, so I knew I had to distance myself from the thoughts. But at the same time, I owed him a lot for what he's done for me. The least I could do for him was respect him, remember him and his heroic actions and consider him as a friend until then end. You promised you wouldn't die on me, Raph... I quickly wiped my eyes that were slowly forming a few tears. I knew that now was not the time to be emotional.
Then, I remembered these spectacular red eyes that stared back at me from up close. I remembered running away from that statue, only for another one to knock me out.

But the question was... Why wasn't I dead? My first thoughts would be that they wanted some type of revenge or suffering from me, but my head seemed to be treated and I was laying on a comfortable bed in a beautiful room. Who brought me here and why was I brought here?

I slowly placed my feet on the ground and slowly stood on my own feet. I placed my hands around my body to see if I was missing something.

I was. All the crystals I had collected were gone.

I hung my head low and cursed under my breath. I should have seen that coming, though. I slowly started to search inside the room in hopes of finding it, but with no success. All I found was many literature and historic books as well as some small figures of people. I hoped these were not alive.

I thought to myself then.... I had to leave from here. Yet, could I do so without the crystals? Also, how was I supposed to go all the way back?

All these thoughts made me panic as I walked all around the room while biting my nails anxiously. I barely even noticed the door opening.
I quickly turned my head and as expected, the tall statue from before was standing in the path, staring at me. One thing I noticed was that he was not armed.

I froze on the spot as I stared back at him. Was he here to kill me? What would happen now that he found me awake? Maybe pretending to be asleep would have been better.

".... Um... Can you.. please let me go, sir?" I had no idea what I was doing, but here I was, begging for the statue to let me go, as if he would have been kind enough to do so or even speak to me. Yet, it was worth a try, wasn't it?

"..... No." The statue said with a low tone. My face couldn't even hide the surprised emotions. I did not expect him to speak. I had to admit, for a statue like him, his voice was rather hot, yet intimidating and I did not expect this statue to have a voice like that. "You came all the way here to steal from us... Only for us to let you go like that? Don't be ridiculous." He coldly answered, not taking his eyes away from me. "Bu-But then, why am I here? Why didn't you kill me?" "Do you wish to be killed?" "No-No, of course not.." "Then, be grateful I am even keeping you alive." "Why though?" "You are asking way too many questions for a petty girl like you." The statue was about to close the door and leave, but I stopped it using my foot and followed behind him. It could have been a wrong move, yet what else could I do? I needed answers. "I deserve to know though, don't I? .... Please?" I whispered. I assumed that by trying to beg, he would at least think about sparing me or letting me go.
The statue, who was walking with his hands on his back stopped and turned to look down at me for a few seconds, making me stop walking at the same time. I did not know whether he was glaring at me or simply staring. I just found myself less intimidated at the thought that he held no weapon. I was probably faster than them so if he made a move, I could run. "...." He did not answer me as he continued walking. I had no idea where he was going, but I silently followed behind with my head hung low. Maybe I would have to try to secretly find a way out by myself.

He suddenly stopped and turned his whole body to face me as I bumped into him, before I quickly stepped back and looked up at him in confusion. I watched as his red eyes looked up and down at me, before he continued walking. Was he judging me? Was he trying to make me feel uncomfortable or what? "Follow me." He muttered. Even though that was what I was basically doing, I continued following him, this time, next to him, but not too close.

