Chapter 59 - Absquatulate : Part 2

His feet were getting sore. Though the boy kept running inside the forest, following a single light in front of him as the moon embraced the sky with its light.

He was sure that at least his feet were bleeding from how he stepped on rocks and branches. But he kept running like he was running out of time, trying to erase the white noise that just would not stop filling his ears.

His breath was ragged. He could see each of his breath turned into a white mist from how cold the night was. The tears that were filling the corner of his eyes had dried up alongside the freezing air.

The source of light was getting bigger, and Axel's eyes were only focused on it. He stumbled a little as his toe bumped with a rock, and yet he still did not stop.

When he reached the light, he realized that he was reaching the end of the forest too as the last tree swayed right as the boy went past it. Right when he stepped out of it, the light almost blinded him.

He blinked a couple of times to adjust to the light and quickly met with a bunch of demons busy doing their own things. It seemed like he ended in some kind of a night market from how many counters were lying around and people trading with each other.

He tried to take a stroll and looked around. There was a big palace that illuminated the background from the south. His blue eyes scanned the area while trying to take in the familiar feelings this world gave to him from his real world.

A few glances were thrown at him from the demons around, causing the boy to frown a little. Everyone was looking at him like he was doing something illegal.

"Excuse me, son." A voice called him, making the boy look over at the demon behind one of the counters.

"May I ask what enchantments you used for those two beautiful blue eyes?" The old lady smiled genuinely, pointing at his eyes with her delicate finger.

"Oh." Axel went to touch his eyes after realizing why everyone had been looking at him weirdly.

"It's um, it's my brother's enchantments, ma'am. I don't really know how to enchant my own eyes." Axel smiled awkwardly at the older woman. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't worry, son. But you should be careful with enchantments, alright." The lady continued, looking at him with her smiling red eyes.

Axel smiled back awkwardly before pausing at what the lady sold on her counter.

"Ma'am, do you perhaps have an eyepatch?"

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The lady was so kind that she gave the eyepatch for free. Axel fluttered his right eyes open, revealing a red-eye colour after he took off the blue contact lens from Kiaran.

He adjusted his white mask alongside the eyepatch and started to walk again.

He covered his left eye with a white eyepatch to avoid the stares from the demons. He should think about what he should do next, but maybe right now, he would just search for a place to sit down in this market and-

"Yes, that's the person that was wearing blue enchantments. He may be a witch or a criminal."

Ah, of course. How could he even dare to think of resting?

Axel looked back to see three guards with a man pointing an accusing finger at him. The four of them stared back at the boy, and the young Vergessene awkwardly waved at them.

And then they chased him.

Axel quickly turned around and jumped over one of the counters, causing the demons around to shriek. He climbed onto the stairs behind the counters and swung onto the top of a building.

He rolled onto the ground as he arrived at the rooftop, glancing back to see that the guards were still chasing him down.

The boy's black locks swirled around like fallen leaves as he jumped off onto another building, trying to lose the guards that were too determined on catching the boy.

His eyes darted forward and saw an alleyway in between the buildings. He rook a step back and quickly jumped down, somersaulting onto the air.

He landed on the alleyway and started to run again. He took so many lefts and rights to confuse the guards that were left behind a little. He glided down under a little hole in the wall and took a sharp left turn.

He was to focused on running away that he did not notice a person who was standing right as he took a turn and bumped onto the said person.

Both of them fell onto the ground, bouncing with each other. Axel groaned and tried to see the person in front of him that wore a light hooded cloak. The boy squinted his right eye as he saw a familiar face with red hair under the hood.

Axel could not hide the surprise on his face when his eye met with the girl's red ones. "Rune?"

She widened her eyes when the boy said her name. "Oh, you know me!" She awkwardly chuckled waving her hand right in front of Axel.

Rune warily looked around to see if anybody saw her too. She diverted her red gaze back at the boy and smiled. "Silly me. Of course, you know me! I keep forgetting that I'm a princess."

