ADRIA’S POV.
“I think someone should step up, and do the talking.” My mum urged, when the both of us remained silent. “Lucien came to ask how you were doing, Adria.” She added, going to Lucien, and taking a package from his hands. “I’m guessing this is for Adria?” She asked him, and he nodded.
He did care about me. He really did, so why wasn’t he looking for a solution like I was?
It gave me weird ideas.
“Adria and I have been having some intense clashes.” Lucien finally spoke, as my mum handed me the package he had brought, which smelt of chamomile.
“Intense?” My mum asked, going back to her sofa.
“Yes. We both get hurt, each time.” He added, and my mum placed her fingers on her forehead.
“This was what you were avoiding, right?” She asked slowly, and Lucien nodded. “But how did this happen? If the vampire in her is clashing with your wolf, does that mean…?”
“She has drank so much blood that she’s generated a certain awareness of herself. I’m a potential enemy to her now, so I can’t really blame her for her outbursts, but it’s getting really worse. She can’t fight against me, and each time, she hurts more than I do.” Lucien explained, staring at the floor.
“I believe Adria’s hurting emotionally, more than she is, physically. One of you should have told me something. I didn’t know she drank so much that could make it as worse as it is right now.” She lamented, rubbing her forehead, and we were silent. “I hate to say this.” She suddenly added, after a full minute, and Lucien and I looked up at her.
“Say what?” Lucien asked, and my mum closed her eyes tight.
“Gosh… okay, Adria. Tell me something. I need to know how severe it is. How do you feel whenever you have those clashes? Like… what drives you to fight with him?” She asked, and I swallowed.
“At first, it felt like two different people in me. I couldn’t do anything. She was the one feeling all the hatred. I felt sorry for all the blows, and jabs while she was endlessly being annoyed by him, and wanted to hurt him greatly. Yeah, that was how it was at first, but now, it’s like… it’s like we became one.
“Whenever those feelings arise, I know he’s Lucien, but I hate him. I want to kill him. Everything he stands for, suddenly annoys me, and it’s actually me who’s fighting, and not some creature within me.” I explained, and she sighed.
“There’s something you know. Tell us.” Lucien urged my mum, but she shook her head.
“I know nothing.”
“Mum…”
“Yes, I know nothing, but the one who knows something, lives across lands of danger. I cannot risk you going there. You… you might not survive, you might not return.” She explained, with worry bouncing off the light in her eyes.
“I don’t think I’ll survive much here either. Each day, each day, it’s just so hard to go on. It’s like… it’s like my heart is breaking, and I… I just can’t help myself. I’m not the one who dictates how I feel every day. I just feel so lost, and out of control. Mum, I’m desperate. I’m desperate for anything that would guarantee me a future with Lucien.” I blurted out, hoping she’d see how earnest I was being.
“It’s too dangerous.” She said in a little voice, shaking her head. “It’s too… it’s too dangerous.” She repeated, like she was having a debate, and fighting within herself.
“No matter what happens, I promise to protect Adria, and be by her side. She’s also precious to me, and if I lose her, I really don’t know how I can cope with that. I promise to protect her with everything I have. Her happiness is also crucial to me, and she’s not the only who wants this.
“I want it too. I wish for us to spend a day without clashing, to spend days, weeks, months, and years without a single fight occurring due to our differences.” He explained to my mum, and I could see her threads of fear detangling, slowly.
“You promise to protect her?” She asked, without looking at either of us.
“With everything I have.” Lucien replied earnestly.
“The Land of the Dreaded.” She suddenly said, and Lucien and I exchanged looks.
“That land of the Dreaded?”
“It’s a place. The place you have to pass through to get to Athena. Athena is an old, and mysterious being who has lived on the surface of the earth longer than we have. She alone can tell you what to do to solve your problems with clashes.
“Because in all my life, I’ve never seen a vampire, and a wolf get together. Hardly anyone has seen it because the two have been long-term enemies. So, no one knows what to do. But, Athena will know.” She explained, finally switching her gaze between us.
“The land of the Dreaded.”
“It’s just like a test to see if you’re worth her knowledge. Like a price to pay. Each time, the challenge changes. We don’t know what you might encounter.” She explained further, and I sighed.
“What was the last thing, the last person you remember, encountered?” I asked, and she sighed.
“I’ve known at least almost twenty-three people, or so, who went to the land of the Dreaded. The elders speak a lot of that land. They talk of large snakes who are territorial, evil spirits who possess the body, darkness that never seem to clear, never-ending saga of troubles… Gosh, it’s a lot.” She said, looking like she could change her mind about us going once more.
“When we get to Athena, what next?” I asked in curiosity. If she told us we needed to go back through all those dangers, it would be too much.
“After giving you, advice, she’ll provide a free path to take you back to where you came from.” She replied, and Lucien, who had been thinking, suddenly raised his head.
“Among those twenty-three people or so, how many survived?” He asked, and a terrible sigh escaped my mother.
“Two.”