"What's your name, girl?" He suddenly asked as his eyes were fixed on the direction he was leading me to. "Uh, Y/n...... What about you?" "....... Edward." He muttered. His introduction was cold. He did not even say anything else or turn for a hand shake or something. "Nice to meet you?" I made an attempt to break the ice, to which he responded by glancing at me for a second and then continuing walking. Quite rude, I had to say, yet at least I knew to call the statue 'Edward' and not just, uh, 'statue'. "What brought you here? What's your relationship with Bierce?" He asked again. So, that's what we would do? Interrogate each other? I had no idea whether he was interested in learning more or whether it was his way of minimizing the uncomfortable atmosphere. "I..... I died along with... Raphael on my 'past life'." I sighed at the thought of him. "I think it was a car accident? I do not remember completely. Whatever it was, Bierce gave us another chance of helping us go back to life. By bringing her these crystals, she would be able to do so." "Was Raphael your partner?" He then looked at me as he narrowed his eyes. "Well, we did work together.. Thanks to him, I am alive." I hugged myself. Telling these details to someone who was considered to be an enemy was a dumb move, but talking about him brought a sense of comfort to me. "I mean.." The status spoke, "Were the two of you in a relationship?" I quickly turned to him with eyes wide as I shook my head. "Oh, no no no, he was not! He had a girlfriend of his own... We just worked together for survival." Yeah, that was all. Just for survival. We did not form a true friendship. We simply had to work together and that was all.

".... Do you not have a boyfriend?" "Why are you asking me that?" I asked him with a frown as I looked away to hide my blush. I did not have one, but that question was rather uncomfortable. Edward muttered to himself about someone he knew being right on his statement. I decided not to question it.

Then, we stopped in front of a large door, which he opened with ease, using both of his arms. My eyes widen slightly as we stepped inside. It was a dressing room, filled with multiple clothes. They were nothing like the modern ones we wear, but they were very beautiful. I couldn't help but start looking at them as I touched their fabrics. Edward watched me as I did so. I smiled to myself as I looked at some dresses. "I was never a huge fan of dresses, yet when I was young, I kind of wanted to run around a castle wearing such beautiful dresses." I spoke, mostly to myself as I recalled some memories of when I was little. Edward, who was standing a bit further from me, had his eyes fixed on me. His face held no expression.

I flinched when he suddenly appeared right behind me. His face was right next to my neck. His eyes were cold and scary, it looked as if he was glaring - But maybe he was not. Maybe it was just his normal gaze. I would have lied if I were not surprised and a bit flushed by that. "Wear this." He said as he shoved a dress in front of my face. It was nothing exaggerated, thankfully and it had white, red and black colors. I slowly took it from him and stared at the dress in awe. "But why?" "These clothes are unfitting and dirty. Disgusting how people these days wear these." He said in annoyance as he looked at my dirty ones. He was not used to the modern clothing. It was understandable of him to think that way, though I felt really embarrassed and slightly offended at his uneccessary remark. "This dress is much more valuable." I weirdly looked at him but quickly dismissed it. I almost seemed to forget how he lived in a completely different world and time from mine. "Uh, sure.." "Well then," He then took a step back and fixed his posture as he placed his hands behind his back again. It seemed like this was his favorite pose. "I will be right outside in case you need anything. Do not be late." He emphasized the last sentence in a threatening tone before he turned his back and left the room, before he closed it right behind him.

Now, it was just me and the clothes inside the dark room. Taking another glance at the room, I noticed how it was rather messy as almost every area of the room had a few clothes and ribbons on the red carpet. In the corner of the room was standing a full body mirror. I placed the dress on a table and slowly removed my previous clothing - slightly uncomfortably at the thought of someone standing outside the room. I then placed my dirty clothes next to the dress before I picked that up and wore it with slowly and careful movements.

The dress was rather comfortable which was a good start, I would have to choose another one if it were uncomfortable and I feared that Edward would be unhappy with the decision.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror and posed as I fixed the dress. It was nothing that would make me look like a princess or anything close to that, but if complimented my body type nicely. I also liked the simple choice of colors and I couldn't help but feel pretty as I wore it. I made a few poses to make sure that there was nothing wrong with it on me. I also made a few, awkward turns just to see the dress flow, which did in a satisfying way.

As I made a turn, my feet slipped on some rags that were lying on the ground. I let out a yelp as I tried to maintain my balance by holding onto a tiny table, which only caused me to fall along with it as we both made some loud noise as we fell. I expected that fall to be less loud than that.

