A/N: Hello! Sorry it took sooo long to get this chapter up! To tell the truth, I wasn't going to complete the story, and leave it as it was. The reason: I had no reviews and naturally assumed that everybody hated it. However, I plan on finishing it no matter what thanks to (ashes2342, and an anonymous), who submitted what they thought. Without you, this would not be possible, so thnx. And, you are right, it is out of character for Lucius to be so hard on his children, but all will be explained in good time...
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"I want you to tell me more about that boy...'Noah'..." she had asked him. He sat there, silent. What was there to tell her? He wasn't even sure if he was real himself, but he knew he had to be real. He could still remember the way his shirt felt when he grasped it, and his voice, crackled and dark. Not to mention, the most proof he had, the nail scratched deep into his now throbbing flesh.
"I don't know anything else to tell you about him, Ivy..." he quietly told her, avoiding eye contact. And yet, her kind expression did not falter. It never did. He liked that about her.
"Then rest tonight." she smiled, brushing his bangs out of his face. His hair was thick, like hers, but smooth and straight like Lucius'.
Ivy stood, grabbing her cane and placing the chair back into the corner. She gripped the handle of his door, and pulled it shut as she left him. He heard a faint click, and then foot steps.
Without her there, the room seemed much colder...almost alienating. His father didn't 'worry', as she liked to think. The truth was plain and simple: His father hated him. He never knew why Ivy thought him such a good man.
But, Noah had to admit, Lucius had never beaten him like he would hear the other boys say about their fathers. But he could see how Lucius regreted him. Noah had never done anything to dishonor his father, and didn't know why he scorned him so.
Noah burrowed further under his covers, and sighed. He was tired, but not in the sleeping sort of way. But he knew if he didn't go to sleep, he would hardly concentrate on his studies tommorow.
Tommorow...what was tommorow anyway? It was march...14. Of course. One day before his birthday.
If he was a normal young man, he would be counting down the days until his 15th birthday, but he wished the day would never come. When you're 15, you don't really feel 15, at least not at first.
You feel the 5 year old in yourself, when the world is so big, and you feel 9, when the world becomes so complicated, and you feel 13, with daydreams of cherished one, and fond ones, but 15 doesn't have a feeling. Perhaps he was to find a 'sophistication' of some sort? But he was trying to hold onto any time he had left.
He then decided that he really needed to stop rambling to himself and just drift unto sweet slumber. With this thought, he rolled onto his back, and placed both his arms around his stomach. He shut his eyes, listening to the rain hitting the window, and felt the familiar feeling of falling into a dream.
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"I think you should take rest tommorow." Ivy said to Lucius, as she wrapped her arms around him as they laid in their bed. She felt his warmth, and heard his breathing.
"The village can do without the smith for one day, Lucius." she laughed, but she did not feel him change. He was in a deep thought, she could tell. She placed her forehead onto his warm back, and stayed like this until she heard him finally mumble something to her.
"Hmm?" she asked him, raising her head.
"I think that is a...terrific idea, Ivy." he said. She then sat up. She had been expecting the usual querrel over this matter, rather than the unusual situation of him agreeing with her about skipping work.
"Are you true in what you say?" she asked him. She then felt him sit up next to her, and she leaned close to him, while he put his arm around her shoulder.
"I have been weary as of late, and my thoughts cannot rest anymore." he told her. She was very fond of his voice, when he chose to speak. It was aestetically soothing to her.
"What thought trouble your head?" she asked. He fell silent for a few moments, and then spoke once more.
"I want to know...everything." he said. She smiled, and sighed.
"Everything about what?"
"About...What happened in the woods fifteen years ago." he said.
Ivy's eyes jerked open, the comforted smile wiped away from her mouth. She pulled away from him and stared unto nothing. Remembering those days were the only memories that actually reminded her that she truly was blind.
Not in the sense that she could not see, of course not. But the fact that everyone in this village was blind, including her. She could see the good, the true, the valiant heart in people, but she had been blind to the plain and simple truth of what her father had told her.
"I could not tell you with expectancy of understanding, until I show you something first." she told him. She waited for him to reply anything, but heard none.
"I will tell you in the morning, but for now I must sleep. I must be up early for Evelyn and Catherine." she told him. She laid down, and rolled over. She knew this day would come, but she had never planned on how to tell him. She supposed, that she would have to somehow find a way to show him as her father showed her.
She remembered when Lucius was recovering, she was told by the other elders that the creatures were actually real, and that her father had only told her what he did so she would not fear the journey.
She actually believed them, experiencing what she did in the woods. It was only later that night, that Papa had told her what the real situation was. And, in turn, seeing as how the other elders had sheepishly tried to cover it up again, she found that she could not trust anyone as willingly as she had before. Except Lucius. He was innocent, and pure.
But thankfully, she had not had to take their place. The sounds in the woods were enough to appease the stories presence. But, everyone had cherished the fact that they had not seen Those We Don't Speak Of in quite some time. And, Christop was happy to share some "heroic" stories of how he had "fought" them off once with the little ones.
