A/N - Hey! Sorry it took so long to update! And sorry if there are grammer mistakes and whatnot. I wanted to get this up quick. I will be posting like two or three chapters because I feel bad for having not updated sooner. So hopefully this will keep you guys occupied for a week. j/k! Thanks again for all your reviews!
Chapter 20
Eliza paced the room sniffling into the hanker-chief she held while tears streamed down her face. She couldn't believe Leopold was really gone. No one had seen her in four days and they wall worried that she had been killed. Xavier had told Eliza and Parker about Leopold past when they discovered her missing and both girls had clung to each other crying for hours as they feared the worst for their friend. All of her relatives had been notified of her disappearance and more of them arrived everyday to be comforted by aunts and cousins. Eliza was shocked at the size of their family but wasn't surprised as most families were large. She had never met Xavier's mother but when she arrived it felt as if they had known each other for years and they comforted each other greatly. Now all of Leopold's aunts and uncles sat or paced the same room arguing with the king and queen, mostly it was her aunt Delilah that argued while everyone else cried and prayed to Mithros for Leopold's safety. Her cousins were out searching the city for her as they spoke though the little ones knew nothing of her disappearance and thought they were on a trip and were out watching the paiges and squires practice.
"I'm doing everything I can!" the king consulted with Delilah.
"Then why hasn't she been found yet?" Delilah protested
"I have my best knights out looking for her now as are your nephews!" the king responded growing weary of the woman.
"Knights can only do so much! Why don't you have your mages looking for her!"
"They would be of no use!"
"What if she's in danger!" another of Leopold's aunt suggested bursting into tears and burring her face in her husbands shoulder.
"She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself!" Delilah told the woman rudely.
"Then why are you worrying so much!" the king questioned
"Because though she can keep herself from being raped she can not contain for being starved or killed in other means!" Delilah hollered at the king not even pausing to consider who she was talking to. All she cared about was the safety of her niece which surprised everyone greatly.
"Your highness!" someone shouted running into the large library where they all sat. Everyone turned and stared at those that had entered the door and were surprised to see a man and woman who looked weary from travel. They entered the room and bowed low before the king before straightening and facing him. The woman had tears running down her face and she looked like every other woman in the room. "Your highness," the man said again before continuing. "I am Fredrick the Duke of Cliff's and this is my wife Margaret. We've traveled from our fief in order to spend some time with our son but it appears that he's missing. No one has seen him in four or five days and I would like to know what the meaning of this is!"
"My baby!" his wife said bursting into tears before an aunt took pity on her and wrapped her in a warm hug while directing her to an empty chair.
"We have already lost one son and I'm not about to loose another!" the man hollered his face turning red from anger.
Everyone in the room stared at the man for a few brief of silence before they all started talking at once. They shouted and argued with each other over what to do. The woman said he kidnapped her and that started an argument between Eron's father and Leopold's aunts, the uncles claimed that the two ran off together which got everyone turning against each other and Eron's mother claimed Leopold had seduced him and made him run off with her. Everyone argued against that. Eliza looked around the room stunned and realized nothing was going to get done if they stood around arguing all day so she went to the only one she thought would actually get something done.
"Aaron!" Eliza yelled pushing open the door to the Dancing Dove as rain poured in behind her. The fall had started while she was halfway to the inn and now she was fully soaked to the bone. Forgetting about herself she pushed her way to the back of the inn where Aaron sat with his friends playing cards and drinking heavily. "Aaron, Leopold's missing! I can't believe I didn't tell you earlier!"
"Who cares." Aaron responded putting another card down on the table and taking another swig of his ale.
"Come to your senses Aaron!" Eliza argued trying to make him do something. She feared there would be no one left to help if he didn't do something. "Aaron she needs your help!"
"Obviously she doesn't." he responded ignoring her stare.
Eliza grew angry and knocked his ale from his hand before grabbing onto the edge of the table and flipping the entire thing over, causing everyone's ales to spill onto themselves and their game of cards to scatter. The men in the inn turned to the fallen table and laughed at the men sitting around it before going back to their own card games and ale.
"What in Mithros name did you do that for?" Aaron yelled standing and advancing towards Eliza. Before he could say something Eliza slapped him hard across the face to sober him up some and because she was angry. Aaron closed his eyes and winced from the slap as her palm showed up red on his cheek from the force.
"Aaron listen to me! Leopold is missing. No one knows where she is and I-she needs your help! She loves you and needs your help right now!" Eliza spoke to him.
