Drip. Drip. Drip.

I wrung the warm towel in my hands over the well, making sure it was dry enough before folding it carefully in my bandaged hands and walking back into the back room.

"Will you stop breathing so hard on my neck!"

I glanced warily over at Catherine and Gray who were huddled around a wooden table. Catherine was showing and explaining new ointments she had discovered so far with Gray looming closely over her shoulder.

"I see..." Gray narrowed his eyes at Catherine's ointment. "What about that cream? What does that help with?"

Sighing, I turned my attention away and walked over to the back of the room where Justin laid. I set the towel on his forehead and sat on the edge of his bed, brushing his stray strands of hair out of his face.

He had yet to wake up and didn't look like he was going to wake up anytime soon. Although Justin's bleeding had stopped, Catherine didn't look very convinced herself when she told me that he would be alright.

It's been three days.

Three sleepless nights. 

"Don't touch that!" I heard Catherine hiss. 

"What a strange mixture," Gray mused to himself, ignoring Catherine. "Where'd you learn this?"

It turns out Gray had similar interests in medicine like Catherine. In the very back of the club, there was a hidden door that blended in with the dark paint in the walls. That hidden room was the room we were in right now. It resembled a nursery of some sort with many beds laid out and a study table with books and medicine scattered everywhere.

There was another door that led to a small backyard with a well to help wash off. When we first went in to lay Justin down, I found Eugene sleeping on another bunk bed and realized he was still out cold from the excessive alcohol he had been drinking. 

I glanced around over my shoulder and spotted Yuri staring at the ceiling. I called his name, but he didn't answer and continued staring blankly at the ceiling. Not only until after my fifth try of calling him did he snap out of his daze. "Hm?"

"Where's Tristan?"

"I'm not sure. He's out right now, but I think he is coming back for dinner though."

I had never seen Yuri look so depressed before. The youthful smile that once lit his cheerful face was gone, and a sorrowful blank face had now replaced it. For him to look so dejected, made him unrecognizable from the smiling boy I'd once known. 

I reached for my jade for comfort and for a second, panic shot through me when I couldn't feel it. Realizing, Jade had it, I felt a second of relief before grief struck me. 

Jade...

I bit my lip and blinked furiously.

Why, why, why...

I shook my head. Just continue worrying about Justin so you don't have to think about—

"Sakura."

A hand touched my shoulder. I turned around slowly to see Catherine, gazing at me with worried eyes. "You have to get some sleep. Eat something as well."

"I will," I said, massaging my temples.

"Don't 'I will' me," Catherine said, impatience creeping into her voice. "Do it now. You've been looking over Justin without sleeping for more than two hours."

"I said I will," I snapped.

"Then do it now!"

"Stop it!"

I stood up so quickly I almost hit Catherine's chin. Yuri had snapped out of his daze and was now looking at me with a surprised look. I could see Gray stare at me from the table over Catherine's shoulder as well. I clenched my hands into fists and tried to bite down the harsh words that wanted to spill out of me.

A hint of hurt flashed on Catherine's face, but she continued nagging. "I'm doing this for your own good. I don't want you fainting. I'm working as hard as I can—"

"Well, work harder then!" I yelled. "If you're working so hard, then hurry up and help Justin!"

My voice cracked at his name, and I felt tears begin to rise to my eyes. Through my blurry vision, I could see Catherine's painful expression. She looked as if she was going to start crying as well. I saw her lips tremble and tears beginning to form in the corner of her eyes, and my mind went blank.

I couldn't cope being in such a tight, stuffy space all of a sudden so I ran.

I ran out of the room, shutting out everyone's calls. When I was out of the alleyway, I just ran.

I ran and ran and ran until I hit a dead end.

I doubled over and gasped for breath, coughing when my breath got caught in my throat. I grabbed at the railing in front of me and gripped the bar, glancing up. Quickly, I realized I was at the place Jake had brought me—

Jake...

"You are a monster. Look at the tragedy you have brought into this town. It's all because of you."

Whirling away from the bright sunset, I clamped a hand over my mouth and tried to stop a sob from escaping but utterly failed.

Sinking down to my feet with my back against the railing, I let streams of tears escape from my eyes as choked breaths came out. I could barely breathe as I tried to keep up with my cries. Lifting my raw eyes to the sky, I felt my chest shake so violently to the point where I hazily thought I was hyperventilating.

