Chapter 3 Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

AILA

" Your father will be so proud of you,"

The echoing voice of my Aunt Monica and Uncle Demetrius roused me from where I was. I groaned at the pain upon my shoulders, imagining their worried faces. They were my acting parents and they cared for me like I was their own.

Yet here I am, alone on earth to accomplish a mission and look for my parents.

I shall not fail them.

I have sacrificed so much to repay their kindness upon caring for me in behalf of my father. I have a mission, and that is to give love and not receive it. I have a purpose, and that is to find out what happened to my parents and if they are still alive. Uncle Demetrius told me so, that my human mother is here on earth, and I am hoping that my father is also alive and well. Even though I am not certain of what they look like and what their names are, I believe in fate.

I held on the lamp post and tried to stand. The sight of my wing fluttering hopelessly made me sigh, the other one hanging upon my back like an over size cape, limp and wet with pink liquid- Erosian blood. I look around to see the streets empty, the crowd gone because of the sudden rain.

To my great luck, the rain poured harder upon me, soaking me through.

I shake my head as a pair of bright blue eyes burned in my mind, the feeling of betrayal driving me angry.

How can a cupid be so rude? How can he just push me off the window as though I am a pesky bird? I am just trying to be friendly to him but he made me feel undesired.

Is he annoyed of the kiss?

It wasn't my fault that we ended up kissing, twice! I never meant for it to happen. I am as surprised as he is so why is he acting like an hermit. Plus, he doesn't need to make my situation worst by pushing me off the window - a nice cup of tea would've been great!

I glared at his window and shivered, pulling my wings closer, hoping to provide warmth to my drenched body. I thought rain is pretty sight here on earth like how they tell it in the books, but now I know that it isn't.

That cupid, I will face him again and show him what I am worth!

I glared up at the window, cracking my knuckles and baring my teeth. "Just wait. I'll get back at you and you will regret it!" I bit my lip annoyed as I remember his pretty face. So what if he resembles an ancientgod? For all I know he was a devil in disguise. He just wait. I will target all his victims and leave him with nothing. I am so irritated I could only think about beating him in every way possible.

I am about to make my way to the building when a woman clad in a peach colored dress caught my attention. She was pretty, her brown hair plaited into two halves, adjusting her glasses on top of her nose. She was seated in front of a cafe, sipping on a hot cocoa as she nibbled on a sugar coated bread. She wiped her tears while leaning back on her chair, trying to appear emotionless. I focused on her mind and saw the reason why she was crying-Her memories flashing in my own head and there I found the reason behind those tears: She was heartbroken because her fiancée had died.

Snatching an arrow from my quiver, I smiled as it buzzed underneath my fingers-the arrow knows it purpose and it is excited as I am. I quickly position it on my bow and let it fly across the glass wall of the cafe as though it was water, hitting the girl. She was stunned as she clutch her chest, standing up. Her eyes then landed on a tall man that resembles her fiancée. He is currently ordering a coffee, unaware of the woman as she stands and makes her way towards the man. He was about to pay for his coffee when she turned him around, holding unto his waist before she stood on her tiptoe, pressing a solemn kiss on his lips. His eyes widened for a moment as the girl deepen the kiss, the arrow blossomed and reach towards the guys chest, intertwining them.

It was beautiful and they are perfect.

"Okay! This is getting heated." I rub my hands together and smiled brightly, "I just have to find more couple to shoot to complete my mission, then I can look for my parents." I held the daisy upon my ear and sigh, hoping that my longing for my parents would fade away but it didn't.

My frustrations build up again as the rain stopped. I stared up at his window and shivered-I need to do this.

I need to ask for shelter and better yet, confront the guy. I need to know why he is here, why they sent him and why he hated me so much when he is also a cupid. I need to get answers for I never wanted a conflict on my mission. Speaking to him shall clear the misunderstanding and the least he could do is hear me out at least.

I sighed, barely escaping the attendants as I successfully got his room number. I started counting up the rooms, 358

.

365

.

377!

It was a simple cedar wood door, the only cedar wood in this whole floor-This confirms that he is a Cupid for this wood gives us energy and power. The cherubim on post outside his doors look ridiculous; what with the petal crown and necklaces accentuating how little both of the cherubim are. Is he the one who did this? He's got a sense of humor hidden underneath his scowl. If he could only smile, I am pretty sure that he will make every woman fall down on his feet. He is so pretty but he's got a bad habit of kicking people out or is it just me that he treats that way?



