CANNOT BE SEEN

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This chapter is dedicated to Jesse Lynne because it was her birthday yesterday! I tried to post it before midnight so it would be on her birthday but I couldn't! It's about 3 am now…so I'm a little late…anyway! Happy Birthday, Jesse!

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Chapter 14

"The search for truth is more precious than its possession." Albert Einstien

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The night was violently cold. More so than it had been in quite some time. There were overwhelming gusts of wind that seemed to exist only to torment the weakening trees of the woods. The icy bitterness shuddered throughout the village and incited ice to gather on the grass and to frost the windows of all the buildings. The lights of the lanterns had blown out from the intense wind and cold and left the village darker than normal. There wasn't even a moon in the sky. The only light was what filtered through the windows of the houses. This distinct turmoil of the weather was mirrored in the minds of Lucius Hunt and Ivy Walker.

"Are you ready for this?" Lucius asked Ivy with a sigh, finishing the final flourish on his letter to the elders as he sat at the table in the front room of his mother's house.

"I am ready." She answered confidently, rising from her seat. The elders had just started their meeting in the hall and Ivy and Lucius were going to go tonight to show them the evidence they had. This was what they had been waiting for.

"All right, Let us go now then." Lucius said quietly, taking Ivy's hand as he placed his folded letter into his pocket and started to lead her out of the house after making sure they were bundled up sufficiently against the hard, bitter cold.

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The elders were sitting around in a circle and laughing quietly at a previous comment when the appointed girl that dealt with certain trivial elder duties walked in, drawing everyone's attention.

"There is a young man and a young lady here to see you," she announced, bowing very slightly with etiquette.

"Well, bring them in," Edward Walker smiled at the girl.

The elders were genuinely surprised when Lucius and Ivy were led into the room and silence fell for a few long seconds.

Edward spoke again. "Lucius, Ivy…Is there something we can help you with?"

Lucius let out a breath, trying to quell the nauseous feeling in his stomach that came with standing in front of so many people. He unconsciously shifted his weight and looked down at the floor as he fished out the letter he had written from his pocket.

He took another breath as he unfolded it and prepared to speak, but was abruptly interrupted by Ivy. She had pulled the carefully worded letter out of Lucius's hand and folded it back up, taking a step towards the elders. Lucius turned his shocked gaze to Ivy and looked at her incredulously. She obviously did not notice and went on to speak to the group in a firm, brave voice.

"Elders," She used as means of address and then went on after a deep breath. "Lucius and I have become increasingly aware of…odd goings on in the village. Most noticeably, we have become aware of the number of secrets that are being kept…particularly by the elders." She paused a second.

The elders exchanged worried glances and Lucius observed them. He knew that they realized they were caught. But he knew it would take real proof for them to admit to anything. He was also glad, really, that Ivy had taken control of the situation. He was certain she would be able to convey their need for the truth better than he could. He was never very good at talking in front of people anyway. Ok, he wasn't very good at talking in general…but especially in front of a large group. So, Lucius stood back and let Ivy take over. And she did.

She told, in detail, of how her and Lucius had found the books in the Walkers' house and then become suspicious. It was then that Mrs. Walker leaned over to her husband and whispered ferociously into his ear about something undistinguishable. Ivy ignored them and went on about how they had tried to figure out what was meant by the difference in some of the disguised books. Then she told of how Lucius had looked through his mother's black box. With this, Lucius looked to his mother, afraid she would be terribly angry at him for looking through her things, she looked at him for a long time before turning back to Ivy, but there was no anger in her eyes.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Ivy asked him for the evidence. He quickly pulled it from his pocket and pushed it into her hands. She felt carefully what she held in her hand and then picked out the newspaper clipping and the heavy paper of the formal letter. She held them both out to where she knew the elders sat and took a deep breath again to stabilize her voice.

"This news clipping was in the box, along with this letter," She held them up higher so hopefully everyone could see. "They both have dates on them. Dates that are very different from the…date it is here."

The elders for a second time exchanged glances. It was now powerfully evident to them that Lucius and Ivy would not rest without answers. And none of the elders knew what to say. The silence stretched throughout the room and, propelled, Ivy took the picture from her short stack of documents and held it up. "This is a picture of all of the elders, wearing clothes that are very different from our culture here in the village."

It was obvious that Lucius had described each of these documents to Ivy, but still Lucius hung back. He stood now outside of the circle of light that was made by a lantern hung high in the room and he had started to bite the very tips of his fingernails in nervousness as excitement pumped through his veins and churned his stomach.

