That night, a storm began to grow outside while few of the people in the manor slept. Harmony shifted slightly, barely awake, but awake enough to know one thing.
Aaron wasn't next to her.
She sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she looked around the room. "Aaron?" she called out, but got no reply. Harmony leaned over and lit the small lamp that sat on the bedside table and looked around the room in the flickering light. But still no Aaron. Harmony began to shake as thunder rolled overhead. She quickly stood up, grabbing her robe and pulling it on before grabbing the lamp and hurrying out into the hall. "A-Aaron?"
Claude looked up from his desk slightly surprised by the sudden burst of dark power from outside. He glanced at his door, noting the flickering of a small flame under the door and frowned. As he stood and walked towards the door, he could hear Harmony's voice call out desperately for the boy.
"What are you doing out so late?" he asked her as he opened his door and stepped out into the hall. She turned to look at him, her eyes wide, as she shook slightly.
"A-Aaron's not in our room," she said shakily. Claude sighed, pushing his glasses up.
"Perhaps he's sleepwalking," he said calmly, watching her.
"Y-You don't understand, h-he's terrified of thunder and lightning. H-he changes." Another clap of thunder rolled over the manor. Harmony's eyes went wide as she hurried downstairs looking around. When she reached the first floor, she saw the large front doors were open. She ran towards the door but was stopped when Claude's hand grabbed her arm.
"I'll go find him. You can't go out there dressed like that, you'll catch a cold."
She shook her head violently. "H-he's my son, I have to find him."
"He is mine as well, you stay here and I'll go look for him."
Her eyes flashed dangerously as she pulled away from him. "Only by blood! You haven't been around long enough to be called anything other than an acquaintance! You don't even seem to want to be part of his life other than that." She pushed past him and ran into the rain, crying out the young boy's name. Claude grit his teeth before running after her. He paused under a large tree on the edge of the forest.
"Harmony, he's not here-," He began, but felt another quick burst of power coming from near the lake. Harmony's eyes widened even more as she ran towards the strange power source. He watched her, her wet robe cling to her body as she ran towards the lake buried in the forest. Claude sighed as he followed her, nearly stumbling over her as she leaned around a tree and looked into the clearing around the lake, her eyes wide in fear as she shook. He followed her gaze out, seeing Aaron standing with his feet in the water. "What is he doing?" Claude asked, his voice low.
She shook her head slightly, her eyes never leaving Aaron. "I-I don't know." Claude moved from behind her, taking a few steps into the clearing, watching the small boy.
"Aaron," he called out, his voice stern. The small boy turned slightly, just enough for Claude to see his eyes were deep red. Before he could reach the child, that dark power blasted past him, shoving him back against a large tree. Harmony gasped, ducking behind her tree, glancing back out at Aaron. She bit her lip before pushing away from the tree and slowly walking towards her son.
"A-Aaron," she said softly, watching the small boy. Another clap of thunder rang out around them. Her heart ached as she watched Aaron shake slightly as he stood on the shore.
"M-Mama...?" a small whimper escaped his lips as he blinked slowly, his eyes shifting between red and their normal blue.
"I'm right here, sweetheart; it's alright." She slowly walked towards him, holding her hand out to him. She saw the tears begin to roll down his face, without realizing it, Harmony ran towards him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Shh...it's alright." Her hand rested on the back of his head, her other hand rubbing his back.
Claude stood in the shadows, watching Harmony cradle the small boy in her arms, whispering soothingly to him. "We need to get back to the manor before either of you become ill," he said, walking towards Harmony and Aaron. She looked up at him, nodding slightly, standing up and carefully picking the small boy up in her arms, balancing him on one hip. He hugged her tightly, resting his small head against her. Claude sighed, turning back towards the manor.
"I-I'm cold, M-Mama," the small boy cried softly. Harmony sighed, kissing his head.
