"May her pains lessen"

[December 15th, 2021]

Aurora gasped loudly while slapping Sean's arm lightly and fastly, trying to wake him up so he may also feast his eyes upon the sight she was seeing.

He woke up with a grunt. 4am in the morning while the train was still running smoothly.

"Look! Look!" She exclaimed in a whisper, trying not to wake anyone else up.

Sean pointed his eyes at the direction she was pointing. It was an amusement park.... Dinosaur themed.

He chuckled before patting her head lightly, then brushing her hair with his fingers gently.

Dinosaur plushie was a great idea after all. She deserved pats.

"Hm?"

"It's cute." Still, his reaction was blunt.

She pouted a little before staring back to the theme park that started to fade in the morning fog.

"Tch."

Since the fog covered the window, Sean grabbed her arm and pulled her to face him.

"Didn't you sleep?" He asked.

"I did…" She raised her hand joining the tips of her thumb and index finger, leaving only a hair worth of space. "A little." She chuckled.

Sean passed another smile at her. His smiles were encouragement for her, for whatever she was doing. Even if it was just talking. It was an encouragement to talk. That's why he smiled the most when he was with her. Even though he wasn't the type to smile a lot.

It just naturally came out. She was so cute and bubbly, who wouldn't smile?

"Sean." She leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Should we get off at the next stop?" Her evil instincts clicked.

Sean stared at her, narrowing his eyes at first, then breaking into a smile.

"Do you think we should?" He asked, whispering into her ear.

She vigorously nodded.

"I think it would be suspicious if we left now. Let's leave during our return. We can always elongate the trip, you know?" Sean was just as evil when he whispered his great plans.

They were given only 3 days to complete their trip. After 3 days, they had the graduation ceremony and were to return back no matter what.

But, Aurora had already thought about it. She didn't want to waste her time attending a graduation ceremony. She could rather elongate her trip.

Sean was more than ready to support her in any matter. Whether it was elongating trips, or committing mass-suicides.

Aurora also agreed to his crazy plan, though it was crazy.

The train stopped 2 times before it reached their destination. The campsite! No.. Not yet. They would have to take a bus to the campsite.

The crew woke up, barely and took off for the bus.

Luckily, the buses there started as early as 5am so they could immediately get a bus.

It took them about 10 minutes before reaching the little camp site.

Of course, one of the cabins was reserved beforehand by Ms. Ann; The trip planner.

The cabin was small, like she had mentioned. So, they decided to set up a tent as well. For now they all sat on the cabin floor. It had a second level as well. Though, it was even smaller, shoved to a side.

They scattered the snacks on the floor to eat them… For breakfast. They could think about lunch later. Sean's plan was to catch and roast fish. Though Emilia hated the idea.

They were siblings, yet so different.

Sean was used to any environment, but Emilia was born with a silver spoon. So, she wasn't used to camping. She was used to partying in Villas, attending expensive diners, hiking with professionals and even when hiking, staying at hotels. This was a new experience for her.

She hated the idea of catching her own food. Why catch it and waste your time when you can get a better version by spending some dollars?

However, that's what camping was for. Relying on mother-natures best already provided resources!

But for now, snacks were a priority.

They were glad Aurora's father got them some snacks. And there were a lot!

"By the way." Emilia muttered. "I have dinner… Or lunch." She added. "We can catch fish for… dinner I guess. But I have lunch."

Emilia grabbed her backpack and pulled 3 wide thermostat pots out of her bag.

"Mom was worried if we'd do fine on our own or not." Emilia said, opening each pot to show scrumptious roasted meat hot pot, waiting for them. It was still warm. "Mom used to live in the country-side so this was very common there. It's one of my favorites."

Seems like lunch was ready. They just had to go fishing for dinner.

After finishing their breakfast, which was mostly snacks, the boat went outside to set the tent. There's no camping without a tent!

The boys opened the folds of the portable tent to set it up against each nail markings already made by previous campers. They strengthened it by pushing the nails down causing it's dome shape to appear.

The tent wasn't as cozy as the cabin in the midst of all the snow. The boys decided beforehand that they'll sleep in the tent and have the girls sleep in the cabin.

However, just imagining how much snow was going to fall tonight sent shivers down their spine. Ah, anything for chivalry.

"Shouldn't we go help them?" Aurora asked as she looked at the window of the cabin from inside, seated on the cozy floor.

"I bet they're already done. We'll help with fishing. I'm the best fisherwoman over here so…" Giselle said as she scoffed.

"You're so confident these days." Lucy chuckled. "Got a secret significant other or something?"

"Nah. I don't wanna date no one."

"Why not?" Emilia's eyes twinkled as she stared outside to look at Ethan.

