Chapter 5: In The Midst Of Melancholy

Chapter 5: In The Midst Of Melancholy

"I am happy we've had this moment," Andrew speaks softly as his gentle and wide arms are covering the soft-honey haired girl. Glory couldn't utter a single word and was standing still inside the arms of the man she loved. She felt how tight and tender the man's arms were around her, like a soft scarf around her neck.

'Weird and awkward' she thought but she couldn't think of any reasons why Andrew was doing this, but one thing is certain, it warmed up the cold feeling that the rain above them was bringing. For her, it is an answered silent prayer that she could ask for more.

Andrew's arms slowly loosen, his jade-like orbs turned down and met Glory's. They were like that, staring at each other and standing still, soaked by the rain. Words couldn't seem to escape from their mouths; instead it was written in the cold air.

"I-Is something wrong?" Glory managed and didn't take her eyes off.

Andrew smiled lightly, his thin lips started to move. "I just felt like... I need to do it." He answered softly.

Glory frowned. "I-t's just that, it's unusual for you to be like this... I think," She nibbled her lower lip and wanted to say more but something in the back of her mind pulled her back. She longed for this moment to happen, a fairy tale which every girl dreamed of. She was there staring back at his jade-like orbs for the longest time, watching its greenery fleeks that reflected her reflection inside of it. His almost perfect face smiling at her should be the reason to be blissful but something felt odd. Andrew was never a stranger to her and considering her strong feelings towards him, she knew that something was wrong. A girl's intuition. She didn't realize that she was already making a sour face.

"Please stop making a face like that, it ruins your cute face," Andrew smiled and was about to brush Glory's hair which was covering the top of her head back with his hands but then his eyes flashed and looked at his left side. Glory felt a jolt of fear when she saw the man's expression in front of her. He may be outrageously handsome but this is the first time she saw him being serious. His olive colored brows that are the same as his hair meet each other and stare intently at the distance.

"A-Andrew?" Glory asked nervously and slowly turned her head where the man was looking ahead. She froze and creeped out when she saw a silhouette on the narrow street, a figure of a man standing still and seemed like observing the two of them at a distance. Both Andrew and Glory were standing and observing the mysterious force in front of them. Glory tried to peer into the thick fog but it was useless, she couldn't see the man's face and even what it looked like. All she knows is that he is wearing some cloak and was quite taller than her, other than that, there's nothing more.

"Weird guy," Andrew mumbled. "Who are you?" His voice echoed but he got no response. They were both stunned by the shadow standing in front of them. Andrew held Glory's hand tightly and tried to put her behind him. Glory stayed behind Andrew, feeling fear well up as a lump formed in her throat. The raindrops continued to shower down, and as she was breathing heavily, her natural instinct screamed at her to run. She thought that the place was too wide and they could run wherever and make an escape. Her mind kept on telling that to her.

"Andrew we should go," she nervously whispered behind and held his hand tightly, she looked at him but Andrew was staring still at the man in the cloak, he barely glanced at her.

"What do you want?" He asked again, this time with a low threatening voice. His jade-like orbs darkened hatefully but it disappeared in an instant when they both saw the man slowly raising his hands and gesturing in an offering.

The two of them gasped and blinked repeatedly, they couldn't understand the situation they were in. "W-What's with this guy?" Glory stammered and made a step back as the creepiness crept further all over her body. She thought 'This is the weirdest thing I had ever seen.' It was raining heavily but she knew she was sweating cold.

"I don't have any idea what that guy wants but trust me, I will protect you," Andrew whispered as he tightened his grasp around Glory's soft hands, she was incredibly suffocated with the fear inside her chest but as she heard those words, she felt safe and it somehow ease the uncomfortable feeling rising all over her. She nodded at him, but then the sky rumbled overhead and an unpredictable ruinous, destructive lightning flashed near them that almost got the two of them!

Glory shrieked out and was blasted off by the tremendous and deadly force, she fell heavily on the ground and her head got hit! Because of the deadly impact, she was stunned into silence, there was no force coming out from her body as if she was already lifeless. Andrew got the same fate and was blasted on the wall with a heavy thud sound that made him unconscious. Glory's mind froze as she watched Andrew lying on the cold and wet pavement, her eyes already shutting down but she could still see him lying motionless facing away from her. Her hands were shaking and desperately reaching him, but she already reached her limit, her eyes shut and she completely lost consciousness.

