Thanks for the feedback guys and all the favourites and follows.
Note: Quite a long chapter so make sure you're comfortable =)
"Ready for your close up Miss Croft?" Sam asked, opening the door to Lara's room.
"Sam!" Lara grabbed her shirt and clutched it at her chest. "This is not appropriate!"
"What? You're wearing a bra," she said, readjusting the camera on her shoulder. She grinned. "Besides, I think this might appeal to audiences."
Lara turned her back to her and put her blouse on. She turned back and glared at Sam as she buttoned it up. "Not going to happen," she said firmly.
Sam pouted playfully, "Are you sure?" Lara gave her that stern, 'I'm going to kill you if you try' look. "Well I could settle for something else. Come on; let's get a shot of that infamous wound!"
Sam's father had brought her a new Arri to replace the one that was lost on Yamatai and she was eager to use it. It was a nice gift, as her father could have easily just lent her a camera. I guess he was serious about helping my career, she thought as she reflected on it.
Lara rolled her eyes but pulled up the edge of her shirt. Sam walked closer until the lens was only a hands length away and panned around it.
The sight of it still made Sam wince even though she had seen it plenty of times before. It was slightly larger than when Lara first got it as they had to cut out the infected flesh. The wound was sealed with three or so stiches and the rise was still a rather crusted red colour.
"Gee that has to hurt." Sam said, moving the camera back up to Lara.
Lara lowered her shirt again. "That's what painkillers are for," she said, taking two from the bottle. "At other times the pain is bearable."
Sam lowered the camera. "Didn't you take some pills four hours ago?" she asked.
"Yeah but I can take another two every four hours as required," she said. "Don't worry about it."
"Do you want some beer with that?" she suggested. "You look like you need some Dutch courage."
Lara paused for a moment then furrowed her eyebrows. "I'm not allowed to take alcohol with drugs," she said, unsmiling.
"I know I was just trying to lighten the mood." Sam said. "You're really tense."
Lara fixed her sleeves. "It's my first interview," she said, "You dad could have waited at least a week before agreeing to a proper one."
Sam shrugged. "He didn't want to waste time. It's already been two weeks. Besides, would you rather have a press conference?" Lara grunted and picked up a black jacket. "Not that," Sam put her camera down and took the jacket from her. "You're not applying for a job."
She put it back in the wardrobe and searched for something more suitable. Yesterday, Sam had taken Lara out shopping for clothes after they had finished going through the contract. Lara only had two outfits which Jonah had picked out for her, and no offence to Jonah but he didn't have a very good fashion sense. Sam brought Lara a couple of shirts, pants, jackets and two belts. Lara must have rolled her eyes every time Sam picked up a new shirt and Sam must have rolled hers every time Lara put one back.
"This one." She brought out a brown leather jacket. It was a little tight on Lara but it suited her new 'tough but smart' look. Sam fixed her collar then took a step back. "Yeah…way better," she said, smiling at her work.
Lara rubbed the back of her neck. "Thanks," she said shyly. She sat down on the bed and began pulling her boots on.
Sam sat down next to her. "Always a pleasure," she smiled. Lara returned her smile for a second then went back to frowning at her boots.
Thus was the mutability of her mood these days.
Sam allowed herself to gaze at Lara for a second. Lara's brooding pout was so cute, yet disparaging at the same time. She was in pain, even if she didn't want to admit it. It wasn't easy seeing someone you cared about suffer and knowing what you were doing wasn't enough to help. Sam wanted to reach out and take away her pain with a touch, a hug, a kiss.
"What?!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Lara asked, startled.
It took Sam a moment to realise she had spoken aloud. "Huh? Oh nothing," she dismissed, feeling her cheeks redden. "I'll wait for you downstairs." She left before she made a bigger fool of herself.
Geez, what was happening to her? She wanted to help her friend so much but that didn't mean she wanted to make out with her.
Did it?
Sure, Lara was hot. You had to be asexual to deny that. But what she was feeling towards Lara had nothing to do with her beauty. She was the Byronic hero; tormented, moody, cynical and that was what drew Sam in. It was everything that Lara was but her best friend wasn't and it was her best friend whom she wanted back…but then again Byronic heroes were usually attractive.
Okay, stop, she thought, irritated. Why couldn't she figure out these confusing feelings towards her friend? Why did she even have to have these feelings in the first place? It wasn't what she needed right now.