Not a second had passed and the door was pushed open with force, making a noise louder than the one I made. I widened my eyes as I was down to the ground in an awkward position. I watched him loudly thump his way towards me. In the dark colored room, his eyes were glowing a shade of red even brighter which only scared me. "I'm sorry, I didn't-" I tried apologizing as I covered my face with my arms.

He forcefully grabbed my arms and forced me on my feet. I shut my eyes closed in fear of him hurting me. "Are you hurt?" I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at him in shock. I quickly shook my head a few times to indicate that I was alright. He then took a moment looking at me as he still held onto me. "..... Good." He softly said. I titled my head as he muttered that word. He noticed this and spoke even louder, "Good that you are not hurt." He then let go of me and glared at the room. "Damn it... I thought I warned him to pick up the mess!" He growled in irritation as he spoke to himself. Whom was he talking about?

He then turned to me. "Let's go." He walked and opened the door as we both left the room, leaving my clothes behind. I had no idea where he was going and neither did I want to question him. As we were about to pass a room, we heard some men talking. Edward suddenly wrapped his arm around my waist and pushed me to his other side, to the opposite side of the area the talking was heard from. He then forced me to get closer to him and wrapped my hand around his, as he continued walking. His face held a stern, yet proud look as he only faced forwards. Even when I attempted to get away from him, I failed.

As we were passing the room, the talking quietened down. I turned my face to the men that were speaking. There were a few more statues. One of them looked at me with shock and perhaps hate or disgust. The other had a friendlier look on his face, but he was still shocked to see me, while the third statue had an evil grin and a crazy look on his face. "Don't look at them." Edward whispered-yelled at me and I quickly obeyed. I could hear the statues building a conversation about me as Edward dragged me away from them.
"Who are they?" "Doesn't matter." He was quick to reply as he lead me outside to a balcony.

"Woah...." I awed as I stepped outside the balcony. As expected, it was made of marble and it had some golden decorations. It was quite spacey and it had a beautiful view of....... That maze.
The weather was nice and the sky was still dark. However, the moonlight didn't fail to make the whole atmosphere more serene.
"Stay still." Edward calmly said as I watched how he picked a beautiful, red rose from a pot of roses and softly placed it behind my ear. He then simply stood there and stared at me in silence. He really had a thing for staring, right?

".... Why did you bring me here?" I asked as I crossed my arms. ".... You're so beautiful." He whispered in a low tone. "... Excuse me?" I asked, suddenly being taken off guard. "Y/n," He walked closer to me, making me take a few steps back. "... What we you doing?" I asked nervously with a frown as he attempted to hold my hands, but as I tried to pull away, he grabbed them forcefully and kept me in place. "Edward, let me go." I tried to sound as serious as possible, yet my voice trembled in fear. "Y/n, listen to me very carefully.." He locked his eyes with mine as he let go of my right hand but still held tightly on my left. He put his hand inside a pocket. "In a normal circumstance, once the others or Malak would get their hands on you, they could instantly kill you, but I can change that. I can protect you and help you live." "Then why don't you just let me go already?" "Because you cannot survive out there, Y/n!" He sternly told me. "You cannot! You will die, you have no idea what you're dealing with. But if you stay with me, I can give you everything! Clothes, wealth...... Love...." He whispered as he desperately started into my eyes, something that surprised, but also scared me in process. He then pulled out a golden ring from his pocket that made me gasp.

"Marry me. Wear this ring and I guarantee your safety. Nobody will ever harm you as long as they know that you belong to me." Tears started forming in my eyes as I tried to pull away, "No, I don't want to... We don't even know each other, and I want to leave! I want to go home..." "But you can't! So instead of having to suffer, stay here with me! We will get to know each other..." "Please do not do this to me!" I yelled at him, "Why are you so persistent?!" "..... I wish you could understand, but I need you to listen to me." The statue told me as he pulled me closer, still holding onto me and that ring. "Do you wish to live or not?! Do you want Raphael's death to be in vain? Do you want to enjoy some peace and freedom? Or do you want to die from such brutal beings?! If you value your life," He brought the ring in front of my face, "Wear this and let me accept you as mine. You will have everything you need here."

