Fifteen

What Zion had said to her caused her to freeze and blank. She continues to stare at his eyes and look at him angrily, making Zion smirk even more. Historia turns her attention to the people who are now staring and gossiping about them. 

Zion quickly grabs her hands, keeping her away from them. "Where are we going?" she asks, continuing to run and follow him. 

"To a place where no one can see us," Zion said, smiling but not looking at her. Historia looks at her hand, which Zion is holding, and tightening his grip with her hands makes her feel flattered. She shook her head and kept running, following where he was going.

Zion leads her to a quiet location, the rooftop of an abandoned house. "Here, take my hand," Zion said, reaching out his hand to her as she attempted to climb to the rooftop. 

"Why did you bring me here!?" she yelled. 

"Just take this as an apology for what you did to me earlier. After slapping my cheeks like that!? Of course, you need to atone for your sins, My Lady," Zion teases her while assisting her to climb. Historia simply rolled her eyes. 'It was his fault anyway,' she reasoned to herself.

"Are you certain it's okay to stay here for a while?" she asks, quickly taking Zion's hands. She was about to fall, but Zion reached her waist quickly and helped her stay balanced.

"Trust me, I've been coming here for years; I always go here whenever I need to be alone since I was a child." He paused and quickly took an Indian seat. He patted the roof, indicating that Historia should sit with him. "Here, sit beside me," he said. 

Historia followed him and gazed at the view before her. She smiled as she looked at the lights in town. It was like a scenery view in her world, somewhere she would go whenever she wanted to be alone or missed her father. A city light always reminded her of something her father used to say to her: even if darkness surrounds you, there will always be a light to shine through. Even if it's dim. 

As she reminisced about the times she spent with her father in her world, tears streamed down her cheeks, confusing Zion. Because of what was going on in this world, she had forgotten about her family in the other world. She misses them but can't bring them back anymore.

"Did something happen?" Zion worriedly looked at her.

Historia shook her head in response. She may want to stop crying and talk to him normally, but she cannot. Her tears will not stop streaming down her cheeks, and no matter how hard she tries not to remember what happened to her family in her world, she is unable to comfort herself. 

Zion looks at her and quickly grabs her head, leaning against his chest. "Cry if you need to." Following Zion's words, Historia began crying like a child, with Zion supporting her head in his chest. Zion felt pain in his chest as he watched Historia cry. This was the first time she saw her like this. A lady was crying in agony as if she had been trying to keep all of her pain hidden for years. He also knows how it feels.

It had been minutes since Historia had stopped crying. She didn't say anything after that, but Zion sat beside her. Nobody tried to speak, but Zion accompanied her in her silence. "The town is beautiful," Historia suddenly stated, gazing at the town lights in front of her.

"If I am not mistaken, it is the Midfield's Festival. When the clock strikes 11 this evening, floating lanterns will be released into the sky. It was part of their culture. A lantern with their wishes, hoping the Goddess of dreams could read their wishes and make it come true," Zion went on to say. "Do you want to experience it?" he asked. 

She shook her head and spoke. "I want to see the beauty of it here." Zion smiled and waited for the 11 to strike, still sitting with her in silence. He understands that Historia needs time because she is still dealing with the aftermath of what happened.

Historia's eyes gradually widened when she noticed something floating. She quickly stood up and dashed to the pole in front of her, holding it as she moved closer. Her eyes shone as she watched lanterns begin to float into the sky. "My Lord, look!" Historia exclaimed, prompting Zion to smile and stand up. He dashed to join her and watched the lanterns float up into the sky. 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he says as they both look at the lantern. Historia slowly nods her head with a smile as she watches the lanterns. 

"Hey, Duke Zion," Historia called out without looking at him. Zion turned his head to face her. "I am glad I met you. It was a sudden meetup and I didn't think it would turn out like this. You are the first person I become closer and it was very unexpected," she said. Zion's cheeks flushed in response to what she had said.

"Well, there might be something that will reveal in the future that is why we become close," he said.

Historia thinks about it. It terrified her that it would be something unexpected. However, she continues to believe in him, so she shakes her head and smiles. After watching the floating lanterns, Historia decided to return to where they were sitting, but her feet stumbled into something, throwing her off balance and about to fall when Zion reached her waist. 

Their noses were close enough to touch. It was an unexpected move! They both just stared at each other, but something in Zion's body kept telling him to do it. However, he can't stop it anymore. Zion closed his eyes and slowly moved his lips to Historia's lips.

Historia does not know what to do. She let Zion do whatever he wanted, but before their lips could meet, Zion stopped, which surprised Historia. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. He simply lifted his head slightly to give Historia a smack kiss on the forehead, causing her body to tingle and her heart to race faster. She doesn't know what she's feeling right after what Zion did to her!

After that, Zion carries her like a bridesmaid and jumps down from the rooftop, prompting Historia to place her hands on the back of his neck and close her eyes. When Zion's feet touched the ground, he slowly helped her stand up. "T-thank you," she stammered. 

"I'll send you home now; your brother might be sick and worried about you," he said, quickly taking a card from his pocket. Ashtria nods her head. Zion extends his hand to her, and she accepts it quickly.

They are now in front of the big door. Zion was about to tell the guard to inform Duke Darcus, but Redam and Darcus were now in front of them. "Duke Zion," Duke Darcus says while looking at him. 

Zion bowed quickly and apologized. "I apologize for returning your daughter this late at night, My Duke. It won't happen again, I took all the blame just don't be mad at her." 

"N-no, I was the one—" Zion cuts off Historia's sentence before she can finish it. 

"It has nothing to do with the lady, My Lord; I let her go to the Midfields to watch the floating lanterns with me, which is why we're late," he said, still bowing his head.

"It's fine, Duke Zion. Thank you for returning my daughter safely. It was enough for me," Duke Darcus smiled, causing Zion to lift his head and smile a little. 

"Thank you, Duke Darcus," he responded.

After their conversation, Zion left the residence. While walking with Sally, she was still recalling what had happened earlier. Regarding the smack kiss on the forehead and the almost kiss on the lips! What is the meaning of it? Especially the tingling sensation she felt from him and how she blushed every time she saw his face. 

She covered her face with her hands because she felt embarrassed! "It was all Vanessa's fault!" she whispered, still covering her face with her hands.