The hallowed among us

The thought of the reflection I saw kept me up all night, It was my face staring back at me. But my eyes? The eyes I saw? They weren’t mine.

Apart from that, the lady behind me, who looked like Aria but was holding a knife, felt like a ghost.

At least, not real in the way I understood it.

“Then who is she?” I murmured to myself.

–––

I found Aria in the garden at dawn, her bare feet in the dew, humming a song that took me back to my childhood.

When she saw me coming, she turned. “Are you okay? You look… different.”

I paused for a moment. I wanted to shout, “Are you even real?”

Instead, I asked, “Do you remember the first night we met?”

Her smile wavered. “You were severely wounded and were in bed all day, the very day Aether brought you to Northwoods, you looked pitiful and were ready to curse the moon.”

I blinked in surprise. She remembered, she’s real I mumbled

I managed a weak smile. “Just checking to see if you’re still the Aria that I know.”

She tilted her head, curiosity in her eyes. “What’s going on? Where’s this coming from?”

I sighed. “I saw someone using your face.”

“May,” Aria said softly, “you don’t look so good, do you even know what you’re saying?”

“I’m certain. I  saw your face in the pool reflection,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper. “But it wasn’t you. Your eyes… they were off.”

Her brows knitted together, and the smile faded from her lips. “Oh this is serious”

“I think something’s using your image to get to me. Maybe a Hollowed, or something even worse.”

She didn’t flinch at all. Instead, she reached out, held my wrist, and said, “Then we’ll find it together.”

I couldn’t help but stare at her. No fear, no sense of guilt or anger. Just unwavering loyalty. That’s my Aria, the Aria I have come to know, accommodating and kind. 

Later that morning, I spilled everything to Laziel. I told him in detail all that had happened. 

Not a single blink from him.

“We’ll tighten the patrol,” he said. “No one gets into your wing without being sensed. You’ll always have a guard— no matter where you are or where you go.”

He stepped closer. “Do you trust me?”

I looked him in the eye. “I think you’re one of the few I still can.”

He nodded. “Then let me watch your back. You protect the Moon… and I’ll protect you.”

–––

That night, I found myself at the reflection pool again. I was alone, no Aria, no Laziel, I even refused Aether to come with me. It was just me… and my reflection.

Although I was skeptical, I half-expected to see those red eyes again,  but instead, the water began to ripple, and words floated on the surface like magic.

“She speaks in your name, He listens, even when you’re not there. Jealousy is a sharper blade than prophecy.”

Then, just like that, the smoky words seized and the water became still again.

I staggered back. Who was “she”? And more importantly… Who was “he”?

The night felt still and I began to get sleepy, but how can I sleep with an anxious mind? Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

So I walked down the corridor, through the yard, and then towards the training chambers where Laziel usually spent his late nights.

As I turned the corner, I heard some voices, muffled but enough to make me stop.

It was Melina. She was talking to Laziel in a low, sharp tone.

“You’re getting too close to her,” she said. “You don’t see it, but I do.”

“See what?” Laziel replied calmly.

“She’s not who you think she is,” Melina hissed. “She’s manipulative and assertive. Everything around her crumbles—first Castillo, then Aether, and soon… you.”

My heart raced.

“What do you mean by crumble? Aether hasn’t crumbled or has he?” Laziel asked

“She’s poison dressed as prophecy, I have been in this pack way before your arrival, I see and know what you’re yet to take note of.”

I pressed myself against the wall, barely breathing.

“She doesn’t care about you, Laziel. You’re just a new toy in her chaos. She pretends to be innocent, but she thrives on being wanted, on being needed. She feels she’s more important than everyone.”

Laziel didn’t answer right away.

But Melina continued. “I’m your friend. I’ve known you longer than she has. And I’m telling you—one day soon, she’ll turn on you too.”

Silence hung in the air.

“You’re wrong,” Laziel said, breaking the silence. 

“She’s just good at pretending,” Melina added. “Trust me!”

I couldn’t take it anymore, I turned to leave and that’s when I spotted it.

Down the other hallway— right at the edge of the torchlight, stood Melina watching me as I walked towards her direction fast paced.

She wasn’t in the training chamber, and she hadn’t said a word. And yet, I had just heard her voice clear as day, mocking me and tearing me apart.

I stopped in my tracks glancing at her properly and then in a flash, her face shifted. Her mouth stretched wide— too wide. Her voice drifted to me, even from afar.

“We can all wear masks, May.”

Then she vanished, leaving me with a burning question…

Who the hell had Laziel been talking to? 

Immediately I turned back to the training chamber and found Laziel sitting alone. 

“Were you here with someone?” I asked him, panting heavily? 

“Melina he said, she’s just left. Why are you asking? And why are you here by this time?” 

But I gave him no reply, I  was too stunned for words. Melina was with him when I left, and she was in the hallway too. Who on earth is the real Melina? I felt like I was going insane. The whole situation was getting too complex and arduous for me to curtail, Immediately I ran off…