Chapter 3 Dawn of Night
"I hate cursive!"
Aeleus looks up from his newspaper, startled. He's just in time to see Ienzo fling his pencil down. With the mature way Ienzo speaks and acts, it's sometimes easy to forget that he's still just a child. He certainly looks the part now, with his arms crossed, and a sullen look on his face. He has been increasingly grumpy as of late, something Aeleus attributes to the changing weather. Winter is coming and the pressure changes always seem to wreak havoc on Ienzo's sinuses. He does look like he's feeling off today.
"Are you feeling all right?" he asks. Ienzo pauses, as though seriously considering Aeleus's question and then shakes his head. "What's wrong?"
"Head," Ienzo says.
"Does it hurt?" Aeleus asks. Ienzo merely nods. "All right. I think we can end our session a bit early today. Let's go upstairs and you can lay down, all right?"
Ienzo nods. They clean up their mess and head out of the library. They're just crossing the entrance hall for the stairs when they hear a commotion coming from the front doors. Aeleus hurries forward with Ienzo right on his heels. They reach the front doors at the same time as Even, who had come up from his labs.
"What is going on?" Even demands of the servants crowded around the doors.
"Make way," Ansem commands from somewhere in the middle of the chaos. "Where is Even?"
"I'm here, Master Ansem," Even says, stepping forward.
The crowd of servants scatters, allowing Aeleus to see what's going on. Braig stands just inside the front doors carrying an unconscious man in his arms. He's young, a teen at most, but his hair is an unnatural silver color. He wears a pair of tan pants and a black shirt that are made out of a material Aeleus has never seen before.
"What happened?" Even asks sharply.
"I just found him layin' in the middle of the square," Braig says. "He was awake long enough to tell us his name's Xehanort and then he passed out again."
"Odd." Even frowns. "Let's take him up to the general room. Oh and Aeleus?"
Aeleus has a sense of dread when Even turns toward him.
"What Even?" he asks, knowing he'll probably come to regret asking.
"Do try and keep Ienzo out of the way while I'm treating Xehanort. The last thing I need right now is him getting underfoot," Even says.
"I'll do my best, Even," Aeleus replies curtly.
He wants nothing more than to punch Even in the mouth right now, but keeps himself in check, and lets Even pass unscathed.
"Even," Dilan calls suddenly, causing the procession to stop.
"What is it Dilan?" Even snaps, turning around.
"What do you want me to do with this?" Dilan holds up something in his arm.
"What is it?" Even asks
"It looks like some sort of armor," Dilan says. "It was found near the boy. There was also something else."
"Something else?" Even asks keenly, all previous irritation gone. "What was it?"
"We'll discuss it later," Ansem cuts across all of them. "Right now, we need to focus on treating the boy."
"Right." Even nods. "Let's go."
Aeleus waits until they have all gone before turning to Ienzo.
"Come. Let's go to your room," he says.
Ienzo merely nods. Aeleus starts when he feels Ienzo's hand slip into his as they make their way across the hall; the little boy only does it when there's something upsetting him. He gives the small hand a gentle squeeze as he leads Ienzo up the stairs.
Ienzo immediately heads for his bed and lays down. Aeleus goes into the bathroom and dampens a washcloth with cool water for Ienzo's head. When he comes out, Ienzo is curled up, facing the wall, so he sits on the edge of the bed and waits.
After a while, Ienzo says, "Do…do you think I get in the way all the time Aeleus?"
"Of course I don't," Aeleus says softly.
"Truthfully?" Ienzo asks. "Or are you just saying that so you won't hurt my feelings?"
"Ienzo, look at me," Aeleus says.
Ienzo hunches his shoulders. "Leave me alone."
"Ienzo. Look. At. Me," Aeleus says sharply.
Ienzo sighs and rolls over onto his back. He glares balefully up at Aeleus, though Aeleus knows him well enough by now to know that he's hurt and trying not to show it.
"You are not in the way, not ever." Aeleus softens his tone.
"But Even…" Ienzo protests.
"Even is an ass who doesn't understand the feelings of others," Aeleus says and the corners of Ienzo's lips curl up into a slight smile. "This is for you." He hands Ienzo the washcloth. "See you at dinner."
He sweeps from the room with the intention of giving Even a piece of his mind.
He never notices the tears on Ienzo's one visible cheek as he leaves the boy in peace.
.o.O.o.
From the Diary of Ienzo
Another interesting day so far. Braig found a boy in the square with nothing but some strange armor and the name Xehanort. There's something strange about him, something that makes me feel uneasy, but I'm not sure what it is. I don't think I'm going to tell any of the others about this. They're not going to listen to me. They never listen to me. They think I get in the way. Even pretty much confirmed my suspicions today. Aeleus says that he's an ass, which is definitely true. He's a pompous, self-absorbed ass. And I've seen the looks the others give me. I know they too think I only get in the way. Aeleus assures me that he doesn't think that, but how do I know that he's not lying? Part of me wants to trust him, but another part of me isn't so sure. I don't know what to do right now. Should I trust Aeleus or not? He's been kind to me, but what if it's for his own purposes? Then again, what purpose would he have being nice to me for? I just don't know.
I feel so lost.
.o.O.o.
Author's Notes
Just a few quick notes. First, the chapter is early because I'm flying to Las Vegas for a vacation tomorrow so it'd be really hard for me to post the chapter tomorrow after flying 4.5 hours and trying to get used to the time change. Also, I haven't gotten any reviews, which makes me sad. I know people are reading it. I'm not going to withhold chapters if people don't review nor am I going to continually beg for them. I'm just mentioning this once. I'm not expecting any full length in depth reviews. I'd just like to know if people like this or not. Finally, I know the chapters are short. They're going to get longer eventually, I promise. So just bear with me!