CANNOT BE SEEN

XxX

A/N: Ok, some things you need to know going into this chapter: ok, first of all, I want to thank all of you for responding to my question about whether Edward Walker was married. I have only seen the movie twice, and it was quite confusing to me lol. But, you all answered that he was married, and now I look back and see my mistake. So thank you all for that! It did really throw me off though. In the first chapter, Ivy seemed kind of happy about the 'Alice and Edward' thing...so I had to try and justify that in this chapter, because I thought him to not have a wife in the first chapter. But, I tried. And um just to mention it: I believe that when Ivy came back from the woods and was kneeling next to Lucius's bed. I think she was so focused on Lucius that she didn't hear anything of what the elders were saying (about Noah) and I just wanted to clarify that for something that happened in the chapter. Ok, last thing THIS is a flashback and THIS is a flashback within a flashback. lol, I know it's kind of confusing, but hopefully you'll understand when you read it. Ok, enough of this talk! On with the show!

XxX

Chapter 2

"The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery." Anais Nin

XxX

The morning was achingly silent. The fog hung so thick in the air that the world seemed to disappear into it, making it difficult, if at all possible, to see more than a few yards in front of you. Ivy Walker, the only person outside on this exceptionally cold morn, would not have noticed the fog even if she could see it. She was walking very quickly, her cane, she swung in front of her, counting methodically under her breath. The long skirt of her dress brushed the dew off of the grass and soaked the bottom few inches of the heavy material. Ivy clutched her cane tightly as a wave of anger washed over her for the umpteenth time of that short day.

It was several days after Lucius had awoken, and the only reason that forced her to walk through these frigid conditions this morning, was that her mother had insisted, insisted, that she not impose on the Hunt's for one more night. Alice Hunt had offered, most graciously, that having Ivy there was no trouble at all, it was even quite enjoyable, she had said. That, it seemed, had made her mother all the more angry, and when she insisted again that Ivy stay at home, no one argued.

Ivy felt a deep need to stay by Lucius while he recovered further, the more time passed. Lucius had tried to comfort her, but it was no use. She needed to be with Lucius, to help him, and her mother was trying to drag her away from him. 'When you two are wed, you may be with him as often as you like', that was Mrs. Walker's reasoning. But, how, Ivy wondered spitefully, were they to get married when Lucius had trouble walking, sometimes even standing for a spell? Ivy started to whip her cane angrily through the high grass. She felt a childish annoyance built up inside of her at her mother's interference. She had never been as close to her mother as she had her father, never. Her mother had always favored Kitty, and in some deep, hidden way she felt like her mother thought her to be 'not good enough' because of her blindness. Damaged, in some uncontrollable way. When she mentioned this thought to her father, some time ago, he had dismissed it with terribly ferocity. He insisted that her mother loved her all the same, but she was never quite as certain.

Ivy sighed deeply, the anger and sadness and chill were all getting to her. The hand that clutched her cane was now numbed cold, her other hand was shoved deep into the warm pocket of her father's coat. He had draped it over her shoulders when she insisted she was going to visit Lucius this morning. She asked if he would come with her, but he refused. She knew why. She remembered the warm tensions she felt between the two...the feelings she felt they had for each other, her father and Alice Hunt. And she knew that her father wanted nothing but to distance himself from Alice. He was married, and that's all there was to it. Ivy, however, was terribly mixed about the whole matter. She, no matter what was to come, still loved her mother, of course, in a way that a daughter unconditionally loves her mother, even while feeling the strains of arguments and discontents. However, she could feel the strain, the bad tension, between her father and mother now. To the outside world, they might look like two loving, caring, married people, but when they thought they were alone, they were different.

Nothing of awful discourse, by any means, but something rather felt, than seen. A small difference that could matter nothing, or could matter all the world. One night, not too long ago, Ivy was supposed to be sleeping, but due to her state of undrowsiness, she lie awake, staring unseeingly at the ceiling, her ears straining to the sounds of crickets and nightly breeze. Her ears picked up something not as pleasant though, as she listened further. The muffled sound of two quietly arguing voices. That of her mother and father. The moment she heard it, she felt a weight settle in her stomach. Her parents never argued. And as time went on, from that first glimpse into the part of their relationship that they had kept so private, the weight began to slowly melt away. It became natural, for her parents not to be as loving or as caring to each other as she had thought they were, or how she thought they should be. She was not certain if they had always been like this, and she was just noticing it now because of her suspicions, or if this really was a changing point. If this really was the start of them growing apart.

Just the thought of that made the weight settle back into Ivy's stomach. If really, they were 'falling out of love' so to speak, and they both wanted something else, something more. If they both decided mutually, that their marriage was over, Ivy would be glad that they had figured it out, and were trying to make each other and themselves happier. But, the routine, the way of life, which was molded to her by her parents' marriage, was a good thing too...and if not entirely good every waking moment, it was, as she said, routine. It was just the way it was, and letting go of that would be hard, no doubt. But, Ivy was certain that the day would never come. They would never separate, her father and mother, she could see the obligation they felt to each other, and she thought that was wonderful as well. Maybe she was making her parents' marriage to be worse than it was anyway, they still loved each other, you could tell just by being near them. And if not for the 'love' between Alice and her father, which Lucius had pointed out, she doubted she would even be questioning her parents relationship.

