Golden rays of sunshine danced through the floor-length window and trickled onto a peach-haired girl, enveloping the girl in a warm cocoon. Birds chirped faintly outside and fresh dewdrops glittered over the wild array of blossoms that peeked above the windowsill. Tiny rainbows danced throughout the dewdrops, flooding the interior of the café with rays of soft color.
The pedestrians that passed through the café all wore smiles on their faces, basking in the warmth from the sun’s ray and the chime of the fluttering birds. It was a beautiful morning and could not have been a more perfect Summer day. However, inside the café the peach-haired girl felt as if she were standing in the middle of the North Pole. The blood that ran through her veins had turned ice cold and her body emitted small tremors.
“Everly, can I have my coffee, please?
Everly’s body continued to quiver, the feeling becoming more intense at merely hearing the voice of the person in front of her. A pool of darkness began to roar, filling her with hatred, regret, and anger. The negative emotions formed a whirlwind that settled in the pit of her stomach and threatened to rush out of her throat like aggressive tidal waves. Her teeth sunk into her lips, preventing herself from the outburst, and her hands balled into fists as she lowered her head. Faintly, she recognized the taste of blood from the cut that had formed on her lips.
Her eyes stayed fixed on the swirly fonts of the coffee cup in her hands.
Edward… Edward Gilderson.
Her eyes were burning. She could still feel the sharp pain that radiated from her back, a wound from long ago she had hoped to forget. It was an effort to not crawl across the counter and throttle Edward right then and there. But there he stood patiently with one hand extended, waiting for the coffee Everly still grasped tightly.
As she turned her gaze upward, Everly was met with a pair of sapphire blue eyes. His glossy blonde hair radiated in the dim indoor lighting and a gentle smile was fixed upon his face. He looked as if prince charming had appeared from a fairy tale.
But Everly knew what lay behind his seemingly gentlemanly demeanor.
When he noticed her looking at him, his lips began to curl. There was no time for words as a splash cut through the otherwise quiet conversations of the café.
The whole coffee shop turned in unison, conversations becoming silent as if someone had just hit pause. A waitress dropped her napkin and there was a collective gasp and jaw-dropping as the customers took in the scene.
Everly sucked in a deep breath, now calmly tossing away the empty coffee cup and wiping the counter clean before beaming an apologetic smile.
“I'm sorry, my hand slipped.”
Edward grabbed a napkin from the holder on the counter to wipe away the coffee from his face, feeling thankful he had ordered iced coffee instead of hot. He had not seen that coming. Being from one of the noble elf houses, blessed with powerful magic and charming looks, Edward was always popular among the girls. Everyone looked up to him and when the time came, he knew he would be heir to the Gilderson house.
He was confident that he would be able to catch Everly’s eyes. But this mishap… maybe another way of catching his attention? Interesting.
A mocking smirk flashed through Edward’s face in mere seconds, so quickly that only Everly was able to discern it. She knew exactly what he was thinking. Back then she had been so blindly in love and had assumed it was confidence. Now, she knew better. He was only as full of himself as ever.
“It's okay, don’t worry about it,” Edward said, plastering that fake smile back on his handsome face. He put his payment on the counter, the picture of grace and forgiveness, but Everly knew it was a ruse. Deep down, Edward was the type to always look his nose down at those he thought beneath himself. Which, to be honest, he considered to be everyone.
This expression he had often shown her, the one that said he was aware everything would go as he had planned. This was the same look he gave her when he took away her magic and tore her wings from her back.
“ You're such a fool,” he had snarled, ignoring her pleas and cries, ignoring the pain she would have to endure from having both her magic and wings taken away.
To this day she still recalled every single detail. How she had begged and begged them to leave her alone. The screams and cries emitted from her worn throat. Eventually, she has stopped crying, but the pain was etched there in her memory. It wormed its way into her soul, reminding her until all that was left was an ache and an emptiness for what had been. She felt like a broken doll, shattered, and cast aside, left for ruin.
She thought she had those painful memories buried deep in her mind and after so long the past would not taunt her anymore. She was wrong. She was so agonizingly wrong.
