One dream down

Chapter 7

'You are and always have been my dream'

 Fear gripped her hard "Just let… me go. I… I promise to run far away" she stuttered, intending to release him from the hug but he caged her with his hand.

"What if I don't want that?" 

'What does he mean by not wanting to?'

 The lights turned on abruptly, as if to save her and she looked from his chest to meet his eyes.

 She was wrong, Tavon's eyes were not red, as she thought it would be.

"I should also reconsider keeping you as a subordinate" he said and she gasped, pushing him away from herself.

"That was not funny" 

 He chuckled lightly after hearing that.

"My father has some funny looking lights for the house and you just got scared for nothing"

 When Mia heard that, she got more embarrassed.

"Anyways, what should we do?" She asked, looking around the empty house that gave off a neutral feeling.

'So, this house is on the south bank of Enchantara?'

"Where are you going?" She asked when she saw Tavon going up a stair which was in the right direction.

"Sit, we're going to wait for him"

 She gave a nod and went to sit in one of the chairs, everywhere was so quiet.

'But wait a minute, why didn't the father lock his door? Anyone can just come in' she questioned herself.

 Anyone could but maybe no one dared to.

 She suddenly remembered the letter had father had given to her.

'The magic tourmaline stone should be here, right?' 

 She hadn't been able to ask Tavon but she was sure he wouldn't answer if she did or he might even become more suspicious and kill her.

 Her life has just been in danger ever since, she met him.

 Mia got up and looked up the stairs, there was no Tavon in sight, she wondered where he had vanished to.

 She started climbing the stairs slowly, trying not to make a sound. 

 When she got to the end, she looked to her right and left but there was still no sign of Tavon.

 Where she stood, leading to a hallway, there were about fourteen doors with seven by each side. She wondered if the stone was inside one of the rooms.

 Walking up to the first door by her left, which was very close to her, she opened and shot her head inside, slowly. It had a well made bed and a big wardrobe by the side.

'Maybe this is his father's room' she thought.

 She entered the room and closed the door slowly.

'Could he have placed the stone in his room?' She started searching the bed, under it, but there was nothing. 

 She walked towards the big wardrobe, opening the doors. She couldn't believe she was about to search through another man's wardrobe, the first being her father, he had hid her favorite plaything because she had taken too much likeness to it. Sometimes, he just did things she did not understand.

 Looking through the hanging clothes on the wardrobe, she still could not find anything. 

 Sighing, she came out of the room and walked to the next, she opened the door and stood stunned to see that it was empty.

 She sighed closing it back, moving on to the third and creaked it opened

"Who are you?" A man's voice asked and she jolted from the shock to look at him 

 He had long black hair and he looked like he was a farmer or something, due to his clothes.

"Uhm, I…I"

"You… you are here, again?" He asked and she looked at him a bit confused.

'Here again?'

"You are back" she heard Tavon's voice as they both turned their focus to him, who looked at them.

"Tavon," the man called, smiling, spreading his hands for an embrace.

 Tavon sighed but hugged the man, in spite of it.

'His father?!' Mia shrieked in shock, what is he going to punish her with, he just saw her intruding, what is he going to say?

"What are you…?" Tavon faced her to ask.

"She was just looking for the relieve room" the man said, interrupting Tavon, as he glanced at her.

"By the way, she has become more beautiful"

"Do you know her?" Tavon asked

"Show her to the room first" he replied

 Tavon showed Mia to the relief room which was the last door and she went to relieve herself, by force. 

 She wondered why his father didn't say anything.

 When she came out of the room, Tavon looked at her for a moment and she asked "what?" But he scoffed and didn't answer. 

 He started walking to the second empty room that she had opened and she followed suit as they both went inside.

 Tavon's father was sitting inside, on top of a straw mat, in a meditating position and Tavon sat in front of him with Mia sitting beside him.

"Leave the room, Tavon, it's between us" he told Tavon, who looked at him, like he wanted to roll his eyes

"Fine" he muttered, standing up and leaving the room.

 It was so awkward to be alone with his father who she had heard different rumors about.

"Mia" he called, dropping his hands and looking at her, with his witty eyes. 

 She was surprised he knew her name.

"You want to open your cultivation gate?"

"Yes" she replied simply

"Did your father finally agree to this?" 

'Finally?' right, he had been speaking like he had met her before.

"Have we met before?" She asked, inquisitively and his eyes narrowed.

 Oh, oh, maybe she shouldn't have asked.

"You don't remember but you came here, when you were nine with your father"

"I did?" She asked, pointing to herself, surprised.

She doesn't seem to have any memory of ever coming to this house or to Enchantara at all

"Yes he had almost the same request- it was concerning your gate"

"So, what happened?" She was finally mounting the courage to talk to him.

 He sighed before saying:

"Let's not worry about that, your father would tell you himself, when you are ready" But… she found herself being worried.

 She said it before that she didn't care about magic, it's not because she didn't wish to have it, it's because she wasn't born with it and moreover, her father might never tell her, himself. Due to his nature of always taking steps for his daughters.

"I believe I'm old enough to know, tell me, he wouldn't open up to me" she said, hoping he would answer her.

"Are you sure you want to know?" He asked, raising an eyebrows and she gave a big nod.

