Lyra's POV
Dumbfounded, Jakub quickly grabbed his own handkerchief and wiped the blood stain on Julian's sleeve.
After accepting the handkerchief as well, I reluctantly wiped the splashed blood on my arms and face.
"Master, was it a-appropriate to reveal your weakness like that? After she attempted ending her—"
"She won't," Julian replied while staring at me with a smile. "Lyra wouldn't do that anymore."
"But humans are impulsive creatures, sir."
Uhm, hello?! They were talking as if I wasn't even there!
I threw the handkerchief back in Julian's hand. "You should've listened to your servant, vampire. I might've killed myself."
"Were you?" He chuckled again, gray eyes mirth with amusement. "Go on, I'll give you the honor to kill yourself again."
And to my surprise, he returned my knife—the same knife I had attempted to stab myself with before he stopped me.
Now, holding my knife, it felt strangely foreign to me now. I gulped as I pointed the knife at me. Behind me, I could feel Jakub's eyes widen in fear while Julian remained neutral.
I positioned the blade right to my throat and with my trembling hands, I tried to plunge it directly—
—but I couldn't.
Clank!
The knife dropped that instant. As I panted, I gripped my trembling hand, staring at it for a moment as I felt a nauseating feeling at every fibre of my being.
Was this... fear I was feeling now?
"Is th-this the work of the shitty fucking fate between us?" I hissed, giving Julian another glare.
"Yes, the moment that you knew that I was your fated mate, your body unconsciously tried to protect our bond—protecting me from danger."
"LIES! I DIDN'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU!"
Jakub glared at me but tried to control his temper, but Julian seemed to be in a pleasant mood.
"Now you know when you attempted to stab yourself. My fear shot through the roof. You made me experience fear that I hadn't felt for ages."
"M-Master?" Even Jakub was surprised.
I collapsed back on the seat as his words slowly processed in my brain. I "feared" for this monster's endangerment. I was forced to "care."
And this realization was far worse than the motion sickness I had experienced in this train.
=========================
Once the train had reached its destination, the creatures—all walks of life—grabbed their belongings and left. Julian remained seated, continuing his reading. Jakub only stood there, glancing at Julian with concern then back to his own thoughts.
I had been quiet for the rest of the trip after that realization. I was not in the mood to speak to these vampires. So I distracted myself watching the creatures getting off the train.
How long were we going to wait to get up and leave? Glancing at Julian, he seemed more immersed with his reading than ready to get up.
After everyone had left the train, finally Julian put his book aside as he got up. "It's time. We're going out now."
Confused, I wordlessly got up. None of us had our baggage—since Julian took me away without bothering to get my things.
Throwing the bloodied handkerchiefs in the bin, the three of us left our compartment, walking down the deserted aisle without uttering a single word.
A lot of questions clawed at my thoughts but my pride held me back from asking. After all, each time I heard an answer, I was slowly going to regret learning it from him.
We stepped out of the train as we walked to the long stairs.
Then, I saw a long escalator. I had seen them a lot in movies but this was the first time I had seen it in person.
Julian stepped first and I followed him without acting like an idiot. Jakub was behind me, watching both of us from behind. Soon, the escalator went up, my feet remained still as I gripped the moving rubber handrail—a bit ticklish as it glided under my palm.
Finally, Jakub broke the silence. "Are you hungry?" He was staring at me.
My eyes widened, mildly surprised that he was asking me a question.
"Oh! Uh…a l-little," I replied, meekly.
He then turned to Julian. "Master, shall I contact the servant to…uh…" he turned to me again. "You could eat anything, right?"
"Right."
Julian seemed amused with the awkward exchange. "Just serve the food I usually eat. Humans were no different from vampires. Weaker, yes. But the taste palette is the same."
Jakub nodded. "Of course, master." He nodded again as he started texting on his phone.
Once we reached the top of the elevator, I nearly tripped from the edge before Julian wrapped my waist to keep me from falling.
"You are pitiful." He teased me.
"S-Shut up!" I pulled myself away from him. "T-The movies didn't teach me how to get off the escalator!"
He chuckled, arms folding on his chest. "Indeed. You had a lot of firsts today, huh?"
As if it wasn't enough, he added, "So, were you having fun thus far?"
My cheeks burned and I would've rather eaten thousands of needles than admit it. "I swore that I'd choke you in your sleep, vampire."
"Before you planned to murder me in your delusions, you had to be grateful I was giving you this one final new experience for today."
We were now in front of the sliding doors of the subway. "You go first. Go on, this is what you are craving for, isn't it?"
I gave him a quizzical look, still finding his words untrustworthy. "W-what's behind these doors?"
He smirked. "That wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?" And oddly enough, he gently pushed my back, forcing my feet to move closer to the exit.
Sighing, I stepped onto the mat and the door automatically opened—
—and there it was.
A metropolitan city filled with skyscrapers, buildings, and cars beeping around the busy streets but that wasn't what mesmerized me the most.
Above me, large clouds drifted as the sun peeked between skyscrapers, painting the gray sky with hues of gold and orange.
It slowly came out, the sun shining brightly and more beautifully than I had ever thought.
Something wet trailed down my cheek.
But I didn't notice it at first. I was more captivated by the sight, emotions hidden in me slowly resurfacing. Then a sob escaped me as tears fell freely—it was something I couldn't just hide with a mask of nonchalance anymore.
Because despite the fact that I was moving towards a bleak future, despite the cost of losing the slightest freedom I had had—
I was content just having to see the beauty that had been robbed from humanity for so long.