The witch's Forest is a forty-minute trek from the city gates. He arrives at the entrance of the forest by noon. It's a dreary forest with thick foliage; the canopies of the tall trees here make it hard for light to break through. The forest floor is full of tree roots, fallen branches, and man-eating swamp areas. To grow stronger Rei had come here before to train. The atmosphere is just as unpleasant now as it was then.
He doesn't know which route the kidnapper may have taken. He can only comb through the forest with his keen senses. The further he goes the more frequent the monster encounters become. The short fights were a good outlet to exhaust some of his anger and unease. Eventually even the lower-level monsters seemed to instinctively understand not to interfere with him. A few minutes into his journey and he began to see odd pink patches of fabric on the floor, clearly leading him somewhere.
He crouched down to pick one up, carefully feeling the piece of cloth. He remembers the night before when he went to have that conversation with Ariellia. She'd been wearing a form fitting pink nightgown that hugged her chest and hips in a provocative manner. If he hadn't been the one to initiate the conversation, he would have sworn she had been waiting for him, attempting to seduce him again. The thought of the kidnapper seeing her in such revealing attire makes his blood boil. Clenching the fabric in his hand, he begins to follow the trail.
It stops at the footsteps of a suspicious cabin. It's odd to see such a nicely maintained wood cabin here out in the middle of the witch's forest, no hunter would be stupid enough to live here. As he takes the first step, he becomes aware of it right away. A barrier surrounding the entire cabin, this explains why there is no sign of monster damage on the structure. The monsters can't even get close enough to cause any harm. His muscles tense up as he enters the dense magical field. The spellcaster must be formidable to cast such complex sorcery.
The front door is unlocked, almost as though he's being invited in. Creeped out by the whole thing, Rei steps into the cabin. The interior is illuminated by a soft mix of sunlight and magic stones on the walls. A stone hearth anchors the room, its fire crackling beneath the mantle place. A ceremonial wreath to Selene hangs above it to honor the goddess of night. Rei uses his light steps skill to quietly inspect the place without making a sound. The unassuming cabin is a lot bigger inside than it appears outside. He examines the kitchen area, there's a fresh cut of deer lying on the pristine polished wood countertop, several hanging iron pots of various sizes, and a boiling kettle on the stove.
The entry way and kitchen look completely normal, with no booby-traps or familiars acting as guards. He walks down the long hallway with several doors to choose from. Rei is just about to turn the knob of the first door when he hears a familiar voice coming from the third room on the right. He sneaks closer to the third door and pricks his ears to catch the tail end of the conversation. He hears Ariellia's light voice, and he feels the crushing pressure on his heart ease up a bit. Then he hears the dark deep voice of a male and the uncomfortable pressure returns.
"…you don't wanna reconsider my marriage proposal now?"
He can't afford to stay still after hearing such outlandish words. Before even considering what he's doing, he's already gathered mana to his foot and kicked in the door. On the other side he catches sight of Ariellia's startled face, still dressed scandalously in her form fitting pink nightgown, seated on the bed right next to a strange man dressed in black. With a stool, chair, and couch present, why of all places did they choose to sit on the bed?
He can feel his brow twitch and the veins on his neck swell in anger. The current visual before him is just too stimulating for a cool-headed approach.
"Who are you?" he asks through clenched teeth.
"Well hello there, what took you so long nephew?" the cheerful tone in the man's voice only makes him want to grind his head beneath his boots.
"Funny, I don't recall having a shameless uncle like you." There's a smile on Rei's handsome face, but anyone can tell it doesn't reach his cold red eyes.
His response is so cold it leaves Ariellia shivering in place on the bed. His sharp eyes catch her reaction, and he oddly finds her horrified expression to be a bit silly. She seems to have some sense, swiftly distancing herself from the stranger on the bed to prove her innocence. Her clumsy actions sooth some of the boiling anger in his lungs. Quickly, before the stranger can react he pulls her to his side and places her behind him. With his wife out of the line of fire, he now levels his sword at the kidnapper's neck. Everyone can feel the tension in the room kickup a notch.
Familiar red eyes stare at the sword by his throat nonchalantly, not a trace of fear can be seen. The stranger pulls off the hazy shroud that has been masking parts of his face. Rei can hear Ariellia gasp behind him. He too is surprised to see an older, similar face staring back at him. There's no denying their blood relation, even without a magical source test he knows deep down this man is his uncle. The stranger did not lie. They both had the same sharp jawline, narrow upturned eyes, and straight aristocratic nose. The only visible difference being their age and hairstyle.
"Who are you?" even if the answer is staring him in the face Rei couldn't bring himself to accept it.
He knows he can't deny the stranger's claims but the little rebellious orphan in him refuses to waver. He's gotten through his entire life without having family, relying only on the nuns at the church. What right did this stranger have to come and try to overturn his entire life, after all this time. Once upon a time, he had been that little boy constantly waiting by the door of the orphanage for his real family to come pick him up. Countless times, he envisioned his mom and dad coming back to get him. They would tearfully apologize and explain it was a mistake or by accident and that they'd been searching for him all this time.
Now this strange man appears before him, claiming to be his 'Uncle' after kidnapping his wife no less. Rei's red eyes glow with silent anger, his sword inching closer to the stranger's pale throat. He simply can't accept this!
"I'm not a fan of repeating myself nephew. I see you can't take a joke." The man at the end of his blade didn't seem threatened at all, calmly flicking it off his throat with only his finger. The force behind the simple gesture was so strong it sent his sword flying into the dresser. Rei was disarmed in a second, his hand numb from the recoil.
'He's strong!'
Whoever this man is there's no doubt he's stronger than Rei. It's no jest to say he could kill them both without breaking a sweat. This harsh reality cools some of his brash anger. Rei tightens his grip on his second sword and cautiously takes Ariellia's hand in the other, inching back, ready to bolt out of the room at a moment's notice. His actions aren't missed by the man in black. He doesn't seem to care though, only chuckling at the sight, finding his prickly nephew to be incredibly cute.
"Just as possessive as your father I see."
"You know who my father is?" Rei gulps, suddenly feeling pressured by the man's very existence.
"Of course I do, he's my half-brother after all." The foreign man with the shoulder length black hair like his own smiled and offered his hand in a friendly manner. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Jasper Ellis Bastion and I'm your uncle."