Gerald did not like acting on others' commands. He was the king of his own will. Nobody could dictate him at their will.
But when Oscar and Isabella told him to come along with them because it was Reznor's order, Gerald unhappily agreed. He had to.
"Come on Filch!" Gerald opened the pocket of his coat for his niffler to get in it.
He stood up before dusting his pants. Isabella pulled a dry leaf from his golden brown unruly hair. They began walking in the direction of their destination. Gerald looked unhappy with the way he had to act on Reznor's demands sometimes.
He kicked a stone in his way while putting his hands in the pockets of his pants.
"I hate it when he orders me like this." He grumbled, his brows pulled in the centre of his forehead.
"Nobody like being bossed around Gerald. For once try to be compassionate and stop acting self-centred." Oscar chided him.
Gerald scoffed at that. "Why should I when you two seems to like acting on his beck and call?!"
"Ooouuch!"
The back of Gerald's head received another smack from Isabella. He glared down at her, but the woman remained unflinching.
"It is not that Gerald, and you know it. But we ALL need to listen to Reznor because he is the one who pays us well for our hardwork." She reasoned.
But Gerald did not look convinced by her argument. "I do not need his money. He can take it and shove it up to his-"
Another smack came Gerald's way as Isabella glared at him.
"God! Save me from this hypocrite woman!!" Gerald looked skywards and prayed audibly.
Oscar only shook his head at their childishness. Although Gerald always kept complaining about Isabella, Oscar knew that he cared for her. Perhaps as much as he did.
He had proved that before and since that incidence, Isabella had become solely devoted to Gerald. For her, he was more than a friend and just like a brother. Oscar respected their relationship wholeheartedly.
He could never pay off Gerald's goodness in this lifetime. If it was not for him, then Isabella might be...
That very thought made him want to die.
"By the way Oscar. Do you know what Reznor is planning these days?" Gerald changed the topic.
Oscar shook his head. "No."
Gerald waited for an explanation, but when he did not receive any, he narrowed his eyes at him.
"I can not believe how much this woman has affected your brain!"
"You monkey!" Isabella cried as she leapt at Gerald to tackle him down, but he was faster than her.
He ran away from her, and their game of cat and mouse began. At times like this, Oscar wished he had never spoken to Gerald in the first place.
The teenage boy who sat by the roadside with tear smeared face and fear in his eyes felt like a long lost memory.
As an orphan, Gerald had no means of survival other than stealing. He tried earning by sweat, but the world was an unfair place for such people. That very world turned once innocent and virtuous boy into the most famous theif of Warthford Island.
Oscar distinctively recalled the day he found young Gerald hiding under a bridge after stealing a Madame's purse. He did not recognise that she was an elite and had guards at her beck and call.
That time, Oscar saved him from their clutches. When Gerald offered him some of his loot as he did not want to keep a burden of anyone's favour, Oscar sensed that this boy was different.
He had something about him that made Oscar interested in him. For the coming days, Oscar kept following him. The more he observed the boy, the more he felt connected with him.
And then finally, one day, he was offered a job that paid well but demanded extreme courage and secrecy. Gerald was hesitant at first but agreed eventually.
Since that day, they were inseparable. You may not find them together at all the time, but they had become like a family. And even if Oscar would never say it out loud, he loved Gerald like his young brother.
That man had a special kind of charm with his good looks.
While passing through the forest, they reached the remote beachside of Warthford Island. It was a rocky area with irregularly shaped cliffs. The sea was furious at this place, and thus it was a useless site for sea transport. Nor it was an ideal place for fishing. Those two were the principal occupations of the residents of Warthford Island.
It was the perfect place for Reznor.
The seagulls flew in the sky, flapping their wings after getting a good catch for their dinner as in a few minutes, the sun would set behind the horizon.
The loud sound of sea waves crashing on the solid rocks filled the humid air around.
Gerald's dusty and old shoes sank in the thick layer of beach sand as he walked towards the group of rocks ahead of them, along with Isabella and Oscar.
The group of rocks was nothing but an extension of a mountain chain that ran parallel to the sea. The various shaped gigantic rocks stood as protectors of the island from the sea God.
They were also dug up by marine creatures like crabs over the years and they had settled their colonies in their core.
After climbing those tough rocks and manoeuvring their way through the maze of them, the three of them stopped in front of two vertical giant rocks that were standing parallelly to each other with about a five to six feet of distance between them.
They all glanced around once to make sure that they were alone in that place. Gerald nodded his head at Oscar in approval.
Oscar closed his eyes before concentrating all his attention in one direction. The moment he felt his mind and heart aligned on the same line, he began chanting a spell. His lips moved in an undeciphered manner.
