Author's Notes: I'm so glad that some of you noticed that little glitch from the last chapter… to answer your question, the phrase 'his Marguerite' really was intended :) It's so wonderful to have readers like you. Thank you, thank you, thank you! :) :) :)
Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me except the characters of Jerome Duncan and Evelyn Krux. No infringement is intended, no profit is made.
Behold the Façade
Chapter Thirteen
He felt as though he was yanked away from the blissful arms of heaven and thrown into the fiery pits of hell. At first he felt nothing at all; he never knew that oblivion could bring about such serenity, such peace! But then, as he ever so slowly returned from the realm of unconsciousness, he suddenly began to feel the stinging pain all over his face and arms; began to feel the burn that slowly gnawed at his flesh. He foolishly thought he could seek for the abyss once more just by closing his eyes, just by ignoring the pain, but nothingness was nothing more than just a dream to him now. He had been reprieved from feeling it at first, but now the pain came back to taunt him with its wicked claws, to caress him with its sharp, sharp touches.
William fought hard, fought valiantly in fact, to suppress the sudden need to moan. As if such a small sound could dismiss him from the agony so quickly! But the pain was too much – too intense, perhaps, that even a scream wouldn't quite enable him to be released from its paws. Yet did he scream? Did he moan? Not a sound came from his lips. Perhaps a display of such restraint was befitting a man of his character, a man of his position in society, but in a time like this?
He opened his eyes. What was the difference, he thought, be it that his eyes were opened or closed? It wasn't enough to place him back in the cradle of the abyss. At least when his eyes were open he could try and focus on his surroundings more than he would on his condition. And try to focus he did; try to divert his attention he did. At first his vision was full of blurred images – had he gone blind? – until the images slowly, very slowly, formed forms that resembled their actual appearances.
And the first that he had seen, had recognized?
"John," he whispered, his voice hoarse as though he had not used his tongue for quite a period of time. The knowledge that his brother was there filled him with warmth, and suddenly his pain wasn't as excruciating as it was before.
John merely smiled at him from where he was standing. "Hello there, old boy," he muttered low. William noticed that his brother was wearing a simple white hospital gown and was supporting himself with some sort of cane. His face had colored bruises and touches of burns, but other than the little cuts and wounds he seemed to be fine.
What happened? Why do you look like that? Why am I like this? A million other things nagged at him, questions that begged to be asked outright. What happened to you, to us? Why are we in the hospital? What… what happened—?
And then, as though there was some light that illuminated him from above, the answers came to him in gasping heaps. His eyes widened as he stared at his brother, as though John was the one that brought this epiphany, these memories, to him. The wedding. The commotion. The explosion. He suddenly remembered it all. He wetted his parched, dried lips before he spoke. "Where—"
John merely placed a gentle hand over his bandaged arm in an act to stop him from speaking. "Shh." He said. "You should rest."
Disobeying his brother, William tried to speak once again. "But—"
"William," John said in a sterner voice, "hush yourself. Speak only when you have enough strength to do so."
The words did not bother William, but the face did. John's face was almost confusing to look at, for it contained so much stillness that one wouldn't know if this man ever feels at all. Why was he wearing such an expression? It was that stillness that stilled his tongue, that held his words captive, that kept him silent despite his obvious want to be otherwise.
"Mother is fine," John spoke again, his face becoming a bit livelier, more expressive. William was thankful for that. "I came to her first because you were still asleep. She's terribly confused, but thankfully, unhurt."
William sort of smiled at that, the corner of his lips lifting on their own. Relief filled his heart to the very brim as he heard these words.
"As for the others…" He hesitated. Then John shook his head as though he suddenly dismissed his words. His face became stoic again. "We'll talk about it once you are strong enough."
Relief slowly gave way to something akin to dread and fear; the feelings numbing him, robbing him of the capability to feel anything.
Then John patted his arm. "I'm very glad you're awake, brother." He said softly, his eyes expressive of his relief. He then began to turn towards the door. "I'll be right back."
