Free and Unfettered 70 Various Unknowns

From the look in Nine's eyes, Nocturne could tell that she was extremely serious. He nodded, having already expected this. After spending time with Nine, he already knew Nine's temper.

"Nine, I'm sorry – I –" Nocturne choked back his words at Nine's stare. "What should I do?"

Nine smiled sarcastically. "For now, I'll play the loving couple with you whilst we're in public, but don't expect anything from me."

With that, Nine left the room, leaving Nocturne in the silence left behind. Nocturne silently sat down on the bed, thinking about how he should act from now. He had already completely overstepped his boundaries when he knew that Nine only thought about him as someone she had to take care of, putting him in the same category as everyone else she was close to.

°•°•°•🐢. . . .

Nocturne followed Nine out wherever she went, just like he did two years ago. It almost felt like he was going right back to the old routine, however, this time, he followed her openly instead of being hidden like last time. No one but Deltan, Seyton and Shade knew about his existence. In this case, no one had seen what Deltan looked like in his 'male' appearance, so his disguise as a female now wouldn't be seen through. Or so he thought.

"This is Nocturne, Crown Princess as of yesterday," she casually introduced to her students, letting the fans in earshot hear it as well.

"Hello," Nocturne greeted, looking every inch the perfect wife. He looked bashful and shy, giving off the flavour of a newlywed wife.

Everyone in the vicinity minus Deltan stared at Nocturne curiously, wondering what sort of person Nine had married. Although Nocturne wasn't as otherworldly as Nine, his appearance still looked elegant and ethereal. When the two stood side by side with each other, they couldn't help but think that they made a perfect couple.

The husband was dark, whilst the wife was white. Their colouring created a stunning contrast, giving a strong visual impact.

For now, they reserved their judgement, as time would tell.

"You," Deltan said impolitely, glaring at Nocturne.

"Hello, brother-in-law," Nocturne said politely, smiling at him. The smile contained a hint of laughter.

"Do you know her?" Brooke questioned with surprise. "I thought Teacher never met the Princess before this?"

"Yeah, I -"

Nocturne hastily muffled Deltan with his hand, smiling at them. Even though the smile contained no hint of malice or malintent, a shiver ran down their spines. Why did that smile seem somewhat similar to Nine's? it wasn't how it looked, but…the aura.

They couldn't help but think that Nine and Nocturne might surprisingly be a good match.

Deltan slapped Nocturne's hand a few times when he couldn't breathe, causing Nocturne to release him reluctantly, though it didn't show in his expression.

With all that said and done with, Nine 'sparred' for a few rounds with Nocturne. As she sparred with him, she felt more settled in her own skin, as if something she hadn't noticed was gone had slid back into place without her realizing it. She put aside the feeling, not wanting to dwell on it.

With a better mood than before, it felt like her thought process was running smoother and more streamline than before.

"Wow, younger brother. Your new 'wife' is so strong. Miss Nocturne, let's have a spar, shall we?" Deltan interjected, unable to put down his anger at the other man. Since he didn't have a chance to do anything yesterday, he had to properly give the other man a beating today!

"Oh, brother-in-law, if you want to spar, then I shall oblige," Nocturne shot back, the two of them exchanging smiles that hid daggers.

Nine, "…"

Disregarding the two who had slipped back into old habits, Nine lay down in the shade of the tree, allowing herself to bask on the sunny day. The lingering fatigue faded from her mind as she slipped into a daze.

She didn't realize when the spar between the two stopped, nor how she was being watched over by numerous eyes. All she knew about was that this was the first time in a long while she felt so relaxed.

The people watching her couldn't bear to wake her up. It was rare that they caught sight of a vulnerable Nine. It was so rare that it had never been seen before. Because of this, no one made any loud sounds as they conversed quietly amongst themselves, keeping an eye on Nine.

After soundly trouncing Deltan, Nocturne made sure he was the closest one to Nine, making sure not to crowd, but being near enough that he could see every eyelash on Nine's unguarded face.

There was no shortage of held breaths when Nine's eyes slowly opened. No matter how long they looked, they could never get used to seeing that face.

"It's coming," Nine said, puzzling those around her.

"The darkness element on the planet is tipping the scale. It's about to overflow any day now."

Nine quietly filled in the people around her, wanting them to make preparations and keep their vigilance. For once, she explained everything herself instead of relying on Shade or Seyton to relay news. There was no place on this planet that would be safe once this happened. The people here were precious to her, or had sworn their allegiance, so she would not keep anything from them.

The air grew quiet and solemn. The more she talked, the calmer the expressions of those around her. They had abandoned emotions at this time and were actively taking in the information rapidly. Nocturne especially, looked like someone had killed his loved ones in front of him. His face cycled through a multitude of emotions so quickly that Nine wondered what he was thinking.

"Go back and make ample preparations. It'll be too late to cry later on," Nine said, ending her information relay.

The group broke up with serious expressions, each going their own way.

°•°•°•🐢. . . .

A familiar voice chatted to herself as she tirelessly created and created, defiling bodies after bodies for her own purpose.

"Arise," she chanted, waiting.

The bodies in front of her shuddered, rising up like a puppet on broken strings, heads lolling and limbs dragging.

Before long, there was an army of dead soldiers before her, eyes blank. Blood dripped on the floor as viscera spilled carelessly.

The stench that enveloped the place was beyond repulsive, but she continued as if she couldn't smell it at all.

She laughed long and loud, her voice echoing. "Soon," she murmured. "Soon."

Chapter end