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norton campbell. the prospector.
he’s usually described as someone who’s hard to deal with, at times gloomy and others full of rage, at times friendly and others unsociable, yet he’s always wearing a smile on his face. norton is someone others couldn’t easily understand, it was hard even for his friends. if he had to be honest, neither did he understand himself.
«another dinner, another day gone.» norton’s voice echoed in the dining hall. everyone had already finished their meal and went to their respective rooms.
norton sat still, how many matches has he won today? three? four? he couldn’t remember. at the beginning, after he settled down with the idea of never escaping from the manor, he would count the number of matches he won, he would make sure to have the right amount of money- it used to keep him sane. now, he’s tired of it.
he should head to his room, just like everyone else did and go to sleep before it gets too dark. while going to his room, norton looked outside the window to gaze at the stars.
they’re bright. so so bright.
he wondered if he was a star, could he shine even in the dark? if he had a star, could it make the darkness disappear? and how much would he burn if he was near one? just like icarus did with the sun, would he feel the warm of the stars?
norton loved the stars as much as he loved gems; because the gems buried deep inside the earth are like billions of stars that never shine.
before he knew he was already in his room, he sat on his bed, slowly falling on top of the sheets. he felt, yet again, tired; everything had become so monotone, how could he keep going? what made him continue? was he just going to let another hell of a day pass? he sighed at the thought of being chased by joseph or wu chang, or even worse: bonbon.
no.
he didn’t want to think about it. maybe he will be lucky enough to not go against him.
norton looked at the calendar.
18th march.
then he closed his eyes.
norton woke up.
19th march.
another day. another match of hide and seek of despair.
everyone was reunited at the dining hall, it was time for breakfast and before lunch he received a letter: a match was found with naib, eli and aesop, the hunter, as always, was unknown. he should meet up with them and sort things out, just like how they usually would, but norton didn’t want to deal with anyone today.
a familiar face showed up soon after:«good morning mister campbell, i heard it’s your birthday.» the seer sat near the prospector, then smiled.
«good morning clark.» norton averted his eyes, while scratching his neck:«i guess it is my birthday, huh...»
«then i’ll do my best today, for you.» it’s not like eli enjoyed those games, but maybe because it was norton’s birthday that he wants to do his best for him.
«there is no need to do it, really. it’s not important, so just play like you always do.» norton smiled, soon leaving his seat and heading to his room.
what was he supposed to do now? he still had some time before the match, so the only activity he thought of to keep his mind clean was… looking at his gems.
he sat in front of his desk, taking the piece of amber he found in one of his exploration. the butterfly inside of it looked more and more mesmerizing each time he looked at it. he’d describe it as beautiful, even if the animal was lifeless. he sometimes wondered how those frail wings got wrapped up around the amber, yet remaining lifelike. normally, he would’ve just sold something like this, but he could never bring himself to do so, now it’s only a memory of his exploration. if only the last one went as smoothly as the other, if only he was more careful, if only he was less greedy.
but he had no other choice, right? he wouldn’t be able to escape his condition just by playing it safe, right?
so it was necessary, right?
right…?
… … right… ?
a voice then woke him up: it was emma that came to call him for the match. thank god there was someone kind enough to call the others, if she didn’t, norton would’ve stayed in awe in front of the gem.
so, he left his room. walking straight to the waiting room, everyone was already there, he was the last one to arrive, though usually it was aesop’s role... did they meet up here and planned things out or did they just want to play this match so much? however- he didn’t ask, he didn’t really care.
the match soon started.
“don’t rescue me!”
that was the message from eli that the hunter was… someone you wouldn’t enjoy rescuing with. great. nevertheless, he soon started decoding, but on a second thought, he didn’t want to rescue after naib, since that was their usual strategy. maybe he will be able to contain the hunter enough for them to decode all ciphers. so, he failed his calibration and soon regretted it.
it’s guard 26, bonbon.
bonbon teleported to his cipher and the chase started.
as expected, bonbon threw his bombs and prevented him from going where he wanted. luckily, he dodged every single one of them.
boom.
but the sound of ticking and explosions slowly filled his head and soon started to remind him of the tragedy.
boom.
which he wished to forget so many times, yet he couldn’t. he could never forget. they wouldn’t let him forget.
boom.
god. he hated going against bonbon.
what a way to start the day.
his steps became less firm, his vision foggy and his legs weak with every explosion.
boom.
it was all his fault.
before norton could realize, he fell on the ground, losing consciousness.
…
…
…
what a joke.
what a fucking joke.
why exactly did he faint against bonbon? it never happened. why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why? why?
a voice brought norton back to reality.
«what the fuck was that, campbell?» it was naib, he was standing next to his bed with an annoyed look. of course it was him, who else could wake someone up in such a kind way?
«you seem awfully worried about me, mister subedar.»
«yeah, no. no. no way in hell.» the answer is quick.
«reeeally?» norton smirked, back to his usual cheeky self.
«i- i seriously can’t stand you. i knew you were fine, i shouldn’t have paid you a visit.» the mercenary crossed his arms, then glared at the prospector, which he responded with a chuckle.
«then why did you come?» norton raised an eyebrow, he was doing just fine. kind of.
«i’m doing a favour to eli.»
«eli?»