But by then, I couldn't even distinguish what I was feeling.

Fear, anguish, pain, anger...all of the bottled up emotions I had kept suppressed was like a never ending flood.

Why did I have to yell at Catherine like that?

Why hadn't I noticed Justin's wound earlier?

Why couldn't I recall my power and save Petal?

These questions circled around my head with no end as I cried until my voice was hoarse and broken. I cried until my eyes were too dried and swollen for anymore tears to come out. I cried until I couldn't remember how to cry anymore.

I remembered until I couldn't remember.

Huddling myself into a tight ball, I shivered violently to myself.

Why? Why was this happening to me? Haven't I already matured enough compared to the beginning? I had learned to fight and defend myself. I learned how to wield a sword. I could even kill people now.

So why couldn't I save anyone this time?

I tried my best to not envision what had happened, but my attempts were futile.

I remembered Jake's yell. Jade's scream. The blood that splattered right in front of my feet. The lifeless expression on Petal's face. The dimming in her eyes. The slack in her body. The sword that had pierced right through her chest.

Jake's enraged roar as he charged towards the soldier and drew his own sword into the man's body. Jake's trembling hands as he touched his dead sister's face. I recognized that look. The look that I once had. The lifeless yet murderous look before the tears began to spill.

Catherine's gentle words towards Jake as she sat next to Petal and examined her body for a final checkup. Her silent tears as she quietly announced Petal's death.

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all.

A girl as young as her losing her life when she still had such much more for her...because of me. There was no doubt that I had brought the trouble into town.

Why were other people getting hurt? Why wasn't I the one who was getting hurt?

I didn't want to carry these burdens anymore. I didn't want to be the reason why people were hurting.

Slowly lifting my head, I stared blankly ahead.

Was I even allowed to feel this sorry for myself? I wasn't even hurt in the first place.

What if I escaped to the ends of the Earth? What if I disappeared? If I disappeared, will people around me stop hurting? Will they finally be safe?

I pushed myself up and turned to face the sunset.

Could this really be the option to not getting anyone hurt anymore?

Could I finally end all of this?

"Sakura?"

It took me a few seconds to register that someone was calling my name. Slowly, I turned to see a black-haired man looking at me.

"Gray," I croaked, my voice cracking and soft. "What are you—"

Before I finished my sentence, Gray shot forward and grabbed my legs. Suddenly, I was falling. Gray stuck his arms out and caught my fall.

"What were you thinking?!" Gray shouted, looking down at me with wide eyes.

I stared up at him blankly. Glancing around, I tried to register what had just happened.

Gray set me down and took my face into his hands. "Sakura. Look at me."

I lifted my tired eyes up at him and stared aimlessly at him. Gray bit his lip. "Do you not realize what you were just about to do?"

"Gray..." I whispered.

Gray froze. I glanced up at him again. "Gray."

A breeze swept my hair into the air as I moved my lips soundlessly. When the wind stopped, I tried again. "Gray. Gray, I'm tired."

As soon as those words left my mouth, I started crying again. But no tears came out again. I just let out the grief-stricken sobs shake my whole body as I tried to pull myself into a tiny ball again.

Before I could though, Gray reached out and stopped me. "Sakura. It's alright. You don't need to close off again."

"I—I'm not closing off," I wheezed. "I want to...to be alone..."

"I'm not going to leave you alone," Gray said. "I don't feel safe leaving you alone just yet."

"I—I'm fine," I tried. "I'm fine."

"That's what Justin always used to say when he was young as well," Gray sighed. "Jeez, you guys are just the same problem..."

"Don't...don't bring him up," I gasped. "I don't want to hear his name."

I could feel Gray's eyes drill through me as I pushed back a flying strand of hair. Gray closed his eyes and folded his arms. "He won't die—"

"No one thinks they're going to die!" I snapped. "You can't...death is too unpredictable. Life is too unpredictable. You can't promise me anything anymore. No one can."

"But do you think Justin will die?" Gray asked.

"I..." I shook my head. "I don't know—"

"He won't, right?" Gray said. "You know he won't. He can't. He's too strong, too stubborn to die."

"And I thought Petal was too young to..." I shook my head again, unable to complete my sentence.

