One week exactly. That's how long Kaytlin had been missing, and that's how
long Faithe had been eating herself away with guilt. She'd missed class for
three days, only catching school Thursday and Friday. Her brother had found
her about fifteen minutes after Eddie left, and had immediately taken her
to the hospital.
She looked horrible. Her complexion was pale, her left eye was a deep blue and slightly swollen, and her wrist was wrapped in a bandage, and was slowly receding from being the size of a softball. Sighing as she stared out at the lake, Faithe leaned her head up against the window. Things would be easier to get through if she had spoken to Orlando in two weeks.
Making a quick decision, she changed and crept quietly out of her room, not waking any of her dorm mates. Being as silent as she could, and keeping an eye out for another figure, she made her way through the hallways. Stopping in front of the door she knew to be Orlando's, her brown eyes darted around, double-checking she was alone. Pulling out her wand, she opened his lock, slid inside the room and shut the door quietly.
It was after midnight, and as long as they were outside by one, life would be grand. Walking quietly to his bed, being careful in the darkness, she sat on the edge. Staring at him for a few silent moments, her heart ached for the two weeks they had spent apart. Reaching down, she laid her hand on the side of his face, "Orlando?"
Speaking softly, she dropped her hand to his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Orlando...wake up."
As Orlando Lorenz's body lie stationary in his bed, one might not have thought anything wrong with Rosencrantz's Astronomy professor... had they never seen him sleeping before, at least. Contrary to his typical warm- weather sleepwear, which was, as all Orlando fans know, a mere pair of navy blue cotton pants, this particular evening (like the last thirteen), he was clad in a thin, white tank-top and a pair of dark grey boxer shorts. The past two weeks' events had changed him, and not for the better.
The stubble which so commonly gave his face a ruggedly attractive look hadn't been shaved in quite awhile, giving him an almost scruffy look, and his eyes were surrounded by dark bags, marking the fact that he hadn't gotten much sleep. Though his body would, eventually, night after night, fall asleep, the man's mind would never rest. It was always churning, thinking, primarily, of one thing in particular: Faithe.
It had been two weeks since he'd betrayed her trust, and, consequently, two weeks since they'd last spoken, kissed or even touched without a severe amount of uncomfortableness between them. She wouldn't talk to him, and Orlando couldn't blame her at all. He wouldn't talk to himself either...
The first week hadn't been so bad. The two had exchanged casual conversation, and Faithe had shown up to class every day, early, but much later than usual. The past week, however, she hadn't come Monday or Wednesday and, Friday, had finally shown up beaten, though he had seen her in such a state on Thursday as well, during meals. Upon seeing her, the man had nearly fallen apart, but, knowing what would happen if he took too personal an interest in her with such a crowd around, he had contained himself until after class on Friday, where his questions were returned with nothing but an "I have to go".
What had happened to her, he knew not, and, consequently, had been plagued by all sorts of scenarios throughout the day of Thursday, and the night as well. Nightmares with mixed memories and mentally conjured tortured had enchanted his mind, making it so he could not sleep. This night, as well, he couldn't sleep. Especially not since receiving the owl he had from Jake, which contained an article written about Kaytlin's kidnapping.
Now, his imagniation had too much to work off. Nearly driving himself insane with the possibilities, Orlando had retrieved every possible book about tracking people from the library's restricted section and laid them all out upon his bed at around ten o'clock that night. Reading by the light of a sort of globe lamp, which was a slender piece of paper with the constellations drawn out upon it with a small lamp in the center, he had spent nearly two hours pouring through them, before falling asleep with his head in a book. As he slept, more scenarios invaded his mind; some were feasible, others weren't, yet there was one chilling one that, although not possible, was absolutely terrifying to Orlando. The vision of his own father beating Faithe and Kaytlin as he himself lay crippled on the frigid stone floor of his childhood home powerless to save them, prompted his body to break out in a cold sweat.
As these flashes contorted the man's mind, he failed to feel Faithe's hand as it gently stroked his face or to pay attention to the shift of the bed springs as she sat upon them. Yet, the touch of her hand on his shoulder, accompanied by the gentle shaking, did wake up, with a start, of course.
Still panic-stricken, a cause of the nightmare, his brilliant blue eyes snapped open as his body shifted atop the pile of books turning to face Faithe. At first, he believed himself to still be dreaming, yet he could feel the sensation of her fingers upon his skin- something he had missed for a long time- and knew she was real. Taking great care not to apply pressure to any of her injuries, Orlando let out a joyful sigh at the sight of her, wrapping his arms around her as tight as he could without hurting her.
He had waited for this moment for so long, yet the circumstances were anything but ideal. He knew by the Jake's letter as well as the battering upon Faithe's skin that she wasn't in his bedroom at night for any other reason than something bad. But, she had come to him...
Sitting up, he cradled the young woman in his arms, planting a few light, feather-soft kisses upon her face and neck before gazing up into her eyes.
"I'm here, Faithe," he whispered. "Talk to me..."
Jumping slightly as he awoke with a jerk, Faithe's eyebrows came together with a worried expression over her face. Feeling his arms wrap around her, she felt her body relax for the first time in two weeks. Closing her eyes as she felt his warm lips upon her skin, she let out a shakey breath. This felt right; everything about it felt right. How did she live without him for two weeks?
Meeting his gaze, she searched his face intently, unsure of what to do or say. Reaching up with her good hand, she laid her hand on his warm cheek, her eyes still holding a look of uncertainty. Resting her forehead against his, she closed her eyes, "I love you." Whispering as she spoke, she kept her hand on his cheek, her thumb rubbing back and forth gently.
Taking a deep breath, she sat back up. "Will you come with me?" Reaching down, she took his hand, a pleading expression on her face. "Please? There's something I want to show you."
As Faithe's body relaxed into his own, the sensation of happiness that rippled through Orlando's body was unimaginable. The hell that he had gone through without Faithe for the past two weeks was all forgotten momentarily as her hand brushed against his face. Lifting his head slightly, his lips gently caressed her fingertips before allowing her to lay her forehead upon his.
At her whispered confession, the man felt his eyes close in elation as a wave of relief seemed to crash through him. He knew that she hadn't completely forgiven him yet, but this was most certainly a start; he could feel how much she had missed him as well.
"I love you, too, ma Foi," he replied, "Je te manque terriblement... I miss you terribly."
Allowing her to sit back up, Orlando loosened his grasp around her waist but couldn't have made himself let go unless she herself had asked him to. Not even making her need to ask twice, he instantly agreeed to come with her. Quizzically searching her eyes for a sign of what it was that she so desperately needed to show him, Orlando detangled his fingers from hers for a moment, only re-entangling them once Faithe had been properly situated in his arms so that he could carry her.
"I'll go with you to the ends of the earth, but you're not walking there," he replied quietly, "Tell me where we're going, and I'll apparate you there."
A small sound escaped her lips as she felt his lips on her fingertips, and she closed her eyes as she welcomed the familiarity. Her stomach fluttered at the sound of his words, taking a small breath as she felt the caress of his voice. "I miss you too..." There was so much emotion in her voice, is a wonderment to herself that she didn't break down in tears right then and there.
Wrapping one arm around his neck, she couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips. Tightning her fingers around his, she rested her head against his shoulders. "Down to the dock."
*****
Once down there, she slipped out of his arms and walked to the very end, looking up at the sky. Trees covered most of the view of the sky, which is why she had other plans in mind. Slipping off her pajama bottoms, she revealed the bottom to a bikini bottom. Turning to him, she took one of his hands in hers, "There's a floating dock in the middle of the lake. Will you swim out there with me?"
She knew about how well that was going to go over with him, but she was determined to get him in the water.
Faithe's chosen destination struck fear in Orlando's heart, but, surprisingly, the man showed little of the emotion inside him. He hadn't the slightest clue at what she was getting at; perhaps it was merely a star or something she wanted to show him, or maybe she just thought of the lake as a serene place for her to talk to him. Regardless, Orlando swallowed nervously, then nodded, tightly shutting his eyes as he tightened his grip on the young woman, apparating them both about three feet inland from where the dock began.
As she slipped gracefully out of his arms, he relished in the feeling of her skin sliding against his own, and it was only when that feeling completely passed that the man's brilliant blue eyes opened. Not looking at the eerie water, they instead flitted upward, to the sky, calmed by the vision of what little stars he could see through the treetops, a small smile appeared on his lips, though, due to the thoughts in his mind, the smile was rather short of being too noticeable. He was worried about Kaytlin, about Faithe, and was somewhat uneasy about what Faithe was doing at the moment, which was walking towards the end of the dock.
Slowly turning his gaze downward, his eyes froze on the image of Faithe's body as her pants slipped off. For a moment, he hadn't a clue what she was doing, and, thus, for modesty's sake, closed his eyes and turned away. Then, studying the image that had been burned into his mind of Faithe's beautiful, flawless legs, he began to think that the small fabric his eyes had seen wasn't an undergarment, but rather a swimsuit. Curiosity getting the better of him, he hesitantly turned his head back in time to see her walk towards him and take his hand in her own.
Her words were soft and sincere, and had Orlando not been completely scared, he would have obeyed them in an instant. All things considered, the man still wanted to do as she asked, solely because doing so would mean being able to be with the woman whose presence he had been denied for the past two weeks. Taking a small breath, he gazed into her eyes for a second as his eyes slowly glanced downward to the water below.
The wind was calm that night, and it wasn't too cold, therefore, the waters were also as such. Gently lapping at the dock posts, the black water, dotted with a few stars' reflections, was beautiful, yet the memory of the last time he had slipped into the water was too much for him. Closing his eyes, he could feel the warm water of the Pacific Ocean surrounding him and hear the gentle waves as his small ten-year-old, lanky limbs paddled expertly through the waters, taking him further and further out from the coast of his home island of O'ahu.
Just standing there, still hand-in-hand with Faithe, Orlando appeared nearly tranquil for a moment, then, without warning, a shudder rippled through his body and it jolted as, in his mental flashback, the shark's teeth sunk into his leg. If one couldn't already figure out what was playing through the man's head, the way in which his left/free hand flung to his left thigh as a cringing sound escaped his lips would probably have given them a rather helpful clue.
Opening his eyes to save himself from the horror of completing the memory in his mind, Orlando shook his head and took a single step towards the water, trying to remind himself that the water before him wasn't the ocean, and that there couldn't possibly be any sharks in it. Still, his mind betrayed him and he stopped before he could make himself come any closer. 'Alright,' it seemed to say, 'there may not be sharks, but you still can't swim.
Closing his eyes again, a second fear overcame the man. Twelve years ago (for as of May 7, the Astronomy professor had compiled twenty-two years of age), after the shark had bitten him, the small boy had fought it off as best he could. In fact, despite the blood in the water, he was able to fend off the shark well enough to escape death and swam far enough away to where he could float momentarily in the water long enough to use what was left of his swim trunks to bandage the wound and prevent any more shark attractant from leaking into the water. But, by that time, the boy had to have been nearly a mile, if not more, from the coast, which, given his expertise in swimming (because it had been something he'd done all his life), was usual nothing, was, due to his expended energy that day, a near life sentence. He had swum for about a half-hour after the attack, but, not being able to use his left leg so well, hadn't gotten more than an eighth of a mile towards shore and, consequently, had just let himself slip under. He could still feel the burning in his lungs as his small body had disappeared beneath the waves. And, as the twenty-two-year-old man stood at the shore edge just then, his breath quickened and he began to shake slightly as tears flooded his eyes, yet failed to fall.
Flitting his eyes open quickly, he turned back to Faithe, squeezing her hand tightly to re-assure himself that she was still there. Once that moment had passed, he tried to form an answer. There was a part of him that was almost angry with her just then. He hadn't truly spoken to her in two weeks, which was her fault; he hadn't seen her for three days that week, which had been unexpected, and, also, her fault; she was battered, bruised and, in spite of it all, still beautiful, but she wouldn't tell him what had happened, which, obviously was her fault; she neglected to tell him about Kayte, and, had Jake not told him, he would have remained clueless, which struck a chord of dismay in his heart. also Faithe's fault; and, when the woman finally came back to talk to him, in the middle of the night, fourteen days after their first fight ever, she didn't want to talk about anything like that, only drag him out to the lake to drudge up past horrors that he knew she already knew about.
Orlando didn't understand, and, thus, tried to put together a feeble explanation of why she was acting as such. Eventually, the man concluded that she was hurt by not only what he had done to her, but by the sole events of the past two weeks, and was trying to escape that pain by focusing her mind on something else, like trying to help him overcome a fear impossible to overcome, to help him to make herself feel better about something. The thought of being used crossed Orlando's mind, but he knew that, at the moment, his relationship with Faithe wasn't strong enough to sustain itself should he voice a concern such as that. Glancing down at their entangled hands for a moment, he then gazed back up into Faithe's eyes. She needed him right now, for whatever reason, and, apart from needing her as well, Orlando wanted to help her in whatever way he could. but this wasn't possible.
"No," he replied, shaking his head at her, then turning it out to the lake, "I just can't."
That was all that passed through the man's lips: a simple, quiet reply. He hadn't felt it necessary to let her in on the terror he had just re- experienced by going into any further detail. Faithe stared at him intently, knowing his answer long before he ever said it. She knew what she was asking was silghtly unfair, but she had her reasons behind it, and they didn't have much time. Her brown eyes never leaving his blue ones, she bit her bottom lip.
She remembered the emotins that coarsed through her body that night he had tried to coax her on the broom. Her chest had tightened up with fear, and it was all she could do to keep from running off and bawling. She felt herself shrink when a look of anger crossed his face momentarily, and her eyes dropped down to the dock. Closing her eyes when his answer finally came, she brought her eyes back up to his face.
Reaching her other hand out, she caught his free hand and squeezed both his hands gently. "Orlando, please," speaking softly, there was a pleading note in her tone, and in her eyes. "I know how you feel, but I need you to do this with me. I'm going to be right there beside you, and there's nothing dangerous in this lake."
Taking a step forward, she closed some of the gap between the two. "I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I didn't think you could do it. Please...I need you." Her voice cracked on the last three words, but she held her emotions inside of her.
((Gah. Orlando's so verbose. lol. I'm sorry, that's why this post is so long))
Although his eyes weren't looking towards her, Orlando could still feel the heavy gaze of Faithe's eyes upon his face just as much as he could feel his other hand be swept up in hers. A sense of near-guilt touched him just then, as though he ought to be sorry he couldn't do what Faithe was asking. He knew that she spoke the truth, and that there was nothing dangerous in the lake. save the water itself, which he had grown to fear. He offered her a slight nod, showing that he appreciated her trying. But, throughout the last twelve years, the man hadn't so much as stepped in a puddle for fear of sinking into it, magically, of course, for he wasn't completely crazy with fear.
Her words were soft, pleading and gentle, yet they sparked bitterness in Orlando's mind. He was involuntarily begrudging Faithe for this, not because he was upset at her for having the audacity to try and tackle this deep fear, because, had the circumstances been different, he would have appreciated it, but rather because, to him, she was speaking as though she had no idea what she had put him through, more of within the past five days as opposed to the past fourteen. A silence ensued to a moment as he glanced up into her eyes.
"If you need me so badly, then why won't you just take me? I'm yours, Faithe. You need me? What about how I've needed you, Faithe? You may have been here, but I haven't had you for two weeks, and I know that that's partially my fault, but I don't know what else I can possibly do to fix things on my part. The ball's been in your court, and you haven't so much as touched a finger to it.
"Do you know how worried about you I've been? When I didn't see you for three days? Three whole days, Faithe! Can you even begin to conceive what went through my mind? I didn't have a clue what had happened to you- no one did. There wasn't a night that went by where I didn't wake up in a cold sweat, praying that I had only had a dream and not some sort of twisted premonition. And then, you finally came back, I saw your delicate, fragile, amazingly beautiful body scarred, beaten. And I couldn't do anything to make it better. I didn't know how it had happened, and you wouldn't talk to me.
"Then, tonight, you come into my room in the middle of the night, still torn-up, and, instead of talking to me or anything like that, you're trying to use me to get your mind off Kayte by making me into some sort of project? Telling me that you know I can do it, and that you need me to do it, but never once caring that I'm still in the dark here!"
How wonderful all of that sounded in Orlando's mind, and how he longed to let it take the next step through his lips. Yet, he was in a calm enough state of mind to know that if those words left his lips, whatever chances he had of reconciling with Faithe would be pushed further away. Thus, his eyes spoke them instead, the brilliant blue hue turned to a swirled gray, and it was only after that moment of communicative silence that he spoke.
Holding her hands in his own, he absentmindedly ran his fingers across them as his eyes softened slightly, turning more of a slate blue shade. He wanted to help her; in spite of all the seeds of bitterness that were budding inside of him, he still wanted to protect her. He just couldn't. Faithe's fear of flying had been based entirely on being hit with a bludger- an outside physical force- but Orlando's, though caused by a shark incident, was primarily rooted in the fact that he himself hadn't been able to swim back to shore. He knew, though, that the lake was much less than a mile across either way, and that it couldn't possibly be more than fifty or so feet deep, even at the center, but it didn't matter. The lake was still filled with water, which, if, at any moment, if Orlando's body should choose to give out on him, would eagerly swallow him.
Perhaps if Orlando had just given it some thought, he could have apparated across, but, that, too, held the same possibility (which, like the others, wasn't at all likely) that he would get tired and apparate over water, and, consequently fall in, and not be able to swim to shore, or simply safety, for that matter. It didn't matter to him that he was a highly skilled swimmer; he had failed himself once, and wasn't about to take a chance on that again.
"Faithe," he whispered with a sorrowful smile, unwrapping one hand from hers in order to place it gently upon her face and run it down until his hand rested almost atop her collarbone, "I love you, and I'd do anything for you. but not this. I want to, but I can't. Every time I even think about it, I feel like I'm sinking again. The water rushes over me, and my lungs start to burn, but my arms and legs are too tired and too weak to push me towards the surface, so I give in, and let the water take me.
"I woke up on the beach that time, only about five miles from where I had swum out, but that was luck."
Sighing, he took another hesitant glance at the water, hoping to find the strength to just leap in, but finding nothing but another flashback. Why was it so important that he swim out to the raft with her? Did she fancy a midnight swim? What possible whim of hers could he be subjecting himself to? Orlando hadn't a clue, but he knew Faithe, and if she hadn't spoken to him in two weeks and then, suddenly, came to his room in the middle of the night, beaten to a pulp, and pleaded with him to swim out to a raft in the middle of a lake, that something had to be going on. something more than her simply trying to focus her mind elsewhere.
"I can't."
Shaking his head, he turned back towards her with a defeated look upon his face as his pursed his lips together.
"Please understand, Faithe."
Her head tilted towards his hand as she felt the familiar tingle from his hand on her skin. Closing her eyes, she winced slightly as his hand rested on her collar bone, but tried her best to hide it. Reaching up, she took his hand off, not only for the sake of removing his hand from a bruise, but because she needed the comfort of his hand. Opening her eyes, she bit her bottom lip to keep the tears that had welled up in her eyes from falling over. Squeezing his hand, she let dropped both of his hands and turned around.
"The only thing I could think of when I felt that broom underneath me was that pain I had felt. My stomach felt like it was dropping, and I could remember that terrifying weightless feeling when I fell. I could hear the cracking sound that I later found out was my neck and spine." Turning back around to face him, there were two streams on her cheeks, but she refused to let her tears show while looking at him. Reaching up, she placed her hand gently on his cheek, "I trusted you Orlando. I trusted you when you said that you wouldn't let anything happen to me. I went against myself and my own fears because I trusted you. I'm asking you to do the same thing for me." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. When she opened her eyes, it was a struggle not to cry, "If I never ask you anything else after this, that's fine with me, just please trust me on this Orlando. Trust that I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
Faithe wanted to talk to him, she wanted to open up to him about the torment she'd been enduring the last two weeks. Something was holding her back though. It wasn't that she didn't necessary feel like she couldn't open up to him because she didn't trust him, but moreso because she felt that things were still shakey between them. Faithe had come to realize that she did trust Orlando, and was ashamed of herself for letting him think otherwise...for letting herself think otherwise.
Running her hand down his arm till she finally reclaimed his hand, she looked at him with a silent plea in her eyes, "Orlando...please. Just this once. I won't ever ask you to do it again, and I know it's not fair of me to ask you even once. But please just trust that I have my reasons."
Letting her remove his hand, Orlando glanced quizzically downward at where it had been; seeing a bruise, he immediately whinced himself, feeling sorry for not being more careful. Gently he entangled his fingers with hers as their hands touched, and then, just as gently, untangled them when Faithe relinquished her graps on his hands.
He let her turn away, then take his hand again. Kknowing that she too felt somewhat of the same fear and terror that he felt made things a little better. It wasn't the completely identical, he knew, but combined with her soft words, that knowledge was enough. He knew she wouldn't let anything happen to him, but, his mind asked, what would happen if things weren't in her control?
'No, he told himself, 'Stop being foolish. Faithe needs you.'
And it was that thought that allowed him to finally force himself to belief he could overcome the terror. For a moment, he was silent, simply wrapped his arms protectively around her, taking care, this time, not to press her bruises. Guiding her head to his chest, his fingers tangled themselves in her hair, gently stroking it.
Faithe was right; it wasn't fair of her to ask him to do it even just once, especially under the current circumstances. But it didn't matter. The look in her eyes had been plain- she needed him, and he wouldn't fail her.
Holding her a moment longer, he slowly and reluctantly released his arms from around her and stepped back, still having spoken not a single word. Keeping the eerie, tense silence intact, the man took the bottom of his shirt in his hands and pulled it over his head and, in a single, swift, soft movement, it laid on the dock.
Apart from the near violent gnawing on his tongue, he didn't display his nervousness. Walking slowly down the wooden planks, he paused as he reached the point where Faithe stood. Not looking at her, but, rather, at his hand, he placed a delicate hand upon her shoulder, ran it down her arm and joined their hands, then, continued walking the plank, eyes focused on the emptiness at the end of the wooden dock.
Upon reaching the end, he took a deep breath and let go of Faithe's hand with a sort of regretful look. Getting into the water was something the man had to do alone. Once he had proved that task accomplishable, he could rely on her, but not before.
Turning back, he gazed out over the glass-like water and tried to quiet the voice in his head screaming at him to run away. Curling his toes over the edge of the dock, his arms raised themselves above his head and, in another single, swift and soft movement, had dove marvelously into the water.
She bit her bottom lip nervously as he stood there, soundlessly. Feeling his arms embrace her, a long sigh escaped her lips with a soft moan to accompany it. Closing her eyes as his fingers stroked her hair, she buried her face in his chest, wincing as her eye grazed his body.
Watching him take his shirt off, she rolled her lips inward as she felt her cheeks sting slightly with a blush. Walking beside him, she watched him dive into the water, the left side of her mouth crooking up in a small smile, a look of adoration in her eyes. Sitting down on the edge, she gently slipped into the water, using her elbows.
The water was cool, but not freezing. Her tank top clung to her body as the water seeped up through the threads. Letting go of the dock, she dipped underneath the water. Surfacing, she took a deep breath and began to swim awkwardly towards the floating dock. Normally the swim took her fifteen minutes, but that was under usual circumstances when she was paddling hard. However, with her wrist hardly useable, Faithe had to stop occasionally and rest. They reached the dock in less than half an hour, and she had never been so grateful for the plank of wood that had been bewitched to stay there.
After a lot of uncomfortable shifting, Faithe managed to pull herself up on the dock, which was only about an inch above the water. Sitting up, she brushed her sopping hair out of her face, rubbing her eyes as she did so. She was in pain, but at the same time, the exertion felt great, and the coldness from the water had numbed her wrist.
They only had minutes to spare, but they had made it in time. Her eyes stared up at the sky, as if waiting for something.
The sensation of having his entire body submerged underwater was one that Orlando Lorenz had failed to experience for quite a while. Although pleasant, the coolness of the water took a little getting used to, as did the fact that the video player in his mind wouldn't respond to the incessant clicking of the metaphorical "pause" and "stop" buttons on the remote he was so desperately pushing.
Terror struck him as he felt his hands brush the cold sand of the bottom, having dove so deep, but he somehow managed to restrain the emotion and allow his instincts to act. Having always been a swimmer, surfacing was something nearly programmed into his body, and, thus, he decided to let his body move itself, without allowing his mind to interfere
Blocking out his thoughts, the man's body easily shifted itself and broke through to the surface. Taking a breath, his eyes darted around, orientating himself and realizing that the dock was quite a bit further than it had seemed from shore. Sniffing a little more oxygen in through his nose, the man continued gnawing on his tongue and ducked under the water's surface, swimming underwater, the quickest and most painless way he knew how to.
The journey was long, but, successful at zoning out his mind and merely allowing his instincts to do their job, it wasn't a problem for Orlando; his endurance was still what it had been twelve years ago, if not better. Coming up to breath about every three minutes, then returning to a calm yet enthused underwater stroke, his systematic actions were almost mechanic in nature.
He arrived not too long before Faithe, and, pulling himself up onto the dock, was surprised to find that his body was shaking as his mind was finally allowed its say. Breathing deeply, he calmed himself, just to the point where the shaking had died down to a slight tremble and laid back on the wood, relishing the hard surface he had to lay on, whcih was all the more welcome after spending so long in the liquid water.
Gazing up into the sky, he found that his fear and mentally created pains were washed away by the sky; the stars were just as effective then as they had been for him as a boy. Entranced by them, Orlando failed to notice Faithe climbing aboard the small floating station.
Reaching down, she slipped her fingers into his, squeezing his hand reassuringly. A small smile spread over her lips as her other hand touched his stomach. Looking back up at the sky, she pointed to a specific spot in the sky.
Almost as if on cue, and right as she laid her hand down, two white shooting stars flew through the sky. From the human eye, the two stars which were driving through the heavens in a parallel sequence, only looked to be about an inch apart. However, there were, naturally, many miles in between the two. After covering a good distance, the two stars closed their distance and collided. While under normal circumstances an explosion would have been had, this was not the case. The two stars diverged into one shooting star, and after fifteen seconds, vanished from sight. The whole event took less than 45 seconds, but seemed to last a lifetime.
Looking down at Orlando, she bit her bottom lip. Not everybody could see this phenomenon, but Faithe had no doubt in her heart or her mind that Orlando would be able to see it. Her stomach fluttered slightly as her eyes searched his face intently.
Feeling the familiar feeling of her hand slipping into his, Orlando's head turned slightly, just enough so he could see her face, and his hand returned the squeeze, although his head gently bumped into her leg. Offering her a sheepish smile, he somewhat rippled his body a few inches along the wood in order to be able to lay his head upon her leg.
As her fingers touched his chest, a small blush was evident upon his cheeks, but it soon vanished as his eyes followed her fingertips upwards. A quiet gasp escaped his lips at the phenomenon before him. Meteors were rare, and, when they did happen, Orlando, as the astrophile he was, knew about them, especially sights as rare as what he was witnessing.
A small noise ((yeah, that's the one... hee hee)) escaped his lips at the vision of the two "shooting stars" seemingly melting together into one, yet he dared to neither take his eyes off the sky nor interrupt the spectacle with words for fear of missing another miracle.
Once he was sure the phenomenon had played itself out, his lips still remained parted, though his eyes had now flitted to meet Faithe's gaze, in complete awe of what he had seen.
An almost grateful smile spread over her lips as he reacted to the sight in the heavens. She'd almost started laughing, but held it in. Her hand slipped up to his hair, gently stroking it as her brown eyes searched his face.
"Dos llegan a ser Uno," speaking softly, the Spanish words rolled off her lips effortlessly. "Five hundred years ago, there were two tribes in Equador that were always at war. They were always killing, murdering each other, thieving from one another, always trying to outbest the other tribe. Well, after a two hundred year old grudge, the two reigning chiefs decided to make peace. The same night they made a pact, they saw the two stars diverge into one, and it was a miracle then...and still is today. The two tribes took it as a promising sign that they had done the right thing, and that the stars were a sign from their ancestors proving their judgement to be right." Clearing her throat, her eyes skimmed the sky once more, a small smile on her face. Looking back down, her fingers ran gently over his lips before slipping back into his hair, toying with a strand of his dark, wet hair.
"For some reason unknown, not everybody can see it. It happens once every five years. Anytime anybody has ever tried to record it, they've lost the ability to see it, so people naturally thought that they were crazy. The only way word of it has stayed alive is by word of mouth." Her eyes continued to stare down at him, a look of adoration, passion, and love in her eyes.
"Dos llegan a ser uno," whispering the name once more, she looked at the water, "Two become one. Some people look at it as a sign about who they're supposed to spend the rest of their life with. There are even some people who see it together, and believe it to be a sign that they're seeing it with their soul mate..." Trailing off, her eyes averted back to the sky, feeling slightly embarrassed. Faithe wasn't sure what she believed, but she realized a little too late that her last few sentences were pretty clear.
Bringing him here and showing him this was her way of apologizing. Whether he caught it or not, it didn't matter because she knew she would end up apologizing before the night was over.
Delighting in the familiar feeling her fingers running through his hair gave him, Orlando listened intently to Faithe's explanation. For some reason, the story had an odd sense of déjà vu for him. Thinking about it for a moment, he recalled hearing a somewhat similar story in his Popular Astronomy Myths class in Maine. It was funny, really, how much the professor had convinced him that such things were as true as green Martians, but, yet, how he had literally seen the infamous two meteors become one. Lips curling into a small, almost proud sort of smile, whatever begrudging or bitter feelings the man had had were now almost completely gone; this sight had been well worth having to be in the water. And, although the man still hadn't completely conquered his hydrophobia, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been.
As her fingers touched his lips, lifted his head ever so slightly in order to gently kiss them before lying his head back down on Faithe's leg, which, just so happened, was a rather comfortable place despite the cold feeling on the back of his neck due to the cold water still on her bare skin. Gazing back up at her, the same look of adoration lighting his own eyes, he remained silent as she continued her enchanting explanation.
Nodding at the "crazy" part, Orlando chose not to tell her of his insistent Professor Marquette's assenting lecture; it didn't seem that important, and, besides, listening to Faithe's voice was like hearing a blissful melody that his ears had been denied the pleasure of hearing for such a long time- much better than listening to his own voice drone on about something so trivial.
As her gaze flew towards the water, his eyes remained locked on her face, searching for some sign of what was going through her head. Yet, once she had spoken, he needed question her motives no more. The last ounce of rancor had left his body at her last words and been replaced with an odd sort of feeling- one of relief, of happiness, and, most of all, of love. The eloquence of her words, accompanied by the romantic twist that was already innate to them, prompted a small smile to cross his face as his eyes softened, still staring at her face as tears of happiness and relief gave them a watery shine.
Perhaps this was some form of apology; despite it lacking the actual words "I'm sorry", Orlando could have taken it that way. After all, her last few lines had been, aside from cute, rather particular in their meaning. As for the whole idea of "soul mates", Orlando wasn't ever completely sure on their existence; it seemed to him that there was a point in all of his relationships where he believed to be with someone he ought to spend the rest of his life loving, and, although they had problems, he always believed that, had they tried, they could have reconciled, but that hadn't happened with Demeter nor Adhara (who wasn't technically a large part of Orlando's life, but still ought to be mentioned as a failed relationship). However, the idea of there being just one person in the entire world for each other just didn't seem to fit with him; perhaps he was just too idealistic.
Yet, although he may not have entirely agreed on the details of what defined a "soul mate", he hadn't a doubt in his mind that he would be more than happy spending the rest of his life with Faithe, which was obviously symbolized by the small object lying in the dark velvet box in the first drawer of his nightstand. The smile on his face grew a little wider at the thought of it now that he knew that, although the words may have just slipped from her lips, something of the like had crossed Faithe's mind as well, and she hadn't exactly been against he idea, which, given the past two weeks' circumstances, was another miracle within itself. Pure rapture inundated the man's body as his eyes wandered across Faithe's face, finally feeling as though he was forgiven- free from the guilty burden he had carried for so long.
Slowly, he raised himself up to a sitting position, pushing off the dock with his hand, and slid back to be equal with her. Searching her face a moment more, he then allowed the grateful smile to resume its place upon his face. Reaching over a hand, he placed it upon Faithe's cheek, turning her face towards him in a tender manner, so as to prevent any further injury to her. Seeing her bruised face again, he wished he had been better at potions, perhaps then he could have concocted something that would heal her. Tilting his head almost inquisitively, his eyes said what they needed to, which was, if anything, forgiveness. It didn't matter anymore, as long as she loved him, which he knew she did, and trusted him, which it seemed she did.
((Hrm. this is a kind of difficult situation to do nicely and subtly but still be true to how I envision Orlando's character. *ponders* Hope this is alright. :o/))
Just staring into her eyes for another short, silent moment, Orlando leaned in to kiss her- not a peck, either, a full-on kiss, which more than made up for the two weeks he had been forced to abstain from such things. As their lips touched, his hand slid softly from her face down to behind her neck, fingers entangling themselves with the long, wet strands of hair around them. There was a split-second within that moment that Orlando had instinctively pressed his shoulder gently against hers, moving to guide Faithe's body down to the dock. Even someone as wizened and loving as Orlando had an unrequited urge, hormonal imbalances.
Feeling this, he had caught himself and instantly stopped, both surprised and slightly ashamed at his action, and, instead, lifted her back up towards him by means of the hand on the back of her neck. Apart from Faithe being injured, it just simply wasn't a good idea. The two of them were already half-naked, and the passion of the emotions that had been bottled inside the two, unreleased for two weeks, could no doubt have the power to lead them somewhere they ought not go. What was he doing. this was wrong; this was what they, those against relationships such as theirs (an unconventional student-teacher relationship), expected of him.
Besides, it would bring more pain than pleasure; the innocence that would be taken away that could never be replaced would haunt him, should anything go wrong. Instead he'd whisper and gaze deeply into her eyes, knowing that the love they had for one another was enough for then, no more was needed for him to be content. After kissing her for a moment more, Orlando eventually pulled himself back, yet kept his hand lightly draped around her.
Gazing into her eyes, he couldn't help but search them for some sort of clue as to what she was feeling. Fear? Regret? He didn't know, and, frankly, was a little worried about finding out. Choosing to pretend that it never happened for the moment, he ran his fingers along the nape of her neck gently.
"I love you," he whispered, offering a warm, genuine smile.
Staring at the dark water, she felt her eyes on him and suddenly felt nervous. Not sure what was going through his mind, what he was thinking about what she'd said, or even what he was thinking about her, Faithe's stomach was doing a continual cartwheel. Worried that her words may be pushing him further away, she was scared to meet his eyes, scared of the rejection that she may see in those brilliant blue eyes. Feeling the dock shift slightly as Orlando sat up, she turned her head, meeting his gaze.
Seeing that smile on his face, that smile that Faithe had grown to love and adore, she felt relief tugging at her heart. Something inside of her, however, was scared to believe that everything was all right. How could he forgive her? She completely ignored his existence the week after their trip to Manhatten, unable to look at him without seeing that vision of him kissing Demeter. After she allowed her eyes to settle on his eyes once and for all, without interuption, Faithe's face melted into a look of utter and complete apology. Her eyes conveyed how sorry she was for pushing him aside, for closing herself up to him, for holding him beyond arm's length.
Unsure of what to do or say, she made no move as his hand trailed down to her neck. Her body was trembling, but whether that was due to the wind blowing on her, or because she was absolutely petrified, she didn't know, or really care. Closing her eyes as she returned his kiss, a small, silent tear slipped down her cheek. Wrapping her right arm around his neck, she allowed herself to be steered wherever he took her. Feeling the boards against her back, it took her a moment to realize exactly where she had been led. Her stomach performed a strange assortment of backflips as she felt her head become lightheaded.
She would have been lying to herself if she didn't admit silently that she was thankful he had pulled her back up. Reaching her other hand up, she absentmindedly toyed with his hair. This was the way things were supposed to be, nothing more, for the time being, and nothing less. As he pulled back, a small objective noise escaped her throat. Keeping her right arm around his neck, and her left hand still twisting his hair in between her fingers, she waited a moment to open her eyes. A look of serene contentment played in her eyes and on her face, but no emotion was stronger than that of love.
"I love you," whispering, she let his hair fall back into place, running her fingers over his bottom lip. "More." Grinning, she kissed his nose, and winked. The mischievous flirtatious look lasted only a moment before melting back into a warm smile, her eyes saying more than her mouth ever could.
Searching her eyes and finding nothing but love within the beautiful brown orbs, Orlando grew slightly more confused. At first, it was because he couldn't figure out if she was hiding her emotions or if she hadn't understood the significance of what he almost allowed himself to do. As his shoulder had pressed against hers, he didn't remember having felt any resistance, but was that because there truly hadn't been any in her mind or because she was just a little naïve? In all honesty, Orlando didn't know, but the situation was such that, if she wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, then he wouldn't have the slightest objection. He almost wanted to apologize, but talking about it would only remind him of what he had done and, more importantly, what he almost let himself do.
Closing his eyes, almost in a sort of silent gratitude, as she whispered, he leaned his head back just a bit, allowing more of her hand to touch his neck. He had known she loved him, but the verbal reassurance was appreciated. Their relationship had been anything but solid for the last while and now, after all was said and done, knowing that they were finally returning to the way things ought to be was, in a word, nice. But their discord couldn't simply just end, and he was sure they both knew it, probably him moreso than Faithe, though.
Offering a sort of sorrowful smile as she made an attempt to revert to her endearing casual flirtatiousness, which he normally appreciated, Orlando kind of shook his head. He wanted it to be that easy, truly he did, but he knew that they still had too many issues to resolve, too many things to talk about and too many problems to analyze before they would be able to act like that again. It wasn't that he was looking for a five-minute apology (like the one he had made to her), but rather that he couldn't just let himself slip back into their relationship living the lie that nothing had ever gone wrong.
Leaning in, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment, eyes closed again.
"Impossible," he whispered. Although sincere, his voice held a slightly stern and serious undertone. The grudging feelings were beginning to return slightly, and Orlando was powerless to prevent them. Sighing, he lifted his face off hers and tilted his head slightly. In his eyes, which were now a light, but vibrant, blue color, an air of vulnerability waltzed hand-in- hand with authenticity as they merely gazed into her own.
"Do you trust me?" he asked after a moment, dropping the hand that had been around her neck down to her shoulder. The question was random given the current conversation, but it seemed to fit right into his thought pattern, and he was sure she wouldn't find him asking such a thing odd at all given their current situation.
The question itself had multiple levels to it, and Orlando had meant it on every single one. Did she trust him when he told her he loved her? That he would be true to her? That he wasn't going to ever go back to Demeter? Did she trust him enough to confide in him about everything? To tell him how she had gotten so battered? To talk to him about the Kayte situation? And, finally, the taunting thought in the back of his mind: did she trust him not to take whatever physical relationship the two had too far? Orlando had never held a doubt about such a thing in his mind about Faithe until a few minutes ago; now, he was unsure of himself, or what he was capable of, and, quite frankly, it scared him.
Nodding gently when he shook his head, her smile faded, but not into a look unpleasantness. She felt...how did she feel? Did she even know? There was confusion inside of her, but she wasn't unnerved by it. Feeling his touch, his kiss, his arms around her - all of those outside factors alone had made her feel alive again. Moreso, and more importantly, being together with him emotionally had filled the missing pieces in her heart that had been vacant for the past two weeks. She had felt drained and alone, but now, even though she was emotionally and physically exhausted, there was something about Orlando that revitalized her.
It wasn't so much an energetic notion inside of her, but his being there made Faithe feel more secure about being emotional. He made her feel protected, and she didn't feel like she always had to be on high alert with her emotions. She knew she could open up to him, and completely break down in front of him, and that was something she had never felt so free to do that with anybody. Even with Jake, who had been her best friend for the past thirteen years, she always maintained a sense of false strength emotionally.
Feeling his forehead on hers, she reached her hand up and laid her three middle fingers on his jawline ever so softly. Closing her eyes, a halfhearted smirk escaped her lips at his rebuttal, although it only last a single second. Hearing his question, her eyes filled with tears of regret. How could she have made him feel as if she didn't trust him? Opening her eyes, she pulled back slightly, lifting his chin gently.
"Orlando, I trust you more than anybody. With anything." Swallowing harshly, her eyes dropped to the dock, her sense of shame showing through in her facial expression. "I'm sorry I said I didn't. At the time, it may have been true, but I knew deep down that nothing could ever take away that trust I have for you. I was just too blinded my emotions that day to think straight." Closing her eyes, her eyes furrowed together as two tears slipped down her cheeks. Averting her eyes to look at his, she reached up and touched his cheek gently, "I wouldn't have let you go further than that, Orlando. I know it's not what you want right now, and it's not something I'm ready for right now." As she guided his head upwards, Orlando's eyes remained locked into Faithe's, nervously awaiting her reply. In that short moment of silence before she spoke, a sense of horrid anxiety passed through him, and he was sure that if that precarious silence lasted a moment longer, he would die. Each millisecond of it, he grew a little more doubtful or her response, despite the fact that the time between his last word and her first not being dreadfully long. Then, at last, as she spoke his name, his eyes lit up with hope, whose sparkle only swelled as her voice spoke word after word of just what he wanted- and needed- to hear.