"I know. Once we get back we'll dry you off and get you some nice warm clothes." She held him closer as another roll of thunder passed over them. "Just cover your ears and close your eyes tightly, alright?" Aaron nodded, doing as he was told and burying his head against Harmony's shoulder. She sighed as she walked back towards the manor. Claude walked behind her, watching her as she held the small boy close. As they came closer to the manor, Claude walked ahead of her and held the door open. "Thank you," she murmured, a small smile spread over her lips as she hurried inside and walked upstairs to her room.
Claude sighed, walking up after her. "Is there something I can do?"
Harmony glanced at him. "Can you get some towels, please?" He nodded, turning around and walking off. She sighed as she walked into her room and sitting Aaron on a chair, gently pulling his hands away from his head. "It's safe now."
Aaron opened his eyes, looking at his kneeling mother as he shook slightly. "I-Is it over?" he whispered.
She sighed. "It almost is; but I'll stay up with you until it is, alright?" He nodded. Harmony smiled, "Good, now then, where ever did Mr. Faustus go, hmm?"
"I went to get towels, like you asked," Claude said from the door way. He walked in and handed her a towel. She gave him a small smile as she took the towels from him; she turned back to the small boy and began to ruffle his hair in one of the towels; muffled giggles could be heard from under it. Harmony smiled, pulling the towel off of his head and kissed his forehead.
"My silly little boy," she laughed as she gently dried Aaron off. "Let's find you some dry clothes." Harmony stood up and walked over towards the cabinet and opened it, looking for his clothes. She picked up a new set of his clothes and walked back over to the small child. She gently started helping him change; drying him as she went. Claude watched her and Aaron for a moment before turning and walking out into the hall. Harmony sighed, helping Aaron into his dry clothes before kissing his head. "Try to go back to sleep, sweetheart."
"Yes, Mama," he said, crawling into the bed. She smiled slightly as she stood up, tucking the sheets around the small boy before taking the extra towel and drying herself off. "Mama?"
"Yes, love?" she asked, turning her back to him as she began to change.
"Would you tell me about about him again?"
Harmony sighed, pulling on her extra nightgown before sitting on the edge of the bed. "But by now I'm sure you know the story better than I do."
Aaron sat up, wrapping his small arms around his mother. "I still want to hear. Tell me about how you met him again, please?" She laughed slightly, hugging him back and kissing his head.
"Alright; lay back down. Now then, it was at a ball at my family's manor when I was 18. Everyone was wearing such beautiful clothes, the music was was the perfect rhythm for dancing." Harmony sighed. "No one wanted to dance with me, though. I always assumed they didn't want to dance with the strange girl with different color eyes."
"I like your eyes!" the small boy protested, sitting up again. She smiled and kissed his head, pulling him onto her lap.
"Thank you, sweetheart. Now, where was I?"
Aaron giggled. "Right before he asked you to dance!"
"Oh, yes. Well, I was sitting in the corner again, watching as all the couples dance, when he walked in wearing a soldiers uniform of green and red. As soon as he walked in, all the other girls who weren't dancing as well flocked towards him, requesting a dance with him. He could have danced with any of them if he had wanted, but he kindly declined all of them and walked over to me and asked if I would like to dance with him." She laughed slightly, shaking her head. "I have to admit, I was surprised he'd asked me, but I accepted. We didn't say much, only a brief greeting before he led me onto the ball room floor. I never thought I would ever have danced with anyone, let alone a soldier."
"But you did! And you danced the night away without realizing how late it had gotten!" Aaron giggled, clapping his hands. "And when you two finally stopped dancing, he kissed your hand and left! And, and when you asked your mama and papa who he was, they said they didn't see him or know of anyone who had come that looked like him!"
Harmony laughed. "Now who's telling the story here, hm?"
"Sorry Mama," he giggled, covering his mouth.