"Her death was unfortunate," Gray sighed heavily. "She should've never crossed paths into the fight."

I bit my lip and closed my eyes. Gray didn't say anything for a while before hesitantly asking, "Were...were you really thinking of jumping from the railing?"

"I didn't even realize I was up on there," I hoarsely replied.

"Wasn't hoping for that response really," Gray muttered.

"Then would you rather me say I knew I was up there?" I chuckled weakly.

Gray stared at me weirdly. "Why in the world are you laughing at that?"

I frowned and shrugged. Gray shook his head. "I think you're actually going crazy."

A flock of birds cawed overhead as they passed us. I pointed at the birds. "You know, I always wondered what it would feel like to be a bird."

Gray turned his eyes towards me. "Why?"

"Aren't they so free?" I wondered. "Being able to do whatever they want. They just eat, poop, fly, and repeat. They don't need to worry about a crazy king that wants to do experiments on humans so he can create some demon army...humans are really horrible, aren't they?"

Gray stared at me with an unfathomable expression before shaking his head. I frowned and leaned my head back against the railing. "Don't you think so? You know when I was a child, I used to think the monsters Mom used to tell me were scary. But now that I've seen the real world, I've realized humans are much scarier. Greed, desire, hate, evil...no species on this Earth are this cruel except for us..."

Gray's eyes shimmered with pity and sadness as he stared at me. "You...you guys are too young for this."

I rose a curious eyebrow at Gray.

Gray shook his head. "Your eyes. They look like they've seen a lot of horrible things that so many other adults have and will never ever see. I can't even give you any advice, even though I'm so old."

I tried for a smile and shrugged. "Well, I guess that's a con to having Royal blood."

Gray whistled lowly. "Right. And you're a Royal Demon too somehow. Are you Serina's child?"

I immediately sat upright when I heard Mom's name, snapping out of my tired daze. "You...how...?"

"She stopped by our place when she escaped from the palace," Gray said. "She didn't stay for very long though. I told her that if she stopped at a certain point in the forest, she could get help...if they offered."

"Elder?" I asked.

"Seems like you've been there as well, then," Gray smirked.

"How do you know Elder?" I asked.

"We share a mutual hate for the king," Gray shrugged. 

I frowned and tilted my head. Gray's connections were amazing. When we were warned about Guren, that man was most likely with Gray as well. His eyes and ears were everywhere—

"Gray," I realized. "Jade."

Gray gave me a wary look. "What? What about her?"

"Did you search her?"

Gray folded his arms. "What?"

"Did you?"

"Well, I did do a little background check on her after she began to appear around so much recently," Gray muttered. "Doesn't have many friends in town apparently—"

"No, not that," I said. "She...how many children does she have?"

"Three," Gray slowly answered, his eyes slowly training me. "Two daughters, one son."

My heart began to pound faster. So Jake was Jade's son. But...

"The son," I said, staring at the ground. "Where is he?"

Gray didn't seem to want to answer. "You seem like you know—"

"Just," I closed my eyes. "Just confirm it for me."

"She sent him away."

I drew in a sharp intake of air and opened my eyes, leaning my head back against the railings. Gray remained silent as I tried to process what he had said. I always had it in the back of my head, but...

"How'd you find out?" Gray asked after he granted me a moment of silence.

"I just had an icky feeling," I muttered. "It didn't make sense that Jake just wound up on Brody. None of them wound up there by accident. That's why Tristan made me shut up about it. It's not known to the public because that's where failed experiments are dumped."

"And you immediately thought Jade sent him away?" Gray asked.

"Well, I did think that," I sighed. "But when Guren came and we were running back to your place, I remember hearing some passersby talking about it. How the Royals were here again to take more kids in exchange for money. I just...I didn't want to believe it—"

I suddenly froze. Gray glanced at me with a confused expression. "What—?"

"Wait," I gasped. "That doesn't make sense. Jake should've died by now if he was a failed experiment. Failed experiments don't survive to adulthood."

"That's probably why Jade was so surprised to see him because she knew that experiments don't survive past adulthood," Gray sighed.

I whirled my head to him. "You knew and you didn't bother correcting me?"

"Well, I thought maybe there was a mutation or something that went on during his experiment," Gray muttered.

"What if he was never experimented on in the first place?" I mused. "So then are there others? Is Curt one of them then?"