"She doesn't love me." Aaron responded calmly before pushing himself through the fallen table and making his way upstairs. Her last chance had run out.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"AAAAAA" Eron yelled for the hundredth time while hurling his body at the cell door or trying to pry the bars off of the window. Leopold had explained things to him while cringing on the floor in pain and he had convinced himself that they would get out of there and return home.
"It's not use" Leopold whispered lying on the ground with her right arms curled underneath her head as a pillow and her left arm wrapped around her stomach as the pain eased in her ribs and lungs. Being stretched on the chains did a toll on her torso and she was glad that her aunts had never made her wear corsets because she figured that was what it was like. Not something she wanted to go through. But her hopes of escape had disappeared a long time ago. Even before she spoke to the man she knew there was no way she would see her family again or have another argument with her aunt. There was no way to get out. The walls were all stone and even if the bars came off the window it was too small for either of them to crawl through. The door was stone as well and Eron could push as hard and as long as he wanted but it wasn't going to budge. Leopold finally gave in to defeat and was ready to die. She just wished they would kill her quickly and not drag it out for another day. She didn't want to have to wait for death but look it in the eye and take it with pride. If this was the way she was meant to die then Mithros knows she's going to be strong about it.
"Eron stop." Leopold whispered trying to get the pounding in her head to cease but his constant yells of protest at being locked up weren't helping in the least.
"We're not going to die here!" Eron responded pushing harder and harder with his shoulder against the door.
"Face it Eron." Leopold said hugging herself more "We are going to die here and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
"Stop talking like that!" he shouted knocking over the table in anger. Leopold flinched as the table crashed to the floor and it's contents were spilled but she let him have his burst of anger. She didn't care what he did. "we're getting out of here whether you like it or not!"
"He's won Eron!" Leopold tried convincing him just to shut him up and leave her with her last few hours in peace. Maybe if she prayed enough Mithros would kill her then so she wouldn't have to listen to Eron try and convince her they would live. "He's won and there's no stopping him!"
"No he hasn't!"
"Nobody knows we're here! Nobody knows where we are or even that we were kidnapped. They probably thought we ran off together since we're both missing. He's won" Leopold calmed down after raising her voice to over the whisper she had been speaking to him in in the past few hours. "He's won!" she rolled over to face the wall as the hot tears she had forced back for so long came swiftly streaming down. Her body began it's emotional breakdown though she didn't realize it. She cried because she would never feel the sunshine against her face or the dirt beneath her feet. She would never feel the bark of trees beneath her hands or the feel of the tall summer grass against her skin as she lay in it. She cried because she would never feel the cool breath of the wind through her hair or the beauty of swimming in waterfall by her Aunt Brianna's house. She cried because she would never again laugh at watching the peacock's try and attract a mate or cry when an animal dies. She would never again lie her way out of trouble or go on silly adventures with Darren that always ended in chores. She cried because she would never feel the warmth of a fire on a cold winter's night or the calmness of watching the rain fall. She cried because she would never taste the sweetness of one of her aunts prize pies or the burning of cook's hot soup. She would never grow old or have many loves before finding that perfect one.
She cried for all her dead cousins that she'd never met because of the War with Scanran and for those that had never made it out of the womb. She cried for her parents whom she had never really had the chance to meet because they were murdered by the same man that would soon be killing her. She cried for her aunts who always wanted a perfect daughter but got a rambunctious niece instead. She cried because she had wanted to have a strong relationship with her aunt Delilah and look more into her hatred of her and help her become a nicer person to everyone. She cried because she wanted to figure out exactly what caused her aunt and uncle to develop a disgust for each other and somehow fix it. She cried because she wanted to see Ace, Sebastien, Xavier, Philip, John Luke, everyone's face again and just know that they loved her and were always looking out for her, even when they weren't around. She cried because in reality she loved how her aunts, uncles and cousins sheltered her and kept her safe and that if only she hadn't tried so hard to rebel against them she wouldn't be where she was now. She cried for Aaron whom she would never see again but was haunted by his face in the form of his twin brother. She cried for him because she realized all along that the weeks she had known and thought about him had turned her hatred of him into a love that would last forever but he would never know because she was to die before she could tell him. She cried because there was no one to tell him of her love or her death for no one knew. She cried because all she wanted to do was see his face again and kiss his lips and hope he felt the same way. She cried for all these things and more. She cried because she didn't want to die. She wanted to live and have a family of her own. She wanted to see the sunlight again and feel the water while swimming in it. She wanted to taste the pies and laugh at the peacock's dance. She wanted to know what it was like to grow old and have her heart broken. She cried because she would never again feel Aaron's sweet lips against her own or the warmth of his body when he held her close. She would never again see his soft eyes or feel his strong hands in her own. She would never again hear his calm soothing voice or laugh at his stupid jokes. She would never again have him…
Chapter 20
Eliza paced the room sniffling into the hanker-chief she held while tears streamed down her face. She couldn't believe Leopold was really gone. No one had seen her in four days and they wall worried that she had been killed. Xavier had told Eliza and Parker about Leopold past when they discovered her missing and both girls had clung to each other crying for hours as they feared the worst for their friend. All of her relatives had been notified of her disappearance and more of them arrived everyday to be comforted by aunts and cousins. Eliza was shocked at the size of their family but wasn't surprised as most families were large. She had never met Xavier's mother but when she arrived it felt as if they had known each other for years and they comforted each other greatly. Now all of Leopold's aunts and uncles sat or paced the same room arguing with the king and queen, mostly it was her aunt Delilah that argued while everyone else cried and prayed to Mithros for Leopold's safety. Her cousins were out searching the city for her as they spoke though the little ones knew nothing of her disappearance and thought they were on a trip and were out watching the paiges and squires practice.
