"Why is that?" I asked; fingers played with his soft locks.
"I always wondered about the prophecy. When you were born, Nightmare had declared she'd keep a watchful eye on you. To be honest, I was angered at the fact the gods allowed you to be taken. Sure, I wasn't like Ryder who knew you, but I guess the love Ryder had for you began to rub off on all of us through the bond, and we were just as mad. Some more than others," he explained.
I remained silent, anxious for him to continue.
"I kept on thinking, why did the gods let our princess be taken? Was this punishment for us not gathering earlier? Why was I ready to dedicate my life to a princess I'd never met face to face? Was it the gods’ doing? Why did the Goddess who was a part of planning this, suddenly disappear and abandon us? I had so many unanswered questions, and it frustrated me."
He opened his eyes to stare up at me.
"Eventually, I came to terms with it. I realized that everything happens for a reason, but I couldn’t think of one. It didn't stop me from fearing that all of our hard work was in vain. Or the reality that you could have been one with the stars. But deep within, I had a small speck of hope, that you were alive, and we'd find you. That flicker of hope was what helped me reach that moment in the dungeon when we found you. I know I came off as a mean, ignorant guy, but I feared you weren't who we had been searching for. You were...just perfect in my eyes. You were different, funny, and I personally thought the talking out loud thing was cute. I just didn't want to be comfortable with accepting the reality we'd found you until I knew for sure," he finished.
I smiled, lowering my head to kiss him softly. "I'm glad that small flicker of hope gave you the courage and patience to find me, Elias," I praised.
He blushed, avoiding my gaze. "I'm glad too," he whispered, closing his eyes.
We stayed for what seemed to be hours in the comforting silence of the forest; Nightmare and Moonlight later returned to sit next to me on the log.
"Elias?"
I glanced down at his peaceful expression, realizing he'd fallen asleep. I smirked, pressing my lips lightly to his forehead.
"Mew?" I turned my attention to Nighty who lifted her head to me.
"I know. I think he does deserve a power nap." I lifted my hand and petted Nighty who purred in response.
"Whatever happens in the future...don't leave me, okay?" I whispered.
She nodded. "Mew."
Chapter Twelve
DAY 4 17:00 P.M.
SCARLET
"Makoto? What are you drinking?" I questioned.
"Chocolate – hiccup – milk," she replied, gripping her glass of milk like I'd steal it from her.
Makoto and I were chilling in the kitchen, waiting for the guys to return. They went to go get groceries after stating we were out of milk and needed marshmallows for our campfire tonight.
I'd left to take a shower after Mako had finished and returned to her with a glass of what seemed to be chocolate milk in her pink unicorn onesie. We'd agreed to wear our onesies just to annoy the guys; both groups in agreement that onesies were a hassle which made us want to walk around in them whenever we could during the trip.
"Makoto. Where did you get that chocolate milk from?"
"The silver box of wonders," she replied before she hiccupped again.
I raised my eyebrow eyeing the drink before heading to the fridge.
I opened it; my eyes quickly scanned the contents. "Mako. There's no milk here," I pointed out.
"It was hidden in the brown bottle," she replied.
I did another scan; my eyes landed on the culprit. Aww fuck. I pulled the bottle out, thankful there was still a good half left.
"Mako! This is Baileys! Not milk!" I stressed.
She tilted her head before she hiccupped. "What's Baileys? Is that a puppy’s name? Where's Baileys the puppy?" she questioned.
I groaned. "Baileys Irish Cream, Makoto. It's alcohol," I argued.
"Oh," she replied, hiccupping.
I better tell the guys.
I pulled up out my phone, thanking the gods I had Kai's number thanks to our multiple Galleria events. He picked up on the first ring.
"Hey Scarlet, what's up?" he questioned, sounding calm.
I placed the bottle of Baileys on the counter.
"Where's Ethan?"
"He's next to me."
"Can you put the phone on speaker?"
"Sure."
"What's up, Scarlet?" Ethan asked sounding confused.
"Did you bring Baileys and leave it in the main fridge?" I asked.
"Uh...yeah? There's no room in the alcohol fridge so I put it there," he replied.
"Why?" Kai asked.
"Guess who thought it was chocolate milk," I presented.
Silence
I was about to continue when I heard the screeching tires.
"Christian! Are you trying to kill us all?" Junho yelled.
"My bad, taking a shortcut. Scar, we’ll be home ASAP," Christian called out.
"I didn't think she'd open the Baileys," Ethan defended.
"Sleepwalking Mako does a lot of things you don't question. That's why we said to make sure all alcohol was in the other fridge in your room," Ryder mumbled.
"Scarlet, make sure Mako doesn't drink anymore," Kai ordered.
"Got it. Mako—" I began, turning my attention to a missing Mako and bottle of Baileys.
"Mother fucking, where did she go?!” I shouted.
"She probably heard you were going to take her chocolate milk away," Serenity pointed out.
"How?! I didn't even say anything," I argued out loud, ignoring the voices coming out from the speaker.
"If you hadn't noticed, Makoto has sensitive hearing," Aurora pointed out.
I quickly scanned the room, catching a glimpse of a gold horn poking from behind the black chair in the corner of the room, near the glass entrance of the backyard.
I quietly made my way to the corner, pressing the phone against my shirt to muffle the sound.
"My chocolate milk. Milk loves me. I love milk, and we're happy," she sang quietly, hiccupping.
"You have to admit, this is pretty adorable," Risuki announced.
You out of all people, should NOT have let this happen! She has never drank alcohol before.
"First time for everything," Risuki replied.
I could practically imagine him shrug without a care in the galaxy. No catnip for you!
"Now that's playing dirty," he mumbled.
She raised the bottle to drink more when I snatched it, scurrying back. She slowly peeked over the chair; her turquoise eyes met mine.
"My milk?"
I froze; my heart sank at the sadness in her eyes.
"It's...not milk, Mako. Don't cry!" I defended, feeling immense guilt.
"But... I've not finished it," she continued.
"Um, it's finished!" I announced.
"No, it's not," she argued.
I stared at the bottle, taking a deep breath. I'm so fucked. I lifted the bottle to my lips, chugging the remains until there was not even a drop left.
Makoto eyed the bottle as I lowered it, sighing in relief that it was over.
I turned it over demonstrating that it was empty. "See, empty now."
"You finished it," she accused.
"Yes...cause, I was thirsty too!" I argued.
"Oh." She stared at me before she began walking to the door.