The Escape of Layla

I'm in love.

I should have known better than anyone that this thought wouldn't pay off.

About three hundred years ago, I was born into this cursed and beautiful capital of the Fantasy King. I grew up limp in the love of my warm parents and the lovely magic full of wonders.

My father is a fine sorcerer who works for the sorcery division, he wants to imitate my father who speaks in a ritual way, and I feel like I didn't use girly language from the start. My mother, who had been married from a small merchant in the kingdom, had been bragging about it only at the beginning, but she no longer spoke about how long she had given up.

Le Wayne's clan has a curse that will not die until he is bound to the "Destiny Man". It is a harsh curse that must endure hundreds of years of solitude in some cases. For this reason, it seems that many couples living in the capital of the illusion often think about letting them have as many brothers as possible so that children are not left alone if possible, and in this capital of the king it is unusual to be an only child.

But I was the exception. My mother, who was not very strong, gave birth to me alone.

Neither I nor my father did the imitation to blame, of course, as one of the inhabitants of the capital of the phantom king, but only my mother seemed sick somewhere in her heart. I still remember my mother's eyes, hundreds of years later, staring worryingly at me in mundane applause.

One day, when I turned seven, a friend of my father's, who was on a journey, returned to the capital of the Fantasy King. The man, who was a friend of my father, apparently wedded a "destiny man", a tourist woman, before I was born, and was free to go on a honeymoon in his wife's home country.

He even told me that he was able to have children during that long honeymoon, and the person introduced us to his wife and children. His wife, who came from a snowy country all year, was a beautiful man with thin hair and eyes, and their children were also pale atmospheric boys with gray hair and gray eyes.

The boy was one older than me and named Hans. Oddly enough, he didn't have any brothers either.

It may have been very natural for me and Hans to gradually become as close as brothers and sisters. My mother, who was sick that she had made me an only child, seemed somewhat relieved by Hans' appearance as well.

Hans was a very frantic boy. He was well informed of the story of the snow country that was his mother's home country and of the various countries that had stopped by the time he returned to the capital of the Phantom King.

"My mother's country is fine, but I still liked the ocean. To the south of the kingdom of Altair, there is a place called the kingdom Mistral, but when I say the blue of the sea in that country, it's already..."

Hans laid out the colorful seashells on his desk that he had collected on his journey, and sighed a howl when he remembered the beauty of the sea. For me, having never been out of the capital of the Fantasy King, it's an enviable experience.

"Is the sea such a beautiful thing... I'd love to see it sometime."

Sometimes my mother was sick, and our family didn't really go away. But I'll be alone in the not so distant future. It would also be a pleasure to go and see the sea while searching for the "Destiny Man" in your spare time.

"Then I'll show you. Gabriella doesn't seem to know anything about it."

"You're rude, but they still say I'm solid."

"Ha, that could be it"

Hans accidentally touched my eyes like he noticed something, wondering if he had a grin without giving in.

"Oh, but... maybe Gabriella's eyes are prettier blue"

Perhaps Hans, then 10, said it without any intention, but the words were somewhat vivid in my young mind. Honestly, my eyes are such a deep color that I don't think they're blue in the long run, but Hans seems to have looked closely at them. For me, admiring the strange shades of exoticism Hans had, it was an irresistible and delightful event.

"... I'm kind of glad Hans said that."

With a grin on his face, Hans stroked my head with a full grin. Really, it was as comfortable as my brother could have been, and I was feeling filled at this time, but now that I think about it, this trivial confusion may have eventually turned into love.

Then decades later, it was always me and Hans alone. I gently dropped off my parents for a full life and did something about cleaning up the house for a while, but the occasional loneliness struck me and kept me squatting in bed.

Is this the curse on Lewayne? For the first time, I realized the horror of my curse. It's something I was supposed to be prepared for because I've been told so many times since I was a child, but I never thought being left behind by my loved ones would erode my spirit and body so much.

"Whoever has Lewayne's blood gets sick once" is a word I hear a lot in this city, but that was apparently true. I should have had a full day with my friends and seniors as a member of the sorcery division, but I couldn't think of the fun of losing my family.

It was my friends who saved me like that. If it's hard to sleep at night, you don't have to, and they hung out with me until morning arrived. Someone always stayed home so I wouldn't be alone. Thanks to them, who worry about me and ask me like every day, I recovered little by little.