Of course, on the other side, Ivy loved Alice Hunt. She felt a connection with her, and obviously, so did her father. If her father really loved Lucius's mother, Ivy decided that that would not be so bad. If he really loved her, he should be with her. But, again, back to the obligation of his marriage. This was so terribly confusing that it split Ivy's head just to ponder it, and she decided right then, to just let it be, and what happened happened, and everything would turn out for the best. Besides, her cane had just made a resounding 'thunk' when it came into contact with the wooden steps of the Hunts' house.

She pushed the door open and then hesitated. It was not proper to just enter a house without being invited. So she took a step back and closed the door again, pulling her fist up to knock, and then hesitated once again. Was it too early in the morning to be forcing her entrance into their house? She stood for a moment, in the brisk cold, doubting her impulse to go check on Lucius... perhaps her mother was right. But, as she stood there, the door creaked open.

"Oh, Ivy!" Alice's voice reached Ivy's ears before she could even respond, "I thought it was the door opening that I heard."

"I apologize, did I wake you?" Ivy whispered back.

"No, I was not sleeping," She answered with a reassuring smile, "Lucius awoke me early this morning. He was feeling some pain."

The mention of Lucius in pain pushed every other thought out of Ivy's head. "Pain? Is he not feeling well?" Her voice rose ever so slightly in panic, he had been recovering so well, had something happened?

"No, No" Alice ensured quickly, "No, he is well now. He was simply feeling pain from his healing wounds. The doctor insists that it is necessary for recovery, quite natural. I administered the medicines and he is no longer feeling any pain."

Ivy let out a breath in relief and nodded. "May I see him?"

Mrs. Hunt smiled, "Of course," and took Ivy's arm, helping her into the house. Ivy walked confidently, with Alice's assistance, through the house and through Lucius's open bedroom door, into his room.

She could see his color, now nearly blinding compared to the dull color he gave off before his recovery had started, glowing from the middle of the room, where he lay.

"Lucius, you have a visitor." His mother called out, guiding Ivy into the room.

"Ivy," Lucius stated in happy surprise. "I was not expecting you until later," he went on, pulling the blanket higher over his half exposed chest in modesty, although it was quite plain that it didn't matter to Ivy's blind eyes.

She smiled. It was so easy to see how much more he spoke now in her company, compared to the few words they were so accustomed to exchanging before, and how the words came more easily. It made her heart beat quicken.

"I came as soon as I awoke." She replied with affection as she knelt down next to his bed.

Alice smiled and made to leave, "I must go ready myself for this afternoon. Recall, Lucius, that the doctor agreed that you may go, only if you feel you are ready."

He said nothing and she turned and left, but the words she spoke left a heavy silence in the room. Ivy had pushed it to the back of her mind, had tried so hard to forget it. So hard, that it almost worked, but now, it all came screaming back. The silence grew even thicker and Lucius's color flickered.

"Are you...well enough to go this afternoon?" Ivy whispered finally, when she could take no more of the deafening silence.

"...Yes, I... think I would like to be outside for a while." He answered after quite a long hesitation.

She nodded.

Silence.

"...Are you going to be all right?" Lucius asked quietly.

She did not respond right away. The silence hung in heavy curtains around them. It enveloped them together. The silence extended throughout the village and settled like a thick dust, covering everything. To disturb it was improper, it was to be tolerated and carried. This silence was one of sadness and mourning. It was suspended over the village where it would stay until the day turned to night, and the night into day again. Today was a day of grieving, for today was Noah's funeral.

"Ivy?" Lucius's voice broke through her thoughts and she turned her head sharply to his color.

He was not informed of what had happened to Noah. What had really happened. He was under the impression that Noah had been killed by a creature in the woods. He still thought the creatures were real. She had thought the same not so long ago. Oh, how her thinking had changed in such a short time. She had been perfectly happy not knowing that the creatures were farce. But, still, she was angry that she had not been told sooner.

What had happened to Noah. That was something else entirely. Ivy still felt like a stake had been driven into her heart. It hurt to even think of Noah, and she wondered, would she be able to get through the funeral? She knew she had to go...she had such mixed feelings about Noah that she could not even sort them out properly, and even now, the day she had found out what had really happened to Noah still burned freshly in her mind.

XxX

"Ivy, please, the doctor needs to administer the medicine," Edward Walker tried to consol his daughter into leaving the room. It had been minutes since she arrived back from the woods, and now the doctor was asking everyone to leave so that he could tend to Lucius. Ivy would not move.

"Is Lucius going to be all right?" She asked the doctor, ignoring her father.

"He's going to be fine, Come, Ivy, we need to leave." Mr. Walker spoke again, taking Ivy and trying to guide her away. The doctor went on, pulling bandages and materials from his bag.