I sobbed quietly as I covered my face with my free hand. Edward was quick to pull me close to him and embrace me. Despite him being a statue, his hug felt rather comforting. "I apologize to overwhelm you... Please do not cry." His voice was softer than ever before as he slowly combed my hair with his fingers. "I am aware of how much you desire to return to your life... But you are not the only one who has been here in your place. Many people have gone through the same in order to live their life again. But they all died, Y/n, nobody made it far. I only wish to protect you." I just stood there as I let him attempt to comfort me.

He was right, what was I thinking? I could never possibly live, especially not without Raphael. I didn't want to be trapped and forced to marry someone, but I also refused to die just like that.
After all, this place seemed beautiful. Maybe if I could not go against them, if they accepted me, it would be safer for me.

I slowly pulled away as I wiped my tears and sniffed. "Fine. I accept." Edward stared at me for a moment. "I mean... I have no other choice, do I?" I whispered as I hung my head low. Edward lifted my chin up to face him as he slowly put the ring on my ring finger and kissed my fingers as he looked at my hand. "It suits you perfectly, my precious." I gave him a forced, small smile as I looked at it. My smile quickly faded away. ".... Why are you doing this? There must be a reason why you want to protect me." "..... I'm an unhappy, lonely, tired and betrayed man, Y/n." He quietly admitted to me. "I am tired of constantly having to murder people. I have been betrayed by someone I used to love and trust.  Her love for me was nothing but a lie... She backstabbed me when I was still a human like you..." I frowned as I listened to his words. He turned his gaze away from me as he stared at the moon. "She was the reason I became everything I am now. She was the one who destroyed my life... But I have no intentions of doing this to anyone." He then looked back at me as he placed his hand on my cheek and lovingly gazed at me. "When you looked at me in the eyes for the first time, all I saw was fear... And purity." I remained silent as I stared at him in shock. "And I can still see them now.... You're just afraid and lonely - Just like me." He then walked closer to me as he placed both of his hands and cupped my face. "That's why I wanted to save you... Most people that pass here are sinners and people with evil intentions... But you are nothing like we them. You never deserved to go through anything like this... That's why I want to save you. I just... Need someone to love..... And someone who can love me equally...." As he spoke, his voice started trembling as if he wanted to cry. He rose his head and touched his forehead against mine, before he pulled me close to him, again.. "Please... Be here for me. Do not let me go either."

The man made of gold, someone who was supposed to behead me, wanted to make me stay with him. Even though at first he seemed like a cold person, now he was begging for my love... Even though he barely knew anything about me, the way he acted showed how desperate and sad he was.

Just what was I supposed to do?

------------------------------------

We two spent the few hours getting to know each other. He could still be a bit cold in his speech, but it seemed like he secretly was a very affectionate type, as he enjoy physical contact, such as hugs.
I was uncomfortable at the fact that we barely knew each other and he was getting so close to me. Not to mention how he called me different pet names. I supposed that he went through a lot which caused him to get that easily attached with me. I felt like I would never understand what was the deal with him and how he viewed things.

During that 'night', however, as I was laying on the bed of the room, I was lost in thoughts. I kept recalling everything that had happened that day. If you couldn't even call this a day, anyway...

I was too numb to cry or react anymore. I was just tired, scared, worried and... Hopeless. I knew that Edward seemed to be having some problems and he was love-starved as he did go through some difficulties. Still, I did not know the man. He was still a stranger to me. I didn't know whether what he was telling me was a truth or a lie, or what his intentions were. It was, of course, very considerate of him to allow me to live... Again. It was not the first time I cheated death. Bierce gave me a second chance and now Edward. But was this truly the life I desired to have? The rest of my life being spent in a completely unknown place, with golden statues, or people, whatever they were, completely foreign to me? Did I truly want to be 'married' to someone who was supposed to kill me and accept my life there?

So many questions were going through my head, but the more time I kept trying to search for a solution, the merrier the questions appeared.

