As dark clouds settled themselves comfortably above and as the daylight fade slowly but surely away, I began to lose hope. I’ve been trailing behind these beefy, uniformed guys for god knows how long. However one thing to say for sure is that, it’s cold. So very cold. I’m shivering yet, too frightened to make any efforts to resolve this. I can’t do as I please. Not in here I can’t. My legs are aching. My hair and every inch of my skin drenched by the freezing rain, but do these things really matter? Sure, I’ll get some sort of frostbite on my ankles maybe a dash of hyperthermia too, why not! What matters here is where the heck I am going to end up.

A few endless hours pass- if those were hours- and I smile. But why would I? I’ve been trudging in the dead of the night, following some random stranger going to a place where I could possibly meet my end, but I smiled...

I guess, the thought of Ruthia, my home village, my birth place. My memories with Marcus and all my loved ones really dull the pain away.

Take my word for it, Ruthia is a totally new world, you may not believe me but, that’s where fairies and angels live alongside you, and protect you, according to my father, that is... However even without all the make-beliefs, Ruthia is extraordinary, unlike any other town or village. The beautiful, almost picturesque landscapes... the glistening blue sea... the people....

Marcus...

Marcus Zeal... Just how wonderful was he... kind, gentle, considerate all you could ever want in a friend. Just remembering the days we spent together, the trips we’d been on, lightens up the mood by a lot. A real goofball he was... but who am I to say, I guess, I was the real clown.

Was he really just a friend?

This question. Gets thrown at me a lot. We seem close, that’s for sure. During my daytime you would most likely see us both clinging onto each other, no doubt. I could perfectly map out his face, from just my memory alone, but that could’ve been our long years together. His chiseled jawline... his high, pointed nose... his sly mechievous eyes, his adorable smile and his ever so fluffy blond hair. The answer to the question is no. I never really thought of him that way. Friends only. Yes, that’s it... nothing else... how would it matter how I felt anyway?

After all, Everything is gone. Even Marcus.

So what would my feelings matter? It’s best to leave it at that, leave everything. Ruthia, Marcus, everyone, but I must carry on, even if it means, forwarding onto my death....

And just like that, I blinked out of my cheerful yet painful daze. Glancing up into the midnight sky, I sigh a breath of exhaustion, relief... and it was then, that I spotted our prolonged destination. A castle?