Chapter 45: Bonds of the Present [Part 1]
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Tiadora clutched onto the blue pillow, and pushed aside all of the books off her bed with her foot. Normally she wouldn’t have done that to books, as she always treasured the beautiful stories and information it contain. But she had been seeing them for six whole days, and she was getting quite sick of it.

Jason had suggested for Tiadora to take a look at his stash of books while he was busy with his ‘work’. He said that he’ll show her around the house the moment he has a free time, but it had been six days without rest. All the time, he had been stuck in the room on the third floor with ten people every morning that will stretch until around one o’clock. And then another group of ten people will gather at the room for another ‘discussion’ session that will end around dinnertime.

Just when she thought after one full day not seeing him, he would come down to eat dinner at the table with her, Jason would decline and instead head back to his room, open up the window nearest to the piano, and work on his laptop on the balcony that overlooks the central garden. Even as the night dims into total darkness of midnight, he is stuck in front of the computer working on god-knows-what until the early morning.

And the routine continues throughout all the six days. There was even twice she noticed after waking up in the morning that Jason had not slept for the entire night and had been hovering over the monitor screen for hours. Tiadora didn’t see him eat or drink, as he was always in the discussion room during lunch time and that he doesn’t eat dinner at all. Once, when she offered to get him some food from the kitchen, he said that he was alright with the plain biscuits that he kept for Sephy. And when he answered, his eyes were so concentrated on the screen, Tiadora wasn’t surprise with his reaction when she came back for a second time, and he didn’t hear her call for him.

Tiadora wanted his attention, at least for a minute, but she hasn’t been having it ever since Wednesday started. She even got desperate and played loud notes on the piano during one of the nights when he was on the computer, so that he would get irritated and tell her to stop. But like a mindless zombie, Jason still kept his focus onto the computer and did not utter a word about it.

Now, as the clock tuned for lunch time, Tiadora wrapped herself around the blanket and ignored the chime that the kitchen made. With Jason busy, she had been reading the books on her bed for hours, and she was so incredibly bored, that for every one of her five pillows on her huge bed, she gave them names; Paul, Sam, Koko and Remy.

Names that she found while reading the books. Even now, as lunch time has arrived, Jason was at the balcony, working on the computer again. He looked so different now, Tiadora thought. In school, he was always so carefree and full of energy all the time, but now he’s practically glued to the screen like as if he’s possessed or something. The only Jason tha Tiadora can talk to now, is the toy that imitated Jason.

Then the intercom sounded, “Master Jason, you have a guest.”

“Herbert, can you get that?” Jason shouted, his eyes still in front of the screen.

Tiadora had had it. She just had to talk to him. There has never been a proper conversation with him ever since dinnertime on Tuesday and that was just too long ago. Tiadora then kicked off her blanket and handed down the steps and approached the huge window where it opened up to a balcony that overlooked a beautiful garden. Jason was seated there at a white table, fumbling over his laptop for all these hours. She placed her hands on the table beside him and thought of a conversation topic.

“Jason, I think I need to say my mind out, if not I would just explode if you do not listen to me now,” Tiadora said, and just as Jason finally stopped his typing on the keyboard and turns towards her with the zombie look on his face, Tiadora freezes and stutters as she says. “I th…think you sho…should…should…”

“Tia?”

“Bathe!” Tiadora blurted out accidentally. “I think you should bathe. Didn’t you hear Herbert? You have a guest! And if you don’t bathe now, it’s going to portray a really impression on the Kingston’s personal grooming and hygiene. No offense, but you really do stink.”

“What time is it?” Jason asked in that same expression which so much reminds her of David. “What day is today?”

Tiadora was shocked that the urgency of bathing still hadn’t registered in his mind. “It is two o’clock in the afternoon of bright sunny Sunday,” Tiadora lowered her tone, thinking that she might have sounded too nervous. “Jason, actually…what I really want to say is…”

“Sunday?!” Jason immediately stood up and did as he was told, rushing towards the bathroom door that was located underneath the staircase where Tiadora’s side was. The bathroom was situated directly behind the bookshelves on Tiadora’s side, and to Tiadora’s surprise, when she saw it on Tuesday, occupied a large amount of space full of glistening gold and crystals. Just as the guardian of Fire was about to enter the bathroom door, he called out towards Tiadora, “Tia! By all means, do NOT open the bedroom door.”

“Uhh…okay,” Tiadora said, unsure of what he really meant, and watched as he disappeared into the bathroom. That was weird, Tiadora thought to herself. Why did he get so fired up when I told him the time and day? She shrugged to her question and thought that maybe she could ask him later if he didn’t maintain that zombie form. Feeling bored, Tiadora headed over towards the piano, lifted the key board and felt the cold keys at her fingertips.

She hadn’t seen Jason or Cornelia played it before, even though Jason did mentioned that he plays the instrument, but Tiadora had watched enough plays in the academy’s dorm television to know how it looked like to play one. There was a show, she remembered that was on a music school, and one of the ways Tiadora recalled before playing any instrument, is to have the tune in mind. Then as though her fingers were magically moving on their own, Tiadora pushed in the keys and tried to hum the tune as she played. It was the exact tune! She told herself. She didn’t know how or where the each tone was, but the tune played out just as how it was supposed to be.

And in the midst of her train of thoughts, three things happened simultaneously.

