Chapter 7: Burnt

(Elizabeth has been with the order for three months now.)

Daz was upset. Very upset. And not because that stupid Japanese boys' golem had torn her favorite dress. No, she was upset at Mistress.

Mistress hadn't eaten or drank anything for three days. And, even though Daz knew it wouldn't hurt Mistress to go days without food or water, Daz also new Mistress ate at least two meals a day to keep up her energy. And Daz knew Mistress to be a creature of habit, hence why she was so upset.

Currently, the red haired golem was flitting around Mistress's head, while said Mistress lay in her bed, completely out of it due to lack of energy. Daz had tried everything to wake Mistress. From jumping on her head, pulling her hair, to even ripping one of the portraits off the wall in hopes that the noise would wake her. It didn't work.

Finally, Daz, running out of options, had employed the help of the only other being she trusted enough with such a delicate situation. Something very old, very powerful, and very strange. Hell Fire.

"Dazzle, you better have a damn good reason for waking me at such an hour." Grumbled the millenniums old sword.

So, Daz, knowing better then to aggravate such a creature as Hell Fire, quickly gave the katana her reason.

Hell Fire went quiet for all of one minuet.

But after that minuet, the air became quite heavy as very old and very strong magic filled the room. But the heaviness soon passed. And with its passing brought a new presence in the room.

Standing before Dazzle in all her powerful and human shaped glory was Hell Fire. The being looked at Daz, who was back to flitting around Mistress's head. Hell Fire snatched Daz from the air with a lightning quick motion of her hand, and placed the little golem on one of the corners of the bed frame.

"Be silent and still has I asses her." Hell Fire ordered. Daz did just that. Granted it was a very tough task for such a hyperactive golem, but it was worth it if Mistress would benefit from it. Tiny red eyes watched as the katana set about the task of checking Mistress's health. Although it only took ten minutes to complete the task, Daz felt like it took years.

"Dazzle, look. Here's the problem." The red haired sword said, holding up both of Mistress's hands. Daz immediately saw the problem. Mistress's hands were burnt, the pale skin turned an angry deep red color, and black edges were it had been singed. Daz gasped, immediately flitting to Mistress's hands and flying around them in quick, worried circles. Once more Hell Fire caught the golem and set her back on the bed post.

Hell Fire sighed and closed her solid red eyes (lacking pupils and with the whites actually a light red), looking rather frustrated. "I told the brat she shouldn't have accepted this job. Her body reacts negatively every time she touches that Innocence stuff. It's infected her." Hell Fire said. Daz gave an involuntary cry of shock and worry mixed together. Hell Fire rolled her eyes. "Oh, shush. She's not going to die. Elizabeth is tougher than that. Her body has practically already completely gotten rid of the infection. She just needs another couple of days. In the mean time, she needs to stay here, away from everyone else. Nobody can come in." She said, and Daz, hearing the unspoken command and following it, flew to the door and locked it. Hell Fire pulled up a chair and sat down, prepared to wait patiently for Elizabeth's illness to pass.

-Three Days Later-

Elizabeth slowly sat up; head feeling fuzzy and body feeling rather on the numb side. She didn't have much time to contemplate these feelings before a dark but feminine voice spoke.

"You, child, have gone too far this time." Elizabeth looked at the katana-turned-human. "Hello, there, Hell Fire. Fancy seeing you here." She said, rubbing her temples in a vain attempt to stop the fast approaching headache that was most definitely going to hit her in the next five minuets. Hell Fire just sighed, only mildly irritated. "Now isn't the time to be funny. We need to talk." She said. "Well, be quick about it. I've got the mother of all headaches about to get me in a few moments." Elizabeth said.

"Alright. I'll be blunt, then. You need to quite this job. The Innocence is damaging your body in a bad way. Continue playing this silly role as an exorcist, and you'll get burnt." Hell Fire said, crossing her legs in a ladylike fashion. "But I'm already burnt, if you haven't noticed. And this job is so much fun." Elizabeth said mockingly, holding up her hands, which had almost completely healed but were still a light pink color. Hell Fire sighed, still only slightly frustrated. "How did I know you'd say that?" She asked. "'Cuz you've known me almost my whole life?" Elizabeth chirped happily, despite the headache that was really starting to rear its ugly (and painful) head. "Hm, I suppose that would make sense. Well, despite how much you annoy me, these are for you.", Hell Fire said, and, standing for the first time in three days, walked to the side of Elizabeth's bed and held out a pair of black backless and fingerless gloves. Elizabeth took the gloves, somewhat confused, but smiled as she felt the tingle of protective magic that they were soaked in.

"Aw, what strong magic for 'lil ol' me." She said in singsong and slipped the gloves on. They were a perfect fit. Hell Fire just patted her head, a motion Elizabeth had long known meant she was welcome. "Just try to be careful from now on, ok? I'm getting really sick of having to babysit your ass." Hell Fire said, and Elizabeth knew this was the closest thing to affection she'd be getting from her long time protector and sitter. "You got it, Joe." Elizabeth said, giving Hell Fire a double thumbs up. Hell Fire just rolled her eyes at the nickname, and, in another wave of heavy magic, was once more a blood red katana. Elizabeth smiled and got out of bed and stretched. She was overdue for a trip to the cafeteria.

-End of Chapter 7-

A/N: I have noticed a distinct lack of reviews. I haven't gotten any new ones in a REALLY long time, and it's making me kind of sad and upset at the same time. I know people are reading this story, because my story traffic on my profile says so. Yet, no one is leaving reviews. I work super hard on these chapters and would sooooooooooo appreciate some support and love for them. Even if it's just a sentence or two, it'll make me feel really good and motivate me to keep writing this story. And your reviews will NOT go unnoticed. I'm one of those people who reply to them. So, please, take a minuet or two and drop me a review. It would mean a lot to me.

-Cat