"Curt?" Gray frowned.

I rubbed my temples and tried to think of the possibilities. I gasped and looked up at Gray again, startling him. "Guren. He's in the prison right now, isn't he?"

"You can't go there without authorization," Gray said, eyeing me. "And before you do anything, you really hurt her. Go back and apologize."

"Catherine?" I asked after I tried to think about who he was talking about.

"Who else did you storm out on?" Gray snorted. "Looked like she was about to start crying up a storm there."

I kept quiet and looked down at my feet, trying to focus on the peaceful sounds of the waves rather than the painful memory of Catherine's expression when I yelled at her.

"She did a good amount of studying and has quite a talent for someone as young as her," Gray said quietly. "I had never seen such ways of these new ointments being used and how they are mixed together. She even let herself be thrown into the cage and kicked by that old man just to help out one of your mates."

"I know, I know," I sighed, crouching down to the balls of my feet. "I just...I just lost it when I saw Justin in that state..."

"Hmmm," Gray threw back his head to the sky, and I was strongly reminded of Justin again. "You know what? I think Justin's going to be just fine. With you around."

"Well, he's in this state because I am around," I muttered.

Gray snorted. "When Justin was a little kid, he always came back with scratches all over his body. He trained everyday, non-stop. He could go on and on without stopping if I didn't come and drag him back into the hideout. Had to train him or else he would ignore me for the whole day. Never gave a shit about anyone. Cold, cold eyes. He had seen quite horrible things as a kid. Didn't think he would ever change from his passive state."

He looked back down at me and the corners of his mouth lifted. "So when I thought I saw you and Justin walking together, I couldn't believe my eyes. And when I saw you during the dagger match, I remember feeling more and more shook up when I realized the way you fought, the way you held your stance, it all reminded me of Justin. The whole time I was wondering if I had gone delusional. But then you popped up in the hideout with him. Boy, had that guy grown up. Grown up well too..."

Gray was fully smiling now. His misty eyes were filled with affection. "He looked so happy. He looked...human. The way he talked to you and looked at you...I thought I would never have seen that from him, nonetheless ever see him ever again."

"Did he run away?" I asked hesitantly.

Gray sighed. "I forced him to. Sure our hideout was secret and a tight circle, but this was an extremely busy town. Royals came by frequently, and he could have had a chance of being seen by them. So I sent him to the old lady."

"Elder?" I asked.

"Yeah," he mused. "But that's not the point. I'm trying to say...Sakura,  don't throw your life carelessly away like that."

I closed my eyes and let out a long sigh. "I know. I don't know what came over me. But...I won't do it again."

Gray folded his arms and stared at me with distrustful eyes. I smirked and leaned towards Gray. "I'm serious. You won't catch me on a railing again, okay?"

"You seriously need to fix your joke timing," Gray sighed. "I hope you're telling me the truth because I don't want to deal with Justin after he wakes up."

Right. After Justin wakes up. Gray glanced at me out of the side of my eye and slapped my back. "Well, off you go. You have to go apologize to your friend."

"What about you?" I asked, pulling away from my sentimental thoughts.

Gray sighed. "I have to find that red-headed friend of yours. Gotta make sure he's still breathing."

"How did you even find me in the first place?" I asked.

"That bird of yours helped," Gray scoffed. "Amazing, that little thing..."

"Gray..." I tilted my head. "Why are you doing this? You don't even know us that well."

Gray turned his eyes towards me. "Justin is like a son to me. All of you helped break down his walls, and for that, I am eternally in debt to you all. Besides, I want to be a good father-in-law for my amazing daughter-in-law, right?"

"What?" I asked. "What do you mean? You have a daughter-in-law?"

Gray opened his mouth before closing it and smirking. "Hurry up and go, already."

I frowned, questioning Gray's dodge to my question but got up nonetheless. I ran a few steps ahead before skidding to a stop and looking over my shoulder. Gray was still sitting on the ground, staring after me.

Turning around, I bowed my head towards Gray. "Gray. Thank you so much for everything."

Gray smiled and pointed towards me. "Geez, just live a little more your age, will you?"

~~~~~

I dunnoo...I can't write sad/sappy scenes like I just can't. I don't have the skills sigh ╥﹏╥

Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed! If you did, please hit the star and comment below your thoughts!

See you guys next Sunday <<33