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Episode 108 – Dark Speculation 4 ‘Aeselak’s Peasant Tale‘
Last Chapter: Message from soldier over riot happening in the capital. The children must run 10km in 80 minutes. They regret chit-chatting during their run as they rush to their goal!
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The log they didn’t think much of in the beginning felt a hundred times heavier. The more they ran, the more exhausted they became. They didn’t dare think about anything other than completing the goal.
The eyes of Arie and Ron rolled back from exhaustion, “This … this is killing me!”
Aernest gasped in horror as he pointed to the sky. This drew everyone’s attention upwards.
“Oh no! The sun is already at its peak!”
Everyone stopped running as they stared at the sky. At this moment a cold breeze passed by them but they didn’t care. The sun reaching its highest peak meant the temperature increasing. And running under this condition meant that it’ll get harder from here on.
Just as they thought things couldn’t get any worse, another scream followed!
Arie looked at everyone in horror and trembled, “Wait… WAIT A MINUTE!” he inhaled and exhaled loudly.
Aren gasped for breath and questioned, “Wh… Why? What’s wrong now?”
Arie shut his eyes tightly, “It took everyone roughly 10 minutes to reach the field. 30 minutes to reach the end of the field, and 30 minutes to come back…” he didn’t finish as he knew that everyone would understand what he was implying.
Aren frowned. Because he didn’t belong to the group of intelligent people, he did not understand his brother’s insinuation and asked, “What’s with it?” his eyes were full of confusion as he stared at Aren.
“……”
“…..”
Eugene exhaled sharply, “10 minutes.”
Argen zombie-walked to Eugene’s side and brought his head close, “Wha..?” he mumbled.
Con brought his eyebrows together and explained, “We’ve got less than 10 minutes left.”
As soon as he said that, Con, together with Eugene started to run. The more their feets danced, the faster they got, running directly behind Louis and Dea.
Aren jogged and tilted his head, “Ah..?”
His brain still couldn’t comprehend.
Unable to bear the foolish look on Aren’s face, Argen slapped the bald head of his twin brother and shouted at the top of his lungs, “YOU DUMB IDIOT! RUN! DO YOU WANT TO RUN AGAIN?!”
Aren blinked and as if the hit to his head cleared his muddled head, he yelped out in response!“AHH!!!”
Everyone, except Aeselak who was nowhere to be seen, began running with all their might to the finish line!
Whatever is life? Whatever is death? If you know that you will die in less than 10 minutes, will you willingly still face that obstacle? What if you choose to live but what comes after is something worse than dying? What if dying is the choice? What if dying is the only ‘safe’ death you can choose?
Because truly,
RUNNING IS THEIR DEATH!
Arie, Aren, Argen, Aedelak, Aernest, Ramon, Ron, and Euria screamed the moment their feet reached the long white flashy line! “AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”
Louis, Dea, Eugene and Con choose to save their last bit of energy and silently catch up on their breaths. Unlike their exterior looks, they felt just as relieved as the others did.
Aren and Argen panted loudly, as if they were fighting for air, “HAA… HAAA!”
Their eyes rolled white as their arms twisted up towards the sky like zombies.
Ron and Arie gasped as they stared at Duke Rodriguez with red eyes, “TI… TIME??” their voices shook slightly as they asked out loud.
Duke Rodriguez looked away and sighed. The unknown emotions that flashed through his eyes alarmed the children greatly but before they could feel despair, Duke Rodriguez suddenly laughed out loud!
“YOU PASSED!!” he raised his hands in a champion pose as his face broke out in a big smile!
Everyone felt their stomach-churning when Duke Rodriguez hesitated. They didn’t want to hear their results and wanted to descend to heaven right there but when Duke Rodriguez did a 180, did their souls come back to mother earth. Everyone’s mental and physical strengths depleted as they plopped down to the dirty ground right there and then.