"You're still alive!" I head a voice exclaim. My eyes widen and I got out of the bed I was laying on. "Bierce?!" "Yes, I am still here! I haven't abandoned you just like that." She clarified. "I am terribly sorry for your friend, dear." She said with a sad tone, most likely referring to Raphael. "But you have to return as soon as possible!" That was enough to make me sweat. "The portal is still activated, but not for long if it is discovered and intruders could arrive! I kept it there, waiting just for you, so you better consider coming back quickly! Tell me," She began, "Are the doors locked?" I quietly made my way to the doors, grabbed the handle and twisted it. To my luck, I head a satisfying 'click' and the door opened. I peeked outside, slightly blinded by the yellow lights that were lightning the hallways. There was nobody in sight.

"Wonderful!" Bierce said in relief. "If they were locked, that would have been a problem. Say girl, do you still have those powers and the crystals?" "..... No." I whispered quietly. "Please... Do not make me search for them. I will get caught and I will be in trouble." I begged her. I heard her sigh in my head. "Yes, I figured. Forget about them for the time being, are you willing to try and at least come back? With empty hands or not," She questioned me. "Remember - if you do come back, I will be able to refill your powers once again and hopefully make you even stronger, so you will be able to continue. If you return back to me and continue, think about all the beautiful things you can go back to - your family, friends.... Everything and even more." She whispered as she put me into thought. "What do you say, girl? Don't keep me waiting, I cannot leave the gate open for long."

"I..." I took a deal breath. I thought about Edward and the others. They could easily just harm me or even kill me if I tried to escape. Third time's the charm - they say, ironically. I cheated death twice, but most likely not a third time. I thought about Edward and the problems he was dealing with, but...

I remembered that he was not the only one. I remembered that I also had a life ahead of me and people waiting for me. I could not let go of my life and future just because I was selfless and cared for others. I had to be selfish - just for this once. Plus, I was not left with many choices, so I had to take dangerous risks. Staying with Edward would mean being safe and staying in a beautiful place, but the cost would be being stuck with some foreign killing machines, with no other way to keep in touch with the world. That sounded depressing and lonely to me.
Trying to get back to Bierce, however, gave me a chance of going back to my family. Whether there was a slim chance or not, Bierce's words encouraged me to fight for my life. Whether I would make it out alive or die trying, would be a matter of my fate.

"I'm on my way, Bierce." I said with a little bit of courage as I quietly existed the room, while making sure to close it behind me quietly, in order to give others the idea that I was still inside.

I did get lost a few times inside that manor. Strangely, nobody seemed to be around at that moment, but it only benefited me as I managed to find the exit without anyone noticing.

I pushed the large doors open as I quickly ran down a few stairs, as I felt the dress, gifted to me by Edward, wave around my feet. It was not long enough for me to trip onto it, so I did not have to worry about it.

I did not even pay much attention to the statues - not the moving ones, but the ones that seemed to be lifeless, as I ran. I had no time for goodbyes and formalities.

"Where do you think you're going, human?!" I gasped in pain as a strong grip held onto my arm in a painful manner. The voice was creepy and raspy. I turned my head sharply towards the statue's direction. He looked similar to Edward, but he was not the same.

I grew terrified upon the sight. He was the one that knocked me out previously and the one that stared at me creepily. Out of all the statues I had to come across, why did it have to be him?

"You thought you could escape again, huh? Too bad you won't be getting away this time!" He laughed as he raised my arm to the air, before he lifted his axe, ready to slice me in half. I yelled for him to stop as I shut my eyes closed and tried to pull back. Everything was happening so quickly that I did not realize I could die at that moment.

The pain never came. I slowly opened my eyes to see if I was dead and moved to another world, only to see the statue staring at my hand - the one he was holding and more specifically, my finger. The one that wore the wedding ring. "...." I felt a sudden sense of relief. 'Wear this and nobody will harm you.'

He really meant his words, didn't he? He was the ring - He saw that I 'belonged' to Edward, so now nobody could harm me. If it weren't for the ring, if it weren't for Edward or if I refused his offer, I would have been dead. But he didn't lie. He actually protected me.