Black smoke came off where the lightning hit, the ground was severely damaged and was crumpled into pieces. The mysterious guy just stood there as if nothing happened. He slowly put down his hand in disappointment. He started to make a move. As he walked, it revealed a black leather boots, its heels tapping on the ground that made noise in the street. As he walked, it soon revealed that he was wearing a moss green cloak covering his identity, a silver badge of a black tortoise with a snake around it that was placed near his chest glinted.

Headed for Glory who was unconscious and was lying on the ground, he stared at her, from below, his tall and proud nose can be seen as well as his thin pinkish lips.

He stood there for a while observing the girl before he decided to go where Andrew was lying. He glanced at the guy as if he was mesmerized by his appearance and studied him from head to toe, concluding that the lightning didn't kill him. The guy raised his head and looked upon the sky, his lips opened partly in a grin, no one knows what's in his mind.

*****

Glory opened her eyes as a droplet dropped on her face, for a moment she couldn't move until she tried to raise her body, which she regret immediately as it only resulted to an intense pain that spiraled through her back, she panted hard and saw a bench near her, she crawled like a wounded soldier until she finally got the hang to lean her body. She closed her eyes and was breathing heavily, giving off a strange feeling, her head was cloudy.

"--!" She opened her eyes and turned her head vigorously and looked around her. That is when she noticed that the rain had already stopped and the sunlight was already peeking through the gray and thick clouds. She looked thoroughly and saw the shattered pavement, it pains her to see its condition but what made it worse is when she remembered that she and Andrew almost got killed.

'Andrew!' She screamed in her mind. She desperately looked around. She tried to carry her own body but with every attempt to move, there was a shocking pain that ran all over her. Still, she endured and was successful in supporting herself. She was holding her back and was breathing hard while searching for Andrew.

"A-Andrew?" Her voice cracked and she repeated herself calling his name but she got no response. The man they saw earlier was no longer at the place too and there she was alone and wounded. It was like a movie scene, she can't really imagine what really happened, she felt like she was in the middle of a climax and left hanging there with a lot of questions. Something like a hazy anxiety wraps around her body, she felt that something terribly ominous was invisible. She squinted at the fragments that dimly floated in her head, trying to determine the true nature of the mysterious ominousness. Panic rose inside her, making her breathe heavily. Her delirium was rising, and continued to increase when disturbing and horrible thoughts clouded her mind, her fingernails raking through her soft-wet-honey-colored hair which fell straight to her shoulders.

'Who was it?' Her eyes widened in agony. She tries to think but the more she does that, the hazier her mind becomes. She was so messed up, she had internal screaming and wailing, she no longer knew what she should do. 'Where is Andrew?' She asked herself but the answer is vague and no one knows. She fell on her knees and did not know what she should feel. Extreme nervousness and heaviness are causing her to breathe hard. She thought, "It's funny to think that what is happening seems very impossible." As impossible as she was surprised when she heard her cell phone ring and saw Pearl's name on the screen.

With her still enduring the hysteria, she picked up the phone which is miraculously still active despite getting wet from the rain. As soon as she heard Pearl's voice, her eyes widened in a big surprise. Pearl waited for her response in tense silence, but she couldn't as she was immediately overwhelmed with equal terror and pain.

*****

Glory hurried over, and according to Pearl, they are in the hospital right now with Jade and Janine. She didn't bother anymore and went straight to where her friends are right now. She was filled with unbearable weariness regarding her situation but after hearing her friend's condition, it seems everything got worse. She ran as if it was the bravest thing she could do, the buildings around her seemed distorted and were covered in mixed colors of haziness, it's causing her to run like a drunk man. She was lost, her mind that is, and it's suffocating her. She was still running then stepped out to an intersection where she was tripped and fell over into a puddle.

