Disclaimer: I do not own any characters referenced


Knock. Knock. No response. The hinges on the door creaked as Lysandra pushed it open.

Someone sat up in the bed across the small room. A delicately built girl with porcelain skin and small hands that were gripping the white sheets tightly. Her hair was a reddish gold, and her intelligent eyes citrine. She was very beautiful, except for the deep scars on both of her gaunt cheeks, and the unhealthy tinge to her skin.

The scent of sick hit Lysandra.

"Eva...?" She asked, sneaking into the room and closing the door behind her. Evangeline furrowed her brows softly, taking a damp cloth from her brow and laying it on the bedside table.

"What time is it?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"It's very early… I'm sorry I didn't return home yesterday evening. I was out with Aedion and we got held up."

Evangeline took one short look at Lysandras messy hair and crinkled clothes before a knowing smile made its way onto her lips.

"The boy you like?" Her voice was a raspy whisper. Lysandra let out a sad laugh, sitting on the edge of Evangeline's bed.

"How have you been doing?" She clasped Evangeline's hands in her own, but Evangeline pulled back.

"Not well. I wouldn't want to infect you too-" Her words were cut short when she started coughing. Lysandra grimaced.

She took out a thermometer from the drawer beside the bed and gave it to the sight of the unnaturally high number, Lysandra's voice broke, "Your temperature has gotten worse."

"Too be expected."

"I'll take up another part-time job tomorrow. We're still quite a while away from paying off your debt to Madame Clarisse and I have to start saving for your highschool fees and most importantly, your treatment."

"I don't have to go to highschool-"

"Yes. Yes, you do, Eva. If push comes to shove, I'll drop out so you can start. You know Madame Clarisse only pays for one education per family."

"But you already payed off your debt!"

"She still considers me your sister though."

Evangeline coughed again, more violent by the second.

"Does it hurt?" Lysandra asked, her words laced with concern. A weak nod. Running her fingers through Evangeline's limp hair, Lysandra frowned.

"You could ask that Ashryver boy to lend you some money…" Evangeline mumbled and Lysandra shook her head. "I know that Aedion would give me the money. But I don't want to use him like that. I'm done with getting money through others. There's always a price to pay. I learned that from Arobynn. If there's one thing I'm set on with all my heart is to never let it seem like I'm using or asking too much of Aedion. He means too much to me…"

Another fit of coughing. Lysandra brushed her thumb along the scars on Evangeline's cheek. "I can't apologize enough for everything you've had to go through because of me… I'm just asking for a little more time."

"Take as much as you need. And don't apologize. Especially not for these petty scars. I'm thankful for them. I know that if someone had debt and looked somewhat pretty, Madame Clarisse would force them to work as courtiers under her wing to pay it off. You saved me from that dark future. I also understand that you wouldn't want to get him mixed up with that business."

"What you don't know, can't hurt you…" Lysandra murmured, abruptly standing up. "I'll get you some tea and a new washcloth. We'll see the doctor again tomorrow. See what treatment we can get for the amount I've saved up until now. Get some more rest. The tea should be ready in five. Sound good?"

Evangeline's only response was a shaky nod before lying back down. With a devastated smile, Lysandra kissed the tip of her nose and pulled the hem of the sheet to tickle her chin. Evangeline barked, "Lys, no! You'll catch it too if you do that!"

Lysandra simply giggled and left the room with a soft wave.


"Stupid old man with all his stupid requests and stupid attitude and stupid red hair that makes him look like a stupid fucking tomato." Nox grumbled while trudging down the hall, his back hunched and hood up. His hands dug in his pockets, he reminisced of Arobynn's sinister smile as he had ordered Nox to retrieve the new school books for him.

"Stupid lazy old man with all his stupid lazy requests and stupid lazy attitude and stupid lazy red hair that makes him look like a stupid fucking LAZY tomato."

"You sound bitter."

"AAAARGHHHHH!" Nox fell back at the sight of the person in front of him. "By the wyrd, Sorrel, you scared the living shit out of me!"

"Not my fault." She didn't offer him as much as a hand.

"Why the hell are you even in school? It's the weekend."

"I was in the library with Ghislaine."

Nox stood up and cocked his head, carelessly dusting himself off. He mused, "Library… What's that?"

He waited for Sorrel's laughter with a plastered grin, but the only sound that met him was crickets chirping. Nox smile faltered as he watched Sorrel play the pre-recorded audio from her phone. He dragged his hand down his face with a sigh and asked, "Why do you have that audio on your phone?"

"For precise moments like this." Sorrel responded with a half-shrug.

"You're the worst kind of person. You know that?" He spat, leaning against the lockers, to which she scoffed, "Then you've yet to meet my sisters."

Their brief moment of silence was interrupted by Sorrel abruptly asking, "So why were you swearing out that 'stupid lazy old man' again?"