"Too much work. Meh."

Well, Giselle always had a bunch of drama on her hands. No wonder she liked her space. Lucy liked her space too, for different reasons. Like… Sleeping and gaming, her own time, her own space.

The boys returned inside triumphed over the tent building. They laid down on the hard but cozy cabin floor for a little rest till they went fishing. They were too ambitious… in a good way.

"So you wanna talk?" Giselle looked at Emilia with a sinister smile, before moving her eyes towards Lucy.

She eyed her to grab Emilia. So, Private Lucy did exactly as the great General Giselle's eyes spoke.

"Wait, wait!" Emilia tried to break out from Lucy's grip, but all in vain. "Why are you doing this to me?!"

The dramatic scenario seemed to enthuse Aurora, the evil doer who presided over the military. She chuckled. 'Ha. Ha. Ha.'

The boys, or, the slaves stared at the scenario in mere confusion and agony.

"Your verdict?" General Giselle looked at President Aurora.

"Do it." She chuckled brightly, wickedly.

Private Lucy tightened her grip around Emilia's shoulders, grabbing her tight enough so she doesn't move a lot.

"Decide your fate, mortal!"

"What are you guys doing?!"

General Giselle started to laugh hysterically and wickedly, before she fronted her fingers to show Emilia.

"N-No!"

Poor Emilia's screams echoed through the cabins, in the woods as she was tickled remorselessly by General Giselle.

"Okay! Okay! I'll tell you everything!" Emilia gave up and Private Lucy loosened her grip.

She slipped off and sat down breathing heavily. They were monsters!

Giselle raised an eyebrow. The boys were still confused, but they couldn't care less so they went back to their tiny nap again.

"I'm telling.. I'm telling you!" Emilia said before clearing her throat. The drama was real. "So, the other day he bought me a bunny rabbit plushie and took me to dinner. I asked him out and we started dating. HAPPY?"

"No, we want detail. There's no way he would just… do all that out of nowhere." Aurora asked, and seemed enthused.

"Okay,... So, I was buying this thing, alright. But he called his dibs at that. And I thought it was unfair. So to compensate for my loss, he bought me a plushie and took me out for dinner." She stopped to catch her breath. "He was really nervous and stuff. But I told him first that I've had a crush on him. And you know what? He had no clue." She scoffed, the girls chuckled at his small brain. "I mean, I had been flirting with him… Couldn't he tell? Tch. Anyhow, he was going to reject me because of our classes but then I told him I don't care. Then he asked for time. Later that midnight, he hit me up with a text. I went out of my bed, past-curfew hours to meet up and then we shared a kiss. Professional." Emilia explained thoroughly.

"Honestly, cute, but cringe." Giselle shared her thoughts.

"You could seduce a Mafia Boss and steal all his inheritance with those professional skills." Lucy suggested.

"Or the Mafia Boss could seduce her and steal her inheritance." Aurora chuckled.

"Fair." Emilia muttered. "I'm not into Mafia bosses… or bad boys. I like guys like Ethan." She added.

"Mafia bosses are hotties." Lucy stated her thoughts.

All the girls burst into laughter. No way in hell a Mafia boss was going to date a gamer. They stereotypically have exquisite tastes.

Maybe…

"I like chill dudes. I'd date someone I wouldn't have to ask about dating." Giselle said.

"Ooh~ Good luck finding them." Emilia chuckled.

The girls had their fair time of girly talks, before the boys woke up and started to get ready for fishing. Emilia and Aurora were in charge of lunch so they stayed in the cabin to further heathen up the hot pots Ms. Anderson had sent. The cabin had a wooden stove in the middle of the floor, but starting the fire was still a challenge. Until Ethan took out a matchstick though.

No he didn't smoke, he just had it because he suspected they all would fail at starting the fire.

The boys, along with Lucy and Giselle went over to the lake for fishing till lunch was ready.

Emilia had also brought sweets. She hated having meals without deserts. There were a bunch of varieties. From coconut pies, to blueberry donuts. She loved sweets.

While Aurora was heating food, Emilia took sheets and went outside to assemble it. They were going to eat outside, right beside the lake. She straightened the sheets and placed the already made sweets on the sheet to support it. The wind was blowing rapidly. Wouldn't be fun if their food flew away into nothingness.

Her imagination was wild.

She ran back inside to help Aurora heating the food.

The others put bait on the hooks and tossed them into water afar. The water was full of fish but it was going to take a long while to get something on their baits.

According to Giselle, she was born best at it. She confidently tossed her hooked string into the water waiting for a big boy to grab it and fall into her trap.