In her mind, the distorted buildings with lips appeared and they all made a grin, all of them burst into laughter and it was echoing all through Glory's mind. A vehicle which passed a deep puddle of water splashed her upon passing through. She held her tears and her hand formed into a fist, she was trying desperately not to give up but the imaginary laugh from the tall buildings inside her head continued. She tried to cover her ears but at the end, she wept. A wail tore free from her throat, the nasty, cruel voice that came from the distorted buildings, echoed and sounded like a devil whispering directly through her ear.

But still she was reminded of a familiar voice, a light that passed through in the midst of her melancholy and she remembered Andrew.

She is not weak.

She is not weak.

Her friends need her and she should be there.

She clenched her fist and stood slowly from almost drinking the water in the puddle.

She took off, running, flying, and leaping over the steps as she ran, the previous imaginary buildings which were laughing on her disappeared and turned into normal. She panted hard for breath, she kept running. The way the puddles splashed up around her, making her clothes feel heavy. Well everything is heavy right now and she wanted to cry it all out badly but she needed to be strong.

Less than an hour after she arrived at the hospital feeling an overwhelming desolation, she was pacing. Her attention caught a couple crying. This is the sad reality once you put your footsteps on the lonely and cold tiles of a hospital. It is full of people who are facing the biggest challenge of their lives and that is to play games with death.

She immediately asked a nurse who raised her brow in surprise upon seeing how messy she was. Still, the nurse told her the room Jade was staying in and immediately left. She was right in front of the room. She was looking thoroughly at the door and before she got the will to open it, she inhaled deeply.

"Are you alright?" She hastily asked as she opened the door. Her eyes grew wide as the first thing she saw were Noctis, Edward, and Yujin on three separate beds, all unconscious. As if she was shattered into pieces the moment she saw their condition. Her heart felt like it was crumbling and cracking, as she stood there staring in horror, her feet slowly entered the room, on the other corner are the faces of the three girls who became part of her life, their deeply sunk dark circles under their eyes were still visible, she knew they were crying the whole time.

"Glory!" Pearl spoke and stood up from her seat, stunningly surprised as she saw her condition. Despite being wet, she immediately approached the soft-honey head girl and hugged her tight. It didn't register in her mind immediately, she couldn't absorb the situation all in all, she was hugged there like a statue. She felt the extreme sadness her friend was feeling and then she came back to herself. She embraced all that sadness and welcomed her back tightly. She rested her cheek against the side of Pearl's head.

"W-What happened? Have they got into a fight?" Glory managed to ask. Pearl raised her head and gave a sad stare to her friend.

"You won't believe it when we tell you everything," Jade began cautiously, almost whispering without even letting go of her sight to the boys. Her hands are formed into a fist, terribly shaking.

*****

They sat all together on a bench. No words came out of Glory's lips when they told her what happened, she was staring back at her friends in disbelief, with mouth partly open. She thought, 'I could not say that what they were saying wasn't true but now is not the right time to doubt them.' She turned her head once more to the boys who were lying on the bed. It seemed like tears were about to fall down quickly, seeing how wounded they were and body covered in bondages; the pain was piercing through her heart.

"The person who did that to them said that they were from a different planet," Pearl began, her voice cracking and shaking. "I mean, this wasn't reality anymore! Who would believe in that nonsense?!" She raised her voice a little bit, almost mocking the thought. It's obvious that she was trying her best to hold up the tears from falling down. Her hands above her knees are trembling from all of the emotions that are getting piled up in her heart. "B-But... After what we just witnessed, it's hard to say that all of it was just lies!"

"I know exactly what you mean," Glory decided to speak while her gaze was at her own feet. The other three were quite surprised, and looked at each other in curiosity. "You see, something strange just happened to me too." She started quietly and looked at her friends with an uncomfortable face, she shivered for a second. "I was with Andrew, everything was just fine and normal until a man draped in a cloak appeared right in front of us." A chill coursed up her spine as she was telling what happened.

"What happened?" They asked in unison. Glory gave off a shrug and combed her hair back before answering.

"I don't really know what happened, both Andrew and I were almost hit by lightning, I became unconscious and when I woke up, the man in the cloak and Andrew were nowhere to be seen," She explained, muttering under her breath, then nibbling her lower lip.

