Creased Up
"Come here, sit down. Now tell us what you all found," Levi immediately came with water as soon as Alice, Maya, and Jackson entered.
She, Rish, and Alisha were all so eager to know what happened about the whole building scenario.
And all three of them were dissatisfied too because they were left behind. Usually, they all went there to train and were very familiar with the area, but today Maya allowed no one other than Alice, who obviously saw the building, so it was necessary for him to go.
Elk had some work, so he couldn't go with them or stay at home either.
"Let us breathe. Why are you so eager?" Maya sighed as they all settled in their seats and took the water.
"How can we not be eager?" Rish stated. "You all went there without us, of course we are curious, and it's so hard to keep our calm after seeing you all."
"That's because it wasn't necessary for so many of us to go there, and we can't just leave one person alone here, even though this house is safe. That doesn't mean I'm not paranoid about the attack that happened in the safe house before," Maya answered, taking a few sips of water.
Alisha flinched back a bit upon hearing about the attack. Whenever she heard about this, she didn't feel too good, as Alice's bleeding and beaten-up body came to her mind. Even though he was healing now, she still couldn't forget.
And to think deeper, that attack was originally intended for her, so how could she just tame up with the situation? She couldn't.
"Rish, is that right, mom? Tell us what happened?" Levi's eyes sparkled as she anticipated an answer.
"We found nothing, as we thought. There was no building, so we decided to take this key to Witch Lima. She will help. She was the one who helped us wake Alisha up by giving the suggestion. We are hoping that by seeing the key, she will be able to tell us something," Jackson replied, interrupting a bit.
Alice was a bit content for himself, as they agreed to take him. He didn't want to go, but now this matter was all about Alisha, and he didn't want to hand over the key just like that.
So it was better if he involved himself better and deeper to the extent that could help him in protecting Alisha.
"Damn, this is way more complex than we thought," Rish chimed in tiredly.
"Correct," Levi nodded.
Alice looked at Alisha, who was looking nervous. He wanted to ask her what happened to make her this stressed. Did something happen when she was alone here with Levi and Rish?
It didn't seem likely based on Levi and Rish's behaviour, but anything was possible. He didn't take risks with Alisha.
He didn't want to ask her why she was like this because everyone was sitting there. Sure, he wasn't scared, but he knew Alisha hated extra attention, and she was already getting too much attention due to the circumstances. So it was better if he just waited until they were alone.
"So, should we go and meet this Witch Lima now?" Jackson asked, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group.
Maya nodded. "The sooner the better. We need to get to the bottom of this mysterious key and any clues it may hold about Alisha's disappearance."
Rish stood up. "I'll come with you. Four sets of eyes are better than three when dealing with magical matters."
"I want to come too," Alisha spoke up, her voice quiet but insistent.
Alice immediately shook his head. "Absolutely not. It's too dangerous until we know what we're dealing with." He met her eyes, his own gaze softening slightly at her crestfallen expression. "Please, just stay here where it's safe."
Alisha opened her mouth, likely to protest, but Levi cut her off. "Don't worry, Alisha, I'll stay with you. We can practise some fighting techniques while they're gone."
Though she still looked disappointed, Alisha nodded reluctantly. Alice felt a pang of guilt for upsetting her, but his need to protect her overrode everything else.
"Let's go then," Maya said briskly. "The sooner we get answers, the better."
The three of them - Maya, Jackson, and Alice - headed out, Alice tucking the ornate key securely into his pocket. He couldn't shake the feeling that this strange artefact held significance.
As they walked, Alice pulled Jackson aside. "Can you wait a little? I will come in ten minutes."
Jackson's brow furrowed. "What happened?"
"I just need to talk to Alisha . It will be done soon."
"Okay, go. We will wait here.”
Alice nodded and turned back towards the house, leaving Maya and Jackson waiting by the edge of the forest trail.
He found Alisha in the sitting room with Levi, the two of them apparently talking. Levi looked up as Alice entered, then gave Alisha a meaningful glance before excusing herself.
Once they were alone, Alice sat down across from Alisha. She was fidgeting nervously with the hem of her shirt.
"Hey," he said gently. "Everything okay?"
Alisha hesitated, then finally met his gaze. "I'm just...worried, I guess. About everything that's happening."
She drew in a shaky breath. "I hate feeling so useless and left in the dark. I want to help find answers, to do something."
Alice reached across and squeezed her hand. "I know this is frustrating. Believe me.”
“Hmm.”
He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "But Alisha...when I saw you earlier, you seemed really on edge. Like something had spooked you while we were gone."
Her eyes widened briefly before she looked away. "It's nothing, just..." She trailed off, huffing out a mirthless laugh. "My own stupid imagination is getting the better of me."
But Alice could sense she was holding something back. He studied her apprehensive expression for a moment.
"You'd tell me if something happened though, right?" he asked quietly.
"Nothing much. I was just thinking about that attack when Maya mentioned it, and just like her, I'm paranoid about it too. But it's useless because it's already done, and now we are in a safe place. However, I can't help but stress over it," Alisha truthfully poured out her words, shaking a bit.
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