"Lady Diana, is everything alright?"
"Yes, yes. Everything's perfectly fine, thanks to you" She said but Michael could tell there's something else she wants to talk to him about.
"Come on, let's go for a walk. This has been a long day" Michael nodded as Diana waved her hands at Gaya and Nightmare to follow her.
Soon, they walked through the corridors, hall and reached the garden outside. A transparent energy dome around the garden prevented the garden from completely blanketed by snow. The sky was vacant of any stars as a winter sky should be. Occasional glimmering stones lighted the garden as various color flowers danced in the wind. Especially a line of five-petal flowers that drew their attention with its navy blue color.
Michael walked behind Diana brushing his hand through the flowers.
"Lady Diana, it's not safe for you here. Why don't we go inside?" Although he sensed no hostile activity nearby, he didn't want to stay outside because Giles was still alive and he could easily plot another plan to assassinate Diana.
If the assassin was at the Core Formation level either he or Gaya could prevail, otherwise, they would be in real trouble.
"It's fine, I feel just as safe with you as with my children"
"I guess thanks?" Michael scratched the back of his head with a doubtful smile.
Diana was in front of him so she never saw his expression.
"No, it's us who must thank you for all you've done for me and my family" Diana halted her steps, turning back to look him in the eyes.
"Thank you" she took Michael's hand and clenched it tightly.
"I don't know how I would have faced Natalia if I let anything happen to Andrews" Glistening tears rolled out of her beautiful eyes. He desperately wanted to wipe those tears off her face. This was a new kinda feeling for him.
"Happy to help, Lady Diana"
Standing a few meters away from Diana and Michael, Gaya slightly raised her brows. She was with him for almost a year now but this was the first time she saw him vulnerable like this. Even when he was with her, he would never seem vulnerable but when he was with Diana, he acted differently.
Both of them stood under the drizzling of snowflakes. No words were coming out of their words but silence enveloped them. Michael felt a calmness he never experienced before.
"Hmprh" Gaya coughed to break the silence. Finally, Diana let go of his hands and stepped back.
"Sweetie, you never told me where your parents are? They must be proud to have a son like you"
"I would have known if they stuck around to raise me " Michael just smiled but both Gaya and Diana could sense the pain behind his smile.
"I...I...I am sorry" Diana stuttered.
"Don't be, Lady Diana" He quickly hid the pain and anger from showing on his face.
"Even if we know you for few days, you're family to me, Sweetie"
He did not know what to tell as he just stayed silent for a few moments.
"Tomorrow, you'll get to meet the whole gang" Diana clenched her hands together against her chest in joy. A blast of happiness flashed across her face.
"About that Lady Diana. I have to leave as early as possible tomorrow morning" the smile on Diana's face froze.
"Why?"
"I must leave as soon as possible Lady Diana, trust me. I hope you understand my situation" After seeing the resolve in his eyes, Diana could only sigh.
"At least wait until Natalia comes out of Andrews's room. She would want to speak with you and I haven't even got you something to thank you for what you've done"
"You can thank us by giving us free permits" Gaya hurriedly shouted at Diana.
"Free permits?"
"Forgive my girlfriend's enthusiasm. It just we are planning to expand our businesses and she thinks Pen Town will be a perfect place"
"Done, just wait here for a few moments"
***************************
When the sky became brighter, Michael wrote a letter that had a few parting words for Diana. He then placed it on the table before leaving the room through the opened windows with Gaya and Nightmare. He soared up into the skies, his shadow gradually vanishing into the distance.
A few hours after Michael left the room, Diana opened the door to see the empty room. Seeing the room empty, her eyes revealed a perplexed look as if she couldn't bear to watch him go. At the same time, tears trickled out of her eyes.
She then saw the letter which Michael had left behind. This caused her to freeze for a second before she approached the table and picked up the letter. She sat on his bed as she gazed at the words written by him.
"Lady Diana, I'm not very good with goodbyes and this is the best I could do. If fate permits, we'll meet again soon" she muttered repeatedly.
