Here's another chapter! ^_^ I love y'all's responses and I'm pretty excited about this fic. I don't own I, Frankenstein. Reviews, favs and follows are always appreciated! Enjoy
28 years later
"Leo!" Keziah shouted at the beautiful woman who stood panting in the center of the training room. "You cannot continue through life so childishly! You're forty five years old!"
The honey-eyed woman shrugged and flipped one of Gideon's blades in her hand. "By gargoyle standards I am a child."
"You are fully grown, Leo." Ophir sighed. "And you likely won't change again for hundreds of years. It is time to accept that you are no longer a child. You must start acting responsibly."
Leo rolled her eyes and threw the blade up in the air, catching it easily before flipping it again. "Give me something to be responsible about then."
"You know we cannot bring you scouting with us without the permission of Gideon or the Queen." Keziah shook her head, sitting down on a bench.
"Then ask one of them if I can go."
"Good news, Leo!" Levi grinned, walking briskly into the training room. "You're on patrol with me tonight."
The woman turned to look at him. "And what's the good news?"
"Ha, ha." Levi said dryly. "Come on, we've got to get going."
"Ugh, all we're going to do is walk around the city a few times and then come back to the church and die of more boredom." Leo groaned, walking up to Levi.
The gargoyle shrugged, "You never know, Leo. We might see some demons. Maybe you'll get to kill some."
"Ophir, how am I supposed to act like a mature adult, when all anyone ever does is treat me like a child?" Leo shook her head, walking angrily from the room.
The three gargoyles looked at each other in slight guilt, knowing that they should ask for her to be allowed out more often, but also knowing that Gideon's wrath would be worse than being killed by a demon.
"Who treats you like a child?" Gideon stepped out of the shadows, catching up with the half-gargoyle in her quick strides.
She didn't give him a second glance. "Everyone."
"And how should we treat you?" the gruff man asked, pulling her into a side room.
Leo glared up at the gargoyle who towered over her. "Like the warrior that I am. I'm forty five and I've only ever been allowed out of the church twice. And only with Levi or Ophir."
"It's dangerous out there." Gideon reasoned, trapping the girl by pressing his palms against the wall on either side of her head.
Leo felt her heartbeat pick up and swallowed before continuing, "I've been training for years, I'm ready to go out and fight."
"You could die." he retorted, leaning in closer to her.
She twitched under his steady gaze and tried to keep her eyes from flicking down to his lips. "So? Other warriors die every day. I'm not special."
"Sure you are," he smirked, his face mere inches from hers. "You're the Queen's favorite."
Leo raised a dark eyebrow. "Only the Queen's?"
Gideon lowered his head, making his lips barely brush against Leo's jaw. The woman shivered at his touch and bit her lip to keep from making a sound. "Yes, little angel," he whispered. "Only the Queen's."
"Wh-" Leo started as Gideon pulled away quickly with a wicked grin, brandishing his newly recovered blade.
"You're getting easier to trick, Leo." he smirked, stepping from the room and leaving the panting girl behind.
She slid down the wall and calmed herself. "Yeah, just a trick, Leo."
15 years later
"Ugh!" Leo cried in frustration, throwing down the staff she was training with. "I'm sick of this! Staffs are useless!"
Ophir sighed, setting his staff against the wall. "Look, Leo, you're not always going to have your daggers on hand. You might have to grab any weapon and you might have to grab a staff."
"Don't be ridiculous, I've always got daggers on me." Leo rolled her eyes, flopping down on her back and panting softly, feeling trickles of sweat roll down the small of her back.
"You haven't got any now." Keziah pointed out.
"False!" Leo grinned, pulling a dagger out of god knows where.
Ophir choked on his own spit and coughed for a second before asking, "Where were you keeping that?"
Keziah shook her head and looked out one of the windows. "Let's go get something to eat, I think we've trained enough for one day."
As the gargoyles congregated in the dining hall, Leo couldn't help but feel the frustration from earlier creep back up on her. Why couldn't she get it? What was so difficult about the staff? Nothing, that's what.
She pushed her food around her plate moodily, ignoring everyone around her. "What's with Leo?" Levi asked Ophir quietly.
Gideon overheard and leaned in to listen as Keziah rolled her eyes and glanced over at the young half-gargoyle. "She's sore because she can't use the staff."
"But...that's the easiest one." Barachel raised an eyebrow at the sulking girl who was unaware of the attention she was getting.
Ophir shrugged, "She's not good with blunt weapons, I suppose. Daggers have always been her forte."
Gideon watched as Leo rose from her seat with a plate of uneaten food and threw it away. "I'm going to bed." she announced sullenly, trudging out of the hall.