"Do you think that...?" Janine suggested but then she stopped, frowning and held her temple as she couldn't bear to even think of the thought. No one could give a response and the whole room was silenced. A situation that is more painful than an open wound that's been accidentally touched by someone, or a knife that cuts through the skin, it hurts so much.

*****

Knowing the people in their household are worried sick, Jade and Janine decided to go home. They need time to absorb everything that was cast upon them, they need answers to several questions that are circling inside their minds. Even with the same situation, Pearl and Glory decided to stay and spend the night at the hospital.

"Still, things are very unbelievable," Pearl said in a very helpless tone, she already took a warm bath, on her hand was a paper bag with ready to eat foods inside it. She slowly closed the door of the room and looked at Glory who was sitting quietly, her eyes staring at the boys... There was an incredibly long silence before she decided to respond.

"It's hard to believe... The three of them, I can't imagine that they are more than being human, they are from another planet that we do not know. What if something worse happened to them? I can't handle it..." Glory managed and looked down in deep thought. Pearl, who seemed a little calmer than earlier, headed towards her and sat beside her. She touched Glory's cheek and pinched it a little, she let out a faint smile seeing her friend a little bit at ease squishing her cheeks.

"There was a man, a knight in silver armor," Pearl muttered. "He looked like one of those fairy tale characters, an antagonist perhaps. His name is Daniel."

"Daniel?" Glory curiously asked as she looked at her friend, Pearl nodded with a sad face.

"A mighty handsome blonde guy with a sword. Based on what I've heard, he said Noctis and the others were all traitors. He said that he came here to chase them back. Aside from that, I no longer knew what they were talking about," she continued explaining with a frown and long gaze.

"Traitors? For what reason?" Glory asked, shifting uncomfortably, Pearl shook her head quickly.

"I don't know either, everything happened so fast, in fact it was so scary that I wouldn't want to remember it, a nightmare in reality," Pearl sighed and leaned back on the wall. Glory's lips turned down in a frown and averted her eyes for a moment before glancing at the boys.

She let out a deep breath, "I just realized that people's feelings are connected to each other. No matter how far or near, we always feel the same thing, and right now all I know is that we're afraid, sad and scared that anytime someone will take away our beloved." Glory spoke, and for some reason that made Pearl's heart ache, she shifted her gaze back at her friend and for a moment she thought she was right. For her, it was so painful to witness a person's misery, she never thought in heaven that a day like this would happen, but what pains her most and squeezes her heart is how the truth is engulfed in a black smoke that suffocates them. Thinking about everything just made her depressed.

Right now they are facing the fear of losing someone they hold dear. Glory was still gazing at the boys before she shifted her head back to Pearl. "I know, I know how much you are scared, the feeling of losing someone you care for is too much right? What's important is that they're safe," Glory knew how Pearl feels towards Noctis and after the terrible things that happened, there's no way they wouldn't be scared. She looked down at the white hospital tiles and continued to talk, "That's exactly how I feel, I don't know what I should do. I'm becoming crazy about finding the reasons why all of this is happening. Andrew disappeared, the boys got hurt, and what's more frustrating is that I cannot do anything."

Her heart almost exploded with all the feelings but Pearl hugged her, trying to get rid of the pain she was feeling. Somehow she felt like she was not alone, she still has friends who are there for her and she is grateful.

*****

Pearl woke up uncomfortably, she couldn't remember falling asleep, she just remembered lying there, trying to focus on their surreal situation when she drifted off in the middle of thinking. In her head, she could still hear the pounding of her heart that seemed to be a bomb ready to explode in any minute, the echoes of her screaming in agony and despair are bouncing around the walls of her head, as if it made the walls to tremble and collapse.

She stayed lying there for a few minutes and when she shifted her body, her mind returned to what was happening at the moment. She thought that it was already morning but she was wrong when she peered out at the window and saw the nightscape of the city. Then she looked back at the wall clock only to realize that it was only an hour that passed when she fell asleep, she yawned quietly as she stretched her arms over her head and then she noticed Glory who was sleeping peacefully at the corner; her head was resting on the table. A faint smile appeared on Pearl's lips, she remembered the extra blanket that the nurse gave her earlier, she slowly rummaged through the paper bag beside her and picked it up.

