Tears of innocence
---Chapter 3: Darkness Falls
"I... Rosette Christopher... accept and seal this contract... with my life force..." The moment Rosette nervously whispered those words, a strong current of Astral energy flowed from her to Chrno, instantly saturating him with a welcome rush of power that filled his body, mind and senses with a thrill unknown to any human. It felt wonderful... his heart raced and his body felt warm after nearly two centuries of being deprived of what demons most wanted and he desperately needed: Astral power. He clutched Rosette's hand to his chest unconsciously, not wanting the flow of energy to stop, even as she grimaced in pain and tried to put her hand away, while her life force was transferred from her to him until the seal on his chest disappeared and the contract was forged. Rosette then fell face forward over him, unconscious, and Chrno released his possessive hold on her, feeling renewed and valorized, as if the many years he had been trapped in that dark hole were nothing but a bad dream. He felt strong again, finally able to regain his true form and leave that forsaken place forever...
He put Rosette to the side as if she was a simple rag doll and stood up, extending his wings as he stretched luxuriously. Oh yes... this was so much better than the pathetically weak state he had been only a few minutes before, all thanks to a small incautious human. Speaking of which... he looked down at the small figure of Rosette, who was curled up in a fetal position, and had a faint expression of suffering on her face. She was obviously in pain, like he knew she would be. He crouched next to her and put her blonde pigtails away from her face, studying her carefully. He had made her a promise, that he would pay his debt with services. Chrno thought hard about that. Though the girl had temporarily removed the seal placed on him, he still couldn't access the energy of the Astral Line, and had to rely on her life to use his powers. He wanted nothing better than to go away from the place and look for a way to break the seal entirely, but looking at the girl's face now, he found out that he couldn't just break his promise and leave her alone. He had taken a lot of energy from her… she wouldn't live more than a few years more, and he had a debt of honor he needed to pay.
He picked her up in his arms and carefully put her down to rest over a big bunch of leaves below a wide tree so she could at least rest comfortably. He studied her features for a few moments, still intrigued by her apparent generosity in offering her life to a stranger such as him. What could she want in return? He sat next to her and looked at the sky, thinking hard. Maybe humans and demons weren't that different... they always wanted something they couldn't have, no matter how big the price to themselves was...
Several hours passed before Rosette finally opened her eyes and looked around her. Chrno spoke before she could say anything, noting her confusion. "At last you're awake." He said in a low voice. "I was starting to think you were going to die."
Rosette turned her head towards him. "Chrno? Are you alri..." She stopped suddenly, looking surprised. She stared at his face for a few moments, apparently not recognizing him. Well, he couldn't blame her... he did look different. Still, he couldn't help but to feel a bit annoyed. What did she think he was?
"Chr... Chrno?" Rosette asked softly, blue eyes wide while looking at him. "Is that really you?" She made an effort to raise herself from the place where Chrno had put her, but she felt so dizzy, that she had to lie down again and just raised her head a little to look at him. He looked very different, even though his facial features, his voice and his body structure were exactly the same.
"Don't move. You're very weak, you need to rest." He answered, putting his large hand on her forehead. "Yes it's me. Who else were you expecting?" He said, looking at her surprised expression with barely repressed annoyance. "I told you I was a demon... this is actually my real form."
"I... I see... but why didn't you look like that before?" She asked, closing her eyes softly and feeling grateful for having his warm hand against her forehead. She was so cold...
"The seal placed on me didn't allow me to use this form, so I was stuck looking like a human until the seal was finally released." He said, frowning. The girl looked so weak... why were humans so fragile? "Guess you would have never awoken me if you had seen my real form from the start, would you?" He smiled sarcastically, yet his voice had a bitter edge to it that made Rosette open her eyes. She finally sat up, with a big effort, and carefully embraced him.
"That's not true..." She said reassuringly, thinking that Chrno was feeling insecure of himself, the way that Joshua sometimes did. She tried to pat his head, but thought better of it, and just rested her forehead against his bare chest. "You are my friend. And I think your real form is really cool!" She added, looking up at his face and smiling, despite feeling weak and a little dizzy.
Chrno's body tensed. What was she trying to do? It wasn't as if he'd really care about what she'd think of him... that was inconsequential. He was the girl's servant now, and he needed to take care of her if he wanted his contractor, his very own source of energy, to live longer, until he could figure out a way of breaking the seal permanently. He didn't need, nor want, her sympathy anymore, so there was no need for him to keep pretending to be friendly with her, was it? Still, he had a debt with her that he needed to pay... Chrno backed away from Rosette and looked down at her. "It doesn't really matter now, does it? You forged a contract with me, that's the only thing that is important."