Ivy opened her mouth to say something else, but her father stopped her. He held up his hand and spoke for the first time in many minutes. "Ivy, we know what is in the boxes, you do not need to explain." His voice sounded almost weary.

"We did not bring them to show you what is in the boxes, Father. We brought them so that you could not deny the secrets you are hiding." Ivy answered boldly, dropping her hands to her sides and standing up a little straighter. Lucius was compelled to step forward then and he did, taking his place beside Ivy.

"We do hide secrets, Ivy, but do you not think that some secrets are for your own good?" Mr. Walker stood now to address them as they had addressed the elders.

"No." Ivy said defiantly. "Do you mean to say that you do not want to tell us your secrets because they are for our own good for you to keep them?"

"Yes." Her father answered, thinking they might understand.

"Do you not think that it is up to us to decide what is good for us and what is not?" She went on, impassioned.

"Yes, Ivy, I do. And I will tell you both what it is that we hide…but I wanted you to understand why we have kept these secrets. We have done it for the good of the whole village."

Ivy and Lucius's hearts had jumped when Mr. Walker said that we would tell them the secrets of the village and they held their breath in anticipation.

Edward sighed and looked at the circle of elders once more before looking back at the two defiant members of the village. Words that he had spoken earlier came back to him in a flash.

"…Do you plan to live forever? It is in them that our future lies, it is in Lucius and Ivy that this way of life will continue…"

"We did create the creatures of the forest. They do not exist. We created them so that the people of the village would fear. Fear venturing into the forest. For if they did…they would know our lies too. If they traveled far enough into the woods they would find that the woods end with a large wall."

Ivy nodded, remembering the great wall that she had to climb over after following the path her father had described to her.

"I told you, Ivy, that all of the elders have lost someone, and we have all felt pain. It was when I lost my father that I came up with a plan." Mr. Walker sighed, preparing to tell them exactly what they had asked to hear. He paused only to look back at the rest of the elders, who watched him in surprise, knowing he was really going to tell Lucius and Ivy the village's secret. They, however, did not object. They had, without speaking, agreed that someone would need to carry on the village and who better than Lucius and Ivy?

"My father was very wealthy. He left all of his money to me. My mother had already died before he was murdered. I had met the rest of the elders through a…group where people who have lost loved ones come together for support. My plan was to, with the members of the support group, start a village where there was no murder, no crime…a perfect environment. So, with my money, I built a 'Wildlife Preserve' for vanity purposes and inside...I built a village."

Lucius and Ivy were paying close attention to Mr. Walker and when he revealed what the village really was, Lucius looked at Ivy and Ivy looked at Lucius's blinding, pulsing color. Their minds were trying to take it all in, to process what Mr. Walker was really saying.

He went on. "I told you that I was a teacher, a professor of history. I spent my life interested in the past, studying how much easier life was back then. And that is where I acquired my idea. To make our village just like a village in the late 1800's. A simple village. Without greed or violence. And we made that."

Ivy interrupted her father. "…You are saying that…that our village…is…that you made this village? And we are caged in like animals?" Her eyes were creased in confusion as she looked at her father's color. Lucius simply stood back, astonished.

Her father sighed. "I made the village, Ivy, but we are not caged in like animals. It is nothing of the sort. We did this for the good of our loved ones. Have you not lived a happy, peaceful life in here?"

Ivy paused before nodding.

"Then what is the difference?"

"You lied to us, Papa. You lied to everyone." She answered indignantly.

"We did not mean to harm anyone with our lies. We were concerned only with the good of our families…and the good of ourselves as well. We have known pain and loss…and we did not want you to know it too. Do you understand now that we did what we had to? What we felt was right?" Her father stepped forward, gesticulating. His speech was passionate and his voice reverberated off of the walls of the large room, shaking within Ivy.

"I do believe that you did what you felt was right…I trust you. And if this is what you had to do…then I trust your judgment." Ivy answered in earnest after a moment's deliberation. The rest of the people in the room had seemed to fade into the back as Ivy and her father's conversation continued.

"The year is 2004, Ivy. Not 1897. And the culture we all know and practice here is not practiced outside of this village any longer. You may think it cruel for us to trick you…and the outside must seem very wondrous to you now…but it is not. It is filled with evil and greed and although it has its good too…they cannot outweigh the bad. This village is as close to perfect as society gets, Ivy. There is no need to feel the pain that exists beyond our borders." Her father took even more steps forward and he now stood right in front of Ivy and Lucius, who looked at him with softened eyes. They understood.