Leaning forward almost quickly, and, consequently (if Faithe hadn't been most adamant about keeping her hand where it lay), causing Faithe's hand to fall from his chin, down his neck, to somewhere around his collarbone, Orlando's lips brushed Faithe's forehead, silently thanking her. Not that he felt like she was doing him some grand favor, but more of a manifestation of how relieved he was to finally be free of the guilt, for a moment, at least. After he had pulled back, he saw her eyes cast themselves down to the dock, and her mien radiated that same sense of shame he had felt not only two weeks ago, but, more notably, five minutes ago. A while ago, he had wanted her to be sorry, to feel as guilty for pushing him away for two weeks just as he had felt guilty for pushing her away when he had kissed Demeter. Now, seeing the imperative remorse and ignominy in her face, he regretted ever feeling such things.
At her next words, the man bit tongue (literally) and began, as was a habit of his, gnawing nervously on it as he recalled "that day". He could see Demeter's face when he had first pulled back after she had tried to initiate a kiss- confused, scared and bewildered, its image was burned into his memory. Then he felt her lips upon his, and, inconsistent with before, the feeling (or, rather, the memory of the feeling) was now more of a sting as opposed to a pleasure. Next, the image that would never leave him mind entered his thoughts: Faithe's face. The look upon it had been shock more than anything else, followed immediately by hurt; she had bitten her bottom look and her brown eyes had flooded with pain as they moved from Demeter to himself before she had turned around and shut the door, calmly walking out on him.
He hadn't a right to be upset with her for not trusting him, as much as he wanted to let himself believe otherwise; he wasn't infallible. That day had been entirely his fault, and, although he may have been faintly justifiable in blaming her for how things had been between them since that day, he couldn't deny that none of that would have happened if he hadn't caused the triggering incident.
"It's alright, I understand," he whispered, leaning his head downward with a sympathetic look in his eyes and gently wiping away the couple of tears cascading down her cheeks. "It wasn't your fault."
Feeling her touch upon his cheek, Orlando leaned into her hand, smiling just the slightest bit as he met her gaze. Yet, at her words, his own gaze faltered slightly and his eyes flitted downward shamefully as he turned his head away from her, but not so much that her hand didn't remain on it. There was a part of him that was glad it had been brought up for discussion of a sort, that she was telling him exactly how she felt and thus preventing any incorrect presumptions to linger within his mind. However, there was another part of him that, understandably, felt the complete opposite. Her wording, especially, fit right in with the way that part of her mind was thinking, when she told him that she wouldn't "let him". It was as though she thought, or perhaps knew, that he might have.
Somewhere inside his mind, he knew she was just trying to be comforting, and let him know that if it had come down to that point, she wouldn't have allowed him to make such a dreadful mistake, not just for her sake, but for his as well. Still, he couldn't refute the voice in his head asking him what would have happened if he hadn't caught himself. Blocking the atrocious thought out, Orlando shook his head, looking back at Faithe almost sadly.
"Good," he replied with a halfhearted smile, "I'm sorry, though." He trailed off there, not exactly sure of himself for once.
"And you're right, I don't want that," he added. Then, catching himself, cringed a bit and tried to rephrase that, knowing that those hadn't been the right words. "I mean, I do.
"I want you, Faithe."
The words came out a little too quickly and passionately, prompting another awkward moment for Orlando as he fumbled for words.
"Not now though. Well, yes, now, but. You're not ready, and. I mean, I might be, or, maybe, I'm not either, but.
"Oh, that didn't sound right either!" he exclaimed with frustration, though his voice didn't go above a mezzo-forte.
It was odd for someone with Orlando's personality and intellect to speak so awkwardly. Anytime he spoke, although he was characteristically verbose, his words at least flowed together with some sense of eloquence. But, now. his words were just plain chaotic, as though he didn't even try to think through them in his head before they escaped his mouth.
"I love you, and I want you, but. not on a dock."
He trailed off again, trying to laugh a bit and slightly loosening up, but not nearly to the point where he could be considered anywhere near "relaxed". Orlando was trying though, in all honesty, he was.
"Not just that, but I wouldn't want to put you through a night of kissing me when half my face is covered in this disheveled beard either," he laughed, "Haven't exactly had time to shave lately, and I can't imagine it feels too nice." It was an attempt at a joke, something aimed at easing the tension he was feeling, and the fact that it hadn't worked in unwinding him was rather blatant.
"Besides, there are too many other things to deal with."
His voice trailed off yet again in thought and his mind instantly focused on Kayte, causing his to purse his lips together with agony. Kayte was Faithe's world, and Orlando knew it; she referred to the toddler as "her baby" and Kayte pretty much was Faithe's child in every way that mattered. He wanted to talk to Faithe about it, more for her own well being than his. He wanted her to open up to him again, let him shield and protect her from the bad things in the world and fight those few bad things, which he couldn't possibly have prevented, by her side. He wanted to know who had inflicted such atrocious wounds upon her fragile, beautiful body; he wanted to know where she had been for the first three school days of that week; but, more than those specifics, he wanted to know whatever she would tell him. Anything and everything would be more than welcome.
He knew that the mention of the tiny angel's name would incite some sort of response in Faithe, and thus gently pulled/lifted her into him, so that ((excuse the random lack of eloquence here. but I ought to describe the position so.. yeah..)) she was sitting upon his left thigh ((which was the father one from her original position, I presume)), yet facing outwards with her back split between his left upper arm and chest, the remainder of her legs over his right one, and her feet lying upon the dock. His arms encircled her, holding her affectionately and protectively against him.
"Like Kayte." he whispered despondently.
Closing her eyes as his lips brushed against her forehead, Faithe's hand ran along his collarbone slowly. Meeting his eyes as he wiped away the tears on her face there was a small look of doubt in her eyes. "What happened wasn't anybody's fault, but how I reacted was my fault. I acted like a child..."
As he trailed off his apology, she shook her head, "You have nothing to apologize for Orlando. I knew nothing was going to happen." Watching him as he stumbled over his words, a small smile played on her lips as a look of adoration crossed her eyes. Hearing the words 'I want you' caused a jittery butterfly to do a mile in her stomach. A small, quiet laugh escaped her lips as he became frustrated. Reaching up, she laid her hand on his cheek as her eyes held the fainteste hint of amusement.
"I know what you mean Orlando," speaking softly, her thumb ran gently back and forth on his cheek bone. "I want you too, just not here and now. We've been apart for two weeks, and our judgement is clouded by emotions. It wouldn't be fair for us to make any sort of decision about this right now."
Laughing, she reached down and ran her hand across the hair on his face, wrinkling her nose. "Haven't had time? What's kept you so busy?" Tilting her head curiously, she dropped her hand and reached for his, squeazing it tightly.
Allowing herself to be pulled onto his lap, she relinquished his hand. Closing her eyes, she let out a long breath. She felt safe again, which is a feeling she hadn't felt in two weeks, particularly this past week. With his arms wrapped so tightly around her, Faithe felt like anything could happen right at that moment, and she would be safe. Sitting there with the dock rocking ever so slightly, a comforting serenity had overtaken her.
That was, of course, until she heard Kaytlin's name. Tensing up, her hand flew absentmindedly to the silver star around her neck. Swallowing hard, she opened her eyes, which had filled with tears involuntarily. Turning her head slightly, her eyes searched his, "Jake got in touch with you, didn't he?" Sighing, she looked down at the necklace as her she bit her bottom lip. Placing her index finger on the top point, and her thumb on the bottom as she had done two weeks previously, her brown eyes stared at it intently. The blue glow that had shone so brightly was now paler and not nearly as bright as it had been before.
Closing her eyes, Faithe drew in a sharp breath as a terrible pain shot through her arm. Whimpering slightly, she dropped the star, causing the glow to fade away. "She's hurting and she's sick." Her voice wavered as she spoke, feeling her body shrink into his. Sitting there in silence for quite sometime, Faithe kept her head turned away from his to hide the tears that had, once more, begun falling down her cheeks.
Burying her face in her hands, she hadn't realized that her body had begun to tremble. Shaking her head gently, she sniffed, "It's all my fault that she's gone, Orlando. I couldn't protect her, and it's my fault she got taken." Her voice was beginning to rise in volume as she spoke, and the more the event from last Friday played through her mind, her body began shaking even more. Finally dropping her hands, she opened her eyes, but was unable to see anything but darkness through her blurry eyes. Shaking her head again, she took a deep, shaky breath, "I tried and tried to get to her, but everytime I got close...I tried to attack Bridget, but I couldn't." Tears were beginnign to stream more steadily down her cheeks as she spoke, "Kayte was so scared. I will never forget the look on her face...I've never seen her so scared. She should be at home right now, Orlando, sleeping in her own bed with her cat at the end of bed."
Not aware at how loud her voice was getting, Faithe buried her face in her hands again, beginning to sob as she spoke. "It's my fault she's gone! I couldn't get past Eddie..."
Feeling ((Gah- how many paragraphs that I write start out with that word?!?!)) her fingertips waltz upon his collarbone, Orlando's gaze melted into Faithe's. Yet, at her words, he shook his head. Although she was right about her reaction being her fault, something that Orlando certainly wouldn't ever deny, she didn't seem to understand the cause-and-effect relationship Orlando had concocted in his own mind.
"What happened was [i]my[/i] fault," he insisted, "and mine alone. Even though you think you may have acted like a child, Faithe..."
Shaking his head, Orlando sighed, interrupting the eloquence of his speech once more.
"Or may have been a little juvenile in your actions, what else was there to do?"
Her next words caused the man to shake his head yet again, this time more in shame than in negation, though. This topic was beginning to frustrate him more and more. At first, her words had made him think she thought/knew he might have pushed her further, but now Faithe's resolve- her trust in him- seemed unshakeable. She had just told him she [i]knew[/i] nothing was going to happen, and those words brought a slight smile to the man's face. Although he still couldn't decide what would have happened had he not stopped himself, her trust in him was nice... to say the least.
[quote]"Haven't had time? What's kept you so busy?"[/quote]
Those words brought more of a solemn look to Orlando's face. If only she knew... There hadn't been a single waking moment that Orlando hadn't spent thinking about her. Endless visions had plagued his mind since not seeing her on Monday, and only worsened throughout the week. Putting a hand to his face, he shook his head and sighed, wondering if she really had to ask.
"Worrying about you," he replied, reaching up their entangled hands and running his along her face. His voice was very matter-of-fact, yet completely sincere.
Getting up at five in the morning and wandering to his window seat, the man had just sat there for two hours until it was time for breakfast to start. Then he would change into a seemingly clean pair of clothes and apparate to the Great Hall ((presuming apparating is allowed within Rosencrantz although it isn't in Hogwarts)), yet not eat a thing. His eyes would scan the crowd for Faithe and his mind would manifest fears into horrible scenarios... and the rest of the day would follow in suit.
As Faithe's eyes searched his, Orlando felt horribly guilty for bringing Kaytlin up. Then again, it was really better that Faithe have someone to talk about it to, and, in a less unselfish regard, rather important to Orlando that he figure out what was going on. Thusfar, none of his scanning spell books have proved to be muhc use in his search for Kayte; perhaps, he thought, if he knew more about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, and had Faithe's help, he could save the little girl.
Holding her close against him, Orlando's lips softly caressed Faithe's shoulder before nodding in response to her question. His eyes followed her hands as they took the necklace between their fingers, and he bit his bit (oddly enough, at the same time as Faithe).
As she inhaled sharply, Orlando's eyes widened with worry, concerned about her, and his grasp around her tightened, if it were possible.
"What's wrong?" he asked quickly. The words were barely out of his mouth when Faithe told him.
At those words Orlando felt his heart beat faster in his chest. He was worried and afraid for Kayte's sake, felt helpless with regards to Jake and Faithe, and hadn't the slightest clue how to make it better.
As she turned her head away from him, Orlando let her, although that allowance didn't hold any bearing over his fingertips, which softly stroked her cheek.
"This is swear to you tonight," Orlando whispered, "We'll get her back. She'll be safe, and healthy, and perfectly fine."
As her body began shaking and her face reimmersed itself in her hands, the man was once more overcome by the feeling of utter helplessness. Kayte had been taken for who knows what by some stranger, with no ransom note or anything, and, then, Faithe was blaming herself.
Running his hands along her arms, Orlando tried as best he could to calm the young woman, though he knew such attempts- or any attempts, for the matter- would prove futile. As the tremors intensified, he reverted to simply holding Faithe in his arms, feeling that what little security they gave her would be more beneficial. As she let her hands fall at last, Orlando began gnawing on his tongue. The sight of Faithe, in such a battered state to begin with, crying and shaking was horrifying to him. She was in so much pain, but he couldn't do a thing to help her.
Throughout her fragmented speech, Orlando remained silent, simply holding her... and listening. Yet, at the mention of Bridget's name, his eyes shut for a moment, trying to remember where he had heard the name before, aside from Bridget Preston, Ravenclaw Seeker his first year, of course. Instantly, a flash of Jake mentioning her name crossed his mind and, cross- collaborating that with the parallel to his and Demeter situation, Orlando eventually realized who the woman was and exactly what type of a situation they were now dealing with.
"Faithe, Faithe..."
Orlando slowly whispered her name a few times, repeating it softly as though he was trying to calm her down again, although its secondary purpose was also to give himself something to focus on so he, too, didn't go ballistic invisioning Kayte's face.
[quote]"She should be at home right now, Orlando, sleeping in her own bed with her cat at the end of bed."[/quote]
"She will be, I promise you, Faithe. She will be..."
Even though he said the word's without allowing his voice to falter a bit, it was mainly a strong façade to keep Faithe from completely collapsing on him. Just thinking of the young woman going through this torment alone, holding it all inside of herself for so long, was impossible... the pain was simply unimaginable.
"It's not your fault, [i]ma Foi[/i]," he declared insistently, lying his head on her quavering shoulder, "It's not your--"
At her last word, the man stopped dead in his actions. The warm blue color of his kind eyes instantaneously hardened to a bitter grey.
"Eddie?"
The word itself was spoken harshly, and flicked off Orlando's tongue with a crisp bitterness like that of a freshly sharpened knife. He had never liked that man completely, never trusted him completely, and now his instincts were finally being proved right. If only he had listened to them!
Questions flooded his mind. Why had Eddie been involved? What did he have to gain? How long had he been conspiring with Bridget? For what reason had he acted so nice? Simultaneously, unproved conjectors did the same. Eddie [i]was[/i] a scumbag and it was he who had inflicted such wounds upon Orlando's darling Faithe.
Anger and rage boiled within the man, but those feelings remained somewhat well hidden. Orlando wasn't one quick to fury, but when someone he cared about had been hurt by the whim of another... Things were impossible to predict.
"He did this to you," Orlando said, half stating the fact and half asking as he delicately lifted Faithe's head out of her hands and ran his fingers lightly overtop of her wounds, first running across her face and then down to her wrist.
His eyes were filled with emotion, radiating the fact that seeing Faithe like this was something he wanted never to experience again.
Faithe knew Orlando was trying to calm her down, and under most other upsetting circumstances, the hugging and the soothing words would have made an impact on her. However, not now, and not with this situation. Everything that had happened, every feeling that had coursed through her since that horrible night Kaytlin had been taken had been buried within the depths of Faithe's mind. Jake had tried to pry her open and talk openly about what had happened that night, but she refused.
Whether it was because she couldn't, or wouldn't Faithe didn't know herself. She felt as if she had let Kayte down, let Jake down, let everybody down. I should have been stronger...I should have gone back there first...I should have stayed downstairs with Jake and kept Kayte down there... Every moment she was awake, all Faithe could think about was how the outcome could have been different had she acted differently.
As he lifted her head from her hands, she tried to avert her gaze, but couldn't. Hearing his voice, as if for the first time in the past few minutes, her bottom lip quivered faintly. Biting her bottom lip to keep her emotions from betraying her too much, Faithe nodded slowly. Allowing her gaze to drop to where his hand rested on her wrist.
Though being physically close to him, with his arms around her and her face buried in her chest, brought her some sense of protection, she didn't feel the solace being close to him normally carried. Continuing to let her tears run free in a river down her cheeks, Faithe shook her head. "How could I have ever trusted him? Even if it wasn't that much, how could I have trusted him at all? I can't believe he and Bridget..." Sitting up, she shook her head, her eyes still down on the dock.
"They both want something, and they knew exactly how to get it." Closing her eyes, she shook her head again. "It isn't fair. Not to Kayte. Not in the least." Her voice had calmed down by now, though it still trembled immensely, and her voice was soft. " I didn't even know Eddie knew how to do half the things he did...the spells..." Wincing at the memory, she laid her head back on his chest, sniffling.
Jake didn't know about the Cruciatus Curse, and Faithe hadn't volunteered the information. Of all the physical pain she had felt in her life, nothing ever remotely came close to the anguish she had felt during those few minutes. Every time she had fallen asleep the past week, she had awaken in a cold sweat from the memory. Eddie's malicious laughing, the red flash, all of it. He had been merciless when it had come to her, and she knew she'd never forget it. Her body shuddered involuntarily as the recollection flashed in front of her eyes as if it were a slideshow.
((Thanks for being worried and whatnot. Yeah, so after I put that last away message up, I went to lay down on my bed for a few minutes, but never ended up getting back up... until 10:05am. :oP))
While Faithe continued sobbing and shaking into him, Orlando felt fully desolate. He could think of nothing else that would make the situation even the slightest bit better, and knew that that was because there wasn't a single thing that held that power... besides getting Kayte back. Continuing to gnaw on his tongue, he simply kept holding her close to him, listening to the few words that escaped her trembling lips. They were fragmented and erratic in a sense, but how else could he have expected them to be? Faithe was literally forlorn, and her mind couldn't possibly be thought to be able to speak clearly with all those emotions clouding it. Not being as close to Kayte as Faithe, Orlando knew his feelings couldn't have even amounted to an eighth of hers... and she had gone through this torment for an entire week- alone.
That was certainly was aggravated Orlando most about the situation: the fact that Faithe had had to deal with all the pain (physicaly, emotional and mental) alone for the past week. He didn't know Bridget, but he knew Eddie, and how repulsing the man could be; that side of him had shown itself the night he had been drunk. Mentally flashing back, Orlando shut his eyes, wondering what horrors might have happened if he hadn't been there. Opening his eyes, he looked down at Faithe's tiny, trembling figure within his arms and had to purse his lips tightly together to keep from crying.
How could anyone do anything so hurtful? He had seen it with his own eyes that Eddie had found Faithe attractive, and was jealous of himself, but, if he cared that much about her-- maybe it was that he [i]didn't[/i] care about her, Orlando reasoned. It fit, after all, especially in regards to that lingering comment Eddie's voice said over and over in his mind regarding the kiss after the song: "if you're brave enough." At the time, Orlando had blown it off, not even considering what malicious insinuation the man might have meant, but now he realized what type of a person Eddie truly was and found himself completely repulsed. He didn't have regard for emotions in the slightest, only desires. He didn't even want Faithe to love him, but rather only wanted Faithe. Angered and enraged by the disrespect innate to his new characterization of Eddie Polazzo, Orlando made a sort of frustrated groan/sigh as he shook his head.
Letting Faithe continue, as she buried her head into his chest, and getting whatever little bits of information he could from her hushed exclamations, Orlando closed his eyes for a moment. There was too much going on right now for his mind to form coherent thoughts. If Faithe's head wouldn't have been buried into his chest, she would have seen it- that frighteningly blank, vacant stare upon his face. Although he was elated that she was talking to him, telling him everything, he couldn't help but find himself at a loss.
As she sat up, shifting her body upon Orlando's, the man's eyes opened, hoping to meet Faithe's gaze, yet her eyes were still cast down to the dock. Resuming gnawing on his tongue, he listened in silence, until her voice trailed off and he was allowed an opportunity for an injection. Placing a hand upon her chin, he guided her face towards his, hoping that her eyes would follow.
"Look at me," he implored quietly, "You've nearly grown up with him, and that's why you trusted him, Faithe. It's not your fault he's a manipulator..."
His eyes grew warm as they gazed at hers (whether or not her eyes were gazing back... *shrugs*), and his arms loosened the slightest bit around her body. Almost wishing he was a violent man, Orlando wondered how exactly to repay Eddie for causing Faithe, and Jake, so much anguish. Death, apart from being something Orlando himself would never consider doing, was too simple, too much of an easy way out. There had to be something, a sweeter revenge...
[quote]"They both want something, and they knew exactly how to get it."[/quote]
Having his pensive reverie interrupted by Faithe's voice, Orlando's fingers, which were softly stroking her cheek, stopped. [i]'Bridget wanted Kayte, no doubt, but what did Eddie have to gain by--'[/i] The man's mind stopped short and his entire body froze as the most vile, abhorent thought entered his mind. Eddie didn't love Faithe, he wanted Faithe, and if... [i]'No,'[/i]he told himself, [i]'Faithe would have said something...'[/i] Satisfied for the moment that the unthinkable hadn't happened, but still shook up over having had the thought cross his mind, Orlando's arms resumed their secure position around Faithe's body, pressing her body lightly against his own.
Nodding in agreement with her next remark, Orlando gently laid his head upon Faithe's shoulder, just to be closer to her. If such a thing was possible. Noting that she her voice had calmed itself, but not completely, the gnawing of his tongue abated and he planted a single, soft kiss upon her neck. Things were calm for a moment, but only a moment.
Nearly jolting his head up, off her shoulder at the mention of Eddie's inflicted tortures, a vision of the man savagely beating Faithe flashed through his mind, accompanied by a similar one of his father beating him. until the word "spells" passed through the young woman's lips. Until that point, Orlando had thought Eddie had physically abused Faithe, punching her, kicking her, hitting her. Now that he knew the man had used magic, though..
His grip on her tightened as a small, hurt gasp escaped his lips as though he could feel her pain. There was an infinite number of painful spells that he might have cast on her, included in that list was the unforgivable Cruciatus Curse, and, not having to consider it for more than a second, Orlando knew he had used it upon her, the shudder that ran through her body as she pressed herself against him confirmed it.
"Oh, Faithe." he whispered, wrapping his arms completely around her body and weaving his hands into her wet tresses, "I wish there was something I could say to make it all go away, but I know there's not.."
In that moment, a terrifying thought crossed his mind: what if Eddie was using the same spell on Kayte? The thought of an innocent little girl being subjected to such a monstrosity was sordid. Pushing it out of his mind- almost suppressing the thought-, he cradled Faithe in his arms a little longer. Casting a glance at the sky, he sighed mentally. There was so much that the two had shared that evening, and yet still so much that they had to sort through.
"We're going to get Kayte back," he repeated, quietly whispering it into her ear.
He wanted to go right then, but he knew that waiting until morning would be better. After all, what would he do? To just start searching the city for the girl would be worthless. They would be better off using magic, as Orlando had been trying to before falling asleep that evening. He hadn't had much luck, but, then again, searching an entire world for one five-year- old girl with no possessions of hers to aid the search was nearly impossible. Perhaps, now that he knew who had taken her, he would have better luck. And then, maybe he could somehow enchant Faithe's necklace that she shared with Kayte to provide some help.
((Um, yeah, so this part can be changed if you wanted to keep them at the dock awhile longer, or just don't like this direction. Let me know, 'cause I understand that it is a little "iffy"))
"Tomorrow, though," he added softly, "Starting now won't help. You're exhausted in every possible way, and I'm not much better."
It was odd how calm Orlando seemed right then, but, truly, he was half putting up a strong front, just to keep himself able to support Faithe. The words that came from his lips were true, though, and he knew that. Still, if Faithe hadn't been in the state she was, it's certain that Orlando wouldn't have ever been that calm. She needed him, and he swore never to let her down again.
"Can I take you to bed?" he asked in a whisper, tilting his head to look at her as best he could.
Her watery eyes lifted to his when he guided her face up. Looking into his eyes, it was all she could do to keep her gaze from dropping. Shaking her head, Faithe bit her bottom lip hard, "It doesn't matter how long I've known him, I knew he was bad news." Shrugging she finally did allow her gaze to drop to dock once more. As soon as his arms loosened around her, she snuggled into him more, almost afraid to be seperated from him, even if it was only by a few inches. She couldn't deny the comfort he brought when he pulled her closer than she already was towards him.
Hearing his whispers in her ear, her eyes closed as tears continued to slip gently down her cheek. Raising her face to look at him, there was a small look of doubt in her eyes, "How can we get her back? We don't know where she is. Eddie and Bridget can both apparate, which means they could be anywhere. All Bridget wants is money..." Letting out an aggitated sigh, her head dropped back down as she burrowed her face into his chest.
Faithe hated this feeling of weakness, of insurpassible helplessness. All throughout her life Faithe has always been very strong willed and independent. Able to get through almost every problem that had ever come her way, feeling needy and clingy was new to her. Yet, with Orlando, she didn't have that feeling of being weak. With him holding her so closely, and being so strong for her, she felt that it was, indeed, all right for her to not always be strong.
Something seemed to click inside of her head as the two sat there on the dock, basking in each other's presence, even if the situations weren't ideal. There was a feeling of completeness that ensued her little outburst, not because she had allowed even the slightest bit of her emtions that had been bottled up out, but because of who was with her, comforting her. Orlando would always be there when she needed him, and even when she didn't think she needed him, she knew he'd still be there.
The idea of even being seperated him during the swim back to shore sent a tremor through her body, nonetheless the thought of not seeing him until the morning. Even then, they couldn't be sure that they would have some time alone since they were back at school. They couldn't just openly walk up to each other and spend an entire day together without drawing any attention to themselves. At his offer to see her off to bed, Faithe wrapped her arms around his middle as she turned her head sideways on his chest.
"I don't want to be seperated from you."
Seeing the doubt and uncertainty in Faithe's soft brown eyes, Orlando tried as best he could to remain optimistic. By nature, he was an idealist, so it wasn't too difficult for him. Growing up how he did, seeing the best side of things was all he could do not to become an angry, bitter child. Her words were rays of light into a dark room though, not quite dispelling the myth of the Boogeyman, but rather casting shadows across the mystery, which could very well be either a true horror or a simple manifestation of one's thoughts. She was right in the fact that Bridget and Eddie could apparate anywhere, but the Ministry could track that, couldn't they? And if they could be tracked, Orlando could surely do it. Apart from Astronomy, charms were the man's passion.
"Magic," he replied, whispering softly, "There has to be some sort of locating spell, and, when we find it, we'll do it."
At the mention of Bridget's name, Orlando shook his head. Money was worthless; didn't the woman understand that? It may bring objects, but magic could do the same. There wasn't a single thing that money, in Orlando's mind, was worth kidnapping a child for. But, of course, not everyone's mind worked like his did. Too bad; if that were so, the world would be quite a pleasant place to live in.
Noticing she failed to mention what, exactly, Eddie was after by kidnapping Kayte only added wood to the already burning fire of rage inside the man. He knew was Eddie wanted, and was sickened by the thought. Holding Faithe tightly against him as she, once more, nestled her head against his bare chest, he felt the slightest sense of usefulness. Although he may not have been able to do anything to save her from the pain, he was at least protecting her at that very moment.
Feeling her arms lock themselves around his own body, Orlando's eyes held somewhat of a quizzical look as they met Faithe's, wondering why she seemed so nervous at his offer. However, her words cleared up that misunderstanding quickly, and a small smile crossed his face as he leant down and kissed her forehead gently. It was almost adorable how naïve Faithe could be at times, thinking that all he was going to take her back to her own bed, or even take another dip into the water for that matter.
"You think I do?" he asked softly, shaking he head to show he wasn't serious. "I haven't felt your skin on mine, held you in my arms or even been so close to you in much too long; don't even think for a moment I'd let you go now. You need me now, [I]ma Foi[/I], and I don't have the slightest intention of letting you go for a long, long time.. if ever."
Sitting up a bit, his eyes flitted across the lake to the dock. He knew that he really ought to go back over there and retrieve their shed clothing articles. They were in plain sight, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they'd be found by morning, and several stories would begin to circulate around campus about them. not to mention the fact that Faithe probably wanted her pants. Still, he didn't want to unwrap his arms from around her for even a moment to pick them up. Mentally making a note to "Accio" the clothes to them once they were safely in his room, Orlando decided against making the pit stop at the dock.
"Tomorrow's Saturday," he whispered into her ear, "We've got the whole weekend to look for Kayte."
Closing his eyes tightly, he took a deep breath and pressed Faithe's body against his own, apparating them both back to his tiny apartment-like habitat, and landing upon the floor. Opening his eyes as he felt the hard, wooden floor beneath him, his arms remained around Faithe as he shifted himself into a standing position while simultaneously reallocating her small body into that familiar position within his arms so that he could carry her. Slowly walking to the bedroom, he pulled back the top sheet and moved to set her down upon the bed, but stopped. Looking at her, a nervous grin overcame his face as his hand reached up to scratch the back of his neck.
"Can't imagine you want to sleep in wet clothes like that." he said quietly, with a slight laugh creeping into his voice, "Lemme find you some clothes."
Very reluctantly relinquishing his grasp upon her and setting her down on the bed, he rummaged through the cluttered mess atop his dresser and procured a gray T-shirt, some black cotton pants not too unlike hospital scrubs, and a pair of peculiarly neatly folded navy blue cotton PJ pants, which looked like that hadn't been used in awhile. Walking back, he handed the first two items to her, saving the latter for himself.
"Here," he said, "I know they'll be about five sizes too big, but the pants have a drawstring, so."
Trailing off, he shrugged and offered her a grin.
((Ack! Don't kill me! I had every intention of replying this morning before I left, but I got a call saying I didn't have to go in. So, I fell back to sleep.))
Sighing, she shook her head, "Jake has a friend in the Ministry who's been helping us with this. We haven't gone to the muggle police, but if we don't have her back soon, he's going to do it. If they can track apparations, we haven't heard about it yet." Joseph, who had gone to school with Jake had been working for the state-side branch of the Ministry, and he had been the first person Jake had called after Kayte and had been taken, and after Faithe had been taken to the hospital.
Seeing his small smile, the left side of her mouth barely crooked up, as a pouting expression crossed her eyes. "Makin' fun of me..." Muttering loud enough for him to hear, but still speaking softly, her words came out with a relatively thick Texan accent accidentally. Closing her eyes gently as he continued to speak, the smile faded from her face. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rested her forehead against his chin, her eyes remaining closed.
Starting to open her eyes, she quickly shut them again as they apparated. Her stomach tied in knots as it normally did when they apparated. Hopefully this whole apparation 'sickness' thing only happens because I'm not the one doing the apparating. If not, then I'm going to be in trouble when I have to learn how to apparate... She had started to wiggle out of his arms so they could stand up, but his arms remained around her as he shifted and stood.
Keeping her arms around his neck, Faithe rested her head on his shoulder lightly as he walked toward the bed. Sitting up straighter when he leaned over, her arms tightened when he ended up holding her with only one arm. The same thought crossed her mind just as he vocalized the idea of sleeping in wet clothes. Now that they were inside, she was starting to shiver slightly. Standing up, she walked over to him as he sorted through the clothes and handed her the gray t-shirt and the black pants.
"Don't forget about the rest of our stuff out by the lake. I would really hate having to explain that." Winking, she walked to the opposite side of the bed, heading for the bathroom. Raising her eyebrow at herself, she shook her head. "Where am I going? I'm wearing a bathing suit." Talking more to herself than to him, she shook her head. Still facing the opposite wall, her back to Orlando, she slipped on the pants. Pulling the drawstring to its tightest fit, she tied the string. Letting go of the pants, she looked down and laughed. Even with the drawstring, the pants were still massive on her. The waistline dipped to just below the top of her bathing suit bottom, which was already low on her hips.
Turning around, she raised her eyebrows at him, an amused expression on her face, "I feel like a clown." The pant legs weren't much better, but they weren't as amusing as the waistline of the black pants. Shaking her head, she stuck her tongue out at him. Turning around once more, she slipped the tank top off and shook out the shirt. Had she been in her right mind, Faithe most likely wouldn't have had her back towards Orlando during this move.
Faithe was overly self-conscious about her back, namely because of the six, very visible, scars that had been left from the broom accident. There were two horizontally parallel to one another two inches below her neck, two horizontally parallel with one another at the bottom of her spine, and one along her left shoulder blade and one one the right side of her spine. The four along her spine had been made during surgery, and the other two were simply from the fall. Ever since then, anytime Faithe was in a bathing suit, there was always a shirt over the top, and anytime she bought a shirt or tank top, the first thing she looked at was whether or not it covered everything.
However, her mind was so frazzled at this moment, she didn't even stop to think about it as she slipped the shirt over the bathing suit top. Pulling her hair out of the neckline, she turned around to face Orlando. The shirt was pretty large on her as well, covering the waistline of the pants. Wincing, she offered him an amused grin, "I look...like your clothes swallowed me." Walking over to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "It amazes me how you can make French toast batter disappear, but you can't dry sopping wet clothing."
((I got a little carried away. Surry))
Letting his lips slump back into a frustrated frown, Orlando sighed. If Jake had a Ministry-working friend and he hadn't been able to help much, there wasn't a very good chance at all that Orlando, intelligent as he was, would be able to do anything to help Kayte. Still, he couldn't let Faithe see his doubt. If she saw it, then he couldn't hold out much hope of her calming down, and, especially given the situation, that was something the young woman needed to do. She had no doubt been stressed out the past two weeks, a cause of a plethora of heinous events, wearing away at her resolve like crashing waves of water beating down upon a rock cliff, slowly eroding it away. Putting on a better face, he shook his head.
"We'll do something," he said quietly, "We'll get her back."
As he whispered those words, the man truly believed that they had a shot at executing such a miracle. They would get up the next morning, pour over the books that covered his bed, and find a spell that would make everything better. Kayte would return safely, and Bridget and Eddie would be forever subjected to eternal torment by whatever means were seen fit. Everything would be as it should, and nothing would ever hurt his perfect little family again. There was a part of his mind that asked what would happen if Kayte never returned, or, returned forever scarred in some unimaginable way. Incapable of such thoughts, he quickly silenced the nagging voice.
[quote]"Makin' fun of me."[/quote]
"Mm-hmm," he murmured with a nod, allowing a slight smile to cross his face prompted by the heavy drawl in her voice. As she brought her forehead close to him, he kissed it lightly before allowing her to lay it against his scruffily bearded chin.
"Just 'cause I love you, though."
Laughing as she mentioned their discarded clothing, Orlando shook his head. Indeed, the stories that would circulate would be most entertaining.
"Don't worry," he replied with a grin, walking around the bed and poking her as he passed her. "I wouldn't." Leaning down, he reached for the top drawer of his nightstand to obtain his wand. Opening it, his eyes were faced with the sight of that jet-black velvet box, prompting him to pluck his wand out more than quickly and slam the drawer shut, not wanting Faithe to see the small box for obvious reasons, of course.
Wand in hand, he moseyed over to the window and pushed it open. Pointing his wand in the direction of the lake, the man mustered up whatever strength he had left after the night and tried to evoke the clothing.
"Accio," he said, with a rather distinct undertone to his voice. After a moment of concentration, the two derelict pieces of fabric landed in a heap next to his feet. Satisfied, he turned back to her, offering a proud beam. "Done and done."
Reverting his attention to Faithe, who, at that moment, was moving towards the door, he gave her a curious glance as she stopped and turned back to the other wall. Grinning, he shrugged his shoulders as she faced away from him and set his wand back atop the nightstand as he flung the navy pants over his arm. Subconsciously almost, his eyes wandered along her slender frame, from the peak of her head down her back, as far as he could see. His face softened and a warm smile spread itself across his face like butter over a warm piece of bread.
As she turned to face him, the man took a moment to break out of his trance. Eventually though, after not more than a moment, his dazed/enchanted look thawed into a broad grin. Although Faithe might have looked absolutely ridiculous to anyone else, Orlando found her irresistibly attractive in his clothes, which was evident by the low moaning noise that rumbled in his throat. Shaking his head, he smiled at her.
"Maybe so, but you look incredibly sexy."
Simply smiling at her as she stuck her tongue at him, Orlando's face radiated nothing but wonder until the small, white tank top seemingly lifted itself off of her body, exposing her back. Feeling a soft blush in his cheeks rise up, he moved to turn his head away from her, solely for modesty's sake. True, she was still clad in her swimsuit top, but Orlando didn't feel right looking at her in it, as though he wasn't supposed to see even her bare back yet. But, on their way towards the other wall, his eyes caught sight of an intricate pattern of lines running across her back, shimmering with a silver sort of glow in the moonlight, and he found it impossible to look away.
A curious stare enveloped his eyes and his head tilted inquisitively, just staring up and down her back, completely unable to avert his gaze at all. Instantly, he knew they were scars; that was an obvious fact. Yet, he knew not what had caused them. The first thought that entered his mind was that Eddie had inflicted them upon her, but he had enough logic to know such wounds wouldn't have scarred over in such a short period of time. No, they were from a long time ago. If the man had thought about it for a while, he probably would have figured out what horror had left such a tangible memory ingrained in the soft skin of her back, but Faithe had turned around and cut his thoughts short with her grin.
He was about to ask her about the scars, but didn't think this was the time for such a question. Thinking about the earlier events- specifically, how Faithe had failed to remove her tank top at the lake- he came to the conclusion that the markings weren't exactly something Faithe wanted to remember, and, given the current situation, he wasn't about to rile her up again just as he had finally calmed her down to the point she was at now. There were too many other things going on. No, that question would have to wait.
Wiping the quizzically concerned expression off of his face, and hoping that he had done so soon enough, he returned Faithe's grin with a nod. His clothes had most certainly engulfed the young woman's petite figure, but it didn't matter to him; her beauty was still unsurpassable.
Feeling her arms around his neck, Orlando's found their way around her slender waist, getting bunched up in the excess fabric of the shirt as they did and prompting a small laugh to come from his lips. As her lips gently caressed his cheek, the man's eyes got a sort of dreamy sparkle in them, and his fingers entangled themselves together, joining his hands along the bottom of her spine. Chuckling slightly at her remark, he shook his head and kissed her forehead lightly.
"Haven't you ever heard of the 'Conservation of Mass Law'?" Orlando asked with a laugh. "I didn't make it disappear, only moved it all back to the bowl in the kitchen with a sort of apparation spell. Taking a few steps, and guiding her backwards, he moved the pair towards the bed as he continued talking.
"Drying clothes would require too much heat, even if the heat of vaporization for water is only 4.184 joules." he mused, lifting Faithe up a few inches and setting her down upon the bed. To one who didn't know him, it would appear like he was trying to throw in as many random scientific terms as possible, but that was simply how the man spoke. "And I don't exactly see you whipping out your wand, Miss Cunningham."
After allowing himself a moment to merely smirk at her, he unenthusiastically detangled his fingers and slowly unwound his arms from around her waist, running his hands fully along her back and around her sides until there was no where else for them to roam, and, only then, did he let his hands fall. Reaching behind him, he took her hands in his and lifted them up and over his head. Ducking under her embrace, he offered an apologetic smile as he placed their hands in her lap, and then let go of them.
"Just a minute," he whispered, holding up a finger, "If I don't get out of these wet shorts now, it's safe to say I'll end up sleeping in them tonight."
Grasping the dark pajama pants in one hand, he winked at her. A small popping noise was heard, and the man vanished, only to re-appear not more than a minute later, clad in the pants, which, not more than a minute ago, had been in his hand.
With a contented sort of sigh escaping his lips, the man walked the few steps to the bed and ran his fingers along her jawline as the slightest hint of a smile played upon his lips. Bending his knees, he gently kissed her cheek.
"It's almost three in the morning," he whispered into her ear, "You ought to go to sleep."
Resuming his full stature, he continued walking slowly around the end of the bed, around to the other side. Pulling back the sheet from that side, he sat down and slid over.
As he did so, the words he had spoken to her just fourteen days ago echoed through his mind:
'[I]I can promise you that tonight, at least, you will most definitely be falling asleep in its arms, with its fingers laced into your hair, your head resting against its chest, its head gently resting upon your own, and a soft, content smile upon your delightful lips, lighting up your beautiful face.[/I]'
For a moment, a sorrowful sort of look appeared on his face as he recalled the fact that he hadn't ever fulfilled that promise, and the reason why. Still sitting, for the moment at least, he reached his arms out, wrapping around Faithe's shoulders from behind her and pulling her towards him. Better late than never.
Searching his face so intently, it would have been nearly impossible for Faithe to miss the look of frustration on Orlando's face. She almost feared that his frustration seemed to deepen with defeat. The last thing she needed was for Orlando's spark of hope and resolve to burn out. Of course, she didn't want him to have to wear a mask about his anxiety, not with her.
As his facial features softened, Faithe felt a surge of hope in her chest. Although his words came out a soft whisper, the compassion with which he spoke, accompanied by the heartfelt expression on his handsome face, made Faithe believe him. Searching his blue eyes intently, a warmth seemed to envelope every part of her.
For the hundredth time that night, Faithe wondered how she had managed to get out of bed, and even open her eyes in the morning, for the past two weeks. The very thought of being away from him long enough to even use the bathroom made her chest contract, causing her to struggle with her breathing. She ahd missed everything about Orlando Lorenz, but could never capture just how much until she had been pulled into his embrace.