She nodded and smiled weakly. "You're right... but what happened to me? I feel very strange... as if all the blood in my body disappeared..." How funny... she had just slept for hours, yet she still felt very tired and slightly breathless, as if she had just ran all the way there. She could barely keep her eyes open...
"Well, that's partly true. I took a lot of energy from you, and you also lost a lot of your life force when the contract was made. It flowed from you to me until the contract was sealed."
"But what do you mean by life force? I wanted to ask you before, but..."
"Your 'life force' means your own blood. It was needed to seal the contract between us." He said, looking away from her. He felt a bit uncomfortable, for some odd reason he really couldn't figure out. Was he feeling sorry for her? That couldn't be. He had never shown any signs of such weaknesses before...
"Oh, I see..." Was all that Rosette could say. So that was why she was feeling so cold inside... "But," She added cheerfully, noticing Chrno's awkward behavior. "you look so much better now! I'm so glad."
"I think you should return to your home now. It's getting late." Chrno said, standing up and looking down at her with impassible eyes. "Get up. I will fly you there."
Rosette looked at him, surprised. "You will fly me there?! Really?!" She stood up in a moment, with suddenly renewed energy. She still felt dizzy, but she ignored that and took Chrno's hand eagerly. "It's not too far away from here, but be careful, I'm very heavy! Are you sure you can carry me?" She sounded extremely hopeful, yet worried at the same time.
Chrno just snorted. "Of course I can. What do you take me for?" He said, scooping her up easily and taking her in his arms as if she was as light as a feather. "Where is that place of yours?"
"Down the river. It's a big white building and... AAAAAAAHHH!!" She screamed, a bit out of breath, as she was suddenly swept into the air in his arms. They soared over the top of the tallest trees in an instant, before she could even finish what she was about to say. Rosette, however, soon forgot everything that had happened until now, including her own weakened state and the horrible pain she experienced felt only a few hours ago. This was incredible... even better than what she imagined it would feel. She had often wished she could fly like an eagle when she was younger, but this was real and not just an impossible dream... "Whoa... this is amazing, Chrno!" She said when she finally recovered her breath.
Chrno smiled, almost despite himself. Oh, how he had missed this... the feeling of the rush of wind beneath his wings, the feeling of being filled with energy, the feeling of being free… he closed his eyes for a brief moment, allowing himself a few seconds of enjoyment before opening his eyes again and concentrating hard on the matter at hand. He couldn't be wasting energy, not until he could access the power of the Astral Line again. He had to keep his contractor alive, at least until he could find an alternate source of energy.
He descended swiftly, landing a few yards away of the fence that surrounded the orphanage's grounds with ease, and put Rosette down, much to her disappointment. She wanted to keep flying… she didn't say anything of this, though, and just looked up at Chrno, smiling happily. "Thank you!" She said simply.
Chrno turned around without saying anything, and was about to go away, when Rosette took his hand and pulled it softly. "Wait a minute!" She said. "You must be hungry... let me bring you something to eat."
"Don't bother. I don't need your food, and I don't want anybody else to see me either." He said, a bit harshly, though he immediately softened his tone a bit. "You should go now... you can go see me tomorrow, if you want." With that, he opened his wings and disappeared into the night in an instant, leaving Rosette standing alone for a few moments, still a bit unable to believe everything that had happened to her in the last two days. She turned around and ran inside the orphanage, suddenly remembering that it was past dinnertime and that she had been out of the house for hours.
Mrs. Jean was indeed worried sick about her, even more than the day before, and she gave Rosette a very long speech about her disobedience and everything that could happen to children that ignored adult's warnings without thinking of the consequences. Rosette tried hard to listen to everything she said, feeling very remorseful for upsetting her normally kind guardian, but her mind was still far away, at the place where Chrno was... Her eyelids soon started to close, but she forced herself to stay awake. She really felt sick, but she didn't want her guardian to notice that. If she did, she wouldn't allow her to leave her room in at least 3 days, and she would be unable to see Chrno, so she put on a brave face until Mrs. Jean finally dismissed her. She went to her room then, feeling exhausted, though still unable to sleep due to the many things on her mind. She lay awake on her bed for almost an hour, thinking of the sudden turn on events in her life during the past days. Joshua... what could he be doing at the moment? Had he arrived at New York yet? He would have loved to fly with her over the top of the trees... he would be scared of the height, but he would surely enjoy the ride... Rosette fell asleep with a few tears staining her pillow. Joshua...
