Chapter 88

88 Brom’s uncomfortable feeling

The tenth street was alive with many activities, while Darla and David waiting for Brom on the outside of the Icarus dorm gate, they observed a peddler that sell knicks knacks, the paper boy yelling about the latest issue of the hot gossip, and a man and woman that were in a hurry to catch the central carriage. Both of them were bored.

“How long should we wait for this man?! Seriously!” Gruntled David, he was already fanning himself while his head turn from left to right, trying so hard to find Brom.

Darla, on the other hand, was closing her eyes and enjoying the warm breeze of today’s weather. She sighed and open her eyes when there was a silhouette of a person in front of them. It was Brom, looking disinterested as always. This time, he brought a carriage with him. David was already inside the carriage, yelling at her to go inside immediately.

“What are you doing?” Asked the disinterested man curiously at Darla.

Darla stands up and smiles at Brom, “I was enjoying the warm breeze of the noon.”

Brom tilted his head, “Enjoying the warm breeze? Why? It wasn’t something special.”

“Really? It is so special to me.” Darla looks at him while giggling, “I’ll teach you about it later on.”

Somehow, her smile makes Brom feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. He muttered incoherent words, and climb into the driver’s seat. They begin their journey to the alchemia tower. David looks at Darla with an amused face.

“You really do compatible with that weirdo.” Said David, teasing her.

.....

Darla rolled her eyes at him, “Oh, do shut up David, he is a good young man, awkward maybe, but a good man nonetheless.”

“Fine! He is a good man, happy? Gods, Darla, do you have some kind of feeling towards him now?” David can’t hide his smirk, which makes him tease Darla more.

Darla’s face reddened just like a ripe motato. “What?! I... I am not! Shut up, David.”

“Oh, Darla and the weirdo, sitting on the wismushroom.”

The endless teasing makes Darla a bit uncomfortable. She throws one of the carriage pillows to David’s face; he laughed and finally gave up. Little that they know, Brom actually hears their conversation and also senses there’s a person following the carriage from behind.

After an hour, when they reached the outer gate of the capital, Brom get inside the carriage and talked to David and Darla.

“I think we are being followed.” Said Brom to the two of them.

David tried to peek outside from the window, but a hand pulled him back to his seat. Darla glared at him. “Are you crazy? The one that followed us shouldn’t know that we already know their existence.”

“What should we do? I hate this kind of situation.” Grumbled David.

“Don’t worry, I had a plan.” Darla was smiling from ear to ear, while the other two were curious about her plan.

After a while, the carriage finally came back on the road, and the stalker followed the carriage from behind. There were two stalkers, two men, the Heirim fans. As one of the most beautiful and prominent families in the Valorian kingdom, Heirim has its own fans club. The men have an undying love for the daughter of Duke Spencer. She used her fans’ club to do some of her dirty work from time to time.

The man from the first exam, who made Anne get lost, was an example of Heirim’s fans. Also, the man that defended Rosy’s bad deed on the second exam, was also Heirim’s fan. The two men were the bronze pass recipients, the lowest strata in her fans’ club. In order to get to the next level, they need to do a big favor for Heirim.

They followed the carriage not too closed, but also enough for them to know the position of the carriage. Three hours after they had gone, the carriage never even stop for a break. They were so confused, until finally the carriage parked on one of the inns on the road near the meadow.

When the carriage door opened, they saw three children and two women coming outside. They laughed and looks like they were having a good conversation.

“Oh, it was a good thing the handsome young man told us to use their carriage. I mean, imagine if we need to go back here by horses with those rambunctious children.” Said one woman with plump figure and kind eyes.

The other woman, the slender but with the most obnoxious, laughed and said, “I concur, oh how nice of him.”

The two men finally knew that they were being tricked. With pale faces, they go back to the capital and already imagined how furious lady Heirim will be. Meanwhile, Brom, Darla, and David had already arrived at the alchemia tower by horses. Anne goes to her friends and gave them a warm hug.