Faithe knew that they would get Kayte back, but the prospect that had been playing inside her mind was at price would the five year old be returned to her family. Bridget had never wanted Kaytlin because she had an interest in getting to know her daughter, but merely because she wanted to spite Jake and Faithe.
When they had found out that Bridget was pregnant, Jake learned to become more responsible than most teenage boys his age. Not only had he vowed to take care of their child, but when they were out of school, take care of Bridget just as well. As things worked out, Bridget wanted nothing to do with the baby or Jake after her pregnancy. When school was over with, Bridget left without a word. Not that it had made a difference to Kayte, who was only just turning three. Bridget had not played any part in raising Kaytlin.
Which was why Bridget held so much disdain towards Faithe. Whether it was jealousy, because Faithe had played such an important role in Kaytlin's upbringing, or because Bridget loathed her because she was such a big part of Jake's life, was unknown to Faithe. Of course, Bridget's dislike for Faithe had never mattered...until now. Bridget not only wanted to hurt Jake, but Faithe as well. Which was why Bridget had gone to Eddie for help.
Hearing the drawar slam shut, her eyebrows raised curiously. Staring at him inquisitvely, she simply shrugged, "Underwear drawer?" There was a hint of jovial amusement in the way the left side of her mouth crooked up in a smile. Her eyes continued to watch him as he brought their remaining articles of clothing so effortlessly into the room. A look of admiration crossed her face as he turned away from the window, that smile radiating the boyishness that Faithe knew the grown man still had.
A jittery flutter moved in her stomach as the word 'sexy' rolled off his tongue. Feeling her face turn bright red with a blush, she shook her head modestly as her eyes fell to the floor. A bashful smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she turned around.
((This is after she changed her shirt...))
Furrowing her eyebrows in curiosity, her head tilted to the side as she faced him. Silently pondering what the look of pensive confusion on his face was about, her left eyebrow crooked up. She was tempted to ask him what was on his mind, but decided against her inquiry as he nodded.
Hearing the small laugh from him, her features warmed over a heartfelt smile crossed her face. The sound of happiness eminating from Orlando moved Faithe in such a way she thought she was about to cry. The past two weeks had been filled with emptiness, heartache, and grief. Being able to hear the richness of Orlando's laugh, no matter how small it may have been, was the sweetest sound in the world to her.
Grinning, her eyes closed as hisl ips left a tingling sensation on her forehead. Wrinkling her nose, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him. Pretending to shoot him a look of arrogance, "Well, why didn't you just apparate the water back to the lake?" There was simplicity to her voice, suggesting that her form of action would have been the obvious thing to do. However, her brown eyes clearly said that she was just giving him a hard time for the fun of it.
As the feeling of weightlessness encompassed her, a squeal escaped her lips as he lifted her off her feet and sat her down on the bed. Wincing slightly, she offered a sheepish grin.
"That's because, Professor Lorenz, my awnd is currently poking me in my rhombus." Shifting to the side, she pulled the wand out from underneath her.
A small shiver ran through her spine as his hands ran along her back and her sides. Closing her eyes, her body seemed to melt in his warmth. Even after his hands had dropped, her eyes remained closed for a moment longer as a small pouty whien escaped. Opening her eyes slowly, she poked her bottom lip out and nodded. Jumping slightly as the popping noise echoed in the silence, Faithe smiled as he dispeared. Lazy bones...less than ten feet to the bathroom, and he can't take the time to walk... Giggline to herself, she shook her head. Too adorable...
When Orlando reappeared, Faithe almost screamed he startled her so much. As his fingers caressed her jawline, she took a deep breath, her eyes drooping from content. A tired smile appeared on her face as his lips touched her skin. At the mention of the late hour, a small yawn escaped her, accompanied by a tiny squeak. Nodding, she rubbed her eyes, "As should you. I think this is the earliest I've tried to go to bed in two weeks." Her eyes followed him as he strode towards the other side of the bed.
As his arms wrapped around her, a small whimper escaped her as his hand pressed the bruise on her collar bone. Shifting slightly so his hand was scooted over, she turned and gave him a weak, tired smile. With her back pressed against his front, she let out another sigh, her eyes closing as her physique seemed to melt into his.
Turning slightly so she was in more of a cradle position, her eyes drank in the sight that she had longed to look at for fourteen days. 336 hours... Her eyes began to slowly droop as she felt secure in his arms. For the first time in a week, she felt safe enough to allow herself to fall asleep.
Meeting her gaze after he had slammed the nightstand drawer closed, Orlando's face wore the most peculiar look. And, after hearing her question, the peculiarity only increased.
"Um. yeah," he answered slowly, not wanting to draw too much attention to the drawer. If she found the ring, it'd all be over. He had the perfect idea of how to propose to her, but this wasn't the time. He wanted everything to be perfect, and one of the requirements for perfection was school not being in session. After she had graduated, after news of his comet had died down, after Kayte was safe and well enough to be their flower girl. There were too many affairs that had to be put in order before he could even bring up such a thing. He wasn't worried, though; the time would come, and, when it did, he would seize the day.
"Why didn't I just 'apparate the water back to the lake'?" Orlando repeated sarcastically, as if such a thing was impossible. In fact, he probably could have done that, but liquids were much harder to apparate than solids, plus there was just too much water.
"Because," he replied, in a tone whose sarcastic bluntness rivaled that of Faithe's, "the lake already has enough water."
[quote]"That's because, Professor Lorenz, my wand is currently poking me in my rhombus." [/quote]
At the word "rhombus", which Orlando was accustomed to hearing only in a geometric sense, another peculiar look distorted his face, raising his eyebrows and shifting his lips as though he had just tasted something unpleasant. As she procured her wand from, seemingly, nowhere, confusion swept over his face, followed by a slight afterthought of something vaguely resembling horror.
"You obviously weren't using the parallelogram definition for rhombus." he said quietly, "But I don't think I ought to ask what you did mean by it."
[quote]"As should you. I think this is the earliest I've tried to go to bed in two weeks." [/quote]
Hearing Faithe say that, Orlando's worrying resumed. Poor girl. so overwhelmed with things that she couldn't sleep at night. He, himself, hadn't ever [I]tried[/I] to go to sleep in the past two weeks, but, somehow, had always ended up doing so. Sighing mentally, his lips pursed themselves together sorrowfully.
"[I]You should have come to me, then[/I]," he wanted to tell her. Although he couldn't have eased her fears or done anything too constructive, he would have gladly offered himself as someone she could talk to. If she wanted to talk, he would listen; if she wanted to be quiet, he'd hold her in his arms; and, if she needed a shoulder to cry on, he'd be more than happy to offer her one of his. He knew why she hadn't come, though, and, thus, couldn't make himself tell her that she ought to have.
Hearing her whimper, the man cringed a bit, knowing he'd hit a bruise. He would have tried to shift his hands, but she was already moving herself, and he figured she knew best where his hands ought to go. Feeling her lean against his body, it was as though he had been a puzzle before, missing half the pieces, yet, as she fit herself against him, the puzzle was completed.
Lacing his fingers through her hair and resting his head upon her own, he reluctantly unwound an arm from around her to pull the thin sheet atop the two of them, shaking it lightly to rid it of the remaining books that still sat atop it. Once done, he rewrapped his arm around her, smiling ever so softly as she fell asleep with a small, content smile upon her delightful lips, lighting up her beautiful face.
At some point not long after that, Orlando's own eyes began to droop until they finally closed. Falling asleep, a feeling of satisfaction that had been absent from his body for fourteen days reappeared, manifesting itself in the form of a small, content smile upon the man's own lips.
"That makes sense. Why put water where it's plentiful when you have a nice dry room right here." Grinning, she winked at him, her nose wrinkling ever so slightly. Staring at him, the left side of her mouth upturned in a mischievous smile. It amazed her how she'd smiled and laughed more in the past hour than in the past two weeks combined. It didn't surprise her though. Not with Orlando around. There was always this indescribable joy inside of her, even when things seemed to be at the lowest turning point.
Laughing at his utterly adorable confusion, she listened to him with an amused smile. Closing her eyes, she laughed softly, shaking her head.
"My wand was sticking me in my tushy because I left it on your bed when we left." The amusement that played in her eyes was only heightened by the air in her voice, but she was staring at him with such an intense look of adoration.
Falling asleep in his arms, Faithe felt more than content. There was a sense of safety, of protection that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that surrounded her. Not only within the boundaries of the school, but simply within this very room. Though Faithe would do anything to keep her troubles reaching Orlando, simply knowing that he was there, and knowing he would keep her safe if the need arose, made her feel calm. Every time she had closed her eyes since that past Friday, all she could see was Eddie's malicious smile, the pleasure radiating from his eyes how much pleasure he was taking in tormenting her.
As she lay there in his arms, the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat sang her to sleep. Her breathing became in sync with the steady rise and fall of his chest as the two lay there. There was an inner warmth that seemed to spread inside of her as she snuggled deeper into his arms.
Two hours after the two had laid there, Faithe began to turn in her sleep. Her eyebrows had furrowed together in a panged expression as she rolled to the other side of the bed. The look of contentment had disappeared as the young woman's nightmares flooded her mind.
Waking with a start, she jolted out of sleep, whimpering softly. Sitting up, her breathing had become irregular and slightly erratic. Having broken out in a cold sweat, and her body trembling viciously, she buried her face in her hands. Weeping quietly, she stood up and walked towards the couch. The last thing she wanted to do was wake Orlando up with her crying. She had put the man through enough of her emotional strife for one night. Sitting down on the couch, she hugged her knees tightly for comfort. Burying her face in her knees, she continued to let the tears flow down her cheeks in a silent lament.
"Of course."
The words were quiet and slightly unenthused as Orlando replied. 'So, "rhombus" is another word for "tushy".' he thought to himself, making a mental note.
Sleeping soundly, or at least as soundly as he could with Kayte still being out there alone, Orlando felt somewhat content. Faithe was back where she belonged- safe in his arms- and with her sleeping in his embrace, he at last felt like it was alright to sleep. No nightmares came to him as he slept, only pleasant visions of himself carrying Kayte upon his shoulders as he walked hand-in-hand with Faithe throughout the world.
As she rolled away, his arms, frozen around her protectively, offered resistance, but it wasn't enough to prevent her from escaping his hold. With the warmth of her body absent from his bare chest, the cool summer air brushed against it, chilling him slightly. Feeling this, he shifted, but wasn't quite conscious enough to do anything more. Yet, his ears soon picked up the quiet whimpering and the sound of her rapid breathing. It took him a moment, but the man did eventually wake.
Realizing Faithe was no longer in his arms, he reached out to the other side of the bed. Feeling nothing but a rumpled sheet, he sat up and quickly glanced around.
"Faithe?" he called into the darkness. Beginning to panic that something had happened to the young woman while he had been sleeping, he leapt from his bed and ran to the door. Once there, he became more aware of the quiet crying coming from the main room of the tiny dormitory. Faithe's crying.
It sounded mournful and upset, but not pained, thereby curing Orlando of the thought Bridget or Eddie had come into his room and hurt her. Cracking the door open just slightly, his blue eyes peered over the frame's edge, searching his habitation for Faithe. Spotting a few strands of hair over the top of the couch, he teeth instinctively began gnawing upon his tongue as he approached her.
She looked like a broken porcelain doll like that; hugging her knees to her chest, with her head buried in them, bruised, battered, and sobbing quietly. It broke Orlando's heart, because he knew that he couldn't fix it. In spite of his superiority in the ways of wandwork, there wasn't a spell in any book of any library that could take this pain from her.
Gradually he made his way around the side of the couch. Placing a hand upon its arm, he looked down at her for a moment, torn by her seemingly inconsolable state, as a mournful expression played upon his face. Slowly, he eased himself down onto the floor, kneeling in front of where she sat crumpled upon the couch. She'd obviously had a sort of nightmare; Orlando had had enough to know. Tenderly reaching his fingers up, he stroked her hair with one hand as the other wrapped around her back.
"Oh, Faithe." he whispered quietly, leaning his head against hers.
So embraced in her emotion, Faithe didn't hear the soft sounds of Orlando's feet on the floor. Of course, the door being closed was an attribute in the muffled sound. Hugging her knees tighter, she continued to allow the tears to fall down her cheeks. Despite the fact that Orlando's presence had gone unnoticed, she didn't jump when his hand touched her hair. Feeling his arm slide around her back, she lifted her head, her cheeks stained with tears.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her face into his neck. Simply having him by her side brought a surge of comfort within her, comfort she had been searching for all week. Looking up at him, there was an apologetic expression in her eyes as she met his eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I just..." Sighing, she shook her head soundlessly. Sitting up, she allowed her hands to drop in her lap, her eyes staring down at the couch cushion.
"Everytime I fall asleep I relive it." Her voice was soft and trembling, but she was in much more control that she had been earlier. Closing her eyes, she swallowed with difficulty before opening her eyes. "I have that same feeling of dread...guilt. I see him holding me back from Kaytlin. I feel him hitting me and kicking me." Closing her eyes once more, she took in a deep breath. This was the first time she had opened up to this level about what had happened. Even though she had lost it out on the dock, this wasn't the same. Shaking her head, her eyes remained closed.
"I see him slamming me against the wall, pulling out his wand. I feel that ineffable pain from that curse..." Allowing her words to fade away, Faithe slowly opened her eyes, but her gaze remained on the couch cushion. Shaking her head, a soft sigh escaped her lips. Finally averting her gaze to look into Orlando's brilliant blue eyes, her eyes searched his. "Most of all, I keep seeing the look of confused desperation on a five year old's face."
((This sucks. You deserved better. I'm in a rut, I guess :oP Um, I won't be on this afternoon for a bit; my dad's coming back from Germany and I've gotta pick him up from the airport))
At the sight of Faithe's tear-covered face, the man felt guilt stab at him. Since he had found out about Kayte's kidnapping, his mind had gradually been building up a scenario, and, the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt. He could have prevented all of this. If he had been there, he could have taken on Bridget and Eddie. He could have protected Faithe and saved Kaytlin. If only he had been there. The truth was that the man had been planning on going to the show, but, given the current state of his relationship with Faithe, passed the opportunity up. If he hadn't let Demeter back in for that one single moment he did, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have hurt Faithe; he would have been there last weekend; he would have been there to help Faithe and save Kaytlin; and, right then, Kayte would be sleeping soundly in her own bed while Faithe slept curled beneath his arms in his. In his mind, it was simple; the fault was his.
As her arms wrapped themselves around his neck and he felt her shaky, warm breath upon his neck, his own arms tightened themselves around her back. Pushing himself off the ground, he sat on the couch next to her, pulling her into his chest as a vacant expression began to contort his face. [I]'Look at what you've done..[/I]' his mind taunted him. [I]'She's apologizing to [/I]you[I]. You don't deserve her.[/I]'
Shaking his head at her apology, he kissed the top of her forehead. His guilt wasn't her problem, and he wasn't about to further burden her with such. He knew she'd deny the truth and tell him he had no bearing on what had happened, and, with two remorseful people, there would be no strong one for the other to lean upon. He wouldn't voice his thoughts. Instead, he'd stay strong, for Faithe.
"No," he whispered, "Don't apologize, sleep isn't more important than you. It's not like I could have slept without you in my arms anyways. I don't think it took me more than a minute to wake up once you left, did it?
"You ought to have just woken me up right there in bed," he added with an odd sort of smile.
Listening to every word she spoke intently, the man could almost visualize what had happened. His eyes closed, and he could envision Faithe's delicate body sprawled against the wall, held down by Eddie's hand, then jolting with each slap and each kick. Hearing her voice cease to speak, he re- opened his eyes and held her tightly against him; the action itself was more of an afterthought, as though by holding her now, he could protect her in some way.
"Faithe," he whispered, so soft that it was almost inaudible, "this is [I]not[/I] your fault."
'[I]It's mine.[/I]'
As she spoke of the wand, a slight anger boiled up in Orlando's eyes, turning them a gray color. Eddie had definitely earned the man's hate. But, amidst that feeling of abhorrence, the man's own guilt still prevailed. If only he had been there.
At her last words the man uttered a choked breath of his own as a vision of Kayte filled his own mind combined with Faithe's eyes finally meeting his own. A child was the embodiment of innocence, and Kayte was an angel. To wrong anything that pure was simply decadent.
"I know," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her again and pressing her gently against him. "I know, Faithe.
"I promise we'll get her back, and she'll be fine."
His voice trailed off then. He wanted to believe that everything would work out like that. And, in some ways, he did believe it. Yet his obscured realism nagged at him, telling him that it wouldn't be that easy. Redemption couldn't be that easy. He may have won Faithe back, but the repercussions from his decision to be untrue to her for even that little moment were still abound. Until he had rectified every single problem his unfaithfulness had caused, he would still feel the guilt. It wouldn't be as easy as it had seemed.
He hadn't anything else to say. There was nothing he could say to make it better, and each word that escaped his mouth was just another superfluous one. Until he had Kayte safe back in Faithe's arms, there was nothing he could do to help her. Still, he would try to calm the young woman in his arms, but he knew each attempt would only prove itself futile.
"Everything'll be alright, Faithe."
Shaking her head, a soft laugh escaped her lips at comment. Wiping her eyes with the palms of her hands, she looked up at him, "I didn't want to wake you up. You need sleep sweetie."
She allowed herself to be pulled towards him, her face snuggling into his chest. Listening to his soft consolations, her eyes closed once more. Shaking her head softly, she laid her hand on his chest in front of hair face.
"I know what they did wasn't my fault. I just...I feel so helpless Orlando. I hate that feeling..." It was also a feeling that Faithe wasn't familiar with. She was a fixer - anytime there was a problem she tried to be there, fixing it. Anytime problems had surfaced in the past that seemed too great for to deal with, she simply strove harder to make things turn out the way they were supposed to. This time, however, things were out of her reach, and there was only one way to fix it. The only problem with that is that Jake had forbidden her to do it.
Feeling him pull her closer to him, she allowed her eyes to shut once more. She felt exhuasted, both emotionally and physically, now that she had allowed her emotions to creep out of her. This was how things had been working with her for the past week. She would be awake till all hours of the night, then fall asleep for a short period, wake up bawling, exert herself till she could hardly move, and then eventually drift back off for another hour or so. It had become a routine for the previous six nights, and she didn't know why she thought the seventh would be any different.
Her body began to slowly relax as she laid in his arms, breathing once more in sync with his. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat still held a sense of contentment for her. A contentment that only Orlando could bring to her. Allowing the silence to envelope her, save the steady beating, Faithe felt her mind drifting off into sleep once more. It didn't take too long for the exhaustion in her body to overtake her into sleep, her body eventually relaxing completely in Orlando's arms.
((Cute typo of the moment: "she laid her hand on his chest in front of [b]hair[/b] face" Hee hee hee.))
As she spoke of feeling helpless, Orlando offered a silent nod. He completely understood what she was feeling. Like Faithe, Orlando had always been someone to rectify certain inequities rather than simply stand there and let them take their toll. With the man's knowledge and perseverance, there hadn't ever really been a problem, save emotional ones, that he couldn't fix. And, now, feeling that helplessness, as though there was nothing at all he could do to fight back against the pain. it was worse than the pain itself.
Letting Faithe's eyes close themselves and her breathing once more synchronize itself with his own, Orlando arms loosened around her and a hand reached up to stroke the young woman's damp hair for a moment. So beautiful, so young, so innocent. She didn't deserve to feel the wrath of the world's anger any more than Kaytlin did. Yet, she was feeling it in its entirety and still wouldn't let it conquer her. The young woman never accepted defeat, but merely continued her endeavors to fight against complete subjugation however she could. and she had been fighting alone.
Already that night had the thought passed through the man's mind, now it echoed once more, and he was reminded of how strong Faithe truly was. She had gotten through six nights and seven days of this torment completely alone, and now, even in his presence, was still fighting for her piece of mind.
Feeling her body completely relax into his own, he finally noticed she was asleep and a small smile crossed his face. Perhaps, now, she could finally get some sleep- something she so desperately needed. He, on the other hand, had become too worked up to indulge himself in such a serenity. Plagued by guilt, worry and fear, sleep would have been impossible for him, even if he had desired it.
Slowly, he shifted Faithe in his arms, taking great care not to wake nor injure the girl, and stood up. Leisurely walking back into the bedroom, he laid her gently upon the mattress, covering her with the sheet and planting a gentle kiss upon her forehead. Returning to the other side of the bed, he procured his wand from the top of the nightstand ((where I hope he left it)) and whispered a quick silencing charm over the room to prevent himself from waking her.
Now that Faithe was taken care of, the man had business himself to attend to. Casually flitting his brilliantly blue eyes around the room, he searched the floor for a particular few of the books he had been musing over before he had fallen asleep for the first time but a few short hours ago. Finding them, he quietly gathered them in his arms and proceeded toward the main room of the dormitory, shutting the door on his way out.
Laying them out across the wooden floor ((which I hope I didn't say was stone in another, previous post)), he, too, laid down, upon his stomach and, propping himself up with his elbow, began to thumb through them, searching for that one particular spell he had seen earlier. It had been a locating spell that would have worked quite nicely, had he had a piece of an object that the missing person had on their person, like a piece of fabric from a dress or something of the like. He hadn't had anything like that then and still didn't have exactly what the spell called for, but, perhaps the necklace Faithe had would work, after all, it was, in some way, part of something Kayte had on her. Finding what he was looking for, the man slid a piece of parchment between the pages as a sort of bookmark, then resumed skimming the rest of the text in hopes of another spell that might prove more useful.
As his eyes surveyed them, his fingers flipped each page in turn, finding nothing of interest, save a basic charm that would enchant a muggle compass to point in the vague direction of the missing. Orlando did place another scrap of parchment on its page, but didn't really hold out much hope for it proving useful. Kayte could be anywhere in the world, and the chances of the charm being able to locate such a small body on a name alone weren't exactly great. The spell might have been worthwhile if he was looking for a particular student within Rosencrantz, but one little girl in the entire world? Impossible.
Setting that book aside, his hand reached for another one, and a rather lengthly yawn escaped his lips. Although the man wasn't mentally craving sleep, physically, he most certainly was. Still pouring over his books, he gradually began to read the pages, but not comprehend them. His eyes merely flitted over the words, but their meanings went no further. By the stroke of six o'clock, barely an hour after he had begun, the man's face was buried in the sixth volume of [u]Rarely Useful Spells[/u] and he was fast asleep.
Serenity wasn't the word Faithe would use when she had fallen asleep the past two weeks, but she was unconscious anyways. When Orlando stood, a small moan emitted from her throat as she was moved in her sleep. Snuggling her head into his chest, she remained asleep, though very light sleep. When he set her down, another objectionary moan could be heard, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. As Orlando bent down and kissed her forehead, her eyebrows relaxed, and Faithe looked peaceful, for a little while.
Still sleeping horribly and having nightmares, Faithe awoke with a start. Looking over to her side, her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw that it was empty and she was alone. For a minute, as she sat up, she almost started to have a panic attack, but forced herself to calm down. Taking a deep breath, she stood up, a small shiver rippling through her body at the chill that was in the air. Looking at a nearby clock, it wasn't even six yet. Pulling a small throw blanket off the back of a chair, she wrapped it around her shoulders. ((Yeah, well...I'm g-moding his room.))
Walking out, her eyes claimed a look of worry as she didn't spot any sign of Orlando. As she turned a corner, her foot hit the corner of a book. Looking down, a small, amused smile spread over her face as her hand covered her mouth. Sitting down on her knees, she picked up one of the nearest books that had a piece of parchment sticking out of the top. Curiosity getting the better of her, Faithe thumbed through the worn pages, stopping at the page the parchment was at. Reading over it, a look of disbelief crossed her face.
Was this what he had been doing all night? Faithe had to fight herself from throwing herself on him in a grateful hug. Staring at him, his head literally in the book as he lay on his stomach, a look of adoration crossed her face. I don't deserve this...
Reaching down, she stroked his hair gently. She wished she had someway to get him into bed without waking him up, but there wasn't a way for her to do that, unless wanted to levitate him. However, the word disaster popped into mind with that possibility. Sliding her hand down to his shoulder, she shook him gently. She hated waking him up, again, but he needed to get in bed, not sleep on the floor.
"Orlando," speaking softly as she continued to shake his shoulder, "Come on sweetie, come get in bed."
Though physically unconscious, Orlando's mind continued to live under the impression that he was still reading. He dreamt that he was still awake, lying upon his floor and still searching for a spell. Turning the book pages, he found useless spell after useless spell, and, in his dream, began to despair when he heard a voice- Faithe's voice.
Her voice and touch stirred him from his unconscious state, allowing the stench of old library book to infiltrated his nostrils as he head spent another few moments in the pages of volume six. Slowly, his eyes opened and met the blurry text, informing Orlando that he had fallen asleep.
At the moment, the man was too overcome with frustration to realize what- who, rather- had woken him from his light slumber. A frustrated groan escaped his lips as he shifted upon the books, moving muscles that had been frozen in awkward positions for nearly an hour. How was he supposed to save Kayte if he couldn't stay awake long enough to even find a decent spell? Sitting up, he turned away from Faithe, still not awake enough to know she was there. Reaching up a hand, he placed it upon his forehead with a low moan. His head ached from not having eaten in a few days, and he was beginning to feel slightly light-headed. Cracking his neck, his eyes caught sight of Faithe and a small smile lit his lips as her earlier words were pushed to the front of his mind.
Sighing, he brought her into his embrace. Instantly he wondered why she was there when he had placed her into the bed seemingly only moments ago. Realizing she must have had another nightmare, he felt sorry he hadn't been there. She'd probably woken up scared and alone, and come out looking for him, worried like he had been when he'd woken up to find her gone. After gently kissing the crown of her head as an un-verbally accompanied apology, he pulled back and considered her request.
Her words had been sweet enough, pleading with him to come back to bed. Had he not felt bad about leaving Faithe alone, he would have refused without a second-thought, choosing, instead, to skim the remaining books until, once more, he fell asleep in them. However, he didn't want Faithe to have to be alone, and, thus, reluctantly agreed:
"Alright."
The word came out barely above a whisper as the man stood, gently bringing Faithe up with him. Tired and worn as he was, he didn't want Faithe to have to walk all ten feet back to the bedroom. Slowly scooping her up into his arms, he carried her back through the open door and laid her down upon the mattress before walking around to the other side.
Sluggishly pulling the sheet over their two bodies once more, the man didn't speak. Whether he was too tired to do so or just had nothing to say was unclear. Guiding Faithe's head to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and, within a moment, had fallen back asleep, this time slightly more content.
Raising her eyebrow as she groaned, but when he sat up and laid his hand on his forehead, her eyebrows furrowed. Concern played on her face as she watched him, unsure if he was all right or not. Her body shuddered as he cracked his neck, her face wrinkling as the sound of popping bones reached her ears.
Though the sound bothered her, she didn't have the same reasoning as most people. Everytime she heard the sound of bones cracking, visions of her fall flashed through her mind. The sickening crack that she heard as her spine snapped and her wrist broke still plagued her. Swallowing distastefully, she returned his smile with a sheepish grin.
Allowing herself to be pulled into his embrace, a small smile crept onto her lips as she closed her eyes. Opening them when she felt his lips, she looked up at him as he pulled away after the small kiss on her head. Looking at him curiously, she tilted her head sideways ever so slightly. Smiling as he agreed, and stood up with him, giving him a small peck on his lips. Wrapping her arms around his neck as he picked her up, she shook her head, an amused expression in her face.
Watching him walk around the bed soundlessly, Faithe couldn't shake the smile on her face as she watched him crawl into bed next to her. Allowing her head to be pulled onto his chest, she allowed her body to relax, though her eyes were still staring at him. Reaching her hand up, she stroked his cheek gently and repititiously until he fell asleep. Even after he had fallen asleep, her brown eyes continued to watch him. Before long, her own eyes began to weigh heavily from exhaustion, and she had fallen asleep.
****
Moaning softly as she rolled over, her eye flitted open. Blinking a few times, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, enabling her vision to clear. Looking at the clock, she was slightly shocked to find it to be almost noon. That was the longest she had slept in two weeks. Yawning, her eyes flitted over to Orlando, who was still asleep. Smiling, she crept out of bed quietly, and slipped silently out of the room.
Returning after a half hour, with a tray in her hand, she set it down on the floor next to his side of the bed. Breakfast in bed was becoming a relatively fast trend with the two, but Faithe enjoyed it. The two plates both had a hearty looking omelet on them, with a few strips of bacon. Trying to keep put something somewhat healthy in their bodies, she had cut up fresh fruit and there were two small, glass bowls with miniture fruit salads on them.
Leaning over, she brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes and kissed him in an attempt to wake him up.
Orlando's brilliantly blue eyes curiously followed Faithe as she reached down and procured the tray. Seeing it, the man shook his head and kept his inevitable chuckling to a minumum. Breakfast in bed had almost become a tradition with them as one of them had made it every time they'd slept together ((and done nothing but sleep, obviously...)).
Seeing the delectable-looking omelete upon the plate adorned with a marvelous fruit salad, the man's face softened with a reverent smile. It was obvious she hadn't just conjured up the food. Indeed, she never ceased to amaze him, not only with her sweetness, but also the fact that she could make such a scrumptious breakfast with what little his pathetic excuse for a kitchen had offered.
Grinning that boyish grin, he gratiously took a plate from the tray and began cutting away pieces of the omelete to put into his mouth rather hastily.
"Mm-hmm," he replied with a grin, knowing full well that his mouth was full of half-chewed egg and such.
Swallowing it, he planted a kiss upon her cheek.
"Is this little tradition of breakfast in bed going to continue after we're married?" he asked, not really realizing what he was saying.
Raising her eyebrow as he stuffed his face, a small laugh escaped her mouth when kissed her cheek. Shaking her head with an amused expression on her face, she tilted her head, the amused expression melted into one of adoration. Aww...he's so cute when he stuffs his face... Lifting her small glass of juice, she took a small sip.
quote:
Is this little tradition of breakfast in bed going to continue after
we're married?
As the words comprehended inside her mind, she choked on the juice out of shock. Coughing a few times, she set her juice down. Rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands, she blinked a few times. Looking at him for a moment, a small smile, accompanied by a light blush, filled her face. Picking up her bowl of fruit and a fork, she picked out a strawberry, chewing on it, more or less for something to do. Swallowing it, she grinned at him.
"I hope so..." Lowering her eyes, she speared a banana slice, still feeling the shock of his words. That had definitely been unexpected. Of course, the thought of marriage between the two had been silent reveries, but this was the first time either had ventured to even verbally mention it to the other. The idea of it wasn't a bad one though, that was for sure.
The words themselves had been formed subconsciously within Orlando's mind, hoping, to some extent, to get a feel on where Faithe stood on the idea of marriage. He knew that she, as well as he himself, was young, perhaps too young to fully grasp the extent of commitment that such an idea entailed, but, nevertheless, his mind had been considering the option a lot more often, in between his near anxiety attacks due to Kaytlin's kidnapping and Faithe's mysterious disappearance. Yet it wasn't until much more than a second after the words escaped Orlando's lips that his mind realized he had said them.
Instantly a bright blush had encompassed his cheeks, and his eyes diverted down to the almost-gone omelet upon his plate just as Faithe began choking upon her juice. Worried he had upset her, his eyes darted up as her coughing ceased and saw her palms rubbing her eyes. He wanted to drop his gaze, but couldn't help but leave it upon her, fulfilling his curiosity. Then came that smile upon her face, complemented by the most precious rosy- ness in her cheeks. Mentally sighing with relief, Orlando gradually returned the smile, which almost looked like a proud sort of beam.
It only lasted a moment though, before thoughts re-entered his head, giving him an awkward feeling as he began picking absentmindedly through the fruit salad in silence, blush still upon his cheeks.
"I'm going to go take a shower," he announced, setting the plate back upon the tray and easing his way out of the bed. "Then we can start looking for Kayte."
And with that random little declaration, he made his way out of the room and into the bathroom.
Blushing at his blush, and his smile, her own eyes lowered to the fruit. Looking up as he set his plate down, a slightly worried look crossed her face. She hadn't meant to upset him or anything, but apparently she had. I should have left it alone...
Watching him walk away, she fought the urge to run after him. Hearing the door shut, she waved her wand and all the dishes and food vanished. Well, at least she had eaten three pieces of fruit in the past four days.
Looking down, she lifted the star, placing her index finger and thumb on the points of the star. Concentrating her magic, she waited for the familiar feelings to wash over her. The only problem was, nothing ever came. Looking down, the star remained lifeless.
"No, no, no, NO!" Screaming the last 'no' that came out of her mouth, Faithe stood up, completely panic stricken. Yanking in a futile attempt to rip the necklace from her neck, her breathing became extremely fast and rapid. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes, on the verge of hyperventilating.
Grabbing a small pile of clothes from the top of his dresser on the way out, Orlando made his way to the bathroom. Pushing open the door with one hand, his other dropped the clothes messily onto the left side of the sink. Turning halfway around, he gently shut the door with a sigh. What was that? In Orlando's mind, there were three key things he'd just done wrong. First, he'd mentioned marriage. Secondly, he'd mentioned it casually. Thirdly, he hadn't mentioned it casually enough for it to appear as a joke.
Pulling the waist of his pants, they slid down to the floor, allowing him to step out of them.
It was no secret that the notion now had a permanent residence in the man's mind. After all, two weeks ago, he'd been so infatuated with the idea that he'd actually bought Faithe an engagement ring. However, he hadn't had the slightest intention of actually bringing up the idea with her for quite some time. She was still in school; it was bad enough that he was sneaking around rules to date her and there was no need to have a student-teacher wedding. Not only that, but she was also only eighteen- much too young to consider something like that. It wasn't that Orlando doubted her in any way, only that, at such a young age, she had her whole life before her; it wasn't fair of him to ask her to tie herself to him when she might answer just because she'd never experienced love with anyone else.
He stepped inside the shower, running a hand through his hair as he basked in the warm, monotonous flow of water.
Then again, if he had had to mention it, he could have at least mentioned it with a general feeling behind the words- one that would have allowed him to turn one way or the other instead of being indecisive at a T- intersection and crashing right into the "ßà" sign. Maybe if he'd introduced the topic a little more sincerely- more seriously- instead of letting the first time he mentioned it be so causal and. dumb-sounding. Or if he'd at least tried to make it into more of a joke.
Near-violently pushing the water off, Orlando grabbed the towel he'd flung over the shower door and wrapped it around his waist after rubbing his hair with it for a moment in a half-baked attempt to dry it.
Pushing the thought out of his mind as he shaved his rugged beard off, giving his face that oddly juvenile look that made him look his age. Shaking his head at the reflection, his mind jumped thoughts and began feeling guilty about leaving Faithe how he had. And then, once he'd thought of Faithe, the man remembered about Kaytlin. Life just kept getting better.
Throwing on his forest green shirt and jeans, he ran his hand over his face, trying to regain some sense of control. It seemed that his world just kept spinning out of hand. Placing his hand upon the doorknob he turned it, but didn't open the door. There was a part of him that wanted to remain in the bathroom just then- safe from everything was so rapidly swirling out of control. Yet Faithe was out there.
Thus, with a sigh, he pushed open the door and returned to the bedroom. Pushing the door completely open, his eyes widened at the sound of Faithe's rapid breathing. Drowned out by a combination of the shower water and his own thoughts, Faithe's shouts hadn't been audible, and he hadn't a clue what had happened. Rushing over to where she leaned upon the wall, Orlando took her in his arms and gently eased her down to the floor.
"What is it, Faithe?" he asked with worry inundating his voice. "What happened?"
Faithe's usual pale complexion, which had been paler the past couple weeks, had gone chalk white. Almost as if in shock, she hadn't noticed Orlando's reappearance, or the fact that she was now sitting on the ground. Her brown eyes were so dark they almost looked black, and they hadn't blinked in several minutes.
Her body was trembling as if she'd just seen a ghost. Well, maybe a ghost wouldn't be so unusual for a witch, but you get the general impression. Her head kept tilting forward as her eyes shut, looking as if she were going to faint. However, her eyes would open and her head would pull back up. If Orlando had spoken to her, she hadn't heard it.
Absolute terror filled every part of her body, and she was about to hyperventilate. Her left hand still remained on the star in the same position, but the star still remained lifeless.
Cradling her as he was, Orlando soon found himself in a similar state of terror. Faithe's state of near-unconsciousness was horrifying, and, if it hadn't been for her mechanical motions and the face that she was breathing so rapidly, he might have thought her dead. Jaw slung slightly open, his eyes searched her practically lifeless body desperately. until they landed upon the star on her neck. Instantaneously, the man knew (or, at least thought he knew) what had happened.
"No."
The breathy word passed through the man's lips almost inaudibly. A moment of silence, save Faithe's breathing, passed as shock came over the man: Kaytlin was dead.
Letting go of Faithe so quickly that the action might have been interpreted as violent, he bolted up off the bedroom floor. Leaping onto the bed, he snatched his wand from the nightstand and then darted out the door, into the main room of the dormitory, where all the books lay. Frantically rummaging through them, he found the pages he had bookmarked early that morning. Skimming them quickly, he found not a single one to be as useful as it had seemed at 5:00am.
Grunting with frustration, he flung volume six over the couch and hastily grabbed whatever book was closest to him, which happened to be volume 8 of Rarely Useful Spells. Flipping through the pages, the man found his own breathing had become rapid, like that of Faithe. Page after page of the book was providing him with nothing useful, and he was beginning to have less and less control over himself as the fear of reality took hold of him.
Finally, he found something: a charm of sorts that would enchant a mirror to see someone. provided they had another enchanted mirror.
Cursing the book, he continued reading, only to find a slightly altered version of the mirror spell beneath it. This spell involved enchanting a pair of muggle eyeglasses to see anywhere in the world. Perhaps he could combine one of his seemingly useless locating spells with that one.
Pointing his wand towards the bedroom door, he "Accio"-ed an old pair of glasses (for the man had contacts, now) from the second drawer of his nightstand to his outstretched hand.
Eyes skimming the list of necessary ingredients, he began gnawing nervously upon his tongue as he magically summoned the items to him from the top cupboard of his kitchen, hoping he had everything necessary. For the most part, he did, save the livonett powder, for which he substituted celix root, and, within two short minutes, he had managed to hastily enchant the glasses. If he had done everything correctly, and the celix root's properties weren't too far off those of the livonett powder, he should be able to see Kayte.
Hesitantly, he raised the glasses up, intending to look through them, but couldn't quite make himself do it for fear of what he might see.
Orlando's presence had been unnoticed when he'd been there, and his dissapearance didn't quite click inside of her. Sitting there, her gaze continued to be unfocused and in another world. After what seemed like hours, her hand finally dropped from the star.
Her chest was heaving up and down as she fought for every breath, she slumped against the wall. Tilting her head back, she swallowed with difficulty. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and she almost lost her balance.
Jake... Orlando's presence had been unnoticed when he'd been there, and his dissapearance didn't quite click inside of her. Sitting there, her gaze continued to be unfocused and in another world. After what seemed like hours, her hand finally dropped from the star.
Her chest was heaving up and down as she fought for every breath, she slumped against the wall. Tilting her head back, she swallowed with difficulty. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and she almost lost her balance.
Jake...
Swallowing loudly, Orlando took a deep breath and rolled his head in a futile effort to calm himself. He didn't know what he'd see when he looked through the enchanted glass and, in some ways, didn't want to. Yet this was something he had to do...
Thus, with his tongue violently tearing his tongue apart, the man closed his eyes and set the glasses upon his face. Three... two... one...
Nothing.
The only thing in front of his eyes was a rather distorted vision of his feet.
Uncharacteristically, an explicative escaped the man's lips as he removed the glasses from his face, throwing them onto the couch as he let his head slump backwards.
He didn't know what to do now...
Biting his lip, his face contracted, almost to prevent himself from completely breaking down. Choking back a sob, he lifted his head back up and ran a hand across it as a thought crossed his mind: Jake.
Closing his eyes, he apparated back to the bedroom, landing just inches from Faithe, who, evidently, had worked herself up to the point where she collapsed. Taking her in his arms, he cradled her fragile body, and, holding it tightly against his own, apparated the pair to Jake's apartment, landing somewhere in the living room.
Setting her exhausted body upon the couch, he slowly stood back up, looking around for any signs of life.
"Jake...?"
Vaguely aware of Orlando this time, and his arms enveloping her, she allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. Her eyes had once more taken on that vacant, unblinking expression as the two apparated to Jake's apartment. The second Orlando had stood up and left her on the couch, she hugged her knees tightly.
Jake had been in his bedroom, making a futile attempt at sleep. Hearing a voice in his apartment, his hand flew to his wand, ready to run out there and attack the intruder. However, he recognized the voice as Orlando's, and instead, stood up and put his wand in his pocket.
Why is Orlando here? It made him feel slightly uneasy that he was there. His sudden appearance could be a bad sign, but Jake pushed it out of his head. Until he walked into the living room. Eyebrows furrowing with a worried expression, he practically ran to the couch.
"Izzy?" Kneeling down in front of Faithe, he reached up and touched her cheek. Looking up at Orlando, he shot him a quizzical expression. "What happened? What's going on?"
Taking a breath, Orlando's face resumed that vacant look. His skin appeared to hang off his face, and his eyes looked as though they were made of glass. Staring almost vacantly into space, the blue orbs flitted between Faithe and Jake slowly, taking each of them in. He'd done what he'd needed to, and now the adrenaline was slowly leaving his body, and reality was settling back into the man's mind.
