Tangled By Fate

The man looked at Veronica and asked, "And who is this lady with you, Miss Catherine?"

Catherine introduced her friend, "She is my friend, Veronica."

Veronica stepped forward with a friendly smile, "Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr…"

"The pleasure is mine. Please call me Vincent, mademoiselle," Vincent bowed to her.

Although she was prettier, Vincent's eyes were on the blonde woman beside him.

His grey eyes smiled at Catherine and his hands were still grabbing her hands. "Miss Catherine, I've never seen such pretty hair as yours. My eyes have been cleansed by your beauty."

Sebastian wanted to cough blood. 'What is with him? Why is he acting like this? And why am I so offended? Argh!'

Feeling irritated, he glared at Catherine and Vincent's joined hands. 'Why isn't she saying anything?'

He glanced at Catherine and he nearly slipped from the tree. 'Why the hell is she smiling?'

He didn't see wrong. Catherine was indeed smiling.

When the guy named Vincent was holding her hands, she felt his warm touch. 'Tall figure, grey eyes, dirty blond hair, tanned skin, gentleman – so attractive!'

And, she was over the moon.

Veronica cleared her throat. "Can we go to our rooms?"

He let go of Catherine's hand and quickly apologized, "Oh yes! I'm so sorry I was delaying you. Please come this way."

Vincent showed them around the large resort and gave them two rooms in the isolated area.

Veronica noticed it and tugged her friend's sleeve. "Hey Cathy, isn't this place a bit far from other rooms?"

Catherine enthusiastically said, "Yes, you always liked nature, and these are the only rooms that are isolated from the rest. It's quiet and best for relaxing. We will be here for one day. So, you need plenty of rest. And, if you are bored, there is a festival going on somewhere down the hills. We can go there."

"But what if someone attacks us? It's already getting dark." Veronica looked around suspiciously.

Ever since that incident with human traffickers, she was too afraid to go out alone. She reflected on her action. She kept imagining something bad might happen if she kept someone around her without protection. The thought scared her. 

"Who will dare to attack us? I'll protect you!" Catherine showed her mighty arm muscle.

Her action didn't seem to assure Veronica. She still hesitated.

Catherine paused before "All right, don't worry. Some guards are keeping an eye on us secretly from the forest. If anything happens, they will protect us."

Veronica was finally relieved. "Okay, let's freshen up."

She went to the washroom and took a bath. In the library, she wasn't able to bathe. She could only wash her face, arms, and legs. Now that the warm water touched her body, she felt like her body was purified.

After drying her body, she dived into the bed.

'Softness… ahh… When was the last time I saw a bed? Oh, four days ago.'

Her eyelids were heavy. Before she could blink, she fell asleep.

In the other room, Catherine took a bath and changed her clothes. "My luck! I wanted to cheer her up and I'm the one who became gloomy. I didn't have the chance to talk to her about the incident with Sebastian and Merlin."

"She was all bloody and it was so scary. It was a good thing I asked Ovior to send us some guards or it would be hard to keep her here. What am I supposed to do? How can I make her feel better?"

"I wish I could help her with finding those silver ring murderers but I have my work." She sighed and sat on the bed.

At that moment, someone knocked on her door.

She took a deep breath to cool her mood and opened the door. Her eyes widened in surprise when she noticed who it was.

"You!"

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A few hours later, Veronica opened her eyes. Whatever tiredness she had was long gone.

The room was completely enveloped with darkness. A faint light was coming to the room and illuminated the room.

'If Arthur was here, the bed would be warmer,' she thought.

As she tried to snuggle deeper in the blanket, she suddenly realized that she wasn't feeling cold. The bed was indeed warm.

'Wow! I never thought I was hot enough to warm the bed. I don't have a fever though.' She touched her forehead and checked if her temperature was normal.

'Maybe I should sleep a little more. I don't feel like going out.' She turned around to change her position and her heart almost went out of her ribcage.

A man was lying on the bed right next to her.

"Ar-Arthur?!" she exclaimed the moment she realized who it was.

"I'm impressed that you noticed it was me. Your eyes are better than I thought," Arthur fondly complimented her.

Veronica's heart was still thumping loudly. "I cannot see. I know it is you even if I cannot see."

Arthur pulled her closer and embraced her securely. His lips brushed over her forehead. "I missed you."

Veronica snuggled and inhaled sharply. She missed his touch and familiar odor. Her fingers grabbed his shirt. She closed her eyes and mumbled, "I missed you too."

She raised her head and tried to see his face in the faint light. Her fingers touched his face.

"Did you have a hard time? You said you would take two days but you were gone for four days. Where did you go that you weren't able to contact me?"

Arthur stroked her back and replied at the same time, "Utahill. I had to go there. And, we cannot use our magical tools there."

"Utahill?" Veronica lifted her body slightly after balancing with her left elbow. "Why did you go there? Is it related to the basilisk ring?"

"Yes, we found out that it's the work of the elves…" Arthur explained everything to her. What he and Felix found out and where they went – he didn't hide anything from her.

"Elves?! Do they even exist?! Veronica was stunned. Never in her dream had she thought that things like elves, dragons, and basilisks could be real.