I was at least glad to see that Icarus and Allen didn't make a big deal out of it. If I were still princess, the whole kingdom would be flipping out. Luckily, I'm but a peasant now, so I was calmly taken to the run-down hospital at the end of town square where the doctor checked me out. Unluckily, my wrist was sprained pretty badly, and every muscle I even thought about moving sent stabs of pain through my arm.
The doctor wrapped my wrist as stiffly as he could. All the while, I bit down on a pillow, trying my hardest to restrain screams of pain. He told us that I'd have to take it easy with my right arm from now on and try not to move it so much. I could do that, I guess, though it'd be hard to cook and clean. However, Icarus told me not to worry about it because he would work twice as much.
Crying comically, he placed his fist on his chest and apologized profusely for causing this. Allen and I smiled weakly, unsure how to take such an apology. I waved him off, telling him that it wasn't like he killed me. It was because of Icarus that I was alive in the first place. Icarus and Lavi, that is…
Quickly turning to Allen to forget about Lavi, I said, "And you, young man." I smiled softly. "You're awfully brave for protecting me twice in a row. I owe you my life as well."
He blushed a bit and smiled, scratching the back of his head nervously. "It was nothing; I'm just doing my job," he said modestly. I chortled and kissed the top of his head. While he was surprised in place, I stood from the bed and nodded for them to follow.
"Let's just go back to the inn," I said. "I really don't feel like making another trip to the store." The two males smiled and agreed. Wincing as I had to cradle my arm, we left the hospital. The mood on the way home was much brighter, despite the clouds still left behind from last night's rain. I asked Allen about his job and these Akuma that have been attacking me.
He informed me of something that sounded like a fairytale, complete with knights in shining armor, evil dragons, a castle where the knights live, and an evil sorcerer out to destroy the world. The only thing missing was a princess or a damsel in distress! OK, I'm kidding. He actually told me that he was what was called an Exorcist, and there are many of them where he lives – at the Black Order, home of the Exorcists in England. Their sole purpose in life is to defeat the Akuma plaguing the world and their master, the dread Millennium Earl. The only way you could defeat these Akuma was by using a substance called Innocence. His left arm was Innocence and Lavi had that size-shifting hammer that was his Innocence.
It all sounded amazing to me. They were saviors; they protected the world from evil. And, honestly, I was jealous. My life in this place was deplorable. I longed for the life of adventure that Allen had.
We made it back to the inn and I was so intent on my conversation with Allen, I ignored everyone making a fuss over where I had been and what happened to me. Icarus held up his hand and took care of their questions. I sat a table and Allen sat beside me. "Do you think I could see your arm?" I asked, wide-eyed. "Is it white and clawed like I saw before? It was huge before."
Allen blinked. "My arm? W-well..." He shyly removed his glove and coat and then rolled up his sleeve. My eyes widened again when I saw his arm. It definitely wasn't like what I saw before. When I first saw him, his arm was huge, white, clawed. Now it was a deep, blood color, rough with black nails.
"Oh, wow…" I breathed. Forgetting my manners, I glided my fingers along his rough skin. It felt weird; I can't exactly place a specific texture on it. My eyes caught sight of a glowing green cross embedded in the back of his head. "What's that?" I asked, touching the sunken in skin. The cross felt like a crystal.
"That's the Innocence," Allen said, smiling nervously.
My eyes practically sparkled with interest. "Amazing!" I exclaimed. "What would it take for me to become an Exorcist?"
Allen raised his hand defensively. "Hold on, now, Elaine," he said. "You don't want to become an Exorcist. Believe me."
I blinked. "What are you talking about, Allen? Of course I do! Your life sounds so amazing!"
The snow-haired boy sighed, gently taking his arm back and rolling his sleeve back down. "It's not as 'amazing' as it sounds, Elaine," he said seriously. "Being an Exorcist means seeing a lot of death. We lose comrades, we push ourselves way past the limit. It's hard." He shifted his cloudy eyes from his arm up to me. "Please. Don't glorify our lives. We're soldiers of the holy war. That's it."
