Chapter 17: Farewell
Chapter 17: Farewell
Huo was worried. He didnt know what to do. He didnt expect Volca to identify things even he wasn't sure about. And it increased his doubts more than ever. Using Aqua as a bait and bringing him out of the den, exposing his secret. Huo felt dangers lying ahead of him. He didn't know which path to take without getting murdered.
For some days he tried his best avoiding Aqua and Aqua seemed to keep a distance as he ignored her. He felt weird and upset since she avoided him the same way he did. He wished to know why Aqua did it and what Volca was doing to him either.
Meanwhile Aqua secretly arranged people to find the secret behind his life. It troubled her since he did not choose to open up rather keep her away from him. She wondered if whatever they have between them is still going on ir ended.
Even though she trusted him she could no longer trust her best friend. Volca has been suspicious and cruelest now handling everything roughly, behaving oddly with her school mates.
Aqua also made a request to her father confidentially to tighten the border securities as well as provide her a family water weapon personally so as to use them when situation demands. Furthermore she wanted to fulfill her duty as the crown princess than linger around Volca trying to sympathize with her. Although deep in her heart she wished Volca opened up to her so that she could give her friend and save her before she chooses a wrong path.
Aqua also asked Aiden to enquire about the rumours of the moon child that always existed but was forbidden to mention. Even though Aiden questioned her, To Aqua it was a must to connect all the clues she collected and find the truth about the man she has decided to give herself, to which ever world he belonged to, it didn't matter to her.
She made Aiden promise her to never tell anyone about the moon child case study since it was a prohibited name to be mentioned in heaven. And since it will involve Water Realm. She couldn't afford to bring her Realm down and disappoint her father. She also wondered what she should do if the rumours turned out to be true.
Aqua secretly followed around him the school as possible but he kept avoiding her though he caught her several times. He would just ignore and walk away. It worried her more than ever. It made her desperate and it made her tail him more than ever. But she didn't have the courage to ask him, facing him, directly.
Within in a month, Shifu declared that Volca had completed her course and will he graduating in a week. He was proud but he didn't look happy as he said it. Something seemed to he troubling him while he put on the smile and stood stern. Volca bowed and thanked her Shifu and thanked all who helped her except Aqua.
"Wow Volca you did it, Learn from her Aqua, you came together but she is graduating way before you," Jin Mi made fun of Aqua and Aqua faked a smile and walked away from the banquet hall.
Everyone held a small farewell party for her a week later soon after her ceremony. Volca rejoiced with happiness. She gave a long speech about how much she was going to miss the friends, Shifu, the food, accommodation and the daily routines.
"And I will miss watching and drooling over the senior brothers practicing more," she said eyeing Aqua, hyping the crowd and everyone agreed with her. Aqua smiled and recalled the initial days they used to fool around.
Probably that was the first time she got pubished by Huo'er too, getting caught watching the seniors training with swords from behind the tree and pulled back by Ash and Huo, pinched in the ear and given detention to blindfold hunting in the woods for a whole day, for behaving out of the characters instead of training.
Volca packed her bags but avoided Aqua, leaving without saying a good bye. It hurt Aqua. It was as expected but Aqua had hope that it might change, whatever misunderstanding they had between them.
The Volca she met the first day and the Volca she was the last day were two different people. Aqua regretted being her friend and wished she never took her home. A demon will always be a demon, she thought and let it pass. But what she saw was something unexpected soon after emptying the accommodation. Volca holding onto Huo'er once again.
Aqua left silently once again even though she had been explained about everything before. This time she didn't wish to understand him since he started ignoring her and as her suspect grew higher as long as he didn't have the willingness to open up to her like he chatted with Volca in the past few weeks.
And when Huo saw Aqua, he just didn't care to clear her misunderstandings either. He was surprised at his own actions. He didn't know why chose to do that. He was how much it would have affected her mind like it did his but did not care to do anything about it.
A month more later, Aqua finished two and half years of training in the school under shifu and had her graduation ceremony. When the charts came out, people were surprised to see that he results topped Volca's. The rumours of Shifu being partial to the water princess spread like fire. But Aqua did not give a damn about it. But shifu took the chance to explain.
He asked her to duel with her seniors and asked the seniors to learn form her. He broke the news that Aqua had already mastered mixed martial arts at a very young age and had the highest levels of cultivation than anyone at school. He also broke the news that she came to school only to live with peers and experience a life she had never before. He gave her merits and appreciated her for her simplicity and funny nature acting cool around her friends. She had no clue that Shifu had known it all since the beginning.
Everybody congratulated and apologised to her as she prepared to go back to her palace. She was given a grant farewell party but her eyes kept searching for a particular one. Senior Ash informed everyone how Volca turned down the invitation for the party. Yet she couldn't understand why both Volca tjrew her away and why Huo kept ignoring her, to the point that she felt how insincere his confessions sounded as she kept thinking about his words.
And thus slowly, day by day, they grew apart. She wanted to know if he really belonged to the Demon clan as Volca mentioned that night. She wanted to know if his feelings were also real.
Aqua returned back home. Her parents were relieved to have her back safely and let her rest for few weeks. For months she got no news from Aiden and it frustrated her. She waited everyday for news and got nothing. And Aiden also stopped reporting to her regularly.
"But then again, no news is good news right Aiden?" she asked him one day.
"We should stop looking for it Aqua, ' he advised her. And she gave up that way. They got no news since it was not allowed to be discussed in public. But her father surprised her when she least expected him to.
"Come with me Aqua," he ordered her.