N/A: Whew… It took 3 months for me to update this thing! Anyway, it's summer so I don't really do much except lounge around the house and stuff… And it's getting pretty lonely here without the company of guys that make me laugh, so keep your reviews coming.
Disclaimer: You know the drill…
Chapter 3:
I'm Still Here
Time passes ever so slowly for Ella; being an Alice in Glast Heim for approximately six-hundred and forty-three years doesn't teach you much, just how to clean, cook and count dead rats.
For some, like Kai Hahn, there is never enough. Time represented the painful past, a past that he is doing his best to eradicate from his mind. As he made his way down the marble staircase, he never felt the rusty wheels of Time beginning to take a turn.
"He brought a what?" Kai heard a familiar voice call out.
"An Alice," he heard Iris' voice sigh.
"Her name's Ella now!" Keanne piped up.
"Ian," Kai muttered, "Back from Swordsman training, I see. Hey, you're a Knight! Congrats!"
"Gee, thanks!" Ian exclaimed, but a dark cloud soon covered his eyes, "Anyway, Mom said you bought a pet with you, Uncle. You do know that Grandpa will love this as much as he loves the Baphomet, right?"
"She's only temporary," Kai muttered, "When I'm not satisfied with her, I could always kick her out. Anyway, Dad gave you permission to have a pet Poring, why not me?"
"Did it ever occur to you that Porings are less than harmless?" Ian said matter-of-factly.
The Poring on Ian's side bounced and began playing with Keanne. Ian sighed and ran his hands through his chestnut-brown hair. He sat on the couch and began to devour a chocolate bar. Suddenly, the door opened with an audible bang and a white-haired, gruff and really large old man came in. He wore a strange, creepy expression on his face that told Iris and Kai that he had a bad day.
"Daddy!" Iris exclaimed nervously, "Bad day?"
"We failed to capture the rogue Sohee," Mr. Hahn growled in a low voice, signaling Iris that she should get out the room and quick, "It just keeps slipping away from our noses."
"Come, Keanne, help me prepare dinner," Iris and her daughter exited what they sensed would be a disastrous event through the kitchen.
"Master Kai!" Ella's voice rang through the living room.
"Oh no," Kai whispered to himself, then turned bravely back to his dad, "Er… dad… I brought a maid…"
"Good," Mr. Hahn said, but turned to a face of rage when Alice came down the stairs, his veins bulging on his forehead.
"Er… Dad…"
"YOU BROUGHT A MONSTER?"
"But Dad…"
"YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO OUR FAMILY, YOU INSOLENT INGRATE!"
"Dad… let her stay… please…"
"LET HER STAY? LET HER STAY! SHE'LL BE MINCEMEAT ONCE I'M THROUGH WITH HER!"
All the color seemed to drain from Ella's face. Even her blush seemed to have vanished. Swear words got out of Mr. Hahn's mouth like snaked coming out of a cold, dark cave. The impulse to run and hide vanished from Ella's mind when she saw Kai standing his ground, shaking and but brave, fighting for her.
"Dad… She… she saved my life…"
Mr. Hahn's face relaxed a bit, but it was still pretty red and angry. Ella was shaking from head to toe as Kai joined her up the stairs. Mr. Hahn breathed deeply Iris beckoned him to sit on the couch.
"Bastard…" Mr. Hahn cursed under his breath.
"Daddy, you should relax a bit," Iris told him, "Ella isn't so bad, she's actually kind of nice."
"We'll see," Mr. Hahn sighed.
Kai sat on the house's rooftop, gazing at the stars. Once in a while, a shooting star would pass overhead, carrying his wish with each one. Ella stared at him in the distance, wondering why this human was so kind to her. No monster had ever done this to her before. And frankly, she never felt such gratitude before.
"Master Kai?" Ella sat beside him.
"Just call me Kai, Ella," Kai beamed at her.
"What are you thinking?" Ella asked solemnly.
"I think about a lot of things," Kai answered, "But mostly I think about what I can do to get out of this life."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to get away from reality, to be able to be who I want to be," Kai began to smile, "And not lead a dictated life. I just want to be who I am. I want to be… free…"
"We're not so different after all," Ella told him, "Humans are very complex creatures, aren't they? They have feelings… Emotions… Something monsters can never touch."
"Don't you have feelings too?"
"I don't know," Ella looked at Kai blankly, "As long as I can remember, I've been a servant. I never laughed. I never had a friend. I'm always alone. All I ever learned from the Glast was to be angry."
"Wow, that's deep," Kai turned to the stars again, "Don't you ever get lonely not having any friends?"
"Do you have friends?" Ella asked.
"Not really."
"Then, can we be friends?"
"Yeah, sure, we can be friends," Kai smiled at Ella.
"So, we'll watch each other's back?" Ella said eagerly.
"Yep."
"And we'll hang out 'till midnight?"
"Absolutely."
"And we'll eat ice cream until our throats get sore?"
"Of course."
"I have a friend…"
"Yes, you do."
I am a question to the world,
Not an answer to be heard,
Or a moment that's held in your arms…
And what do you think you'd ever say?
I won't listen anyway…
You don't know me,
And I'll never be what you want me to be…
And what do you think you'd understand?
I'm a boy – No, I'm a man…
You can't take me and throw me away…
And how can you learn what's never shown?
Yeah you stand here on your own…
They don't know me,
'Cause I'm not here..
And I want a moment to be real…
Wanna touch things I don't feel…
Wanna hold on and feel I belong…
And how can the world want me to change?
They're the ones that stay the same…
They can't see,
But I'm still here…
N/A: Ok, so that's done for… I'd like to acknowledge John Rzeznick, lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls for his song "I'm Still Here"! Did you guys know that if I wasn't a writer right now, I'd be suicidal? Hehe… Maybe, just maybe… Anyway, keep your reviews coming, they're my remedies against my loneliness! The crazy peope that kept appearing in my Author's Notes won't be appearing now, only Therence is by my side right now… I'll see you in the next chappie, when Ella and Kai set out for Prontera…