I frowned, trying to think of what to say. But just then, Lavi walked in from outside. "Hey, everybody!" he said cheerfully. "Everything okay now?" He looked to Allen and the boy nodded. Allen informed Lavi how I only had a sprained wrist and it would heal in no time. Lavi's eyes flickered to me and then went back to Allen. "Great," he said. "Hey, short-stack, can I talk to ya outside a sec?"
Allen nodded and stood, grabbing his coat. He told me he would be right back, and the two went outside to talk in private. Will took the opportunity to come over to me. He knelt in front of me. "I'm glad you're okay, my princess," he whispered.
Louis agreed from the kitchen. "Maybe you should just stay home, huh?" he cracked and then burst out laughing.
I smiled weakly. "At this point, that actually doesn't sound like a bad idea. I'm getting really tired of seeing those Akuma," I said sheepishly.
Just then, Allen and Lavi came back inside. Allen looked uncomfortable, but Lavi looked a bit too serious for my liking. I asked Allen if everything was okay and he came up to me, fidgeting. "Well, Elaine," he said, "Lavi and I have come to the conclusion that we think we should watch over you from now on."
Icarus looked at Allen incredulously. "What? What do you mean? Is Elaine in danger?" he asked panicked.
"We think so," Allen admitted reluctantly. "You see, yesterday, the Akuma targeted her first and then went on a rampage. And today, the Akuma made it obvious that they wanted her because it talked to her directly. It said that it would come back for her."
I stood, concern growing. "Well, what does this mean? Why are they coming after me?" I asked.
Allen paused. "I hate to admit it, but there is a possibility that you, Elaine, are an Accommodator."
…
Me, an Accommodator. An Exorcist! I couldn't believe what Allen had said. I guessed I was going to get my wish to be an Exorcist after all.
That night, I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. Once again, I couldn't sleep. I was excited and terrified at the same time. What if what Allen said was true? Would I be miserable at the Black Order? Would I be strong enough? Ah, who was I kidding? I was a weak child! Allen and Lavi killed those monsters like nothing. I wouldn't last a day against those horrendous beasts. But…maybe I could get stronger. Maybe even…maybe Lavi could teach me. He could train me.
That would be amazing…
But then I remembered: He hated me. He wanted nothing to do with me. All because he was a Bookman. I sighed and hit my head against my pillow. It would be so uncomfortable living in the same house as him. Talk about awkward.
I wanted to toss and turn and lay on my side, but with my injured arm, I couldn't move much. Shifting, I grunted and groaned to myself. Lavi had come back an hour before – at 9 o'clock. After they told me that I needed to be protected, Lavi went out to search for the Innocence fragment. Because I didn't have anything special I carried around with me, they put two and two together and concluded that I must have come in contact with the Innocence at one point. I couldn't recall anything like they described, but they said it had to be true.
I could hear them perfectly talking in the lobby. Lavi finished his dinner finally and washed his dishes for Louis. They told me that they would take turns at night watching over my room, making sure no Akuma came to take me. Lavi had the first shift.
I heard his boots softly tread on the wooden floor. He was pacing. "Hey, Lavi, can I ask you something?" Allen's muffled voice floated through my door.
"Sure, but keep your voice down," Lavi replied, "people are sleeping, remember?"
I sat up slowly, curiosity getting the best of me. When Allen lowered his voice, I could barely hear him. So, as silently as I could, I crept toward my door and pressed my ear against the soft wood.
"…about her?" Lavi was asking in reply to whatever Allen said. His voice had a hint of suspicion and bitterness.
"You do know her, don't you."
"What?" Lavi hissed. "What are you talking about? I told you she made an honest mistake."
"Dude, when I woke up last night and you weren't there, I saw the two of you hugging," Allen said sharply. He was starting to sound like a jealous girlfriend, I swear! "Why did you deny knowing her in front of everyone and then later on start hugging her in privacy? That's messed up!"
"It's…" Lavi sighed, exasperated. "It's a Bookman thing, Allen. OK?" Allen was quiet. "Look, I met her when I was ten. We were good friends back then, but if Gramps ever found out that I was letting my old life catch up to me, he'd kill me…!"