His eyes flew open, but nothing was changed before him. Everything just looked the same.
"Come on." He said while walking in between those vertical rocks.
Gerald and Isabella saw him going inside, but he disappeared in front of their eyes as if he was not there in the first place.
They both were not surprised as they also followed Oscar through that secret magical portal.
They found themselves at the mouth of a cave with green trees and plants around it. They walked inside the cave as the way was very familiar to them.
The insides were engulfed by the darkness. But as they walked further deep into the cave, the torches came to life on their own. The plain straight path then began to decline downwards gradually into a slope.
After about ten minutes of the walk, they saw the light burning bright at the end of the tunnel. Stepping out of the tunnel, a whole new world greeted them with open arms.
Humble huts were built parallel to both sides of the road, and every one of them had a beautiful garden to add to its beauty.
Many men and women dressed in black were busy in their daily chores. But when they sensed the presence of the three outwardly people, they saved time from their chores to look at them.
Most of them smiled, waved hands at Oscar. He politely acknowledged them with his own small smile and occasional nod of his head. Although Gerald did not receive such a warm welcome from everyone, he was not exactly unlikable in those people's books.
They had a harmless look on their faces for Gerald. Some of them smiled at him too. However, Gerald's gaze was fixated straight on the road ahead. He never bothered interacting with people unless and until he had anything hidden in it for himself.
Some might mistake him as an introvert. But the ones who knew him closely knew that he was the kind of person who preferred his benefit in every single thing he did. If it had nothing for him, then he was out of there within a blink of an eye.
But Isabella was not that lucky to receive the welcome these two men received. As soon as the people's gaze landed on her as she walked beside Gerald, their eyes hardened in displease.
It was not the first time. Isabella had come to this place called 'Malvadogar' quite a few times, and every time she was greeted by the same coldness, even more, if not less.
Oscar had told her to ignore it, but how long she could deal with it was the question. She kept her head low as she walked to avoid the look of disgust in their eyes.
"Keep your head high, Isabella. It suits you and that is what you should not forget." She heard Gerald's voice from her side.
He got angry when she got intimidated by these people. Although a bold and outspoken person, Isabella got conscious when she stepped out of that tunnel. She shrunk behind Gerald and Oscar because somewhere she also believed that she was no match to any of them.
"Is something stuck in your ears, Bella?" Gerald's lightly angry tone made her head snap up.
By the silence from him thereafter, she understood that he was satisfied now. But little did he know how Isabella was squirming in uneasiness from inside.
"Look at that muggle. She dares to walk with her head high in front of us!" A woman said, unnecessarily loudly.
"This is all because of Reznor! I do not see a good reason to allow this muggle in Malvadogar. She is of no use to us!" The other one joined.
The third one nodded her head in agreement. Looking at Oscar, she said, "I do not understand what Oscar saw in her and fell in that muggle's cheap trick. He deserves better than a powerless human!" She chirped.
And that was enough for Gerald to lose his cool.
He held Isabella's hand and dragged her to that group of women. All of them had pointed, long noses and curly hair in different shades of browns.
"I do not know what Oscar deserves but he certainly does not deserve a face with a nose which is longer than a birch tree and a mind that is wicked than the most evil human!" Gerald spat in anger.
"She is Isabella and not a muggle! If I hear you calling her muggle one more time, I swear I will make you regret it instantly. So you better be respectful towards her!!"
Gerald's loud voice called a crowd around them.
"Gerald do not forget who you are talking with. We are welcoming you only because of Oscar and Reznor otherwise you are no better than this muggle!" A man from the crowd glared at Gerald.
"I do not give two flying fucks about what you think donkeyface!"
Isabella could not help but giggle at Gerald's insults aiming at that man. His innovative insults always amused her.
"Gerald!" The man roared in rage and pulled out a wand from his dress pocket.
But before he could use it, Oscar stepped in front of both Gerald and Isabella.
"Enough!" His voice boomed in the air.
He looked calm, yet every person who was present there knew that it was only a facade. That man could turn them into ashes if he decided, and not regret it a bit afterwards.
The man who was still holding his wand in his hand flinched yet daringly stood on his spot.
"I try to ignore your resentment towards Isabella only because I am also one of you. I understand the way we think. We have this superiority complex that everyone else- be it a supernatural or a human- is inferior to us, weaker than us.
But that is not true. The creator has gifted every living entity some special powers that help them to survive, and we all should respect it. The sooner we understand it, the better our future will be!" Oscar stopped to gauge their faces and was again met with disappointment.
He should not keep many hopes, but the woman he had fallen in love with had made him believe in that word- hope!