Betrayal felt like everything around him cracked and he was the solitary person standing; he feared her answer because he knew those gaps would get bigger and he'd fall in with no one to rescue him. Yet, he had to know.
Penelope gave him a reluctant look as she looked away and answered, "Sirius told me to…"
He scoffed in disbelief. "And you'd go along with his requests? You? The uptight girl who'd always tell Sirius and Ethelinda to stop fighting whether it be at the dinner table or elsewhere?"
Penelope's hand curled as she stared right into his eyes. "I never told you this, but he and I are together… I love him…more than anyone else in the world. That's why I'd do anything he tells me and he'd do the same!"
Nova saw himself falling into a void. No one was going to rescue him as he submerged deeper. He had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but they vanished; she wasn't worth the interrogation. "Hand my manuscript back."
"I can't…"
In a fit of rage, Nova roughly searched through her body and retrieved it. He held onto it tightly.
Penelope struggled and the man holding her held her tighter. "Hand that over, Nova!"
He muttered, "Unlike you, I don't listen to others…"
He then scurried off. He wasn't sure where to run to, but anywhere was safer than the streets. He noticed a bookstore and went in to hide in a corner. He took a good glance at his bound manuscript. It had a black cover and the word 'Loreseer' was engraved onto the side. The fear and anxiety he had dissipated as he stroked the cover. This was what the book would've been like if he had it published; it was a sensational feeling.
"Are you alright, miss?" A man was checking up on him; he was an elderly man who was adjusting his glasses to get a good look at him. "You're drenched in sweat."
Out of fear, Nova shoved his book into his bag. "Sir, please let me hide here! There's a hooded person after me!"
Wait, if Penelope tried to steal my manuscript… she might be related to the book burnings and if that were the case, this store is in danger…
In the corner of his eye, he saw a book that looked similar to his own. "A-Actually, can I buy this book?"
The man guided him to the counter where he paid. "Sir! The bookstore might be in danger, so please escape while you can!"
"What are you talking about?"
"There's a hooded person who tried stealing a manuscript from the publishing house! It might be related to the book burnings!"
The man gasped. "You don't say?"
"Please escape while you can!"
Nova held the purchased book and left the store. All he could do now was to head back to his hotel; he prayed he wouldn't run into Penelope or other hooded individuals. He hid in every alleyway he could in order to not be detected. Oddly enough, he never saw another hooded individual on the streets.
This is certainly odd. Given the topic of my manuscript and that Penelope and Sirius are a part of the burnings, I was sure they'd be searching around for me… Am I not their priority or something?
He then noticed a trail of smoke out in the distance. An uneasy feeling came to him. That's the direction to the hotel…
"Fire!" A civilian yelled as they pointed in that same direction.
"Someone notify the fire department!" A woman demanded.
The fuss about the fire only made Nova reluctant to go back. Where else could he go? Back to the cottage? Perhaps, that was the only choice–he also needed to inform Aster about Penelope and the book burnings.
When he turned around, he became startled at the sight of another hooded individual. He held onto the book tightly as he took a few steps back. He then noticed more hooded individuals behind him. The one who was by their lonesome then took off their hood. Nova's heart sank as he saw it was Ethelinda.
"Even you?"
"Nova, I don't want to hurt you, so hand that over."
He held onto it tightly. He was surrounded and he knew he was at a disadvantage if he were to run. Civilians were also staring at them, confused about the situation.
Wait, this is good on my part!
Suddenly, he started screaming. "KIDNAPPERS! SOMEBODY HELP ME! THEY'RE GOING TO ABDUCT ME!"
The civilians around them became astonished. The men started charging towards them as the women surrounded Nova. As the hooded individuals were subdued, the women told Nova to escape while they handled them, to which he complied.
He soon saw more trails of smoke in all directions and it started getting hard to breathe. Nova put the book aside to cover his mouth; he didn't want anyone to hear him coughing.
What is going on, though? Why are Penelope and Ethelinda wearing hoods? What is Sirius doing?
His thoughts became hard to focus on the more he coughed. He was worried that he might go into a coughing fit if it continued. He didn't like it when he had them; it made him too vulnerable, especially when he's in a dire situation like this. He put the book he purchased into the bag, next to his own. He then took notice of the scale. Was it right for him to wish for Robin's help now? Regardless, he needed help from whomever, so he clasped it with his hands.
Before he could make a wish, a loud booming voice called out to him.
"I found you!"