"I'm doing everything I can!" the king consulted with Delilah.
"Then why hasn't she been found yet?" Delilah protested
"I have my best knights out looking for her now as are your nephews!" the king responded growing weary of the woman.
"Knights can only do so much! Why don't you have your mages looking for her!"
"They would be of no use!"
"What if she's in danger!" another of Leopold's aunt suggested bursting into tears and burring her face in her husbands shoulder.
"She's perfectly capable of taking care of herself!" Delilah told the woman rudely.
"Then why are you worrying so much!" the king questioned
"Because though she can keep herself from being raped she can not contain for being starved or killed in other means!" Delilah hollered at the king not even pausing to consider who she was talking to. All she cared about was the safety of her niece which surprised everyone greatly.
"Your highness!" someone shouted running into the large library where they all sat. Everyone turned and stared at those that had entered the door and were surprised to see a man and woman who looked weary from travel. They entered the room and bowed low before the king before straightening and facing him. The woman had tears running down her face and she looked like every other woman in the room. "Your highness," the man said again before continuing. "I am Fredrick the Duke of Cliff's and this is my wife Margaret. We've traveled from our fief in order to spend some time with our son but it appears that he's missing. No one has seen him in four or five days and I would like to know what the meaning of this is!"
"My baby!" his wife said bursting into tears before an aunt took pity on her and wrapped her in a warm hug while directing her to an empty chair.
"We have already lost one son and I'm not about to loose another!" the man hollered his face turning red from anger.
Everyone in the room stared at the man for a few brief of silence before they all started talking at once. They shouted and argued with each other over what to do. The woman said he kidnapped her and that started an argument between Eron's father and Leopold's aunts, the uncles claimed that the two ran off together which got everyone turning against each other and Eron's mother claimed Leopold had seduced him and made him run off with her. Everyone argued against that. Eliza looked around the room stunned and realized nothing was going to get done if they stood around arguing all day so she went to the only one she thought would actually get something done.
"Aaron!" Eliza yelled pushing open the door to the Dancing Dove as rain poured in behind her. The fall had started while she was halfway to the inn and now she was fully soaked to the bone. Forgetting about herself she pushed her way to the back of the inn where Aaron sat with his friends playing cards and drinking heavily. "Aaron, Leopold's missing! I can't believe I didn't tell you earlier!"
"Who cares." Aaron responded putting another card down on the table and taking another swig of his ale.
"Come to your senses Aaron!" Eliza argued trying to make him do something. She feared there would be no one left to help if he didn't do something. "Aaron she needs your help!"
"Obviously she doesn't." he responded ignoring her stare.
Eliza grew angry and knocked his ale from his hand before grabbing onto the edge of the table and flipping the entire thing over, causing everyone's ales to spill onto themselves and their game of cards to scatter. The men in the inn turned to the fallen table and laughed at the men sitting around it before going back to their own card games and ale.
"What in Mithros name did you do that for?" Aaron yelled standing and advancing towards Eliza. Before he could say something Eliza slapped him hard across the face to sober him up some and because she was angry. Aaron closed his eyes and winced from the slap as her palm showed up red on his cheek from the force.
"Aaron listen to me! Leopold is missing. No one knows where she is and I-she needs your help! She loves you and needs your help right now!" Eliza spoke to him.
"She doesn't love me." Aaron responded calmly before pushing himself through the fallen table and making his way upstairs. Her last chance had run out.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
"AAAAAA" Eron yelled for the hundredth time while hurling his body at the cell door or trying to pry the bars off of the window. Leopold had explained things to him while cringing on the floor in pain and he had convinced himself that they would get out of there and return home.
