Birds are chirping happily on the tree branches as I sit in the bench. Melted water dripped from the cold fruit on my hand as my tongue licked it up and down.
This watermelon is Yun's new favorite.
Fingers tapping on the long wooden chair on my side echoed. It made me look at the child who was biting his lips as he tapped his fingers. I raised an eyebrow at him and then looked at my watermelon before I licked one last time and handed it to him.
The child's stomach was growling as if it were mad at Yun for having food. I pouted and then pushed the watermelon again, urging him to take a lick.
"N-No, no no. Young Master... I didn't mean that--- I just wanted to say that watermelon is meant to be eaten, not just...licked." He muttered, shaking his head, the insides making a glug glug glug sound.
I looked down at the watermelon. Its red color was showered by my saliva as it glistened against the bright sun. Black things are in and out of it, making me frown.
No...
I shook my head at him and then pointed at my watermelon, then opened my mouth as if taking a bite of nothing, then shook my head again. Then, I pointed to my tongue and licked the air before nodding.
No, not for eating, just licking.
The child suddenly chuckled before shaking his head, "No...haha. It really is for eating. Why would you think it's for licking alone?"
I looked at him blankly. My lips pouted as I quickly leaned closer to him and pushed the watermelon straight to his mouth, including the stick. His stomach is so loud, clearly hungry, and yet he talks and talks instead of eating.
"Urgh---Uffmkpp..." The talkative child finally went quiet and simply made weird sounds making me laugh.
"Y-Young Master! Don't do that!" Hurried footsteps echoed as the soldiers posted away from us quickly ran towards us.
A soldier held my hand and gently tried to pull me away but I kept on pushing.
Why would they stop Yun? Do they not want to feed the hungry child?
"Your High— Young Master... don't do this. You're hurting him." The soldier, not wanting to hurt Yun in the process, tried to gently stop my hands even more.
My pale hands quickly reddening with all the hands on top of mine.
I looked up at the soldiers, confused. I wanted to ask them why so I slightly stopped, in which the child quickly took chance with.
"Urkk..." The child's hands held my hands and quickly pushed me away, taking out the watermelon from his mouth, and dropping it on the ground.
I looked at it and then pursed my lips tightly, listening to his coughing sounds beside me. The other soldier quickly caressed his back and looked at him worriedly.
"Are you alright?" The soldier asked him but the child simply looked at me with bulging reddish eyes.
His teeth grounding loudly.
Black stain appeared on his eyes down to his neck, as a black long hand traced his cheeks. The fingers were long as well as the nails, making me tilt my head.
" Fufu... nobles...nobles... they always never care about us commoners." A black face with no eyes, ears, and nose appeared, whispering on the child's ears.
Who? I raised my hand to touch that face but the child immediately slapped my hand away, making me look at him.
"Cough, cough! H-how could you... You can't do that!" He shouted holding his throat as I watch him with a blank face.
"Kalisto! How dare you slap the Young Master! Apologize!" My soldier got angry for me.
Why is he angry at Yun?
My small legs swayed under the seat, not reaching the ground. The black face was just hugging the child, kissing his ears, while laughing at Yun. I squinted my eyes slightly and then bent down to check for the face's legs but there was none under the seat.
No waist...no legs.
I looked at my soldiers, especially the one who was caressing the child. My soldiers hands were touching the shoulder of the child where the face was clinging, however... my soldiers hands kept on going through it.
" Hehe, look at that foolish face. No thoughts inside those eyes... so blank...dark... soulless—"
The face suddenly stopped talking as I also looked at it blankly. It started trembling, its hands hugged the child tighter and slowly looked closer at Yun.
"What... what's wrong with his eyes? H-He can see me?"
I immediately reached out and touched the face, its flat face felt really cold against my skin, as I pat it all over.
Where is the mouth? How come it speaks without a mouth?
The face went silent as it trembled against my touch, after a while its face slowly faded along the air making me try to grab it again.
"AHHHH!" A very loud scream left the face's nonexistent mouth making me flinch and quickly cover my ears.
The soldiers quickly looked after me, asking me what's wrong but I simply closed my eyes tightly.