The next day, Rosette got up before dawn, got dressed and sneaked outside through the kitchen's door, running towards Chrno's resting place before anyone in the orphanage got up, despite her weakened state. It was Sunday, which meant that everybody would probably get up later than usual, so Mrs. Jean wouldn't notice her absence until breakfast, or perhaps until Sunday Mass.
She nearly ran all the way to where the underground tunnel was and finally fell on her knees, exhausted and out of breath, in front of the clearing where the entrance was. She rested there for a few minutes before getting up and walking slowly to where Chrno was.
Chrno was asleep below a big tree, but he sensed Rosette's presence nearby and opened his eyes before she could even see him. "You came early today." He said simply. Rosette turned around and her face brightened upon seeing him. "Ah, there you are! Good morning!" She said cheerfully, walking towards Chrno and pulling out a small bag from her pocket. "I brought you more cookies... they're not too many, but I'll get you more later, I promise!" She sat down next to him and offered him the bag, looking up to stare at his beautiful golden eyes.
"I've already told you I don't really need your food." Said Chrno, yet at Rosette's insistence, he opened the bag and took one cookie, eating it while Rosette continued to stare at him, studying all the details of his face that she couldn't see clearly the day before due to the darkness of the falling night. He looked so handsome, even if his face was a bit different than what it was before, he still looked a prince. Her prince...
"It's there something on my face?" Asked Chrno, a bit irritated.
Rosette blinked and blushed, getting up immediately. "Oh no, not at all! Sorry... it's just that I had never seen a demon up close before..." She reached one of her small hands to scratch behind one of his furry ears, like she would do with a puppy, but he flinched and backed away from her, looking at her with narrow eyes. "Stop that." He growled. "I'm not a toy you can play with. I'm a demon who has a contract with you, not a pet... don't ever think you can treat me like the same as the people you live with!" His voice was harsh, yet what he said was true... there were a few things she needed to understand if she wanted to deal with him. It was better that way... for the both of them.
Rosette's lowered her gaze, embarrassed and a little remorseful. "I... I'm sorry... you're right. I won't do that again." She felt really bad at herself. She really didn't mean to offend him in any way...
Chrno sighed. Oh well... if she understood what he meant, then... "It's fine." He said, his voice softening a little, almost unconsciously. "Just don't do it again."
"Alright! No harm done then...but I have to go now, before Mrs. Jean notices that I'm away. She was very annoyed yesterday, and if I don't hurry back home, I won't be able to see you in a while..." She trailed off.
Chrno shrugged. "You don't have to come here every day." He said. Rosette nodded, a bit disappointed. "Y... yeah... but..."
"However, you can come see me in the afternoons, if you want." He interrupted. "I'll give you a ride back before anybody notices that you're gone." He almost regretted his words as soon as he finished saying them. Rosette nearly jumped on him, smiling brightly. She couldn't believe her luck.
"You... you will? Really?! Yay! Thanks Chrno!" She said enthusiastically. "I'll come to see you everyday then, and will bring you delicious food, I promise!" She said, rising up before he could even open his mouth to protest. "I'll come back here later then. See ya!!" She waved once and then ran back the orphanage, all her sickness forgotten for the moment in the prospect of seeing his new friend everyday and be carried away in his arms flying, like a princess in a fairy-tale story. Her happiness decreased a little, however, upon remembering her brother. Joshua would have loved to see it... she sighed. She would write a letter to him. She had so many things to say...
The following days passed very quickly. Rosette would sneak off to the forest an hour after lunchtime, and would come back a few hours later, before dinnertime. Sarah, Nelly, Kevin and Billy, her closest friends, soon noticed her strange behavior and started to ask her about her mysterious disappearances, but she managed to avoid their questions without giving Chrno away. Her health, however, was not as good as it used to be... she would sometimes feel exhausted and sleepy for no reason, but Chrno had assured her that her condition was only temporary, and that she would feel stronger once her body recovered from the blood loss. Indeed, Rosette felt a little better day after day, though she still didn't know how long her life was going to be... she tried not to think about that, though. She soon started getting letters from Joshua, and that helped her to improve her mood. Joshua was okay, he missed her greatly, but he was fine. At least she didn't need to worry about him...
One summer day she received a letter from Joshua, and she ran towards Chrno as soon as she could, arriving at their usual meeting place much earlier than usual. "Chrno! Chrno! Look!" She shouted as soon as she saw him. "I got another letter from Joshua!"
Chrno raised up his gaze from the book that he was reading, a history textbook that Rosette had given him at his request so he could learn everything that happened in the world during his long slumber. The book was highly biased against demons, understandably, but that only amused him. "What does it say?" He muttered calmly at the breathless, yet happy girl.