"Gabriella's feeling much better, but Hans is going to need a little more..."

My friends used to say that while drinking tea at my house. Me and Hans, who had lost their family almost at the same time and were sickened in the same way, weren't really face-to-face these days. Rather than, it was avoided by Hans, maybe it should be said.

They face their hearts and minds, so they do their best. You won't even be able to look after a sick childhood. I think so, and I've kept my distance for a while, except if my heart has recovered.

"I'll go see how it goes, too. I might be able to help Hans a little right now."

"If Gabriella goes, Hans would love that... but be careful. He wasn't Gabriella's ratio. He was sick..."

My friend was staring at me with a bitter face somewhere.

"I can't die anyway. How are you supposed to be aware of what?

I joked and squealed like that, but my friend's face remained sunny.

Unfortunately, I have no reason to know at this time that what he wanted to say would come after what happened.

The next day, when a bright sunset dyed the Fantasy King's Capital, I visited his house with Hans' favorite cookies and tea leaves. Hans likes the cookies I make and the tea with the ice, so I'm sure he'll say something. Sometimes I haven't seen Hans in a long time, and my mind was floating somewhere.

"... Gabriella, why"

Ring the bell of the house, which was too big to live alone, and Hans looked like he was screwed somewhere. Thinner than the original, he had a gloomy atmosphere that seemed to melt into the darkness of the dark room.

"I'm feeling much better. I'm here to help Hans. Don't look like a ghost, let's have tea together."

Hit Hans on the shoulder pretending to be as good as possible, and he looked somewhere complicated. It's where he usually laughs back without giving in, but the darkness in his heart that still erodes him seems to be considerable. I was so close to my family that I couldn't help but talk about it.

"... couldn't those guys stop you? Don't come here."

I'm not very used to seeing Hans looking grumpy, so I kind of go away in his cold mouth, but I can't pull it off here.

"Be careful," he said. What the hell are you looking out for? "

As usual, I could hear Hans sighing small as he walked through the gap in the open door into the room.

"... you were trusted"

"Did I say something?

"Nothing.... sit in the right place because it's messy"

As usual, when I told him so with a nonchalant statement, Hans also closed the door and proceeded to the living room.

"We'll rent the kitchen. I'll make Hans' favorite cold tea."

In the guise of a more energetic breeze than usual, Hans gave a small grin, fu, so that he could follow. I like his laughed face better than his ex, but I get somewhat upset when I see that laugh, which seems a little weak. But even though it's been a long time since I've seen him and it's not calm in my heart.

That's a barren thought, and I turned my back on Hans and zeroed my self-derisive grin. Boil the water and try to distract me somehow as I prepare the tea leaves.

Absolutely not, I can't name this emotion. Hans is not my destiny. That's what I knew the moment I first met you.

Whenever he's about to confuse me, do something else and somehow calm down. It's a habit that has been repeated for decades now. In the beginning, I gave thought to the "Destiny Man" that I would meet one day, but I stopped looking at Hans because how he scratched his feet would cast a shadow on him one day.

This curse, which makes you carry even such endless thoughts when you say it's enough to taste undead despair, is really a big deal. I wonder how much outrageous our ancestors have been to this cursed demon.

I really, really hate it.

Quickly add the tea leaves to the teapot and pour in temperature-regulated water. My fingertips shivered a little, but I was working with magic, so fortunately I didn't zero it.

You said you were here to encourage Hans, but you can't laugh at me at this rate. It seems hard to say that I'm still fully recovered, too, around being dragged away like this, even though I can switch quickly as usual. If you just enjoy your tea today, let's go home early.

So determined, it was the moment I tried to head to the cupboard to prepare the cookies.

Unexpectedly, I can hug you from behind. Even though I wasn't embraced with such a strong force that I couldn't escape, for a moment, my head turned bright white and I couldn't move.

"... Hans?

This arm, turned in front of my body, is undoubtedly Hans's. We are as close as brothers and sisters, but as many childhood tamers are, we have not touched each other darklessly since we were old. I don't like being hugged like this.

Usually it wasn't awkward at all to be silent, except now. I don't get scared that he's going to be able to understand the strangely quicker heart movements. This thought can't be seen through.

"... are you hungry? We can have tea now, so let's make it tea in the courtyard. There's a nice breeze today..."

The continuation of that word, I couldn't say. Because Hans' lips touched my section. I really just looted it, but it was enough to stop me from moving.