The driver was waiting for her at the front door. Her father was nowhere to be seen. "Where's my father?" she asked the driver in Japanese.
"Mr Nishimura told me to tell you he would meet you at the studio," he responded. "And there is a large amount of reporters outside. They do not seem to moving despite my requests."
Typical. Her father couldn't even be bothered to tell them himself that he was going. Sam growled to herself but was cut short by the sound of Lara coming down the stairs. She couldn't think about this now. "Hey!" she said, turning towards her friend. "You ready to go?"
Lara nodded, though it looked forced. "Yeah."
The driver took Sam's camera from her then opened the door. They were greeted with an inundation of noise and flashes. The driver walked quickly down the stairs but Lara was frozen stiff.
"Lara go," Sam whispered, prodding her in the back. Lara glanced back at her but she wasn't there. Hey eyes were unfocused, distant. The driver was at the gate, signalling for them so Sam grabbed Lara's hand and dragged her along. The driver cleared a path through the reporters while Sam pushed Lara into the car then bundled after her.
Sam breathed a sigh of relief when they shut the door, though she could still see the reporters through the tinted windows.
"Lara you okay?" Sam asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Lara looked at her, her eyes back to normal. "Yeah…now I am." Was she going to freeze every time she was met with journalists? If so, how would she even handle every other media activity?
The driver entered the car and turned the ignition immediately. Sam put on her seatbelt and had to remind Lara to put on hers. She tried ineffectually to start a conversation but Lara's monosyllabic responses didn't offer her much to work with. Lara folded her arms and stared out the window, retreating into a guarded silence. Sam took out her phone and browsed through her Twitter. She had attained almost a thousand new followers since she came back from Yamatai even though she hadn't Tweeted anything for almost a fortnight.
"Why did I agree to this?" Lara muttered, seemingly to herself.
Sam looked up at her. "Because you know it's a good thing," she said.
Lara looked at her. "It's better than the alternative. That doesn't mean it's good."
Sam sighed and put away her phone. Lara's pessimism was becoming infectious. "You know, if you don't want to I can tell my dad that you're not doing the interview," she suggested.
Lara brightened slightly but then she rubbed her face, and her perma-frown came back. "This is important to you. I don't want to ruin that."
Sam did not expect that. Lara always had other peoples' interests at heart but even now? It was truly endearing but she really needed to focus on herself for once. "This isn't about me. You know you're not in the state of mind with your PT-"
"I'm fine Sam," she interrupted curtly. "I'm dealing with my problems so you don't need to worry about that." Lara sighed then admitted in a softer tone, "I don't want to do this today but I need to do it sooner or later. I can't keep running." She leaned back in her seat then asked the driver in Japanese, "Can you slow down? I don't feel well."
"Shit, what's wrong?" Sam asked.
Lara leaned her head against the seat and dismissed her concern. "Nothing. My stomach's just a little upset. Probably from the painkillers so there's nothing you can do."
The driver told them in Japanese that they were at the museum. "Hey we're here," Sam looked out the window to see the large white building just a few metres from them. "This might take your mind off things."
"How so?"
Sam looked at Lara. "Your memory's like a goldfish's these days," she noted.
Lara smiled. "Goldfish can actually remember things up to three months, not three seconds."
"Are you ever going to stop being a smart-ass?" Sam asked, smiling.
"Yeah," she replied. "When you stop being wrong."
Sam punched her lightly then took her seat belt off. At least Lara still had a sense of humour. "Come on; let's pick up your precious artefacts."
Sam's uncle had transported the majority of the artefacts back to Tokyo as soon as Sam gave him the coordinates of Yamatai. Lara, as morphine-addled as she was, repeatedly insisted that the museum hold onto the artefacts because they knew how to properly take care of the fragile beauties. Her uncle was already a step ahead and had organised the curator of the Tokyo National Museum to prepare for the arrival of the artefacts.
Sam retrieved her camera then went with Lara into the museum. There were several reporters who had followed them but their driver kept them busy while they entered the museum through the back. Thankfully, only special personnel were permitted here.
Sam saw her uncle was outside, smoking a cigarette. "Sam!" he greeted. He squashed the cigarette out then embraced her niece. Sam hugged him back as best as she could whilst holding a large camera. She wished both her hands were free to savour this moment as it wasn't often Japanese businessmen showed such affection in public.
Her uncle let go of her then shook Lara's hand. "Nice to meet you Miss Croft," he said in a lightly accented tone.