The red hair girl tightened her hood to cover her face. She slowly leaned to the boy until their face were inch away from crashing onto each other. "You see, I'm in disguise right now. I may or may not sneak away from my palace to this night market." She whispered quietly before grinning back at him.

Rune took a step back and pat Axel's shoulder. "I really like the cupcakes here, so I'll appreciate it if you won't snitch on me."

The girl looked down to her hidden sling back and took a piece of cupcake from it. She offered the food to the boy with a big smile etched on her face. "Want to try?"

Axel looked at the cupcake and Rune for a couple of times before opening his mouth to speak. "I-"

"There he is!" A guard yelled from behind, causing Axel to snap his head over to the source.

"Oh dear, you're in trouble!" Rune exclaimed and quickly took his hand, dragging him away with her.

"Come on!" She nudged him to run faster as they went past people together, bursting through the crowd.

The cloak she wore flew back, revealing her red ponytail that waved around as they ran. Axel's right eye kept staring at the back of her head while they dashed around together.

"Over here!" She dragged him down onto another alleyway and hid behind a dumpster.

Rune put a finger in front of her mouth, signalling Axel to stay quiet. The boy nodded at her as they stayed together, listening to the footsteps that quickly faded away after awhile.

The red-haired girl popped her head from behind the dumpster to see if the guards were already gone. When she was sure that they had left, she went back to face the boy again.

"We're safe for now." She stated and formed a smile again. Axel nodded with a blush crept a little on his cheek.

They stared at each other from a moment with hidden thoughts from one another. His Rune and this Rune looked the same, the difference was that this one's eyes were red instead of the usual beautiful hazel one.

"You should wear shoes. Your feet are bleeding." She broke their staring contest while pointing at his feet.

The girl crouched down to take a look and inspect the wound further. She blinked and tilted her head, a slight frown formed on her lips as she opened her sling bag again.

She took out some med kits from her sling bag and some bandages. "Let me clean them for you."

Axel instinctively took a step back at the sudden action. "Oh no, Ru- I mean, princess Rune, your highness, you don't have to." He stuttered, trying to avoid Rune's hand.

She grabbed a cotton that was already wet with alcohol and looked up to the boy with a smile. "Oh, I insist."

The girl started to clean the wound and applied some bandages for him neatly. She bit her lips when she was too focused and Axel could not help but watched in silent.

"I used to clean my best friend's wound all the time. Bringing a med kit has become my habit right now even though I don't have to anymore." She began as she finished her bandaging.

"Why?" Axel knew the reason why. Yet he still tried to ask anyway.

She fell into a quiet silence for a while before answering. "He's gone."

She put in all the med kits inside her bag and stood up, facing Axel with an unwavering smile. Even though she was smiling, her red eyes were contained with dangerous glint though it was mixed with a slight longing in there.

"And you're supposed to be gone, aren't you, Axel?" She stated coldly despite the kind smile that was still there.

Axel's upper lids raised, opening his eyes wider than before. "How-"

"How do I know if it's you?" Rune cut him off, raising her eyebrows at him. "Of course I know. The first time we met with each other, you wore a white mask too."

"And I could recognize your red doe eye every time I see it." She continued. You might caught the slight sadness in her eyes if you squinted hard enough.

"But you're dead." She added, admitting how she had lost her one and only best friend.

"You're clearly a different person." Rune cornered him onto the brick wall behind him with two pointed red eyes. "Because I know you're dead."

"And this is not your place." She slammed her hand to the wall right beside Axel's head.

"So it's either you're a shapeshifter demon," Rune swiftly took a sword that was hidden inside her hodded cloak with her other hand and brought it right in front of Axel's neck threateningly.

"Or the thing about a world outside the mirror is actually true." She moved the silver sword even closer, ready to slice his neck if Axel ever tried to fight her.

"Tell me why you are here, stranger."