"Kayte... she's..."
Unable to say it, Orlando let himself slump down to the ground. Leaning his head back, he let out a sort of sigh.
"Faithe's necklace...
"I found her like that on the floor of my room, and her fingers were on the necklace, but nothing was happening...
"Kayte's dead, Jake."
Jake didn't like the look on Orlando's face before he spoke, and the fact that his sister looked like she was in shock didn't add to his comfort. As Orlando sputtered his words, Jake's hand slowly fell. A cold feeling settled over the man as a feeling of dread that he had ever known settled over him.
quote:
"Kayte's dead, Jake."
Falling back into his butt, Jake's eyes grew wide as his jaw dropped. His eyes fell to the ground and he began shaking his head.
"No." Swallowing hard, he forced the words out of his mouth. "No, she isn't." Standing up quickly, he looked over at Faithe, who hadn't moved since she'd been set down on the couch.
"Isabelle would have felt it. Izzy?" Leaning over her, he placed his hands on Faithe's shoulder relatively firmly. HIs voice was soft and pleading as a look of terror filled his eyes. "You felt it when Grandmommy died, which means you would have felt Kaytlin. You didn't feel it, did you?"
Faithe's eyes remained staring at the wall, but not seeing anything. Jake's patience level was incredibly thin, and her silence wasn't helping.
"Answer me Isabelle." His jaw was clenched slightly as he stared at her, desperation in his eyes.
Wiping his hand across his face, Orlando's eyes flitted up to Jake with a sorrowful, sympathetic look in them.
"I'm sorry."
The words were whispered in a choked voice, making them pretty much inaudible to anyone except Orlando himself.
Jake's near-panic, though noticed by him, appeared to have gone unnoticed by Orlando. It was as though the man was seeing an instant replay of himself when he had had the realization. First, disbelief, then the need to do something, anything. But Jake seemed to be lingering on the disbelief part, and, as he prodded Faithe, Orlando felt a spark of hope rise up within him. If Jake didn't believe Kayte to be gone, then maybe she wasn't.
Leaning forward slightly, he awaited Faithe's reply, wondering if Jake could get her to speak to him.
Jake was getting frustrated with Faithe's silence, and the pressure on her shoulders was steasily increasing. The longer they sat in silence, the quicker his breathing became. His frustration was slowly fading into anger.
"Dang it, Isabelle! Answer me!" Yelling, he shook her shoulders in an attempt to snap her out of her silence. Letting go of her, because there was a rational voice telling him he was on the verge of hurting her, he picked up a vase and chucked it across the room.
The sound resonated in Faithe's mind, causing her body to jump. Whimpering, she shrank down into the couch, burying her face in her drawn up legs. Sitting there, her thin figure and terrified mein made her look like a child.
Walking over to a wall, Jake leaned against it, swallowing hard. "She isn't dead. My daughter is not dead. Eddie wouldn't kill her. He
Although he fully understood where Jake was coming from, the man's boiling rage was starting to scare Orlanod, especially when he began taking it out on Faithe. Glad Jake had realized that this before too much harm came of it, Orlando let out a sort of relieved sigh.
Scurrying off the floor at Faithe's whimper, the man sat himself down upon the couch and pulled her into him. Wrapping his arms around her, the man tried as best he could to calm the young woman in the hope that, if she calmed down, she might be able to tell them what exactly she had felt.
Stroking Faithe's head gently, his eyes wandered over to Jake and an unswallowable lump filled his throat as he sat there. There was a part of him that wondered what he was doing there, barging in on the Cunningham family's lives when the one member of their clan he'd actually been close to hadn't spoken with him in two weeks.
Temporarily ignoring Jake, solely because he felt a little awkward talking to the man, his focus reverted to Faithe, trying to get her to snap out of her trance.
"Faithe," he whispered, still gently running his fingers through her hair, "Come on, Faithe... you've gotta talk to Jake... Tell him what you felt..."
Only partly aware of Orlando's arms around her, Faithe's body rested next to his, though her muscles were still tense and trembling. His words went unheard in her blank mind, and her eyes had not blinked in some time.
Sighing, Jake faced the two, rubbing his red eyes with the palms of his hands. It had been awhile since Jake had slept, and it showed in the bags under his eyes and the paleness of his complexion. Shaking his head, he sighed again.
"If she did feel anything, she won't be back with us for awhile. When our grandmother died, Izzy didn't speak for a solid week." Shaking his head, he walked over to the couch and sat down on the other side of Faithe. Looking over at Orlando, he sighed once more.
"She can't be dead Orlando. If Eddie killed her, then all of this would have been unecessary. He didn't help Bridget out of the kindness of his heart. He has his own demands and he knows that if something happens to Kayte, his chances of getting what he wants would be even smaller."
Feeling her small, delicate body against his, Orlando's arms tightened a little around Faithe. It seemed as though holding her was all he could do. Yet, even that was useless, he knew, gazing down at her face, which looked as though it was frozen in that position, never to move again.
Looking up at Jake's voice, Orlando nodded, to show that he had heard, although he didn't quite understand. The thought of Kayte dying had been bad enough, now he was forced to consider the effects it would have upon his beloved Faithe... Orlando may have been through a lot in his life, but whatever bad things had happened, they had always happened to him. Never had he ever had to help someone he loved through something so horrible... Then again, he hadn't ever really loved someone like he loved Faithe.
As Jake sat down, Orlando pulled Faithe a little more onto his lap, resting the girl's head upon his chest, more for something to do rather than to actually make room for the other man.
Hearing Jake speak of Eddie, rage flashed for a moment in Orlando's eyes.
"How's he going to use Kayte to get Faithe?" he asked in a voice that radiated disgust above all else.
Watching the other man pull Faithe closer to him, Jake reached out and laid his hand on her arm. Sitting there for a moment, he allowed Orlando's question to hang in midair. Hadn't Faithe told him? Sighing, he dropped his arm back down by his side.
"Eddie knows Isabelle would do anything for Kaytlin, and he's using that to his advantage. He'll return Kayte if Isabelle will marry him. He said that they could go get married, and he'll let her finish out the rest of her year at Rosencrantz, and then after she graduates, she'd move in with him. I told Izzy I wouldn't let her do that...there's got to be another way. I know there is, and I know Kaytlin isn't dead." Standing up, he looked down at the two.
"Let me go lay her down in her bed." Reaching down, he gently lifted Faithe into his arms. Closing her eyes, a small whimper escaped her throat as she burrowed her head in his shoulder.
Once he had settled Faithe in her bed, he closed the door and returned to Orlando. Sitting back down on the couch, he ran his hand through his hair.
"What makes this worse are our parents. They have this attitude that if Isabelle would have simply given into Eddie's pursuits, then none of this would have happened. It's almost as if they're taking Eddie's side." Rubbing his temples tiredly, he closed them momentarily. Opening them, he stood up. "Want some coffee?"
Listening to Jake's words, a look of mixted shock and repulsion contorted Orlando's face. He had known Eddie had problems, but this? Using an innocent little girl as collatoral to get Faithe? Exploiting an innocent love to get something that he couldn't have possibly earned himself? It was morraly repugnant.
His eyes flitted from Jake down to Faithe- his sweet, innocent, beautiful Faithe. Lightly stroking the girl's face, a sort of reverent look shone through his gaze.
As Jake moved to take her in his arms, Orlando reluctantly allowed him to do so, only after planting a soft kiss upon the young woman's forehead though.
Taking a deep breath, the man ran his hand over his face, only exhaling when Jake returned.
"God, I had no idea..." he whispered, keeping his hand partially covering his mouth, "She went through a week of that ultimatum alone... That torture... and all that after a week of what I put her through... God, Jake..."
Lifting his head at Jake's question, the man nodded his head, then resumed his half-aloud/half-silent musing.
Clapping a hand on Orlando's shoulder, Jake shook his head. "Orlando, don't blame yourself. You were put in a rough position, and Isabelle knew that. She just needed some time to get past her hurt."
Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed two coffee cups from the cabinet. Pouring the two cups completely full, he picked them up by the handle. He had a feeling that his CoffeeMate had gotten more use the past week than the previous year he had owned it. Walking into the living room, he handed Orlando's cup to him, and sat back down on the couch.
"I don't even know what all happened that night. I haven't been able to get her to talk about it. I tried to get her to open up to me when she was in the hospital, but she wouldn't."
Shaking his head as Jake told him not to blame himself, Orlando's lips curled into a negating sort of expression; this whole thing was entirely his fault. He'd logic-ed it out before, and, until that logic was proved flawed, he wasn't about to disregard it.
Nodding in thanks, he took the cup of the disgusting brown liquid from Jake. Orlando never had been much of a coffee drinker. Raised in a Wizarding house, he'd always just "enervate"-d himself when energy was necessary. However, he'd noticed that this "coffee" potion seemed to have other properties than just that of energizing oneself. It almost seemed like a sort of alcohol, working like it cleared one's mind. Hoping for that, he took a sip and downed a gulp or two of the fluid. Remarkably, he hid his disgust well- coffee was evidently an acquired taste, like wine- and the only action he allowed himself to make was a slight raise of his eyebrows, which fit right in to Jake's next question.
Jake didn't know? How was that? He knew. Then again, he had only found out last night. Thoughts spun in the man's head: waking up to Faithe's hand upon his face, visions of the two meteors, the smile that had lit the woman's mien, the taste of her. and then waking up to find Faithe gone- crying alone in his living room, searching through endless volumes of books for a spell that didn't seem to exist.
Shaking his head, Orlando wondered exactly how much he ought to tell Jake.
"I don't know the details, but from what I gathered last night, Bridget somehow got Kayte while Eddie held Faithe back. Then," the man paused to swallow, "after Bridget had taken Kayte, Eddie."
Trailing off, Orlando's mind was flooded with sickening visions of Eddie battering Faithe, causing him swallow again, this time to prevent himself from retching. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so difficult to say if he hadn't endured something similar as a child, but the fact was that he had, and it was a rather long moment before he found the words.
"He hurt her Jake. Kicked her, slapped her, punched her. and.
"'Crucio'."
The last word came out in a voice barely above a whisper, as though Orlando was a little boy saying a bad word.
"Why'd he have to hurt her? Bridget already had Kaytlin."
Listening to Orlando speak, Jake buries his face in his hands. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes, and he was thankful his face was hidden from the other man. He knew Orlando was struggling to convey to him what Faithe had gone through and told him. Orlando cared about his sister as much as he did, and Jake knew it. He wouldn't verbally admit it, but it kind of hurt that she had opened up to Orlando, but not him. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he finally looked up at the other man with red eyes.
"I don't know. Intimidation? Insanity? Pleasure? Gah...who knows. Knowing Izzy, she was probably putting up a fight." Sighing, he rubbed hus face. "This is all my fault. I knew he was bad news. I knew he was after Isabelle. I just didn't think...I didn't know..." Voice cracking, his shoulders slumped as he rested his head in his hands.
"I just want my baby back."
**
Rolling over in her bed, Faithe pulled her white comforter over her shoulders. She felt sick to her stomach, but she was starting to come back to her senses. From the living room, she heard the soft murmering from the two men, but couldn't distinguish what specifically was being said. Sitting up suddenly, she looked around her room with wide eyes. She thought she had heard a soft popping noise, but was hallucinating. Shaking her head, she laid back down, scolding herself for getting so jumpy over the sound of one of the guys setting down a coffee cup.
Sighing, her eyes flitted towards the window. Finally, allowing her eyes to close, Faithe's mind began to work. She knew Kayte couldn't be dead; she would have felt it. When her grandmother had died, Faithe had been asleep, but had awaken screaming from the unexplainable feeling inside of her. The feeling of death. What scared her and perplexed her all the more was how Eddie had managed to get the necklace off. There was an enchantment on the small pieces of jewelry that didn't allow them to be taken off, unless the wearer died.
Hearing a door open, Faithe's ears pricked up. Laying still, she listened to the soft footsteps that were crossing the room.
"'Lando?" Speaking softly, she opened her eyes as she felt the bed behind her give way.
"Orlando, I-" A hand gently brushed against her cheek, but it wasn't the familiar touch of comfort of Orlando. What scared her most was that she did recognize the hand that lay on her cheek. Sitting up quickly, a small scream began to escape her lips as she tried to jump out of bed. A hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her scream.
**
"Did you hear something?" Looking up at Orlando, Jake's eyebrows furrowed together.
**
"Shhhhh..." Whispering in Faithe's ear, Eddie pulled her off the bed to a standing position, but kept his hand over her mouth. Making an attempt to pull herself out of his grasp, Faithe fought back tears as a small whimper escaped her throat. Eddie brought his other arm around her middle, pinning her back to his front, and allowing his wand to point down.
Her eyes darted around the room, a frightened expression filling her dark brown eyes. The closet door that was beside her door was wide open, explaining the muffled popping noise and the door opening. Looking around desperately, her eye fell on the small form of Kayte on the floor next to her bed. Faithe felt such a surge of relief course through her body to see the little girl's chest rising and falling steadily, she almost fainted.
"Kayte!" Screaming as loud as she could, Faithe began thrashing as hard as she could to get to the unconscious child. Eddie's grip tightened around her small physique, and he used the hand over her mouth to tilt her head back and to the side slightly, forcing her to look back at him.
"I would refrain from doing anything rash, Isabelle, considering my wand is pointing straight at Kaytlin." Keeping his voice low, he kissed her on her forehead before allowing her head to relax.
**
The second Faithe's muffled scream reached Jake's ears, he was on his feet. Pulling his wand from his pocket, he took off down the hallway. Throwing open Faithe's door, he stopped just inside the door, his eyes widening. It didn't take long for his eyes to survey the scene before him. His daughter was alive, laying on the floor with a wand pointed straight at her, but clearly unconscious. His sister was being held forcibly by Eddie, and looked terrified out of her mind.
A malicious smirk spread ocer Eddie's face, making it clear that this whole event had been pleasurable for him. Faithe's eyes had begun to leak tears as she stared at her brother. Dropping his head, Eddie whispered in Faithe's ear, his voice loud enough for Jake to hear, but his eyes never left Jake's.
"It's time for you to make a decision Izzy."
With a sort of sorrowful smile playing upon his lips, Orlando shook his head. It wasn't any more Jake's fault than it was Faithe's. Eddie was just one of those people who have a diabolical sense of being. Using others' emotional weaknesses for his own personal gain and manipulating them to suit his own personal desires.
"You couldn't have known, Jake," he said softly, wanting to comfort the man but not thinking it was his place.
Hearing Jake refer to Kayte as his "baby", Orlando was reminded that Jake was Kayte's father. She was part of him, and he was part of her. True, Orlando had always known this, but, somehow, hearing Jake speak like a father to Kaytlin hit a different place in his heart. It was as though all the trials that Jake had been through were suddenly shoved in front of Orlando's face. He had made a mistake as a boy, much younger than Orlando when he had done the same, been faced with worse consequences, one that would haunt him his whole life through, and still was "on top" so to speak.
"We'll get Kayte back," he added, taking another sip of the vile brown liquid.
Hearing a noise of sorts, Orlando's head snapped in the direction of it, and then turned back to meet Jake's with a wary gaze. Nodding, he subconsciously began to gnaw upon his tongue. "Yeah.
"Um, I'm going to go check on Faithe, alright?"
Setting his coffee cup/mug/beverage-holder upon the nearest flat surface, Orlando stood slowly and began to make his way across the room and down the hallway. He had heard a noise, but didn't really think anything of it. He was sure Faithe was alright, but, in all actuality, had only used her as an excuse to get away from Jake. It wasn't that he didn't like the man, because it was no secret that Orlando had the utmost respect for him, but rather the awkward feeling he got seeing someone he wasn't all that close to in such distress that made him leave.
He was only about halfway down the hallway when he heard Faithe's scream. The man was frozen for an instant, yet revived himself when Jake blew by. Pulling his own wand out of his pocket, he darted after him, freezing for a second time next to Jake, yet a little further inside the doorframe.
Although he was unaware of it, Orlando's body had begun to shake as his brilliant blue eyes scanned the room. Kayte's crumbled body lying upon the floor, Eddie's evil grin shining in the moonlight as his wand pointed towards the girl, and, caught in the antagonist's arms, Faithe.
quote:
"It's time for you to make a decision Izzy."
A small gasp escaped Orlando's lips at the words. A decision? What was she to decide? Kayte's life for hers? The idea was beyond monstrous and appalling, although, even in Orlando's immense vocabulary, there was no word that fit it. It was at that time that the man's fingers tightened upon the maple stick he held between his quavering fingers. What do to.
He wanted to get Faithe out of the wretchedly pathetic excuse for a man's grasp, but doing so put Kayte in danger. He wanted to rid Eddie of his wand, but any attempt to do so would surely be thwarted and put the two innocents in danger. There had to be a way out. But how?
Breathing growing a little more rapid, but still remaining quiet, Orlando stood in silence, waiting for the opportune moment. What, exactly, he was going to do when that moment came, he still didn't know. Hopefully, when the moment arrived, he would.
Everything in the room seemed to be moving in slow motion, yet Faithe's mind was in fast forward motion. Jake had told her no countless times when the question of what to do about Eddie had come into conversation, but now there didn't seem to be any other choice. How could she say no to him?
Her eyes settled on Orlando, and the tears that had been threatning to fall began to slip down her cheeks. She knew she couldn't do anything that would endanger Kaytlin, but she knew this meant the prospect of living without Orlando, again. She had never taken a day with him for granted, but now it seemed enough. Fate was being unkind to her. Wait, when did she believe in fate? She never had been one to do so.
Eddie's hand released his grip of her mouth, seeing no reason for her to scream. Instead of dropping his hand, he ran his index finger over her bottom lip, winking at Orlando. He held all the cards right now, and they all knew it, and Eddie knew they knew it.
"Orlando Lorenz. Why am I not surprised to see you here?" Tightening his grip of Faithe, he bent down and kissed her cheek, his eyes never leaving the other man's. "You know, you should have been here the night we came and got Kaytlin. It would have been quite a show. I'm pretty sure I heard her mutter your name when she was twitching on the ground in pain." Smiling, he rested his chin on Faithe's shoulder for a moment. Lifting it, he looked down at Kaytlin for a moment before returning his gaze to Jake.
Faithe's eyes had yet to leave Orlando's, but there was a look of defeat in them. Closing her eyes, a couple tears slipped down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her head, finally breaking her eye contact with Orlando.
"Ah, that's my girl. I knew you'd made the right decision." Turning Faithe around in his arms, Eddie lifted her chin so she was looking at him. A thought popped into her head, though she was rather apprehensive about trying it. Of course, Eddie didn't leave her much choice to the first part of her plan, which he initiated by bending down and kissing her. Despite her first inclination to bite him, Faithe blocked it out and returned the kissm hoping for the best. Keeping her eyes opened, a surge of relief filled her as she felt his wand hand wrap around her more completely, bringing the wand off of Kaytlin. Without a second thought, she kneed harshly him in a not so friendly place. Turning her head towards Jake, she shot a look from him to Kaytlin, telling him rather pointedly to get Kaytlin without calling Eddie's attention to it.
Eddie groaned at the pain, his grip loosening up on Faithe considerably. Taking advantage of this, Faithe used her weight to push him back. Since they had still been standing right in front of the bed, Eddie tripped as he was forced back, falling on the bed. However, he dragged Faithe down with him.
While all this was happening, Jake made a move towards Kaytlin. Lifting the small girl in his arms, he rejoined Orlando by the door, immediately returning his gaze to his sister. He felt conflicted. He couldn't very well just leave Kaytlin, but Faithe needed help.
Eddie had regained himself by now, only he was fuming. Sitting up, his eyes narrowed as he turned on Faithe. Kneeling on the bed, he straddled her legs. Reaching down, he grasped her throat in between his hands.
"That was a mistake." Tightening his grip on her throat, Eddie's malicious smirk had melted away into a look of pure hatrid. Faithe attempted to scream, but struggling for breath, it only came out a small whimper as she tried to pry his hands off her neck.
Orlando's azure eyes froze upon Faithe's vulnerable body lying helpless in the monster's grasp. She was terrified and desolate; he could feel it, and, more than anything, he wanted to take that feeling away from her- to make everything right for her. He wanted to raise his gaze, to meet hers, but was too afraid of what the two pairs of eyes would communicate to one another. The man didn't know if he could handle seeing what he knew Faithe's eyes would convey- scared and powerless, she would silently plea for him to get her out of there- because he knew that his eyes would betray him and show her how weak he himself was- too pathetic to save her. too unworthy of such a deity.
For whatever reason, though, eventually his eyes did meet hers, and, upon seeing the tears in them slowly stream down her bruised cheeks, the man's breath caught in his throat as he a foreign feeling- nausea- came over him. Flashes of memories and imagined feelings of pain permeated the man's body, and, had they not been locked, his knees would have most certainly given out on him at that moment.
He felt, in a word, useless. There were too many things he could do, but each had its own set of precarious consequences. Thus, he did nothing- simply stood and watched the horror play itself out before his eyes. Now the man was literally feeling sick to his stomach. He felt as though he was watching something horrible happening and choosing not to do anything- as if he'd rather watch the supposed entertainment than make a move to end it.
All through the tense silence, Orlando's eyes never left Faithe's. There was something about looking into her eyes that made him feel like he was doing something, even if was just letting her know he was there. He didn't see Eddie's hand drop from her mouth, nor did he see his finger brush her lip. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he did see a blurred image close in on Faithe's cheek for a moment, however, what it was, exactly, remained unclear. He heard a voice say his name, and a few other words, but they merely entered his mind and went unprocessed. It didn't matter though, all that mattered was keeping his eyes on Faithe's as long as he could- it was his only way of telling her that he wasn't about to desert her.
Then, at last, Faithe broke the two's intent stare to let tears fall down their cheeks. A sorrowful, mourning sort of smile crossed the man's lips as he wished desperately to end the young woman's pain. Yet, there was nothing he could do at that moment save continue to look into her eyes, silently telling her how much he loved her and how sorry he was that he was so useless. Then, her gaze faltered again, this time, though, it didn't return.
quote:
"Ah, that's my girl. I knew you'd made the right decision."
This time Eddie's words made it through Orlando's mind, prompting his sorrowful smile to turn into a bitter expression as his teeth bit hard into his tongue. Seeing Faithe be forced to turn away from him, his stomach jolted, knowing what was coming, and he had to tighten his grip upon his wand to keep it from falling through his slackened fingers. As Eddie kissed Faithe, his eyes remained open, yet, the second he saw Faithe kiss him back, they shut. He knew why she was doing what she was doing, but it didn't make the sight any more bearable. That is to say, Orlando felt a sickened sense of jealousy combined with repulsion, which made him a little more sensitive to how Faithe must have felt seeing him and Demeter back two weeks ago. If he were feeling as such just seeing Eddie force his mouth upon Faithe's, how would he feel if things had been the other way? Swallowing, partially to distract himself and partially to rid his throat of the upcoming coffee, his eyes opened at the sound of Eddie's groan.
It seemed like, at that noise, everything happened at once. Jake left his side and returned within an instant, holding Kayte in his arms. Although it took him a moment, eventually the events of the last few seconds caught up with Orlando, or, rather, he caught up with them. Glancing from Jake to Faithe and then back, Orlando gave the other man a pointed look that clearly told him to take Kayte out of there.
"Don't come back," he whispered sternly, gently pushing Jake in the direction of the hallway.
It was times like these that Orlando almost wished he had a little more courage, or, at least, a little more confidence. He wasn't really the type of man to run down to the local telephone booth and emerge, filled with confidence and covered in spandex glory, ready to fight the evil antagonistic beast that awaited him. But, somehow, he found himself somewhere in between that extreme and his typical reserved self.
Raising his wand, he pointed it directly at Eddie and allowed the words of good old Mr. VanExienne's spell sets to echo through his mind and sound out through his mouth.
"Relashio."
The word came out strongly, yet not much about a mezzo-forte dynamic level. At the time when Eddie's hands ought to have flown off Faithe's neck, he spoke again.
"Flipendo. Stupefy. Petrificus Totalus."
Each word that passed through his mouth grew a little more confident. Dueling wasn't something Orlando had even delighted in, although he'd always been told he would be wonderful at it if he could ever focus. Evidently, he had focused now, because the spells continued to roll off his lips as though he'd been doing such incantations all his life and had the strength within him to cast them forever, despite the fact that, with each spell, the man could feel himself getting a little weaker.
Letting out a breath after word "totalus", he instantaneously darted to Faithe and wrapped her fragile body delicately in his arms, pressing her tightly against his chest with only limited regard for her bruises. Although he wasn't applying severe pressure to any of her injuries, one or two of them was probably pressed against him lightly.
"I'm so sorry," he breathed, not even remotely concerning himself with the possibility that Eddie might have dodged the last few spells as he kissed Faithe's head gently. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"
The tighter Eddie's grip got around her neck, the more Faithe tried to struggle, but the weaker her movements got. Gasping for breath, her vision was beginning to blur as her focus of what was going on began to scramble as well. Pretty soon, she was unable to struggle against him. It was at that time that the pressure around her neck ceased, and she gulped in a fresh stream of air. When she exhaled a cry escaped her mouth as Eddie was suddenly forced from the bed.
Laying there, her body trembling violently, Faithe rolled over on her side. Reaching up, she laid her hand on her forehead, still gasping for breath. Every time she exhaled, a small whimper emitted from her mouth. Feeling the bed give way, she almost curled up in fright, until she felt the familiar touch of Orlando. As he pulled her closer to him, she closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest.
Swallowing, she grabbed his wand out of his hand and pointed it at Eddie. Her words came out almost unintelligible, but ropes shot out from the wand and wrapped tightly around Eddie's wrists and ankles. Allowing herself to slump back against Orlando, every muscle in her body seemed to grow limp. Resting her forehead against his collar bone, she closed her eyes once more, still breathing rapidly.
The fact that that entire thing had actually worked was a shock to Faithe. She hadn't figured that Eddie would be that driven by testosterone that he would allow his guard to falter, but then again, Eddie was a stupid, stupid man. Remembering what had just happened, Faithe shot up, looking around the room. Standing up, she walked out of the room, which was no easy task with her knees about as sturdy as Jell-O that had yet to be set.
Hearing soft talking, Faithe headed straight into Jake's bedroom.
***
Knowing Faithe would be all right with Orlando around, Jake did not hesitate to dart into his room. Shutting the door behind him, he made a quick phone call to Joseph, who said he would be right over. After he hung up, he turned his attention to his daughter in his arms.
"Kayte? Come on baby, please wake up." Speaking softly, he nudged her gently with his hand. Speaking softly, he continued to shake her gently. He noticed a small bruise on her cheek, but that was the only form of injury that Kayte possessed. After a few moments, in which he heard a loud thump hit the floor down the hall, a small moan escaped the little girl's mouth as she stirred.
"Kaytlin? Sweetie, come on baby." Watching her intently, tears began forming in the man's eyes as the little girl's eyes fluttered open. Stroking her hair gently, he remained silent as she gradually came back.
"Daddy?" Hearing her sweet little voice, Jake pulled her into a tight embrace, tears streaming down his face. The thought that he could have lost his daughter seemed to hit him full force that moment, but he kept most of his emotions in check.
"I'm here sweetheart. You're safe." Hearing the door open, he looked up, a small smile crossing his face as Faithe walked through. As she collapsed on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her, and she did the same, the two of them embracing Kaytlin in a sandwich. Reaching down with one hand, Faithe gently stroked Kayte's hair.
[[Under the assumption that Orlando followed her, as I asked about in IM. ]]
Looking up, Jake met Orlando's eyes. Lifting one hand, he motioned for him to join the three of them. Which, in a sense, was his way of telling Orlando that he was apart of their family.
In spite of having just cast a plethora of spells, saving the day, and, pretty much, doing everything heroic save emerging from a telephone booth clad in a colorful, skintight spandex suit, Orlando showed no sign of having ever done so. His face was free from every emotion save relief as his arms held Faithe against him. In fact, the man had completely pushed the incident out of his mind. Perhaps it had been too terrifying or perhaps too trying for him, but, for whatever reason, the memory of it had fled his head. It didn't matter, though. Nothing at that moment filled his mind save thoughts of Faithe. He didn't concern himself with the logistics of how the present situation had come to be; all that mattered was Faithe.
Although his questions had gone unanswered, Orlando didn't mind at all. Feeling Faithe's face nestle into his chest and her body encompassed within his arms was more than enough for him. He felt useful again; not because of what he had just done, but rather because he could almost feel Faithe's relief. Just sitting there, holding her, he felt like they were the only two people in the world. There was no Jake, no Kaytlin, and, most importantly, no Eddie. It wasn't until he felt Faithe rise up from him and temporarily pilfer his wand to bind the other man that Orlando even remembered Eddie's frozen body still laid upon the ground.
It was almost poetic justice, the man thought, watching Faithe cast the spell. After all she had been through- all Eddie had put her through- she still had the little strength necessary left to conclude the saga of sorts, making one final declaration that she had prevailed. Smiling sort of proudly, the man readjusted his arms around her body, as it seemed to have become limp against him. One hand gently ran up and down her spine, trying to calm the rapid rise and fall of her back as she breathed; the other wound itself around her neck, matting a few locks of dark hair against it.
"I love you," he whispered softly, "And I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you, Faithe."
((Potential time insert here, I 'spose))
As Faithe's body jerked off of his own, Orlando reluctantly released his arms from around her, allowing a sort of confused look to overcome his face. What was wrong? Yet, that question was soon answered as he watched her eyes dart around the room, and then out, towards where Jake had taken Kayte. Pursing his lips together, he wondered whether or not he ought to follow. He didn't want to leave Faithe's side for an instant, not after having lost her for two weeks and just nearly losing her forever a mere moment ago, and, of course, seeing her weakly struggle across the floor added to that. Then again, Jake had just gotten his daughter back and Faithe was nearly a mother to the girl. He was. well, nothing really to them. True, he was involved with Faithe, but that hardly gave him the right to automatically make himself a part of every aspect of her life.
Eventually, after Faithe had left and he had spend a few pensive minutes upon the bed alone, he did get up. And, on his way out, the thought of kicking Eddie's immobile body crossed his mind. Although the sickening thought was tempting, his past experiences with such abuse would never have allowed him to stomach doing such a thing. Slowly walking through the room, he shut the door upon the way out and turned the same way that Jake and Faithe had both gone. Taking a few more steps, he reached the room the three of them were in, and merely lingered outside for another moment. As his eyes caught sight of the three happy people embracing, celebrating their reunion, a truly content smile appeared upon his face. Everything, it seemed, was right again.
Catching Jake's gaze, he almost turned away. In a sense, he was embarrassed to be there. He felt somewhat. out-of-place. Yet, seeing Jake's hand raise and beckon him, some of that awkwardness left. Offering the man a grateful sort of smile, Orlando crossed the room and sat down, closer to Faithe than the other two, but not too close. The uneasiness hadn't left completely, and he didn't feel right barging in on them still.
Her body relaxed against his as she felt his hand grace over her spine. Closing her eyes as she felt the pressure of his hand on the back of her neck, she buried her head in his chest. Feeling the protection and sanctitudeof his arms, Faithe felt completely at ease for the first time in two weeks. Lifting her head, she rested her forehead against his and lifted her hand gently to his cheek.
"I love you so much Orlando." Whispering, her voice came out trembling, just like the rest of her.
**
Hearing a small whimper from the little girl, Faithe felt Kaytlin's body shift in between the two. Feeling the bed give way slightly behind her, she turned her head to see Orlando sitting down behind her. Giving him a grateful look, she reached back with one hand and took his hand in hers.
A soft knock interrupted the silence, and she turned back to Jake, who looked up. Shaking his head, she turned Kaytlin around to face Faithe, whom immediately snuggled into her aunt. Wrapping both arms around the little girl, she turned towards Orlando and leaned against him. Kaytlin, who's eyes were open, but was remaining silent, reached out and wrapped her hand around a couple of Orlando's fingers. Looking up into his eyes, Faithe rested her head just below his shoulder. ((Assuming this is possible.))
**
Jake made his way to the door, opening it quickly. A smile broke out on his face when he saw Joseph.
"This way. He's in Isabelle's room. I'm pretty sure he isn't conscious, but I wasn't in the room when Orlando took him down." Leading the way, the two men walked back to where an unconscious Eddie lay bound on the floor.
"Are they all right? Kaytlin and Faithe?" A look of hopeful concern crossed Joseph's face as he bent down to check Eddie's pulse.
"Yes, luckily. Just shaken up." Sighing, he crossed his arms as he fought the urge to kick the mess out of the unconscious man. "What's going to happen to him?"
"He's looking at a lot of years in Azkaban, for one thing. Kidnapping a child, bribery, and he used an unforgiveable. I'll just apperate him to the dock so we can take him over." Grabbing Eddie by the shoulder, Joseph did a sort of salute before a loud popping noise announced their departure. Sitting down on the edge of Faithe's bed, Jake rested his head in his hands.
**
"You saved us." Speaking softly, Faithe's eyes never left Orlando's face, taking in his brilliant blue eyes. Looking down, kissed the top of Kaytlin's head softly. The little girl looked up, tears still in her eyes.
"Aunt Belle?" Her voice came out soft with a sort of whiney edge to it as she spoke.
"Yes, baby girl?"
"I have to go potty."
Taking in Faithe's mien, a small smile crossed Orlando's face. Allowing her to pick up his hand, he gently entangled their fingers together and brought her hand to his lips for a moment. The awkwardness was still there, but the comfort that Faithe's acceptance of his pressence there had brought him was gradually easing whatever discomfort still remained within him.
At the knock, the man's body tensed again and, inadvertenly, pulled Faithe's hand a little harshly as he attempted to snatch his wand from its typical location in his back pocket, untangling their fingers in the process. However, the wand wasn't there; it still remained upon the bed in Faithe's room, where he had left it alone with Eddie. His breath caught in his throat for a moment... until he paused to ask himself why Eddie would even bother knocking and couldn't come up with a feasible response. Of course, by this time, Jake had already left and Orlando presumed that it the knocker was someone he had called to the house, probably a Ministry worker from the looks of things.
Whispering an inaudible apology to Faithe, he rolled his shoulder back to allow her head a more comfortable place to lay, moving that arm to wrap around the lower part of her back. Feeling a small hand find its way into his, Orlando broke eye contact with Faithe to look reverently at Kaytlin. The tiny girl had been through so much, and was still standing. Smiling at her, he lifted his thumb to stroke the hand surrounding his fingers before returning his eyes to those of Faithe.
quote:
"You saved us."
Whether he was too entranced by Faithe's eyes, too modest, or really just didn't care, Orlando did nothing to indicate he had heard her words. However, at Kayte's words, he did.
Leaning his head a bit, he looked towards her, still smiling for whatever reason. Then, at her last remark, the man let out a chuckle. It was nice to see the ordeal hadn't cramped the girl's juvenile ingenuity and bluntness. Shaking his head, his boyish grin flashed upon his face.
At Kaytlin's remark, Faithe let out a small laugh at the little girl's randomness, and her comedic timing. Relinquishing her grasp, Faithe nodded slightly. Jumping off the bed, Kaytling ran out the door, heading straight towards the bathroom. Shaking her head, Faithe's eyes turned from the doorway back to Orlando.
Sitting up straight, Faithe's smile faded slowly as a pensive expression crossed her face. Reaching up, her fingers ran gently over his eyebrow. Slipping down his cheek, she ran her index finger over his top lip, circling around and running her finger over his bottom lip. Without lifting her hand from his skin, she moved her hand up to his hairline and began twisting a lock of his hair in between her fingers.
Now that everything had passed, Kayte's life was no longer in danger, and Jake had his daughter back, everything was starting to hit Faithe full force. Kaytlin had never been in question; Faithe would have done anything to see her to safety. Instead of catching his gaze with his, Faithe's brown eyes took in every detail of the man's face. Her bottom lip quivered as the scenario of never being able to see him again played inside her head. Rolling her lips inward, she allowed her hand to fall as she looked away. Despite the fact that she had managed to hold in her emotions relativaly well, a few tears slipped down her cheeks.
****
Weeping softly, Jake's body shook violently. Just the same, now that the danger had passed, and everybody was safe, the feelings of fear that had been tugging at him all week were now being released.
Turning his head to allow his eyes to trail Kaytlin's tiny body as it scrambled out the door, Orlando's gaze lingered on the door for a moment before returning his gaze to Faithe. The broad grin was still upon his face as he shook his head at her, clearly amused by Kayte. His lips parted to make a joke of sorts about Kayte's childish comedy, but closed as Faithe's smile faded and the grin faded into a sort of confused look.
Allowing her fingertips to waltz upon his face, Orlando relished in the sensation their soft caress brought. As her fingers took hold of that strand of dark hair, a soft smile placed itself upon his lips. It was amazing how much he'd grown accustomed to Faithe toying with his hair, and having abstained from such things for so long made the feeling that much sweeter. It was about this time that Orlando finally realized what Faithe was doing, or, rather, why she was doing it, and tried futilely to meet Faithe's gaze, following her eyes as they trailed along his face. The thoughts in his mind were similar to hers, except Orlando didn't understand exactly what Eddie's taking Faithe would have meant. He hadn't even considered considering the fact that he wouldn't have ever seen her again if such an atrocity had truly transpired. In fact, he didn't even think of that being a reason for Faithe's actions. He presumed she was just distraught over what had happened regarding Kayte.
As Faithe's hand dropped from his tresses and her face turned away from him, the man raised a single eyebrow inquisitively. Reaching his far hand up, he gently placed it upon her cheek, running his fingers up along her jawline before actually allowing his palm to encompass that side of her face.
"Oh, Faithe." he whispered softly, turning her head back to face him and brushing some of the fallen tears away with his thumb. "Everything's okay now, ma Foi. You're safe, Kayte's safe, and Eddie's gone."
Closing her eyes slowly, her trembling began to cease as his fingertips played over her skin. As he turned her head towards him, her eyes gradually found their way into his. The minute he had spoken, her face crumpled up and more tears began falling down her cheeks. Nodding softly, she took a deep breath, but all that came out after that was a soft cry.
"I know...It's just..." Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and closed her eyes. Rubbing her forehead, a shudder ran through her body as she supressed a sob. Looking back up at him, her eyes had turned pink from the tears.
"What if he hadn't been so stupid? What if things hadn't gone the way they did? These last two weeks have been absolutely horrible without you, Orlando, and the thought of spending the rest of life without you..." Trailing off, she closed her eyes and shook her head again. Burying her face in her hands, her shoulders began to shake as more tears fell down her cheeks.
****
"Daddy?" Kaytlin's sweet, innocent voice interrupted Jake's lament as he sat there on the edge of the bed in Faithe's room. Looking up, his face still wet from the tears that had cascaded down his cheeks, he looked at his daughter. Offering a small, half smile, he held his arms out for his daughter.
"What is it sweetheart?" Walking over to Jake, Kaytline wrapped her arms around Jake's neck. Pulling his daughter into his arms, he hugged her tightly.
"I love you."
Seeing Faithe nearly fall apart like that, Orlando's teeth dug into his tongue; any sort of physical pain was better than the inner one seeing her like that gave him. After wiping away what tears he could with his thumb, he set his hand back down, and looked upon her with a sort of sympathetically sorrowful mien. Gazing into her teary eyes with his own brilliantly blue ones, he offered whatever silent comfort he could.
At the time she spoke, he had been on the brink of pulling her into an embrace, but, instead, seemed somehow entranced by her words. He didn't want to think about "what if"s at that moment, nor ever, if it could be helped. If Eddie hadn't let his guard down, Orlando didn't know what he would have done. Perhaps he'd have been so fixated upon waiting for the right moment that he'd have just stood by and watched Faithe be ripped from him forever. And if things hadn't "gone the way they did", then Faithe may have very well been choked to death. Alright, that was enough bad visuals for one day.
Closing his eyes, he pushed the thoughts to the furthest corner of his mind and shook his head as his arm around her lower back tightened, pulling her closer towards him. The thought of spending the rest of his life without Faithe was absolutely unbearable.
"Hey, now," he whispered softly, gently wedging his fingers between her hands and her face in an attempt to lift her head back up towards his own, "Promise me you'll never think something that horrible again. Eddie's gone, and I don't have the slightest intention of letting you spend the rest of the night without me, much less the rest of your life."
Provided that Faithe's hands weren't still upon her face, he took one of them in his own as his eyes adverted down to her hand as opposed to her eyes.
"I know I might not see you too much this summer," he began, seemingly absentmindedly spreading her fingers apart one-by-one.
"But I'll always be there for you, in a sense," he continued, taking her hand by the wrist and holding it, with its spread fingers, up to wherever her eyelevel may have been.
"See those spaces between your fingers?" he asked softly, sliding his hand (the one on her wrist) up.
"Whether you see them."
Entangling his fingers with hers, a smile crossed his lips as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Or not."
Slowly he unwound his fingers from hers, eyes never leaving them, and dropped his hand back to her wrist.
"My fingers are forever locked in them."