After a long time, her expression fell as she whispered to herself, "Forgive me"
She then placed the letter down as she crawled into his bed.
Within the covers, there was still some warmth left behind by him. Diana laid down on the pillow and pressed her face deep into the pillow.
"Diana" while Diana was sobbing on Michael's bed, Amelda entered the room. She was stunned by the empty room and her sister crying.
"Diana, what happened? Why are you crying and where are they?" Amelda asked, walking to the bed to console her sister.
When Amelda seated herself on the bed, Diana crawled to her and placed her head on Amelda's lap.
"Did he leave without even telling us?"
"He told me yesterday night. I just wanted to say goodbye to him"
"They must have had some important thing to take care of Diana but why are you crying like this?" Amelda too noticed the way she treated Michael. She didn't want to question her sister when Michael was around and since he's gone, she was able to ask Diana.
"Because... Ghost… is my son, Amelda" She burst into crying more after speaking these words. The grief, regret, and pain overwhelmed Diana's heart.
"Diana...he's not your son...You know he can't be" Amela's heart began to beat faster and faster. She could still remember that night vividly every time she closed her eyes. She wanted to forget about everything that happened that night but until now, she was unable to.
"No...he IS my son...the wishing stone...it worked" Diana stood up, wiping off the tears from her face.
She then flicked her wrist as a multi-color gem appeared in her hand. It flickered a few times before losing its shine.
"This..this is the stone Noah gave you" Amelda was speechless. She was stunned when Noah gifted the stone to Diana on her birthday. It's said that a wishing stone could grant its holder's wishes if he or she wished from their heart and their wish wasn't about hurting others.
Noah also said that there's only a couple of wishing stones existing in this world.
"I wished to see my Dean and the very next day, I met Ghost. Ghost is Dean, Amelda"
"Stop it, Diana!" Amelda shouted as Diana's face froze in shock.
"That baby couldn't have survived, it's dead. You have only one son and you to accept that"
"No!" Diana stomped her feet as the entire room trembled. Amelda was pushed back several feet by the arch energy exploded from Diana's body.
"Twenty years ago, I made a mistake. I shouldn't have trusted that oracle. A mother knows her children Amelda, he is my son"
It had been twenty years since Amelda saw her sister like this. If she didn't stop cultivating twenty years ago to punish herself, she would have been half immortal by now. Two decades ago, she was a warrior feared by many kingdoms in the Ozer Continent. Amelda's body shivered under the overwhelming aura radiating from Diana.
However, Amelda had to overcome this fear and calm her sister down.
"Even if he is your son, do you think he'll be happy to meet us, the ones who left him to die on a sacrificial stage in the middle of a forest?"
The overwhelming powerful aura slowly dissipated from Diana's body.
"You know what would the Skyhall do to him if they knew the baby survived and grew into a youngster? They will kill him" Diana's legs gave up as she dropped to the ground.
She felt just as helpless as she felt twenty years ago. Even an animal would fight to save its child but she left her two days old baby to die. Ever since that night, Diana couldn't stop hearing the baby's cries.
If it wasn't for her family, she would have already taken her own life.
"Ah" Diana cried out loud.
"Don't speak about this with anyone, Diana. If by any chance he's your son"
"He is," Diana sobbed as Amelda sighed, wrapping her hands around Diana to console her.
"He can't be the son you want him to be. He'd be killed along with everyone he knew in this world, don't do that to him"
"so...you...want me to pretend like my son doesn't exist. Rowena and Noah can protect him, we can protect him from the Skyhall"
Amelda shook her head,
"If we tell them about Ghost, Rowena will throw away her holy maiden position and Noah will fight for his twin brother but they can't win against the Skyhall, Diana. Even if Noah brought the entire Guardian guild with him, Skyhall will destroy them, you know this better than anyone"
Diana had no response as she knew the truth in Amelda's words. She could only cry, that was all she could right now.
"I know how hard this is for you Diana but Dean can't be with us unless he could become strong enough to destroy the Skyhall"