However, after all these years, she did not have the heart to tell Lucius the truth. She did not know how he would take it, and she still did not know.
"I love you." she heard him say, before he fell to his world of sleep. "I know you do..." she replied.
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Noah looked around, bewildered. This wasn't what most of his dreams were like, not at all. Most of his dreams involved his room, and someone else there with him, but he had never been here before.
He was in a place where the trees were tall, and creaked, as if whispering something to eachother in some long lost language that no man could understand.
The ground's soil was soft and dark, the atmosphere was cold, and the trees gnarled upward, looking ripped with hurricane. The he noticed something.
Off in the distance, there was someone in a yellow cloak running. they were running with all that they had in them, but it was reversed, which was pretty comical had it not been set in such an unruly place.
Then he heard a sound behind him. He whipped his head around, his heart jumping, only to find Heather standing there, dressed in the dark blue dress as usual.
"This is new." she stated, walking past him and watching the blurred person in the distance.
"New?" Noah asked her. From what he could see of the back of her head, she nodded. He walked up and stood directly next to here, looking into her distant face.
"I've been having this dream for months, but you usually aren't in it..." she said, her voice not paying attention to anything. she took a deep sigh, and then turned to look at him, examinning him from head to toe. Then, she reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
"You're really here, aren't you?" she said. He nodded, not understanding anything going on at this point, and not sure if he wanted to. She smiled.
"So, if we're both here, but really here, would you call this a dream?" He asked. She looked away.
"Well, whatever you call it, I can't seem to figure any of it out. It's always the same thing." she said. She then began to wander, and he could only follow.
"So, what did your father say to you?" she asked. he glanced up to her.
"You know about that?"
"The whole village knows about that. When he is angered, he could wake the dead from deep slumber." she laughed. Noah tried to attempt a smile, but with no avail.
"He worries, you know." she said. Now this, on the other hand, he found amusing.
"And what is so funny, Noah Hunt?" she asked him, turning around to face him. He only shook his head.
"Ivy said the same thing to me." he told her. She frowned.
"I know you hate your father, but he is not all that bad really. He is charming, and a true gentleman." she told Noah, who's expression showed that he aparently disagreed with her statement.
"One of these days, you will see what I mean." she smirked, and began to walk once more.
They wandered around for what seemed to be eternity, until finally, they came to a clearing. An area that was not occupied by trees, but by something else.
Noah felt his hands go cold and he peered around. Everywhere he turned, there seemed to be berries on stems, patches of them.
"These are the bad color." he said. She looked into his eyes, past the pale face, and smiled.
"So there is actually something that scares the fearless Noah Hunt." she said. She walked into the patch, and he only put his hand forth, opening his mouth to say something.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
"It's only a dream, Noah. Do not be frightened, after all, I have yet to see Those We Don't Speak Of in any of my dreams." she chuckled. He did give her credit for her analogy of things, and she was right; it was only a dream.
However, he was suddenly aware of how real his sweat felt, and the cold air against his skin. A dream it may be, but quite a realistic one it was.
He hadn't noticed, but she was already taking him by the hand, and leading him into the patch.
"I do love this color so..." she said. He remained silent, and did not speak a word. Normally, she was distant in speaking of such things.
"Do you want to know why?" she asked him, to which he replied not.
"It is shunned, and abandoned by us for its consequences, but it is not the color's fault at all. It is, as i've found, a color of passion and...love...It should not have to be buried every time it grows to bless us with its beauty!" she said, where as her red, or passion, was showing. She did seemed fond, perhaps too fond, of this color. Her grip was even harder, andshe seemed to now where she was going.
"Where are we going?" Noah asked her. She did not answer, but instead she stopped and turned around. She looked into his eyes, and he into hers. Something was definitly off about her. Then, his heart stopped completely.
She had closed the space in between them, and locked lips with his, still holding his hands, which were now clamy. He did not kiss her back, but stood there, frozen, as she pulled her face away.
She examined his eyes, and thought for a moment.
"So you really are here. Ha! If it was a dream, you wouldn't have reacted like that at all..." she trailed off. He still said nothing, but thought one line: Girls do very, very, very strange things that cannot be explained rationally.
"Please do not take that the wrong way, I just had to know for sure." she told him. She then let go, and walked off.
"See you tommorow." she called back, before vanishing. It was almost as if she was a painting, wiped away and smeared before dissapearing completely. Did that mean she woke up? He was still stuck here, so he assumed he was still sleeping.
He did love the fresh country air, and then he had just come to an epiphony. He now knew exactly where he was, and when he had comany, it wasn't so bad. However, alone, it took a darker tone. He was alone, and lost, standing in the middle of the "bad-color", and the trees were now silent.
He then heard a low, gruff noise behind him. This was as if he had waltzed into their sacred home, and handed them a silver platter, asking them to take his head.
Though he knew he shouldn't, he turned and faced the thing that had haunted him now. And there, he saw it. The creature stood there, cloaked in crimson. It looked as if it were hollow underneath, where bone-orniments hung, but it wasn't the creature that he watched. It was the boy.