"It's not use" Leopold whispered lying on the ground with her right arms curled underneath her head as a pillow and her left arm wrapped around her stomach as the pain eased in her ribs and lungs. Being stretched on the chains did a toll on her torso and she was glad that her aunts had never made her wear corsets because she figured that was what it was like. Not something she wanted to go through. But her hopes of escape had disappeared a long time ago. Even before she spoke to the man she knew there was no way she would see her family again or have another argument with her aunt. There was no way to get out. The walls were all stone and even if the bars came off the window it was too small for either of them to crawl through. The door was stone as well and Eron could push as hard and as long as he wanted but it wasn't going to budge. Leopold finally gave in to defeat and was ready to die. She just wished they would kill her quickly and not drag it out for another day. She didn't want to have to wait for death but look it in the eye and take it with pride. If this was the way she was meant to die then Mithros knows she's going to be strong about it.
"Eron stop." Leopold whispered trying to get the pounding in her head to cease but his constant yells of protest at being locked up weren't helping in the least.
"We're not going to die here!" Eron responded pushing harder and harder with his shoulder against the door.
"Face it Eron." Leopold said hugging herself more "We are going to die here and there's nothing anyone can do about it."
"Stop talking like that!" he shouted knocking over the table in anger. Leopold flinched as the table crashed to the floor and it's contents were spilled but she let him have his burst of anger. She didn't care what he did. "we're getting out of here whether you like it or not!"
"He's won Eron!" Leopold tried convincing him just to shut him up and leave her with her last few hours in peace. Maybe if she prayed enough Mithros would kill her then so she wouldn't have to listen to Eron try and convince her they would live. "He's won and there's no stopping him!"
"No he hasn't!"
"Nobody knows we're here! Nobody knows where we are or even that we were kidnapped. They probably thought we ran off together since we're both missing. He's won" Leopold calmed down after raising her voice to over the whisper she had been speaking to him in in the past few hours. "He's won!" she rolled over to face the wall as the hot tears she had forced back for so long came swiftly streaming down. Her body began it's emotional breakdown though she didn't realize it. She cried because she would never feel the sunshine against her face or the dirt beneath her feet. She would never feel the bark of trees beneath her hands or the feel of the tall summer grass against her skin as she lay in it. She cried because she would never feel the cool breath of the wind through her hair or the beauty of swimming in waterfall by her Aunt Brianna's house. She cried because she would never again laugh at watching the peacock's try and attract a mate or cry when an animal dies. She would never again lie her way out of trouble or go on silly adventures with Darren that always ended in chores. She cried because she would never feel the warmth of a fire on a cold winter's night or the calmness of watching the rain fall. She cried because she would never taste the sweetness of one of her aunts prize pies or the burning of cook's hot soup. She would never grow old or have many loves before finding that perfect one.
She cried for all her dead cousins that she'd never met because of the War with Scanran and for those that had never made it out of the womb. She cried for her parents whom she had never really had the chance to meet because they were murdered by the same man that would soon be killing her. She cried for her aunts who always wanted a perfect daughter but got a rambunctious niece instead. She cried because she had wanted to have a strong relationship with her aunt Delilah and look more into her hatred of her and help her become a nicer person to everyone. She cried because she wanted to figure out exactly what caused her aunt and uncle to develop a disgust for each other and somehow fix it. She cried because she wanted to see Ace, Sebastien, Xavier, Philip, John Luke, everyone's face again and just know that they loved her and were always looking out for her, even when they weren't around. She cried because in reality she loved how her aunts, uncles and cousins sheltered her and kept her safe and that if only she hadn't tried so hard to rebel against them she wouldn't be where she was now. She cried for Aaron whom she would never see again but was haunted by his face in the form of his twin brother. She cried for him because she realized all along that the weeks she had known and thought about him had turned her hatred of him into a love that would last forever but he would never know because she was to die before she could tell him. She cried because there was no one to tell him of her love or her death for no one knew. She cried because all she wanted to do was see his face again and kiss his lips and hope he felt the same way. She cried for all these things and more. She cried because she didn't want to die. She wanted to live and have a family of her own. She wanted to see the sunlight again and feel the water while swimming in it. She wanted to taste the pies and laugh at the peacock's dance. She wanted to know what it was like to grow old and have her heart broken. She cried because she would never again feel Aaron's sweet lips against her own or the warmth of his body when he held her close. She would never again see his soft eyes or feel his strong hands in her own. She would never again hear his calm soothing voice or laugh at his stupid jokes. She would never again have him…