Despite the pain of doing so, William stubbornly lifted his hand and caught his brother's. Only one word escaped from his lips: "Marguerite…?"
His brother gently removed his hand and laid it down. "I'm going to find her room now," he said. "You'll hear how she is soon enough."
*
"My Lord! What—"
John merely brushed away the surprised question the nurse threw at him. "I need to know whether a Marguerite Krux was admitted at about the same time my mother was." He said.
The nurse blinked at him, then stood up to her full height. "But sir, you are not—"
But once again he cut her off. "Please, madam." He said to her, his tone appropriately pleading. "I need to know."
She looked at him with critical eyes, eyes that were assessing whether or not she should give in to the request of this Lord before her. "Very well," she muttered as she placed her glasses on and began her search through the hospital records.
John leaned forward as he placed his arms over the counter, his cane resting just nearby. He looked on as the nurse pulled out a very large folder that contained hundreds of files of the patients that the hospital has admitted for the past few months. "She was admitted yesterday," he said helpfully, hoping that his contribution would quicken her search.
She glanced at him before rummaging through each of the files.
Heaving a frustrated sigh, John considered searching the whole hospital just to look for Marguerite. He began to reach for his cane when sounds called his attention. He turned around.
"What happened to her?" One of the younger nurses asked another, their voices hushed but still heard.
"The explosion yesterday," the other answered. "She was found just outside the chapel. I think Henry thought that that girl's parents were rushed in here, too."
"Poor child. I hope her parents are alright…"
John frowned slightly, and his gaze wandered from the nurses to the object of their conversation… a little girl. He never recalled seeing a child inside the chapel yesterday, so how could this girl be from where they said she was? He reached for his cane and walked towards the nurses. "Excuse me," he said as soon as he was near enough.
"Lord Roxton," the first one said, her eyes wide. "How can we help you?"
John glanced at the little girl then returned his gaze to the nurses. "I heard you say that the child was brought in from the chapel."
The second one nodded. "One of the rescuers – Henry – found that girl alone just behind the elm tree near the chapel." She said. "The poor child was as white as a ghost when he found her."
"Have you learned who her parents are?"
The second one shook her head sadly. "We tried asking her, but she just wouldn't speak. She wouldn't say anything – she just kept staring off to space like that."
"We've tried everything – we gave her food, offered her candy, but…" the first one shrugged. "We got nothing from her."
"She must be still traumatized from seeing such an explosion." The nurse finished.
John nodded at them. "Thank you very much," he muttered before turning away. He considered going back to the nurses' station to check on the nurse's progress, but the image of that little girl, so lost, so sad, kept tugging at his heart. He decided to go to her. Marguerite can wait.
She was seated by her lonesome, the chair frighteningly large compared to her very small form. John sat next to her. "Hello there," he said softly.
When the little girl lifted her face to look at him, he was startled momentarily, transfixed at the intenseness of her expression, of her blue gaze. John recovered immediately and smiled at her, feeling a bit awkward at having to talk to a child. "What's your name?"
She just stared at him, her mouth closed tightly until her lips were white. She didn't reply.
John was about to coax an answer from her when his attention was called. "Lord Roxton?"
He looked up to see that the nurse had finished her job. John turned to the little girl. "I'll be right back." He said. He then stood to speak with the nurse.
"Lord Roxton," she said to him. "You asked me about a Marguerite Krux being admitted to this hospital?"
John nodded briskly. "Marguerite K-R-U-X. I was told she was brought here yesterday at about the same time my mother was."
The nurse stared at him again, then slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Lord Roxton, but I'm afraid you're mistaken. We have no record of a Marguerite Krux being admitted yesterday."
To be continued…
To those wonderful enough to review Chapter 12 (Oh, you know who you are!)
Cara – A-hah! You thought I'd kill William? Well… I was tempted at first, but… let's just say that all will reveal itself in due course (did I just quote 'Ever After' in that?) :) :) :) Thank you so much for the wonderful review!