“Darla! David! Oh, thank you for coming, I miss you guys!” Anne squealed at them, feeling so happy to see her best friends.

“Anne, maybe it would be best to ask your friends inside? You can go to the garden below the tower.” Chief Amaris pointed at one of the most peculiar basement doors that they have ever seen. “Alright, I’ll be inside at my lab. You two behave, alright?”

All of them saw chief Amaris gone, David still in awe looking at the woman, until Darla had to poke his nose. Anne laughed at her friend’s antic, she pulled them to the basement door, and when they entered, there was only a dark and dingy hallway with hovering light orbs for the lighting.

“Where are we going? Some kind of traps?” Grumbled David to none in particular.

“Just follow me. It will be worth it.” Brom, who take the lead of the group, gave them a sign with his right hand.

“Alright then, pretty boy, we trust you this time, right Darla.” David teases Darla again. Luckily this time Darla just pretended not to hear it.

“We are here,” Brom said to the three of them, while his hand open the steel door.

When their feet touched the inner part of the garden, they were astonished by how beautiful the inside was. Glowing mushrooms everywhere, with a creek in the middle, where nightly flowers bloom with luminescent butterflies flying to have a taste of the sweet honey inside the nightly flowers.

“Oh, my Gods! So beautiful!” Darla’s eyes shimmer when she looks at the beautiful underground garden.

“So beautiful. I have never seen a place like this before.” Muttered David, while he raised his right hand to one of the glowing butterflies.

Anne looked around the place, and her eyes met with one alchemist who was in the middle of culturing the glowing mushroom. He looks furious and walks toward Brom to confront him.

“Brom! This is not a private place. Why do you even dare to bring strangers here?!” The man looks into every one of them one by one. There was a fury inside his eyes.

“Ah Darren the highest, there you are.” Said Brom, reciprocating the ill feeling towards the master sergeant Darren.

There was an obvious animosity between the two. “It is master sergeant Darren, you *ss! How dare you belittle me?”

Brom doesn’t even budge. He scratches his head and stares at Darren. “But I used the highest for your name. It was flattering enough for me.”

All of them could see how furious Darren was. His eyes bulged and his face reddened in anger. He slapped Brom so hard, making the others gaped mouths.

Anne felt sorry for him. She goes to Brom and checks his face. “Brom, are you okay?” Said Anne.

His cheek was swollen, and there was a handprint on it, Darren felt proud of his wrongdoing and excused himself right away. He walks towards the door, but something made him fall to the ground. A loud thud can be heard resounding in all over the underground garden.

Darren turn his head to Darla, his nose was bleeding and there was dirt all over his body, “F*cker! Why did you tackle my feet?!”

Darla smirked, while her hands folded on her chest, “Oh, I wasn’t tackling you. What was it? Master Sergeant Darren, maybe if you use the highest, you could see better from the high above.”

He saw the big build of Darla’s and immediately retreated from the underground garden. The only thing he could muster was curses toward Darla and Brom. Brom saw everything that she do, somehow the uncomfortable feeling coming inside him once more.

Anne then asked Darla to accompany Brom while she gets her medicine bag. David insisted on coming with her. He felt that the sketchy master sergeant was still waiting somewhere for some revenge. She reluctantly agreed. Justice was taking some rest. Vale was outside of the tower, while Xavier will be back at night. She opens the door for David and asked him to wait in the waiting area.

“Can I go to your floor?” Asked David.

Looking at him with a bittered smile, Anne then said, “I can’t, I’m sorry, but you can wait here though. Don’t worry, he couldn’t do anything to me.” She took the lift and said, “I’ll be right back.”

At Amaris’s lab, the chief was feeling a bit tired; she walk to her bedroom with the thought to take a nap; she doesn’t know how long she was sleeping. When she heard a noise coming from her lab, she open the door and saw David with a terrified face looking at her.