In front of the creature, stood the small boy, who looked of only 9 years at most. his face covered by his dark, wet hair. He seemed to be soaked as the last time he was seen. The towering creature made him look even smaller.
"It is time to play." the boy said. Noah simply walked slowly toward the boy, until the creature drew in a deep breath, producing a loud growl. At this, Noah's body was unsure of what to do, so different parts went in different directions, causing his to jitterly fall to the ground.
He looked around, and the boy was nowhere to be seen, yet the creature could still be heard. He stood, brushing the mud off of his vest and pants, and glance around, looking for them.
Upon turning completely around, the creature stood, four feet away from him, and towering over him, showing how tall it was. He still could not see its face, but he decided he didn't want to.
He turned to run, and saw the boy blocking his way.
"It is time to PLAY with me." The boy stated. At this moment, he produced a long, rusted nail, which Noah assumed was the same one, and the the boy stabbed Noah in the stomach, four times to be precise.
Noah screamed, sitting up in his bed, drenched in his own sweat. He felt around, feeling his stomach. He was fine, but his arm was searing with a burning pain. The foggy morning light was coming through the window, and he could see just fine around his room.
He felt a hand brush his forehead, and he heard a murmur.
"You have a fever..." the voice told him, and he laid back down. They place their hand on his chest, pushing him to lay down. He was comforted by the fact that someone was there, stroking his hair back.
He opened his eyes once more and then it registered that it wasn't Ivy's voice he had heard. He shot his eyes to his side, and found his father, sitting in the chair by his bed side. His eye brows furrowed, and he sat up.
"What are you doing in here?" Noah asked. His father did not answer him at first, but handed him a bowl of what noah had predicted was the usual daily routine of pouridge. However, he was surprised the see a soup there, and two biscuits on a plate. It seemed to be a vegetable soup of some sort, but smelled better than pouridge.
"Your mother was very concerned, but she had to leave for some business she has with Old Mrs. Clack." he told him. He handed him the spoon, and looked at him.
There was something in Lucius' eyes that Noah hadn't seen before. Though he still saw his father's behavior as cold and distant, he did see a trace of what seemed to be...general concern.
"So, I took the day from my work to look after you." Lucius told him. Noah paused, mid-slurp of his meal. His father, that had resented and regreted the day he was born, actually took the day off, a first in history, to look after him?
Noah sat there, looking at him, and said nothing for a few moments. As a matter of fact, neither of them seemed to be looking away, nor making any attempt of communication. Then Noah finally asked him something.
"Why?" He asked, almost demanding the real reason. Lucius looked out of the window, and then back to his son.
"Ahem!" he cleared his throat. Then he slowly began, choosing his words. "Because...you are...my son, and I do not know why you hate me so. Your mother tells me that you think I resent you, and I don't," at this, Noah silently laughed, "but I do not know how to deal with you when you go around hitting other people for no apparent reason!" He had finished, and ended up turning it into shouting.
"I did have a reason!" Noah shouted right back. "He was bullying the little ones, and...He was speaking ill things of Ivy..." he ended rather sheepishly. Lucius put his hand on Noah's which had caught his by surprise. Why was his father acting so...so...kind?
"But that does not give you reason to just go and hit him. Things should be resolved by talking them through." he told him. Noah looked into his fathers weary eyes, tired from years of work.
"I just get angry when you do such idiotic things like that..." he explained. Noah rolled his eyes.
"Then why are you so much harder on me? Why aren't you the same with Evelyn and Catherine?" Noah demanded, and Lucius looked away.
"Because... I don't want you to end up...like me..." he said. Noah didn't get it at all. Lucius looked into his son's eyes and Noah saw his father for the first time.
"Why?" Noah aksed him. He really didn't have a clue what he meant, and now he felt guilty for feeling how he did before, but actions speak louder than words, and Lucius' past actions had said a lot. But, apparently, appearences can be decieving.
"I want to show you something." Lucius said, he took off his jaclet, and un-buttoned his shirt. He revealed a collage of scars on his stomach.
"This was what happened when me and your mother were to be wed." he laughed. Noah stared at them. The question was begining to be redundant, but he asked again.
"Why?" he asked for the third time in a row. Lucius sighed, and buttoned his shirt up again.
"I don't know why people take such actions. But I worry about you, and I do not wish your being in way of harm or any danger..." He said. They sat there, silently, until Lucius had suddenly taken the much smaller, and remarkably weaker, Noah into an embrace.
Noah was seriously wondering if he was still dreaming. This was not his father! His father did not do things like this, nor was he this affectionate. He hardly showed emotion at all!
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A/N-Okay, so there's the 'meaningless, dissapointing' chapter that had no significance. Every story's got one, right? Anyway, there's the fast and easy approach to the Lucius' actions crap. It was to be drawn out more and longer, and was not to come until later, but I thought about it, and it really was pointless, so I'm just getting that out of the way. So, there's my apology if any of you thought that that particular scene was out of context, etc.