"... Hans?

I couldn't stand the heart sooner to the extreme and tried to turn him around, but his arms wouldn't allow it. Using magic would be as easy as getting away from him, but I can also feel compelled to leave him here.

I'm sure he missed you. I just wanted to touch someone, there's no deep meaning in this behavior.

Yes, Hans shrugged in a voice that seemed to disappear when he smiled forced to do so in an attempt to tell himself and fix the usual.

"... Gabriella, just you, don't go anywhere"

Oh, look, he still missed me. I don't know how many friends will come to visit me, but I won't have any friends that can touch me like this. I'm sure he just remembered the old days and wanted to flirt with me like a "sister".

"It's okay, I'm here."

"Ahead too, all the time. Tell me you'll always be there for me."

"Always..."

That was such a weighty word you shouldn't have admitted in two replies. I wonder how long Hans is referring to and saying. Is it time for him to get back on his feet? Or are you saying until he meets the "Destiny Man"?

"It means the way it is. Let's live forever, just the two of us."

Words like a fervent confession of love, depending on what you try to capture, but you can't get it wrong. I grinned deceptively as I gently touched Hans's arm.

"... what's going on? Suddenly. Of course I'm not in a bad mood to be with Hans, but I won't be with you forever. We'll see each other and the Destiny One day."

That's how you build a happy family and end peacefully with your loved ones. Because that's the only way we can escape the curse and be happy.

Hans was supposed to understand that painfully, but he said he would.

"I don't need it, I don't want it"

Hans tried to bury his face in my shoulder mouth and followed me. The sound of the heart striking the bell so hard it must have reached him, too.

"Yes, I can't believe I don't need it... I'm not saying such a rare thing. I'm sure if I met Fate, I wouldn't be attracted to him."

Otherwise, I can't do it. This raw is just hell if you can't love the "Destiny Man". That is the soul that has been ordained.

"It could be. But now it's Gabriella I'm attracted to."

That was, above all, a sweet and cruel word. If it's true, it's enough dialogue to jump up and rejoice. Because Hans, no one else, said what I wanted most.

But at the same time, I was angry somewhere. I can't believe how lightly I speak of the thoughts I've been grinding and hiding for the last few decades. I guess he'll disappear from before me in no time if the "Destiny Man" shows up, keeping such sweet words to himself. Is that still a mild enough thought for Hans?

I can't do this. If I find out about the sweet days I'm having with Hans, I'm sure I won't be able to go back.

You know what that means, Hans. I can't stand being alone and enduring endless loneliness.

"... how could you"

I squealed just that in agony, clutching my palm unwittingly tight. Hans laughs at himself somewhere behind his back.

"... so I told you not to come. Gabriella's bad for not taking advice."

Oh, no. If we step in any further, I'm sure, we really won't be able to go back.

At the same time I had that intuition, I turned my body around and faced Hans. Somewhere vain eyes, not like him, always looking calm, did reflect just me and made my heart unnecessarily painful.

As it was, I grabbed Hans' shirt collar, drew him half-strong, and mouthed him with that momentum. At the same time, do him the magic of oblivion that he is good at. As far as this magic is concerned, I have the best confidence in the Magic Division. Hans, of course, was sure the division chief couldn't beat him.

Although it's really gentle magic I use to lighten the hearts of people suffering from nightmares, all this time I used it to protect my relationship with Hans. That's how my heart was hunted down.

"... I like you, too, Hans"

Immediately resisting, Hans, bewitched by my magic, seemed to hear the dialogue with a slight eye opening, even in his slight sleep. But no problem. By my magic, you must have forgotten everything when you woke up.

"... Gabri, Ella..."

You couldn't support your body any longer, and Hans was staring at me somewhere resentful as he brought it to me. It would also be a natural reaction because it blocked his confession. But this is fine. Starting tomorrow morning, we can stay the same.

"... sorry, Hans"

It was almost at the same time that I squealed and he was invited into my dreams. Staring inside the quiet room over his back as he manages to support his weakened body.

Now, that should have been good. Because I was able to protect Hans' relationship properly.

And yet, what is this vacancy? How can tears tell your cheeks?

One leaks a whimper as he hugs Hans' body all the way to me. You weren't supposed to admit this emotion was love, but you certainly don't feel like something's over.

Only now, I just cried, burying my face on Hans' shoulder sleeping with. This first love is my only secret. Make it my only treasure.