Fear mixed in with the coughs. He had nowhere else to run. He quickly hid the scale into his coat pocket as he slowly turned to see who was calling out to him; he noticed rose red hair and a big build, but no hood. Upon closer inspection, Nova remembered this was the man he had charmed earlier and had subdued Penelope. He was scared of his presence, as he wasn't exactly an ally.
"Hey, are you okay?" He looked worried.
"I'll…be…fine…"
He could tell the man wanted to help him, but he'd only be a burden to him, especially with the coughing fits and the smoke. Instead, an idea came to him. He took out one of the books from his bag and handed the rest to him. "Sir, please take this bag with you…run as fast as you can…away from the city…"
"But–"
"Please…"
The man complied with his request as he took it and ran off. Nova knew it wouldn't be long until the hooded people found him and subdued him. He didn't resist since his nose and lungs were getting weaker. They seized the book from him and then tied his hands behind his back and his feet. They also tied a cloth over his nose and mouth in order to help his breathing but also prevent him from further talking, but he didn't really need to talk or resist.
He wasn't sure where they were taking him, but the number of hooded individuals grew; he wondered just how many people were a part of the burnings. He could also see civilians coughing and running away to find a safe place to breathe; the way no one was concerned for them disheartened him. The sky looked as if it was turning into a gradient shade of gray to red. It was an ominous sight.
He soon found himself in a spacious part of the city, the square, and was thrown in the middle alongside a large pile of pilfered books. When the book he bought was thrown next to him, he noticed the cover had 'Loreseer' engraved on it, instilling fear.
I took out the wrong one!
Suddenly, a sole hooded person stepped onto the square and unveiled themself to Nova; it was Sirius. When he removed the cloth from Nova's mouth, Nova no longer felt hurt; he felt nothing. All he did was ask questions; he needed answers.
"Were you the cause of all those book burnings until now?"
"Me and a bunch of other people. Ethelinda and Penelope joined me recently."
"Why are you doing this?"
"It's to change the world from its control." Sirius had an insane glint in his eyes that caused an uneasy feeling to loom within Nova.
"Control? From what?"
"Souhait, obviously. Why must we believe in a world where the Lavender Dragon is thought to create it? The Lavender Dragon grants wishes? He instilled duty onto the people here? A bunch of gibberish, honestly. This is why I rounded up people who were living terrible lives thanks to those duties and helped me burn books and anything related to Souhait."
Sirius then noticed Aster's book and grabbed it. His expression contorted as he ripped the book in a fit of rage. "The worst of them all is Aster. He claims to love Souhait, yet Souhait never really gives him the time of day. All he does is isolate himself and await his return while that awful man goes around doing his wish-granting duty…and he's okay with it every time… Aster is a famous scholar; he's wasting his talents and life waiting for him…"
Sirius then clutched his head as he started muttering, "It's not fair. I love Aster more than he does. I spend more time with him than he does. Yet, he chooses that damn reptile over me every single time. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it…"
He kept chattering like a mantra. He then took a deep breath. "That's why I decided to burn it all. Books that Aster wrote; anything related to Souhait…anything that can change people's perspectives… All of it. Even the cottage…"
Nova became distraught at the thought of the place where he had spent memories with Aster and the others engulfed in flames. "Are you insane, Sirius Mariner? You're burning that cottage down because of a temper tantrum over your adoptive father not loving you the same way you do?"
Fear started contorting his expression as thoughts of the cottage burning loomed over him. "What happened to him?"
"I tried attacking him, but I failed. He disappeared, though."
"Disappeared?" Nova recalled Aster's true identity and a sense of reassurance came to him.
Sirius gritted his teeth. "That coward."
Suddenly, all the hooded people alongside Ethelinda and Penelope started dunking the stack of books with gasoline. They then circled around the stack of books and took out matches and lighters to ignite small fires. They all turned to Sirius, awaiting his signal.
"Anyways, I'm going to burn these books and you can't stop me."
Nova sputtered out, "Please don't…my manuscript…all my hard work… don't burn it!"
He then signaled his squad to start the burning. Seeing the books burn and the flames accumulating into a bigger and taller flame could only cause Nova to look on helplessly; his manuscript, his duty and purpose for living, was engulfed. His clan's hopes and legacy incinerated into smithereens, all because of a maniacal tantrum.
He started coughing as the smoke closed in on him. All of this for some petty tantrum… All for some stupid, twisted obsession… All because he hates Souhait…
He then noticed the scale had slid out of his coat pocket. He squirmed around so that he was at an angle where he could bite into the scale.
You hate the world because of Souhait? Fine. I'll wish for you and everyone to hate it even more.
He smirked.