Eugene raised her hands and clasped her heart, ‘My heart…’
Euria stared at the sky as her blazing lungs started to recover. It was then that she realized something important!
Someone important!
Someone who was partnered up with her!
That person… is… is… MISSING!!!!
In a quick motion, Eugene and Euria sat up. They blinked and had a blank look on their faces.
Aedelak eyes blurred for a second before she shook her head in defeat. “Haa..” she sighed.
Ramon’s mouth formed an O-shape in speechlessness, “Oh no…” he murmured before he slapped his forehead.
Everyone else blinked. And before they could snap back to reality, Duke Rodriguez announced that 80-minutes was over.
“Everyone’s passed!” he nodded proudly and gave everyone a thumbs up.
Everyone pursed their lips, “…..”
“…..”
Realizing that only he was in a good mood, Duke Rodriguez raised his brow in a questioning look, “What’s wrong? Are you not happy?”
Arie shook his hand and waved his hands, “No… No.. Not that…” he denied as tears began to form in his eyes.
Ron saw this and his eyes too started to become cloudy and wet.
Eugene sighed and stared at her feet. “…..” Though she didn’t know why the two were so emotional, she began to be affected by them and felt a needle prick her heart.
Euria pouted sadly. She felt guilty for not being more aware of her surroundings; losing sight of Aeselak as a result!
“Ae.. Aeselak…” she called out in sadness.
Duke Rodriguez’s eyes moved across the children’s faces one by one. The more he looked, the more his face started to scrunch up in confusion. In the end, he concluded that the children were all going through puberty and sighed lightly.
Aedelak sighed again. She pinched her forehead and glanced at the sky when her eyes caught sight of something and made her gasp in horror!
‘…Wha… What’s that?!?’
Seeing tears streaming down Euria’s face, Duke Rodriguez couldn’t take it anymore and faked a scowl,
“Why are you crying now?! Everyone passed! Shouldn’t you be happy? Or do you want to run again?”
The last question, he of course, fully meant it.
Everyone shook their heads in horror, “NOO!” they screamed out in unison.
Arie shifted his body and kneeled, “Sir.. Sir.. We forgot Miss Aeselak!” he confessed in a voice filled with panic!
His head lowered as he blamed himself. Like Euria, he was condemning himself for not checking his surroundings and only caring about himself! He couldn’t help but shake his head in disappointment and shame!
Duke Rodriguez blinked, “what did you do?” he asked in a soft-whisper-like voice.
Arie, Aren, Argen pursed their lips and shouted, “WE… WE FORGOT MISS AESELAK!”
“…..” Duke Rodriguez tilted his head. He closed his eyes for 5 seconds before re-opening them.
“What are… you talking about?” he asked hesitantly and scratched his head.
Euria bit her lips and stared at Duke Rodriguez sadly, “Just like… the brothers said. We.. We left Aeselak at the field!”
Duke Rodriguez pursed his lips and with a blank look turned to Duke Marleigh.
‘What-do-I-do?’ His facial expression showed helplessness as he looked at Duke Marleigh for help.
“…..”
Everyone’s sad eyes left Duke Rodriguez and followed Duke Marleigh.
The Duke who was suddenly brought into the spotlight sighed as his head tilted up.
Everyone blinked and followed the Duke’s line of sight to the tree above him. ‘Is the Duke stretching his neck?’ They thought in unison.
“……”
Duke Marleigh stayed like that for another 5 minutes, before his low, impatient voice spoke,
“Come down.”
Everyone blinked in confusion, and before they could question, a familiar voice shouted!
“NO!”
Eugene stared blankly, “…..”
‘No… I misheard. It’s impossible.’ She shook her head and denied what she thought of.
Euria’s ears twitched as her body automatically shot up! Half-running, half-jogging, she hopped towards Duke Marleigh and the voice!
Euria bit her lips nervously and tilted her head up. Catching sight of something, her whole body dropped to the ground as her mouth formed an O-shape!