«yeah, he was worried. he said you were acting strange this morning.»
«… i’m fine! just like always!» he grinned, a totally different person from this morning.
«i guess you are. you worried us, if you’re fine then get out of your bed.» naib said, walking towards the door.
«oh? so you were worried about me, mister subedar.»
«ugh- shut up and get up already, before i kick you out of the bed. you still have a few matches to play.»
«it’s already past lunch?» if norton had to be honest, he didn’t want to participate in other matches, not after that . he felt like the world could collapse at any moment and he wouldn’t even notice.
«yeah, i skipped lunch waiting for you. you better pay me back.» naib had been waiting for a while for… this. he seriously should’ve done something else.
«and you never skip lunch.»
«and i never skip lunch.» the mercenary walked away with that, shutting the door up.
«good work, naib.» waiting outside of the room was the seer, who had a smile on his face. naib was caught off guard and jumped, luckily. he was not sure if he’d be able to stop himself from hitting the other, if he was on guard.
«how come you’re here? didn’t you have a match?»
«i came to pay a visit. just like you, i was worried and i was the first one to be sent back here.»
«i was n-» naib sighed, he seriously couldn’t lie to eli:«maybe i was...»
«naib, can i ask you a question?» eli asked and received a puzzled expression from the mercenary as an answer. «what do you think of campbell?»
«he’s annoying.» the answer was fast, which made eli chuckle.
«hm… i think norton’s a strange person. i can’t tell what he's thinking about, but i don’t think he’s a bad guy. at times, he’s quiet and other times he’s cheerful.» he paused for a second before finishing his phrase:«but i wonder: how selfish can a human get?»
«don’t ask me. campbell’s strange. it feels like i’m talking to someone else sometimes.»
«seems like i’m not the only one who had this feeling… i wonder what’s on his mind.»
«whatever it is, i’m pretty sure it’s nothing good.» naib then walked away, followed by eli with his chuckles.
while they were having their chat, norton stayed in bed, wondering if he should stand up or not; he chose the second option. he looked at the ceiling, silently.
what a fucking joke, norton campbell.
norton gritted his teeth. why couldn’t the world shut up? it was so noisy, so annoying. he wished to grab everything that was within his reach and destroy it into billions of little pieces. would this make his head clean forever? would it be enough to shut his world?
it wouldn’t be enough.
those stupid voices would never shut up.
they were the problem. the reason why he still can’t move on. the reason why he can’t sleep at night. the reason why he wished to disappear so often.
it was all their fault. norton campbell did nothing wrong. he had no choice.
…
…
«campbell- campbell. are you feeling better? do you wish to continue playing for today? if not, we can just replace you for today.» norton didn’t even notice that someone entered the room, which took him off guard. it was emily, the doctor who came to check on him after eli and naib told her he woke up.
norton’s thoughts were divided into two: the first one actually listening to what emily had to say, while the other half was wandering around. he didn’t understand half of the things she told him, but at least he heard that someone could take his place. he had to take this opportunity.
«yeah, i’d appreciate it if someone replaced me for today.»
«then i’ll ask someone around, hope you feel better soon.»
«i’m already feeling better, thank you for the concern.» norton smiled and received the same from the doctor, who then left the room. the prospector then sighed. it was not always this easy to keep acting like this.
norton then continued to look at the ceiling, but this time his mind was empty.
…
…
…
the world was suddenly quiet. norton soon fell asleep.
how quiet.
…
…
…
…
...
however this quiet was soon interrupted when norton sadly woke up. it was past dinner time already.
norton moved the sheets away from him and finally stood up. he took a few breaths in and out and before exiting the room. it was gonna be fine, he told himself. even though he wasn't so sure about it. he never was. he opened the door and walked to the dining hall, the lights were out since everyone had alrea-
happy birthday norton!
the lights were suddenly on again and everyone was out of their hiding spot, wearing a dumb-looking triangle hat. what?
«wha- what is this?» he was covered in confetti and so was the entire room. what.
«a surprise party!» the petite gardener came out from the crowd, showing the prospector a large smile and a cake with a small replica of himself. what?
«i can see that, but… why?»
«because you’re a comrade. a friend, norton.» from the crowd spoke aesop, the embalmer who’s usually so quiet. that was the last thing norton would expect to see.
«… i see. thank you, i appreciate this.»
«ehi campbell, we have a present for you.» naib walked towards him, followed by aesop and eli. hopefully it was money. the three of them gave him a little box. so it wasn’t money, huh? norton opened the present.
it was an interlocked sphere, formed with stars and somehow resembling a star. at the center of the sphere was stuck a small pearl, which probably didn’t cost too much.
«is the pearl real or fake?» norton asked, pointing at the small sphere.
«it’s fake, how are we supposed to get a real one if we’re stuck here.» naib answered, tilting his head. why did he care?
«… it’s kinda useless.»
«HUH?! take that back campbell!» naib, offended by that, started to kick norton, who tried to escape from his rage.
«i was kidding- i was kidding- don’t start kicking me- ow!» with each hit norton tried to keep his laughter at the minimum, he wasn’t kidding when he said it was useless, but he didn’t mean to say he disliked it. it was such a fragile thing, he’d probably keep it safe in a shelf in his room.
but remember, norton. do not get attached.