The scenes replayed in Everly’s mind hitting like water upon rock over and over. And now, she remembered who Edward was. Never again.
Everly felt a jolt in her body and her eyes began burning with the pain and hurt from long ago. Distantly, a voice in her head screamed at her to end this monster in front of her. Her eyes glimpsed the edge of a butter knife and she reached to grab it, wanting once and for all to cause Edward pain just as he did to her.
A small, warm hand grasped her wrist. “Ev-Everly—”
Everly turned, her face still twisted in anger. The girl who had called her was taken aback at the look. “Are you okay?”
Noticing her frightened expression, Everly’s eyes filled with concern. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her own reflection. Her face was pale and a sheen of sweat layered her face. But her eyes. Her eyes shown with a maniacal glint that made her shudder. Blinking, Everly noticed how quiet the shop had become and the mix of fearful and curious stares.
“Marie, I…” Everly’s voice came out broken and raspy. She sounded so fragile, lost, even to her own ears.
Concern instantly took hold of Marie and she stepped forward, her hand sliding down to capture Everly’s in hers. A gasp escaped her quivering lips, “Your hand is so cold!”
She reached to touch Everly’s forehead, searching for any sign of fever.
“You look so pale and you’re sweating so much.” Marie dropped her hand and bit her lip, wondering what on earth had occurred between her coworker and the customer to have caused such a reaction.
Everly released her grip on the knife and tried a small smile. She forced her eyes to become soft and welcoming once more as she turned toward Marie.
'Breathe Everly. It's okay, he hasn't done anything. Nothing bad has happened…yet. Stay calm.' Everly thought to herself as she tried to calm herself.
“I’m sorry Marie. I don’t feel so good,” she sighed apologetically after taking a deep breath. Unfortunately, that breath did nothing to help calm her nerves.
Nodding, Marie took the apron from Everly. “Go home and rest, I’ll tell the boss for you.”
Everly gave her another small smile and grabbed her things, running out of the coffee shop, not stopping to notice the still shocked customers following her with their eyes. She’d deal with Edward later.
“Please…please don’t do this…no…n-no…No!!!” Everly screamed, eyes flying open. Sweat dripped heavily from her forehead as she took in her surroundings. For a moment she sat there, chest heaving from the still present nightmare. She turned to flick on the lamp and looked around. Safe. She was safe. The silly plush banana on her bed lay haphazardly on the floor near her floral-patterned curtains, thrown from her flailing limbs. She reached across to pluck it up and squeezed it tightly to her chest. The nightmare had felt so real, so…present. Everly pushed the covers back and walked to the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. She leaned against the sink, finally looking up at her reflection as droplets shimmied down her face. Everly looked over her shoulder, trying to imagine the space where her wings should have been. She bit her lip and clenched her fists as a surge of anger rose in her. She would never forgive Edward for what he had done t
Everly honestly did not see this coming. The other night, she had just made the decision to flee far away from the characters in the web novel and had that goal of hers plastered on the wall in her room. To execute her plan, she needed funds which were why she continued to work hard in her job. She did not expect to be cornered by a group of thugs who grabbed and dragged her into an alleyway. She was on her way back from the grocery store after her shift ended at the café, what could have made the thugs thought she was rich that they would rob her? Is it that expensive ice cream in her bag of groceries? She shouldn't have caved in on her craving for that ice cream. Darn it! But, the thugs were unforgivable. The audacity of assaulting someone in broad daylight had Everly frozen in shock. “Let me go!” Everly cried, finding her voice. Her grip tightened around her recycled bag of groceries. The spiky-haired thug, who seemed to be th
“Fools!”Edward threw a glass of red wine at a scarred man and the cowering individuals behind him. The man lowered his head, liquid dripping down his shaggy locks. His eyes focused on the carpeted floor and it took all his effort not to show any visible anger.“You couldn’t do one simple thing I instructed, could you? How hard is it to capture a little girl!” Spittle flew from Edward’s mouth as he paced back and forth, chest heaving with rage. There was nothing gentlemanly about his demeanor now.He had planned to come to Everly’s rescue after his henchmen confronted her, but Everly was nowhere to be seen when he had arrived. The men he’d hired had been on their knees wheezing and looking dazed, wiping at their red pepper-covered eyes. Grunting in disgust, he eased their tears away with his magic and turned back toward his hideout.~ ♧ ~The sky was dark by the