LadySammyMRoxton – *blushes profusely* thank you for the compliments, hon! You're really inflating my ego, you know (and to think its large enough as it is! ;)) I'm so glad you're excited with where all this is heading to, and I hope wherever it was, you'd be there! (did that just made sense? LOL!) Thanks again!
Wishes – thank you for reviewing! It means so much to me that even when you're tired you took the time to read and review this. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, and did you get my gift? I sent Roxton there to massage your sore muscles… I'm telling you, that guy could surely cure anything in an instant! ;)
Sash – You do, eh? *grin* thanks! Just say the word and you're more than welcomed to live in it! I *do* have to learn to share the nummy men of TLW, if you know what I mean! LOL!
A. Windsor – thanks for the compliments! I love it when you drop by, and I'm always looking forward to your reviews *hint, hint!* LOL!
Fab – And I never stop appreciating your reviews, my friend :) Do drop by again, okay? ;)
Agentsteph – I've got your attention and now I don't ever intend to let it go… MWAHAHAHA!!! Anyways, thanks for coming back and reviewing! It means a lot! ;) And you're lucky reviewer number 100, so there'll be some major gifts for you, like a night with Roxton and shopping spree with Marguerite at all of her favorite jewelry stores! Also, you'll receive free jungle training sessions with Veronica, some of Malone's greatest writings, a tour of Challenger's laboratory, a replica of Finn's infamous crossbow and an all expense paid trip to the Zanga Mall! You lucky you! *grin*
AerinBrown – Yay! You're back! You're back! Anyways, don't put the evilness all on Marguerite. Blame some of it on ME! ;) And am I going to kill William? *thinks hard* well… *thinks harder* I really cannot say… *wicked grin* but I can arrange it so that he can be your slave for a day… are you up for the offer? ;)
Ariadne – Oh! I made your imagination cringe! That's definitely a compliment! Thank you so much for that! And I agree with you, Challenger is *definitely* a horrible person, even more horrible than he was in "EFAE". But doesn't he look great when he's evil? *gets all dreamy eyed*
Veggie5 – And I appreciate your curiosity! As I've said before, it was intentional… just think of it this way: Roxton's getting more and more *unconsciously* possessive over Marguerite. Hmm, lucky her, to have 2 Roxtons liking her that much! *swoon* Anyways, thank you so much for saying that this fic is one of your medicines, and it better be, because I surely don't want that brain of yours to melt! Dang I don't like your professors. Anyways, just remember to take one step at a time. I got this little quote for 'ya = "STRESSED is just DESSERTS spelled backwards, so whenever you feel like giving up, just remember that your work is just a piece of cake". Worked for me! It worked so well I got a perfect grade for my internship! Yay!
TLWROX – Glad to know this fic of mine is one of your favorites. I hope I won't let you down, my friend! *and you almost woke up the entire household? LOL! How many times did I do that? Oh, too many to count already!*
Maloal – Oohh, I like that torture thing. It'll be my signature! Heehee. And me, mean and nasty? *flutters eyelashes innocently* little ol' me? Oh, Margie, you're too kind ;) Ah, don't get me started on that S4 thing, or else I'd think I'm just like those folks who make us wait and wait and wait without as much as an inch of good news! I'm evil but not THAT evil… am I? ;) Oh, you know in your good heart I'm not… ;)
Smiley – Now THAT review was better than any laptop or beach house. *swoon* I'm so happy with what you said! You just made me all smile-y (pun?) this week! Thank you, thank you, thank you! And no, you're not impatient at all. You're as patient as I am kind. Right? Oh, SMILEY! Have I told you yet that I loved your review? ;)
Mags968 – I'm really glad you liked the chapter… ;) And speechless? You? (Kinda echoed LSMR there, huh? ;))
KatAnn – you liked the spoilers, huh? (except for the end… oh, but you do know I have my ways!) And yes, me the tormentor, I bet all readers know that… ;) Anyways thank you for the e-mail. Me likes it that you liked my site and the other TLW fics. And Amends? I haven't started that yet, but its already on my to-do list. *pouts* now where are your suggestions, hmm? Not that I'm bugging you or anything, right? ;)