Allen scoffed after a while. "I don't think I'll ever understand your Bookman talk," he said, disappointed.
There were receding footsteps, Allen's most likely, because they halted when Lavi spoke again, "Allen," he said, "Gramps will be here tomorrow to help search for the Innocence. Let's keep this whole Elaine business to ourselves, yeah?"
Allen said Sure, and then left. It was several minutes later when I heard Lavi walking around again. It was then that I was aware of my heart pounding. When I noticed his footsteps were getting closer to my door, I made a hasty move and jumped back in bed on my stomach, burying my face in my pillow just as the door opened. It was silent as I tried to hold my breath. And then after a few more minutes, Lavi closed my door again.
And once he was gone, I whimpered into my pillow pitifully because I had landed on my injury.
…
Lavi wasn't lying when he said that his grandfather was coming. It was late in the afternoon when the door opened and in walked the elderly man, looking the same as he did eight years ago, only dressed different. He also wore a coat similar to Allen and Lavi's. I took note of the silver cross badge each of them wore over their heart.
At the time, I was sitting at the table, chatting with Allen about his friends back at the Black Order. He hadn't once mentioned Lavi. The redhead was out still, searching for the Innocence. However, when the short old man walked in, Lavi was right behind him. "Welcome," I said cheerfully.
He nodded, came over to me, and extended his hand. "I am Bookman, dear girl," he said, his voice still raspy and aged. "You must be Elaine. It is very nice to meet you."
I smiled and shook his hand with my good arm. He certainly was more pleasant than the first time I met him. Probably because I wasn't so close to Lavi. Seeing how I had to use my left arm, Allen piped up with how Bookman was an expert at acupuncture. I wasn't familiar with the term, so he hastily told me it was a soothing needle treatment. That didn't sound soothing at all…
Still, when Bookman said that the needles would calm my aching nerves, I reluctantly agreed. We led him to my room and he had me lie on my back. Brother stood at the head of the bed, watching Bookman's every move to make sure he wasn't hurting me. The sensation of it all was…weird. It hurt a bit with the constant prick of a new needle in my skin, especially since it was on my hurt wrist. But once they were in, it was more of a tingling feeling.
After the lengthy process was over, though, my wrist almost felt as good as new. As I sat up and examined my wrist, Bookman informed me to, of course, take it easy. The wrist hadn't healed, the needles simply numbed the pain. And it worked! Brother recast the wrist stiffly and we came out. I showed Louis and he asked Bookman if the needles would work on the knots in his shoulders jokingly.
"Oh, hush, Louis," Icarus said, crossing his arms, "you don't even do much. Try cleaning everything every day!"
"Angela's got a harder job than you!" Will cracked as he slipped on his jacket. We all laughed at his expense. Angela came up to me and kissed my wrist.
"I hope you feel better, Elaine," she said very cutely. I ruffled her dark hair and told her I would. It was already six o'clock. Time for Will to go to work and time for Thomas to be heading home. Seeing Will head toward the door suddenly reminded me of the sheets I left outside to dry.
"Ah, crap," I said. "Hold the door, Will, I need to get the laundry."
"I'll help you!" Angela offered, skipping after me as I followed Will to the door. Just as Will reached for the doorknob, the door swung open and he jumped back right into me. I stepped back, grabbing Angela's small wrist so she wouldn't fall.
Soldiers in their red and gold uniforms filed in. My heart began to race as I realized what this meant. I slowly began to back away as they stood opposite one another, leaving behind a path for…
"Where is she?" asked a voice that drained all the color from my face. My legs were shaking so much, I thought I might fall. I soon found it hard to breathe as he walked in. He stood tall and oh-so proud. His thin blond hair beginning to recede even though he was in his late twenties. His blue eyes sharp as a hawk's. His grin devilish.
Nicolai.
Seeing the terrified expression I must have worn, Allen stood and both of the Exorcist boys became very alert. From the corner of my eye, I saw Louis stand in the kitchen doorway, clutching a knife. Will was the only one of us who remained calm, even if his fists were beginning to clench. Icarus, behind me, shooed Angela up to her room immediately. Brother stood as stiff as a board, watching Nicolai study everything about the room. Nicolai never came into anyone's home. Ever.