Lara looked on guard as she shook his hand with a grip that must have been hard as her uncle's lip twitched. "You too Mr Nishimura," she answered without a hint of her suspicion.
"Ah, call me Sonny, please," he smiled. "Sam has told me much about you."
"Only good things I hope," she jested semi-seriously.
Her uncle smiled. "Well only time will tell if the stories are true." He became sombre. "I'm sorry about Conrad," he said. Sam could feel Lara's shields fly up. "I had the pleasure of working with him many times. He was one of the best archaeologists of this day. And a good man."
"Yeah, he was," she replied sadly. There was a shift in the atmosphere around Lara. It became darker, more melancholy. "If only he were still alive to see what came of his expedition."
"It was one of the risks involved in his career. Even after he barely escaped with his life, he said he'd never give it up for anything. I'm not happy about his death, but at least he died doing what he loved most."
"Yeah…" Lara agreed solemnly. She looked at Sam and their eyes locked for a moment. Sam could see the guilt and melancholy behind her veneer and it was disquieting. Sam wanted to comfort her friend but Lara looked away and cleared her throat. "Umm, so why don't we get on with this?" she asked, forcing a smile.
Her uncle gestured behind him, to the museums' giant warehouse of priceless artefacts. "If you would care to follow me; the curator tells me he's taken care of the artefacts personally." He led the way into the warehouse.
Sam watched her friend. She thought Lara had moved on from Roth's death; that she had reconciled herself with his absence. That was the impression she gave her.
They were descending down this path again. Repressing all this anger and sadness was never a good idea- it only meant that when it was released, it would be catastrophic. Someone was going to get hurt. And being so close, to her, Sam was directly in the firing line.
Sam shook her head slightly and hoisted the camera onto her shoulder. She could ask Lara about it later. She fell back a little more so she could fit both her uncle and Lara in the frame before she began filming.
Her uncle talked to Lara about the artefacts- how excavation of the island was going, the amount of artefacts they managed to recover and the general condition of them. Lara commented occasionally but her uncle was a lot more amiable than her father and it wasn't long before Lara gradually was going on and on about the detail of fans, vases, daggers and loads of other stuff.
They entered another large room with stacks of drawers lining the walls. There was also a whole load of other apparatus made for the safe storage of time-worn relics. It was a very clean, white, sterile environment which looked quite impressive but contrived.
Her uncle led them through the labyrinth until they reached a small section where a middle-aged man was studying pieces of a vase in one of the drawers. Her Uncle introduced them to Mr Po, the curator who digress too often, too fast. Sam knew that Lara knew a bit of Japanese but Sam's uncle had to translate Po's rapid fire words for her. Lara responded politely in her best Japanese which seemed to bring her some pleasure, even if it was broken by language.
After their five minute talk about archaeology, Sam's uncle asked Mr Po to show them the artefacts. Sam focused the camera on Po's movements as he showed them three Noh masks.
"As you can see we have stored it as best as we could here." Po said proudly. "I would love to have more time to study them. There are more artefacts in other drawers; would you like to see them?"
Lara nodded, smiling. She was clearly impressed.
Po showed them the rest of the artefacts. There weren't many as excavating was time consuming. Lara had told her their positions needed to be recorded, they needed to be photographed in situ then a whole five hundred other steps before they could be transported. Despite that, Lara still seemed happy to see her discoveries intact. Archaeology was always the anecdotal touch to any ailment for her.
Her uncle gradually started talking business- mainly what would happen with the artefacts- with Po and Lara and Sam grew bored. Lara went out to the main area of the museum and Sam followed her, intending to get some more footage of Lara's historical expertise.
They passed exhibitions of Japanese masks, folding panels of Kyoto and ancient calligraphy. At each stop, Lara gave her thoughts to the camera. The confidence with which she talked about every detail of every relic reminded Sam of Whitman when he was on his show- though a nicer, less of an asshole, smarter version.
Lara stopped at a display of a life-sized clay man. She stroked the bottom lip with her thumb, a pensive look on her face.
"Terracotta Warrior's huh?" Sam asked, taking a few seconds on the man then focusing the camera on Lara.
Lara glanced at her and unfolded her arms. "The Terracotta Warriors; made by Emperor Qin- a very paranoid man who sought immortality. Well he's immortal, but not in the way he wanted.
What's amazing about these sculptures is that no two of them are the same. Each were individually painted though exposure to the air destroyed the original pigmentation so it's hard divine their original colouring. About seven-thousand of them were made so Qin had an army in the afterlife. He had almost everything built- scribes, artists even his own circus of acrobats and strongmen."
