The twins sat opposite each other. Allen sat next to Aubrey, biting his lip awkwardly. General Cross, the girls' father, and Allen's master, was off on another one of his escapades. The girls had gotten into another fight. Something about the Innocence choosing one twin and not the other. It was a fight they had often. For years, now, actually. Since Allen had joined the Cross family and probably before that, too.
Now it was just silent.
And then Ramona got up, grabbed a jacket, and walked out of the inn. The door to their room slammed loudly and Allen flinched. Ramona got angry ofter, that much was true, but she'd never left before.
"She'll be back, Allen, don't worry." Aubrey smiled at him. Her brown eyes shown kindness that Ramona's eyes, which were an odd bluish green in color, rarely held. That was the only difference between them aside from the way their hair was cut. Aubrey's was shorter, by about an inch, and her bangs were grown out. Ramona's hair came just passed her shoulders and she kept her bangs covering her left eye.
"She's never left before." Allen murmered, looking out the window. He didn't see Ramona, but he did see Cross coming around the corner with a lady on his arm. He sighed. It was going to be a long night.
Ramona rolled her eyes as she walked down the dark streets. She kicked a stone with the toe of her boot.
'Stupid India. Stupid dad, taking us to stupid India. Who said I wanted to leave Europe anyway? I never asked to leave. I never asked to be born.' Her thoughts were interrupted when she walked into a brick wall.
"Who in the hell puts a wall in the middle of a street?" She groaned, rubbing her head. She heard a chuckle. She gasped and looked up. Golden eyes stared back at her from under a black top hat.
"Hello, Ramona." A white gloved hand reached towards her. "I am Tyki Mikk."
Ramona, although suspicious, took the man's hand. He smiled and pulled her up onto her feet. Then he pressed two fingers to her forehead, his smile turning into a wicked grin.
"What are you doing?" Ramona demanded. She backed up, then blinked as something ran into her eye from her head. Blood. "What did you do to me?"
"Nothing that wasn't going to happen anyway." Tyki replied. "Come along, Wisely."
Ramona couldn't struggle when Tyki grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her through a door that appeared from nowhere. Her whole world was consumed in pain.
The next morning, Allen expected to see Ramona sitting on her bed reading as she always did when she was the first to wake up. But her bed didn't even look slept in. Aubrey wasn't in her bed either, although the covers were a bit messy. There was a note on her pillow. A quick glance at it told him that the General had sent her ahead to the Order because he suspected that Komui didn't read the letter he sent.
"Allen, Sit down." Cross already had a glass of wine in his hand.
"Yes sir."
"I can't believe it's been three years since you became my apprentice, You've shown great progress on your path to becoming an Exorcist." He droned boredly before taking a sip of the wine and groaning. "That's why from this day on you can call yourself a real professional Exorcist."
"Really? You mean it?" Fifteen year old Allen sat up higher on his knees.
"Sort of." Cross stood up, grabbing a hammer that was next to his chair. "First you have to go to the Exorcist headquarters for me. Wait, you do know where the headquarters, is, don't you?"
"Yeah?" Allen seemed to understand what was going.
"I'll leave Timcanpy with you."
Said golem spread it's golden wings and hovered above Cross and Allen's heads.
"I've already sent a referral letter to an executive named Komui." Cross backed Allen into the wall. "So leave first thing in the morning."
"Let me guess, you're not coming with me, are you?" Allen cowered against the wall.
"NO! I'D RATHER LOOSE A THUMB THAN GO BACK THERE!" Cross brought the hammer down on top of Allen's head and it was nighty night for the silver haired teen.