Ivy squeezed Lucius's limp hand before her father pulled her away and out of the house. There were people standing all about, talking amongst themselves and they turned as they saw Ivy and the elders coming out of the Hunts' house.

Ivy stood in her dirty clothes, weary from travel, her heart breaking at the thought of Lucius still not recovering, the stress of everything that had happened in such a short time, the people that stood in front of her now, wondering. She couldn't process it all. She took a deep breath and burst into tears.

"Ivy," Her father turned to her and reached out to comfort her, but she didn't want comfort, she wanted to get away. She turned from her father's bright color and started running, blindly.

She didn't care where she went, only vaguely aware of where she was going. She kept going, running as fast as she could.

After running out much of her stress and anger, and stumbling quite a few times across the village, she slowed to walk, and, breathing hard, she held her hands out, now suddenly more conscious of her helplessness. She had no idea where she was. But, she hadn't taken more than a couple yards' worth of steps when her hand ran into something hard. She felt around the hard surface carefully, trying to make out what it was. The smooth painted wood gave away it's identity as a building. She felt around carefully, moving around the side and nearly tripped over the front steps. She reached up and stroked the door, taking hold of the distinct handle. This was the door to the quiet room.

Ivy stood without moving. The quiet room. The last place she had seen Noah. His screams after she had slapped him echoed in her ears and she gasped.

She doubted he was still in the quiet room but she turned the handle anyway.

"Noah?" She asked the emptiness, opening the door all the way and listening carefully. She heard nothing. Not even breathing. Of course he wasn't still in here, he was at home. She nodded, that was it, he was at home. Ivy was still mad at Noah, understandably, for hurting Lucius, but right now, she wanted to talk to him more than she wanted to be mad at it him. She turned and counted her steps as she moved quickly towards the Percys' house.

Before she was even halfway there, a hand enclosed around her upper arm and she started, seeing her father's color before her.

"Ivy, I know you are upset..."

She lost count of her steps and stopped to look at her father.

"Papa, where is Noah?" She didn't know why, but it seemed like the most important thing in the world at the moment.

Her question was met with silence.

"Papa?"

Ivy couldn't know it, but her father was struggling to find an answer.

"Ivy," His voice was heavy with melancholy. "... Noah...found one of the creature suits we kept under the floorboards of the quiet room..." Mr. Walker spoke reluctantly, but he knew he had to tell her, she had to know.

Ivy processed, dully, what her father was saying.

...a creature suit.

XxX

She felt the jagged parts protruding from the fallen log, fear pounding through her veins like blood. The crunching footsteps of the creature, running at her, sounded in time with the beating of her frantic heart.

She stood stock still as the creature grew ever closer, waiting for the right moment to move.

...not too soon... The footsteps were right behind her.

Now.

After a slight hesitation, she moved swiftly to the side as the creature ran past her and fell into the deep hole.

She could hear it hit the muddy bottom and, gasping for breath, she whirled around, a large sharp stick in her grasp, ready to us, if necessary. But, the creature didn't move, it didn't make a sound. It lie still as she paused there. Maybe too hurt to move, maybe dead. She didn't know, she didn't care. Her mind was focused solely on Lucius. Ivy backed away. and fled.

XxX

The human breathing.

The familiar feel of the presence of the creature.

Noah was too innocent to be taken by a creature.

Innocent.

"Papa..." Ivy's voice was small and broken. "No..." She whispered and reached out to her father in a state of shock.

"No!" She shouted suddenly, collapsing into tears.

Her father pulled her tightly to him as she sobbed, "I did not mean to, Papa!...I did not know...I did not know..."

XxX

Ivy had not said anything for several moments and Lucius thought it was merely the mourning of Noah. He knew it had hit her hard and he wanted to help her. He hated to see Ivy in pain, and now he could see the pain on her face. He reached out and took her hand in his, not knowing what to say, and squeezed it gently.

Ivy took a deep breath before squeezing his hand back and turning to look at his flaming color. She could hear the unheard questions heavy in the air between them. She knew what Lucius wished to know, and she wanted nothing more than to tell him. But, protecting him...from the pain...the knowledge...was also something that was paramount in her mind. And, which was most important, between wanting to tell him and wanting to protect him, was a difficult question to answer. The silence made all of the questions more pronounced and even harder to ignore. Ivy took a deep breath before speaking.

"Lucius, I know you have questions..."

He sucked in a breath and listened carefully, waiting for her to go on, his mind flashing back to the first day he started to recover and their conversation. She was finally going to tell him what happened in the woods. He held his breath, waiting for her to speak further.

Ivy sighed and went on in a quiet voice, "But, I shall not tell you your color..."

She leaned in close to Lucius, her voice dropping even lower, "Stop. Asking."

XxX

TBC

A/N: Ok, well...what did you think? Was my way with dealing with the "Alice Edward" thing ok? I was really worried about that once I found out about the whole 'he has a wife' thing lol. And again, I feel my dialogue sucks. I know you all say it's fine (thank you! So sweet) but, I don't know... it feels wrong to me...or something. I find myself looking up origin dates of every word I use lol. Oh well, I tried right?

Until next time...