Chapter V

For hours, the old man and Chris spoke of those gems. He listened carefully like the way he listened to his clients when they provide information. 

"And lastly, they are not for the weak, my boy!" the old man warned him.

Not for the weak? He can almost scoff. There is nothing in the world that cannot be learned. It takes time, yes, but it will be worth it. 

"I will gather those gems and go home."

The old man raised his bushy white brows, a smirk lurking in the corner of his mouth. When Chris looked at him, the evil smile vanished. 

"Well, regards me with the other world when you get back, my boy!"

Chris did not say anything but instead focused his gaze back on the ocean, his mind clouding with thoughts of the gem. These gems were scattered in all the places of this world. A city, a guardian, a gem-- but nobody will tell you they are the guardian. He will have to be so observant of everything around him.

When the old man left Chris, Elonia was quick to stand beside him. She wears a hood, and covered half of her face with a bandana so she won't be recognized but Chris memorized her by her eyes, those sharp hazel eyes. 

"You seem to have made friends with an old man." She started the conversation, not looking at him, but at the waters. "What have you two spoken of?"

"None of your business," he coldly answered and heard her release a loud sigh. "How long until we get to land?"

"A day," she replied.

"A day? Why the fuck is it so long? I can't waste that much time in this world and in this--"

"Then jump and swim." Elonia sarcastically told him. Chris' jaw tightened and Elonia knew he was upset but she bravely raised a brow at him. "If you can be much faster, jump and swim, Louie."

"You're suddenly being brave. Do you want me to throw you off or maybe force you to walk a plank?"

"You wouldn't. I'm the only one who knows you at this rate. You don't even know where you are headed."

Chris inhaled sharply. Who does this lady think she is? Yes, he would need her to be his map but he does not need someone to know him. There's no point arguing with this lady because somehow he does need her.

"What do you know about gems?"

"That they're from the ground--earth."

"Haha, funny. You know what I am talking about. This world is full of shit and I want to know about these gems. It can't be just normal gems for me to bargain!" Then he suddenly holds both of her shoulders. "You're a damn princess. I know royalties were taught the world better than us peasants!"

His nose wrinkled in anger but as soon as he saw how the princess was dumbfounded by his sudden outburst, his face softened. He looked away and slowly removed his hold from her. Now, things seem awkward for him. The talk about being a peasant wasn't him. It just naturally came out of his mouth.

"You talk the same way," she softly said. "You still think lowly of yourself, Louie."

"Stop calling me that," he muttered. "Just stop whatever you are resembling me to who. I am not Louie. Speak when I tell you to do so or when you have some information about the gems."

Chris did not want to argue so he left Elonia to stare at the vast ocean alone. He was making his way to their cabin and saw how men sharpening their knives look at him. Perhaps they are wondering why this young man travels at such an age. If the old man says that people from this world age slowly then he is the same age as this person he is trapped in. This person isn't young at all.

In their designated cabin, Chris decides to rest in the hard bed. There was not anything to use for a little comfort and it makes him think the grass was more comfortable than these planks. Everything was perfect for him until he had to shoot a boy. It doesn't make sense to him what the old man said. He wants to know more-- why he woke up in the body of a young man.

"I never thought this was possible," Chris whispered before closing his eyes and dozing off.

Elonia followed Chris to their cabin and she was careful not to disturb his sleep. The last time they spoke was when he told her that he'd look for a way to pay their debts and free his mother. It was over two months ago and now they see each other and he is killing people mercilessly. It isn't just that... he does not seem to know himself.

She stands beside the bed and looked carefully at Louie's face. He has the most attractive face to her and even in his sleep, he looks gorgeous. Those bushy perfect brows, his long lashes, that perfect nose, and his slightly cracked lips that she still finds tempting. 

The gems that he speaks of, she knows of them. Each gem is a key to endless power. If she tells him where one is hidden, in the state that he is in, she would not like to see him kill more people than she already saw. Louie could not even kill a rabbit during the hunt so this was all new to her. Seeing him kill those men, something was not right.

"What happened in those two months?" she whispers, extending her hand to touch his hair but she stopped in the middle. He does not recognize her at the moment. She instantly put down her hand and took a step back.

To whoever he had trained his swordsmanship and his battle skills with is a master but Elonia would never acknowledge that master. He had trained Louie to be a killer, someone who would not hesitate to shed blood. 

Louie was so kind, so pure and he is everything she ever wanted. His laughs and his stories never bore her, even his arrogant dreams of becoming a king of his own world, she respected. When she laughs he'd laugh and he was always there for her in the times she cried. But what did she do? She just stood there when Louie begged for his mother.

"I'll run away with you a couple of times more," she whispers before sitting on her hard bed. It didn't bother her how uncomfortable it was. What bothers her was Louie wanting those gems. He cannot have them and she will do anything to stop him.