She smiled, kissing his head again. "It's alright. Now, after that party, I didn't see him again for about a week until we went to another ball. We danced as always, not a word spoken between us until the end when he kissed my hand again and said, 'Until next time, my dear.'" Aaron giggled. "The next and last time I saw him was at a party thrown by Madame Red, a sweet woman who always knows how to laugh and was letting me stay the night to go shopping the next day. And he was there, sitting on the couch, surrounded by girls. But he didn't seem to care, when he looked up and saw me, he stood up and walked over to me and again asked me to dance. This time we did actually talk some; he asked about my friends and family, my hobbies, everything." She gave a small laugh, a slight blush touching her cheeks as she remembered some things she never told Aaron.
They had danced together for near an hour with only a few words exchanged. As another song ended, Harmony slowed down slightly, looking up into his eyes. "D-do you think we could pause for a moment?" she asked shyly. He nodded. "Of course. Would you like a drink?" Harmony nodded slightly, a blush creeping over her. He gave a small smirk as he bowed slightly, guiding her towards the long table with food and drinks. He fixed them both a drink, handing her a cup. "Thank you," she smiled, taking a sip. He only nodded slightly, his eyes never leaving her. "Why is it none seem to realize what a beauty you are?"He chuckled as her blush darkened. He set down his glass, taking her chin between her his forefinger and thumb. "Your eyes only enhance that," he murmured. "Y-you're just saying that," she whispered, turning her gaze away from him. "I say that because it's true," he said simply. "And if I can never see you again, I want to be sure you know." She laughed slightly, gently taking his hand away from her chin. "Now that sounds like a ploy to get something," she said softly, "I barely know you and we are neither married nor engaged." He studied her, lightly brushing his gloved hand across her cheek. "A thing I would hope to change someday." She blinked, her eyes growing wide as her cheeks burned, the butterflies in her stomach fluttering faster. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't deny her attraction towards him. "W-why me?" "Because you're beautiful," he said simply, leaning towards her and kissing her gently. He pulled away slightly, looking deeply into her eyes. "Be mine, if only for tonight." She tried to say no, it took all of her self control to not throw herself at him right then and there. Without barely realizing it, Harmony found herself whispering what he had wanted to hear; "Yes."
Harmony sighed, holding Aaron close. "It's late and you need to rest," she murmured, kissing his head.
"But Mama," he whined, "what happened after that?"
She smiled slightly and gently laid him down. "That's a story for when you're older. Now try to sleep," Harmony murmured, kissing his cheek and tucking him in. "I'll be back in a little while, just call me if you need anything." Aaron nodded, snuggling under the covers. She smiled as she stood up.
"Mama? If you see Mr. Faustus, could you tell him I'm sorry?"
She smiled and nodded. "Of course I will. Sleep well." Harmony carefully picked up the wet towels and walked out into the hall, closing the door softly. She turned, almost running into Claude, blinking up at him. "I would have thought you'd have gone back to bed already."
He shook his head. "I don't need much sleep." His eyes glanced down to the towels. "I can take those for you."
"It's fine, I need some time to think anyway." Harmony walked around him, walking towards the stairs that led to the washing room. "Aaron wanted to apologize for what he did," she added, a small smile playing over her lips.
"It's fine. I didn't expect him to be able to do something like that."
She sighed, walking downstairs. "He sometimes would do that before, he'd somehow wander down the stairs of the apartment and walk to the park." Harmony shook her head. "I don't know how he ever got out; I always locked the door." She walked into the washing room, dropping the towels into a pile on the floor. Sighing, Harmony leaned against the table, her head down. "He's always been afraid of thunder and lightning. When he was an infant, he'd wake up screaming."
Claude watched her for a moment before walking over to her, gently lifting her chin. "Yet you raised him well." She nodded slightly, a small smile on her lips. He kissed her forehead. "Go rest, Harmony."
A small sigh escaped her lips. "Alright." Harmony pushed away from the table, looking up at Claude. "I'll see you in the morning," she murmured, walking around him and back up to her room.