"My lord," said Will tightly. "What brings you to our humble inn?"
"Princess Elizabeth, of course," Nicolai replied. He sounded like a snake. His eyes were hard on Will's, until they flickered to me over Will's shoulder. They stayed on me. As if on telepathic cue, the soldiers advanced. The closest one shoved Will aside, sending him against the table. At the same time, three other guards rushed over to Peter. They grabbed either of his arms, twisted them behind him, and sent him to the ground, clicking heavy metal handcuffs around his wrists as they pressed his head against the hard wood floor.
I started forward. "Brother!" I exclaimed. But I didn't get very far before a guard came up behind me and held my arms back, holding me in place. Allen started forward to me until more guards pointed spears at them. Two other soldiers also had the tips of their spears at Louis and Icarus's throats. Pleased with his guard's handiwork, Nicolai stepped up to me. My teeth clenched against the pain of the guard gripping my injury.
Nicolai held up my head by my chin, forcing me to look at him with tearful eyes. "All these years, dear Elizabeth, I thought you had died," he purred. "But now I see you've been here, hiding, this whole time. How incredibly stupid of you to return to the place which would one day condemn you."
"It's because we aren't like you, Nicolai!" Peter shouted from the floor. "We aren't cowards who care nothing about his subjects. We stayed to care for our people." A guard silenced him with a hard punch to the head.
Nicolai made me tear my gaze from my brother when he gripped my chin. "I think it's high time I finish the business I started eight years ago. Don't you agree?" he said.
"What are you saying?" I growled.
At first, he didn't answer. He let go of me and stood back as he motioned for the guards to take my brother outside. Despite the pain, I struggled against the guard, calling out to Peter. "Oh, don't worry, dear," Nicolai said, "your brother's suffering will be over soon." My eyes widened and I looked up at him, horrified. "He will be sent to the gallows in the capital. And you, my dear princess, will get the privilege to be my bride."
"No!" Icarus cried out, trying to get around the guard.
"In two days, we will be wed," Nicolai whispered viciously in my ear. "Tomorrow, my guards will escort you to my castle where you can be fitted for your dress. For now" – he stood straight and tall and addressed a guard behind him – "you! Clear out this inn! And I want as many of you as possible to be guarding this place. I do believe I would like to stay here tonight. Alone, with you, Elizabeth."
On command, the guards grabbed my friends and pulled or dragged them outside while two other guards went up the stairs. They dragged out Angela and the family from their rooms and threw them outside. "No! Stop!" I cried out. "Allen, please! Help!"
My eyes flickered frantically from Allen to Lavi, who willingly walked out. "Don't worry, Elaine," Allen said. "We'll protect you."
I watched as Peter, Louis, Icarus, Will, and even Angela were cuffed and thrown into a carriage with barred windows. The family, Allen, Lavi, and Bookman were directed to leave. With one glance back, Allen looked at me, held my gaze, and they all walked away.
Some guards left with the carriage, some stationed themselves outside. The guard restraining me released me and I stumbled forward. I started to go for the door, but instead felt the sting of the back of Nicolai's hand. He had an inhuman look in his blue eyes. "Oh, no, Elizabeth," he said coldly. "There is no escape this time."
I was taken to my room and thrown on the floor. Before I could get up and pound on the door, I heard a chair scrape against the wood, and suddenly my knob wouldn't even turn. Frantic, I went to my window, but there were guards stationed out there, too. And another one at my bathroom window. My heart began to race. What was I going to do? What could I do? Brother was going to die. So might Icarus, Louis, and Will. Oh, God…and Angela, too.
I kicked and pounded on my door, screaming at the guard to let me out. But my cries went unheard. I heard then rummaging around all throughout the inn, tearing the place apart just in case someone hid. Everyone had already gone, I knew that. And it wasn't going to get any better. That family was homeless. My friends were taken away to prison. My brother taken away to death. And Lavi…he didn't even look at me. Why? Why?
I sunk to my knees at the door. Crying. Helpless.
Where was a fairy godmother when you needed one?