Unluckily, today not a single fish was going to fall into her hands. Whereas the others had already caught a bunch of fish for the night. How unfortunate.

The lunch bell rang as Emilia snapped spoons together to catch their attention.

The Sheet was filled with a beautifully cooked meal. The Andersons were sure to be extreme, in a good way.

They all sat across each side of the sheet and feasted upon the hotpot, followed by a marvelous desert and a little snack that Emilia had saved, tomato ketchup chips.

Hence, it was not a bad idea afterall to let Emilia tag along with them.

The lunch was delightful. Especially after all that fishing. Mrs. Anderson was a good cook despite being rich and surrounded by all the home-chefs. Ah, right, she used to live in the country-side. No wonder her hands cooked magical meals.

They could eat it all day long. But good food doesn't even take a second to disappear. Plus, they were camping! That meant 'preparing their own food from mother-nature's vast supply of goods.' As Aurora's father would quote.

Mother-nature wasn't that bad. It was actually quite peaceful. Plus the cabin was so nice and cozy. It had a little sight-seeing balcony on the backside. You could see all the mountains covered pure white in snow.

After lunch, there was still a lot of time remaining for the sun to set. So, the crew decided to take a walk through the big forest. Lucy and Giselle decided to stay on their turf to catch some sleep.

They had been sleeping all day long on the train as well. Maybe Giselle caught Lucy's germs or something.

The rest just divided into couples, obviously, and went for a walk opposite ways to each other.

The snow hadn't been plowed at all; being a forest that is. But it made it fluffier to walk on.

"How are you feeling so far?" Sean asked Aurora, thinking if she would be tired from all of that travelling.

"The weather here is so nice. I don't think I feel sick at all." She replied, hopping around on the fluffy snow.

"Should I… Believe that?" Sean asked in concern, following her uphill as she stomped around.

"Yes!" She took a large stomp and stopped. The snow beneath her feet was slowly slipping downhill, causing her to lose balance.

"Don't trip on me!" Sean said, giving her a palm to replenish her balance. "Do I have to remind you about the ankle, last year?"

"Why're you so corny! I'm not tripping."

Right. It was her first trip. For her memories it was. Sean shouldn't be the one to talk. Furthermore, when else could he see her stomp away on the unlimited inches of snow? This was the first and last time. Better not take it for granted.

"Hey… You like gardening and stuff right?" He asked out of the blue.

"Yes, Mr. Detective." She replied while mocking him.

He grabbed her gloved hand and led her uphill.

"Your hands are cold." She said, raising his hand up, interlocking it within her and blowing on it. "Big surface area!" She nagged after losing her breath.

He chuckled, continuing to lead her.

They reached a cliff that was on a side path from the hill they were climbing along. There was a big raised rock, covered entirely with snow almost making it look like a big pile of snow. It had a large space underneath it, protected from all that snow.

The pine green grass was visible, along with a beautiful multicolored flower bed.

"Woah!" Aurora totally liked it.

"So, Ms. Gardener, Can you identify the flowers for me?" Sean asked in anticipation; He had no idea what those flowers were.

"They're Lantanas!" She mentioned after taking a close look at the small petaled, bright colored flowers.

Their root system covered the entire surface under the rock and it's tip faced directly south. That explained the full sun these colorful fellows had been receiving to stay alive.

The contrasts were just brilliant. It was like all in one! Baby pink, yellow, magenta and even red! It was a beautiful blend of colors.

"When did you find this? This is awesome!"

"Before fishing, I went on a little walk. Just to see what nature offers."

Aurora opened her phone camera and gave it to Sean. He snapped a few pictures of her. She was beautiful. Even more alongside nature's beauty.

He tagged closer to her for a selfie but it was blocked by the rock tip. He was too tall. She chuckled before taking over the phone for the selfie and stretched her hand across, framing it perfectly. As soon as she clicked a perfect picture, her hands shook and the phone fell off of her grip.

She grabbed her trembling hand with her other hand to stop it from shaking but it didn't stop.

"Are you alright?" Sean asked in concern, trying to grab her hand.

She pulled it away quickly.

"Hm." She murmured before standing back up in an instant, only to fall back down.

"Aurora!" Sean reached her in concern.

Why… Did she suddenly lose her balance?

Her entire body trembled and she lost focus. Sean tried to pick her up to escort her back to the cabin but she pushed him away.

"S-Stop freaking out. I-I'm fine." She stuttered as she tried to stand up on her own.

Her legs were still trembling but she forced her way through. Breathing rapidly and heavily.

She had just prayed yesterday. Maybe she forgot something. She forgot to ask for her pains to lessen. How greatly she regretted that!

[December 15th, 2020]

She couldn't recall any event from the day.