Finally, his eyes lifted off of her hand to meet her gaze as a genuine, small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
She looked horrible. Her complexion was pale, her left eye was a deep blue and slightly swollen, and her wrist was wrapped in a bandage, and was slowly receding from being the size of a softball. Sighing as she stared out at the lake, Faithe leaned her head up against the window. Things would be easier to get through if she had spoken to Orlando in two weeks.
Making a quick decision, she changed and crept quietly out of her room, not waking any of her dorm mates. Being as silent as she could, and keeping an eye out for another figure, she made her way through the hallways. Stopping in front of the door she knew to be Orlando's, her brown eyes darted around, double-checking she was alone. Pulling out her wand, she opened his lock, slid inside the room and shut the door quietly.
It was after midnight, and as long as they were outside by one, life would be grand. Walking quietly to his bed, being careful in the darkness, she sat on the edge. Staring at him for a few silent moments, her heart ached for the two weeks they had spent apart. Reaching down, she laid her hand on the side of his face, "Orlando?"
Speaking softly, she dropped her hand to his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Orlando...wake up."
As Orlando Lorenz's body lie stationary in his bed, one might not have thought anything wrong with Rosencrantz's Astronomy professor... had they never seen him sleeping before, at least. Contrary to his typical warm- weather sleepwear, which was, as all Orlando fans know, a mere pair of navy blue cotton pants, this particular evening (like the last thirteen), he was clad in a thin, white tank-top and a pair of dark grey boxer shorts. The past two weeks' events had changed him, and not for the better.
The stubble which so commonly gave his face a ruggedly attractive look hadn't been shaved in quite awhile, giving him an almost scruffy look, and his eyes were surrounded by dark bags, marking the fact that he hadn't gotten much sleep. Though his body would, eventually, night after night, fall asleep, the man's mind would never rest. It was always churning, thinking, primarily, of one thing in particular: Faithe.
It had been two weeks since he'd betrayed her trust, and, consequently, two weeks since they'd last spoken, kissed or even touched without a severe amount of uncomfortableness between them. She wouldn't talk to him, and Orlando couldn't blame her at all. He wouldn't talk to himself either...
The first week hadn't been so bad. The two had exchanged casual conversation, and Faithe had shown up to class every day, early, but much later than usual. The past week, however, she hadn't come Monday or Wednesday and, Friday, had finally shown up beaten, though he had seen her in such a state on Thursday as well, during meals. Upon seeing her, the man had nearly fallen apart, but, knowing what would happen if he took too personal an interest in her with such a crowd around, he had contained himself until after class on Friday, where his questions were returned with nothing but an "I have to go".
What had happened to her, he knew not, and, consequently, had been plagued by all sorts of scenarios throughout the day of Thursday, and the night as well. Nightmares with mixed memories and mentally conjured tortured had enchanted his mind, making it so he could not sleep. This night, as well, he couldn't sleep. Especially not since receiving the owl he had from Jake, which contained an article written about Kaytlin's kidnapping.
Now, his imagniation had too much to work off. Nearly driving himself insane with the possibilities, Orlando had retrieved every possible book about tracking people from the library's restricted section and laid them all out upon his bed at around ten o'clock that night. Reading by the light of a sort of globe lamp, which was a slender piece of paper with the constellations drawn out upon it with a small lamp in the center, he had spent nearly two hours pouring through them, before falling asleep with his head in a book. As he slept, more scenarios invaded his mind; some were feasible, others weren't, yet there was one chilling one that, although not possible, was absolutely terrifying to Orlando. The vision of his own father beating Faithe and Kaytlin as he himself lay crippled on the frigid stone floor of his childhood home powerless to save them, prompted his body to break out in a cold sweat.
As these flashes contorted the man's mind, he failed to feel Faithe's hand as it gently stroked his face or to pay attention to the shift of the bed springs as she sat upon them. Yet, the touch of her hand on his shoulder, accompanied by the gentle shaking, did wake up, with a start, of course.
Still panic-stricken, a cause of the nightmare, his brilliant blue eyes snapped open as his body shifted atop the pile of books turning to face Faithe. At first, he believed himself to still be dreaming, yet he could feel the sensation of her fingers upon his skin- something he had missed for a long time- and knew she was real. Taking great care not to apply pressure to any of her injuries, Orlando let out a joyful sigh at the sight of her, wrapping his arms around her as tight as he could without hurting her.
He had waited for this moment for so long, yet the circumstances were anything but ideal. He knew by the Jake's letter as well as the battering upon Faithe's skin that she wasn't in his bedroom at night for any other reason than something bad. But, she had come to him...
Sitting up, he cradled the young woman in his arms, planting a few light, feather-soft kisses upon her face and neck before gazing up into her eyes.
"I'm here, Faithe," he whispered. "Talk to me..."
Jumping slightly as he awoke with a jerk, Faithe's eyebrows came together with a worried expression over her face. Feeling his arms wrap around her, she felt her body relax for the first time in two weeks. Closing her eyes as she felt his warm lips upon her skin, she let out a shakey breath. This felt right; everything about it felt right. How did she live without him for two weeks?
Meeting his gaze, she searched his face intently, unsure of what to do or say. Reaching up with her good hand, she laid her hand on his warm cheek, her eyes still holding a look of uncertainty. Resting her forehead against his, she closed her eyes, "I love you." Whispering as she spoke, she kept her hand on his cheek, her thumb rubbing back and forth gently.
Taking a deep breath, she sat back up. "Will you come with me?" Reaching down, she took his hand, a pleading expression on her face. "Please? There's something I want to show you."
As Faithe's body relaxed into his own, the sensation of happiness that rippled through Orlando's body was unimaginable. The hell that he had gone through without Faithe for the past two weeks was all forgotten momentarily as her hand brushed against his face. Lifting his head slightly, his lips gently caressed her fingertips before allowing her to lay her forehead upon his.
At her whispered confession, the man felt his eyes close in elation as a wave of relief seemed to crash through him. He knew that she hadn't completely forgiven him yet, but this was most certainly a start; he could feel how much she had missed him as well.
"I love you, too, ma Foi," he replied, "Je te manque terriblement... I miss you terribly."
Allowing her to sit back up, Orlando loosened his grasp around her waist but couldn't have made himself let go unless she herself had asked him to. Not even making her need to ask twice, he instantly agreeed to come with her. Quizzically searching her eyes for a sign of what it was that she so desperately needed to show him, Orlando detangled his fingers from hers for a moment, only re-entangling them once Faithe had been properly situated in his arms so that he could carry her.
"I'll go with you to the ends of the earth, but you're not walking there," he replied quietly, "Tell me where we're going, and I'll apparate you there."
A small sound escaped her lips as she felt his lips on her fingertips, and she closed her eyes as she welcomed the familiarity. Her stomach fluttered at the sound of his words, taking a small breath as she felt the caress of his voice. "I miss you too..." There was so much emotion in her voice, is a wonderment to herself that she didn't break down in tears right then and there.
Wrapping one arm around his neck, she couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her lips. Tightning her fingers around his, she rested her head against his shoulders. "Down to the dock."
*****
Once down there, she slipped out of his arms and walked to the very end, looking up at the sky. Trees covered most of the view of the sky, which is why she had other plans in mind. Slipping off her pajama bottoms, she revealed the bottom to a bikini bottom. Turning to him, she took one of his hands in hers, "There's a floating dock in the middle of the lake. Will you swim out there with me?"
She knew about how well that was going to go over with him, but she was determined to get him in the water.
Faithe's chosen destination struck fear in Orlando's heart, but, surprisingly, the man showed little of the emotion inside him. He hadn't the slightest clue at what she was getting at; perhaps it was merely a star or something she wanted to show him, or maybe she just thought of the lake as a serene place for her to talk to him. Regardless, Orlando swallowed nervously, then nodded, tightly shutting his eyes as he tightened his grip on the young woman, apparating them both about three feet inland from where the dock began.
As she slipped gracefully out of his arms, he relished in the feeling of her skin sliding against his own, and it was only when that feeling completely passed that the man's brilliant blue eyes opened. Not looking at the eerie water, they instead flitted upward, to the sky, calmed by the vision of what little stars he could see through the treetops, a small smile appeared on his lips, though, due to the thoughts in his mind, the smile was rather short of being too noticeable. He was worried about Kaytlin, about Faithe, and was somewhat uneasy about what Faithe was doing at the moment, which was walking towards the end of the dock.
Slowly turning his gaze downward, his eyes froze on the image of Faithe's body as her pants slipped off. For a moment, he hadn't a clue what she was doing, and, thus, for modesty's sake, closed his eyes and turned away. Then, studying the image that had been burned into his mind of Faithe's beautiful, flawless legs, he began to think that the small fabric his eyes had seen wasn't an undergarment, but rather a swimsuit. Curiosity getting the better of him, he hesitantly turned his head back in time to see her walk towards him and take his hand in her own.
Her words were soft and sincere, and had Orlando not been completely scared, he would have obeyed them in an instant. All things considered, the man still wanted to do as she asked, solely because doing so would mean being able to be with the woman whose presence he had been denied for the past two weeks. Taking a small breath, he gazed into her eyes for a second as his eyes slowly glanced downward to the water below.
The wind was calm that night, and it wasn't too cold, therefore, the waters were also as such. Gently lapping at the dock posts, the black water, dotted with a few stars' reflections, was beautiful, yet the memory of the last time he had slipped into the water was too much for him. Closing his eyes, he could feel the warm water of the Pacific Ocean surrounding him and hear the gentle waves as his small ten-year-old, lanky limbs paddled expertly through the waters, taking him further and further out from the coast of his home island of O'ahu.
Just standing there, still hand-in-hand with Faithe, Orlando appeared nearly tranquil for a moment, then, without warning, a shudder rippled through his body and it jolted as, in his mental flashback, the shark's teeth sunk into his leg. If one couldn't already figure out what was playing through the man's head, the way in which his left/free hand flung to his left thigh as a cringing sound escaped his lips would probably have given them a rather helpful clue.
Opening his eyes to save himself from the horror of completing the memory in his mind, Orlando shook his head and took a single step towards the water, trying to remind himself that the water before him wasn't the ocean, and that there couldn't possibly be any sharks in it. Still, his mind betrayed him and he stopped before he could make himself come any closer. 'Alright,' it seemed to say, 'there may not be sharks, but you still can't swim.
Closing his eyes again, a second fear overcame the man. Twelve years ago (for as of May 7, the Astronomy professor had compiled twenty-two years of age), after the shark had bitten him, the small boy had fought it off as best he could. In fact, despite the blood in the water, he was able to fend off the shark well enough to escape death and swam far enough away to where he could float momentarily in the water long enough to use what was left of his swim trunks to bandage the wound and prevent any more shark attractant from leaking into the water. But, by that time, the boy had to have been nearly a mile, if not more, from the coast, which, given his expertise in swimming (because it had been something he'd done all his life), was usual nothing, was, due to his expended energy that day, a near life sentence. He had swum for about a half-hour after the attack, but, not being able to use his left leg so well, hadn't gotten more than an eighth of a mile towards shore and, consequently, had just let himself slip under. He could still feel the burning in his lungs as his small body had disappeared beneath the waves. And, as the twenty-two-year-old man stood at the shore edge just then, his breath quickened and he began to shake slightly as tears flooded his eyes, yet failed to fall.
Flitting his eyes open quickly, he turned back to Faithe, squeezing her hand tightly to re-assure himself that she was still there. Once that moment had passed, he tried to form an answer. There was a part of him that was almost angry with her just then. He hadn't truly spoken to her in two weeks, which was her fault; he hadn't seen her for three days that week, which had been unexpected, and, also, her fault; she was battered, bruised and, in spite of it all, still beautiful, but she wouldn't tell him what had happened, which, obviously was her fault; she neglected to tell him about Kayte, and, had Jake not told him, he would have remained clueless, which struck a chord of dismay in his heart. also Faithe's fault; and, when the woman finally came back to talk to him, in the middle of the night, fourteen days after their first fight ever, she didn't want to talk about anything like that, only drag him out to the lake to drudge up past horrors that he knew she already knew about.
Orlando didn't understand, and, thus, tried to put together a feeble explanation of why she was acting as such. Eventually, the man concluded that she was hurt by not only what he had done to her, but by the sole events of the past two weeks, and was trying to escape that pain by focusing her mind on something else, like trying to help him overcome a fear impossible to overcome, to help him to make herself feel better about something. The thought of being used crossed Orlando's mind, but he knew that, at the moment, his relationship with Faithe wasn't strong enough to sustain itself should he voice a concern such as that. Glancing down at their entangled hands for a moment, he then gazed back up into Faithe's eyes. She needed him right now, for whatever reason, and, apart from needing her as well, Orlando wanted to help her in whatever way he could. but this wasn't possible.
"No," he replied, shaking his head at her, then turning it out to the lake, "I just can't."
That was all that passed through the man's lips: a simple, quiet reply. He hadn't felt it necessary to let her in on the terror he had just re- experienced by going into any further detail. Faithe stared at him intently, knowing his answer long before he ever said it. She knew what she was asking was silghtly unfair, but she had her reasons behind it, and they didn't have much time. Her brown eyes never leaving his blue ones, she bit her bottom lip.
She remembered the emotins that coarsed through her body that night he had tried to coax her on the broom. Her chest had tightened up with fear, and it was all she could do to keep from running off and bawling. She felt herself shrink when a look of anger crossed his face momentarily, and her eyes dropped down to the dock. Closing her eyes when his answer finally came, she brought her eyes back up to his face.
Reaching her other hand out, she caught his free hand and squeezed both his hands gently. "Orlando, please," speaking softly, there was a pleading note in her tone, and in her eyes. "I know how you feel, but I need you to do this with me. I'm going to be right there beside you, and there's nothing dangerous in this lake."
Taking a step forward, she closed some of the gap between the two. "I wouldn't be asking you to do this if I didn't think you could do it. Please...I need you." Her voice cracked on the last three words, but she held her emotions inside of her.
((Gah. Orlando's so verbose. lol. I'm sorry, that's why this post is so long))
Although his eyes weren't looking towards her, Orlando could still feel the heavy gaze of Faithe's eyes upon his face just as much as he could feel his other hand be swept up in hers. A sense of near-guilt touched him just then, as though he ought to be sorry he couldn't do what Faithe was asking. He knew that she spoke the truth, and that there was nothing dangerous in the lake. save the water itself, which he had grown to fear. He offered her a slight nod, showing that he appreciated her trying. But, throughout the last twelve years, the man hadn't so much as stepped in a puddle for fear of sinking into it, magically, of course, for he wasn't completely crazy with fear.
Her words were soft, pleading and gentle, yet they sparked bitterness in Orlando's mind. He was involuntarily begrudging Faithe for this, not because he was upset at her for having the audacity to try and tackle this deep fear, because, had the circumstances been different, he would have appreciated it, but rather because, to him, she was speaking as though she had no idea what she had put him through, more of within the past five days as opposed to the past fourteen. A silence ensued to a moment as he glanced up into her eyes.
"If you need me so badly, then why won't you just take me? I'm yours, Faithe. You need me? What about how I've needed you, Faithe? You may have been here, but I haven't had you for two weeks, and I know that that's partially my fault, but I don't know what else I can possibly do to fix things on my part. The ball's been in your court, and you haven't so much as touched a finger to it.
"Do you know how worried about you I've been? When I didn't see you for three days? Three whole days, Faithe! Can you even begin to conceive what went through my mind? I didn't have a clue what had happened to you- no one did. There wasn't a night that went by where I didn't wake up in a cold sweat, praying that I had only had a dream and not some sort of twisted premonition. And then, you finally came back, I saw your delicate, fragile, amazingly beautiful body scarred, beaten. And I couldn't do anything to make it better. I didn't know how it had happened, and you wouldn't talk to me.
"Then, tonight, you come into my room in the middle of the night, still torn-up, and, instead of talking to me or anything like that, you're trying to use me to get your mind off Kayte by making me into some sort of project? Telling me that you know I can do it, and that you need me to do it, but never once caring that I'm still in the dark here!"
How wonderful all of that sounded in Orlando's mind, and how he longed to let it take the next step through his lips. Yet, he was in a calm enough state of mind to know that if those words left his lips, whatever chances he had of reconciling with Faithe would be pushed further away. Thus, his eyes spoke them instead, the brilliant blue hue turned to a swirled gray, and it was only after that moment of communicative silence that he spoke.
Holding her hands in his own, he absentmindedly ran his fingers across them as his eyes softened slightly, turning more of a slate blue shade. He wanted to help her; in spite of all the seeds of bitterness that were budding inside of him, he still wanted to protect her. He just couldn't. Faithe's fear of flying had been based entirely on being hit with a bludger- an outside physical force- but Orlando's, though caused by a shark incident, was primarily rooted in the fact that he himself hadn't been able to swim back to shore. He knew, though, that the lake was much less than a mile across either way, and that it couldn't possibly be more than fifty or so feet deep, even at the center, but it didn't matter. The lake was still filled with water, which, if, at any moment, if Orlando's body should choose to give out on him, would eagerly swallow him.
Perhaps if Orlando had just given it some thought, he could have apparated across, but, that, too, held the same possibility (which, like the others, wasn't at all likely) that he would get tired and apparate over water, and, consequently fall in, and not be able to swim to shore, or simply safety, for that matter. It didn't matter to him that he was a highly skilled swimmer; he had failed himself once, and wasn't about to take a chance on that again.
"Faithe," he whispered with a sorrowful smile, unwrapping one hand from hers in order to place it gently upon her face and run it down until his hand rested almost atop her collarbone, "I love you, and I'd do anything for you. but not this. I want to, but I can't. Every time I even think about it, I feel like I'm sinking again. The water rushes over me, and my lungs start to burn, but my arms and legs are too tired and too weak to push me towards the surface, so I give in, and let the water take me.
"I woke up on the beach that time, only about five miles from where I had swum out, but that was luck."
Sighing, he took another hesitant glance at the water, hoping to find the strength to just leap in, but finding nothing but another flashback. Why was it so important that he swim out to the raft with her? Did she fancy a midnight swim? What possible whim of hers could he be subjecting himself to? Orlando hadn't a clue, but he knew Faithe, and if she hadn't spoken to him in two weeks and then, suddenly, came to his room in the middle of the night, beaten to a pulp, and pleaded with him to swim out to a raft in the middle of a lake, that something had to be going on. something more than her simply trying to focus her mind elsewhere.
"I can't."
Shaking his head, he turned back towards her with a defeated look upon his face as his pursed his lips together.
"Please understand, Faithe."
Her head tilted towards his hand as she felt the familiar tingle from his hand on her skin. Closing her eyes, she winced slightly as his hand rested on her collar bone, but tried her best to hide it. Reaching up, she took his hand off, not only for the sake of removing his hand from a bruise, but because she needed the comfort of his hand. Opening her eyes, she bit her bottom lip to keep the tears that had welled up in her eyes from falling over. Squeezing his hand, she let dropped both of his hands and turned around.
"The only thing I could think of when I felt that broom underneath me was that pain I had felt. My stomach felt like it was dropping, and I could remember that terrifying weightless feeling when I fell. I could hear the cracking sound that I later found out was my neck and spine." Turning back around to face him, there were two streams on her cheeks, but she refused to let her tears show while looking at him. Reaching up, she placed her hand gently on his cheek, "I trusted you Orlando. I trusted you when you said that you wouldn't let anything happen to me. I went against myself and my own fears because I trusted you. I'm asking you to do the same thing for me." Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. When she opened her eyes, it was a struggle not to cry, "If I never ask you anything else after this, that's fine with me, just please trust me on this Orlando. Trust that I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
Faithe wanted to talk to him, she wanted to open up to him about the torment she'd been enduring the last two weeks. Something was holding her back though. It wasn't that she didn't necessary feel like she couldn't open up to him because she didn't trust him, but moreso because she felt that things were still shakey between them. Faithe had come to realize that she did trust Orlando, and was ashamed of herself for letting him think otherwise...for letting herself think otherwise.
Running her hand down his arm till she finally reclaimed his hand, she looked at him with a silent plea in her eyes, "Orlando...please. Just this once. I won't ever ask you to do it again, and I know it's not fair of me to ask you even once. But please just trust that I have my reasons."
Letting her remove his hand, Orlando glanced quizzically downward at where it had been; seeing a bruise, he immediately whinced himself, feeling sorry for not being more careful. Gently he entangled his fingers with hers as their hands touched, and then, just as gently, untangled them when Faithe relinquished her graps on his hands.
He let her turn away, then take his hand again. Kknowing that she too felt somewhat of the same fear and terror that he felt made things a little better. It wasn't the completely identical, he knew, but combined with her soft words, that knowledge was enough. He knew she wouldn't let anything happen to him, but, his mind asked, what would happen if things weren't in her control?
'No, he told himself, 'Stop being foolish. Faithe needs you.'
And it was that thought that allowed him to finally force himself to belief he could overcome the terror. For a moment, he was silent, simply wrapped his arms protectively around her, taking care, this time, not to press her bruises. Guiding her head to his chest, his fingers tangled themselves in her hair, gently stroking it.
Faithe was right; it wasn't fair of her to ask him to do it even just once, especially under the current circumstances. But it didn't matter. The look in her eyes had been plain- she needed him, and he wouldn't fail her.
Holding her a moment longer, he slowly and reluctantly released his arms from around her and stepped back, still having spoken not a single word. Keeping the eerie, tense silence intact, the man took the bottom of his shirt in his hands and pulled it over his head and, in a single, swift, soft movement, it laid on the dock.
Apart from the near violent gnawing on his tongue, he didn't display his nervousness. Walking slowly down the wooden planks, he paused as he reached the point where Faithe stood. Not looking at her, but, rather, at his hand, he placed a delicate hand upon her shoulder, ran it down her arm and joined their hands, then, continued walking the plank, eyes focused on the emptiness at the end of the wooden dock.
Upon reaching the end, he took a deep breath and let go of Faithe's hand with a sort of regretful look. Getting into the water was something the man had to do alone. Once he had proved that task accomplishable, he could rely on her, but not before.
Turning back, he gazed out over the glass-like water and tried to quiet the voice in his head screaming at him to run away. Curling his toes over the edge of the dock, his arms raised themselves above his head and, in another single, swift and soft movement, had dove marvelously into the water.
She bit her bottom lip nervously as he stood there, soundlessly. Feeling his arms embrace her, a long sigh escaped her lips with a soft moan to accompany it. Closing her eyes as his fingers stroked her hair, she buried her face in his chest, wincing as her eye grazed his body.
Watching him take his shirt off, she rolled her lips inward as she felt her cheeks sting slightly with a blush. Walking beside him, she watched him dive into the water, the left side of her mouth crooking up in a small smile, a look of adoration in her eyes. Sitting down on the edge, she gently slipped into the water, using her elbows.
The water was cool, but not freezing. Her tank top clung to her body as the water seeped up through the threads. Letting go of the dock, she dipped underneath the water. Surfacing, she took a deep breath and began to swim awkwardly towards the floating dock. Normally the swim took her fifteen minutes, but that was under usual circumstances when she was paddling hard. However, with her wrist hardly useable, Faithe had to stop occasionally and rest. They reached the dock in less than half an hour, and she had never been so grateful for the plank of wood that had been bewitched to stay there.
After a lot of uncomfortable shifting, Faithe managed to pull herself up on the dock, which was only about an inch above the water. Sitting up, she brushed her sopping hair out of her face, rubbing her eyes as she did so. She was in pain, but at the same time, the exertion felt great, and the coldness from the water had numbed her wrist.
They only had minutes to spare, but they had made it in time. Her eyes stared up at the sky, as if waiting for something.
The sensation of having his entire body submerged underwater was one that Orlando Lorenz had failed to experience for quite a while. Although pleasant, the coolness of the water took a little getting used to, as did the fact that the video player in his mind wouldn't respond to the incessant clicking of the metaphorical "pause" and "stop" buttons on the remote he was so desperately pushing.
Terror struck him as he felt his hands brush the cold sand of the bottom, having dove so deep, but he somehow managed to restrain the emotion and allow his instincts to act. Having always been a swimmer, surfacing was something nearly programmed into his body, and, thus, he decided to let his body move itself, without allowing his mind to interfere
Blocking out his thoughts, the man's body easily shifted itself and broke through to the surface. Taking a breath, his eyes darted around, orientating himself and realizing that the dock was quite a bit further than it had seemed from shore. Sniffing a little more oxygen in through his nose, the man continued gnawing on his tongue and ducked under the water's surface, swimming underwater, the quickest and most painless way he knew how to.
The journey was long, but, successful at zoning out his mind and merely allowing his instincts to do their job, it wasn't a problem for Orlando; his endurance was still what it had been twelve years ago, if not better. Coming up to breath about every three minutes, then returning to a calm yet enthused underwater stroke, his systematic actions were almost mechanic in nature.
He arrived not too long before Faithe, and, pulling himself up onto the dock, was surprised to find that his body was shaking as his mind was finally allowed its say. Breathing deeply, he calmed himself, just to the point where the shaking had died down to a slight tremble and laid back on the wood, relishing the hard surface he had to lay on, whcih was all the more welcome after spending so long in the liquid water.
Gazing up into the sky, he found that his fear and mentally created pains were washed away by the sky; the stars were just as effective then as they had been for him as a boy. Entranced by them, Orlando failed to notice Faithe climbing aboard the small floating station.
Reaching down, she slipped her fingers into his, squeezing his hand reassuringly. A small smile spread over her lips as her other hand touched his stomach. Looking back up at the sky, she pointed to a specific spot in the sky.
Almost as if on cue, and right as she laid her hand down, two white shooting stars flew through the sky. From the human eye, the two stars which were driving through the heavens in a parallel sequence, only looked to be about an inch apart. However, there were, naturally, many miles in between the two. After covering a good distance, the two stars closed their distance and collided. While under normal circumstances an explosion would have been had, this was not the case. The two stars diverged into one shooting star, and after fifteen seconds, vanished from sight. The whole event took less than 45 seconds, but seemed to last a lifetime.
Looking down at Orlando, she bit her bottom lip. Not everybody could see this phenomenon, but Faithe had no doubt in her heart or her mind that Orlando would be able to see it. Her stomach fluttered slightly as her eyes searched his face intently.
Feeling the familiar feeling of her hand slipping into his, Orlando's head turned slightly, just enough so he could see her face, and his hand returned the squeeze, although his head gently bumped into her leg. Offering her a sheepish smile, he somewhat rippled his body a few inches along the wood in order to be able to lay his head upon her leg.
As her fingers touched his chest, a small blush was evident upon his cheeks, but it soon vanished as his eyes followed her fingertips upwards. A quiet gasp escaped his lips at the phenomenon before him. Meteors were rare, and, when they did happen, Orlando, as the astrophile he was, knew about them, especially sights as rare as what he was witnessing.
A small noise ((yeah, that's the one... hee hee)) escaped his lips at the vision of the two "shooting stars" seemingly melting together into one, yet he dared to neither take his eyes off the sky nor interrupt the spectacle with words for fear of missing another miracle.
Once he was sure the phenomenon had played itself out, his lips still remained parted, though his eyes had now flitted to meet Faithe's gaze, in complete awe of what he had seen.
An almost grateful smile spread over her lips as he reacted to the sight in the heavens. She'd almost started laughing, but held it in. Her hand slipped up to his hair, gently stroking it as her brown eyes searched his face.
"Dos llegan a ser Uno," speaking softly, the Spanish words rolled off her lips effortlessly. "Five hundred years ago, there were two tribes in Equador that were always at war. They were always killing, murdering each other, thieving from one another, always trying to outbest the other tribe. Well, after a two hundred year old grudge, the two reigning chiefs decided to make peace. The same night they made a pact, they saw the two stars diverge into one, and it was a miracle then...and still is today. The two tribes took it as a promising sign that they had done the right thing, and that the stars were a sign from their ancestors proving their judgement to be right." Clearing her throat, her eyes skimmed the sky once more, a small smile on her face. Looking back down, her fingers ran gently over his lips before slipping back into his hair, toying with a strand of his dark, wet hair.
"For some reason unknown, not everybody can see it. It happens once every five years. Anytime anybody has ever tried to record it, they've lost the ability to see it, so people naturally thought that they were crazy. The only way word of it has stayed alive is by word of mouth." Her eyes continued to stare down at him, a look of adoration, passion, and love in her eyes.
"Dos llegan a ser uno," whispering the name once more, she looked at the water, "Two become one. Some people look at it as a sign about who they're supposed to spend the rest of their life with. There are even some people who see it together, and believe it to be a sign that they're seeing it with their soul mate..." Trailing off, her eyes averted back to the sky, feeling slightly embarrassed. Faithe wasn't sure what she believed, but she realized a little too late that her last few sentences were pretty clear.
Bringing him here and showing him this was her way of apologizing. Whether he caught it or not, it didn't matter because she knew she would end up apologizing before the night was over.
Delighting in the familiar feeling her fingers running through his hair gave him, Orlando listened intently to Faithe's explanation. For some reason, the story had an odd sense of déjà vu for him. Thinking about it for a moment, he recalled hearing a somewhat similar story in his Popular Astronomy Myths class in Maine. It was funny, really, how much the professor had convinced him that such things were as true as green Martians, but, yet, how he had literally seen the infamous two meteors become one. Lips curling into a small, almost proud sort of smile, whatever begrudging or bitter feelings the man had had were now almost completely gone; this sight had been well worth having to be in the water. And, although the man still hadn't completely conquered his hydrophobia, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been.
As her fingers touched his lips, lifted his head ever so slightly in order to gently kiss them before lying his head back down on Faithe's leg, which, just so happened, was a rather comfortable place despite the cold feeling on the back of his neck due to the cold water still on her bare skin. Gazing back up at her, the same look of adoration lighting his own eyes, he remained silent as she continued her enchanting explanation.
Nodding at the "crazy" part, Orlando chose not to tell her of his insistent Professor Marquette's assenting lecture; it didn't seem that important, and, besides, listening to Faithe's voice was like hearing a blissful melody that his ears had been denied the pleasure of hearing for such a long time- much better than listening to his own voice drone on about something so trivial.
As her gaze flew towards the water, his eyes remained locked on her face, searching for some sign of what was going through her head. Yet, once she had spoken, he needed question her motives no more. The last ounce of rancor had left his body at her last words and been replaced with an odd sort of feeling- one of relief, of happiness, and, most of all, of love. The eloquence of her words, accompanied by the romantic twist that was already innate to them, prompted a small smile to cross his face as his eyes softened, still staring at her face as tears of happiness and relief gave them a watery shine.
Perhaps this was some form of apology; despite it lacking the actual words "I'm sorry", Orlando could have taken it that way. After all, her last few lines had been, aside from cute, rather particular in their meaning. As for the whole idea of "soul mates", Orlando wasn't ever completely sure on their existence; it seemed to him that there was a point in all of his relationships where he believed to be with someone he ought to spend the rest of his life loving, and, although they had problems, he always believed that, had they tried, they could have reconciled, but that hadn't happened with Demeter nor Adhara (who wasn't technically a large part of Orlando's life, but still ought to be mentioned as a failed relationship). However, the idea of there being just one person in the entire world for each other just didn't seem to fit with him; perhaps he was just too idealistic.
Yet, although he may not have entirely agreed on the details of what defined a "soul mate", he hadn't a doubt in his mind that he would be more than happy spending the rest of his life with Faithe, which was obviously symbolized by the small object lying in the dark velvet box in the first drawer of his nightstand. The smile on his face grew a little wider at the thought of it now that he knew that, although the words may have just slipped from her lips, something of the like had crossed Faithe's mind as well, and she hadn't exactly been against he idea, which, given the past two weeks' circumstances, was another miracle within itself. Pure rapture inundated the man's body as his eyes wandered across Faithe's face, finally feeling as though he was forgiven- free from the guilty burden he had carried for so long.
Slowly, he raised himself up to a sitting position, pushing off the dock with his hand, and slid back to be equal with her. Searching her face a moment more, he then allowed the grateful smile to resume its place upon his face. Reaching over a hand, he placed it upon Faithe's cheek, turning her face towards him in a tender manner, so as to prevent any further injury to her. Seeing her bruised face again, he wished he had been better at potions, perhaps then he could have concocted something that would heal her. Tilting his head almost inquisitively, his eyes said what they needed to, which was, if anything, forgiveness. It didn't matter anymore, as long as she loved him, which he knew she did, and trusted him, which it seemed she did.
((Hrm. this is a kind of difficult situation to do nicely and subtly but still be true to how I envision Orlando's character. *ponders* Hope this is alright. :o/))
Just staring into her eyes for another short, silent moment, Orlando leaned in to kiss her- not a peck, either, a full-on kiss, which more than made up for the two weeks he had been forced to abstain from such things. As their lips touched, his hand slid softly from her face down to behind her neck, fingers entangling themselves with the long, wet strands of hair around them. There was a split-second within that moment that Orlando had instinctively pressed his shoulder gently against hers, moving to guide Faithe's body down to the dock. Even someone as wizened and loving as Orlando had an unrequited urge, hormonal imbalances.
Feeling this, he had caught himself and instantly stopped, both surprised and slightly ashamed at his action, and, instead, lifted her back up towards him by means of the hand on the back of her neck. Apart from Faithe being injured, it just simply wasn't a good idea. The two of them were already half-naked, and the passion of the emotions that had been bottled inside the two, unreleased for two weeks, could no doubt have the power to lead them somewhere they ought not go. What was he doing. this was wrong; this was what they, those against relationships such as theirs (an unconventional student-teacher relationship), expected of him.
Besides, it would bring more pain than pleasure; the innocence that would be taken away that could never be replaced would haunt him, should anything go wrong. Instead he'd whisper and gaze deeply into her eyes, knowing that the love they had for one another was enough for then, no more was needed for him to be content. After kissing her for a moment more, Orlando eventually pulled himself back, yet kept his hand lightly draped around her.
Gazing into her eyes, he couldn't help but search them for some sort of clue as to what she was feeling. Fear? Regret? He didn't know, and, frankly, was a little worried about finding out. Choosing to pretend that it never happened for the moment, he ran his fingers along the nape of her neck gently.
"I love you," he whispered, offering a warm, genuine smile.
Staring at the dark water, she felt her eyes on him and suddenly felt nervous. Not sure what was going through his mind, what he was thinking about what she'd said, or even what he was thinking about her, Faithe's stomach was doing a continual cartwheel. Worried that her words may be pushing him further away, she was scared to meet his eyes, scared of the rejection that she may see in those brilliant blue eyes. Feeling the dock shift slightly as Orlando sat up, she turned her head, meeting his gaze.
Seeing that smile on his face, that smile that Faithe had grown to love and adore, she felt relief tugging at her heart. Something inside of her, however, was scared to believe that everything was all right. How could he forgive her? She completely ignored his existence the week after their trip to Manhatten, unable to look at him without seeing that vision of him kissing Demeter. After she allowed her eyes to settle on his eyes once and for all, without interuption, Faithe's face melted into a look of utter and complete apology. Her eyes conveyed how sorry she was for pushing him aside, for closing herself up to him, for holding him beyond arm's length.
Unsure of what to do or say, she made no move as his hand trailed down to her neck. Her body was trembling, but whether that was due to the wind blowing on her, or because she was absolutely petrified, she didn't know, or really care. Closing her eyes as she returned his kiss, a small, silent tear slipped down her cheek. Wrapping her right arm around his neck, she allowed herself to be steered wherever he took her. Feeling the boards against her back, it took her a moment to realize exactly where she had been led. Her stomach performed a strange assortment of backflips as she felt her head become lightheaded.
She would have been lying to herself if she didn't admit silently that she was thankful he had pulled her back up. Reaching her other hand up, she absentmindedly toyed with his hair. This was the way things were supposed to be, nothing more, for the time being, and nothing less. As he pulled back, a small objective noise escaped her throat. Keeping her right arm around his neck, and her left hand still twisting his hair in between her fingers, she waited a moment to open her eyes. A look of serene contentment played in her eyes and on her face, but no emotion was stronger than that of love.
"I love you," whispering, she let his hair fall back into place, running her fingers over his bottom lip. "More." Grinning, she kissed his nose, and winked. The mischievous flirtatious look lasted only a moment before melting back into a warm smile, her eyes saying more than her mouth ever could.
Searching her eyes and finding nothing but love within the beautiful brown orbs, Orlando grew slightly more confused. At first, it was because he couldn't figure out if she was hiding her emotions or if she hadn't understood the significance of what he almost allowed himself to do. As his shoulder had pressed against hers, he didn't remember having felt any resistance, but was that because there truly hadn't been any in her mind or because she was just a little naïve? In all honesty, Orlando didn't know, but the situation was such that, if she wasn't going to make a big deal out of it, then he wouldn't have the slightest objection. He almost wanted to apologize, but talking about it would only remind him of what he had done and, more importantly, what he almost let himself do.
Closing his eyes, almost in a sort of silent gratitude, as she whispered, he leaned his head back just a bit, allowing more of her hand to touch his neck. He had known she loved him, but the verbal reassurance was appreciated. Their relationship had been anything but solid for the last while and now, after all was said and done, knowing that they were finally returning to the way things ought to be was, in a word, nice. But their discord couldn't simply just end, and he was sure they both knew it, probably him moreso than Faithe, though.
Offering a sort of sorrowful smile as she made an attempt to revert to her endearing casual flirtatiousness, which he normally appreciated, Orlando kind of shook his head. He wanted it to be that easy, truly he did, but he knew that they still had too many issues to resolve, too many things to talk about and too many problems to analyze before they would be able to act like that again. It wasn't that he was looking for a five-minute apology (like the one he had made to her), but rather that he couldn't just let himself slip back into their relationship living the lie that nothing had ever gone wrong.
Leaning in, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment, eyes closed again.
"Impossible," he whispered. Although sincere, his voice held a slightly stern and serious undertone. The grudging feelings were beginning to return slightly, and Orlando was powerless to prevent them. Sighing, he lifted his face off hers and tilted his head slightly. In his eyes, which were now a light, but vibrant, blue color, an air of vulnerability waltzed hand-in- hand with authenticity as they merely gazed into her own.
"Do you trust me?" he asked after a moment, dropping the hand that had been around her neck down to her shoulder. The question was random given the current conversation, but it seemed to fit right into his thought pattern, and he was sure she wouldn't find him asking such a thing odd at all given their current situation.
The question itself had multiple levels to it, and Orlando had meant it on every single one. Did she trust him when he told her he loved her? That he would be true to her? That he wasn't going to ever go back to Demeter? Did she trust him enough to confide in him about everything? To tell him how she had gotten so battered? To talk to him about the Kayte situation? And, finally, the taunting thought in the back of his mind: did she trust him not to take whatever physical relationship the two had too far? Orlando had never held a doubt about such a thing in his mind about Faithe until a few minutes ago; now, he was unsure of himself, or what he was capable of, and, quite frankly, it scared him.
Nodding gently when he shook his head, her smile faded, but not into a look unpleasantness. She felt...how did she feel? Did she even know? There was confusion inside of her, but she wasn't unnerved by it. Feeling his touch, his kiss, his arms around her - all of those outside factors alone had made her feel alive again. Moreso, and more importantly, being together with him emotionally had filled the missing pieces in her heart that had been vacant for the past two weeks. She had felt drained and alone, but now, even though she was emotionally and physically exhausted, there was something about Orlando that revitalized her.
It wasn't so much an energetic notion inside of her, but his being there made Faithe feel more secure about being emotional. He made her feel protected, and she didn't feel like she always had to be on high alert with her emotions. She knew she could open up to him, and completely break down in front of him, and that was something she had never felt so free to do that with anybody. Even with Jake, who had been her best friend for the past thirteen years, she always maintained a sense of false strength emotionally.
Feeling his forehead on hers, she reached her hand up and laid her three middle fingers on his jawline ever so softly. Closing her eyes, a halfhearted smirk escaped her lips at his rebuttal, although it only last a single second. Hearing his question, her eyes filled with tears of regret. How could she have made him feel as if she didn't trust him? Opening her eyes, she pulled back slightly, lifting his chin gently.
"Orlando, I trust you more than anybody. With anything." Swallowing harshly, her eyes dropped to the dock, her sense of shame showing through in her facial expression. "I'm sorry I said I didn't. At the time, it may have been true, but I knew deep down that nothing could ever take away that trust I have for you. I was just too blinded my emotions that day to think straight." Closing her eyes, her eyes furrowed together as two tears slipped down her cheeks. Averting her eyes to look at his, she reached up and touched his cheek gently, "I wouldn't have let you go further than that, Orlando. I know it's not what you want right now, and it's not something I'm ready for right now." As she guided his head upwards, Orlando's eyes remained locked into Faithe's, nervously awaiting her reply. In that short moment of silence before she spoke, a sense of horrid anxiety passed through him, and he was sure that if that precarious silence lasted a moment longer, he would die. Each millisecond of it, he grew a little more doubtful or her response, despite the fact that the time between his last word and her first not being dreadfully long. Then, at last, as she spoke his name, his eyes lit up with hope, whose sparkle only swelled as her voice spoke word after word of just what he wanted- and needed- to hear.
