Chapter 51 - [Bonus ] Theory Of The Portal

(From Leandro's Perspective)

She was resisting me even though she did not want to. She wanted it as well, but she was afraid. Something was pulling her back. It was like a string that had tied her up that she could not move forward even if she wanted to. But I was not going to let that happen. If I could not untie the string, I would rather tear it. 

I looked back at her as she walked slowly behind me. She was not running and trying to scare me anymore. Her face was red and there were drops of sweat on her forehead as she looked as if someone had slapped her. If she came back from the castle like that, perhaps I would mistake thinking that someone had slapped her if I did not know her enough. But if I was not wrong, she was not someone that anyone could bully, or take advantage of.

I sighed and looked straight. She was tired. It was clear on her face and the way her knees were shaking. But she was not showing it. Her curiosity of wanting to see where I was taking her most probably took over her. 

"Even though you resisted, if you say yes, I won't stop," I said. 

"I won't."

"But you want it. Tell me, when I kiss you, does it feel the same when others kiss you? You've kissed others, right? You can compare my kisses to theirs, my touches to theirs. Are they the same?"

She looked down at her feet. Her face had turned even redder. But she did not say anything. I almost mistook her look that she had not kissed anyone else before. But how could that be possible? She was gorgeous and boys would do anything to taste her. Even though I thought I knew her, this was something that I was not sure of. 

"Can we not talk about it now?" she asked, pursing her lips. 

"I'm letting you escape the question now. But next time, you will have to answer me properly," I said.

We walked two more minutes before we came across a forest cabin. Ella looked surprised as she was glancing here and there. She did not look as red as before, rather she seemed to try to take as much of the surroundings as possible with her sharp eyes. 

"What is this place, Leandro? I didn't know there is a forest cabin here. Why didn't you tell me this before? I thought you trust me. Why don't we come to live here? Does anyone live here? Your friend? But you said to you don't have any friends. Did you lie to me? Why would you lie to me?" she was breathing out the words without stopping. 

"Here we go again. My chatterbox has started to talk now." 

"Sure someone lives here. Do you need to call out his or her name? Why aren't you calling them? Are you afraid that your voice would seem horrible if you yell? Well, I kind of think so as well. I mean, you don't raise your voice, so... Anyway, what're we going to do? Let's go inside. Come on," she said and started walking towards the cabin. 

I held her hand to stop her. "Don't go too fast. This place is not perfectly safe for you."

"Then why are we here? Are you planning on killing me? Why would you kill me? Did I do something wrong? How can I do something wrong? How..."

"Ella," I said stopping her, "we're here to meet someone."

"Who?" she asked quickly. 

I did not respond as I went towards the cabin. We did not have to knock as someone opened the door right in time that made Ella grip my arm tightly. 

"Welcome, my lord," the bald man said. 

Ella looked up at me as if she had seen a ghost. Her bewildered expression made her look even cuter. 

"Where is Anders, Hoyt?" I asked. 

"Please come inside, my lord. Lord Anders is inside," he said. He was glancing at Ella every now and then. I knew that he was just surprised and curious to see a girl with me. But that did not stop me from wanting to rip his head off. 

"Will you come in?" I asked Ella as she was not walking, rather just stood there gripping my arm tightly. 

"Oh right," she muttered and walked inside with me. 

"He is bald," she whispered. 

"I noticed," I said. 

"He has a mole right in the middle of his head," she said as if she was suppressing her laughter. "It looks weird. No offense, but it's funny."

"My lord, it's been long."

"Yes, Anders," I said, looking at the man in front of us in the living room. "I've come here for business today. Where can we talk?"

"This way, my lord," he said, glancing at Ella who was too busy to notice it. She was looking at the surroundings as if she was trying to memorize every single part of here. 

"You might want to keep your eyes to yourself unless it's necessary," I said calmly. 

"My apologies, my lord," he said quickly, bowing. 

We went inside the living room. I took a seat in a chair and Ella sat beside me without hesitation and she was still holding my arm. Two men came and bowed as they placed a teapot and teacups on the table. 

"Now, Anders, I want to know something about the portal theory," I said. 

"It's still a theory, my lord," he said sitting ahead of us. 

"Not anymore," I said. "This is Ella. She is_ from another world."

Anders gasped. He did not expect it at all. I could not blame him. All of us thought that it was just a theory. 

"She is..."

"Ella, tell him what happened," I said. "Necessary things only."

She nodded. "Well, I live in, I mean, I used to live in Brigade. It's a town of the New York City of the USA. The USA is a country. Anyway, so I was going to school one morning. I used to go to school with Zoe, my friend. But she had a fever that morning, so I was supposed to go alone. There is a forest on the way to school. Inside the forest, there is a mansion. I used to go there sometimes. I mean, it's empty. No one lives there. I don't like school. So I decided to spend my time there. Then I heard a sound coming from the basement of the mansion. When I went down to check, I saw a hole with reddish-golden light coming from the inside. It was something I've never seen before. So, I went inside the hole and then found myself in this forest, in front of a yellow meranti tree," she said. 

"Where are you living now then?" he asked. 

"With me," I replied. 

"Isn't it dangerous, my lord?" he asked. I was right. He took an interest in her. But little did he know, she was only mine and I did not like anyone else looking at my thing the way I do. 

"It's dangerous if the person is afraid," I said. "Are you afraid, Ella?"

"Huh? Afraid of what?" she asked. 

"Afraid of being with me?" I asked.

"Why would I be?" she said, rolling her eyes and I got the urge to kiss her again. Why was she like this? So perfect, so pure? 

"That's good, I suppose. But that's new, my lord. No one has ever..."

"Come to business, Anders. According to the theory, no human can enter through the portal or see it," I said. 

"Why haven't you told me this before? What do you mean by no human, huh? You mean, I'm not human? I am human, you know this. Why are you saying this? Do you think I'm a monster? Do you think I can turn into that slimy greenish-black thing with those broken-looking nasty wings with no nose and ears?" 

Ella was angry, more importantly, she was disgusted. She clearly hated Orgades. I was glad that she hated them. I was not a fan of them either. 

"You're not a shifter. Or I could understand that from your smell. Shifters can recognize other shifters' smells," I said. 

"Oh thank god," she sighed in relief. 

"If she is a human, there is no way she can get inside the portal? And she is not a shifter either. Then how is this possible?" Anders said.

"First of all, a shifter opened the portal..."

"How?" Ella interrupted me. 

"It takes sacrifice... the heart of another shifter to open a portal," Anders explained. "Not just that. The sacrifice must be voluntary.. That's how the portal is opened and if our theory is right, it remains open for one day."