Late that night, Leo lay awake, silently berating herself for not being able to use one stupid weapon. She could use every other weapon in that training room, but for whatever reason, she couldn't get the staff.
"That's it." she muttered, slipping from her bed in just pants and her leather top. The young gargoyle padded down the stone hallways, avoiding the patrolling warriors and hurried to the training room.
As she closed the door quietly behind her, a voice spoke up, "I was wondering when you'd come."
Leo jumped and slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. "Gideon?"
"You don't need to know how to use the staff, Leo." he shook his head, stepping from the shadows of the dark room. "Go back to bed."
She shrugged, leaning against the cool, stone wall. "I can't sleep anyway."
Gideon thought for a moment before giving Leo an almost smile. "When's the last time you stretched your wings, little angel?"
Leo brightened and stood up straight. "Really?"
"Go put on the rest of your gear." he nodded.
Leo hurried back down the hall, fixing her arm bracers as she went. Quietly, she pushed open the door and whispered for Gideon. "I'm here." he called back softly, his voice more gravelly than usual.
"Can we go now?" she asked excitedly, moving to stand beside one of the larger windows.
"You going to jump out the window?" he smirked.
Leo shrugged, honey eyes flashing. "I don't care as long as I get out."
That hit Gideon hard. Did she not like being here? Did she want to leave? And even more worrisome, were they keeping her here against her will?
"Come on, we'll use the platform on the third floor." he said, making sure not to let his worry show through his words.
As they reached the platform, Leo started to get nervous. She hadn't flown for years. What if she forgot how? Just as Gideon was about to leap off, she grabbed his muscled arm, "Wait."
"What's the matter?" he raised an eyebrow.
She bit her lip, embarrassed at the possibility that she'd forgotten to fly. "Um..maybe...well I haven't flown in a while...so.."
"So?" he pressed.
She shrugged and mumbled, "I can't remember how."
He grinned and had to stop himself from laughing, "Leo, no gargoyle forgets how to fly. It's in your blood."
"But I'm only half-gargoyle." she argued.
His smile dropped, "Listen to me, you are just as much a gargoyle as anyone here. You have strong, beautiful wings and I have every reason to believe that you can still fly."
Leo felt her cheeks heat up and thanked god it was dark, hiding her face from Gideon.
She nodded slowly, turning to face the quiet city. The woman breathed in deeply and with a running start, leapt off the edge.
Adrenaline pounded through her veins and her stomach flipped as she dropped. Just a few feet from the ground, a familiar bright light shone from behind her and she felt her white, stone wings burst from her back.
The small woman shot into the air and let out a cry of joy at the feeling of being out in the fresh air, soaring in the sky.
She saw Gideon flying below her, completely stone, and dropped down to fly beside him.
As she was about to speak, she heard a sharp scream to her right and veered off instantly from the man. "Leo, no!" he ordered, but she, of course, ignored him.
Leo dropped to her feet, her wings disappearing into her cloak. "Hello?" she called cautiously, hands immediately going to her daggers. "Anybody the-" she was cut off by something flying at her from an alleyway.
She jumped out of the way and rolled to her feet, running back in time to see two dark figures start climbing a building. "Oh, no..." Leo cooed sorrowfully upon seeing a young woman laying dead in the alley. She stooped down and whispered a short prayer before shooting up to find the culprits.
Spotting them, she swooped down and flung one dagger into one of the demon's backs. It went deep and red and black fire sprung from the wound as the demon was pulled from the body and forced back to hell.
The other demon turned around and bared its teeth at Leo as she stepped down in front of it, her cloak dropping around her calves.
"Gargoyle." it spat...literally spat, it was gross.
Leo wrinkled her nose and flipped out her daggers quickly, circling the creature. The beast leapt forward, landing on top of the much smaller girl and she cried out, trying her best to fight it off.
The demon growled and slashed at her arm, leaving deep gashes that instantly shone with bright light. "Ugh, descend in pain, beast." Leo snarled, forcing her dagger into the creature's stomach.
It burst into flames and spiraled in the air before descending noisily with a last bright flash. Leo sat up weakly and shook her head of the dizziness that came over her, holding her wounded arm tightly.
"Leo!" she heard Gideon call from above her.
"I'm okay!" she shouted back, rising to her feet unsteadily.
He dropped down in front of her, turning to flesh. "No, you're not." he snapped, striding forward and taking her hurt arm in his hand.
"Ouch!" she snapped as he squeezed too hard.
His expression softened and he held her upper arm more carefully. "It's bad." he confirmed. "It's going to scar, too."
"Good." she grinned. "First real battle scar."
Gideon shook his head, exasperated. "Can you fly?"
"Not sure, probably not."
He raised an eyebrow at her quick response. "You just want me to carry you, don't you."
"...Yeah."