A Hell Called Serestral - Chapter 58

“You don’t have one?” Gust was curiously staring.

“Let’s not talk about it,” Aries suddenly felt uncomfortable. He should not have started that topic.

“Gale and I have a family. A big one,” Gust shared with a sigh. He looked away from Aries and stared at the crackling bonfire. “Our bloodline will surely give birth to twins. I thought big families with plenty of twins would bring everyone great happiness. I was wrong. That’s why Gale and I left. We want to stay happy.”

“We became happier when we found another brother,” Gale beamed at Aries. “Families don’t have to be related by blood. The important thing is that they care about the happiness of each other.”

“If you don’t have a family before, you have one now,” Gust added with a proud grin.

“I know,” Aries got up on his feet and looked away from the twins. He was uncomfortable being stared at while his face flushed with joy. “I’ll just take a walk.”

“Be careful. It’s already dark. You can lose your way,” Gust was always so strict, like an older brother.

“I’ll be back soon,” Aries promised.

^########^

Aries would have returned after a few minutes of stretching his legs but a hovering tiny ball of light had caught his attention. That was the first time he had seen something like it in that forest and he could not stop the cautious side of his brain to check it out. Something so unusual could bring harm to the three of them.

He quietly closed in on that tiny light and saw a girl that was probably a few years younger than him. She had blue hair that was falling elegantly down to her waist. Her eyes were also blue in color and sparkling like sapphire. She was wearing a black and furry overcoat. She was magically creating tiny balls of light with her gloved hands then she was gently blowing them away, making them scatter all around her.

It would have been an astounding sight if Aries did not notice that the blue-eyed girl was covered with faint black smoke.

That was the first time Aries had seen someone so young getting possessed. If not for the black smoke around her body, the girl looked so innocently happy.

He approached the girl as quietly as he could but the ground was not cooperating with him. He stepped on a twig and the slightest sound it made had alerted the girl.

The balls of light instantly vanished and she looked straight in the direction of Aries. For a few seconds, they just stared at each other with shock. And in the next few seconds, the girl took a few careful steps backward until the shadows of the trees and leaves had covered her.

Aries ran but when he reached the place where she should be standing, he had seen nothing. He looked around and searched further into the forest but he did not see any trace of the blue-eyed girl.

He would have continued his search for another hour or two if Gust and Gale did not find him.

“You said you will return soon,” Gust strictly reminded Aries.

“Are you planning to run away from us?” Gale was frowning. “You cannot just run away from us! You should… at least say goodbye!”

“I will not run away,” Aries reassured the twins. “I just saw something that needs to be investigated.”

“So… will you leave us?” Gale furrowed his brows.

“Not anytime soon. I need to make sure that this place is safe for you and Gust. And if I ever leave, I promise to return. You are the only family I have and this is the only place I want to call home.”

“Then let’s go home,” Gale smiled with relief and put an arm around both shoulders of Aries.

Gust joined them and they walked back to their home with arms linked with one another.

^#######^

That was the last piece of memory Aries had remembered. The next time he regained consciousness, he heard people talking and those were no longer voices of children. Gale and Princess Pieffer were having a hushed conversation. But Gale was starting to panic and his tone was getting louder.

“It’s been an entire day. Why is he not waking up? The first time I met him, he only slept for hours and his situation at that time looks way worse than today,” Gale moved out of the bed and started to pace back and forth. “I think I need to get Gust.”

“Just wait. Aries will wake up,” Princess Pieffer was trying to calm him down.

“Are you sure?” Gale could not be easily comforted.

“I’m sure.”

It was a good thing that the princess was cool, calm, and collected most of the time. That attitude of hers was usually contagious.

“I should not have done this,” Gale slumped on the bed and it seemed that he was starting to calm down. “I thought he is only pretending, like my twin brother. I should have believed that Aries will never lie to me. Are you really sure he will wake up soon?”

“Gale, you are overreacting. I’m already awake,” Aries opened his eyes and stifled a grin.

Princess Pieffer glanced at him and smiled with relief.

“Aries, I’m sorry,” Gale was extremely guilty. “I doubted you.”

“It is my fault for forgetting a lot of things,” he sat up.

“You don’t have to force yourself to remember,” Gale quickly helped Aries. “I will tell you everything that you need to know.”

“I need to eat,” Aries could no longer avoid smiling. “I missed the grilled fish.”

Gale was stupefied and he stuttered when he asked, “G-grilled… f-fish?”

“Do you want help in catching fish? Princess Pieffer and I can lend a hand. You can also tell us over dinner what happened between you and Gust.”

“Aries…” Gale cried.

“What?”

“ARIES!!! MY BROTHER!!!” Gale tightly wrapped his arms around Aries and cried harder. “You remembered us! Thank you!”

Aries blushed not because of Gale but because of his stomach that growled with hunger.

Princess Pieffer stifled a laugh.

Gale let go of Aries and wiped the tears in his eyes as he said, “If you can move around, you and Princess Pieffer should catch fish. I will make a bonfire and prepare everything we will need for dinner.”

Fortunately for them, the sun was still burning brightly when they walked out of the house. Gale had given Aries two fishing rods and a box of baits but the latter had set it aside for a moment. Aries wanted to show Princess Pieffer how to catch fish using his bare hands. It had been a long time since he did that. For most of his life, he had been stiff and formal. He was glad to finally remember that once in his life, he enjoyed being a child.

And he was grateful that Princess Pieffer was also enjoying the moment. She was so good at following instructions that she caught her first fish after practicing for only a few minutes.

Gale joined them at the shallow river after creating a bonfire and arranging all the things that they will need for dinner.

After three hours, they were already enjoying a simple and nourishing meal.

“Tell me what happened here,” Aries finally said after emptying his third bowl of rice and third stick of fish. “I remembered that Gust doesn’t want to become a house leader. Why is he in there and working with a Celestial Knight?”

“I don’t know,” Gale sighed with disappointment. “Out of the blue, he accepted the house leader position.”

“Since when?”

“Ten years ago,” tears brimmed in the eyes of Gale. “It’s been a long time, Aries. And I always wish that we can go back to how we were. Just like this… enjoying dinner together…”

“You didn’t notice anything from Gust back then? Was he pressured?”

“Pressure is nothing new to him,” Gale nibbled the grilled fish with annoyance. “Our family kept on asking him the same question since he was three years old. That was the reason Gust preferred staying in the dungeon rather than his room. That is the only place in our mansion where he could have privacy. When my twin brother learned a few tricks from Guardian Aika, we moved out of the house. He said he will only return there to lock himself in the dungeon and learn more tricks. He had been doing that for years and I didn’t notice anything strange from him. Even when our family became more persistent, I never saw him wavering. But then… he suddenly accepted that hateful position…”

“What happened to the previous house leader?” Aries curiously asked.

“We were told that he died from an incurable illness. But I doubt it,” Gale frowned and his hands trembled as he clenched them. Rage was obvious in his eyes as he spatted the words, “Father probably killed his twin brother.”

^#######^