Entwined With the Villainous Guardian
Chapter 91: The Sea Town

Chapter 91: The Sea Town

"Darcia’s young brain could not comprehend how big those words she heard from Leona were. She liked those words, and she understood those words. Those words made her happy. But still, she couldn’t understand the weight behind those words until she lost Leona and was left alone..."

Lionel took in a deep breath. The morning sunlight reflected on the marble floors and fell on her face making her glow. Her eyes were contemplative and mystical.

He had a guess what those words were. And he waited for her to say it.

"I’ll protect you forever, Darcia, even from your stupid self," she said. "So, don’t let yourself get bullied."

Leona repeated those words often. She liked it each time she said it. And as long as Leona was alive, she kept her word. She never left her side and supported her in every way she can.

Except, she forgot to be there for her forever.

"Ah," Viviana took a deep breath and turned her attention towards Lionel. She cannot get lost in her thoughts now. Lionel cannot figure out that this is her story.

"Maybe the title for this story should be "Forgotten Promises" or something..." Viviana chuckled wiping the corner of her eyes. Thinking about Leona always makes her cry.

"There you go again... Here I am thinking that the story had turned for the better and you..." Lionel pressed his lips squinting his eyes feigning anger.

Viviana chuckled. "No more depressing stuff. I’ll get to the fun stuff, alright... So," Viviana rubbed her hands. "The next time the bullies came for her in school, Darcia ran like the wind, to Leona. The bullies followed her to Leona’s classroom. Leona asked Darcia to wait outside the classroom. Darcia didn’t want to leave Leona alone with stronger upperclassmen, but Leona had her friends with her—many were boys..."

"Hmm, interesting. So Leona fought them and taught them a lesson?" Lionel asked.

"Darcia was unsure, but... some of the bullies needed stitches, and...now it was the bullies who filed a complaint against Leona for hurting them. They called Darcia as the witness. And this time... Darcia lied this time too. And she did that to protect Leona."

"Not for her toffees this time, I suppose?" Lionel asked.

"No, because she didn’t want Leona to be punished. She thought that she’d rather get bullied by those people if they wanted retaliation rather than leave a black mark on Leona’s school records. She didn’t even speak of the truth even when Father Patrick asked her. She was feeling guilty, but she wanted to protect Leona. After that incident, however, Darcia was not seen as an easy target anymore..." Viviana’s lips curved into a smile.

It was nice to lie to protect Leona.

"What about Leona’s family?" Lionel asked.

"Leona didn’t have a father. Maybe that’s why she understood Darcia’s struggles a little. Her mother had a small café by the beach. They had tourists all year round, and their shop was busy during the tourist seasons. Leona had a fairly good life financially," Viviana said.

She never thought about that much till then. Maybe that contributed to Leona’s confidence.

"Leona’s mother was very... how to say it..." Viviana bit her lips. She did not like her mom much. She was very demanding and didn’t like it when Leona goes out with her. But Leona loved her mom very much. "...protective."

"Protective?" Lionel leaned forward as he wanted to learn more about her.

"Yes. Leona had strict curfews and even when she is a minute long, her mother would panic to the extent of calling the cops to file a missing person report, and...she wanted Leona to stay at home all the time. She was very controlling too. Leona liked to wear tights and shorts like other girls, but her mom only allowed her to wear skirts and frocks with many frills. Her mom never allowed Leona to cut her hair and always tied bows in her hair which Leona despised..." Viviana sighed.

"Maybe she wanted everyone to believe that she was a girly girl," Lionel mumbled.

"Hmm?" Viviana didn’t quite catch it and asked him.

"Nothing. So, let’s get back to Lionel and Darcia’s friendship. Where did they go? What did they do? Did they have other friends?"

"Yeah... It was a big coastal town. One part of the town was where the fishermen lived and the other part—the part near the church was a popular tourist destination. The Church and the school were in the same gated compound separated by a garden and a playground. The Church was an old church and like most churches built around that time, had a lot of secret tunnels.

Being Father Flannagan’s favorite, he had talked about some of the tunnels. Darcia, interested in giving back something to Leona, told her about the tunnels because Leona liked exploring. And each day they will explore one of the tunnels. Some led to storages underground, one led to a catacomb, and some of them were closed."

Viviana paused seeing Lionel leaning on the chair with his eyes closed.

"Do you need anything, Mr. Yannis?" she asked.

"No, I’m imagining that place... It’s so soothing... The Church is pretty close to the cliff, the woods covering the slope, the beach that is visible from the tower of the church, the sound of the bells heard from the tunnels, the distant fishing boats sailing at the horizon, the seagulls, the salty air..." he took in a deep breath.

Viviana wetted her lips. She didn’t know how he is describing Abenney so perfectly. The location of the church is so perfect as he mentioned. She didn’t remember talking about cliffs. So, how did he know that? Is this a coincidence that he imagined a coastal town like that? "That’s a vivid imagination, Mr. Yannis," she said trying to see if he is telling her more about the place he is seeing.

"Do you know about a town named Abenney, Bellissima?" Lionel opened his eyes and looked at her.

Meeting his hazel eyes, Viviana stumbled.

Her heart started to pound, and she regretted ever trying to talk about her past with a friend of Leander.

It’s over! Everything is over!

She took in a deep breath.