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Little did Dark-Hair knew, Marquess of Alskar had always been there.

Elliot had been sitting outside his room for quite a while—everyday, without missing a single moment. He had been there ever since the day he stopped visiting, waiting faithfully for a chance that Dark-Hair opened up to him. Now, he thought, he did, as he could finally hear Dark-Hair’s voice.

He heard Dark-Hair singing a song oddly familiar. He did not know what song it was nor he thought anyone would know—he was not even sure Dark-Hair himself knew what song it was, or whether he was the one that composed the song itself.

But—his voice. A voice so tender and pure. A silvery voice, so harsh, yet so gentle. A voice so lonely and fragile, yet tranquil and magical. A voice that captivated Elliot.

Elliot leaned against the door, letting the song drew him in. He leaned, eyes fluttering closed. As though without a care to the world, the only thing in his mind was the voice of the Dark-Hair. Ah, Elliot was enchanted by the voice. He recognized the feeling of being overwhelmed by certain emotions—he felt warm, he felt secure, he felt comfortable, he felt joy, he felt solace—as though being wrapped in a blanket on a cold night, cuddling with an important person. He felt—love.

Love was about the overwhelming joy and the feeling of wanting to be together and the pain of losing when one was away. It was the feeling of a brother wanting to protect his sister. It was the feeling of a dear friend wanting to comfort her friend. It was the feeling of a mother’s caresses. It was the feeling of a father’s silently helping his son. It was a feeling between individuals. Shapeless, unable to be defined, but could certainly be felt.

And thus, Elliot knew he was fascinated with Dark-Hair’s voice.

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Somehow, it became a habit for them. Dark-Hair would sing at some certain times to ease the loneliness, while Elliot would be outside of his room to listen to the song he sang as though a celebration of love.

Day one went by, then day two came upon, and left. Day three, then day four. Even Elliot had lost count of how many days he had been listening to the bewitching singing voice. He sat all day, listening and letting the voice soothed him as if the world was perfect and nothing bad could happen. He would never get bored.

“What are you doing here?”

Victoria’s sudden voice punched Elliot’s imagination back into reality. Hence, he jumped in surprise. He looked at her with a mix of confusion and annoyance, which immediately turned into irritated glare. Not only was she interrupting his session of listening to angelic voice, but she also outed him.

The little sister was oblivious of her brother’s goal. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, frowning in confusion and bending closer to meet her brother’s eye level. “You’ve been here for like, what? A week?”

“Shh,” Elliot hushed, putting his pointing finger in front of his lips. He shook his head. He did not want Dark-Hair to know he was there the whole time! He was avoiding him, how embarrassing it was if Dark-Hair knew he were there. Elliot dragged Victoria by her arm, away from the Dark-Hair’s room.

Though, it was all in vain.

Always having a great hearing, Dark-Hair was. He could listen to a whisper of a cat. So of course, it was easy to hear Victoria’s not-so-quiet voice through the wall. Dark-Hair could even hear Elliot’s hush. Ah, was Elliot there the whole time? was what Dark-Hair thought.

Thinking Elliot had been there the whole time listening to him, Dark-Hair’s lips twitched into a genuine faint smile.

He was not alone. Never alone.

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When he thought they were far enough from Dark-Hair’s room, Elliot finally let go of Victoria. “What was that?” Victoria demanded, waving her hand dramatically as though her brother had hurt her arm.

Elliot looked around—what was he doing, though? No one was looking at him—and darted his gaze on the little sister. “You almost made me got caught!”

Victoria tilted her head, acting innocent to annoy Elliot. “By who, exactly?” she asked in an innocent yet mocking way.

“By that boy!” Elliot hissed; his voice was strained as if he were trying to not be heard by anyone. “I was supposed to stop seeing him, but he almost got me caught.”

Victoria frowned, now with real confusion. Why did Elliot need to stop seeing him?

Elliot ruffled his hair in frustration before he began with explanation. “Now, you see,” he sighed. “I told him I lost patience and will not see him anymore. I can’t suddenly be caught waiting for him on the other side of the door, right?”

Victoria raised her eyebrows, then burst into a laughter. “Are you kidding me?” she cried between her laughter, wiping a single tear that escaped her eyes. “Why would you say that? You think he’ll try to stop you from leaving like some kind of dramatic play?”

“Hoping doesn’t hurt,” Elliot scoffed in embarrassment, which made Victoria laughed harder.

“Are you serious?” she wheezed, out of breath from so much laughing. “That’s so stupid! You’re like some desperate maiden trying to play hard to get.”

“Oh, shut up,” Elliot rolled his eyes. “Now, leave. I don’t even know which hole I should bury myself into.”

Victoria finally managed to calm her laughter. “Okay, but, you see,” she suggested, pointing a finger. “You should see him directly. Like, right now.”

Elliot’s lips formed a bitter smile, he waved his hand to shoo his sister away.

Though, she was right. Perhaps, he better visited Dark-Hair again. It would be embarrassing, but Elliot could not deny that he missed ‘talking’ to the boy. After all, he finally heard Dark-Hair’s voice. That was what he intended when he decided to leave—and it was a success.

Victoria, still smiling in bemusement, sauntered away from Elliot. “Farewell, Brother,” she said, waving a salute to the older boy. “Don’t forget to see your darling. You must. Right now.”

Elliot—could not help but smiled too—waved a goodbye. He took a deep breath and swiveled around, pacing away to Dark-Hair’s room.

He needed to see him, right now.

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