Leaning forward almost quickly, and, consequently (if Faithe hadn't been most adamant about keeping her hand where it lay), causing Faithe's hand to fall from his chin, down his neck, to somewhere around his collarbone, Orlando's lips brushed Faithe's forehead, silently thanking her. Not that he felt like she was doing him some grand favor, but more of a manifestation of how relieved he was to finally be free of the guilt, for a moment, at least. After he had pulled back, he saw her eyes cast themselves down to the dock, and her mien radiated that same sense of shame he had felt not only two weeks ago, but, more notably, five minutes ago. A while ago, he had wanted her to be sorry, to feel as guilty for pushing him away for two weeks just as he had felt guilty for pushing her away when he had kissed Demeter. Now, seeing the imperative remorse and ignominy in her face, he regretted ever feeling such things.
At her next words, the man bit tongue (literally) and began, as was a habit of his, gnawing nervously on it as he recalled "that day". He could see Demeter's face when he had first pulled back after she had tried to initiate a kiss- confused, scared and bewildered, its image was burned into his memory. Then he felt her lips upon his, and, inconsistent with before, the feeling (or, rather, the memory of the feeling) was now more of a sting as opposed to a pleasure. Next, the image that would never leave him mind entered his thoughts: Faithe's face. The look upon it had been shock more than anything else, followed immediately by hurt; she had bitten her bottom look and her brown eyes had flooded with pain as they moved from Demeter to himself before she had turned around and shut the door, calmly walking out on him.
He hadn't a right to be upset with her for not trusting him, as much as he wanted to let himself believe otherwise; he wasn't infallible. That day had been entirely his fault, and, although he may have been faintly justifiable in blaming her for how things had been between them since that day, he couldn't deny that none of that would have happened if he hadn't caused the triggering incident.
"It's alright, I understand," he whispered, leaning his head downward with a sympathetic look in his eyes and gently wiping away the couple of tears cascading down her cheeks. "It wasn't your fault."
Feeling her touch upon his cheek, Orlando leaned into her hand, smiling just the slightest bit as he met her gaze. Yet, at her words, his own gaze faltered slightly and his eyes flitted downward shamefully as he turned his head away from her, but not so much that her hand didn't remain on it. There was a part of him that was glad it had been brought up for discussion of a sort, that she was telling him exactly how she felt and thus preventing any incorrect presumptions to linger within his mind. However, there was another part of him that, understandably, felt the complete opposite. Her wording, especially, fit right in with the way that part of her mind was thinking, when she told him that she wouldn't "let him". It was as though she thought, or perhaps knew, that he might have.
Somewhere inside his mind, he knew she was just trying to be comforting, and let him know that if it had come down to that point, she wouldn't have allowed him to make such a dreadful mistake, not just for her sake, but for his as well. Still, he couldn't refute the voice in his head asking him what would have happened if he hadn't caught himself. Blocking the atrocious thought out, Orlando shook his head, looking back at Faithe almost sadly.
"Good," he replied with a halfhearted smile, "I'm sorry, though." He trailed off there, not exactly sure of himself for once.
"And you're right, I don't want that," he added. Then, catching himself, cringed a bit and tried to rephrase that, knowing that those hadn't been the right words. "I mean, I do.
"I want you, Faithe."
The words came out a little too quickly and passionately, prompting another awkward moment for Orlando as he fumbled for words.
"Not now though. Well, yes, now, but. You're not ready, and. I mean, I might be, or, maybe, I'm not either, but.
"Oh, that didn't sound right either!" he exclaimed with frustration, though his voice didn't go above a mezzo-forte.
It was odd for someone with Orlando's personality and intellect to speak so awkwardly. Anytime he spoke, although he was characteristically verbose, his words at least flowed together with some sense of eloquence. But, now. his words were just plain chaotic, as though he didn't even try to think through them in his head before they escaped his mouth.
"I love you, and I want you, but. not on a dock."
He trailed off again, trying to laugh a bit and slightly loosening up, but not nearly to the point where he could be considered anywhere near "relaxed". Orlando was trying though, in all honesty, he was.
"Not just that, but I wouldn't want to put you through a night of kissing me when half my face is covered in this disheveled beard either," he laughed, "Haven't exactly had time to shave lately, and I can't imagine it feels too nice." It was an attempt at a joke, something aimed at easing the tension he was feeling, and the fact that it hadn't worked in unwinding him was rather blatant.
"Besides, there are too many other things to deal with."
His voice trailed off yet again in thought and his mind instantly focused on Kayte, causing his to purse his lips together with agony. Kayte was Faithe's world, and Orlando knew it; she referred to the toddler as "her baby" and Kayte pretty much was Faithe's child in every way that mattered. He wanted to talk to Faithe about it, more for her own well being than his. He wanted her to open up to him again, let him shield and protect her from the bad things in the world and fight those few bad things, which he couldn't possibly have prevented, by her side. He wanted to know who had inflicted such atrocious wounds upon her fragile, beautiful body; he wanted to know where she had been for the first three school days of that week; but, more than those specifics, he wanted to know whatever she would tell him. Anything and everything would be more than welcome.
He knew that the mention of the tiny angel's name would incite some sort of response in Faithe, and thus gently pulled/lifted her into him, so that ((excuse the random lack of eloquence here. but I ought to describe the position so.. yeah..)) she was sitting upon his left thigh ((which was the father one from her original position, I presume)), yet facing outwards with her back split between his left upper arm and chest, the remainder of her legs over his right one, and her feet lying upon the dock. His arms encircled her, holding her affectionately and protectively against him.
"Like Kayte." he whispered despondently.
Closing her eyes as his lips brushed against her forehead, Faithe's hand ran along his collarbone slowly. Meeting his eyes as he wiped away the tears on her face there was a small look of doubt in her eyes. "What happened wasn't anybody's fault, but how I reacted was my fault. I acted like a child..."
As he trailed off his apology, she shook her head, "You have nothing to apologize for Orlando. I knew nothing was going to happen." Watching him as he stumbled over his words, a small smile played on her lips as a look of adoration crossed her eyes. Hearing the words 'I want you' caused a jittery butterfly to do a mile in her stomach. A small, quiet laugh escaped her lips as he became frustrated. Reaching up, she laid her hand on his cheek as her eyes held the fainteste hint of amusement.
"I know what you mean Orlando," speaking softly, her thumb ran gently back and forth on his cheek bone. "I want you too, just not here and now. We've been apart for two weeks, and our judgement is clouded by emotions. It wouldn't be fair for us to make any sort of decision about this right now."
Laughing, she reached down and ran her hand across the hair on his face, wrinkling her nose. "Haven't had time? What's kept you so busy?" Tilting her head curiously, she dropped her hand and reached for his, squeazing it tightly.
Allowing herself to be pulled onto his lap, she relinquished his hand. Closing her eyes, she let out a long breath. She felt safe again, which is a feeling she hadn't felt in two weeks, particularly this past week. With his arms wrapped so tightly around her, Faithe felt like anything could happen right at that moment, and she would be safe. Sitting there with the dock rocking ever so slightly, a comforting serenity had overtaken her.
That was, of course, until she heard Kaytlin's name. Tensing up, her hand flew absentmindedly to the silver star around her neck. Swallowing hard, she opened her eyes, which had filled with tears involuntarily. Turning her head slightly, her eyes searched his, "Jake got in touch with you, didn't he?" Sighing, she looked down at the necklace as her she bit her bottom lip. Placing her index finger on the top point, and her thumb on the bottom as she had done two weeks previously, her brown eyes stared at it intently. The blue glow that had shone so brightly was now paler and not nearly as bright as it had been before.
Closing her eyes, Faithe drew in a sharp breath as a terrible pain shot through her arm. Whimpering slightly, she dropped the star, causing the glow to fade away. "She's hurting and she's sick." Her voice wavered as she spoke, feeling her body shrink into his. Sitting there in silence for quite sometime, Faithe kept her head turned away from his to hide the tears that had, once more, begun falling down her cheeks.
Burying her face in her hands, she hadn't realized that her body had begun to tremble. Shaking her head gently, she sniffed, "It's all my fault that she's gone, Orlando. I couldn't protect her, and it's my fault she got taken." Her voice was beginning to rise in volume as she spoke, and the more the event from last Friday played through her mind, her body began shaking even more. Finally dropping her hands, she opened her eyes, but was unable to see anything but darkness through her blurry eyes. Shaking her head again, she took a deep, shaky breath, "I tried and tried to get to her, but everytime I got close...I tried to attack Bridget, but I couldn't." Tears were beginnign to stream more steadily down her cheeks as she spoke, "Kayte was so scared. I will never forget the look on her face...I've never seen her so scared. She should be at home right now, Orlando, sleeping in her own bed with her cat at the end of bed."
Not aware at how loud her voice was getting, Faithe buried her face in her hands again, beginning to sob as she spoke. "It's my fault she's gone! I couldn't get past Eddie..."
Feeling ((Gah- how many paragraphs that I write start out with that word?!?!)) her fingertips waltz upon his collarbone, Orlando's gaze melted into Faithe's. Yet, at her words, he shook his head. Although she was right about her reaction being her fault, something that Orlando certainly wouldn't ever deny, she didn't seem to understand the cause-and-effect relationship Orlando had concocted in his own mind.
"What happened was [i]my[/i] fault," he insisted, "and mine alone. Even though you think you may have acted like a child, Faithe..."
Shaking his head, Orlando sighed, interrupting the eloquence of his speech once more.
"Or may have been a little juvenile in your actions, what else was there to do?"
Her next words caused the man to shake his head yet again, this time more in shame than in negation, though. This topic was beginning to frustrate him more and more. At first, her words had made him think she thought/knew he might have pushed her further, but now Faithe's resolve- her trust in him- seemed unshakeable. She had just told him she [i]knew[/i] nothing was going to happen, and those words brought a slight smile to the man's face. Although he still couldn't decide what would have happened had he not stopped himself, her trust in him was nice... to say the least.
[quote]"Haven't had time? What's kept you so busy?"[/quote]
Those words brought more of a solemn look to Orlando's face. If only she knew... There hadn't been a single waking moment that Orlando hadn't spent thinking about her. Endless visions had plagued his mind since not seeing her on Monday, and only worsened throughout the week. Putting a hand to his face, he shook his head and sighed, wondering if she really had to ask.
"Worrying about you," he replied, reaching up their entangled hands and running his along her face. His voice was very matter-of-fact, yet completely sincere.
Getting up at five in the morning and wandering to his window seat, the man had just sat there for two hours until it was time for breakfast to start. Then he would change into a seemingly clean pair of clothes and apparate to the Great Hall ((presuming apparating is allowed within Rosencrantz although it isn't in Hogwarts)), yet not eat a thing. His eyes would scan the crowd for Faithe and his mind would manifest fears into horrible scenarios... and the rest of the day would follow in suit.
As Faithe's eyes searched his, Orlando felt horribly guilty for bringing Kaytlin up. Then again, it was really better that Faithe have someone to talk about it to, and, in a less unselfish regard, rather important to Orlando that he figure out what was going on. Thusfar, none of his scanning spell books have proved to be muhc use in his search for Kayte; perhaps, he thought, if he knew more about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, and had Faithe's help, he could save the little girl.
Holding her close against him, Orlando's lips softly caressed Faithe's shoulder before nodding in response to her question. His eyes followed her hands as they took the necklace between their fingers, and he bit his bit (oddly enough, at the same time as Faithe).
As she inhaled sharply, Orlando's eyes widened with worry, concerned about her, and his grasp around her tightened, if it were possible.
"What's wrong?" he asked quickly. The words were barely out of his mouth when Faithe told him.
At those words Orlando felt his heart beat faster in his chest. He was worried and afraid for Kayte's sake, felt helpless with regards to Jake and Faithe, and hadn't the slightest clue how to make it better.
As she turned her head away from him, Orlando let her, although that allowance didn't hold any bearing over his fingertips, which softly stroked her cheek.
"This is swear to you tonight," Orlando whispered, "We'll get her back. She'll be safe, and healthy, and perfectly fine."
As her body began shaking and her face reimmersed itself in her hands, the man was once more overcome by the feeling of utter helplessness. Kayte had been taken for who knows what by some stranger, with no ransom note or anything, and, then, Faithe was blaming herself.
Running his hands along her arms, Orlando tried as best he could to calm the young woman, though he knew such attempts- or any attempts, for the matter- would prove futile. As the tremors intensified, he reverted to simply holding Faithe in his arms, feeling that what little security they gave her would be more beneficial. As she let her hands fall at last, Orlando began gnawing on his tongue. The sight of Faithe, in such a battered state to begin with, crying and shaking was horrifying to him. She was in so much pain, but he couldn't do a thing to help her.
Throughout her fragmented speech, Orlando remained silent, simply holding her... and listening. Yet, at the mention of Bridget's name, his eyes shut for a moment, trying to remember where he had heard the name before, aside from Bridget Preston, Ravenclaw Seeker his first year, of course. Instantly, a flash of Jake mentioning her name crossed his mind and, cross- collaborating that with the parallel to his and Demeter situation, Orlando eventually realized who the woman was and exactly what type of a situation they were now dealing with.
"Faithe, Faithe..."
Orlando slowly whispered her name a few times, repeating it softly as though he was trying to calm her down again, although its secondary purpose was also to give himself something to focus on so he, too, didn't go ballistic invisioning Kayte's face.
[quote]"She should be at home right now, Orlando, sleeping in her own bed with her cat at the end of bed."[/quote]
"She will be, I promise you, Faithe. She will be..."
Even though he said the word's without allowing his voice to falter a bit, it was mainly a strong façade to keep Faithe from completely collapsing on him. Just thinking of the young woman going through this torment alone, holding it all inside of herself for so long, was impossible... the pain was simply unimaginable.
"It's not your fault, [i]ma Foi[/i]," he declared insistently, lying his head on her quavering shoulder, "It's not your--"
At her last word, the man stopped dead in his actions. The warm blue color of his kind eyes instantaneously hardened to a bitter grey.
"Eddie?"
The word itself was spoken harshly, and flicked off Orlando's tongue with a crisp bitterness like that of a freshly sharpened knife. He had never liked that man completely, never trusted him completely, and now his instincts were finally being proved right. If only he had listened to them!
Questions flooded his mind. Why had Eddie been involved? What did he have to gain? How long had he been conspiring with Bridget? For what reason had he acted so nice? Simultaneously, unproved conjectors did the same. Eddie [i]was[/i] a scumbag and it was he who had inflicted such wounds upon Orlando's darling Faithe.
Anger and rage boiled within the man, but those feelings remained somewhat well hidden. Orlando wasn't one quick to fury, but when someone he cared about had been hurt by the whim of another... Things were impossible to predict.
"He did this to you," Orlando said, half stating the fact and half asking as he delicately lifted Faithe's head out of her hands and ran his fingers lightly overtop of her wounds, first running across her face and then down to her wrist.
His eyes were filled with emotion, radiating the fact that seeing Faithe like this was something he wanted never to experience again.
Faithe knew Orlando was trying to calm her down, and under most other upsetting circumstances, the hugging and the soothing words would have made an impact on her. However, not now, and not with this situation. Everything that had happened, every feeling that had coursed through her since that horrible night Kaytlin had been taken had been buried within the depths of Faithe's mind. Jake had tried to pry her open and talk openly about what had happened that night, but she refused.
Whether it was because she couldn't, or wouldn't Faithe didn't know herself. She felt as if she had let Kayte down, let Jake down, let everybody down. I should have been stronger...I should have gone back there first...I should have stayed downstairs with Jake and kept Kayte down there... Every moment she was awake, all Faithe could think about was how the outcome could have been different had she acted differently.
As he lifted her head from her hands, she tried to avert her gaze, but couldn't. Hearing his voice, as if for the first time in the past few minutes, her bottom lip quivered faintly. Biting her bottom lip to keep her emotions from betraying her too much, Faithe nodded slowly. Allowing her gaze to drop to where his hand rested on her wrist.
Though being physically close to him, with his arms around her and her face buried in her chest, brought her some sense of protection, she didn't feel the solace being close to him normally carried. Continuing to let her tears run free in a river down her cheeks, Faithe shook her head. "How could I have ever trusted him? Even if it wasn't that much, how could I have trusted him at all? I can't believe he and Bridget..." Sitting up, she shook her head, her eyes still down on the dock.
"They both want something, and they knew exactly how to get it." Closing her eyes, she shook her head again. "It isn't fair. Not to Kayte. Not in the least." Her voice had calmed down by now, though it still trembled immensely, and her voice was soft. " I didn't even know Eddie knew how to do half the things he did...the spells..." Wincing at the memory, she laid her head back on his chest, sniffling.
Jake didn't know about the Cruciatus Curse, and Faithe hadn't volunteered the information. Of all the physical pain she had felt in her life, nothing ever remotely came close to the anguish she had felt during those few minutes. Every time she had fallen asleep the past week, she had awaken in a cold sweat from the memory. Eddie's malicious laughing, the red flash, all of it. He had been merciless when it had come to her, and she knew she'd never forget it. Her body shuddered involuntarily as the recollection flashed in front of her eyes as if it were a slideshow.
((Thanks for being worried and whatnot. Yeah, so after I put that last away message up, I went to lay down on my bed for a few minutes, but never ended up getting back up... until 10:05am. :oP))
While Faithe continued sobbing and shaking into him, Orlando felt fully desolate. He could think of nothing else that would make the situation even the slightest bit better, and knew that that was because there wasn't a single thing that held that power... besides getting Kayte back. Continuing to gnaw on his tongue, he simply kept holding her close to him, listening to the few words that escaped her trembling lips. They were fragmented and erratic in a sense, but how else could he have expected them to be? Faithe was literally forlorn, and her mind couldn't possibly be thought to be able to speak clearly with all those emotions clouding it. Not being as close to Kayte as Faithe, Orlando knew his feelings couldn't have even amounted to an eighth of hers... and she had gone through this torment for an entire week- alone.
That was certainly was aggravated Orlando most about the situation: the fact that Faithe had had to deal with all the pain (physicaly, emotional and mental) alone for the past week. He didn't know Bridget, but he knew Eddie, and how repulsing the man could be; that side of him had shown itself the night he had been drunk. Mentally flashing back, Orlando shut his eyes, wondering what horrors might have happened if he hadn't been there. Opening his eyes, he looked down at Faithe's tiny, trembling figure within his arms and had to purse his lips tightly together to keep from crying.
How could anyone do anything so hurtful? He had seen it with his own eyes that Eddie had found Faithe attractive, and was jealous of himself, but, if he cared that much about her-- maybe it was that he [i]didn't[/i] care about her, Orlando reasoned. It fit, after all, especially in regards to that lingering comment Eddie's voice said over and over in his mind regarding the kiss after the song: "if you're brave enough." At the time, Orlando had blown it off, not even considering what malicious insinuation the man might have meant, but now he realized what type of a person Eddie truly was and found himself completely repulsed. He didn't have regard for emotions in the slightest, only desires. He didn't even want Faithe to love him, but rather only wanted Faithe. Angered and enraged by the disrespect innate to his new characterization of Eddie Polazzo, Orlando made a sort of frustrated groan/sigh as he shook his head.
Letting Faithe continue, as she buried her head into his chest, and getting whatever little bits of information he could from her hushed exclamations, Orlando closed his eyes for a moment. There was too much going on right now for his mind to form coherent thoughts. If Faithe's head wouldn't have been buried into his chest, she would have seen it- that frighteningly blank, vacant stare upon his face. Although he was elated that she was talking to him, telling him everything, he couldn't help but find himself at a loss.
As she sat up, shifting her body upon Orlando's, the man's eyes opened, hoping to meet Faithe's gaze, yet her eyes were still cast down to the dock. Resuming gnawing on his tongue, he listened in silence, until her voice trailed off and he was allowed an opportunity for an injection. Placing a hand upon her chin, he guided her face towards his, hoping that her eyes would follow.
"Look at me," he implored quietly, "You've nearly grown up with him, and that's why you trusted him, Faithe. It's not your fault he's a manipulator..."
His eyes grew warm as they gazed at hers (whether or not her eyes were gazing back... *shrugs*), and his arms loosened the slightest bit around her body. Almost wishing he was a violent man, Orlando wondered how exactly to repay Eddie for causing Faithe, and Jake, so much anguish. Death, apart from being something Orlando himself would never consider doing, was too simple, too much of an easy way out. There had to be something, a sweeter revenge...
[quote]"They both want something, and they knew exactly how to get it."[/quote]
Having his pensive reverie interrupted by Faithe's voice, Orlando's fingers, which were softly stroking her cheek, stopped. [i]'Bridget wanted Kayte, no doubt, but what did Eddie have to gain by--'[/i] The man's mind stopped short and his entire body froze as the most vile, abhorent thought entered his mind. Eddie didn't love Faithe, he wanted Faithe, and if... [i]'No,'[/i]he told himself, [i]'Faithe would have said something...'[/i] Satisfied for the moment that the unthinkable hadn't happened, but still shook up over having had the thought cross his mind, Orlando's arms resumed their secure position around Faithe's body, pressing her body lightly against his own.
Nodding in agreement with her next remark, Orlando gently laid his head upon Faithe's shoulder, just to be closer to her. If such a thing was possible. Noting that she her voice had calmed itself, but not completely, the gnawing of his tongue abated and he planted a single, soft kiss upon her neck. Things were calm for a moment, but only a moment.
Nearly jolting his head up, off her shoulder at the mention of Eddie's inflicted tortures, a vision of the man savagely beating Faithe flashed through his mind, accompanied by a similar one of his father beating him. until the word "spells" passed through the young woman's lips. Until that point, Orlando had thought Eddie had physically abused Faithe, punching her, kicking her, hitting her. Now that he knew the man had used magic, though..
His grip on her tightened as a small, hurt gasp escaped his lips as though he could feel her pain. There was an infinite number of painful spells that he might have cast on her, included in that list was the unforgivable Cruciatus Curse, and, not having to consider it for more than a second, Orlando knew he had used it upon her, the shudder that ran through her body as she pressed herself against him confirmed it.
"Oh, Faithe." he whispered, wrapping his arms completely around her body and weaving his hands into her wet tresses, "I wish there was something I could say to make it all go away, but I know there's not.."
In that moment, a terrifying thought crossed his mind: what if Eddie was using the same spell on Kayte? The thought of an innocent little girl being subjected to such a monstrosity was sordid. Pushing it out of his mind- almost suppressing the thought-, he cradled Faithe in his arms a little longer. Casting a glance at the sky, he sighed mentally. There was so much that the two had shared that evening, and yet still so much that they had to sort through.
"We're going to get Kayte back," he repeated, quietly whispering it into her ear.
He wanted to go right then, but he knew that waiting until morning would be better. After all, what would he do? To just start searching the city for the girl would be worthless. They would be better off using magic, as Orlando had been trying to before falling asleep that evening. He hadn't had much luck, but, then again, searching an entire world for one five-year- old girl with no possessions of hers to aid the search was nearly impossible. Perhaps, now that he knew who had taken her, he would have better luck. And then, maybe he could somehow enchant Faithe's necklace that she shared with Kayte to provide some help.
((Um, yeah, so this part can be changed if you wanted to keep them at the dock awhile longer, or just don't like this direction. Let me know, 'cause I understand that it is a little "iffy"))
"Tomorrow, though," he added softly, "Starting now won't help. You're exhausted in every possible way, and I'm not much better."
It was odd how calm Orlando seemed right then, but, truly, he was half putting up a strong front, just to keep himself able to support Faithe. The words that came from his lips were true, though, and he knew that. Still, if Faithe hadn't been in the state she was, it's certain that Orlando wouldn't have ever been that calm. She needed him, and he swore never to let her down again.
"Can I take you to bed?" he asked in a whisper, tilting his head to look at her as best he could.
Her watery eyes lifted to his when he guided her face up. Looking into his eyes, it was all she could do to keep her gaze from dropping. Shaking her head, Faithe bit her bottom lip hard, "It doesn't matter how long I've known him, I knew he was bad news." Shrugging she finally did allow her gaze to drop to dock once more. As soon as his arms loosened around her, she snuggled into him more, almost afraid to be seperated from him, even if it was only by a few inches. She couldn't deny the comfort he brought when he pulled her closer than she already was towards him.
Hearing his whispers in her ear, her eyes closed as tears continued to slip gently down her cheek. Raising her face to look at him, there was a small look of doubt in her eyes, "How can we get her back? We don't know where she is. Eddie and Bridget can both apparate, which means they could be anywhere. All Bridget wants is money..." Letting out an aggitated sigh, her head dropped back down as she burrowed her face into his chest.
Faithe hated this feeling of weakness, of insurpassible helplessness. All throughout her life Faithe has always been very strong willed and independent. Able to get through almost every problem that had ever come her way, feeling needy and clingy was new to her. Yet, with Orlando, she didn't have that feeling of being weak. With him holding her so closely, and being so strong for her, she felt that it was, indeed, all right for her to not always be strong.
Something seemed to click inside of her head as the two sat there on the dock, basking in each other's presence, even if the situations weren't ideal. There was a feeling of completeness that ensued her little outburst, not because she had allowed even the slightest bit of her emtions that had been bottled up out, but because of who was with her, comforting her. Orlando would always be there when she needed him, and even when she didn't think she needed him, she knew he'd still be there.
The idea of even being seperated him during the swim back to shore sent a tremor through her body, nonetheless the thought of not seeing him until the morning. Even then, they couldn't be sure that they would have some time alone since they were back at school. They couldn't just openly walk up to each other and spend an entire day together without drawing any attention to themselves. At his offer to see her off to bed, Faithe wrapped her arms around his middle as she turned her head sideways on his chest.
"I don't want to be seperated from you."
Seeing the doubt and uncertainty in Faithe's soft brown eyes, Orlando tried as best he could to remain optimistic. By nature, he was an idealist, so it wasn't too difficult for him. Growing up how he did, seeing the best side of things was all he could do not to become an angry, bitter child. Her words were rays of light into a dark room though, not quite dispelling the myth of the Boogeyman, but rather casting shadows across the mystery, which could very well be either a true horror or a simple manifestation of one's thoughts. She was right in the fact that Bridget and Eddie could apparate anywhere, but the Ministry could track that, couldn't they? And if they could be tracked, Orlando could surely do it. Apart from Astronomy, charms were the man's passion.
"Magic," he replied, whispering softly, "There has to be some sort of locating spell, and, when we find it, we'll do it."
At the mention of Bridget's name, Orlando shook his head. Money was worthless; didn't the woman understand that? It may bring objects, but magic could do the same. There wasn't a single thing that money, in Orlando's mind, was worth kidnapping a child for. But, of course, not everyone's mind worked like his did. Too bad; if that were so, the world would be quite a pleasant place to live in.
Noticing she failed to mention what, exactly, Eddie was after by kidnapping Kayte only added wood to the already burning fire of rage inside the man. He knew was Eddie wanted, and was sickened by the thought. Holding Faithe tightly against him as she, once more, nestled her head against his bare chest, he felt the slightest sense of usefulness. Although he may not have been able to do anything to save her from the pain, he was at least protecting her at that very moment.
Feeling her arms lock themselves around his own body, Orlando's eyes held somewhat of a quizzical look as they met Faithe's, wondering why she seemed so nervous at his offer. However, her words cleared up that misunderstanding quickly, and a small smile crossed his face as he leant down and kissed her forehead gently. It was almost adorable how naïve Faithe could be at times, thinking that all he was going to take her back to her own bed, or even take another dip into the water for that matter.
"You think I do?" he asked softly, shaking he head to show he wasn't serious. "I haven't felt your skin on mine, held you in my arms or even been so close to you in much too long; don't even think for a moment I'd let you go now. You need me now, [I]ma Foi[/I], and I don't have the slightest intention of letting you go for a long, long time.. if ever."
Sitting up a bit, his eyes flitted across the lake to the dock. He knew that he really ought to go back over there and retrieve their shed clothing articles. They were in plain sight, and there wasn't a doubt in his mind that they'd be found by morning, and several stories would begin to circulate around campus about them. not to mention the fact that Faithe probably wanted her pants. Still, he didn't want to unwrap his arms from around her for even a moment to pick them up. Mentally making a note to "Accio" the clothes to them once they were safely in his room, Orlando decided against making the pit stop at the dock.
"Tomorrow's Saturday," he whispered into her ear, "We've got the whole weekend to look for Kayte."
Closing his eyes tightly, he took a deep breath and pressed Faithe's body against his own, apparating them both back to his tiny apartment-like habitat, and landing upon the floor. Opening his eyes as he felt the hard, wooden floor beneath him, his arms remained around Faithe as he shifted himself into a standing position while simultaneously reallocating her small body into that familiar position within his arms so that he could carry her. Slowly walking to the bedroom, he pulled back the top sheet and moved to set her down upon the bed, but stopped. Looking at her, a nervous grin overcame his face as his hand reached up to scratch the back of his neck.
"Can't imagine you want to sleep in wet clothes like that." he said quietly, with a slight laugh creeping into his voice, "Lemme find you some clothes."
Very reluctantly relinquishing his grasp upon her and setting her down on the bed, he rummaged through the cluttered mess atop his dresser and procured a gray T-shirt, some black cotton pants not too unlike hospital scrubs, and a pair of peculiarly neatly folded navy blue cotton PJ pants, which looked like that hadn't been used in awhile. Walking back, he handed the first two items to her, saving the latter for himself.
"Here," he said, "I know they'll be about five sizes too big, but the pants have a drawstring, so."
Trailing off, he shrugged and offered her a grin.
((Ack! Don't kill me! I had every intention of replying this morning before I left, but I got a call saying I didn't have to go in. So, I fell back to sleep.))
Sighing, she shook her head, "Jake has a friend in the Ministry who's been helping us with this. We haven't gone to the muggle police, but if we don't have her back soon, he's going to do it. If they can track apparations, we haven't heard about it yet." Joseph, who had gone to school with Jake had been working for the state-side branch of the Ministry, and he had been the first person Jake had called after Kayte and had been taken, and after Faithe had been taken to the hospital.
Seeing his small smile, the left side of her mouth barely crooked up, as a pouting expression crossed her eyes. "Makin' fun of me..." Muttering loud enough for him to hear, but still speaking softly, her words came out with a relatively thick Texan accent accidentally. Closing her eyes gently as he continued to speak, the smile faded from her face. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she rested her forehead against his chin, her eyes remaining closed.
Starting to open her eyes, she quickly shut them again as they apparated. Her stomach tied in knots as it normally did when they apparated. Hopefully this whole apparation 'sickness' thing only happens because I'm not the one doing the apparating. If not, then I'm going to be in trouble when I have to learn how to apparate... She had started to wiggle out of his arms so they could stand up, but his arms remained around her as he shifted and stood.
Keeping her arms around his neck, Faithe rested her head on his shoulder lightly as he walked toward the bed. Sitting up straighter when he leaned over, her arms tightened when he ended up holding her with only one arm. The same thought crossed her mind just as he vocalized the idea of sleeping in wet clothes. Now that they were inside, she was starting to shiver slightly. Standing up, she walked over to him as he sorted through the clothes and handed her the gray t-shirt and the black pants.
"Don't forget about the rest of our stuff out by the lake. I would really hate having to explain that." Winking, she walked to the opposite side of the bed, heading for the bathroom. Raising her eyebrow at herself, she shook her head. "Where am I going? I'm wearing a bathing suit." Talking more to herself than to him, she shook her head. Still facing the opposite wall, her back to Orlando, she slipped on the pants. Pulling the drawstring to its tightest fit, she tied the string. Letting go of the pants, she looked down and laughed. Even with the drawstring, the pants were still massive on her. The waistline dipped to just below the top of her bathing suit bottom, which was already low on her hips.
Turning around, she raised her eyebrows at him, an amused expression on her face, "I feel like a clown." The pant legs weren't much better, but they weren't as amusing as the waistline of the black pants. Shaking her head, she stuck her tongue out at him. Turning around once more, she slipped the tank top off and shook out the shirt. Had she been in her right mind, Faithe most likely wouldn't have had her back towards Orlando during this move.
Faithe was overly self-conscious about her back, namely because of the six, very visible, scars that had been left from the broom accident. There were two horizontally parallel to one another two inches below her neck, two horizontally parallel with one another at the bottom of her spine, and one along her left shoulder blade and one one the right side of her spine. The four along her spine had been made during surgery, and the other two were simply from the fall. Ever since then, anytime Faithe was in a bathing suit, there was always a shirt over the top, and anytime she bought a shirt or tank top, the first thing she looked at was whether or not it covered everything.
However, her mind was so frazzled at this moment, she didn't even stop to think about it as she slipped the shirt over the bathing suit top. Pulling her hair out of the neckline, she turned around to face Orlando. The shirt was pretty large on her as well, covering the waistline of the pants. Wincing, she offered him an amused grin, "I look...like your clothes swallowed me." Walking over to him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "It amazes me how you can make French toast batter disappear, but you can't dry sopping wet clothing."
((I got a little carried away. Surry))
Letting his lips slump back into a frustrated frown, Orlando sighed. If Jake had a Ministry-working friend and he hadn't been able to help much, there wasn't a very good chance at all that Orlando, intelligent as he was, would be able to do anything to help Kayte. Still, he couldn't let Faithe see his doubt. If she saw it, then he couldn't hold out much hope of her calming down, and, especially given the situation, that was something the young woman needed to do. She had no doubt been stressed out the past two weeks, a cause of a plethora of heinous events, wearing away at her resolve like crashing waves of water beating down upon a rock cliff, slowly eroding it away. Putting on a better face, he shook his head.
"We'll do something," he said quietly, "We'll get her back."
As he whispered those words, the man truly believed that they had a shot at executing such a miracle. They would get up the next morning, pour over the books that covered his bed, and find a spell that would make everything better. Kayte would return safely, and Bridget and Eddie would be forever subjected to eternal torment by whatever means were seen fit. Everything would be as it should, and nothing would ever hurt his perfect little family again. There was a part of his mind that asked what would happen if Kayte never returned, or, returned forever scarred in some unimaginable way. Incapable of such thoughts, he quickly silenced the nagging voice.
[quote]"Makin' fun of me."[/quote]
"Mm-hmm," he murmured with a nod, allowing a slight smile to cross his face prompted by the heavy drawl in her voice. As she brought her forehead close to him, he kissed it lightly before allowing her to lay it against his scruffily bearded chin.
"Just 'cause I love you, though."
Laughing as she mentioned their discarded clothing, Orlando shook his head. Indeed, the stories that would circulate would be most entertaining.
"Don't worry," he replied with a grin, walking around the bed and poking her as he passed her. "I wouldn't." Leaning down, he reached for the top drawer of his nightstand to obtain his wand. Opening it, his eyes were faced with the sight of that jet-black velvet box, prompting him to pluck his wand out more than quickly and slam the drawer shut, not wanting Faithe to see the small box for obvious reasons, of course.
Wand in hand, he moseyed over to the window and pushed it open. Pointing his wand in the direction of the lake, the man mustered up whatever strength he had left after the night and tried to evoke the clothing.
"Accio," he said, with a rather distinct undertone to his voice. After a moment of concentration, the two derelict pieces of fabric landed in a heap next to his feet. Satisfied, he turned back to her, offering a proud beam. "Done and done."
Reverting his attention to Faithe, who, at that moment, was moving towards the door, he gave her a curious glance as she stopped and turned back to the other wall. Grinning, he shrugged his shoulders as she faced away from him and set his wand back atop the nightstand as he flung the navy pants over his arm. Subconsciously almost, his eyes wandered along her slender frame, from the peak of her head down her back, as far as he could see. His face softened and a warm smile spread itself across his face like butter over a warm piece of bread.
As she turned to face him, the man took a moment to break out of his trance. Eventually though, after not more than a moment, his dazed/enchanted look thawed into a broad grin. Although Faithe might have looked absolutely ridiculous to anyone else, Orlando found her irresistibly attractive in his clothes, which was evident by the low moaning noise that rumbled in his throat. Shaking his head, he smiled at her.
"Maybe so, but you look incredibly sexy."
Simply smiling at her as she stuck her tongue at him, Orlando's face radiated nothing but wonder until the small, white tank top seemingly lifted itself off of her body, exposing her back. Feeling a soft blush in his cheeks rise up, he moved to turn his head away from her, solely for modesty's sake. True, she was still clad in her swimsuit top, but Orlando didn't feel right looking at her in it, as though he wasn't supposed to see even her bare back yet. But, on their way towards the other wall, his eyes caught sight of an intricate pattern of lines running across her back, shimmering with a silver sort of glow in the moonlight, and he found it impossible to look away.
A curious stare enveloped his eyes and his head tilted inquisitively, just staring up and down her back, completely unable to avert his gaze at all. Instantly, he knew they were scars; that was an obvious fact. Yet, he knew not what had caused them. The first thought that entered his mind was that Eddie had inflicted them upon her, but he had enough logic to know such wounds wouldn't have scarred over in such a short period of time. No, they were from a long time ago. If the man had thought about it for a while, he probably would have figured out what horror had left such a tangible memory ingrained in the soft skin of her back, but Faithe had turned around and cut his thoughts short with her grin.
He was about to ask her about the scars, but didn't think this was the time for such a question. Thinking about the earlier events- specifically, how Faithe had failed to remove her tank top at the lake- he came to the conclusion that the markings weren't exactly something Faithe wanted to remember, and, given the current situation, he wasn't about to rile her up again just as he had finally calmed her down to the point she was at now. There were too many other things going on. No, that question would have to wait.
Wiping the quizzically concerned expression off of his face, and hoping that he had done so soon enough, he returned Faithe's grin with a nod. His clothes had most certainly engulfed the young woman's petite figure, but it didn't matter to him; her beauty was still unsurpassable.
Feeling her arms around his neck, Orlando's found their way around her slender waist, getting bunched up in the excess fabric of the shirt as they did and prompting a small laugh to come from his lips. As her lips gently caressed his cheek, the man's eyes got a sort of dreamy sparkle in them, and his fingers entangled themselves together, joining his hands along the bottom of her spine. Chuckling slightly at her remark, he shook his head and kissed her forehead lightly.
"Haven't you ever heard of the 'Conservation of Mass Law'?" Orlando asked with a laugh. "I didn't make it disappear, only moved it all back to the bowl in the kitchen with a sort of apparation spell. Taking a few steps, and guiding her backwards, he moved the pair towards the bed as he continued talking.
"Drying clothes would require too much heat, even if the heat of vaporization for water is only 4.184 joules." he mused, lifting Faithe up a few inches and setting her down upon the bed. To one who didn't know him, it would appear like he was trying to throw in as many random scientific terms as possible, but that was simply how the man spoke. "And I don't exactly see you whipping out your wand, Miss Cunningham."
After allowing himself a moment to merely smirk at her, he unenthusiastically detangled his fingers and slowly unwound his arms from around her waist, running his hands fully along her back and around her sides until there was no where else for them to roam, and, only then, did he let his hands fall. Reaching behind him, he took her hands in his and lifted them up and over his head. Ducking under her embrace, he offered an apologetic smile as he placed their hands in her lap, and then let go of them.
"Just a minute," he whispered, holding up a finger, "If I don't get out of these wet shorts now, it's safe to say I'll end up sleeping in them tonight."
Grasping the dark pajama pants in one hand, he winked at her. A small popping noise was heard, and the man vanished, only to re-appear not more than a minute later, clad in the pants, which, not more than a minute ago, had been in his hand.
With a contented sort of sigh escaping his lips, the man walked the few steps to the bed and ran his fingers along her jawline as the slightest hint of a smile played upon his lips. Bending his knees, he gently kissed her cheek.
"It's almost three in the morning," he whispered into her ear, "You ought to go to sleep."
Resuming his full stature, he continued walking slowly around the end of the bed, around to the other side. Pulling back the sheet from that side, he sat down and slid over.
As he did so, the words he had spoken to her just fourteen days ago echoed through his mind:
'[I]I can promise you that tonight, at least, you will most definitely be falling asleep in its arms, with its fingers laced into your hair, your head resting against its chest, its head gently resting upon your own, and a soft, content smile upon your delightful lips, lighting up your beautiful face.[/I]'
For a moment, a sorrowful sort of look appeared on his face as he recalled the fact that he hadn't ever fulfilled that promise, and the reason why. Still sitting, for the moment at least, he reached his arms out, wrapping around Faithe's shoulders from behind her and pulling her towards him. Better late than never.
Searching his face so intently, it would have been nearly impossible for Faithe to miss the look of frustration on Orlando's face. She almost feared that his frustration seemed to deepen with defeat. The last thing she needed was for Orlando's spark of hope and resolve to burn out. Of course, she didn't want him to have to wear a mask about his anxiety, not with her.
As his facial features softened, Faithe felt a surge of hope in her chest. Although his words came out a soft whisper, the compassion with which he spoke, accompanied by the heartfelt expression on his handsome face, made Faithe believe him. Searching his blue eyes intently, a warmth seemed to envelope every part of her.
For the hundredth time that night, Faithe wondered how she had managed to get out of bed, and even open her eyes in the morning, for the past two weeks. The very thought of being away from him long enough to even use the bathroom made her chest contract, causing her to struggle with her breathing. She ahd missed everything about Orlando Lorenz, but could never capture just how much until she had been pulled into his embrace.
Faithe knew that they would get Kayte back, but the prospect that had been playing inside her mind was at price would the five year old be returned to her family. Bridget had never wanted Kaytlin because she had an interest in getting to know her daughter, but merely because she wanted to spite Jake and Faithe.
