141 Not A Test Anymore

She spoke first, "You have the nerve appearing before me again. I would kill you and make sure you stay dead this time around."

The ferociousness and anger in her eyes and voice as she spoke showed dominance, determination and power. Also it told of how serious she was.

Everything happened so fast, that it took the White Tiger-Phoenix beasts a while to take it all in. To say he was shocked was an understatement.

What had he done wrong? All he did was to hurry towards her, but rather than get a warm welcome, he got this.

Immediately, the warmth, love and charm in his eyes were quickly replaced with confusion and sadness as he stared deep into her black orbs.

"Astrid, it is I." He said, his lost voice finally finding its way back home to him. 

"Same old trick. It wouldn't be a case of once beaten twice shy. You are not real."

"What! What do you mean? Come on, snap out of it. It is I." 

"Since you want to play that game, then I won't. Pretend all you want, you are still going to die."

Her eyes darkened the more and before he could argue again, she removed the dagger from his neck a bit and plunged right back at the same spot.

When the dagger was but two inches away from its target, she heard a voice.

"Astrid, no!!" The voice screamed inside her head.

She winced at the sudden intrusion and stopped, but her narrowed gaze still held his.

"Astrid, let go of him, that is Jareth. This not a test anymore, this is reality. If you plungled that dagger into his neck, Jareth's going to die, for real."

"White-Fire."

Her gaze left his and moved to the White Tiger-Phoeonix beasts. White-Fire moved, closing the distance between them.

"White-Fire?"

"Yes Astrid, it is I."

"If you and little White Tiger are here, then it would only mean one thing. This is Jareth."

Her gaze went back to the young man within her hold. 

"Let go him child." White-Fire said again through the mind communication.

Till now, he didn't move, he knew she was being careful. Whatever she saw during the test, made her not trust him. He couldn't say he was happy but he was definitely hurt a bit.

Slowly, she moved the dagger away from his neck and loosened her grip on his shirt, letting go of the clothing before stepping back and creating some distance between them.

She was still skeptical even after what White-Fire said. 

The little white tiger ran towards her and jumped happily near her leg. It was then she really believed. She looked around and everywhere was cleared, no more mist.

Everything that happened earlier on seemed like a dream just now. Then she realized she had wronged him. 

"I am sorry." Both of them said at once.

When he looked back at her, the once emotion filled eyes became clear and emotionless.

"I am glad you are okay. You had us worried."

"I am sorry for making you worry. I…"

"It's okay, we know what happened. My cub told us."

"What about the wild beasts?" 

"Jareth and I caused a distraction that allowed us escape."

"Let's move before the soldiers arrive. We have a princess on our tail."

His voice came off cold and void of every form of emotion but seriousness. He tightened his grip on his bag strap and walked ahead.

"Let's go child."

Astrid took one more look at her surroundings before walking forward with them. She could still hear the voice in her head, the sickening laughter as it echoed in her mind, followed by its words. "You passed."

She had a lot of questions but ignored it and kept on walking.

She would ask White-Fire later, but for now they needed to move. 

Every once in a while, she stole a glance at Jareth, he looked like a hardened soldier, he was back to his old self and she caused it. She regretted making him feel this way, but how was she to know?

She trusted him and that was why she almost got lost, perhaps if she didn't then all that wouldn't have happened. 

Yet again, it was because of this same trust, that she knew him well and what he would do or say, he actually saved her from herself.

It was not real and it was almost too good to be true. Well, it was a test after all, the voice said she passed and White-Fire also said it was so. 

"Come to think of it, the lady that attacked me is gone, no sign of her anywhere," Astrid thought, her eyes darting here and there to make sure. 

She sighed, her fingers dropped to her bag by her side as she let them play on the material to distract her thoughts.

The forest had an eerie silence about itself, save for the incessant rustling of the leaves by the cool evening breeze, making everywhere feel chilly.

Her hands moved up and down her arm inside her cloak as she tried to create some sort of friction and heat to warm herself up. She inhaled sharply and when she released her breath, she could see the cold air escape from her now dried lips.

Her eyes darted around and she noticed the further they went, the colder it became. The little tiger saw her rubbing her arm due to the cold and moved back to meet her.

It jumped happily around her, earning a warm smile from her. Bending down, Astrid reached for the cub and carried it into her embrace. 

"You're so warm. How can you be like this with this temperature?"

"We are getting closer to our domain, Astrid. The cold is suited with us. Hold my cub close and you'll be warm."

White-Fire's voice came into her mind and explained to her. She smiled and did what she was told, snuggling her face close to the cute little beast in her arms. 

By the time she looked up, they had covered a great distance ahead of her, she quickly increased her pace to catch up with them.

"Move it Astrid. I need not warn you of the dangers around."