Matthew’s hands found her core before he stopped. Like a full stop.
No warnings, no explanations.
He just stopped.
Ava’s eyes widened in disbelief. She was about to complain when Matthew kissed her forehead.
"You win... I cannot let you out there when you are not at your best," Matthew uttered before he got up and pulled her up.
While frustrated, Ava said nothing. She had guessed it right. He is avoiding any type of sexual intercourse because of what happened.
Matthew held her arm and soon she saw the smoke slowly vanish from her barrier, it then converge into a ball and was absorbed by Matthew’s body.
Ava looked at him, her face was still flushed, her insides gnawing at her to beg him to continue what he had started. The fire that he lit was still hot inside her body. And it needed release.
But she understood.
The last time he touched her, she felt so drained, so weak and vulnerable. It also took a few days before the bruises on her body disappeared. Suffice to say, it wasn’t a very pleasant experience.
And Matthew was right.
She cannot feel like that again, at least not in front of all these strangers.
Before she break the barrier, Matthew held her wrist.
"I will be here... call me when you wanted to talk," Matthew said.
"What do you mean?"
To her surprise, Matthew give her another kiss before he vanished inside her own barrier.
Impossible, she thought.
The barrier was her very own space. She created it.
How could he just leave?
Anyone else wouldn’t be able to leave this space until they kill the one who controls it which was... Ava.
This was a technique taught by the Shaman himself.
Even the Shaman used the same technique when they first met in the past.
She looked around and extended her senses. Then she quickly realized that Matthew didn’t just leave her space.
He left the whole village.
But something else seemed to loom around the village.
She didn’t know what it was. All she knew was the fact that it was there.
Watching everyone.
Was it Matthew?
Probably.
Its sinister aura was especially intimidating even for someone like Ava.
She sighed and removed her barrier.
Priestess Anna was still in her seat. But she looked more composed, ready. The panic on her face was gone, and so was the fear.
"You are back," the Priestess said. She looked behind Ava and frowned when she realized that Matthew was no longer there.
"I knew he was angry but threatened the whole village..." the Priestess uttered. "He and his people never changed."
Ava said nothing. She approached the Priestess.
"How did you know me?"
Priestess Anna smiled.
"I guess the softness was but a pretense?" she asked.
"I stopped him not because I was kind. I was never kind." Ava had no qualms about killing criminals and overall people who offended her. "Don’t misunderstand," she added.
The only reason why she stopped Matthew was that she wanted to hear her words.
"I know," the Priestess said. "As I’ve said... I have been watching you in my dreams."
"You aren’t a dream walker."
"No. Those people— No. I am not one of them." The Priestess shook her head as if her life depended on it.
"So you are saying that you just dreamt of me?"
"Yes. In— In a different time."
Ava squinted.
"Please let me explain." Priestess Anna waved her hand, a drawer not far away from them opened, its contents floating toward them. It was a book or a notebook. Ava wasn’t too sure.
But it looked old and thick. Its edges were yellowish and its cover looked like skin.
The Priestess opened it and showed Ava some of her illustrations.
It was Ava.
When she was a child!
She was playing with some balloons.
Then she continued flipping the pages and watched as the drawing changed as she grew bigger. There was a drawing of her studying in the library and eating on her own. There was a drawing of her reading about herbs and some image of her trying to make her homework.
However, the illustrations were only hers.
There was no background of other people. The lines aren’t as precise and it looked more like a doodle than an actual illustration. It looked like the person who did it hastily drew it.
So, if it was a doodle then how did Ava know it was her?
It was because her face was the only one with clear details. The rest of her body looked more like a sketch. Whoever did it didn’t even bother to color her neck?
They only colored her face and hair.
"Forgive me... the drawings aren’t as beautiful as my dreams. I had to draw them the moment I woke up."
Ava nodded.
She continued flipping and soon saw the pages that contained some drawings of her mature self. Those were the latests drawings. However, the drawings started to change.
The drawings were still images of her but the dress looked different— ancient.
One of the illustrations was her wearing a chemise. The other was her wearing a tunic. The next one was her with a sword in what looked like a hybrid of a tunic and a knight’s uniform.
"I have gotten confused. A few months back, I started dreaming of you at a different time."
"You mean like a past life?" A reincarnation?
"Yes, a past life. I am better at peeking into the past than the future. So my dreams about the past have more details. Because of the strange sightings, I tried to see the future but was unable to do so."
"And this only started a few months back?" Ava asked.
In response, the woman nodded.
"So... before this happened, have you seen my future?"
Again, Priestess Anna nodded.
"No."
Ava blinked. She didn’t know what to say.
"If you are wondering why it happened it was only because of a simple reason." The Priestess added. "You aren’t supposed to exist."
"What?" Ava snorted.
"Just like him."
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