First, the bedroom door slammed open as a teenage girl beautifully dressed, stride in with Herbert tailing her. Although the girl had a smile plastered across her face when she entered the bedroom, her radiant smile instantly evaporated when she saw that the person playing behind the piano wasn’t whom she had expected. The girl, whom had long caramel-coloured wavy hair and with a darker shade of sea blue for her eyes, gave a puzzling look and spoke in a voice that reminded Tiadora so much of Kiara, “Strange. I thought Cornelia was playing the piano.”

Second, the bathroom door opened and Jason wobbled outside, with mismatched coloured shirt and jeans, and hair still unkempt, dripping wet. He still had his towel in his left hand as he dap his face that still had soap on and walked in between the girl and Tiadora. Jason had a troubled look on his face as he kept on glaring back and fro from Tiadora to the other girl in the room. “Herbert,” he couldn’t start the conversation proper. “You are dismissed.”

“Very well,” the butler bowed, and the third thing that happened, was that at that point of time, Sephy came running through the bedroom door. The dog ran past Herbert, ignored the guest and pounced on Jason, licking his face as if he hadn’t just finished bathing.

“Jay,” the guest muttered as she folded her arms and looked towards Tiadora. “I didn’t know you needed a piano teacher.”

Hearing that, Jason pushed Sephy away from his face, stood up and gestured for Tiadora to come closer. “She’s not my piano teacher,” Jason held Tiadora’s hand as she approached. “Her name is Tiadora.”

“I love the name,” the girl gave a sincere smile, and her radiance was strangely back again as she held out her hand, wanting to shake Tiadora’s. “Nice to meet you, Tiadora! My name is Claire Tear Grenarde, but you can call me Claire for short. I am Jason’s fiancée.”

“Fiancee?” Tiadora was shocked, and pondered to when she became Sir Lancelot’s fiancée in the past. Jason has a fiancée? And he didn’t say anything about it? But Tiadora just put on a reluctant smile and answered Claire back, “As in Jason’s wife-to-be?”

“Yes, you can on quite fast,” Claire smiled, knowing that she had put her stand. “Therefore as a fiancée, I find it rather disturbing that Jason is having another girl sleeping his room. So what is the relationship that you and my future husband have?

“We are…”

“Claire,” Jason gestured his hands in such a way that made Claire flinch that quickly shut her mouth and look down, as is she was scared. He then took Tiadora’s hands in his, and stood side-by-side to Tiadora. “You may be my fiancée, Claire,” Jason declared, looking straight into Claire’s eyes. “…but my heart belongs to Tiadora, and only her.”

There was a stunned look on Claire’s face, as she stared between both Jason and Tiadora, and a moment of silence passed between them. She looked down, staring at the marble floor. The stretch that Tiadora had been feeling in her heart finally loosened. Jason has a financee. It was then she understood that she really didn’t have a place in the 21st Century. Everyone had their individual roles. And the girl in front of her was Jason’s future wife. I don’t belong here. The one for Jason will eventually be Claire when I leave.

Tiadora felt bad for Claire, as if she was stealing something that was already authorized as hers. It was wrong and out of place.

“So that’s how it is going to be…” Claire muttered to herself. All of a sudden, she pushed Jason aside, grabbed at Tiadora’s wrist, and pulled her out towards the door.

Baffled by the sudden reaction, Jason raced towards Claire as she sped put of his room, tagging Tiadora behind her. Jason caught up with her and grasped her wrist hard to restrain her but she pushed him aside and continued towards a spiral stairway leading downwards. Thinking ahead, Jason held onto the silver railings of the stairs, leaped over them with a push and landed safely two storeys from where he once was. As Claire finally reached the foot of the stairs, Jason folded his arms and frowned, “Where do you think you’re going?”

Claire stared at her fiancé with a blank, long expression as she scoffed at him, “We’re gonna have a girls day out together which means you are not invited.”

“Claire…” Jason tried stopping her by blocking her path towards the door. Claire had moved so fast that she had already made it pass his room, along corridors and was now only a few yards away from the main door while dragging a non-resisting Tiadora along with her.

“Don’t be selfish, Jason,” Claire again pushed him away and flagged her limo driver, before glaring back at Jason. “I know you better. You said you love Tiadora? Well, I won’t be surprised if she has been doing nothing ever since you returned from the academy. Look at you! Is this your first time bathing this week?!”

Jason stared down at his drenched state and back to Tiadora. The guardian of Energy could see the regret in his turquoise eyes, but what Claire said was true. Tiadora had been doing nothing so far, and she was getting bored of it. But what Tiadora felt disappointing, was that he only budge from his stone silent state only when he realized that Claire was here. Tiadora wondered again in her aching heart as she stared to the floor and said, “It’s okay, Theodore. Let me go with Claire.”

Shocked, Jason become silent. Tiadora had never called him by his middle name before, but then again, it was his fault that he didn’t mention anything about Claire to Tiadora. Who was he to tell her what to do when she already feels a hinge of betrayal from him? She had told him that she was engaged to Sir Lancelot, so not telling Tiadora about his would be like keeping a secret from her.

Thus, with downcast eyes, Jason moved aside from the door, giving way for Claire to strut her way out into the open as the limousine parked perfectly in front of the door. The chauffeur opened the door, and Claire let Tiadora enter the long white limo first. “Don’t worry,” Claire winked at Jason, all traces of anger of frustration that she showed during the chase had all disappeared. “I’ll bring her back to you.”

“You better,” Jason spoke, but with that obvious hint of resentment, as the limousine drove through the golden gates of Kingston Residences with the girl of his dreams inside.

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