"The bastard is forcing me to do his dirty work for him and get him the new books!"

Hands stemmed on her hips, Sorrel seemed to contemplate for a little before nodding towards Nox and ordering, "Lead the way."

With a slightly confused look, the boy complied and started walking towards Arobynn's office, Sorrel close at his heels. After what seemed like mere moments, Nox spun around with a slightly aggravated glint in his eye. "Why are you following me?"

With a curled lip, Sorrel muttered, "Dunce… I'm helping you with the books. There're a lot of student in our class, so naturally the number of books might be too much for you to handle."

"Are you underestimating me?"

"I'm doubting you." With that, she spun on her heels and started down the hall once more, seemingly having grasped that the office was their destination.

When they arrived, Nox nonchalantly grabbed a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Sorrel trailed along as he strolled into the Arobynn's office.

"Arobynn must trust you a lot to give you his keys."

"The only thing Arobynn trusts is his ability to threaten and blackmail people." Nox sneered, opening the closet beside Arobynn's desk to find two stacks of thick history books.

Sorrel frowned. "Why do you let him boss you around this way?"

Handing her one of the two stacks, he kicked the closet door shut and huffed. "I tolerate pretty much any treatment in general. It's just the type of person I am. Being a somewhat poor orphan amongst wealthy snobs isn't really the best way of growing up. You know, I travel alone sometimes, and I'll put up with anything. I'll book a ticket on some garbage airline, like Rompier Airlines. - Gods, did you know that Kaltain's entire family and employees are just as bad as she is?"

With a soft chuckle, Sorrel nodded, listening to Nox' story attentively as he struggled to lock the office door and they made their way down the hallway.

"So, I digress, I'll book a ticket on Rompier Airlines and I'll show up at the airport and I'll go, 'Can I get on the plane now, please?'
And they go: 'No. It's delayed nine hours.' And I go: 'Okaaay!' Because I don't know how to deal with social situations! And then I go to the bathroom. And then I come out of the bathroom and I go: 'Any updates?' and they go: 'Yeah, we took off while you were in the bathroom. Because we hate you. Now take this meal voucher that doesn't work, go fetch!' And I go: 'Okaaay!' and I go over to the Wolfgang Puck Express and go: 'Can I have a sandwich please?' and they go 'NO!'
And I go: 'Okaaay!' And they go: 'You're a little fat girl, aren't you?' And I go: 'Nooo,' and they go: 'SAY IT!' and I go: 'I'm a little fat girl.' And then I go over to the Delta Help Desk, which is an oxymoron, and I go: 'Can I please go home on an airplane?' and they go: 'No! In fact, we're gonna frame you for murder! And you're gonna go to jail for thirty years!' And I go: 'Why are you doing this to me?!' And they go: 'Because ~ we're Delta ~ Airlinens ~ and life is a fucking nightmare!~' And THAT is why I hate Kaltain AND why I struggle standing up to people of higher ranking than me! Tadaa!"

Sorrel snorted, "What a life story."

"Definitely not exaggerated."

"Of course not."

Nudging the door to their classroom open with his elbow, Nox gestured for her to proceed. "Ladies first."

"What a gentleman."

"I sense a hint of sarcasm…"

Sorrel dropped the books onto the teacher's desk with a loud thump and turned to him, cocking her head ever-so-slightly as he stated with a bitter-sweet smirk, "Never."

With a scoff, Nox dropped his stack off next to hers and chucked Arobynn's keys into the top drawer of the desk.

"The door's unlocked. You sure the keys will be safe?"

"Sorrel, only pranksters steal keys. And no prankster would ever waste their time in school on the weekend."

She shrugged. "Whatever you say."

The two ended up strolling alongside one another as they made their way to the exit of the school.

"You know," Nox started, "You're always quiet and intimidating in school, but all things considered, you're quite fun to be around."

She averted her gaze to hide the faint blush creeping up her neck.

"Thanks, I guess." She muttered. "Why don't you talk more between classes? You would make far more friends."

"I don't need friends. I have my family and their relations."

"The Blackbeaks?"

"And Yellowlegs and Bluebloods."

Nox folded his arms behind his neck, deep in thought for a moment before a grin made its way onto his face.

"Fair enough," he muttered, swinging open the exit doors, the soft autumn breeze sending Sorrel's hair adrift. Nox laid an arm around her shoulders and smiled aloofly at her. "But now you've got me as a friend as well."


A/N: I know, I've been away for a very long while, but that's because I was studying for this big entrance exam (which I passed ^^), then I had a fever, then I got a new laptop and had problems installing word and then I was working on a big project we have to do for school, so sorry if this chapter doesn't live up to your expectations, but it's the best I could do at the time ;;

Hope you enjoyed! Please review! Ja ne!