It's been days since what happened at the alley. Everly couldn't help but worried about the boy she encountered at the alleyway when she was cornered by that group of thugs. When she finished her shift at the coffee shop, she always found herself wandered off towards the alley carefully poking her head around to see if she would by chance bumped into the boy again. Another part of her was also concerned that the group of thugs might catch her again, but as more days passed, she encountered neither the angelic-looking boy nor the group of thugs. Just when Everly thought the boy was just another passerby in her life and that she'll never meet him again, things took a surprising turn. ~ ♧ ~ Once again, Everly took a side track and decided to sneak a peek at the alley when she was on the way home. She was taken aback when a little boy crashed into her. "I'm sorry, I did not see you there." The little boy looked a little
The man cursed under his breath, he flew as fast as he could but the twin-tail girl continued to tail him. He looked over his shoulder and his eyes widen.Standing on a white magic circle was a slim girl with snow-white skin and bright round eyes; her peach-colored hair that was tied up in twin-tail danced along with the wind. She stood on the magic circle firmly different from the frail look portrayed by her appearance, her posture was sturdy and her eyes were burning with determination.She looked just like a delicate white blossom, a daisy to be exact. However, like a daisy that looked pretty and fragile, it could thrive in inhospitable environments just like Everly.Everly lifted her arm over her head and then with a quick wave she palm was pointing right at him. In merely seconds, the magic circle that was at her left shine, splitting into three; one on her left, another above her head, and one more on her right. The man sucked in a breath when
Everly had no idea how long she had been running, her legs became heavier at each step, panting heavily. Earlier she managed to summon a light paper crane to follow the man with the little magic she had left. Now, she was tailing behind the light paper crane that's leading her down the correct path. The light paper crane she summoned was another of her light magic spell. It acted just like a tracking device. It was following the trace of magic on the light thread that was left on the little boy's waist. She's currently surrounded by houses, probably in a residential area. She held onto the rake tightly with both her hands, gritting her teeth as she continued to run. When the corner of her eyes caught on something plastered on the red brick wall, her steps came to a halt abruptly and the rake in her hands dropped to the ground. Everly's golden orbs widen, her mouth went dry as she gaped at the sight in front of her. She felt like a pebble was toss
Everly flashed him a smile before she stood up with her legs wobbly. She balanced herself before looking at him once more."This is not the most painful experience I've endured," she muttered, covering her eyes with her long lashes, masking her true emotions.The man cried, charging towards her with another attack, "I have no idea what nonsense you're yapping about but I'm shutting you up!"Everly was ready this time. She side-step avoiding the attack while two smaller magic circles appeared behind the man. With a swift jump, she stood firmly on the magic circles. The magic circles multiplied her speed acting as a smaller version of her flight magic circle and improved the swiftness of her movement. She easily caught up with the man.Everly clicked her tongue, she needed to keep her distance, she was not confident with close combat.The man turned, swinging his leg at Everly with a sidekick. Everly crossed her arm in front of her and ca
Blaze, the boy who comes under the dragon bloodline, heir of the hidden yet powerful Dragon's Clan-The Dragon Prince. They're a hidden clan. Even though their clan doesn't have a lot of population, however, all of them were powerful and strong.They also held one of the sacred treasures, the Dragon's Flame.There were four scared treasures, The Dragon's Flame, Light Tiara, Sea Dragon Scepter, and Dark Grimoire.Nobody knew about this but Blaze was actually on a journey to seek the lost Dragon's Flame. Blaze was sent to look for it ever since their clan's sacred treasure was lost. According to the story, Blaze failed to retrieve it, and... he became the villain because his whole clan was massacred.Everly stared at the red-haired boy, the boy noticed her gaze and turned to look at her. She gulped and shifted her gaze, earning a confused look from the boy. Seeing all their attention is on the boy, Everly took gradual steps away from them.Denze