"Check out the human Wikipedia page everyone." Sam remarked. "Think they're going to come alive like in The Mummy?"
Lara smirked. "Not in this world." She looked at Sam with a knowing glimmer in her eyes. "But who knows these days eh?"
Sam shivered silently. Geez that was a creepy thought. She still had nightmares about Oni rising from the ground; their desiccated fingers reaching for her neck. Even creepier, the entire zombie army worshipping the ground she walked on.
It was nice that Lara could joke about this supernatural world, though a little morbid for her liking.
They turned around as Sam's uncle approached them.
"The artefacts are going to be transferred to my personal storehouse," he told Lara, "If you wish, you could take some home for study."
Sam's phone started ringing and she answered it as her uncle and Lara continued their conversation.
"Samantha," her dad said instantly. "Are you near?"
"Well hello to you too," she replied.
"Sam," he said sternly.
Sam rolled her eyes, even though her dad couldn't see her. "I'm at the museum with Uncle. Maybe thirty minutes away from the studio?"
"Hurry up. Mr Marlow will be here soon and we don't want to keep him waiting." He hung up.
Sam sighed and turned around. "Sorry Uncle but we need to go," she said, interrupting him.
Her uncle nodded. "I understand. It was nice meeting you Lara. And Sam," he embraced her once more, "I'm glad you're safe."
Sam smiled and pressed her head against his shoulder. "Thanks Uncle," she said softly in Japanese. He released her and then she walked with Lara to the entrance of the museum. Sam quickly texted the driver then pretty much ran with Lara back to the car. A few reporters dogged them but as soon as they closed the door, the driver took off.
"Well that wasn't a bad start was it?" Sam asked Lara after a few seconds.
Lara
"Are you alright?" Sam asked Lara after a few seconds. "About Roth I mean."
Lara leaned back in her seat. "What are you talking about?" she asked as nothing had happened.
"You just seemed a little sad when my Uncle brought him up."
Lara rubbed her jaw in that anxious way that had become a habit for her. "It's just strange hearing someone who knew his work talk about him," she said. "It's not until I see how happy everyone is in this world that I realise what a dull place it is without him. And I suppose it makes me wonder what would happen if things were different. "
Sam hesitated, unsure of what to say. The right words never came to her as easy as they did before and Lara never responded to them in the same way. She touched Lara's shoulder and said, "It's natural to feel a little sad when someone you love dies. It's alright that you mourn a little. But you couldn't have done anything to save him so you can't keep thinking about what could have been."
Lara's lips downturned and Sam knew that was the wrong thing to say. She mentally kicked herself and quickly said, "Okay that wasn't-"
"Yeah I get it," Lara interrupted, brushing her hand off roughly. "Thanks."
"Lara-"
"How are things with your dad?" she asked quickly, turning to her. "You always seem disappointed whenever you talk to him."
Sam frowned and had to restrain the growl in her throat. This attitude of Lara's was just as bad as stubborn kids' who would plug their fingers in their ears and go 'La la la la la'. But she answered Lara's question. "My dad's a dick," she said as nonchalantly as she could. "He's always been and I've accepted that a long time ago. That's all there is to it."
Lara blinked at her then looked out the window without another word. Sam leaned back and rested her head against the car frame, trying not to think about the mess of the situation before her.
"He does love you, you know," Lara said after a moment. Sam looked over to see Lara looking back at her. "It's hard to see but it's there."
"He doesn't give two shits about me," she said, unable to repress her annoyance. "And if he does love me he has a funny way of showing- that is, not showing it at all."
"I don't think he knows how to show it," Lara said gently. "He is a Japanese businessman after all."
"And he always will be, twenty four seven. That's never going to change so why bother?"
"Sam…"
"Lara leave it," she snapped. She didn't want to argue about her father of all people with her best friend. "I'm cool with this so you should be too."
Lara furrowed her brows but she looked sad more than irritated. Sam tried to ignore the annoyance that she felt. "Okay," she said, "But I'm here if you want to talk about it."
Sam met Lara's eyes. "The same goes for you."
Lara turned away and Sam could see she now was irritated. "I know," she said simply.
The rest of the journey progressed in silence.