"NO! NO! NO! KALISTO! KALISTO! SAVE ME!" The face screamed and screamed but I can no longer see it, the loud screams were so painful to my ears.
" W-What... wait, wait, mom! Mom!" A soft almost unspoken trembling whispers entered my ears along those screams.
"This child! This bitch of a child! HE'S BORN WITH A VEIL! A FUCKING VEIL!" The voice of the face echoed once again making me open my eyes and glare at it.
Where is its mouth? Yun must close that loud mouth.
The child's eyes moved so much as his trembling hands kept caressing the face. The child's face kept on looking straight as his ears twitched and his hands trembled.
"HE'S JUST LIKE YOU! LIKE YOU! How can this child be fine!? HOW CAN HE BE FINE AND NOT YOU?"
The child kept quiet, biting his lips till red liquid appeared but he kept his face looking straight as if the face was not shouting right on his ears.
His lips were quivering and then tried to open but immediately closed again. His hands still trying to caress the face as my soldier looked at him.
"Kalisto? Child? Are you alright?" My soldier asked as I glare at both of them.
Kalisto... Kalisto...
Kalisto looked at the soldier and at me and then gave us an ugly smile. His trembling pale lips opened slowly, "I-It's fine... I— It was just chilly... so I'm trying to warm...my shoulder."
My lips twitched.
Liar. You're just patting that face! That loud face!
"Leave...we must leave. Leave! That child can see mom, Kalisto. He will tell people that you're cursed! He will kill us. Kill you!"
Kalisto suddenly stood up making me look at the face on his shoulder. His whole body was trembling, making so much noise as my eyes fixed on him.
The face crawled and cried red tears from its eyes that I cannot see. It was crying and shouting then whispering from time to time.
"How unjust... so unjust! This child! He is born with a veil! A VEIL! How come a noble can live and not my child!? We will be killed! KILLED!" It cried loudly, making Kalisto almost cry because of the screams.
I looked at Kalisto and tried to crawl and reached them, but he just gulped loudly, looked at me for a while, then quickly bowed his head, "I—I will take my leave!"
And then, he ran so fast.
He fell and stood up so many times before he finally left the clinic, making me sigh as the loud face finally gone.
The clinic's backyard was once again quiet, with only calm and peaceful heartbeats and breathings around.
"Ah? What a weird child." The soldier beside me muttered weakly making me look at him, and then I nodded.
Indeed, weird. His mom has no mouth but was so loud. So weird.
As the solder was trying to carry me to get in, the clinic's gates suddenly opened revealing a panting soldier. His eyes looked around and quickly sighed loudly when he saw me and the other soldiers.
"Juan!" He shouted making the soldier beside me frown, stepping in front of me with his hands on a long covered thing on his waist.
"How come you're here? You are not part of the escorts arranged by the Ki—Master." Juan, whose name was only then I found out, muttered making me tilt my head and take a peek at the soldier on the gate.
The soldier was breathing loudly, not much of air was circulating inside his body, and his tongue were basically out like a panting dog. Sweat were all over, not just on his head... and his lips were gravely pale.
The eyes too... they were red.
The soldier quickly kneeled, and then presented a big carved jade with a black plain cloth that made me tug Juan's clothes.
Mother. That was Mother'sjade.
"I- I came to deliver news from the Qu—Mistress, I must see the Master at once!" His voice echoed loudly making me smile.
I looked up at Juan and saw his very deep frown, before he nodded his head, hands trembling before carrying me in his arms.
"The Master have traveled to the Military Camp of Tzuwe... he might not come back till later at night—"
"No! This news can not be delayed! I must meet the Master at once!" The teeth and gums of the soldier gritted tightly making me tilt my head.
The soldiers beside me both had their hearts take a pause, before getting faster than normal. Juan took a deep inhale before he tightened his hold on me.
" The black cloth... is it what we think it is?" Juan muttered as he stood straight making me chuckle at their faces.
The soldier holding the jade and the black cloth took a sharp inhale before nodding his head, " Yes, it is a news of a passing."
_____