The wooden hut was small and cramped, but if it could fit five boys in it, then two fighting children should have no trouble at all.
"Get. Out. Of. My. House." Lucian grunted.
Celine's face reddened in frustration as she gripped the cushion with all her might, not allowing him to pull her any further. "You...can't...drag me out," she said through gritted teeth, "I'm the Duke's daughter, show me some respect!"
"Respect?!" Lucian scoffed, "You're the one who should show me respect!"
"Excuse me?! I'm the one doing the respecting, while you act like you own the world!" she yelled, jumping on him and tackling him to the ground, her hands going for his throat, "You should be begging me to spare your life, not demanding me to leave your place!"
She didn't use any force, just trying to intimidate him into submission. But the pain that was building inside Lucian was becoming unbearable. It hurt to have her before him, and it hurt to have her far. Why did she have to be the Duke's daughter?
The girl on top of him didn't seem to fare better, her eyes were glassy, her face flushed as her fingers held his neck in place, "Did someone pay you to be mean to me...?" she asked, the question surprising him, "I didn't do anything for you to hate me this much..."
Lucian blinked at that, her words confusing him even more. "I don't...hate you. I just..."
He wrapped his arms around her in frustration, unable to explain it with words.
She was too shocked to move as he hugged her tightly against his chest.
"I just…I'm sorry…It's not your fault," he said in hope it would be persuading enough to not make her think that he hated her.
He didn't know any noble etiquette, so he didn't realize how much his actions threw her off.
Celine's face turned completely red as she barely breathed in his embrace, "What a-are you doing?"
"Apology hug," Lucian said, his heart racing inside his chest, his face flushed as he tightened his hold around her. This felt too good. Too good to let her go. The warmth of her body seeped into his skin, filling him with an unknown sensation of joy.
"Oh..." she mumbled, not knowing what to do, she awkwardly hugged him back in the same manner, "...um...uh...Apology hug back."
"..."
"..."
"..."
They remained like that for a long time, neither of them knowing how to separate from each other. It wasn't until they heard footsteps outside his hideout that they jumped apart from each other in panic.
"Lady Celine, the time is over," one of the guards' voices said from the outside.
"!!!!" Celine quickly picked up her book and put it back in her bag, then realized she had forgotten something. Pulling out a meat bun from her bag, she handed it to Lucian before running toward the exit to join her guards.
The three guards gave Lucian a strange look as if expecting him to join them.
"He is not coming," Celine quickly told her guards, "Don't mind him."
"Yes, My Lady," the guards said, and the group walked away from his hideout.
───────────────────────────
Lucian stared at the meat bun in his hand, thinking he was alone again, and then took a bite. Chewing it slowly, he leaned over to grab his basket when an arrow landed on the ground near his leg. "!!!!!!"
Choking out his food, Lucian ducked when another arrow came flying past his head. He rolled out of the way to avoid being hit, quickly crawling toward the wooden walls of his hut and hiding behind it, his heart pounding wildly inside his chest.
Searching for a weapon of any kind, he could only find his gardening shovel. "Who's there?!" he shouted, his voice cracking in fear.
He gripped the wooden handle tightly, preparing to fight for his life.
Footsteps approached, and the person revealed himself at the entrance. A man with his bottom face covered by a black cloth and dressed in dark clothing. He exchanged his bow for a short sword, slowly cornering the boy.
'An assassin?!' Lucian's eyes widened in realization. 'Someone wants me dead!'
Lucian raised his shovel defensively, "You have the wrong guy, whoever sent you is trying to get rid of an innocent boy, I swear!"
The assassin stopped, looking at Lucian in silence, "Blame your luck for rejecting Lady Celine's offer to become her servant," he said, "It's nothing personal, just safety measures. Any future threats to the Rochefort bloodline must be eliminated."
Lucian looked for a moment to flee as the assassin approached.
'Kill. Kill him.' the voice suddenly came back to him, urging him to act. 'Or he will kill you. KILL HIM! NOW!'
Lucian's eyes flashed gold as he threw his shovel at the assassin.
The assassin raised his sword to block it, but the strength behind the throw was far greater than what a boy his age could muster, throwing him off balance.
Lucian took the chance to dash at him with the speed of a wild beast, tackling him to the ground and slamming his fists into the man's face.
"Argh!" The assassin groaned in pain, his nose broken, and his cheekbones shattered under the boy's knuckles. Blood spurted out of his mouth and nose as he struggled to breathe. Not giving up, he threw a jab at Lucian, hitting him in the chest.
Lucian flew to the side, hitting the ground. His eyes lost their golden glow as he coughed violently, blood coming out of his mouth, "Ugh!"
'It hurts!'
'Too much power, you are not strong enough to handle it.' The voice said, 'Get used to pain.'
The assassin quickly recovered and picked up his sword, "A fucking shackled disguised as a human child..." he muttered, no longer feeling any mercy for the boy. Not that he felt any in the first place.
"I'm not…" Lucian was still gasping for air when the man came at him again with eyes filled with hatred and malice. He knew it was the end. He couldn't fight anymore; he didn't have the strength left.
'Stupid. Foolish. Weak!' the voice kept cursing at him, 'Move! OR YOU WILL DIE!'
Lucian was ready for the blade to pierce his body when the voice cursed at him again.
'I'm going to take over your body, you useless shit! Move over!'
'What?' Lucian thought, 'No, it's my body! My parents gave it to me!'
'Your parents would have been ashamed to have such a waste of life like you as a son,' the voice said, 'They would have begged me to take over and save their precious son. Now, MOVE!'
Lucian rolled to the side, barely avoiding the sword as it struck the ground next to him. While the voice tried to take over his body, its powers also gave him a temporary boost. He yanked the arrow that was on the ground and stammered forward, stabbing the assassin's leg as he did so.
"Arrgh!"