SPELLBOUND

The chase was not as hard as he thought. She was not that fast, and it was very easy for him to spot her in the darkness. Somehow, he had forgotten about his rage and all that was left was his desire to catch her again. Therefore, the chase ended up being something quite enjoyable for him too. He did not understand why he was feeling such an intense desire since that moment he had laid eyes on her. It intrigued him the way he felt so fascinated about the surface when he was still in the Under Land. And he knew he would never be able to calm that burning curiosity down until he could find out all the whys that were running around in his head. Was it just because she was the first and only human that he had ever seen? Would he act the same once he sees other humans too?

After a long drawn-out but gratifying chase, Gavrael finally halted. He saw the little butterfly entering a tower of a citadel just outside of the forest they were in. He could feel that if he took few more steps out of the forest, he would have stepped out of the Middle Land and set foot into a whole new Land that he thought must be the Human realms. Somehow, he could just feel it.

The thrill of the chase seemed to be getting through to him again as he felt his heartbeat pick up in exhilaration. He was ever so tempted to cross the line and search out and explore these unknown places.

After looking on for quite a while, considering whether it was wise of him to take the risk, his eyes flashed with a determined look. He took the step and then he approached the towering walls of the citadel. All around, it was quiet and not a soul could be seen. Maybe because it was deep into the night for these humans, Gavrael reasoned out to himself. He materialized on the top of the citadel walls, and he then saw the guards who were on duty – however, they were blissfully sleeping at their posts.

Looking at them, Gavrael immediately realized what his mother had repeatedly told him about humans. He could feel that there was nothing special in them when it comes to power and strength. He could easily kill off all these soldiers before they could even put up a fight. Perhaps, they would not even register what had happened while happily in their slumber before going to meet their maker. But that girl… she was human but at the same time, different. What was she then?

As Gavrael darted from one place to another, he took in the sights and observed the humans who were deep in slumber all over the citadel. He had infiltrated the citadel and saw other humans sleeping in their beds at home soundly. He saw another girl writing something on her desk and a woman walking along the corridors of a house with a lamp dangling in her hand. He also took notice of the human's style of architecture and building structures, finding them somewhat interesting even if he did not think them to be superior to those back in the Under Land.

He soon realized that the other humans he had seen were not interesting to him at all. None of the multitudes he had observed even triggered the slightest hint of curiosity in him to investigate further nor cause him the same sudden want to possess like how it had happened with that 'butterfly' girl. Nothing here caught any of his interest at all. These humans were not as intriguing as that sly little butterfly he was chasing.

A wicked smile curved across his lips, thinning them out. He decided there and then. He was going to look for her. This girl with the beautiful wings that had somehow caught his attention – which was a really hard thing to do, as he rarely took note of many things that could be labelled as 'interesting' to him personally. He will find out what was it that drew him to her. There must be something worthy of his undivided princely attention that she was in possession of that could elicit such an intense feeling of fascination from him. As he had decided to pursue her, he could feel his excitement mount and he was pleased. It has been so long since he had felt this kind of thrill, and he realised that he had missed this feeling.

His curiosity to the many things – new and strange – that he had found and seen in the citadel that was not part of the Under Land had caused him to forget about the time limitation that was imposed as the result of the spell on the portal. The moment he had finally found the room where the girl was sleeping in, he was taken by surprise when he looked up to see that the colour of the sky outside her window had changed and already turned lighter. And it was much lighter than he had anticipated. It was no longer black anymore.

Suddenly, he felt his mind and heart throb in pain.

He cursed. How come time passes so fast up here on the surface? He sighed and had to be in agreement with the saying where, 'Time flies when you are having fun'. Based on how he did not even realise the time had flown by, and the amount of fun he had, he concluded that he did have quite the bit of fun since crossing the portal and exploring the land on the surface. Giving a last longing glance at the peacefully slumbering girl one last time, he then disappeared from her room.

Gavrael knew he had to return immediately. It was painful. He did not know that the pain would be this excruciating. He did all he could to speed towards and reach the portal on time and thankfully, he was able to return just before his time ran out. However, that was at the expense where he had to go through much intense and mind-numbing pain. He was sweating and panting even as he leaned his head that was damp with perspiration against the wall of the tunnel.

But still, a satisfied smirk flashed across his face. It was as if he had just gone through a turning point in his life and he regretted none of it, despite the crazy amount of pain he had just gone through.

"Wait for my return my little butterfly," he said with a devilish smile as he stared at the now closed portal.

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A/N: This is an early BUNOS chapter. Keep the Golden Tickets coming Spellbounders! If we stay in our rank until tomorrow reset, there's another bunos chap on monday. ^^

P.s. I'm seeing some of you are confused but don't worry guys, all your questions will be answered as we go on. I won't make ya'll wait too long. <3