Chapter 18

Aria's POV

I was surprised to see Jaxon outside the mansion, and now Christopher is perplexed, and I'm at a loss for words.

"Do you live with your boyfriend? I had no idea you had a boyfriend," I was taken aback by Christopher's question.

"No! He is not my boyfriend; he is my friend. As I previously stated, he is allowing me to temporarily reside in his home." Christopher is still staring at Jaxon, I said.

"Are you having an affair with my friend?" Jaxon asked, and I glared at him, but he just winked at me secretly, implying that I should play along.

"I'm not flirting with her! I want to see the house where she lives," Christopher said, stepping back a little.

"I believe we're done here, Aria; sorry if I've bothered you; see you tomorrow!" Christopher waved his hand, and I waved my hand as he left Jaxon and me.

"Are you looking for a fight, Jaxon?" I said this after Christopher had left us, and when I turned to face him, he immediately knelt down.

"I'm not master! I apologize for my rudeness!" Jaxon stated that he was now following me as I entered the gate.

"By the way, how did your entrance exam go?" While both of us were walking, Jaxon inquired.

"It went well. Hopefully, I'll pass the entrance exam," I told Jaxon, who nodded in agreement.

"I'm going to Lucas's room because he has a book on fighting, and maybe I can learn some martial arts as well," I told Jaxon as I entered the mansion.

"Call me if you need anything; I'm just right here downstairs," Jaxon said as I went upstairs and I entered Lucas' room.

I entered Lucas's room for the first time; I had no idea he was such a bookworm; he had five bookshelves. I placed my bag on the table and took off my shoes before going to the bookshelf to look for a martial arts book.

I'm still observing myself because Lucas told me to because the Auxier stone power might react again, so I need to be careful. After what happened at my graduation celebration when the Auxier stone power began to spiral out of control, I don't want that to happen to me again. Or maybe it was just a phase of awakening. I have a lot of questions.

The enemy has not yet made their presence felt, and I hope they do not because the Auxier has not fully awakened. I found the book about martial arts and sat down on the single sofa.

I noticed a Bluetooth speaker here, so I put down the book I was reading and grabbed my phone. I connected it to my phone and began to open the speaker, looking through my phone for music that could make me dance.

I played that and then began to dance; I know Jaxon would have heard me, but that's okay because he's one of my protectors, and we're like family here. I feel at ease with them, and I could do this dancing every day in Lucas Mansion.

After two hours, someone knocked on the door, and I recognized it was Jaxon. When I opened the door, he looked into Lucas's room.

"You can't go inside his room," I told Jaxon, who laughed.

"I know that because you are the only person who enters his room, and by the way, I have prepared some food for you," Jaxon said, handing me a food tray.

"Can you cook?" I inquired as he handed me the tray.

"Of course, Wyatt teaches us how to cook, but he's the only one who's really good at it," Jaxon said, and I smiled.

"Really? But I haven't tried his cooking yet; perhaps if we had more time," I told Jaxon as my phone rang.

"I think Lucas is calling. You should answer it because I know he will ask how your entrance exam went," Jaxon said as I nodded and shut the door.

I placed the tray on the mini table, picked up my phone because the music was still playing, disconnected my phone from the speaker, and answered Lucas's incoming call.

"Hey, I understand why you called!" I sat down on the sofa and began eating the food that Jaxon had prepared: chicken nuggets.

[Could you please tell me why I called?] Lucas inquired.

"You're going to ask me how my entrance exam went?" When I asked Lucas, I heard him laugh.

[Has anything unusual occurred?] I pouted as Lucas said.

"Is there anything else you want? Are you going to ask if anything strange happened to me today?" I asked Lucas, who became quiet but responded to my question.

[Yes! You are correct; did the Auxier do something strange again?] After dipping the nugget in sauce, Lucas asked me.

"Nothing has happened yet, and I'm in your room reading a martial arts book; I hope you're not too busy this Sunday to teach me how to fight. I trust you because I believe you are the most powerful of the other protectors." I said this, and I accepted when I saw that he was inviting me to a video call.