“…..” Eugene shook her head. ‘No… Still impossible.’
Sighing, she turned around to face Aedelak and saw that Aedelak had her hand on her forehead whilst shaking her head in resignation.
Just when Eugene was about to comfort Aedelak whom she thought was feeling sad, she found 3 blood veins threatening to burst on the side of Aedelak’s forehead. -What else could this mean other than…
Without a word, Eugene turned around again! ‘… No way!’
Duke Marleigh exhaled loudly, “Come down.” he repeated, his fingers tapping the side of his legs impatiently.
‘What am I going to do with this student of mine..’ he shook his head as he sighed. In resignation, he held his arms out.
“….”
Just when someone was about to open their mouth to ask what was happening, a shuffle, followed by a figure jumping down from high up came into view!
The figure landed accurately in the arms Duke Marleigh held out and clung like an octopus to the Duke as if the figure was afraid of something.
Arie, Ron, Aren, and Argen were stunned silly, “Ah?”
Duke Marleigh shifted his glasses with one hand and sighed at the girl covered in tree leaves and branches. “Haa..”
“!!!!!”
Everyone stared in shock at the figure whom they thought was just a random stranger! ‘The… THE MISSING AESELAK???’
“….” Aeselak scratched her messy head as she gripped onto the Duke’s clothes.
“….” Unable to handle another plot twist of the day, everyone besides the two Dukes, Louis, Dea, Con, Aedelak, Eugene, and Euria fainted from shock.
Eugene jolted at the sight of foam bubbling out from Arie’s mouth and the rolled eyes of Ron.
“…..”
Aeselak awkwardly laughed, “He… He..”
Duke Marleigh sighed as he looked at the group of children lying dead on the ground.
“Have them take a 2-hour break.”
——–
Break…
As Arie, Aren, Argen, Aernest, Ramon, and Ron revived, one hour had already passed by. Their bodies which felt heavy an hour ago are now light and refreshed. Through napping, they were able to recover their physical and mental state back to 80 percent!
Argen yawned as he pulled himself together, “That was a good nap!”
With those who pitifully fainted, they headed over to the dining room.
Dea chuckled when he saw the 4 A’s and 2 R’s, “Oh? Good afternoon! Did you sleep well?” he asked.
Arie nodded as he took a seat beside Dea. “Hm! My body doesn’t feel too bad!”
Perplexed, Ron grabbed a fist full of his hair, “How weird, I was just at the training field one second ago. How did I walk myself to the knight’s dorm?”
Louis stayed silent as he watched Ron grabbing a seat beside him, “….”
Ramon nodded, “Me too. I don’t remember walking back.”
Hearing Ron and Ramon, the 4 A’s nodded along.
Dea chuckled but asked hesitantly, “… Do you not remember anything?”
“Nope!”
Just as they grabbed bread to eat, they heard the sound of a spoon clinking on a plate loudly. As if it was dropped unintentionally.
“Ah!”
It was Aernest who gasped!
Aeselak who was sitting beside Aernest handed him a towel, “Are you alright, Young master?” she asked worriedly.
Aernest flinched, “Ah!” he gasped again as his trembling fingers pointed at Aeselak! The missing Aeselak!
Aeselak blinked as she too, backed away, “What.. What’s wrong Young master?” she asked as she saw the sheer terror in his eyes.
However before Aernest could reply, five other screams followed consecutively!
Arie pointed his bread at Aeselak, “YOU!! YOU!!!”
Aren and Argen’s mouths flew open! “THE MISSING MISS!”
Ron and Ramon backed away slightly, “Aes.. Aeselak!?!” unable to believe that the Aeselak they left behind at the field was in front of them, they called out her name as if wanting to confirm what they are currently seeing.
“Yes?” she tilted her head.
Everyone gaped. Just then, a memory that felt somewhat distant and somewhat close squirmed its way into their confused brain organ.
