Chapter Two: Garry and the Hated Mary
Garry swung open the front door of his small apartment and stood aside to allow the small young Ib to step inside. He was able to straighten up parts of the apartment as they walked inside and sat Ib's things down on the surprisingly tidy floor. Garry blushed in embarrassment towards the young girl and bowed his head a bit.
"S-sorry, Ib...this place isn't normally this cluttered and messy."
Ib simply smiled and cleared off the clutter of books and paperwork off the table and counters. As she cleaned, a book caught her eye from across the room on the cream colored couch against the back wall. She walked over and sat down on the couch, picking up the book and examining its cover.
It was a leather-bound book that was fairly faded on the front cover. The title was still clearly visible, "The Many Works of Guertena". Ib noticed a bookmarked page and took the liberty of opening to the marked page. She cringed at the chapter's title and picture. "The Prized Painting", it was called, with a picture of the hated painting. A long, blonde haired young girl with deep, blue eyes dressed in a dark green smock-like dress with yellow roses near her feet. Ib stared into the eyes of the fake girl, whom she knows as Mary, and felt the fire flare in the pit of her stomach.
Garry, who had been organizing papers, looked over to his beloved Ib and noticed the page she was looking at. He knew Ib had a deep hatred toward the girl who had tricked them in the gallery. He only didn't understand why the young girl sitting on his couch had such a fiery hate for the painting.
Dusting off his hands, he walked over to Ib and closed the book slowly, as to not startle the girl. As Ib looked up to the man who had promised to care for her, she saw the smile that formed over his lips. The eighteen year old Garry leaned forward and kissed the top of young Ib's head. She knew that Garry cared for her, but she didn't know much more than that of his feelings. Garry looked at the book that rested on Ib's lap and tossed it aside.
"Ib, I promise to protect you. Not just from Mary, but from any other harm that may come your way."
Ib looked into the eyes of the one who saved her yet again, and nodded. Garry smiled as best as he could, but in the back of his mind, he knew he loved the poor girl who sat before him, yet knew he could do nothing about it.
"The age is just too far apart...who knows how much trouble I could get into?"
He knew her birthday was approaching, but she would only be ten years old. Garry mentally shook his head and pushed the thought aside, remembering her innocence was far too precious.
"She hasn't seen what I have..."
Garry decided it was best to start unpacking Ib's things, so he took her bags and took them to the room he had prepared for her. Ib got up and followed behind him closely.
"Garry...? Do you ever get scared anymore...?"
Garry turned to Ib and took notice of the small tears forming in her eyes. He picked her up gently and sat her on the bed he provided for her, taking his hands and placing them gently on her small shoulders. He looked deeply into his now most precious possession's eyes and looked into them sternly.
"Of course I still get scared. Not as much as I used to be scared, but I still do. To me, the gallery strengthened me as a man, helped me to be a bit braver. If I never got lost in the depths of the gallery, I would've never gained the strength that I did, I would've never learned to be cautious of who to trust, I would've never learned what it's like to protect someone, and..."
He noticed Ib's tears had become too heavy and began to stream down her cheeks. He cupped her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with the pads of his thumbs.
"And Ib? Without the experience of the gallery, I would've never met you and would've never had something to fight for. Do you understand? Even after we parted ways, I felt that I still had so much to protect you from, yet I knew there was a very small chance of us meeting again. Us meeting at the café was a chance encounter. God must've knew that you would need to be cared for, protected, and loved. And yet, He probably knew that I would be able to from past experience. So yes, I do get scared still, but I grew strong from the gallery, so I could use my fear and convert it to the ability to protect those that I love."
Ib had managed to calm herself down, so she could look at Garry again. When her eyes landed on his, he pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around the girl's small body.
"If you're in danger...yell my name. I'll drop everything and come rescue you, my precious red rose..."
Ib blushed slightly and clung to Garry, gripping his ripped jacket and feeling the protection he wanted to give her.
Eventually, the girl in red fell asleep in the arms of the man of blue. Garry smiled and helped her into her bed, pulling the warm blankets over her. He leaned down and kissed her forehead softly before leaving quietly and closing the door gently behind him.
On his way to his own bed, he glanced at the book that lay on the couch, holding the only bit of the maiden of the yellow rose that was left hostage among its closed pages. Garry made his way to his room, but not before muttering something under his breath.
"I know it was you, Mary...I know what you did to Ib. Because of that, I'll hate you just as much as she does, if not more. However, don't you dare touch Ib, or I'll have you set aflame yet again..."
End Chapter Two
Author's Note: So, here is the second chapter of "Life with Her Savior". I'm hoping those who read the first chapter and this chapter are liking the story so far. Don't worry, the next chapter will be up soon enough.
~ Kaze the Wind Mage