Chapter 36.2: I will be by your side protecting you, always and forever

The sight of her smile eased his heartache as he tilted her head higher to face him and looked into her eyes. As he felt himself drawing closer to her face, he was going against his will to take an attempt to kiss her. 

It took her by surprise but as her eyes twinkled and her mind went blank, she realised it was a moment she never allowed herself to day dream of; knowing all along their romantic relationship was fake but it was beginning to become a reality.

At the thought of all the risks he was jeopardising, Jason managed to pull away gently before his lips touched hers.

"Rest early and stop thinking too much. I will help you study tomorrow alright?" He said quickly as he started to walk hastily towards the door.

She was stunned by the sudden change of actions but was more annoyed to sleep alone. Although it was with Lucky, she knew her nightmares would create chaos for her. However, she was already feeling sleepy as she told herself it was only right for her to leave Jason alone after the attempted kiss.

"If he did kiss me, will I be willing to break the promise to Nancy?" She wondered by herself as she slowly drifted into her paracosm.

At the point of blinking at the bright lights, she attempted to open her eyes and she saw Phoenix beaming on her. She instantly sat up to hug him.

"Are you alright?" Ivy asked Phoenix, recalling the fight they had with their mother's guards.

"I am… You were exhausted from over exerting your powers but grandma had transferred her …." Before Phoenix could finish explaining, a barge from the main door of grandma's cottage greeted them. Standing with an army of guards behind, stood the mighty king of the seven swords kingdom; Ivy and Phoenix's father, King Polaris.

"Father!" Phoenix called out in fear and was on high alert as he spread his wings wide open to hide Ivy from him.

"There's no need to hide her… I know Ivy is here…" The king groaned as Phoenix held Ivy in his wings in an attempt to run away.

"Leave her… I'm here for the queen… Petunia shall be doomed when she returns to the kingdom! Search the plains!" He instructed his guards as grandma stepped into the living area from the kitchen.

"Mother…" The king greeted as he knelt down.

"You insolent child! How could you let that witch treat my grandchildren this way?!" Grandma yelled at him as she beat him with her kitchen towel.

"Mother… I shall carry out my duties to protect the kingdom and everyone in it… Show me where Petunia is and I will bring her back to the kingdom to be executed…" The king explained as Phoenix looked at grandma doubtfully. Phoenix had trouble trusting the king as the person he was told to assassinate was clearly Ivy before this but it didn't seem to be the case now that he was instructing a search for their mother. 

"Mother, I failed to carry out my duties back then and protect all of you that I had caused so much trouble from her witchcraft. Please forgive your son, mother…" The king pleaded solemnly as grandma sighed. Only then did Phoenix understand that both himself and the king were under their mother's spell all along.

"Mother is locked in a prism at the north east of the plain. She should be exhausted from mind controlling serpents for us to fight. Ivy had just recovered and found her powers…" Phoenix explained as the King raised his hand.

"All of you should rest here…" Before the king could finish his sentence, a bright light pierced in from the window sending an explosion into the cottage as Phoenix scrambled to save Ivy while grandma stood on the front line protecting the three of them from the debris. There were back to back explosion and when Ivy could catch a clear sight of who the culprit was, she saw the face of the lady who pushed her down from the tall building from afar laughing hauntingly which sent chills down her spine as she gripped tightly onto Phoenix before a huge blinding ball of red light was heading towards all of them.

Jason was cursing and scolding himself in his room as he paced around to calm himself down for acting too irrationally.

"She was afraid but it was wrong to take advantage of her. Why did you even attempt to kiss her?!" He scolded himself. "Besides, you were going to make enemies with her soon… Jason!" He smacked his head for his stupid act.

He decided to head to the kitchen for a glass of wine instead after awhile. As he stepped out of his room, he heard a scream from Ivy's room. 

He instantly sprinted to check on her and found Ivy woke up in cold sweat. Despite the blinding lights from her dreams, her body remembered the terror from the night before instead. She could still feel Kyle's body pounding on her as she tried to get over it. She forced herself not to cry or think about the feeling but she couldn't control the trauma as she sobbed, cringing to her knees. Lucky was already scratching on to the room's door trying to get out and barking to alert Jason. In a blink of time, Jason opened the door and switched on the light as he rushed over to her while she sobbed. He could feel her trembling body while he lifted her onto his lap and cradled her. 

"It's alright, Ivy. Was it a nightmare?" She couldn't tell him it was more of the trauma her body felt from last night's incident as she eased in deeper in to his arms and wailed all her terror out.

"It's alright. It's alright." He comforted as he hugged her tightly while his heart ached at the sight of her clinging onto him as though she was begging for her life. A few tears welled up in his eyes which caught him by surprise as he blinked them back and focused on calming her down.

"I will get you something warm to drink?" She shook her head after she quieted down a little.

"Could you stay with me just for tonight, please?" She begged with her shaky voice as she sniffed in his arms. 

"Hmm…" He hummed in agreement and tucked her back into the blanket. 

"I will switch off the lights and close the door first?" She hesitated for a while in letting go of his hand but eventually nodded. He was cursing Kyle for causing such unnecessary trauma for Ivy who already had issues with her sleep and was in the midst of preparing for her exams.

Ivy watched Jason closing the door first before switching off the lights, leaving only the night light illuminating the room. The darkness frightened her a little as she shut her eyes tightly and held onto herself with her hands all fist up. She waited for him to climb into bed and cradled her again before she calmed down and held onto his arm. 

At times like this, she missed her grandma the most. She recalled her dream of her father. She wondered was he still alive and was he doing well? Every time the thought of her father would stir her feelings to feel bad for him. All along, she always hoped for the best for him as she was after all one of the sacrifices he made to earn that bright future.

Jason could feel she was more calm, hugging on to his arm as though she was seeking refuge from him. He eased in to make it comfortable for both of them. Jason's gentle gesture pulled her back from her thoughts of her father and was grateful once again for Jason to be by her side. She forced herself to indulge in the moment of refuge and forget about leaving him for a moment.

"Thank you..." She whispered as she hugged him tighter.

He smiled watching the silhouette of her hugging him as he patted her to sleep.

"You know, it's alright to be weak and defeated sometimes…" He pinched her wet nose before taking a tissue to help her dry them. "So, stop putting the burden on yourself. You're a strong woman. I'll always be by your side…" He whispered as she nodded and hugged him tighter. 

"...protecting you, always and forever…" He finished the sentence in mind instead as her gesture caught him off guard from telling her the ending which could only give false hope when the business venture falls through at the end of next week. He could only hold on to her for now with the hope of her to be mature enough to handle the situation when the time comes. Even if she doesn't, he already had plans to keep this promise.