Ian had expected that reaction, but he had not known that it would be that instantaneous. The scenes flashing behind his eyelids were so surprising for him that he somewhat chunked the feeling of pain behind.
The feint voice of the girl rang out through the quiet night as she pleaded, "P-pleas-e h-elp me..."
Ian hesitated a moment, feeling that same suffocating feeling; this time, it was as if he would be missing out on something big if he left.
His thoughts wondered a bit. As if to curb his indecisiveness, his very persona looked to have changed in a blink.
Suddenly, his eyes glazed over, and his voice thickened up. In the now-darkened evening, he, watching the scene on the side, could see his eyes flicker a little before he asked the girl,
"What do I get in return?" His voice was then monotone, devoid of all emotions. He watched on as she struggled with the words, finally uttering out,
He felt his mood lighten up a bit as she said these. It was as if the gates, barring a set of emotions, had been opened wide. Yet still, he said, "I hope you don’t regret this!"
He said and turned back to her, squatting again. He examined the pitiful girl on the ground in her pool of blood, feeling his heart clench up.
’I don’t know her, and I have never seen her in my life! So, what is happening here?’
He found himself rather asking her,
"Mo-nroe..." she struggled to get the words out even as blood continued to trickle out of her mouth.
As he watched himself do these, Ian agreed that he was nuts. Who asked for the name of a dying person in that circumstance? But the more Ian watched himself from the past, the more flabbergasted he became.
He sat on his hind legs and then pulled out his phone. He only stared at it for a split second before placing it on the ground. The thought to call the emergency services was temporarily discarded.
Ian helped raise her head up and placed her in a seated position with her back to the giant tree under which they were.
A muffled, painful grunt left her lips as the new position caused the blood that had stopped flowing out of her to begin yet once again, gradually soaking the scarf as well.
Still remaining as calm as ever with a slight glow in his eyes, Ian saw himself place his hands on the wound, pressing on it in an attempt to stop the blood flow.
’She won’t make it! No matter what I do.’ He looked around, then getting a little frantic for reasons even bizarre to him, and his blood started to boil as small whimpers came forth from her.
He then adjusted her and looped the shawl, which had been on the wound earlier, tying it around her waist and over the wound tightly.
He could see the girl barely hanging on with her half-lidded eyes.
’That’s good self-will! Keep it up and stay conscious!’ These thoughts never manifested into words for her, though.
His hands were bloody by then. The night’s gentle breeze ruffled his hair, tussling it, but he was in no mood to care about that.
Ian tapped his pockets and brought out a Swiss knife. He noticed her flinching back a bit and gently caressed the back of her hand as if to reassure her that all was okay.
"I am Ian, Ian Thornston; keep that in mind for when we meet again."
He took in a whole gulp of fresh air and, disregarding her reaction, slashed her palm and did the same with his.
He held her hand firmly so that she would not pull back. Surprisingly, she had a bit of strength for someone with those injuries and in that state.
He watched as the blood droplets dripped to the ground as if it took minutes instead of fractions of seconds. He lowered his head in concentration and clasped their bloody hands, intertwining them and started muttering.
"In the presence of all those I care about, surrounded by the benevolence of nature and foliage, I, Ian Thornston, exchange my heart desires for the life of the one in front of me, Shelby Monroe.
As you have promised to give ’anything’ on this day in exchange for your life slipping away, you and I will be bound in this exchange, no matter what happens. Your life will be now tied to me for all eternity as my desires will live in you and feed your life’s essence.
You can never belong to any other person and have been bound to me from this day onwards to live the life you so desire. Your path will lead you back to where you belong by my side. It will be as it should be ... as it was meant to be!"
Ian pressed down on their clasped hands as the blood seeped out of their combined wounds like it had a life of its own. It wormed around their hands, twirling around like rope tied around their hands. It started with a tinge of whitish glow, reflecting what was in Ian’s eyes.
On the side, Currey suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He took in the scene, understanding drawing into him, then confusion before panic. He gasped and sprung forward at the speed of light.
"Your Highness, what are you doing!? You cannot be doing this!"
In as much as Currey did not like Aliya’s influence on his master, he certainly knew that his master would not do whatever he was of his own accord.
"It’s not done yet; I can stop this...."
He screamed just as he stretched his hands to touch Ian. He rather touched an invisible barrier. Try as Currey shouted, Ian seemed not to hear him.
Shelby, who was still seated, with her head drooped and her hair now partly caked with dry blood, started to twitch a bit. The blood that had been still seeping out of the stab wound started clotting up almost at the speed of the eye. She gasped from the discomfort she felt from that and moaned, opening up her eyes that reflected the same soft glow from Ian. Ian’s other hand gently caressed her cheeks, feeling a little warmth creep up in them.
"My desire in exchange for your life, under the clear skies with all these witnesses..."
His voice smoothened out as if a different person was talking,
"...like a symbiotic relationship, we will have. Through this oath, we shall live from today onwards, bound forever, in mutual benefit.... Let these and all present be my witnesses..."
The force that had prevented Currey from reaching them started to spread out. It surrounded the two and shone brightly in the darkened park, making a full illumination like it was daytime.
The circular glowing barrier spread all around them, making Currey desperate as he heard the final words. He reached out his fists and punched as hard as he could but then everything happened in a sequence that was bizarre to follow.
One moment, he was by them, about to punch and pull Ian out of his trance, but the next moment, the invisible barrier threw him back with a force so strong that he lost consciousness. When he came back up, it was the next day, and he was nowhere near where the two had been.
The barrier, then it receded back until there was nothing but darkness once again. The glow in their eyes disappeared. For a moment, nothing else happened. Ian unclasped their hands and examined the glow-like mark-like rings on both of their ring fingers.
Then, Shelby started squirming, making sounds that tore his heart as if he was the one feeling what she felt.
She opened her mouth wide and screamed as unbearable and excruciating pain rocked her body; finally giving in to the pain, she slumped against Ian and collapsed.
Ian swiftly carried her in his arms and strode quickly, eating up the distance to his car in under three minutes.
He laid her gently in it as if she was a precious egg. He floored his car and was in the nearest hospital within a couple of minutes, covering distance that would have taken a quarter of an hour.
All these were witnessed by another set of eyes in the park. The fourth person was pissed off beyond all reasoning, looking at the attitude, retreating back and the way he handled the girl as if she was his all. What was regretful for this person was that by being there, the condition for the witnesses had been fulfilled—the witness of two.
"Damn It! Why did I come? Only if I had stayed put! We have to rectify this!" a sinister expression flashed across their face, and the person smiled, a creepy smile that would make even the hardest of hearts tremble.
Back in the inner room, Ian slumped down from the sheer amount of information that had flashed behind his eyes. He went on all fours, his hair falling over his face and onto the floor. He was sweating profusely. His limps trembled as the pain in his head started to recede.
"What the heck was that?!" He cursed under his breath. That was the final confirmation he needed; his emotions were a mess! A really bad mess!
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