 Of course, he also wanted to tell her truth, he just wanted he to insist.

"Your father closed your gate of cultivation"

"What?" She asked, shocked.

'This is not true, right? Besides, what reason would he have to do that?'

"I did warn him and I don't know why he still did it but he came here asking for that and I obliged, his reasons particularly his choice"

 His choice? Didn't she also have a say in her own life?! No, this can't be true.

"I could have an idea, though. It could be because stay-in-wives had a higher bid to rich men, who wanted women that they could easily dominate without them fighting back. He wanted you to just be like that and marry a rich man"

 Mia was dumbfounded looking at him. Did he want to sell her out that badly?

"If you still don't believe me, just ask him" he said and swirled his hands in an upward manner, producing different colors of light.

"For now, you are lucky because there is indeed a way to open your gate of energy"

 He directed the light towards her and she shut her eyes in fear. 

 It seemed to be taking almost forever before the light stopped and she opened her eyes, something was surging inside her.

"Be calm" he warned her.

 It was circulating her whole being as she indeed tried to stay calm, she felt it pass through her head, legs, upper body and finally went through her hands, as she jerked.

 She could feel it, she wasn't the same anymore, she wasn't empty.

"You are reborn" 

 She looked up to see him smiling at her.

"I can feel it" she said, accepting the new found feeling.

°°°°

 Back at Arcanador's centre, Shamika was helping master leoric arrange some stack of magic books, as she stood on a ladder with master leoric behind the desk, reading a book.

 Other scholars would have grumbled doing this, but she didn't because she got to see him more closely.

"Master, I still can't believe the famous assassin story was kept from us for a long time, there were different rumors so we couldn't know the truth" she said and master leoric just nodded

"We will handle it, don't worry" 

 He was lifting the books for her with a levitation spell while reading his book and she was placing it on the shelf.

 When suddenly, she turned to receive a book but lost her footing and started falling towards the ground.

 She was sure she could die at this very moment.

 She opened her eyes when she realized she didn't die, master leoric was holding her in his hands, he had caught her before the disaster.

"Mas…ter" she called and he helped her to stand up.

"Thank you" she said, almost blushing

"Be careful, Shamika," master leoric told her, going to his seat.

 Shamika smiled as her eyes darted to a portrait by the wall near him, she walked up to it and studied it- it was a painting of a beautiful woman holding a sword, everyone who came to his study knew that this was his late wife, she wasn't fortunate to meet her, though. 

 The woman's blue eyes sparked like a diamond.

"She's beautiful " Shamika said and master leoric eyes darted to her, looking at his late wife's painting.

"She is," he said but she couldn't miss the sadness in his voice.

"You must have really loved her," Shamika said again, smiling.

"Yes, I don't think I can ever love another woman" 

 Shamika remembered saying to her friends that she wanted to just watch him but… she was hurt by his words, was there no other space left in his heart for anyone?

"She was beautiful and powerful, I can't seem to forget her" he said and faced his book.

 He didn't notice the look in Shamika's eyes.

'Don't worry master leoric, I'm going to be like that, then you will have no choice but to love again' she thought as she faced the portrait.

'I will take care of him,' she said in her mind, to the woman.

•••

 The door creaked open as Tavon looked up from where he was standing and saw her coming out, she was looking a bit lost.

"Mia" he called and she shot him a look.

 On the other hand, Mia was surprised to hear him call her name for the first time, it sounded sweet to her ears.

 His father then came out of the room, looking at them.

"You both should stay for the night and eat"

"It's not that simple. She wouldn't be able to explain to her housemates where she was." Tavon objected, immediately.

"Oh, come on Tavon, I'm sure beautiful Mia would love the sunrise too, don't spoil the moment " he countered, winking at his son, who instantly rolled his eyes.

'He is nothing like the outside world portrays him to be' Mia thought as she watched the duo argue over her stay.

"She would try that blue raspberry flavored bath that you like so much" his father said again and Tavon scoffed "No way"

"You could even take the bath together so you don't have to waste the flavor"

"Father!" Tavon yelled and Mia froze.

 A bath with Tavon? She can't see a man's nakedness because it would be so uncultured but… but 'how would that feel?'

"Don't even dare think of it" Tavon seeth, looking at her and she almost chuckled at his expression.

"We are leaving," he said, going to hold her hand and pull her along with him.

 His father was following behind, as they went down the stairs.

 It felt good to be held by him.

"Tell mother, I stopped by" Tavon said and his father nodded.

"Goodbye then, since you are refusing my invita…" his father was saying when Tavon slammed the door while still holding her.

"Tavon! You're going to regret this" his father yelled through an opened window and waved at Mia as she chuckled, waving back at him.

"Let's go" Tavon said and still held her hand as he was about to teleport them

"Are you not going to hug me?" She asked Tavon, who rolled his eyes.

"Why would I do that?"

"But you did it, when we were coming," Mia said, looking in another direction. Hoping, hugging was a criteria to teleport.

"My father got to you. It's not a criteria" he said, killing her dream, as he simply held her hand and this time, they vanished back, near the forest.

"Since your gate has been opened, you would start training tomorrow " he said, finally leaving her hand and walking away and she shouted happily:

"Yess! Goodnight Tavon! I will surely do my best"

And with that, she got her dreams:

'Powers and a master'