It turns out they only took twenty minutes to get to BBC studios. Her father had organized Lara's first interview with BBC because, surprise surprise, they paid the most. The place was quite small compared to other skyscrapers in Tokyo but it was still rather large. Sam's father was waiting for them at the bottom of the elevator dressed in his usual attire- a black suit and cold blue tie. Sam thought it fit him perfectly.
"Good you are here. How are you feeling Lara?" he asked, though Sam knew it was more courtesy than concern.
"Nervous," she said. "How long is this going to take?"
"The interview will go for half an hour. And you'll be fine- being anxious before something like this is normal. Let's go." He ushered them into the elevator then pressed the button for floor 3.
Sam looked played with the buttons on her camera, agitated and wishing there was some easy blue elevator music to ease the awkward ten year silence. Sam felt someone bump her shoulder and she looked to see Lara say a silent reassurance with her eyes. Sam nodded half-heartedly to her as the doors dinged open.
Somehow Lara always knew how the situation really was.
Her father led them to studio C14 which was quite small compared to others that Sam had been to. A middle aged man with silvered hair styled in the semblance of a military crew cut walked up to them with a friendly smile across his face. A blonde woman in her twenties followed him with an Ipad in her hands. Sam recognised the man as Joseph Marlow, a professional journalist from the UK that had composed some rather evocative stories on obscure events and people.
As the man approached her, Sam saw Lara put a foot back in a defensive manner and her hand move to her hip. It relaxed into its normal position a second later. No one else seemed to notice it and Sam didn't think Lara did either.
"Mr Nishimura," Marlow greeted, shaking his hand. "And Lara Croft, the guest of the hour. It's a pleasure to have you here." He offered his hand to her which Lara took stiffly after a moment's hesitation.
"Thank you. It's also an honour to meet someone as respected as yourself," Lara said with British courtesy. "How about we dive straight into this interview?"
"Of course. If you need anything just ask my Nina, my assistant-"he gestured to the woman- "and she will be happy to help you." The woman nodded and smiled. "Okay well make up is over there and someone will show you to your seat when you're done. And once again, thank you for taking your time to talk with us."
Sam was about to go film Lara when her dad called her. "What is it?" she asked.
Her father showed her list of topics on his tablet. "I've spoken to Marlow and these are the topics that we have agreed can be addressed. Could you inform Lara of this?"
Sam looked over the list then copied it over to her phone so she couldn't forget it. The topics were all pretty standard- finding the island, what happened on the island and what the discovery meant for the world- stuff like that. But two points on there- one about the people who died and the other about how this affected the survivors. "You might want to tell Marlow that he can't talk about two and five and tell him to be cautious when talking about three."
Her father looked at her, his shaped eyebrows furrowed slightly. "Cautious how?" he asked. He seemed genuinely bemused at Sam's comment.
"What Lara did to survive is a touchy subject for her- even more so now because everyone is judging her. And if you are thinking that this would be a juicy piece of gossip, don't because this can easily backfire and damage her reputation and thus, yours."
Instead of insisting and attempting to persuade Lara to talk about all the topics like Sam thought he would, he nodded. "Very well. I will sort this out with Marlow. You go tell Lara."
Sam stared at her father for a moment, surprised. That reputation thing must have really got through to him.
She shrugged it off and then walked over to Lara who was waiting anxiously in her make-up chair. Her fingers were tapping the arm of the chair like she was sending a Morse code distress signal and her feet were jittering up and down.
"That's good," Sam said, focusing the camera on Lara. "Maybe a little more blush though."
The make-up artist huffed indignantly and Lara turned to the artist saying, "Umm please no."
The make-up artist pointed her brush at Sam. "For your information we want to show off her scars so a little bit of blush and toner is all that's needed. Please stick to holding a camera while I work my magic." Lara moved her face slightly as the artist brushed her cheeks.
"I suppose that's for the best," she said to Lara, "You look better without makeup anyway."
The make-up artist cleared her throat and Lara raised an eyebrow. "I don't know if I've just been insulted or complimented."
Sam shrugged, smiling. "Take it how you will."
"How are you even allowed back here with a camera?"
"This is B-roll," Sam explained, 'besides my father has his ways." She took out her phone. "Read that. Those are the topics they'll be talking about today." As Lara skimmed over the text, she seemed to relax ever so slightly but Sam could see her mind working, the gears clicking as she prepared her speech.
"So how are you feeling now?" Sam asked.
Lara looked at Sam then addressed the camera. "If anyone wants to swap call me in the next five minutes."