[I am the strongest of the group because I have a dark spell; I can perform tricks and also make someone fall asleep for a short time. I've been training with the other protectors well,] Lucas said, and I've already eaten everything on my plate.

"I didn't mean your power, but rather your intelligence, kindness, and dependability. You have skills in something I don't know about yet, but I can tell you have them," I said to Lucas.

[You mean fighting? You haven't seen me fight yet, but you will if necessary,] Lucas spoke up, and I nodded as I noticed someone enter his office.

[Sir, your meeting is about to begin,] I heard someone say, and Lucas rose to his feet.

"I'll be there; it appears you need to leave now; I'll see you later," I said, and he motioned with his hand.

[See you later, master.] Lucas said as he ended the call, and I connected my phone to the speaker once more, but this time I stopped to scroll through my phone.

I put down my phone, turn off the speaker, place it on the mini table and pick up the plate. I went outside Lucas's room, down, and saw Jaxon's painting. I approached him and tapped his shoulder.

"Hello, master, does the food I prepared taste good?" Jaxon inquired.

"Yeah, it was good, and what are you working on today?" I inquired of him.

"It's a request from my customer; it's a woman holding her baby," Jaxon explained, and I nodded while watching him paint.

"Would you like to paint?" Jaxon asked, and I was taken aback.

"Could I? I'm not sure what to paint, but I used to paint when I was in kindergarten," I said to Jaxon. After finishing his painting, he stood up. He handed me a Wet Strength Cartridge Paper, a brush, and my own Wooden Easel Stand floor-standing painting. He also has his own painting materials.

"You can paint whatever is on your mind right now, like what you were thinking earlier when talking to Lucas," Jaxon said, making me laugh.

"I know what to paint now," I told Jaxon, and I began to paint. After painting a heart, I first used an acrylic red color, then blended it with an acrylic blue color, and I smiled at my creation.

"I know what this means," Jaxon said, and I looked at him.

"Are you madly in love with Lucas?" Jaxon asked, and I was taken aback; I averted my gaze and dropped the brush.

"I am not! Would you like me to punish you?" I threatened him, but he was unafraid when I looked at him.

"I'm not threatening you, master; I'm simply stating the meaning of your painting, and I apologize if I offended you," Jaxon said. I picked up the wet strength cartridge paper from where my painting was standing on a Wooden Easel Stand.

"Maybe I'm tired because of the entrance exam? I'm going to sleep and wait for Lucas." I told Jaxon, and then I went upstairs to my room, which Lucas said was my own.

I close the door and place the painting beside the drawer; I forgot to pick up my bag from Lucas' room; maybe I'll do that later; it's early, and I know he's busy with his work.

I closed my eyes and lay down on the bed, expecting the dream to repeat. I was taken aback when I realized I was floating above the water and saw my own figure standing in front of me.

"It's close. You have to be brave and prepared," she said, and I understand what she meant because it's about the Auxier.

"I'm curious about my relationship with Lucas; I know you're my past self, and I'm your reincarnation, am I correct?" When I asked her, she smiled.

"Just wait, and you'll know everything," she said, and I felt someone touch my face, so I opened my eyes to see Lucas.

"Are you awake? Did you get enough sleep?" Lucas asked, and I backed up a little.

"I'm still dreaming the same thing, and I'm tired of it; I want to know who I really am," I told him, hugging my two legs.

"You will someday, but don't rush it; we need to wait, and you can't force the Auxier to be awakened," Lucas said as he rose from his seat beside my bed.

"I like your earlier painting. Jaxon told me about it." Lucas said, and I looked at the drawer beside it, which contained my painting.

"It's just a practice; I'm not sure why I paint a beating heart with sparks," I said to Lucas before getting out of bed.

"I know it's natural for people to fall in love." I felt my face warm as Lucas spoke.

"Get out of here! I'm not in love!" When I said that, I stuttered, and Lucas laughed as he walked out of the room.