When they had found out that Bridget was pregnant, Jake learned to become more responsible than most teenage boys his age. Not only had he vowed to take care of their child, but when they were out of school, take care of Bridget just as well. As things worked out, Bridget wanted nothing to do with the baby or Jake after her pregnancy. When school was over with, Bridget left without a word. Not that it had made a difference to Kayte, who was only just turning three. Bridget had not played any part in raising Kaytlin.
Which was why Bridget held so much disdain towards Faithe. Whether it was jealousy, because Faithe had played such an important role in Kaytlin's upbringing, or because Bridget loathed her because she was such a big part of Jake's life, was unknown to Faithe. Of course, Bridget's dislike for Faithe had never mattered...until now. Bridget not only wanted to hurt Jake, but Faithe as well. Which was why Bridget had gone to Eddie for help.
Hearing the drawar slam shut, her eyebrows raised curiously. Staring at him inquisitvely, she simply shrugged, "Underwear drawer?" There was a hint of jovial amusement in the way the left side of her mouth crooked up in a smile. Her eyes continued to watch him as he brought their remaining articles of clothing so effortlessly into the room. A look of admiration crossed her face as he turned away from the window, that smile radiating the boyishness that Faithe knew the grown man still had.
A jittery flutter moved in her stomach as the word 'sexy' rolled off his tongue. Feeling her face turn bright red with a blush, she shook her head modestly as her eyes fell to the floor. A bashful smile tugged at the corner of her lips as she turned around.
((This is after she changed her shirt...))
Furrowing her eyebrows in curiosity, her head tilted to the side as she faced him. Silently pondering what the look of pensive confusion on his face was about, her left eyebrow crooked up. She was tempted to ask him what was on his mind, but decided against her inquiry as he nodded.
Hearing the small laugh from him, her features warmed over a heartfelt smile crossed her face. The sound of happiness eminating from Orlando moved Faithe in such a way she thought she was about to cry. The past two weeks had been filled with emptiness, heartache, and grief. Being able to hear the richness of Orlando's laugh, no matter how small it may have been, was the sweetest sound in the world to her.
Grinning, her eyes closed as hisl ips left a tingling sensation on her forehead. Wrinkling her nose, she stuck the tip of her tongue out at him. Pretending to shoot him a look of arrogance, "Well, why didn't you just apparate the water back to the lake?" There was simplicity to her voice, suggesting that her form of action would have been the obvious thing to do. However, her brown eyes clearly said that she was just giving him a hard time for the fun of it.
As the feeling of weightlessness encompassed her, a squeal escaped her lips as he lifted her off her feet and sat her down on the bed. Wincing slightly, she offered a sheepish grin.
"That's because, Professor Lorenz, my awnd is currently poking me in my rhombus." Shifting to the side, she pulled the wand out from underneath her.
A small shiver ran through her spine as his hands ran along her back and her sides. Closing her eyes, her body seemed to melt in his warmth. Even after his hands had dropped, her eyes remained closed for a moment longer as a small pouty whien escaped. Opening her eyes slowly, she poked her bottom lip out and nodded. Jumping slightly as the popping noise echoed in the silence, Faithe smiled as he dispeared. Lazy bones...less than ten feet to the bathroom, and he can't take the time to walk... Giggline to herself, she shook her head. Too adorable...
When Orlando reappeared, Faithe almost screamed he startled her so much. As his fingers caressed her jawline, she took a deep breath, her eyes drooping from content. A tired smile appeared on her face as his lips touched her skin. At the mention of the late hour, a small yawn escaped her, accompanied by a tiny squeak. Nodding, she rubbed her eyes, "As should you. I think this is the earliest I've tried to go to bed in two weeks." Her eyes followed him as he strode towards the other side of the bed.
As his arms wrapped around her, a small whimper escaped her as his hand pressed the bruise on her collar bone. Shifting slightly so his hand was scooted over, she turned and gave him a weak, tired smile. With her back pressed against his front, she let out another sigh, her eyes closing as her physique seemed to melt into his.
Turning slightly so she was in more of a cradle position, her eyes drank in the sight that she had longed to look at for fourteen days. 336 hours... Her eyes began to slowly droop as she felt secure in his arms. For the first time in a week, she felt safe enough to allow herself to fall asleep.
Meeting her gaze after he had slammed the nightstand drawer closed, Orlando's face wore the most peculiar look. And, after hearing her question, the peculiarity only increased.
"Um. yeah," he answered slowly, not wanting to draw too much attention to the drawer. If she found the ring, it'd all be over. He had the perfect idea of how to propose to her, but this wasn't the time. He wanted everything to be perfect, and one of the requirements for perfection was school not being in session. After she had graduated, after news of his comet had died down, after Kayte was safe and well enough to be their flower girl. There were too many affairs that had to be put in order before he could even bring up such a thing. He wasn't worried, though; the time would come, and, when it did, he would seize the day.
"Why didn't I just 'apparate the water back to the lake'?" Orlando repeated sarcastically, as if such a thing was impossible. In fact, he probably could have done that, but liquids were much harder to apparate than solids, plus there was just too much water.
"Because," he replied, in a tone whose sarcastic bluntness rivaled that of Faithe's, "the lake already has enough water."
[quote]"That's because, Professor Lorenz, my wand is currently poking me in my rhombus." [/quote]
At the word "rhombus", which Orlando was accustomed to hearing only in a geometric sense, another peculiar look distorted his face, raising his eyebrows and shifting his lips as though he had just tasted something unpleasant. As she procured her wand from, seemingly, nowhere, confusion swept over his face, followed by a slight afterthought of something vaguely resembling horror.
"You obviously weren't using the parallelogram definition for rhombus." he said quietly, "But I don't think I ought to ask what you did mean by it."
[quote]"As should you. I think this is the earliest I've tried to go to bed in two weeks." [/quote]
Hearing Faithe say that, Orlando's worrying resumed. Poor girl. so overwhelmed with things that she couldn't sleep at night. He, himself, hadn't ever [I]tried[/I] to go to sleep in the past two weeks, but, somehow, had always ended up doing so. Sighing mentally, his lips pursed themselves together sorrowfully.
"[I]You should have come to me, then[/I]," he wanted to tell her. Although he couldn't have eased her fears or done anything too constructive, he would have gladly offered himself as someone she could talk to. If she wanted to talk, he would listen; if she wanted to be quiet, he'd hold her in his arms; and, if she needed a shoulder to cry on, he'd be more than happy to offer her one of his. He knew why she hadn't come, though, and, thus, couldn't make himself tell her that she ought to have.
Hearing her whimper, the man cringed a bit, knowing he'd hit a bruise. He would have tried to shift his hands, but she was already moving herself, and he figured she knew best where his hands ought to go. Feeling her lean against his body, it was as though he had been a puzzle before, missing half the pieces, yet, as she fit herself against him, the puzzle was completed.
Lacing his fingers through her hair and resting his head upon her own, he reluctantly unwound an arm from around her to pull the thin sheet atop the two of them, shaking it lightly to rid it of the remaining books that still sat atop it. Once done, he rewrapped his arm around her, smiling ever so softly as she fell asleep with a small, content smile upon her delightful lips, lighting up her beautiful face.
At some point not long after that, Orlando's own eyes began to droop until they finally closed. Falling asleep, a feeling of satisfaction that had been absent from his body for fourteen days reappeared, manifesting itself in the form of a small, content smile upon the man's own lips.
"That makes sense. Why put water where it's plentiful when you have a nice dry room right here." Grinning, she winked at him, her nose wrinkling ever so slightly. Staring at him, the left side of her mouth upturned in a mischievous smile. It amazed her how she'd smiled and laughed more in the past hour than in the past two weeks combined. It didn't surprise her though. Not with Orlando around. There was always this indescribable joy inside of her, even when things seemed to be at the lowest turning point.
Laughing at his utterly adorable confusion, she listened to him with an amused smile. Closing her eyes, she laughed softly, shaking her head.
"My wand was sticking me in my tushy because I left it on your bed when we left." The amusement that played in her eyes was only heightened by the air in her voice, but she was staring at him with such an intense look of adoration.
Falling asleep in his arms, Faithe felt more than content. There was a sense of safety, of protection that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that surrounded her. Not only within the boundaries of the school, but simply within this very room. Though Faithe would do anything to keep her troubles reaching Orlando, simply knowing that he was there, and knowing he would keep her safe if the need arose, made her feel calm. Every time she had closed her eyes since that past Friday, all she could see was Eddie's malicious smile, the pleasure radiating from his eyes how much pleasure he was taking in tormenting her.
As she lay there in his arms, the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat sang her to sleep. Her breathing became in sync with the steady rise and fall of his chest as the two lay there. There was an inner warmth that seemed to spread inside of her as she snuggled deeper into his arms.
Two hours after the two had laid there, Faithe began to turn in her sleep. Her eyebrows had furrowed together in a panged expression as she rolled to the other side of the bed. The look of contentment had disappeared as the young woman's nightmares flooded her mind.
Waking with a start, she jolted out of sleep, whimpering softly. Sitting up, her breathing had become irregular and slightly erratic. Having broken out in a cold sweat, and her body trembling viciously, she buried her face in her hands. Weeping quietly, she stood up and walked towards the couch. The last thing she wanted to do was wake Orlando up with her crying. She had put the man through enough of her emotional strife for one night. Sitting down on the couch, she hugged her knees tightly for comfort. Burying her face in her knees, she continued to let the tears flow down her cheeks in a silent lament.
"Of course."
The words were quiet and slightly unenthused as Orlando replied. 'So, "rhombus" is another word for "tushy".' he thought to himself, making a mental note.
Sleeping soundly, or at least as soundly as he could with Kayte still being out there alone, Orlando felt somewhat content. Faithe was back where she belonged- safe in his arms- and with her sleeping in his embrace, he at last felt like it was alright to sleep. No nightmares came to him as he slept, only pleasant visions of himself carrying Kayte upon his shoulders as he walked hand-in-hand with Faithe throughout the world.
As she rolled away, his arms, frozen around her protectively, offered resistance, but it wasn't enough to prevent her from escaping his hold. With the warmth of her body absent from his bare chest, the cool summer air brushed against it, chilling him slightly. Feeling this, he shifted, but wasn't quite conscious enough to do anything more. Yet, his ears soon picked up the quiet whimpering and the sound of her rapid breathing. It took him a moment, but the man did eventually wake.
Realizing Faithe was no longer in his arms, he reached out to the other side of the bed. Feeling nothing but a rumpled sheet, he sat up and quickly glanced around.
"Faithe?" he called into the darkness. Beginning to panic that something had happened to the young woman while he had been sleeping, he leapt from his bed and ran to the door. Once there, he became more aware of the quiet crying coming from the main room of the tiny dormitory. Faithe's crying.
It sounded mournful and upset, but not pained, thereby curing Orlando of the thought Bridget or Eddie had come into his room and hurt her. Cracking the door open just slightly, his blue eyes peered over the frame's edge, searching his habitation for Faithe. Spotting a few strands of hair over the top of the couch, he teeth instinctively began gnawing upon his tongue as he approached her.
She looked like a broken porcelain doll like that; hugging her knees to her chest, with her head buried in them, bruised, battered, and sobbing quietly. It broke Orlando's heart, because he knew that he couldn't fix it. In spite of his superiority in the ways of wandwork, there wasn't a spell in any book of any library that could take this pain from her.
Gradually he made his way around the side of the couch. Placing a hand upon its arm, he looked down at her for a moment, torn by her seemingly inconsolable state, as a mournful expression played upon his face. Slowly, he eased himself down onto the floor, kneeling in front of where she sat crumpled upon the couch. She'd obviously had a sort of nightmare; Orlando had had enough to know. Tenderly reaching his fingers up, he stroked her hair with one hand as the other wrapped around her back.
"Oh, Faithe." he whispered quietly, leaning his head against hers.
So embraced in her emotion, Faithe didn't hear the soft sounds of Orlando's feet on the floor. Of course, the door being closed was an attribute in the muffled sound. Hugging her knees tighter, she continued to allow the tears to fall down her cheeks. Despite the fact that Orlando's presence had gone unnoticed, she didn't jump when his hand touched her hair. Feeling his arm slide around her back, she lifted her head, her cheeks stained with tears.
Wrapping her arms around his neck, she buried her face into his neck. Simply having him by her side brought a surge of comfort within her, comfort she had been searching for all week. Looking up at him, there was an apologetic expression in her eyes as she met his eyes, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I just..." Sighing, she shook her head soundlessly. Sitting up, she allowed her hands to drop in her lap, her eyes staring down at the couch cushion.
"Everytime I fall asleep I relive it." Her voice was soft and trembling, but she was in much more control that she had been earlier. Closing her eyes, she swallowed with difficulty before opening her eyes. "I have that same feeling of dread...guilt. I see him holding me back from Kaytlin. I feel him hitting me and kicking me." Closing her eyes once more, she took in a deep breath. This was the first time she had opened up to this level about what had happened. Even though she had lost it out on the dock, this wasn't the same. Shaking her head, her eyes remained closed.
"I see him slamming me against the wall, pulling out his wand. I feel that ineffable pain from that curse..." Allowing her words to fade away, Faithe slowly opened her eyes, but her gaze remained on the couch cushion. Shaking her head, a soft sigh escaped her lips. Finally averting her gaze to look into Orlando's brilliant blue eyes, her eyes searched his. "Most of all, I keep seeing the look of confused desperation on a five year old's face."
((This sucks. You deserved better. I'm in a rut, I guess :oP Um, I won't be on this afternoon for a bit; my dad's coming back from Germany and I've gotta pick him up from the airport))
At the sight of Faithe's tear-covered face, the man felt guilt stab at him. Since he had found out about Kayte's kidnapping, his mind had gradually been building up a scenario, and, the more he thought about it, the guiltier he felt. He could have prevented all of this. If he had been there, he could have taken on Bridget and Eddie. He could have protected Faithe and saved Kaytlin. If only he had been there. The truth was that the man had been planning on going to the show, but, given the current state of his relationship with Faithe, passed the opportunity up. If he hadn't let Demeter back in for that one single moment he did, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have hurt Faithe; he would have been there last weekend; he would have been there to help Faithe and save Kaytlin; and, right then, Kayte would be sleeping soundly in her own bed while Faithe slept curled beneath his arms in his. In his mind, it was simple; the fault was his.
As her arms wrapped themselves around his neck and he felt her shaky, warm breath upon his neck, his own arms tightened themselves around her back. Pushing himself off the ground, he sat on the couch next to her, pulling her into his chest as a vacant expression began to contort his face. [I]'Look at what you've done..[/I]' his mind taunted him. [I]'She's apologizing to [/I]you[I]. You don't deserve her.[/I]'
Shaking his head at her apology, he kissed the top of her forehead. His guilt wasn't her problem, and he wasn't about to further burden her with such. He knew she'd deny the truth and tell him he had no bearing on what had happened, and, with two remorseful people, there would be no strong one for the other to lean upon. He wouldn't voice his thoughts. Instead, he'd stay strong, for Faithe.
"No," he whispered, "Don't apologize, sleep isn't more important than you. It's not like I could have slept without you in my arms anyways. I don't think it took me more than a minute to wake up once you left, did it?
"You ought to have just woken me up right there in bed," he added with an odd sort of smile.
Listening to every word she spoke intently, the man could almost visualize what had happened. His eyes closed, and he could envision Faithe's delicate body sprawled against the wall, held down by Eddie's hand, then jolting with each slap and each kick. Hearing her voice cease to speak, he re- opened his eyes and held her tightly against him; the action itself was more of an afterthought, as though by holding her now, he could protect her in some way.
"Faithe," he whispered, so soft that it was almost inaudible, "this is [I]not[/I] your fault."
'[I]It's mine.[/I]'
As she spoke of the wand, a slight anger boiled up in Orlando's eyes, turning them a gray color. Eddie had definitely earned the man's hate. But, amidst that feeling of abhorrence, the man's own guilt still prevailed. If only he had been there.
At her last words the man uttered a choked breath of his own as a vision of Kayte filled his own mind combined with Faithe's eyes finally meeting his own. A child was the embodiment of innocence, and Kayte was an angel. To wrong anything that pure was simply decadent.
"I know," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her again and pressing her gently against him. "I know, Faithe.
"I promise we'll get her back, and she'll be fine."
His voice trailed off then. He wanted to believe that everything would work out like that. And, in some ways, he did believe it. Yet his obscured realism nagged at him, telling him that it wouldn't be that easy. Redemption couldn't be that easy. He may have won Faithe back, but the repercussions from his decision to be untrue to her for even that little moment were still abound. Until he had rectified every single problem his unfaithfulness had caused, he would still feel the guilt. It wouldn't be as easy as it had seemed.
He hadn't anything else to say. There was nothing he could say to make it better, and each word that escaped his mouth was just another superfluous one. Until he had Kayte safe back in Faithe's arms, there was nothing he could do to help her. Still, he would try to calm the young woman in his arms, but he knew each attempt would only prove itself futile.
"Everything'll be alright, Faithe."
Shaking her head, a soft laugh escaped her lips at comment. Wiping her eyes with the palms of her hands, she looked up at him, "I didn't want to wake you up. You need sleep sweetie."
She allowed herself to be pulled towards him, her face snuggling into his chest. Listening to his soft consolations, her eyes closed once more. Shaking her head softly, she laid her hand on his chest in front of hair face.
"I know what they did wasn't my fault. I just...I feel so helpless Orlando. I hate that feeling..." It was also a feeling that Faithe wasn't familiar with. She was a fixer - anytime there was a problem she tried to be there, fixing it. Anytime problems had surfaced in the past that seemed too great for to deal with, she simply strove harder to make things turn out the way they were supposed to. This time, however, things were out of her reach, and there was only one way to fix it. The only problem with that is that Jake had forbidden her to do it.
Feeling him pull her closer to him, she allowed her eyes to shut once more. She felt exhuasted, both emotionally and physically, now that she had allowed her emotions to creep out of her. This was how things had been working with her for the past week. She would be awake till all hours of the night, then fall asleep for a short period, wake up bawling, exert herself till she could hardly move, and then eventually drift back off for another hour or so. It had become a routine for the previous six nights, and she didn't know why she thought the seventh would be any different.
Her body began to slowly relax as she laid in his arms, breathing once more in sync with his. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat still held a sense of contentment for her. A contentment that only Orlando could bring to her. Allowing the silence to envelope her, save the steady beating, Faithe felt her mind drifting off into sleep once more. It didn't take too long for the exhaustion in her body to overtake her into sleep, her body eventually relaxing completely in Orlando's arms.
((Cute typo of the moment: "she laid her hand on his chest in front of [b]hair[/b] face" Hee hee hee.))
As she spoke of feeling helpless, Orlando offered a silent nod. He completely understood what she was feeling. Like Faithe, Orlando had always been someone to rectify certain inequities rather than simply stand there and let them take their toll. With the man's knowledge and perseverance, there hadn't ever really been a problem, save emotional ones, that he couldn't fix. And, now, feeling that helplessness, as though there was nothing at all he could do to fight back against the pain. it was worse than the pain itself.
Letting Faithe's eyes close themselves and her breathing once more synchronize itself with his own, Orlando arms loosened around her and a hand reached up to stroke the young woman's damp hair for a moment. So beautiful, so young, so innocent. She didn't deserve to feel the wrath of the world's anger any more than Kaytlin did. Yet, she was feeling it in its entirety and still wouldn't let it conquer her. The young woman never accepted defeat, but merely continued her endeavors to fight against complete subjugation however she could. and she had been fighting alone.
Already that night had the thought passed through the man's mind, now it echoed once more, and he was reminded of how strong Faithe truly was. She had gotten through six nights and seven days of this torment completely alone, and now, even in his presence, was still fighting for her piece of mind.
Feeling her body completely relax into his own, he finally noticed she was asleep and a small smile crossed his face. Perhaps, now, she could finally get some sleep- something she so desperately needed. He, on the other hand, had become too worked up to indulge himself in such a serenity. Plagued by guilt, worry and fear, sleep would have been impossible for him, even if he had desired it.
Slowly, he shifted Faithe in his arms, taking great care not to wake nor injure the girl, and stood up. Leisurely walking back into the bedroom, he laid her gently upon the mattress, covering her with the sheet and planting a gentle kiss upon her forehead. Returning to the other side of the bed, he procured his wand from the top of the nightstand ((where I hope he left it)) and whispered a quick silencing charm over the room to prevent himself from waking her.
Now that Faithe was taken care of, the man had business himself to attend to. Casually flitting his brilliantly blue eyes around the room, he searched the floor for a particular few of the books he had been musing over before he had fallen asleep for the first time but a few short hours ago. Finding them, he quietly gathered them in his arms and proceeded toward the main room of the dormitory, shutting the door on his way out.
Laying them out across the wooden floor ((which I hope I didn't say was stone in another, previous post)), he, too, laid down, upon his stomach and, propping himself up with his elbow, began to thumb through them, searching for that one particular spell he had seen earlier. It had been a locating spell that would have worked quite nicely, had he had a piece of an object that the missing person had on their person, like a piece of fabric from a dress or something of the like. He hadn't had anything like that then and still didn't have exactly what the spell called for, but, perhaps the necklace Faithe had would work, after all, it was, in some way, part of something Kayte had on her. Finding what he was looking for, the man slid a piece of parchment between the pages as a sort of bookmark, then resumed skimming the rest of the text in hopes of another spell that might prove more useful.
As his eyes surveyed them, his fingers flipped each page in turn, finding nothing of interest, save a basic charm that would enchant a muggle compass to point in the vague direction of the missing. Orlando did place another scrap of parchment on its page, but didn't really hold out much hope for it proving useful. Kayte could be anywhere in the world, and the chances of the charm being able to locate such a small body on a name alone weren't exactly great. The spell might have been worthwhile if he was looking for a particular student within Rosencrantz, but one little girl in the entire world? Impossible.
Setting that book aside, his hand reached for another one, and a rather lengthly yawn escaped his lips. Although the man wasn't mentally craving sleep, physically, he most certainly was. Still pouring over his books, he gradually began to read the pages, but not comprehend them. His eyes merely flitted over the words, but their meanings went no further. By the stroke of six o'clock, barely an hour after he had begun, the man's face was buried in the sixth volume of [u]Rarely Useful Spells[/u] and he was fast asleep.
Serenity wasn't the word Faithe would use when she had fallen asleep the past two weeks, but she was unconscious anyways. When Orlando stood, a small moan emitted from her throat as she was moved in her sleep. Snuggling her head into his chest, she remained asleep, though very light sleep. When he set her down, another objectionary moan could be heard, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. As Orlando bent down and kissed her forehead, her eyebrows relaxed, and Faithe looked peaceful, for a little while.
Still sleeping horribly and having nightmares, Faithe awoke with a start. Looking over to her side, her eyes narrowed slightly when she saw that it was empty and she was alone. For a minute, as she sat up, she almost started to have a panic attack, but forced herself to calm down. Taking a deep breath, she stood up, a small shiver rippling through her body at the chill that was in the air. Looking at a nearby clock, it wasn't even six yet. Pulling a small throw blanket off the back of a chair, she wrapped it around her shoulders. ((Yeah, well...I'm g-moding his room.))
Walking out, her eyes claimed a look of worry as she didn't spot any sign of Orlando. As she turned a corner, her foot hit the corner of a book. Looking down, a small, amused smile spread over her face as her hand covered her mouth. Sitting down on her knees, she picked up one of the nearest books that had a piece of parchment sticking out of the top. Curiosity getting the better of her, Faithe thumbed through the worn pages, stopping at the page the parchment was at. Reading over it, a look of disbelief crossed her face.
Was this what he had been doing all night? Faithe had to fight herself from throwing herself on him in a grateful hug. Staring at him, his head literally in the book as he lay on his stomach, a look of adoration crossed her face. I don't deserve this...
Reaching down, she stroked his hair gently. She wished she had someway to get him into bed without waking him up, but there wasn't a way for her to do that, unless wanted to levitate him. However, the word disaster popped into mind with that possibility. Sliding her hand down to his shoulder, she shook him gently. She hated waking him up, again, but he needed to get in bed, not sleep on the floor.
"Orlando," speaking softly as she continued to shake his shoulder, "Come on sweetie, come get in bed."
Though physically unconscious, Orlando's mind continued to live under the impression that he was still reading. He dreamt that he was still awake, lying upon his floor and still searching for a spell. Turning the book pages, he found useless spell after useless spell, and, in his dream, began to despair when he heard a voice- Faithe's voice.
Her voice and touch stirred him from his unconscious state, allowing the stench of old library book to infiltrated his nostrils as he head spent another few moments in the pages of volume six. Slowly, his eyes opened and met the blurry text, informing Orlando that he had fallen asleep.
At the moment, the man was too overcome with frustration to realize what- who, rather- had woken him from his light slumber. A frustrated groan escaped his lips as he shifted upon the books, moving muscles that had been frozen in awkward positions for nearly an hour. How was he supposed to save Kayte if he couldn't stay awake long enough to even find a decent spell? Sitting up, he turned away from Faithe, still not awake enough to know she was there. Reaching up a hand, he placed it upon his forehead with a low moan. His head ached from not having eaten in a few days, and he was beginning to feel slightly light-headed. Cracking his neck, his eyes caught sight of Faithe and a small smile lit his lips as her earlier words were pushed to the front of his mind.
Sighing, he brought her into his embrace. Instantly he wondered why she was there when he had placed her into the bed seemingly only moments ago. Realizing she must have had another nightmare, he felt sorry he hadn't been there. She'd probably woken up scared and alone, and come out looking for him, worried like he had been when he'd woken up to find her gone. After gently kissing the crown of her head as an un-verbally accompanied apology, he pulled back and considered her request.
Her words had been sweet enough, pleading with him to come back to bed. Had he not felt bad about leaving Faithe alone, he would have refused without a second-thought, choosing, instead, to skim the remaining books until, once more, he fell asleep in them. However, he didn't want Faithe to have to be alone, and, thus, reluctantly agreed:
"Alright."
The word came out barely above a whisper as the man stood, gently bringing Faithe up with him. Tired and worn as he was, he didn't want Faithe to have to walk all ten feet back to the bedroom. Slowly scooping her up into his arms, he carried her back through the open door and laid her down upon the mattress before walking around to the other side.
Sluggishly pulling the sheet over their two bodies once more, the man didn't speak. Whether he was too tired to do so or just had nothing to say was unclear. Guiding Faithe's head to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and, within a moment, had fallen back asleep, this time slightly more content.
Raising her eyebrow as she groaned, but when he sat up and laid his hand on his forehead, her eyebrows furrowed. Concern played on her face as she watched him, unsure if he was all right or not. Her body shuddered as he cracked his neck, her face wrinkling as the sound of popping bones reached her ears.
Though the sound bothered her, she didn't have the same reasoning as most people. Everytime she heard the sound of bones cracking, visions of her fall flashed through her mind. The sickening crack that she heard as her spine snapped and her wrist broke still plagued her. Swallowing distastefully, she returned his smile with a sheepish grin.
Allowing herself to be pulled into his embrace, a small smile crept onto her lips as she closed her eyes. Opening them when she felt his lips, she looked up at him as he pulled away after the small kiss on her head. Looking at him curiously, she tilted her head sideways ever so slightly. Smiling as he agreed, and stood up with him, giving him a small peck on his lips. Wrapping her arms around his neck as he picked her up, she shook her head, an amused expression in her face.
Watching him walk around the bed soundlessly, Faithe couldn't shake the smile on her face as she watched him crawl into bed next to her. Allowing her head to be pulled onto his chest, she allowed her body to relax, though her eyes were still staring at him. Reaching her hand up, she stroked his cheek gently and repititiously until he fell asleep. Even after he had fallen asleep, her brown eyes continued to watch him. Before long, her own eyes began to weigh heavily from exhaustion, and she had fallen asleep.
****
Moaning softly as she rolled over, her eye flitted open. Blinking a few times, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, enabling her vision to clear. Looking at the clock, she was slightly shocked to find it to be almost noon. That was the longest she had slept in two weeks. Yawning, her eyes flitted over to Orlando, who was still asleep. Smiling, she crept out of bed quietly, and slipped silently out of the room.
Returning after a half hour, with a tray in her hand, she set it down on the floor next to his side of the bed. Breakfast in bed was becoming a relatively fast trend with the two, but Faithe enjoyed it. The two plates both had a hearty looking omelet on them, with a few strips of bacon. Trying to keep put something somewhat healthy in their bodies, she had cut up fresh fruit and there were two small, glass bowls with miniture fruit salads on them.
Leaning over, she brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes and kissed him in an attempt to wake him up.
Orlando's brilliantly blue eyes curiously followed Faithe as she reached down and procured the tray. Seeing it, the man shook his head and kept his inevitable chuckling to a minumum. Breakfast in bed had almost become a tradition with them as one of them had made it every time they'd slept together ((and done nothing but sleep, obviously...)).
Seeing the delectable-looking omelete upon the plate adorned with a marvelous fruit salad, the man's face softened with a reverent smile. It was obvious she hadn't just conjured up the food. Indeed, she never ceased to amaze him, not only with her sweetness, but also the fact that she could make such a scrumptious breakfast with what little his pathetic excuse for a kitchen had offered.
Grinning that boyish grin, he gratiously took a plate from the tray and began cutting away pieces of the omelete to put into his mouth rather hastily.
"Mm-hmm," he replied with a grin, knowing full well that his mouth was full of half-chewed egg and such.
Swallowing it, he planted a kiss upon her cheek.
"Is this little tradition of breakfast in bed going to continue after we're married?" he asked, not really realizing what he was saying.
Raising her eyebrow as he stuffed his face, a small laugh escaped her mouth when kissed her cheek. Shaking her head with an amused expression on her face, she tilted her head, the amused expression melted into one of adoration. Aww...he's so cute when he stuffs his face... Lifting her small glass of juice, she took a small sip.
quote:
Is this little tradition of breakfast in bed going to continue after
we're married?
As the words comprehended inside her mind, she choked on the juice out of shock. Coughing a few times, she set her juice down. Rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands, she blinked a few times. Looking at him for a moment, a small smile, accompanied by a light blush, filled her face. Picking up her bowl of fruit and a fork, she picked out a strawberry, chewing on it, more or less for something to do. Swallowing it, she grinned at him.
"I hope so..." Lowering her eyes, she speared a banana slice, still feeling the shock of his words. That had definitely been unexpected. Of course, the thought of marriage between the two had been silent reveries, but this was the first time either had ventured to even verbally mention it to the other. The idea of it wasn't a bad one though, that was for sure.
The words themselves had been formed subconsciously within Orlando's mind, hoping, to some extent, to get a feel on where Faithe stood on the idea of marriage. He knew that she, as well as he himself, was young, perhaps too young to fully grasp the extent of commitment that such an idea entailed, but, nevertheless, his mind had been considering the option a lot more often, in between his near anxiety attacks due to Kaytlin's kidnapping and Faithe's mysterious disappearance. Yet it wasn't until much more than a second after the words escaped Orlando's lips that his mind realized he had said them.
Instantly a bright blush had encompassed his cheeks, and his eyes diverted down to the almost-gone omelet upon his plate just as Faithe began choking upon her juice. Worried he had upset her, his eyes darted up as her coughing ceased and saw her palms rubbing her eyes. He wanted to drop his gaze, but couldn't help but leave it upon her, fulfilling his curiosity. Then came that smile upon her face, complemented by the most precious rosy- ness in her cheeks. Mentally sighing with relief, Orlando gradually returned the smile, which almost looked like a proud sort of beam.
It only lasted a moment though, before thoughts re-entered his head, giving him an awkward feeling as he began picking absentmindedly through the fruit salad in silence, blush still upon his cheeks.
"I'm going to go take a shower," he announced, setting the plate back upon the tray and easing his way out of the bed. "Then we can start looking for Kayte."
And with that random little declaration, he made his way out of the room and into the bathroom.
Blushing at his blush, and his smile, her own eyes lowered to the fruit. Looking up as he set his plate down, a slightly worried look crossed her face. She hadn't meant to upset him or anything, but apparently she had. I should have left it alone...
Watching him walk away, she fought the urge to run after him. Hearing the door shut, she waved her wand and all the dishes and food vanished. Well, at least she had eaten three pieces of fruit in the past four days.
Looking down, she lifted the star, placing her index finger and thumb on the points of the star. Concentrating her magic, she waited for the familiar feelings to wash over her. The only problem was, nothing ever came. Looking down, the star remained lifeless.
"No, no, no, NO!" Screaming the last 'no' that came out of her mouth, Faithe stood up, completely panic stricken. Yanking in a futile attempt to rip the necklace from her neck, her breathing became extremely fast and rapid. Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes, on the verge of hyperventilating.
Grabbing a small pile of clothes from the top of his dresser on the way out, Orlando made his way to the bathroom. Pushing open the door with one hand, his other dropped the clothes messily onto the left side of the sink. Turning halfway around, he gently shut the door with a sigh. What was that? In Orlando's mind, there were three key things he'd just done wrong. First, he'd mentioned marriage. Secondly, he'd mentioned it casually. Thirdly, he hadn't mentioned it casually enough for it to appear as a joke.
Pulling the waist of his pants, they slid down to the floor, allowing him to step out of them.
It was no secret that the notion now had a permanent residence in the man's mind. After all, two weeks ago, he'd been so infatuated with the idea that he'd actually bought Faithe an engagement ring. However, he hadn't had the slightest intention of actually bringing up the idea with her for quite some time. She was still in school; it was bad enough that he was sneaking around rules to date her and there was no need to have a student-teacher wedding. Not only that, but she was also only eighteen- much too young to consider something like that. It wasn't that Orlando doubted her in any way, only that, at such a young age, she had her whole life before her; it wasn't fair of him to ask her to tie herself to him when she might answer just because she'd never experienced love with anyone else.
He stepped inside the shower, running a hand through his hair as he basked in the warm, monotonous flow of water.
Then again, if he had had to mention it, he could have at least mentioned it with a general feeling behind the words- one that would have allowed him to turn one way or the other instead of being indecisive at a T- intersection and crashing right into the "ßà" sign. Maybe if he'd introduced the topic a little more sincerely- more seriously- instead of letting the first time he mentioned it be so causal and. dumb-sounding. Or if he'd at least tried to make it into more of a joke.
Near-violently pushing the water off, Orlando grabbed the towel he'd flung over the shower door and wrapped it around his waist after rubbing his hair with it for a moment in a half-baked attempt to dry it.
Pushing the thought out of his mind as he shaved his rugged beard off, giving his face that oddly juvenile look that made him look his age. Shaking his head at the reflection, his mind jumped thoughts and began feeling guilty about leaving Faithe how he had. And then, once he'd thought of Faithe, the man remembered about Kaytlin. Life just kept getting better.
Throwing on his forest green shirt and jeans, he ran his hand over his face, trying to regain some sense of control. It seemed that his world just kept spinning out of hand. Placing his hand upon the doorknob he turned it, but didn't open the door. There was a part of him that wanted to remain in the bathroom just then- safe from everything was so rapidly swirling out of control. Yet Faithe was out there.
Thus, with a sigh, he pushed open the door and returned to the bedroom. Pushing the door completely open, his eyes widened at the sound of Faithe's rapid breathing. Drowned out by a combination of the shower water and his own thoughts, Faithe's shouts hadn't been audible, and he hadn't a clue what had happened. Rushing over to where she leaned upon the wall, Orlando took her in his arms and gently eased her down to the floor.
"What is it, Faithe?" he asked with worry inundating his voice. "What happened?"
Faithe's usual pale complexion, which had been paler the past couple weeks, had gone chalk white. Almost as if in shock, she hadn't noticed Orlando's reappearance, or the fact that she was now sitting on the ground. Her brown eyes were so dark they almost looked black, and they hadn't blinked in several minutes.
Her body was trembling as if she'd just seen a ghost. Well, maybe a ghost wouldn't be so unusual for a witch, but you get the general impression. Her head kept tilting forward as her eyes shut, looking as if she were going to faint. However, her eyes would open and her head would pull back up. If Orlando had spoken to her, she hadn't heard it.
Absolute terror filled every part of her body, and she was about to hyperventilate. Her left hand still remained on the star in the same position, but the star still remained lifeless.
Cradling her as he was, Orlando soon found himself in a similar state of terror. Faithe's state of near-unconsciousness was horrifying, and, if it hadn't been for her mechanical motions and the face that she was breathing so rapidly, he might have thought her dead. Jaw slung slightly open, his eyes searched her practically lifeless body desperately. until they landed upon the star on her neck. Instantaneously, the man knew (or, at least thought he knew) what had happened.
"No."
The breathy word passed through the man's lips almost inaudibly. A moment of silence, save Faithe's breathing, passed as shock came over the man: Kaytlin was dead.
Letting go of Faithe so quickly that the action might have been interpreted as violent, he bolted up off the bedroom floor. Leaping onto the bed, he snatched his wand from the nightstand and then darted out the door, into the main room of the dormitory, where all the books lay. Frantically rummaging through them, he found the pages he had bookmarked early that morning. Skimming them quickly, he found not a single one to be as useful as it had seemed at 5:00am.
Grunting with frustration, he flung volume six over the couch and hastily grabbed whatever book was closest to him, which happened to be volume 8 of Rarely Useful Spells. Flipping through the pages, the man found his own breathing had become rapid, like that of Faithe. Page after page of the book was providing him with nothing useful, and he was beginning to have less and less control over himself as the fear of reality took hold of him.
Finally, he found something: a charm of sorts that would enchant a mirror to see someone. provided they had another enchanted mirror.
Cursing the book, he continued reading, only to find a slightly altered version of the mirror spell beneath it. This spell involved enchanting a pair of muggle eyeglasses to see anywhere in the world. Perhaps he could combine one of his seemingly useless locating spells with that one.
Pointing his wand towards the bedroom door, he "Accio"-ed an old pair of glasses (for the man had contacts, now) from the second drawer of his nightstand to his outstretched hand.
Eyes skimming the list of necessary ingredients, he began gnawing nervously upon his tongue as he magically summoned the items to him from the top cupboard of his kitchen, hoping he had everything necessary. For the most part, he did, save the livonett powder, for which he substituted celix root, and, within two short minutes, he had managed to hastily enchant the glasses. If he had done everything correctly, and the celix root's properties weren't too far off those of the livonett powder, he should be able to see Kayte.
Hesitantly, he raised the glasses up, intending to look through them, but couldn't quite make himself do it for fear of what he might see.
Orlando's presence had been unnoticed when he'd been there, and his dissapearance didn't quite click inside of her. Sitting there, her gaze continued to be unfocused and in another world. After what seemed like hours, her hand finally dropped from the star.
Her chest was heaving up and down as she fought for every breath, she slumped against the wall. Tilting her head back, she swallowed with difficulty. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and she almost lost her balance.
Jake... Orlando's presence had been unnoticed when he'd been there, and his dissapearance didn't quite click inside of her. Sitting there, her gaze continued to be unfocused and in another world. After what seemed like hours, her hand finally dropped from the star.
Her chest was heaving up and down as she fought for every breath, she slumped against the wall. Tilting her head back, she swallowed with difficulty. Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment, and she almost lost her balance.
Jake...
Swallowing loudly, Orlando took a deep breath and rolled his head in a futile effort to calm himself. He didn't know what he'd see when he looked through the enchanted glass and, in some ways, didn't want to. Yet this was something he had to do...
Thus, with his tongue violently tearing his tongue apart, the man closed his eyes and set the glasses upon his face. Three... two... one...
Nothing.
The only thing in front of his eyes was a rather distorted vision of his feet.
Uncharacteristically, an explicative escaped the man's lips as he removed the glasses from his face, throwing them onto the couch as he let his head slump backwards.
He didn't know what to do now...
Biting his lip, his face contracted, almost to prevent himself from completely breaking down. Choking back a sob, he lifted his head back up and ran a hand across it as a thought crossed his mind: Jake.
Closing his eyes, he apparated back to the bedroom, landing just inches from Faithe, who, evidently, had worked herself up to the point where she collapsed. Taking her in his arms, he cradled her fragile body, and, holding it tightly against his own, apparated the pair to Jake's apartment, landing somewhere in the living room.
Setting her exhausted body upon the couch, he slowly stood back up, looking around for any signs of life.
"Jake...?"
Vaguely aware of Orlando this time, and his arms enveloping her, she allowed her head to rest on his shoulder. Her eyes had once more taken on that vacant, unblinking expression as the two apparated to Jake's apartment. The second Orlando had stood up and left her on the couch, she hugged her knees tightly.
Jake had been in his bedroom, making a futile attempt at sleep. Hearing a voice in his apartment, his hand flew to his wand, ready to run out there and attack the intruder. However, he recognized the voice as Orlando's, and instead, stood up and put his wand in his pocket.
Why is Orlando here? It made him feel slightly uneasy that he was there. His sudden appearance could be a bad sign, but Jake pushed it out of his head. Until he walked into the living room. Eyebrows furrowing with a worried expression, he practically ran to the couch.
"Izzy?" Kneeling down in front of Faithe, he reached up and touched her cheek. Looking up at Orlando, he shot him a quizzical expression. "What happened? What's going on?"
Taking a breath, Orlando's face resumed that vacant look. His skin appeared to hang off his face, and his eyes looked as though they were made of glass. Staring almost vacantly into space, the blue orbs flitted between Faithe and Jake slowly, taking each of them in. He'd done what he'd needed to, and now the adrenaline was slowly leaving his body, and reality was settling back into the man's mind.
