CHAPTER 12

Old Faces

Riven and Fernandina sat on the cold metal bench outside the closed library waiting for Colonel Low. They were completely miserable and utterly bored due to the fact that it was taking the Colonel over eight hours to return from archives. They had actually finished half of the books they checked out of the library all ready and they were supposed to, but not expected, to last them a week. The church bells rang 10 o clock at night which meant that they were sitting on the iceberg of a bench for over two hours freezing their bottoms off. Riven growled and slumped down on the bench and stared up at the dim yellow light that lit the shadowed street above their heads. There was nothing to occupy them at all. It was at times like these that Riven loathed cities, for if they were in Arrington in the vast country land right now, she and Fernandina would probably be looking at the stars and pretending that they were amazing astronomers of some sort. Having the stars memorized and being able to navigate with them didn't come in handy when the light pollution of the city blocked all possible fields to the black eternal depths above.

As Riven contemplated whether it would be a good idea to knock out all of the street lights within a twenty mile radius just to have something to look up at, she heard a slight flutter come from Fernandina. Though she looked perfectly still, Riven knew her sister was shifting around in her armour. A slight pain of guilt was shot through her. It must be extremely uncomfortable in that suit, not only for a normal human but one with two giant pairs of wings as well.

"Is everything alright?" Riven asked softly to her younger but taller sibling. Fernandina simply shook her head. Riven was waiting for a further explanation but nothing came. "Do you want to talk about it?" she said prodding her sister with her elbow for an extra push. Fernandina shook her head again. Riven gave a long sigh and slowly stood up from the cold bench. As she stretched her back out, Riven also took care to shake off the growing feeling of hurt. Her sister was always so open about everything. Maybe Fernandina didn't trust her enough, which was probably unlikely due to the fact that she was her older sister. They told each other everything, right? Riven looked down at her sister who was still burning a hole in the ground.

"That John guy doesn't seem to be making a rush to get us. It looks like we are going to have to find our own way back," she said softly but Fernandina did not move. Riven grabbed the crook of her arm and carefully lifted her sister to her feet. Her light footed sibling was now a boulder as her body didn't seem to want to move. Once the two of them were standing, Riven grabbed the mountain of remaining library books and started to lead her sister down the street. She tried to make a bit of small talk but she only seemed capable of giving slight grumbles or noises in response. As they silently wound their way through the forgotten streets, Riven finally realized that she had no clue where they were going and decided to back track their day all the way back to the market place. She didn't tell her sister this, for it was unnecessary for her to embarrass herself in her terrible sense of direction in cities. However, as the silence grew louder and louder Riven finally had enough. She slammed the books down to the cobblestone, nearly missing a puddle, and turned to her sister. "Tell me," she commanded.

They stared at each other for a moment grey eyes locked on each other daring the other to blink. A soft mist started to fall down on them as their silent dispute prolonged their way to their comfortable beds and a warm fire. A slight chill rand down Riven's spine as her clothes slowly dampened in the water and her automail ports began to freeze, but she ignored it. It was better to freeze to death than to have an unresponsive sister. Fernandina gave in and started to walk in the direction that they were headed in silently motioning for her elder sister to follow. Riven stooped down to pick up the books and trailed along with her sister.

After a few minutes of silence, Fernandina let out a prolonged sigh. "I was thinking," she said quietly as another soft flutter was heard from her armour, "about what you said in the library about Father." Riven looked shocked and this drove Fernandina into another few minutes of silence to try and to find the right words. The white haired girl was not expecting this, but she didn't know what she was expecting at all. "I was thinking," she started up again placing the words carefully, "That if what you saw was really true, not that I don't believe you. But if you really saw him, could it be that Father survived the fire?"

Riven nearly cried at her sister's pointless hope. Their father couldn't have gotten away from that fire, not with what happened that night. Even if he did escape with his life, he would have come and helped them or even talked to them. He wouldn't be hiding out in Midtown or some other place. Even though he wasn't the nicest person to call Dad he surely wasn't that cruel. Was he?

"No," Riven said plainly as if the question didn't faze her one bit. "No he couldn't."

"But it could have been possible even in the slightest that he did, right? I mean a body wasn't found or anything. He could have been chased off or something that night…"

"No!" Riven scolded her sister. "He couldn't, he wouldn't. Even if that bastard was still alive he wouldn't have the guts to do this to us." Fiery tears started to glass over her eyes. "I didn't see him. I couldn't have. It might have been too believable to be an illusion, but it couldn't have been him. To say that he was possibly alive would be saying that this," she said motioning to her hidden metal limbs, "Could have ended differently. We wouldn't have been stuck like this and even if we were, we surely wouldn't be alone like we are now!"

Fernandina stood stiff as she watched her older sister break down in anger. She couldn't handle the fact that her sister, who was normally criticizing people for crying like a child, was so emotionally moved with the possibilities that could have happened that night. She didn't expect this to move her sister so much. Fernandina's gaze dropped to the floor in shame of breaking her sister. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. I knew you wouldn't like the idea, I was just thinking about what could have happened." Riven calmed down and pinched the bridge of her nose trying to retain what was left of a decent composure.

"I know it was just a thought and I am not angry at you for dreaming, but the events of the past cannot be unchanged and thinking about them is pointless and stupid," She said stiffly. Her words were forced out of her mouth and tasted nasty and fowl, but they felt like they needed to be said. "Even if that night were different, and Dad was still alive, I wouldn't hesitate to give that man a piece of my mind." That was the end of it. The two of them fell back into silence as they continued to walk through the market place away from the past conversation. The mist strengthened into a pouring rain and the two sisters glumly marched. It was almost midnight when a black car pulled up beside them on the street. Benjamin, in his normal black suit and white gloves, stepped out of the car and opened the passenger doors for them.

"I have been searching for you all night. The Colonel apologizes for his tardiness and would like to talk to you two on a very important matter." The two girls noticed the normally cheery man's hint of urgency in his voice and knew that this was going to be serious. Though quite thankful for the ride and the ability to get out of the pounding rain, but the ride back to the mansion was not a happy one. It seemed to last a millennia.

Here you go. Okay it is sort of obvious what will happen next but it will still be awesome. Cause Im writing it. lol. okay well, I might not be able to post for a few days because I am going to a Thespian festival. (NOT a lesbian festival) a Thespian festival. Don't get confused, I don't act but I am sure handy in the light booth and with sound effects.