~ 'Ello. I decided to do another OUAT fic after finishing What If, because I decided I just love the characters and the show. Heh. So here's the next one, and once again it's an OC XD I hope you enjoy, and drop a cheeky review :p ~
~ For Nicola. My Parabatai, one of my best friends and the Magnus to my Alec. Heh. Love chu.~
Ophelia's chest burned as she attempted to suck precious oxygen into her lungs, her legs burning from her running. She stopped a moment, trying to think of which way to go but the forest was dark, the only light coming from the crescent moon and she could barely see anything.
Over the noise of her erratic breathing she could hear distant voices and decided to begin running again, away from them. She tripped on a branch and fell against a tree, a branch clawing at her face and slicing a cut into her forehead.
She winced but recommenced running. There must be somewhere I can go. She thought and as if on cue, she saw a dim light in the distance.
The girl ran towards it, her deep brown hair clinging to her damp forehead, until she reached the house- No, mansion.
It was a magnificent colonial mansion with a stone driveway lined with different plants and shrubbery.
As the voices came ever closer she pushed through the stitch burning her side and the ache of the wound on her forehead as she sprinted up the driveway and frantically banged on the thick front door.
A few moments later it swung open to a man, not very old looking with light brown hair and azure irises that were fixated on her own dark ones, his head tilting in a curious manner. "Can I help you?" He asked.
Ophelia looked nervously over her shoulder. She didn't want to alarm this man by forcing herself into his house. He'd only give her up to the men chasing her. "Please help me." She replied with pleading eyes.
A soft sigh escaped him as he looked over the girl. She was wearing all white but her clothes and pale skin were caked with mud. Her forehead had a small gash that was oozing blood and he could tell she'd been wiping at it by the way the blood was smeared across her brow.
Taking pity on her, he opened the door a little more and stood back to gesture for her to enter. She did so and once she was inside and the door was closed she simply stared at the man. He was in his pajamas. "I'm sorry I woke you." She whispered.
A weak laugh escaped him in response. "Ah, you didn't. I couldn't sleep anyway." A ghost of a smile flashed across her lips.
His own lips curved into a small smile as he noticed how strange she looked stood in his house. The man kept his house immaculate and here she was, all dirty and caked in mud. Her hair was in a loose braid that fell down her back and leaves and small twigs stuck out from it.
He was about to say something else when a loud knock on the door came. It's them. Ophelia told herself, body shaking with fear. If they found her, she'd have to go with them...
The man noticed the fear in her eyes and expression and a frown creased his forehead. He lifted a hand and gestured to the door behind her. "Go in there." He whispered and she obeyed, running across the hall until she reached the door, cracking it open and sliding inside and out of sight.
She heard voices talking but couldn't hear what they were saying. Her deep brown eyes scanned the room she was in. It was dimly lit by candlelight and wall sconces. Two antique couches and a coffee table were placed around a warm fire and a grand piano stood proud in the center of the room.
Her fingers itched to touch it, to play on the keys, though she didn't know why. She'd never played a piano in her life. Ophelia walked towards it and placed her hand on it, a small smile curving her lips.
A gasp escaped her as she heard the door open and she turned on her heel, a soft sigh escaping her once she saw it was only the man who owned this beautiful house.
"I bought you tea. I had a pot already made for me, but I figured you could use a cup as well." He smiled a welcoming smile and carried the silver tray over to the coffee table near the fire, the flames reflecting off of the metal and making it gleam.
Ophelia silently walked over to the couch opposite the one he was on, slumping into the soft cushions. She was so unaccustomed to these sort of areas. In fact, she'd never been somewhere so grand in all her life. That of it she could remember anyway.
She watched him quietly as he began to pour tea into two intricate china teacups.
He was about to offer her sugar when she blurted out, "Why are you helping me? You don't even know me."
The man sat back and rubbed his cleanly shaven chin in contemplation for a moment before he lifted and dropped a shoulder in a shrugging motion. "You needed help. Those men didn't tell me why they wanted you, but I'm not going to hand an injured girl over to them. It would be wrong."
"Thank you." Her voice was barely a whisper and he nodded in response before going back to making the tea. "You take sugar?" He asked.
"I- I don't know...I've never had tea before." A small, almost embarrassed laugh escaped her. They'd only given her basic rations at the hospital. She wasn't allowed luxuries.
"Really?! Why then you have to try some." As if knowing what she'd like, he dropped in a sugar cube and stirred it a moment before nudging it toward her. "Careful. It's hot." He said as she lifted it into her hand, two fingers looping through the handle.
She took a small sip and though it stung her tongue, the warmth felt amazing as it trickled down her throat and into her chilled body. "It delicious." She murmured and a wide smile lifted the corners of his lips.
Ophelia placed it back onto the tray as he stuck out his hand for her to shake. She'd only shaken a couple of hands in her time, only that of the doctors.
Their hands were rough and wrinkled but when she took this man's into her own filthy one it felt soft and ... Young, she thought. "I'm Jefferson."
"Ophelia. Ophelia DeRayne."
"You can stay as long as you need to." Jefferson said to the girl as he led her into a bedroom. To her it seemed even larger than their exercise area at the hospital, though that was only small itself. The walls were papered with cream wallpaper that had leaves of gold decorated onto them. A king-size bed stood in the middle of the room and there was a chestnut wardrobe in one corner of the room that matched the two bedside tables.
"Oh, and feel free to take a shower. Towels are on the towel rack in the bathroom." Jefferson pointed to a white door at one side of the room. Ophelia's forehead creased a moment in confusion. He knew nothing of her yet he was allowing her to stay in his house.
She simply nodded and agreed to see him in the morning for breakfast. With that, he exited and she was left to simply wonder around the room. She cracked the door of the wardrobe open to find an assortment of women's clothes in there.
Different colours and fabrics that all looked beautiful to the eye after she'd spent so long in her simple all white outfit that the nurses gave her.
After wondering around the room she made her way into the en suite bathroom. It was tiled with white on the walls and floors. The toilet, bath and sink were all white too, but the shower stood out in the room with its metallic look that matched the mirrored cabinet hanging above the sink.
After shrugging off her clothes and switching on the shower she took a moment to look catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Mud caked her hair, face and skin and bedded itself in her nails. Dried blood was smeared across her forehead though Jefferson had stitched the wound and leaves and small twigs jutted out of her hair.
She pulled out her braid and ran her fingers through it to comb out the tangles and remove the leaves and twigs before she stepped into the enveloping warmth of the shower streaming down on her naked form.
It felt so good, so clean as she washed away the dirt on her.
She closed her eyes and tipped her chin so the heated water kissed her face. What now? Ophelia thought. Should I stay or go? Well...One night won't hurt, I'm sure. But she resolved that it would only be for a single night, and then she'd leave. She didn't want to outstay her welcome in this magnificent place.