Chapter 69 - 70. Antonie
"Can I take Kerberos with me?" This time he looked disappointed, "I am afraid I will be carried away again with the music, then asleep in there. At least there will someone to wake me up if he comes along with us. I don't want to trouble you again. I am sorry if you don't like it," I tried to explain to him. To the tell truth, I did not feel comfortable if I remembered the moment he took me home.
"Of course, you can take Kerberos with you," He replied me fast.
"Fine, thank you so much," I smiled at him. "I will tell him later. See you later" I said before I opened the door and directly went into my room.
I knew that I was playing with fire. I had a chance to be with someone real. I meant someone not a doll with the immortality seal that could disappear any time. But trust me, I was not ready yet to open my heart for someone else.
For this moment, Zie was everything for me. Even though he was in the wooden body for an instant, I would fight for him although I knew I would be hurt in the end when his time was over, then I had to choose to be with another person.
I had to tolerate myself with all the ego in me. I owed him, so I would help him regain his past. I tried to hide the mounting pain and disappointment with a smile and a pretension that I did not know who he really was, and his involvement in killing Zie.
Accompanied by Azalea, I went to the detention room earlier than the usual schedule. Antonie just woke up when I came. He was surprised to see me.
"Sorry for coming earlier. I want to read what you have written. Can I? We will meet again later," I said before I put down a bag containing sweets near him. "Eat it. But don't it at once or you will get a toothache," I warned him.
I extended my hand when Antonie gave me a small book with a black leather cover. I flipped it open randomly seeing some pages had been filled up, " it is only small parts that I remember," He explained with his sleepy face.
"It is okay," I cut him softly, "After finished reading it I will give it back to you. You can go back to sleep again now," I said goodbye to Antonie and left the cage with Azalea.
…
"I asked him to write down anything he could remember," I said as we both walked out of that prison, "Some people had trouble to give me a direct answer of the limited time and it was probably he was nervous or things like that,"
"With his handwriting, it will help me to make questions that will probably help him recall anything before and after that tragedy with Dan," I sighed, "I know that my time to be with Antonie is limited, so I cannot dig out more information of his past,"
Azalea was quiet for quite some time listening to my explanation, "Right after breakfast, you can come with me. We will meet Anty. She will help you regain Antonie's memory quicker," She said as she walked ahead of me.
"If he can regain his memory, you will get the spell to void that immortality spell, will Zie come back, too?" I was really curious.
Azalea stopped in her footsteps. She was quiet for a moment before she finally turned to face me, "Have you been with the guard of the spirit realm? Hasn't he told you if the number of the spirits is always the same?" I nodded to reply to her.
"Excellent. Then you know the answer," She said lightly, "If you don't want that to happen to her, just replace him. It's simple."
In a moment I looked at her eyes deeply. Honestly, I still want her to stay 'alive' for this time, "I am afraid to replace him." I said softly.
"If you are afraid, you can do another way. Find someone else who is willing to replace you," She walked away after saying it.
Sighing and taking a deep breath, I pondered what Azalea told me. The advice sounded easy, I simply met Manji and asked them to trade the spirit for our spirit and that was it. done. Simple. But I was too afraid to do that. I could not ask someone else to replace that position.
"I don't know! I guess I can go crazy right now!" I complained to myself, "I had better eat, before dying of starvation due to thinking about this too much."
I walked to the kitchen. Hana and other servants had started eating their breakfast. She asked me to sit down, gave me a bowl of red rice, spicy green vegetables, and some fish.
"It seems you are getting thinner recently, Tha," Hana sounded worried.
"Am I?" I stopped feeding my mouth and looked at myself, "But I think my eating schedule is more regular here than in my own home," I objected, "I have to eat three times a day here, while when I am in my own world I may not be able to do that," I explained to Hana.
I turned my eyes to one of the maids who was not far from me, "Is it true I have lost weight?" I asked her.
She nodded as the answer to my question, then she put her bowl on the table and stood up next to me, "As far as I remember you were not this thin when you came here the first time. Are you sick?" I shook my head to reply to her question.
"Sometimes, Miss Azalea is too strict to her people. She is very disciplined, even no pause for breathing or rest. So, you must take care of yourself well while you are here," she added and reminded me.
The next second, I saw another maid standing up from her chair. She wrapped up some food, "Take this and put it in your room, eat it while you are doing her work from Miss Azalea," She was so thoughtful as she handed a box of food to me. It was some pieces of bread, honey, and berries..
"Thank you so much," I said sincerely. Now I felt I was not a stranger anymore. They were good enough to me, especially Hana who helped me a lot and taught me a lot of things while I was living in this dimension.
…
Right after breakfast, I went to the front of the gate. I was waiting in that place with Kerberos, as Azalea instructed.
"Miss, are you okay?" Kerberos asked after we were quiet for some time since we walked to this gate.
I smiled at him, "I will make myself fine, always fine," I was trying to convince him that I was alright.
My attention was fully on Kerberos until someone patted my shoulder from behind, and asked me a question, "Tha, have you had your breakfast?" He smiled innocently when turned to where the voice came from and was very shocked.
"Why did you make me jump off out of shock?" I was a bit upset and hit his arm slowly, "I have had my breakfast. How about you?" he shook his head to reply to me.
So, I decided to give him some slices of bread from that maid, "Eat it before Azalea comes!" I said, then I wrapped the rest for me. 'I am so pathetic. I'd better hear what that maid suggested to me so that I will not look so pitiful," I thought.
Just as Naar finished his last slice of bread, Azalea came with some guards and Yoru as well. Right behind her was a carriage pulled by three black horses that stopped right in front of us.
Azalea, I and Yoru went into the carriage, while Naar and some guards were riding horses heading to Miss Anty's residence. During the trip, we chose to stay mute. I didn't even want to talk to them unless it was an emergency.
…
The place we were visiting was supposed to be Miss Anty's residence. But when we got there, I did not see any buildings that represented a house. It was an area filled with ruins of the buildings.. I looked at Naar, confused, "We are not lost, aren't we?" I asked.