Aeselak appeared out of nowhere from the sky. The person that wanted to give up 5 minutes into the run!
The deeper they thought, the more they realized that something was off. Duke Rodriguez said that everyone passed. However, his expression was very complicated when he said that! Why? Because…
Because…
Aeselak arrived before they arrived!!!
But how is that possible?!
Arie, Aren, Argen, Aernest, Ramon, and Ron shouted in shock! “WHAT HAPPENED?!?” the 6 shouted at Aeselak whose eyes almost popped out from her eye socket!
Eugene shook her head. Indeed, the day in which they discover Aeselak’s talents has come! Her talent at running that is!
Accurately speaking, the day they discovered the catalyst to make her run as fast as light!
Aeselak scratched her head lightly as her cheeks blushed with shame, “Well…”
-Aeselak’s Peasant Tale-
Once upon a time, a peasant called Aeselak was half-forced, half-willing to run with her masters and her master’s friends. The run began with many difficulties, however soon the run became easy-going. The scenery surrounding them was so beautiful that for the first time ever, this peasant came to love the act known as running.
To use the word beautiful to describe the beauty she saw was putting it lightly. Everyone working together towards a goal, how could one word describe it?
Anyways, after reaching the end of the field where it was blocked off by wooden fences, she was hit with a harsh reality. Hit, incredibly hard.
Yet when she turned to look at her masters, master friends who called her comrades, she felt incredibly embarrassed that she was the only one feeling salty about having to run back.
Only she was complaining in her heart. Only she felt reality sinking it. Only she felt that the sight wasn’t as beautiful as it was before.
However, what can she do but grit her teeth and push forward! Pushing forward beyond her limits was the only way to compensate everyone for her dark thoughts. -Was what she thought until she pushed herself too hard.
She pushed herself too much that she ran too far. Before she knew it, she completed the usual 10 minute run in 3 minutes.
How fast must she have run to complete this feat? Well, she had to be as fast as lightning! During her lightning run, she didn’t feel tired. In fact, the physical and mental exhaustion she felt during the beginning of the run vanished!
How? and Why?
Because she had to run away from danger!
All she had in mind back then was to RUN!
-Cough-
Let’s rewind this story back a bit to when her lightning run mechanism was activated…
The mechanism activated as soon as she left the beautiful field with everyone.
Here’s the story:
Seeing that the reality of ‘the never-ending run’ has finally settled in for everyone, she felt less embarrassed. Exhaustion hit her masters, and masters friends as soon as they stepped out of the field. They too felt like death!
Just then, a gasp of horror was heard, followed by someone pointing out that the sun was already at its highest peak. Just as she was about to look at the sky everyone was pointing at, her nostrils picked up a foul-smelling scent. The scent that obviously came from below.
Before she could avoid this particular soft-looking, the black-brown disgusting stool of some animal who had no manners whatsoever, it was too late. Her boots had already sunken into the odd softness.
It was really… soft.
Sheer terror struck her and before she realized it, she was already running past the two Dukes and climbing onto a tree!
Her pain and terror was the catalyst to her lightning run! Today, she has been reborn into a running genius!!
-The end…-
Aeselak coughed, “So.. I saw a snake and it scared me so much! For some reason, I ended up on top of a tree after that…” she lied blatantly as she scratched her head.
No one but, her and the readers shall know of this sad truth!
As for what happened to her boots, because the soft sensation was horrifying, she flung off her boots to who-knows-where! Accurately speaking, no one will know the real truth behind her lightning run because there is no evidence!
“…..” Though this was the second time Aeselak told them this, Louis, Dea, Eugene, Con, Euria, and Aedelak still felt speechless!
Arie, Aren, Argen, Aernest, Ramon, and Ron blanked out, “….”
“Ehee.” Aeselak laughed awkwardly.
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Extra:
Duke Marleigh tilted his head as he stared at two random boots. He was casually walking during his break but…
“Haa..” He shook his head in defeat…