Sam smirked. "Relax Lara; you're a natural on camera. Just be your nerdy self and you'll be fine."
"Easy for you to say; you're not the one being interrogated."
"Gee 'interrogated' is such a harsh word." She lowered the camera. "Word of advice-" She put a hand over Lara's to stop her tapping- "Don't let them see you stress. They will take any opportunity to eat you."
"That makes me feel so much better," Lara said sarcastically. But she smiled appreciatively and her hands and feet ceased jumping.
"Good luck," Sam said, picking up her camera again. "I'm going to go ask Marlow some questions. If you need me-"
"I know, you're here." Lara finished brusquely, her thankful tone gone.
Sam pressed her lips together. She had no idea what she had done to vex Lara so and the fact that she wouldn't tell her was irritating. She was just trying to help. Sam ignored the negative thought then hoisted the camera onto her shoulder and went to go find Marlow.
It was another five minutes before the shoot began and that gave Sam an opportunity to get maybe two minutes of footage with Marlow and some other crew. Marlow was a polite and nice man. He had the same British courtesy Lara had though he was a lot more professional. It made sense though; he was constantly on camera and had to watch everything he said. Saying that, it didn't seem Marlow cared about Lara's situation unlike the rest of the world did: he was just doing his job.
When the interview began, Sam put her camera down and then walked to stand next to her father.
The cameraman began the countdown. "We're on in five, four three, two…"
O'Brien addressed the camera. "Today we have an exclusive interview with Lara Croft: the rising archaeologist who recently discovered the mythical island of Yamatai." He turned to Lara. "It's a pleasure to have you here Lara. So tell me, how does it feel making this momentous discovery?"
Lara cleared her throat. "Unbelievable. When I first realised that I was on Yamatai, I think I needed to take a moment for it to sink in. Yamatai had been lost for hundreds of years, and the fact that my crew have found it's…it's still quite surreal. It's a moment that I'm not going to forget. "
"Now I don't know much about Yamatai but apparently many people have tried to discover this place for years. How much did you have to do to finally deduce its location?"
Lara smiled and Sam had to do so as well as she remembered all those late nights Lara had spent reading and re-reading textbooks. "There's no way you can be certain. For three years I studied charts, maps, journals, myths- you name it, for any clue of where the island was. In the end I didn't turn up much evidence but I just knew that Yamatai was somewhere in the Dragon's Triangle."
"So you guessed?"
"It was more of a hunch."
"So your instinct, it sounds much like your father- Richard Croft. He was a renowned archaeologist yet controversial in the archaeological world as he was seen to chase myths and tales. You are following in his footsteps…. But how did you know you weren't chasing a dream like he did?"
Sam saw Lara's face harden as did her tone. "My father was a great man," she almost snarled, "He could see more than most and what he did wasn't a fairy tale. I'm proud to be his daughter and as you can see, Yamatai is clearly not a dream."
"Umm dad," Sam said, turning to her father. "Maybe we should get Lara off."
Her father dismissed it. "It's only been two minutes. Besides, Lara can handle it."
Sam wasn't so sure about that.
"Lara I meant no offence by it," Marlow apologised. "How about we move onto another question?"
"That would best," Lara agreed critically.
"So with this hunch just to guide you, Did you ever think you would be so serendipitous on the day you set out?"
Lara's eyes had that glimmer which was askance to a wolf's. All friendliness was gone, replaced by a wary defence. "When I set out that day, I had no idea about what was installed for me. I always craved adventure, but instead, adventure found me. Yamatai was ground-breaking, but four people died on that trip and honestly, it wasn't worth it."
Sam blinked. She understood how the attack on her father could be affronting but why was she becoming so hostile? Marlow made an innocent mistake based on ignorance but it wasn't a reason to regard the journalist as if he were a prowling bear.
The hostile change in Lara was worrying and seemingly random. Lara's brows were furrowed ever so slightly and she was looking at Marlow like he was a prowling bear, though she didn't think anyone else saw it. "I see… "Marlow continued, obviously trying to pull the interview back on track. "Now we've heard vague details about what happened on Yamatai from one of your fellow survivors Samantha but can you give us your account of what really happened?"
Lara shifted in her seat then said, "We arrived in the Dragon's Triangle at night. The Triangle was a high storm area- even though it isn't now. The Endurance- our ship, was shipwrecked by a storm that Himiko- who was the Sun Queen back in the days of Yamatai- conjured."
Marlow blinked and Sam gaped at Lara. What was she doing?
