"How many more minutes until we reach the restaurant?" Winnie asked her driver, already sick and tired of the long drive. She has made a huge mistake. Actually, two huge mistakes. One was agreeing to go on this business date, and the other was allowing Kingston pick out the restaurant. The cam had been rolling for about an hour now, and there was no sign of it stopping soon."Ten, according to the maps." John and replied focused on the road, but the wrinkled lines on boths sides of his head told a different tale. He didn't like this arrangement one bit. For as long as he could remember, he had been Winnie's personal driver who sometimes doubled as a bodyguard. He probably knew her more than anyone. The papers described her as the people's princess with a pure heart. While all that was true, not many seemed to know just how stubborn and persistent she was. Case in point, agreeing to go on this dinner date. He hated that he wouldn't be there to keep her safe. Almost felt tempted to
"Picked out something yet?" Kingston asked from behind his menu. "Pasta and shrimp will do." She said, closing the tab. He raised his hands, and a waiter was immediately at their table. "What would you like to have sir?" The buxom blonde beauty, stood ready to serve. To Winnie's great surprise, Kingston's tongue didn't begin to wag like a dirty dog. If he was pretending to be a good human, it was a damn good act. "We'll have pasta and shrimp." He said. She bowed and left. "What's your deal?" She asked, unable to hold it in anymore. He chuckled. "You want us to dive into business first?" "No. Why are you acting gentlemanly?" She rephrased. "You don't know me as much as you think Winnie." "Hmmm." She responded, just as their meal arrived. They ate in silence for the most part, except at intervals when Kingston wanted to know if she was enjoying her food. So far, he was on his best behavior. She still believed it was an act. Or maybe he just really wanted this deal with her. The
Despite the pouring rain, Kingston kept on driving. He didn't stop, until it became clear the rain wasn't stopping soon. "You keep driving, but I've not seen any recognizable spot yet." Winnie said."That's because I'm following a faster route. I can barely even see." He said."There's a faster route to the city?" "Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to stop soon. It's getting more difficult, and dangerous to navigate the road.""Stop?" Her voice risee in alarm. "Why do we need to stop?" She asked like she had not just hear him say how difficult driving in the rain was."There's another option though." He said with a small voice that made her raise a suspicious brow."And that's?""The house my grandma stayed before her demise is just a few blocks away. We could stay in the house, until the rain subsides.""Alone?" She blurted out.He whipped his head to the side to stare at her. "I don't think we have much of an option right now. I mean if you have a better suggestion
Winnie fully dressed in the black joggers, and t-shirt Kingston gave her, came into the living room to find him sitting motionless. "Hey." She called, sitting on the couch across. "Hey," He jerked. "You're back." "I am. What's up?" "Nothing much. Just sitting here realizing what an idiot I am." "Why?" He sighed. "I didn't bring my phone from the car." "Yikes." She said. They sat in silence for a while, before the lights suddenly started to flicker. Kingston looked up first and stood up. "I'll go check out what the problem is." He was fully out of sight when the entire light went off. Winnie quickly stood up too, ready to follow behind him. She took a step first, then paused. Suddenly, she remembered who she was with. There was every possibility he was behind the sudden power outage. Quickly, she whipped her phone out of her pocket and dialed Elijah. As it rang, she prayed silently he picked up. By the third ring, he did. "Hey." "Hey, Elijah. I'm with Kingston in God knows w
He turned on hearing his name, and Kingston used the brief distraction to slip out of his hold. "Don't." Winnie reached out to hold him when he moved to follow Kingston who had run out already."He was going to---" He couldn't bring himself to say the words. If he did, he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself. And who was he without the carefully honed control he had mastered for years. "He's not worth it." She said.He stood with his back turned to her for a couple more minutes. Counting, waiting patiently for the storm in him to calm. Her hands on him was probably the biggest help, but when she withdrew it, he had to fight from scratch again. "It's not ruined at least." This time, he finally turned to see her holding her phone. Feeling his gaze on her, she looked up, and smiled. "It fell. I thought the screen was cracked.""Are you okay?" He asked, wondering why she was worried about a phone, when she had just been in a vulnerable situation."You came. That's all t
As Elijah stood up, there was a sudden drop in the already cold temperature. "Elijah." Winnie called out.He gave her one last reassuring look, before pulling his phone out of his pockets. The night had gone still, and the eerie silence of the night was piercing. He disappeared into the darkness, tracing his way to the light box. He hadn't been to this house before, but somehow he knew where he was headed. The closer he got, the more the light from his phone began to flicker. Her voice sounded even clearer now, as she drifted ahead of him. The tone she hummed sounded familiar. It was just at the tip of his tongue. Just like the night he woke up a changed man, his feet took a left turn, that led to a staircase. He found himself walking down, the parallels to that one night not lost on him. The cold staircase led to a door, which was already slightly open. He stepped in, and it forcefully closed by itself.Rolling his eyes, he proceeded forward. His searching eyes found the box. Qui
Elijah bobbed his head in silent appreciation, as she disappeared without a trace. Turning off his phone, it went back to his pockets. He walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. As he walked away, he realized the spirits had gone quiet. They really didn't like the light. Just as she had instructed him to do, he paused at the staircase, going behind it instead. His heart skipped a beat, when his gaze landed on the spirit herbs. For herbs growing in such a dark place, with hardly any sunlight, they looked really healthy. He bent, and picked a few. "Thank you." He whispered into the sky, before turning around and leaving.When he entered the living room again, Winnie sat with her head on her raised legs. She felt his presence, and raised her head up. "You're back." She tried a smile, but it came out weak.For a brief second, he just stared at her. He was beginning to realize something almost too painful to bear. There was no doubt in his mind now she was the pure heart,
Streams of light sneaked through tiny spaces in the window blinds, reflecting on Elijah's face. He lay silently on the bed, with his hands folded behind his head, looking up to the ceiling. He had been in that same position for the past two hours, just deep in thought. So far, he had found two herbs without much hassle. Something told him it wasn't going to be this easy going forward. The old woman's words kept playing in his ears too. As much as he wanted to disregard them, he knew who he was deep down. How long, before someone else found out?Elijah's phone began to ring, and he turned toward the direction the sound was coming from. Reluctantly, he straightened up and grabbed the device on his bed table. "What do you want?" He asked, as soon as he answered the call."You should be nicer to people who help you, you know?" An airy voice at the end of the line said."Did you send the hooded man last night?" He asked, his face contorting with irritation."Why would I do something