Anyway.

I tried for the door but it was locked, as expected. I ran my hands on the surface of the door, feeling the power and the enchantments on it as it lightly pulse beneath my hand. I pull one of the arrows from my quiver and slide the fletching along the sides.

With a smile, I open the door with ace and quietly entered, expecting that he will be attacking me in surprise but there is no one in the room.

I did not expect for him to have a very unguarded room. It seems like he isn't expecting a cupid to visit him.

I am surprise to see how clean and elegant the interior was. The floor was completely covered by different patches of carpet, a worn leather sofa placed on the far side. The curtain hanging by the window looks like the flag I've seen from England, battered and quite old like everything else inside his living room. There were spiral of circles afloat near the window, the same size that is on the table beside the leather sofa.

"Someone is obsessed of old things," I muttered to myself as I ran my hands down on the carpet that have traces of enchantments, allurements. He must have been using those to attract more people. "I can't believe that it is actually possible to live here on earth while exercising our power when we were warned to be discreet."

The steel arrows that I saw him using awhile back, was tossed carelessly on the sofa, a blanket barely covering it. No clothes were tossed on the floor rather they were hung on the arms of the leather sofa as though he just came home. There is also a large mirror reflecting the canoe shaped stairs on the back of the sofa. The shelves situated near the windows held a thousand of books, the only thing inside this room that really drew me in.

My hands carefully brush the spines of the books. I pulled out one of the books that is entitled: Eros: A Cupid History and randomly opened it but instead of finding words in it, it reflected a couple of gold images floating on the cream colored pages. Mesmerize but bored, I pull out another one that is under the title of 'Cupid Conundrums'. The letters and sentences appear golden against the cream pages. The paper, although old, smells like it was newly written, the font looks so elegant that it kind of reminds me of Grandma Aphrodite's handwriting. "This is crazy! I have never been to a house full of Cupid history. Seriously, what is he? Is he a scholar sent down to Earth just to study?"

I stow the book inside my satchel hidden under my robes before entering another room situated on the right wall that appears to be the bedroom. The light coming from the window blinded me for a while and I have to blink twice to clear my vision-the rose plant situated next to the window appear differently with its amethyst flowers blooming with a hint of gold in them. I gently touched the flower before entering the room.

It was very simple-the window, where I said hello to him, was closed as expected. His bed that is facing the entry, appears comfortable and inviting; the wool brown blanket on top contrasted the black bed sheets and pillowcases. A couple of books sat at the bench which is situated at the foot of the bed, there are maps and globes everywhere, too.

I pick up a couple of steel arrows and put them on top of the map I begin to scrutinize. I took the biggest of all the maps and saw red pins that is carefully stuck in it. It was in oddly named places and most of them I barely knew since I am always focused on looking down here in the city Paris. I wonder where South Korea and Canada is? Were they as wet as London days or as cold as the Alaska? There are lines connecting one unto the other and there are dates on it, way back from 1400 until today.

Geez, that is creepy. 1400 is six hundred years ago. That is just...old.

There were notes scribbled next to the places and it is confusing. What do these numbers mean? Why does he have box and package designs? And why does he need meetings? What does new application launch got to do with games and what are mobiles?

What is he doing here on earth, exactly?

I leave his notes and proceed at his bedside. I took one of the books which is red in color-it has marks on it and some scribbles on the margins. I cannot understand the words at first but then I realize that it is written in our Old tongue. It will take me a while to translate this so I put it inside my satchel and plan to study it later on.

I am so curious of trying to read the title of the book I just took from the bench that I did not notice him going inside the room.

Is he a ghost? Why did he turn up suddenly?

I am so startled of his presence that I let go of the book and it fell with an echoing thud. His words continuously ringing on my ear as I gawk, "What the fuck?"



"Oh, what does that mean?"

His eyes hardened at my question and I bit my lip. He sauntered low to my level only to stumble on one of the long ribbons from my dress, making his lips crash unto mine.



My eyes widen as I properly felt the weight of his lips upon mine, his body pressed firmly while his hands were in between my head. He sucked in a deep breath and I have to close my eyes to digest the feeling.

I didn't have time to say anything about the incident when he pulls away in an instant. His face is flushed as mine did, his jaw tightly clenched as he bit back the words, pointing his finger at me, " No one can know about any of this, do you understand?"

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