"So this Queen Himiko who ruled Yamatai thousands of years ago summoned a storm to destroy your ship?" Marlow asked, looking at Lara as if he thought she said the wrong thing.
Lara rubbed the back of her neck. "I know it's hard to believe but it's what happened."
"What is she talking about?" Sam heard her father whisper to her. "This wasn't what we discussed."
Sam shook her head, still dumbstruck. "I…I don't know," she said. She was telling the truth but surely she knew how crazy this would sound to the rest of the world? Surely Lara had more sense than to tell the world about all the supernatural shit? "I think we should get her off."
"No… let's see where she's going with this."
Oh god. He probably thought this was some clever ploy by Lara to rack up publicity.
"After that… We encountered a cult of men called the Solarii. They were led by a…deranged man called Mathias and they were all convinced that he had the answers to everything- namely getting off the island. They followed his every order, worshipped Himiko with sacrifices and were pretty much left to their own free will with the exception of what I mentioned."
"So these vicious men… did they give you those injuries which look so painful?"
Lara grimaced. "…Yes they attacked us but Yamatai was equally as cruel."
"You must have been lucky that things weren't as bad as they could have been."
Lara frowned and Sam saw her hand twitch. Marlow was clearly vexing her but Sam couldn't see why. Her answers didn't make much sense either. "I think that depends on what side of the window you're standing on," she growled.
Marlow, the professional journalist he was, clearly chose to ignore the aggression. "Either way, from what we have heard and from the stories your scars tell, getting off the island must have been a miracle."
Lara smirked and glanced at Sam as if they were sharing a secret. Yet what that secret was Sam had no idea. "I agree," Lara told Marlow.
"Your survival has to have been as much attributed to your efforts to survive on the island as much as luck." Marlow continued. "Your fellow survivor Samantha, tells us that you were pretty much the meat shield on the island. She describes you as courageous, brave, determined- a hero."
Lara froze, though this wasn't like when she was confronted with the reporters. "I'm not a hero," she muttered.
Marlow went on like Lara hadn't suddenly quieted. "Come on Lara, you discovered the long lost island of Yamatai. You're a pioneer of our knowledge of the ancient world." Lara began breathing faster. "You took on an army of what sounds like savage cultists and lived to tell the tale." That made Lara tense her muscles; ready to spring.
"Dad," Sam whispered urgently to her father. "I really think-"
"Shh."
"You could have easily been overwhelmed but you saved your friends and stopped an army of savages from coming to mainland and wreaking havoc on our society." In that moment, Lara's face relaxed.
Sam felt a sense of trepidation rise through her. She had seen this deadly calmness right before Lara tore into her prey, or during her ravage. Marlow was a threat. And Lara was going to deal with it.
Marlow continued, oblivious. "It's the stuff out of a movie but this hero exists right here, in this world." Lara's finger's twitched, brimming with adrenaline.
Sam had to get Lara off before Lara did something she would regret. She rushed in front of the camera and heard her dad hiss out her name. "Hey," she said, an awkward smile plastered on her face, "Why don't we all take a break huh? It will give you a chance to clean up that spill."
"What spill?" the cameraman asked.
Sam strode over to the table where a jug of water sat. She picked it up then threw it, clattering on the floor and spilling half a litre of water on the ground. Yells of incredulity sprang up on the set. "That one," she said nonchalantly. "Hurry up now you don't want someone to slip." The cameramen muttered in annoyance and told them they were off air.
Sam turned around to Lara who was still sitting as she had, seemingly oblivious to what happened. Sam was about to walk up to her when she felt her father grab her arm.
"What are you doing?" he growled in Japanese.
Sam looked back at Lara who now had risen and was walking out. "Rescuing my friend and possibly Marlow," she said, irritated at the delay. "Now I need to go to her."
"She's leaving?" he asked, just noticing. He began walking towards the exit. He swore in Japanese. "What is she doing?"
Sam ran in front of her father and stopped him from taking another step. "No, let me handle this alright? She'll listen to me." I hope.
Her father glared at her. "Fix it," he said, then turned back.
Sam rushed outside the studio and saw Lara storming towards the stairs. "Lara!" Sam called. She didn't respond.
Sam ran up to her and caught her arm. Lara turned around, eyes hard and angry.
Be careful, her mind warned. Sam took Lara's hands in hers and said as calmly as she could, "Hey sweetie, what happened in there?"