"Kayte... she's..."
Unable to say it, Orlando let himself slump down to the ground. Leaning his head back, he let out a sort of sigh.
"Faithe's necklace...
"I found her like that on the floor of my room, and her fingers were on the necklace, but nothing was happening...
"Kayte's dead, Jake."
Jake didn't like the look on Orlando's face before he spoke, and the fact that his sister looked like she was in shock didn't add to his comfort. As Orlando sputtered his words, Jake's hand slowly fell. A cold feeling settled over the man as a feeling of dread that he had ever known settled over him.
quote:
"Kayte's dead, Jake."
Falling back into his butt, Jake's eyes grew wide as his jaw dropped. His eyes fell to the ground and he began shaking his head.
"No." Swallowing hard, he forced the words out of his mouth. "No, she isn't." Standing up quickly, he looked over at Faithe, who hadn't moved since she'd been set down on the couch.
"Isabelle would have felt it. Izzy?" Leaning over her, he placed his hands on Faithe's shoulder relatively firmly. HIs voice was soft and pleading as a look of terror filled his eyes. "You felt it when Grandmommy died, which means you would have felt Kaytlin. You didn't feel it, did you?"
Faithe's eyes remained staring at the wall, but not seeing anything. Jake's patience level was incredibly thin, and her silence wasn't helping.
"Answer me Isabelle." His jaw was clenched slightly as he stared at her, desperation in his eyes.
Wiping his hand across his face, Orlando's eyes flitted up to Jake with a sorrowful, sympathetic look in them.
"I'm sorry."
The words were whispered in a choked voice, making them pretty much inaudible to anyone except Orlando himself.
Jake's near-panic, though noticed by him, appeared to have gone unnoticed by Orlando. It was as though the man was seeing an instant replay of himself when he had had the realization. First, disbelief, then the need to do something, anything. But Jake seemed to be lingering on the disbelief part, and, as he prodded Faithe, Orlando felt a spark of hope rise up within him. If Jake didn't believe Kayte to be gone, then maybe she wasn't.
Leaning forward slightly, he awaited Faithe's reply, wondering if Jake could get her to speak to him.
Jake was getting frustrated with Faithe's silence, and the pressure on her shoulders was steasily increasing. The longer they sat in silence, the quicker his breathing became. His frustration was slowly fading into anger.
"Dang it, Isabelle! Answer me!" Yelling, he shook her shoulders in an attempt to snap her out of her silence. Letting go of her, because there was a rational voice telling him he was on the verge of hurting her, he picked up a vase and chucked it across the room.
The sound resonated in Faithe's mind, causing her body to jump. Whimpering, she shrank down into the couch, burying her face in her drawn up legs. Sitting there, her thin figure and terrified mein made her look like a child.
Walking over to a wall, Jake leaned against it, swallowing hard. "She isn't dead. My daughter is not dead. Eddie wouldn't kill her. He
Although he fully understood where Jake was coming from, the man's boiling rage was starting to scare Orlanod, especially when he began taking it out on Faithe. Glad Jake had realized that this before too much harm came of it, Orlando let out a sort of relieved sigh.
Scurrying off the floor at Faithe's whimper, the man sat himself down upon the couch and pulled her into him. Wrapping his arms around her, the man tried as best he could to calm the young woman in the hope that, if she calmed down, she might be able to tell them what exactly she had felt.
Stroking Faithe's head gently, his eyes wandered over to Jake and an unswallowable lump filled his throat as he sat there. There was a part of him that wondered what he was doing there, barging in on the Cunningham family's lives when the one member of their clan he'd actually been close to hadn't spoken with him in two weeks.
Temporarily ignoring Jake, solely because he felt a little awkward talking to the man, his focus reverted to Faithe, trying to get her to snap out of her trance.
"Faithe," he whispered, still gently running his fingers through her hair, "Come on, Faithe... you've gotta talk to Jake... Tell him what you felt..."
Only partly aware of Orlando's arms around her, Faithe's body rested next to his, though her muscles were still tense and trembling. His words went unheard in her blank mind, and her eyes had not blinked in some time.
Sighing, Jake faced the two, rubbing his red eyes with the palms of his hands. It had been awhile since Jake had slept, and it showed in the bags under his eyes and the paleness of his complexion. Shaking his head, he sighed again.
"If she did feel anything, she won't be back with us for awhile. When our grandmother died, Izzy didn't speak for a solid week." Shaking his head, he walked over to the couch and sat down on the other side of Faithe. Looking over at Orlando, he sighed once more.
"She can't be dead Orlando. If Eddie killed her, then all of this would have been unecessary. He didn't help Bridget out of the kindness of his heart. He has his own demands and he knows that if something happens to Kayte, his chances of getting what he wants would be even smaller."
Feeling her small, delicate body against his, Orlando's arms tightened a little around Faithe. It seemed as though holding her was all he could do. Yet, even that was useless, he knew, gazing down at her face, which looked as though it was frozen in that position, never to move again.
Looking up at Jake's voice, Orlando nodded, to show that he had heard, although he didn't quite understand. The thought of Kayte dying had been bad enough, now he was forced to consider the effects it would have upon his beloved Faithe... Orlando may have been through a lot in his life, but whatever bad things had happened, they had always happened to him. Never had he ever had to help someone he loved through something so horrible... Then again, he hadn't ever really loved someone like he loved Faithe.
As Jake sat down, Orlando pulled Faithe a little more onto his lap, resting the girl's head upon his chest, more for something to do rather than to actually make room for the other man.
Hearing Jake speak of Eddie, rage flashed for a moment in Orlando's eyes.
"How's he going to use Kayte to get Faithe?" he asked in a voice that radiated disgust above all else.
Watching the other man pull Faithe closer to him, Jake reached out and laid his hand on her arm. Sitting there for a moment, he allowed Orlando's question to hang in midair. Hadn't Faithe told him? Sighing, he dropped his arm back down by his side.
"Eddie knows Isabelle would do anything for Kaytlin, and he's using that to his advantage. He'll return Kayte if Isabelle will marry him. He said that they could go get married, and he'll let her finish out the rest of her year at Rosencrantz, and then after she graduates, she'd move in with him. I told Izzy I wouldn't let her do that...there's got to be another way. I know there is, and I know Kaytlin isn't dead." Standing up, he looked down at the two.
"Let me go lay her down in her bed." Reaching down, he gently lifted Faithe into his arms. Closing her eyes, a small whimper escaped her throat as she burrowed her head in his shoulder.
Once he had settled Faithe in her bed, he closed the door and returned to Orlando. Sitting back down on the couch, he ran his hand through his hair.
"What makes this worse are our parents. They have this attitude that if Isabelle would have simply given into Eddie's pursuits, then none of this would have happened. It's almost as if they're taking Eddie's side." Rubbing his temples tiredly, he closed them momentarily. Opening them, he stood up. "Want some coffee?"
Listening to Jake's words, a look of mixted shock and repulsion contorted Orlando's face. He had known Eddie had problems, but this? Using an innocent little girl as collatoral to get Faithe? Exploiting an innocent love to get something that he couldn't have possibly earned himself? It was morraly repugnant.
His eyes flitted from Jake down to Faithe- his sweet, innocent, beautiful Faithe. Lightly stroking the girl's face, a sort of reverent look shone through his gaze.
As Jake moved to take her in his arms, Orlando reluctantly allowed him to do so, only after planting a soft kiss upon the young woman's forehead though.
Taking a deep breath, the man ran his hand over his face, only exhaling when Jake returned.
"God, I had no idea..." he whispered, keeping his hand partially covering his mouth, "She went through a week of that ultimatum alone... That torture... and all that after a week of what I put her through... God, Jake..."
Lifting his head at Jake's question, the man nodded his head, then resumed his half-aloud/half-silent musing.
Clapping a hand on Orlando's shoulder, Jake shook his head. "Orlando, don't blame yourself. You were put in a rough position, and Isabelle knew that. She just needed some time to get past her hurt."
Walking into the kitchen, he grabbed two coffee cups from the cabinet. Pouring the two cups completely full, he picked them up by the handle. He had a feeling that his CoffeeMate had gotten more use the past week than the previous year he had owned it. Walking into the living room, he handed Orlando's cup to him, and sat back down on the couch.
"I don't even know what all happened that night. I haven't been able to get her to talk about it. I tried to get her to open up to me when she was in the hospital, but she wouldn't."
Shaking his head as Jake told him not to blame himself, Orlando's lips curled into a negating sort of expression; this whole thing was entirely his fault. He'd logic-ed it out before, and, until that logic was proved flawed, he wasn't about to disregard it.
Nodding in thanks, he took the cup of the disgusting brown liquid from Jake. Orlando never had been much of a coffee drinker. Raised in a Wizarding house, he'd always just "enervate"-d himself when energy was necessary. However, he'd noticed that this "coffee" potion seemed to have other properties than just that of energizing oneself. It almost seemed like a sort of alcohol, working like it cleared one's mind. Hoping for that, he took a sip and downed a gulp or two of the fluid. Remarkably, he hid his disgust well- coffee was evidently an acquired taste, like wine- and the only action he allowed himself to make was a slight raise of his eyebrows, which fit right in to Jake's next question.
Jake didn't know? How was that? He knew. Then again, he had only found out last night. Thoughts spun in the man's head: waking up to Faithe's hand upon his face, visions of the two meteors, the smile that had lit the woman's mien, the taste of her. and then waking up to find Faithe gone- crying alone in his living room, searching through endless volumes of books for a spell that didn't seem to exist.
Shaking his head, Orlando wondered exactly how much he ought to tell Jake.
"I don't know the details, but from what I gathered last night, Bridget somehow got Kayte while Eddie held Faithe back. Then," the man paused to swallow, "after Bridget had taken Kayte, Eddie."
Trailing off, Orlando's mind was flooded with sickening visions of Eddie battering Faithe, causing him swallow again, this time to prevent himself from retching. Perhaps it wouldn't have been so difficult to say if he hadn't endured something similar as a child, but the fact was that he had, and it was a rather long moment before he found the words.
"He hurt her Jake. Kicked her, slapped her, punched her. and.
"'Crucio'."
The last word came out in a voice barely above a whisper, as though Orlando was a little boy saying a bad word.
"Why'd he have to hurt her? Bridget already had Kaytlin."
Listening to Orlando speak, Jake buries his face in his hands. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes, and he was thankful his face was hidden from the other man. He knew Orlando was struggling to convey to him what Faithe had gone through and told him. Orlando cared about his sister as much as he did, and Jake knew it. He wouldn't verbally admit it, but it kind of hurt that she had opened up to Orlando, but not him. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he finally looked up at the other man with red eyes.
"I don't know. Intimidation? Insanity? Pleasure? Gah...who knows. Knowing Izzy, she was probably putting up a fight." Sighing, he rubbed hus face. "This is all my fault. I knew he was bad news. I knew he was after Isabelle. I just didn't think...I didn't know..." Voice cracking, his shoulders slumped as he rested his head in his hands.
"I just want my baby back."
**
Rolling over in her bed, Faithe pulled her white comforter over her shoulders. She felt sick to her stomach, but she was starting to come back to her senses. From the living room, she heard the soft murmering from the two men, but couldn't distinguish what specifically was being said. Sitting up suddenly, she looked around her room with wide eyes. She thought she had heard a soft popping noise, but was hallucinating. Shaking her head, she laid back down, scolding herself for getting so jumpy over the sound of one of the guys setting down a coffee cup.
Sighing, her eyes flitted towards the window. Finally, allowing her eyes to close, Faithe's mind began to work. She knew Kayte couldn't be dead; she would have felt it. When her grandmother had died, Faithe had been asleep, but had awaken screaming from the unexplainable feeling inside of her. The feeling of death. What scared her and perplexed her all the more was how Eddie had managed to get the necklace off. There was an enchantment on the small pieces of jewelry that didn't allow them to be taken off, unless the wearer died.
Hearing a door open, Faithe's ears pricked up. Laying still, she listened to the soft footsteps that were crossing the room.
"'Lando?" Speaking softly, she opened her eyes as she felt the bed behind her give way.
"Orlando, I-" A hand gently brushed against her cheek, but it wasn't the familiar touch of comfort of Orlando. What scared her most was that she did recognize the hand that lay on her cheek. Sitting up quickly, a small scream began to escape her lips as she tried to jump out of bed. A hand clamped over her mouth, muffling her scream.
**
"Did you hear something?" Looking up at Orlando, Jake's eyebrows furrowed together.
**
"Shhhhh..." Whispering in Faithe's ear, Eddie pulled her off the bed to a standing position, but kept his hand over her mouth. Making an attempt to pull herself out of his grasp, Faithe fought back tears as a small whimper escaped her throat. Eddie brought his other arm around her middle, pinning her back to his front, and allowing his wand to point down.
Her eyes darted around the room, a frightened expression filling her dark brown eyes. The closet door that was beside her door was wide open, explaining the muffled popping noise and the door opening. Looking around desperately, her eye fell on the small form of Kayte on the floor next to her bed. Faithe felt such a surge of relief course through her body to see the little girl's chest rising and falling steadily, she almost fainted.
"Kayte!" Screaming as loud as she could, Faithe began thrashing as hard as she could to get to the unconscious child. Eddie's grip tightened around her small physique, and he used the hand over her mouth to tilt her head back and to the side slightly, forcing her to look back at him.
"I would refrain from doing anything rash, Isabelle, considering my wand is pointing straight at Kaytlin." Keeping his voice low, he kissed her on her forehead before allowing her head to relax.
**
The second Faithe's muffled scream reached Jake's ears, he was on his feet. Pulling his wand from his pocket, he took off down the hallway. Throwing open Faithe's door, he stopped just inside the door, his eyes widening. It didn't take long for his eyes to survey the scene before him. His daughter was alive, laying on the floor with a wand pointed straight at her, but clearly unconscious. His sister was being held forcibly by Eddie, and looked terrified out of her mind.
A malicious smirk spread ocer Eddie's face, making it clear that this whole event had been pleasurable for him. Faithe's eyes had begun to leak tears as she stared at her brother. Dropping his head, Eddie whispered in Faithe's ear, his voice loud enough for Jake to hear, but his eyes never left Jake's.
"It's time for you to make a decision Izzy."
With a sort of sorrowful smile playing upon his lips, Orlando shook his head. It wasn't any more Jake's fault than it was Faithe's. Eddie was just one of those people who have a diabolical sense of being. Using others' emotional weaknesses for his own personal gain and manipulating them to suit his own personal desires.
"You couldn't have known, Jake," he said softly, wanting to comfort the man but not thinking it was his place.
Hearing Jake refer to Kayte as his "baby", Orlando was reminded that Jake was Kayte's father. She was part of him, and he was part of her. True, Orlando had always known this, but, somehow, hearing Jake speak like a father to Kaytlin hit a different place in his heart. It was as though all the trials that Jake had been through were suddenly shoved in front of Orlando's face. He had made a mistake as a boy, much younger than Orlando when he had done the same, been faced with worse consequences, one that would haunt him his whole life through, and still was "on top" so to speak.
"We'll get Kayte back," he added, taking another sip of the vile brown liquid.
Hearing a noise of sorts, Orlando's head snapped in the direction of it, and then turned back to meet Jake's with a wary gaze. Nodding, he subconsciously began to gnaw upon his tongue. "Yeah.
"Um, I'm going to go check on Faithe, alright?"
Setting his coffee cup/mug/beverage-holder upon the nearest flat surface, Orlando stood slowly and began to make his way across the room and down the hallway. He had heard a noise, but didn't really think anything of it. He was sure Faithe was alright, but, in all actuality, had only used her as an excuse to get away from Jake. It wasn't that he didn't like the man, because it was no secret that Orlando had the utmost respect for him, but rather the awkward feeling he got seeing someone he wasn't all that close to in such distress that made him leave.
He was only about halfway down the hallway when he heard Faithe's scream. The man was frozen for an instant, yet revived himself when Jake blew by. Pulling his own wand out of his pocket, he darted after him, freezing for a second time next to Jake, yet a little further inside the doorframe.
Although he was unaware of it, Orlando's body had begun to shake as his brilliant blue eyes scanned the room. Kayte's crumbled body lying upon the floor, Eddie's evil grin shining in the moonlight as his wand pointed towards the girl, and, caught in the antagonist's arms, Faithe.
quote:
"It's time for you to make a decision Izzy."
A small gasp escaped Orlando's lips at the words. A decision? What was she to decide? Kayte's life for hers? The idea was beyond monstrous and appalling, although, even in Orlando's immense vocabulary, there was no word that fit it. It was at that time that the man's fingers tightened upon the maple stick he held between his quavering fingers. What do to.
He wanted to get Faithe out of the wretchedly pathetic excuse for a man's grasp, but doing so put Kayte in danger. He wanted to rid Eddie of his wand, but any attempt to do so would surely be thwarted and put the two innocents in danger. There had to be a way out. But how?
Breathing growing a little more rapid, but still remaining quiet, Orlando stood in silence, waiting for the opportune moment. What, exactly, he was going to do when that moment came, he still didn't know. Hopefully, when the moment arrived, he would.
Everything in the room seemed to be moving in slow motion, yet Faithe's mind was in fast forward motion. Jake had told her no countless times when the question of what to do about Eddie had come into conversation, but now there didn't seem to be any other choice. How could she say no to him?
Her eyes settled on Orlando, and the tears that had been threatning to fall began to slip down her cheeks. She knew she couldn't do anything that would endanger Kaytlin, but she knew this meant the prospect of living without Orlando, again. She had never taken a day with him for granted, but now it seemed enough. Fate was being unkind to her. Wait, when did she believe in fate? She never had been one to do so.
Eddie's hand released his grip of her mouth, seeing no reason for her to scream. Instead of dropping his hand, he ran his index finger over her bottom lip, winking at Orlando. He held all the cards right now, and they all knew it, and Eddie knew they knew it.
"Orlando Lorenz. Why am I not surprised to see you here?" Tightening his grip of Faithe, he bent down and kissed her cheek, his eyes never leaving the other man's. "You know, you should have been here the night we came and got Kaytlin. It would have been quite a show. I'm pretty sure I heard her mutter your name when she was twitching on the ground in pain." Smiling, he rested his chin on Faithe's shoulder for a moment. Lifting it, he looked down at Kaytlin for a moment before returning his gaze to Jake.
Faithe's eyes had yet to leave Orlando's, but there was a look of defeat in them. Closing her eyes, a couple tears slipped down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her head, finally breaking her eye contact with Orlando.
"Ah, that's my girl. I knew you'd made the right decision." Turning Faithe around in his arms, Eddie lifted her chin so she was looking at him. A thought popped into her head, though she was rather apprehensive about trying it. Of course, Eddie didn't leave her much choice to the first part of her plan, which he initiated by bending down and kissing her. Despite her first inclination to bite him, Faithe blocked it out and returned the kissm hoping for the best. Keeping her eyes opened, a surge of relief filled her as she felt his wand hand wrap around her more completely, bringing the wand off of Kaytlin. Without a second thought, she kneed harshly him in a not so friendly place. Turning her head towards Jake, she shot a look from him to Kaytlin, telling him rather pointedly to get Kaytlin without calling Eddie's attention to it.
Eddie groaned at the pain, his grip loosening up on Faithe considerably. Taking advantage of this, Faithe used her weight to push him back. Since they had still been standing right in front of the bed, Eddie tripped as he was forced back, falling on the bed. However, he dragged Faithe down with him.
While all this was happening, Jake made a move towards Kaytlin. Lifting the small girl in his arms, he rejoined Orlando by the door, immediately returning his gaze to his sister. He felt conflicted. He couldn't very well just leave Kaytlin, but Faithe needed help.
Eddie had regained himself by now, only he was fuming. Sitting up, his eyes narrowed as he turned on Faithe. Kneeling on the bed, he straddled her legs. Reaching down, he grasped her throat in between his hands.
"That was a mistake." Tightening his grip on her throat, Eddie's malicious smirk had melted away into a look of pure hatrid. Faithe attempted to scream, but struggling for breath, it only came out a small whimper as she tried to pry his hands off her neck.
Orlando's azure eyes froze upon Faithe's vulnerable body lying helpless in the monster's grasp. She was terrified and desolate; he could feel it, and, more than anything, he wanted to take that feeling away from her- to make everything right for her. He wanted to raise his gaze, to meet hers, but was too afraid of what the two pairs of eyes would communicate to one another. The man didn't know if he could handle seeing what he knew Faithe's eyes would convey- scared and powerless, she would silently plea for him to get her out of there- because he knew that his eyes would betray him and show her how weak he himself was- too pathetic to save her. too unworthy of such a deity.
For whatever reason, though, eventually his eyes did meet hers, and, upon seeing the tears in them slowly stream down her bruised cheeks, the man's breath caught in his throat as he a foreign feeling- nausea- came over him. Flashes of memories and imagined feelings of pain permeated the man's body, and, had they not been locked, his knees would have most certainly given out on him at that moment.
He felt, in a word, useless. There were too many things he could do, but each had its own set of precarious consequences. Thus, he did nothing- simply stood and watched the horror play itself out before his eyes. Now the man was literally feeling sick to his stomach. He felt as though he was watching something horrible happening and choosing not to do anything- as if he'd rather watch the supposed entertainment than make a move to end it.
All through the tense silence, Orlando's eyes never left Faithe's. There was something about looking into her eyes that made him feel like he was doing something, even if was just letting her know he was there. He didn't see Eddie's hand drop from her mouth, nor did he see his finger brush her lip. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he did see a blurred image close in on Faithe's cheek for a moment, however, what it was, exactly, remained unclear. He heard a voice say his name, and a few other words, but they merely entered his mind and went unprocessed. It didn't matter though, all that mattered was keeping his eyes on Faithe's as long as he could- it was his only way of telling her that he wasn't about to desert her.
Then, at last, Faithe broke the two's intent stare to let tears fall down their cheeks. A sorrowful, mourning sort of smile crossed the man's lips as he wished desperately to end the young woman's pain. Yet, there was nothing he could do at that moment save continue to look into her eyes, silently telling her how much he loved her and how sorry he was that he was so useless. Then, her gaze faltered again, this time, though, it didn't return.
quote:
"Ah, that's my girl. I knew you'd made the right decision."
This time Eddie's words made it through Orlando's mind, prompting his sorrowful smile to turn into a bitter expression as his teeth bit hard into his tongue. Seeing Faithe be forced to turn away from him, his stomach jolted, knowing what was coming, and he had to tighten his grip upon his wand to keep it from falling through his slackened fingers. As Eddie kissed Faithe, his eyes remained open, yet, the second he saw Faithe kiss him back, they shut. He knew why she was doing what she was doing, but it didn't make the sight any more bearable. That is to say, Orlando felt a sickened sense of jealousy combined with repulsion, which made him a little more sensitive to how Faithe must have felt seeing him and Demeter back two weeks ago. If he were feeling as such just seeing Eddie force his mouth upon Faithe's, how would he feel if things had been the other way? Swallowing, partially to distract himself and partially to rid his throat of the upcoming coffee, his eyes opened at the sound of Eddie's groan.
It seemed like, at that noise, everything happened at once. Jake left his side and returned within an instant, holding Kayte in his arms. Although it took him a moment, eventually the events of the last few seconds caught up with Orlando, or, rather, he caught up with them. Glancing from Jake to Faithe and then back, Orlando gave the other man a pointed look that clearly told him to take Kayte out of there.
"Don't come back," he whispered sternly, gently pushing Jake in the direction of the hallway.
It was times like these that Orlando almost wished he had a little more courage, or, at least, a little more confidence. He wasn't really the type of man to run down to the local telephone booth and emerge, filled with confidence and covered in spandex glory, ready to fight the evil antagonistic beast that awaited him. But, somehow, he found himself somewhere in between that extreme and his typical reserved self.
Raising his wand, he pointed it directly at Eddie and allowed the words of good old Mr. VanExienne's spell sets to echo through his mind and sound out through his mouth.
"Relashio."
The word came out strongly, yet not much about a mezzo-forte dynamic level. At the time when Eddie's hands ought to have flown off Faithe's neck, he spoke again.
"Flipendo. Stupefy. Petrificus Totalus."
Each word that passed through his mouth grew a little more confident. Dueling wasn't something Orlando had even delighted in, although he'd always been told he would be wonderful at it if he could ever focus. Evidently, he had focused now, because the spells continued to roll off his lips as though he'd been doing such incantations all his life and had the strength within him to cast them forever, despite the fact that, with each spell, the man could feel himself getting a little weaker.
Letting out a breath after word "totalus", he instantaneously darted to Faithe and wrapped her fragile body delicately in his arms, pressing her tightly against his chest with only limited regard for her bruises. Although he wasn't applying severe pressure to any of her injuries, one or two of them was probably pressed against him lightly.
"I'm so sorry," he breathed, not even remotely concerning himself with the possibility that Eddie might have dodged the last few spells as he kissed Faithe's head gently. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"
The tighter Eddie's grip got around her neck, the more Faithe tried to struggle, but the weaker her movements got. Gasping for breath, her vision was beginning to blur as her focus of what was going on began to scramble as well. Pretty soon, she was unable to struggle against him. It was at that time that the pressure around her neck ceased, and she gulped in a fresh stream of air. When she exhaled a cry escaped her mouth as Eddie was suddenly forced from the bed.
Laying there, her body trembling violently, Faithe rolled over on her side. Reaching up, she laid her hand on her forehead, still gasping for breath. Every time she exhaled, a small whimper emitted from her mouth. Feeling the bed give way, she almost curled up in fright, until she felt the familiar touch of Orlando. As he pulled her closer to him, she closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest.
Swallowing, she grabbed his wand out of his hand and pointed it at Eddie. Her words came out almost unintelligible, but ropes shot out from the wand and wrapped tightly around Eddie's wrists and ankles. Allowing herself to slump back against Orlando, every muscle in her body seemed to grow limp. Resting her forehead against his collar bone, she closed her eyes once more, still breathing rapidly.
The fact that that entire thing had actually worked was a shock to Faithe. She hadn't figured that Eddie would be that driven by testosterone that he would allow his guard to falter, but then again, Eddie was a stupid, stupid man. Remembering what had just happened, Faithe shot up, looking around the room. Standing up, she walked out of the room, which was no easy task with her knees about as sturdy as Jell-O that had yet to be set.
Hearing soft talking, Faithe headed straight into Jake's bedroom.
***
Knowing Faithe would be all right with Orlando around, Jake did not hesitate to dart into his room. Shutting the door behind him, he made a quick phone call to Joseph, who said he would be right over. After he hung up, he turned his attention to his daughter in his arms.
"Kayte? Come on baby, please wake up." Speaking softly, he nudged her gently with his hand. Speaking softly, he continued to shake her gently. He noticed a small bruise on her cheek, but that was the only form of injury that Kayte possessed. After a few moments, in which he heard a loud thump hit the floor down the hall, a small moan escaped the little girl's mouth as she stirred.
"Kaytlin? Sweetie, come on baby." Watching her intently, tears began forming in the man's eyes as the little girl's eyes fluttered open. Stroking her hair gently, he remained silent as she gradually came back.
"Daddy?" Hearing her sweet little voice, Jake pulled her into a tight embrace, tears streaming down his face. The thought that he could have lost his daughter seemed to hit him full force that moment, but he kept most of his emotions in check.
"I'm here sweetheart. You're safe." Hearing the door open, he looked up, a small smile crossing his face as Faithe walked through. As she collapsed on the bed, he wrapped his arms around her, and she did the same, the two of them embracing Kaytlin in a sandwich. Reaching down with one hand, Faithe gently stroked Kayte's hair.
[[Under the assumption that Orlando followed her, as I asked about in IM. ]]
Looking up, Jake met Orlando's eyes. Lifting one hand, he motioned for him to join the three of them. Which, in a sense, was his way of telling Orlando that he was apart of their family.
In spite of having just cast a plethora of spells, saving the day, and, pretty much, doing everything heroic save emerging from a telephone booth clad in a colorful, skintight spandex suit, Orlando showed no sign of having ever done so. His face was free from every emotion save relief as his arms held Faithe against him. In fact, the man had completely pushed the incident out of his mind. Perhaps it had been too terrifying or perhaps too trying for him, but, for whatever reason, the memory of it had fled his head. It didn't matter, though. Nothing at that moment filled his mind save thoughts of Faithe. He didn't concern himself with the logistics of how the present situation had come to be; all that mattered was Faithe.
Although his questions had gone unanswered, Orlando didn't mind at all. Feeling Faithe's face nestle into his chest and her body encompassed within his arms was more than enough for him. He felt useful again; not because of what he had just done, but rather because he could almost feel Faithe's relief. Just sitting there, holding her, he felt like they were the only two people in the world. There was no Jake, no Kaytlin, and, most importantly, no Eddie. It wasn't until he felt Faithe rise up from him and temporarily pilfer his wand to bind the other man that Orlando even remembered Eddie's frozen body still laid upon the ground.
It was almost poetic justice, the man thought, watching Faithe cast the spell. After all she had been through- all Eddie had put her through- she still had the little strength necessary left to conclude the saga of sorts, making one final declaration that she had prevailed. Smiling sort of proudly, the man readjusted his arms around her body, as it seemed to have become limp against him. One hand gently ran up and down her spine, trying to calm the rapid rise and fall of her back as she breathed; the other wound itself around her neck, matting a few locks of dark hair against it.
"I love you," he whispered softly, "And I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you, Faithe."
((Potential time insert here, I 'spose))
As Faithe's body jerked off of his own, Orlando reluctantly released his arms from around her, allowing a sort of confused look to overcome his face. What was wrong? Yet, that question was soon answered as he watched her eyes dart around the room, and then out, towards where Jake had taken Kayte. Pursing his lips together, he wondered whether or not he ought to follow. He didn't want to leave Faithe's side for an instant, not after having lost her for two weeks and just nearly losing her forever a mere moment ago, and, of course, seeing her weakly struggle across the floor added to that. Then again, Jake had just gotten his daughter back and Faithe was nearly a mother to the girl. He was. well, nothing really to them. True, he was involved with Faithe, but that hardly gave him the right to automatically make himself a part of every aspect of her life.
Eventually, after Faithe had left and he had spend a few pensive minutes upon the bed alone, he did get up. And, on his way out, the thought of kicking Eddie's immobile body crossed his mind. Although the sickening thought was tempting, his past experiences with such abuse would never have allowed him to stomach doing such a thing. Slowly walking through the room, he shut the door upon the way out and turned the same way that Jake and Faithe had both gone. Taking a few more steps, he reached the room the three of them were in, and merely lingered outside for another moment. As his eyes caught sight of the three happy people embracing, celebrating their reunion, a truly content smile appeared upon his face. Everything, it seemed, was right again.
Catching Jake's gaze, he almost turned away. In a sense, he was embarrassed to be there. He felt somewhat. out-of-place. Yet, seeing Jake's hand raise and beckon him, some of that awkwardness left. Offering the man a grateful sort of smile, Orlando crossed the room and sat down, closer to Faithe than the other two, but not too close. The uneasiness hadn't left completely, and he didn't feel right barging in on them still.
Her body relaxed against his as she felt his hand grace over her spine. Closing her eyes as she felt the pressure of his hand on the back of her neck, she buried her head in his chest. Feeling the protection and sanctitudeof his arms, Faithe felt completely at ease for the first time in two weeks. Lifting her head, she rested her forehead against his and lifted her hand gently to his cheek.
"I love you so much Orlando." Whispering, her voice came out trembling, just like the rest of her.
**
Hearing a small whimper from the little girl, Faithe felt Kaytlin's body shift in between the two. Feeling the bed give way slightly behind her, she turned her head to see Orlando sitting down behind her. Giving him a grateful look, she reached back with one hand and took his hand in hers.
A soft knock interrupted the silence, and she turned back to Jake, who looked up. Shaking his head, she turned Kaytlin around to face Faithe, whom immediately snuggled into her aunt. Wrapping both arms around the little girl, she turned towards Orlando and leaned against him. Kaytlin, who's eyes were open, but was remaining silent, reached out and wrapped her hand around a couple of Orlando's fingers. Looking up into his eyes, Faithe rested her head just below his shoulder. ((Assuming this is possible.))
**
Jake made his way to the door, opening it quickly. A smile broke out on his face when he saw Joseph.
"This way. He's in Isabelle's room. I'm pretty sure he isn't conscious, but I wasn't in the room when Orlando took him down." Leading the way, the two men walked back to where an unconscious Eddie lay bound on the floor.
"Are they all right? Kaytlin and Faithe?" A look of hopeful concern crossed Joseph's face as he bent down to check Eddie's pulse.
"Yes, luckily. Just shaken up." Sighing, he crossed his arms as he fought the urge to kick the mess out of the unconscious man. "What's going to happen to him?"
"He's looking at a lot of years in Azkaban, for one thing. Kidnapping a child, bribery, and he used an unforgiveable. I'll just apperate him to the dock so we can take him over." Grabbing Eddie by the shoulder, Joseph did a sort of salute before a loud popping noise announced their departure. Sitting down on the edge of Faithe's bed, Jake rested his head in his hands.
**
"You saved us." Speaking softly, Faithe's eyes never left Orlando's face, taking in his brilliant blue eyes. Looking down, kissed the top of Kaytlin's head softly. The little girl looked up, tears still in her eyes.
"Aunt Belle?" Her voice came out soft with a sort of whiney edge to it as she spoke.
"Yes, baby girl?"
"I have to go potty."
Taking in Faithe's mien, a small smile crossed Orlando's face. Allowing her to pick up his hand, he gently entangled their fingers together and brought her hand to his lips for a moment. The awkwardness was still there, but the comfort that Faithe's acceptance of his pressence there had brought him was gradually easing whatever discomfort still remained within him.
At the knock, the man's body tensed again and, inadvertenly, pulled Faithe's hand a little harshly as he attempted to snatch his wand from its typical location in his back pocket, untangling their fingers in the process. However, the wand wasn't there; it still remained upon the bed in Faithe's room, where he had left it alone with Eddie. His breath caught in his throat for a moment... until he paused to ask himself why Eddie would even bother knocking and couldn't come up with a feasible response. Of course, by this time, Jake had already left and Orlando presumed that it the knocker was someone he had called to the house, probably a Ministry worker from the looks of things.
Whispering an inaudible apology to Faithe, he rolled his shoulder back to allow her head a more comfortable place to lay, moving that arm to wrap around the lower part of her back. Feeling a small hand find its way into his, Orlando broke eye contact with Faithe to look reverently at Kaytlin. The tiny girl had been through so much, and was still standing. Smiling at her, he lifted his thumb to stroke the hand surrounding his fingers before returning his eyes to those of Faithe.
quote:
"You saved us."
Whether he was too entranced by Faithe's eyes, too modest, or really just didn't care, Orlando did nothing to indicate he had heard her words. However, at Kayte's words, he did.
Leaning his head a bit, he looked towards her, still smiling for whatever reason. Then, at her last remark, the man let out a chuckle. It was nice to see the ordeal hadn't cramped the girl's juvenile ingenuity and bluntness. Shaking his head, his boyish grin flashed upon his face.
At Kaytlin's remark, Faithe let out a small laugh at the little girl's randomness, and her comedic timing. Relinquishing her grasp, Faithe nodded slightly. Jumping off the bed, Kaytling ran out the door, heading straight towards the bathroom. Shaking her head, Faithe's eyes turned from the doorway back to Orlando.
Sitting up straight, Faithe's smile faded slowly as a pensive expression crossed her face. Reaching up, her fingers ran gently over his eyebrow. Slipping down his cheek, she ran her index finger over his top lip, circling around and running her finger over his bottom lip. Without lifting her hand from his skin, she moved her hand up to his hairline and began twisting a lock of his hair in between her fingers.
Now that everything had passed, Kayte's life was no longer in danger, and Jake had his daughter back, everything was starting to hit Faithe full force. Kaytlin had never been in question; Faithe would have done anything to see her to safety. Instead of catching his gaze with his, Faithe's brown eyes took in every detail of the man's face. Her bottom lip quivered as the scenario of never being able to see him again played inside her head. Rolling her lips inward, she allowed her hand to fall as she looked away. Despite the fact that she had managed to hold in her emotions relativaly well, a few tears slipped down her cheeks.
****
Weeping softly, Jake's body shook violently. Just the same, now that the danger had passed, and everybody was safe, the feelings of fear that had been tugging at him all week were now being released.
Turning his head to allow his eyes to trail Kaytlin's tiny body as it scrambled out the door, Orlando's gaze lingered on the door for a moment before returning his gaze to Faithe. The broad grin was still upon his face as he shook his head at her, clearly amused by Kayte. His lips parted to make a joke of sorts about Kayte's childish comedy, but closed as Faithe's smile faded and the grin faded into a sort of confused look.
Allowing her fingertips to waltz upon his face, Orlando relished in the sensation their soft caress brought. As her fingers took hold of that strand of dark hair, a soft smile placed itself upon his lips. It was amazing how much he'd grown accustomed to Faithe toying with his hair, and having abstained from such things for so long made the feeling that much sweeter. It was about this time that Orlando finally realized what Faithe was doing, or, rather, why she was doing it, and tried futilely to meet Faithe's gaze, following her eyes as they trailed along his face. The thoughts in his mind were similar to hers, except Orlando didn't understand exactly what Eddie's taking Faithe would have meant. He hadn't even considered considering the fact that he wouldn't have ever seen her again if such an atrocity had truly transpired. In fact, he didn't even think of that being a reason for Faithe's actions. He presumed she was just distraught over what had happened regarding Kayte.
As Faithe's hand dropped from his tresses and her face turned away from him, the man raised a single eyebrow inquisitively. Reaching his far hand up, he gently placed it upon her cheek, running his fingers up along her jawline before actually allowing his palm to encompass that side of her face.
"Oh, Faithe." he whispered softly, turning her head back to face him and brushing some of the fallen tears away with his thumb. "Everything's okay now, ma Foi. You're safe, Kayte's safe, and Eddie's gone."
Closing her eyes slowly, her trembling began to cease as his fingertips played over her skin. As he turned her head towards him, her eyes gradually found their way into his. The minute he had spoken, her face crumpled up and more tears began falling down her cheeks. Nodding softly, she took a deep breath, but all that came out after that was a soft cry.
"I know...It's just..." Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and closed her eyes. Rubbing her forehead, a shudder ran through her body as she supressed a sob. Looking back up at him, her eyes had turned pink from the tears.
"What if he hadn't been so stupid? What if things hadn't gone the way they did? These last two weeks have been absolutely horrible without you, Orlando, and the thought of spending the rest of life without you..." Trailing off, she closed her eyes and shook her head again. Burying her face in her hands, her shoulders began to shake as more tears fell down her cheeks.
****
"Daddy?" Kaytlin's sweet, innocent voice interrupted Jake's lament as he sat there on the edge of the bed in Faithe's room. Looking up, his face still wet from the tears that had cascaded down his cheeks, he looked at his daughter. Offering a small, half smile, he held his arms out for his daughter.
"What is it sweetheart?" Walking over to Jake, Kaytline wrapped her arms around Jake's neck. Pulling his daughter into his arms, he hugged her tightly.
"I love you."
Seeing Faithe nearly fall apart like that, Orlando's teeth dug into his tongue; any sort of physical pain was better than the inner one seeing her like that gave him. After wiping away what tears he could with his thumb, he set his hand back down, and looked upon her with a sort of sympathetically sorrowful mien. Gazing into her teary eyes with his own brilliantly blue ones, he offered whatever silent comfort he could.
At the time she spoke, he had been on the brink of pulling her into an embrace, but, instead, seemed somehow entranced by her words. He didn't want to think about "what if"s at that moment, nor ever, if it could be helped. If Eddie hadn't let his guard down, Orlando didn't know what he would have done. Perhaps he'd have been so fixated upon waiting for the right moment that he'd have just stood by and watched Faithe be ripped from him forever. And if things hadn't "gone the way they did", then Faithe may have very well been choked to death. Alright, that was enough bad visuals for one day.
Closing his eyes, he pushed the thoughts to the furthest corner of his mind and shook his head as his arm around her lower back tightened, pulling her closer towards him. The thought of spending the rest of his life without Faithe was absolutely unbearable.
"Hey, now," he whispered softly, gently wedging his fingers between her hands and her face in an attempt to lift her head back up towards his own, "Promise me you'll never think something that horrible again. Eddie's gone, and I don't have the slightest intention of letting you spend the rest of the night without me, much less the rest of your life."
Provided that Faithe's hands weren't still upon her face, he took one of them in his own as his eyes adverted down to her hand as opposed to her eyes.
"I know I might not see you too much this summer," he began, seemingly absentmindedly spreading her fingers apart one-by-one.
"But I'll always be there for you, in a sense," he continued, taking her hand by the wrist and holding it, with its spread fingers, up to wherever her eyelevel may have been.
"See those spaces between your fingers?" he asked softly, sliding his hand (the one on her wrist) up.
"Whether you see them."
Entangling his fingers with hers, a smile crossed his lips as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"Or not."
Slowly he unwound his fingers from hers, eyes never leaving them, and dropped his hand back to her wrist.
"My fingers are forever locked in them."
Finally, his eyes lifted off of her hand to meet her gaze as a genuine, small smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