"Oh... well... not much really... he only talks about all the things he's learning at the Magdalan Order's convent." Chrno listened attentively. The boy was a valuable source of information. "I see. So what else does he say?" He asked, hiding his real motives for his interest in Joshua's letter under a somewhat friendly tone.
Rosette read the letter out loud to him, while he only nodded. So the Magdalan Order was training this boy to become a member of the Militia by helping him use his powers against some low-class Legions, demons with no name or rank that he considered as nothing but trash... this was interesting. It would help him know the way his enemies worked...
Once she finished the letter, Rosette gave him a small package with the leftovers from the day's lunch. She had asked for a double ration of everything, so she could give it to Chrno. Food was more of a luxury than a real necessity for demons, but Chrno always ate everything Rosette gave him, a bit reluctantly at first, but then later with almost a good mood, once he discovered that human food was not as bad as he thought it was. Rosette was always glad of seeing him eating the food she provided for him, which was the least she could do for her at the moment...
Chrno leaned against a tree after he finished the food, looking at the afternoon sky. He had been feeling a bit uneasy lately, though he didn't exactly know why. Yet he had a vague feeling that his demonic instincts were trying to warn him about something... "I think you should go back." He told Rosette, who was resting on the grass next to him. Rosette opened her eyes and looked at him. "Why? It's still very early... I'm sure nobody has noticed that I'm gone yet."
"It's for your own good." He replied. "I feel that something's not right. And my instinct is seldom wrong. Come on, I will take you back." He said, standing up and offering his hand to her. Rosette stood up eagerly. Despite wanting to stay with him a little longer, she always looked forward to the ride back home, though once she was back at the orphanage, she longed to see Chrno again. He was completely different from all the adults she knew, and always listened to everything she said... she could confide in him all the things that happened to her during the day, something she couldn't do with Mrs. Jean or her friends at the orphanage, no matter how much they cared for her. Chrno was special, he never judged her or tried to give her any unsolicited advice, and he sometimes said the most beautiful things in those rare moments when he spoke of the things he knew...
The ride back home was as swift as ever, and they landed several yards away from the orphanage, at a small clearing behind the back door of the main building. Rosette jumped to the ground and waved back to Chrno before running inside the house. She had seen Minister Remington's car parked nearby... what had he come back for?
Chrno simply only turned and went back to where his "grave" was. The forest was unusually silent. There was something odd happening, but what could it be? He laid down to rest again against his favorite tree, but he kept his senses sharp, ready to act in case something happened. The hours went by in silence, until sure enough, he heard a rustle nearby. Someone was spying on him, he could tell that...
In a flicker of shadows, Chrno stood and prepared to attack his opponent, fangs and claws ready, until a faint familiar voice reached his ears. "Chrno? Are you awake?"
He relaxed a bit, seeing Rosette coming out from behind the trees to run at him. Her face, however, had a completely different expression than the happy one she usually wore. It was very troubled, with tears running down her cheeks and an almost desolate expression in her big eyes. "What is it? What happened?" He asked, looking around to see if there was something threatening her. Rosette jumped towards him and embraced him, crying desperately, reminding him of the day they made the contract, almost2 months ago...
"Joshua... Joshua is gone!" She sobbed, her words almost unintelligible. "Minister Remington came today to... to see me... he... he said that he... disappeared... almost a week ago... nobody knows why... they... they think he might be dead!!" Chrno's body tensed. An Apostle... disappearing. That really didn't make sense...
"Calm down." He ordered, pushing her away from him carefully and lifting her face up to stare at him. "Tell me what happened." Rosette took a big breath and slowly told him everything Minister Remington had told her. Joshua had disappeared during a training mission inside a supposedly abandoned house. Nobody had seen him leave the house, not even the Militia that had been on guard outside when he and Remington went in. It was a mystery... everybody had blamed it on a group of demons that had been roaming the outskirts of New York, but it was still strange. Normal demons knew better than to face an Apostle... didn't they? Rosette asked out loud.
Chrno remained silent, thinking about what she had said. That was indeed very strange... but not impossible. Not if a certain demon was behind all this… Chrno took Rosette back to her home once she calmed down a bit. He didn't really answer her question... he had many things to think about, so she just let her cry and only offered her a ride home.
Once he came back to where his resting place was, he stood over the marble block that marked the entrance to the underground tunnel and spoke in a very loud, yet calm, voice.
"I know you're there. You can come out now, Aion." He said smiling, fangs gleaming a bit under the pale moonlight...
To be continued…
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Many thanks for all your kind reviews!! They really keep me motivated. Please keep them coming!! The following chapter is in the works, but it's a bit difficult to write... so please tell me what you think of the story so far!
Love you all! (hugs)
