"You changed the course of time," Lucas said and she nodded her head.
"WHAT?!" Barron exclaimed quickly coming to her side and looking up at Belle, "You manipulated time? How can you do that? That's bulls.h.i.+t," asked Barron with a disbelieving look on his face.
Belle kept quiet while Barron continued to speak before the rabbit flew in the air in the direction outside the window because Lucas had kicked it away, "Ignore the rabbit," said Lucas when her eyes went wide. Now that the nuisance was gone, Lucas said, "Tell me more."
Belle explained what happened that day and what she did, and he asked, "So it's not just one but two ghouls?"
"Two ghouls. I don't think they sensed me before but now...it is the first time any of the ghouls ever came to meet me."
Lucas nodded his head, "I think I understand now. Opening the ability of a star is equal to a throttle that needs to be pa.s.sed by and it takes up all the energy of a person leaving them exhausted. The body takes its own time to recover back to its original state," if Lucas knew what Belle had seen he would have known that she had fainted from exhaustion and she hadn't stepped into the land of the dead.
But coming to the change she had done, he wasn't sure what to take it as. She was the reason the ghouls was created and if the ghoul was taken from Lord Nicholas', it meant that he knew about its existence and commanded it.
"And after we have gone through about the b.u.t.terfly effect several times," he murmured to see Belle smile awkwardly. He had told her what could happen when one changed the course, "There's good and bad in the world, and there cannot be just bad or completely good, there's a balance that often forms between the two. You give happiness to someone, it will lead to the sadness of another person or more than one."
Belle knew that. She knew that once she touched the ghoul a few minutes ago. She had seen the number of lives that were taken away from its hands through its master.
"That's alright though. What you did was in the past and there has been no major change so far. The man you helped is trying to help subtly towards the goal of the alignment of stars and you now have the ability to even talk to the ghoul, which is strange."
"I thought I only had the ability of death," said Belle.
"It's not that far from what you have. What you did was related to death but I doubt it means you can just kill people and talk and fight against the creatures of the dark. The corruption would lead to his death and you changed it," he said to her.
"Do you think if I were to go to the past where there were witches, I can maybe change things there to avoid the death and chaos that is there in this world?"
Lucas shook his head, "I would prefer you don't do that. Sometimes we try to fix things thinking what is broken can be redone but in truth, the percentage of it turning worse than before is possible. You fix things over and over again until it turns to a mess. Don't go looking for something like that," he advised her.
"Okay," she answered and he took her hand in his, starting to walk away from the corridor, "The ghoul spoke about Vivian corrupting. Do you think I have to go take a look if she has any black vapour around her?"
"I don't think it a bad idea," he offered her a smile on encouragement, "I will be right with you."
Belle and Lucas could hear Barron cursing Lucas, "He looked dirty anyways. Another patch of mud shouldn't be that bad," murmured Lucas to take her to her room.
She was sure if Barron ever got the opportunity to bury Lucas, Barron would do it and would also dance around the grave.
When she got back to her room, she asked, "Do you think I will ever meet her? The other part of my soul."
"Maybe, maybe not," he responded back to her, "It would be better if you both don't ever meet. She might be you but she's been living in the dead for the last eleven years and eleven years is long enough to change a person. I don't think I need to tell what change it is."
"Okay," she answered but didn't go inside to close the door. Belle continued to stand in front of Lucas, and he raised his hand to pat her head, "Don't go wandering away."
"Wait!" Belle whispered softly before he could leave that had him raise his eyebrows in question. Belle had been wondering about it for some time now and she said, "Won't it be right for you to s.h.i.+ft rooms?"
"Didn't I already do it?" he asked her, his eyes smiling down at her.
"No, not in the servant's quarters. Like, here," she said, her eyes darting away from him for a second, "There are many rooms."
Lucas stared at her with that subtle smile on his lips and he asked, "Are you finding it uncomfortable that you are seeing a man who lives and rests in the servant's quarters?" his words were teasful.
"No! No! That's not what it is," said Belle quickly, or maybe it was but she found it strange that when there were plenty of rooms Lucas could choose, he was still occupying the room in the servant's quarters. Up in this floor, it was just her and even Barron was not there.
She saw Lucas smile and then lean forward. She hoped for a kiss like in the evening, closing her eyes she waited to only receive a kiss on her forehead.
"Maybe some time in the future," he said to her.