"..... Tsk," I heard the statue grumble. The excitement of killing me disappeared from his face and it was replaced with an unsatisfied scowl. "He managed to convince you that soon?! That motherfucker knew what he was doing...." He talked to himself before he glared at me. "He knew that nobody could ever be as loyal and loving as he wants to, so he still managed to force this ring on you, huh?! That's a very smart move on his part, knowing that I could tear you into pieces the moment I saw you... If it were not for this stupid thing. I didn't expect him to make you wear it." He laughed lowly. "I guess you are... His little pet now, huh? Well, if you want to live, you better keep it that way and not stand in my way before anything bad happens to you, peasant." He threatened me as he pointed his index finger on my face. He was really scary and he found that as the perfect advantage to be rude, too. I was so glad that he could not harm me, at least. Perhaps, letting the others know that I 'belonged to Edward' could be used to my advantage, huh?

"I am taking you back to him." He then harshly pushed me, making me stumble on my feat as he forcefully draggede back by my arm as I tried to struggle against it. "Just let me go, please!" "It is such a shame, I was in the mood for killing too!" He ignored me as he started mumbling. "That fucker probably knew I had targeted you so of course, he would go that far for getting what he wants anyways." He then paused and looked at me. "The reason why Edward is in this situation is because of greed. Once he claims you, he stops seeing you as the valuable object as he previously saw you and move on to something better. You're no exception." He smirked. "After a while, he will probably get tired of you and will stop caring once he gets bored. That's why we all are here, because of our greed!" He laughed as I stared in shock at him. I didn't know if he was actually taking to me or to himself... And I was extremely confused about his whole blubbering, but I knew I did not like what he said. "I would love to see how much the two of you would last... Before one of you ends up abandoning or betraying each other. You just wore the ring but still tried to run away, so I guess you tried to ditch him already like the little bitch you are." "I'm just trying to survive, okay?!" I yelled at him with angry tears forming on my eyes as he was dragging me back. "I just want to go home! I don't want to be around this place or any of you!" The statue laughed. "Too bad for you then! You'll have to rot in this place! There is no going back, kid! Life is over for you anyways!" The asshole seemed to enjoy to see my pain. "Trying to get back home is not a form of surviving. But trying to adapt to a completely new environment in order to live would be considered as surviving, however, get your brains together!" I silently repeated these words in my head as I gave up and allowed him to drag me back, as he continued talking about how he wanted to kill me but how Edward ruined his plans by forcing me to become his 'wife' so soon.

While we were walking through the hallways, we both saw the silhouette of another man approaching us. "What is this matter about?!" Of course, it was Edward and he seemed furious. He quickly walked over to us. "He's not going to be too happy about this, peasant. What if he kills you himself now?" The statue evily whispered to me. I felt cold sweat run down my face at his words before Edward appeared right in front of us. Grabbing my other arm, he pulled me away from the evil statue. "He did not hurt you, did he?!" Edward angrily said as he checked my arms and shoulders for injuries. The other statue rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Your 'girlfriend' is just fine, 'boss'. In fact, you should be thanking me for bringing her back to you after she attempted to escape!" Edward's eyes widen at this as he looked at me in shock and betrayal. I felt regret for doing this, disappointed for failing and fear for what would happen next. "You did not try to leave me... Did you?" "Of course she did, dumb ass!" The other statue yelled in irritation. "She knew that by using your wedding ring, nobody could hurt her, so she used this - she used you to her advantage so that she could escape! Then, she would toss the ring inside the rubbish." He laughed as he looked at me. I remained silent. What could I say in that situation? I just wanted to disappear.. "She doesn't love you.. She just wants to run away by using you. How humiliating! You were used by a woman again!" He laughed. I glared at him. "... Stop." "You have no right to speak here! Did you not use him to leave the place? You used his protection to leave instead of staying with him and that is the hard truth. You would never love somebody like him because you're a selfish bitch and-" "That's enough, Lorcan." Edward interrupted while looking away from me. "I heard enough already, I don't need to listen to you any longer." With that, he dragged me with him away from the statue. My head hurt and I felt an extreme weight on my shoulders. I could feel Lorcan stare at me with a mocking gaze. He was furious that he could not kill me, but he could still make my life hell. I knew that he was trying to get me killed somehow - he was not accepting of having me here. But neither did he want me to leave.

