And She Believed the Lies
Characters: Arietta, Van, Replica!Ion, (and the corpse of Real!Ion, I guess)
Time: Approximately two years ago
Word count: 1005
Arietta raced through the woods, nimbly avoiding trees, her shoes clutched in one hand; she was always more comfortable barefoot. She had no wish to deceive Van, but just this once, she promised herself, she wasn't going to inform him of her actions. She called for her family, and out of the trees they came, muscular majestic ligers. Though their pace matched hers, she had no illusions about her speed, and knew they were holding themselves in check. She had to be faster. She reached out a hand and buried it in the fur of the nearest liger. Silently, she swung herself onto its back, smiling slightly with satisfaction as the wind on her face increased, indicating the faster speed they were now traveling at. Her dark pink eyes sought the horizon, and she found the building that she sped towards. There. The hospital.
When she opened the door, after pulling her shoes back on over muddy stockings, she didn't know what to expect. Of course, it was the best hospital in the continent, but when she scanned the lobby it seemed to her like a depressing place. The walls were all a sickly green, and the hard stone floors caused noise to echo eerily. Quietly she hurried to the first doctor she could identify. The blood splatters on his white coat were hardly reassuring, but his voice, as he discussed a prescription with the parent of a yawning patient, was kind.
"Excuse me…"
Arietta saw the eyes of the child's mother go wide as she recognized the small girl. The doctor didn't turn, still scribbling at his clipboard. Arietta stared at the back of his head and continued to address him in a quiet voice, curling her hands into determined fists behind her back.
"Where is the children's illness ward?"
"I'm sorry, but it's off limits at the moment due to—" He turned and saw her face. "Ah! Arietta-san!" He turned red at his mistake. "Er, up those stairs and take a left. The patient's names are on the doors."
Arietta nodded, already halfway up the stairs. Soon Van would realize she had left her quarters, and he would probably guess where she had gone. She turned left at the top and scrutinized the doors, slowly pronouncing the names to herself. This was taking too much time. Oh, never before had she wished so hard to be a fast reader! Finally, the word she whispered under her breath was a name she recognized. Suddenly apprehensive, she pressed her ear to the door. There was no noise inside. What if he was sleeping? Would she have the courage to wake him up? No, she told herself, but the risk and Van's scolding would be completely worth reassuring herself that Ion was indeed getting better.
At her touch the door swung open, and Arietta brought her small fist to her mouth to stifle a yelp of surprise. Van had gotten here before her. He knelt on the ground, lifting a person-shape wrapped in a sheet. He turned to leave and saw her. His eyes widened in surprise and than narrowed sternly. Arietta took advantage of his surprise to sweep the room with her eyes. If he forced her to leave, at least she would have seen—There! She was aware that her efforts to keep her face expressionless were in vain, and opened her fist so that her hand covered her not only her mouth, but the relieved smile that had crossed it the moment she had spotted Ion. Van would not be happy if he realized that she was more pleased to see Ion than she was frightened to see Van. She expected Van to speak and order her to leave, but instead he carried the bundle—Arietta suspected it was a corpse but didn't much care at the moment—out of the room. She walked further into the room, dropping her hand and weaving her fingers together happily. He was alive! Days past the time the Score had prophesied, and here, right in front of her, he lay with his eyes shut on the bed, most definitely breathing. She sat down on the edge of the bed and tears of joy filled her eyes.
It must have been the way the mattress dipped towards her to bear her weight that woke him. Arietta snapped to attention as his eyes opened blearily, and sprung off the bed, wiping hastily at her tears and ready to apologize for her impertinence. His eyes focused on her and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He raised his hands, half curled like baby's fists, to scrub at his eyes. Arietta thought he was merely confused, having been woken up so rudely and perhaps being fully conscious for the first time in months. However, after several seconds of green eyes locked blankly on dark pink, no comprehension crossed his face.
"Ion-sama?" She asked hopefully.
As though the sound of her voice was a signal, he opened his mouth and began to wail.
"Ah! Ion-sama! What's wrong?" Arietta felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to Van. "What happened? What did you do to Ion-sama?" Arietta stared Van anxiously in the face. He took his time to reply.
"It's a side effect of the medicine… It's curing his illness, but currently his mind is that of a small child."
Arietta nodded, accepting it. Another question occurred to her. "What—who… you were carrying a—"
Van waved his hand. "A peasant boy, who died today. I didn't want you to see his face because the sores on it were quite distressing."
In the background, Ion has stopped wailing. Arietta turned towards him, wanting to continue her visit—
But Van turned her towards the door. "I believe I expressly ordered you to stay away."
"I wanted to see Ion-sama! You said he was getting better, so…"
Van cut her off. "I will walk you home… and, by the way, you're being reassigned…"