Lara squeezed her hands hard until Sam had to restrain a wince. "Marlow was riling me up," she answered roughly. "Didn't you hear the questions he was asking me?"
Sam furrowed her eyebrows. She remembered the questions Marlow asked and she couldn't find anything wrong about them. "They seemed pretty standard to me," she said.
Lara rolled her eyes like Sam was an idiot. "Come on Sam he asked me if I thought I would ever be that serendipitous. Four people died on that bloody island. How is that lucky?"
Uhhh…She saw how Lara could take that the wrong way but it was definitely an overreaction. "Marlow didn't mean it like that."
"Oh yes he did," Lara growled, letting go of her hands. Where was all this hate for the journalist coming from? Lara began pacing in front of her. "Why else would he call me a hero?" She twisted the word bitterly. "Heroes don't gun down a dozen people and loot their bodies while they're still warm. There were no heroes on Yamatai, only survivors."
Sam bit her lower lip. That phrase was hauntingly familiar.
She couldn't think about it now. Lara's train of thought was becoming harder to decipher but she needed to try to placate her. "Okay…I think you're looking too much into this," she said evenly. "You can't let your paranoia get the better of you. It's just going to make things worse."
Lara pressed her hands to her temples. "I'm fine," she said brusquely. "I'm not mentally fucked if that's what your insinuating."
And that's when it hit her.
Lara was in denial.
How did she not realise this before?
"I'm not saying you are," Sam said. "It's just…" You have PTSD? Her mind thought. You have some serious problems about Yamatai that need addressing? You're in denial? All were viable options yet Sam thought they would just make Lara dig a deeper hole. So she decided to drop the previous subject. Instead, she said quietly, "You're my hero."
Lara sighed and stopped, looking at her. For a moment, the bitterness left her eyes but she wasn't any less exasperated. She began pacing again. "You're different Sam," she said, softer. "You know what happened and you don't condemn or glorify me for it. You respect what I did because you know the reasons for it. These people- even when I try explaining it to them they won't listen past their own desire for a cheap thrill."
"Is that why you told them about how Himiko haunted us on the island?"
Lara stopped and looked at Sam. She seemed more bemused than angry now. "Why is that a problem?"
Sam felt like she was skidding on thin ice. Lara's sensitivity seemed to extend to every single topic these days. "Because it might come across as a little…crazy?" she said uncertainly.
"Like Mathias?" Lara suggested, scowling.
"I didn't say that!" she said quickly. "But now that you mention it…did you believe his stories when he strapped me to a stake or did you think he was mad?"
"I'm not like Mathias." Lara said sharply. "And I never thought you would compare me to that fucking madman."
"I didn't compare you to Mathias!" Sam should have shut up then but the stupid, ill-advised desire to help her friend drove her on. "Look I'm just saying that maybe you should leave out the bit about the supernatural goddess?"
"I'm an archaeologist Sam," Lara said, almost indignantly, "My job is to find the truth of the past; I'm not going to lie to the world."
As noble as that was, it was terribly foolish and it won't be long before a professional seriously questioned her sanity. Sam didn't understand why Lara couldn't see that and it was really trying her patience. She took a shaky breath and tried again. "I'm not asking you to lie just… omit the part which makes you sound deluded." Lara's scowl deepened and Sam quickly said, "Okay! Apparently that wasn't the best expression. How about we just go back and-"
"I'm not going back." Lara interjected. "Marlow can go fuck himself. I'm done." She stormed off towards the stairs.
"Lara come back here!" Sam yelled. When she didn't stop she asked, "Where are you going?!"
"For a walk!" Lara waved without looking back. She disappeared down the stairs.
Sam could have punched a wall right then and there. Fucking dammit!
She walked to the railing and barely suppressed her urge to kick the glass.
Great. This was the perfect time for Lara to act like a teenager. That stupid stubbornness was a real pain in the ass. Why couldn't Lara get any reason through her thick head? What the fuck was wrong with her?
Sam took a deep breath, clenching the railing and closing her eyes. Lara was just stressed. She didn't want this life. This was just the rocky start to it. It was Sam's job to make sure Lara eased into it. Even if that meant that there was a little bit more pressure on her. Lara was just stressed. She'll get over this soon. And then we'll be fine.
Sam took another, deeper breath, slowing her thoughts down. And then we'll be fine.
Sam straightened and opened her eyes. Where ever Lara went, she could take care of herself. Right now she needed to think of a way to explain this to her father. He would not be happy.