Having the two talk over me felt like having my teacher saying the worst about me in front of my parent. I felt nervous, scared and disappointment at the same time, but this was much more serious than school matters. My life depended on it.

Edward dragged me away from Lorcan but he had his gaze fixed away from me. He did not even say a word and the whole silence made me feel uncomfortable. "...." "...." I had to say something, or I could go crazy. ".... Edward..." "Silence, Y/n, please..." He whispered with a saddened look on his face. It made me feel very bad. "Look. I am sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you..." I started speaking nervously as I glanced at him. I felt really bad because he believed that I wanted to hurt him, while I just wanted to go home, without hurting anyone. "But you did. You shattered my already broken heart in pieces, betrayed my trust and used me. It is not the first time this happens to me... Perhaps, it is a curse I have been carrying with me for years now, so I am in no position to blame you. In fact," He stopped as he looked down at me with a blank expression. "I am very much responsible for this. It was my fault to even trust you yet. I left your door unlocked to provide you with space, safety and help you be comfortable, yet I was too naive and gullible to trust you that much yet. I should have taken some measures from the beginning." "Edward, I'm... I'm just scared and worried, okay?" I told him with a trembling voice. "I am alone too... I am stuck in a completely foreign place with strangers... I have nobody I can trust, rely on or anyone I am familiar with... Please understand my position and how difficult it is for me to just accept all this!" I sniffed as I cleaned the tears I had on my cheeks using my free arm."

".... I will try harder to fix that." Edward spoke softly. "I forgot how much patience it requires to help a human adapt in a new environment... And I apologize for upsetting you." He then took my hands in his. "I need to be really patient with you, as well as work with you a lot. I don't want you to be scared forever... I want to help you get used to this place." He said as he put some strands of my hair behind my ear, clearing my vision a bit.

"But still... You did make quite a damage... And in order to prevent this from happening again," he spoke lowly as he leaned closer to me. His red eyes glowed dangerously and I could see my reflection in them. I was just a smaller, terrified human with no hope for the future.
"I will have to stay with you at all times... I need to show you just how much I am capable of loving and protecting you.... Even if it means keeping you locked inside a room for as long as it needs to tame you." He then kissed me softly with the golden lips of his, as tears ran down my face. His arms around me kept me close to him, tight enough so as I could not let go. "All these years, I suffered because I put my wealth above everything. All I ever needed was you... After all these years though, after waiting and suffering for so long... You came to me. My dear wife... I will teach you to be happy, as long as you show me your love and royalty."

Staying with him was the only choice. Bierce had long forgotten about me. She never communicated with me ever again. The portal had disappeared along with her voice. She would probably go looking for other people to do her work. That's when I realized that we were not special to her as we thought. She only cared for the job to be done. Once we were dead... She moved on to the next person. She quickly forgot and gave up on me.
Nobody would come back to me. There was no hope of going back. All I had now, was Edward. After spending some weeks inside a locked room, I rocked back and forth on the floor as I waited for him to come back. After all, he was now the only one who cared for me and did not leave me. I wanted him to embrace me and tell me that he would soon let me out of that room, so the two of us could dance together outside as he would whisper to me about how much he loved me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow, that took so long!

Thank you for reading and I apologize for the long wait! I had very little time recently so I could not update my stories lately. I've been quite tired recently and this has been sucking all of my motivation and energy.

I am really tired so I apologize if the ending is a bit too plain and unsatisfying, but I could not really do anything else at the moment. Anyways....

Hope to see you soon with more updates! Stay safe! <3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I noticed how I got 1,69K followers >:)) xD
Anyways, thank you all SO much for following and supporting me, I Truly truly appreaciate it!! 💖