She headed for Glory and carefully put the blanket all over her, the faint smile on her lips didn't disappear. She was careful enough not to wake up her friend and while she was doing it, she thought, 'Like me, she knows and understands how I feel. Fear, that's all and nothing else. She let out all her feelings and explained to me what happened to Andrew. He suddenly disappeared from her sight. I can't stop worrying because now a bad idea is forming in my mind. She mentioned that she saw a silhouette, could it be the same person who attacked Noctis? C-Could it be Daniel? I just hope my thoughts are not right.'

With that, she turned her gaze to the boys. 'At least they are safe now.' She breathes at ease.

She rested back on the bench and released the heavy feeling inside her chest with a sigh. "Everything that happened today was too heavy for all of us. All I can think about is that we are in the same situation... What are we going to do?" She asked herself, whispering.

Her eyes shifted to where Noctis was, he was still sleeping in bed and it seemed like he was a prince who was now in a deep sleep. She slowly raised herself from leaning and looked intently at the ravenette. At a fast phase, the heavy feeling inside her chest seemed to melt down as soft and gentle roots of ache crept inside her heart. It's not a pain of madness or treachery, it is sadness.

Her earthly orbs glistened as tears were about to fall. She thought she could handle the emotions all by herself but with just a single flash of images that happened today, she was an overflowing glass of wine. Her iris reflected Noctis inside it. When she had the thought of Noctis disappearing and fading into the air, she felt so scared, it was embarrassing to think that she had been so weak during that time, she could not even protect him and he was now lying in bed, unconscious and weak.

She sat down next to him and watched him breathe as he slept. "I couldn't do anything," She whispered, she looked at the ravenette with such pain, his bruises, the bondages that wrapped his arms, his soft hands that weren't moving.

"Oh Noctis..." She mumbled. She slowly reached the ravenette's hands but was quite hesitant to hold it like she was asking for permission; she was afraid if it was alright to do so.

At the end, she gathered the courage to gently hold his hands. She was surprised by how warm it is.

She thought, 'If it is true that Noctis is not from this world and should not be living together with me then why does it seem so right to feel okay when he is here with me even if it is so wrong?'

That thought whispered in her mind. She drew a slow breath and glanced down and met the ravenette's handsome face.

'The way I saw him so weak, his pitiful situation, how he called the name of the man who was about to end his life. At that moment, I saw the intense pain in his eyes. There was something in his gaze that was pulling me, so I was sad too.'

She just kept watching him, from his eyes to his thin pinkish lips. Then another thought came to her mind, 'With him being so quiet I wonder if he also feels sadness too?' She vigorously shook her head and looked at the other two, she already knew the answer to that question, she saw how sad he was and it was probably the same for Yujin and Edward, who would have thought that they were keeping a huge secret from everyone?

"T- This is not about you."

"Repeating the same process as back then, falling in love with a foreigner."

Tears came out in the corner of her eyes as those phrases echoed in her mind. "W-Why... Am I crying like this?" She asked herself as she suddenly remembered those words. She wiped her face and tried to stop but tears just kept flowing.

"N-No good..." She mumbled, gasping for air. "I'm no good... I'm thinking of that even with all that happened?"

"I-I'm so selfish... But it really bothers me to know that he already loved someone... The unexplainable pain lying in my heart is unbearable but, I'm the person who's beside him right now..." Some of Pearl's tears dropped on Noctis' cheeks. She continued to release all the frustration inside her before she held the ravenette's hand firmly.

"Noctis... There are a lot of things that I wanted to do, I wanted to be a chef and to be able to work with a lot of people. I wanted to go and see the beautiful places outside Alvarez and taste all the different kinds of food... I wanted to travel and feel like I own the world and then I will write a lot of poems about it... But part of the things that I wanted to do..."

"...Is to share my life with you..." She whispered softly as she smiled painfully at the ravenette.

Her eyes are filled with courage. She decided she didn't want to see him like this again. She needs to protect him. She will keep him safe even if it means risking her own life.

She swore to herself and sent it off to her dearest.