"2004?" Was all that Ivy could say.

Mr. Walker smiled. "2004."

"…This is…so hard to believe, Papa. It is…hard to realize that something that you have believed your whole life is a lie."

He nodded again. "I know. It is hard. But it is harder out there…in the world."

Ivy nodded and Lucius nodded too, a million questions spinning around his head so fast he could not pick out even one to vocalize.

Edward looked back at the silent group of elders and then back to his daughter and future son-in-law. "Ivy, Lucius, there is something that I must ask of you." They waited for him to continue and after a moment he did. "I must ask you not to reveal this to the rest of the village."

His request was met with silence. And then Ivy spoke. "Do you not think they deserve to know too?"

"But Ivy…they do not wish to know. They are happy with the lie. If they are happy and safe…why would you take that from them by giving them the truth they do not want?" Her father answered carefully.

This was thought about as well, but this time, Lucius spoke first. "Mr. Walker. I think you are right to want happiness and safety…I want that too…we all do. And if they are happy, I think it is fine to keep them with the lie…but if someone becomes curious, like we have…and asks directly…I will not lie to them." Lucius spoke softly, but firmly, surprising everyone in the room with his unexpected speech.

Edward looked at the young man in front of him and nodded slowly with a sigh. "That is fine, Lucius. I agree. If someone seeks the truth, we will tell them. But only if they ask. Now there is something else I must ask of you. I want both of you to become a part of the elders…I want you to carry on this way of life. We will not live forever, and we need you to carry on our mission for peace…for the kind of life that we have wished for this entire village."

Ivy turned her head slowly to look at Lucius's color and he turned his gaze to her before looking back at the elders that sat before them.

"You want us to be elders?" Ivy asked.

Mr. Walker nodded. "Yes. The next generation of elders. The ones that will make sure that this lives on. You are the future of this village."

"…all right." She agreed quickly. Lucius nodded his consent as well. He had never thought this conversation would end in the invitation to become an elder. Never.

"Thank you. Both. For understanding why we had to do this." Her father smiled took a deep breath, taking in the sight of the newest elder members.

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Processing what had happened in the meeting hall was hard even several hours later as Lucius lay in bed. The whole quest for information that had started so long ago…was done. That was hard to fathom on its own. But to have been told that everything you have ever known was a lie…that you lived in an enclosed, perfect society…that was downright dream-worthy. And everything that had happened in the past weeks ran through Lucius's mind and he was powerless to stop the onslaught of memories. Especially those most recent of the talk in the elders' hall.

After his and Ivy's invitation to join the elders, Lucius had addressed something that had been on his mind for a long time. He had asked what they were going to do about the medicines that they needed. Mr. Walker had said that, after the wedding and when the weather calmed down, both Lucius and Ivy could travel to the towns…or the outside of their village, more accurately, and obtain medicines to last the village quite a time. This had lightened Lucius's heart considerably. The thought of medicines had weighed on him for such a very. very long time. That and the thought of his wedding, which was to take place in a couple of days, made a bubble of inextinguishable joy swell in his chest. And although the truth they had been looking for was not what he thought it would be…he realized why it was how it had to be.

With Ivy's request, the elders spoke about those they had lost while outside of the village. They spoke of the dangers outside and they had quelled even Lucius's thirsting curiosity about what lay beyond their borders. The stories had stirred many feelings in the room and brought tears to everyone's eyes. Lucius now felt, within himself, the intense desire to protect the village. Even if it meant lying to those he loved the most…it was worth it if it meant that they were safe and that they were happy. What was more important than that? After hearing…after feeling the sorrow the elders knew first-hand, he realized that there was nothing. And what he had despised so greatly- the keeping of secrets- he was about to do the exact same thing. With the knowledge he had been given that night, he knew now that those secrets were worth keeping. He would never deny anyone the truth…but he would not, without being asked to, hand out the pain that came with it either.

Lucius sighed and rolled over, staring out of his dark window, thinking. He now held the truth in the palm of his hand and he closed his fingers around it to form a fist. Those who came to him, seeking the truth, he would open his hand to and offer it to them…but those who walked by, content enough to never ask what he held in his grasp, they would walk on and be content enough not to know the truth.

'What was the truth?' he thought to himself. Why did it feel to him as something had deflated? The truth had seemed so important when he had been looking for it…but now that he had it…it seemed nearly worthless. Lucius didn't feel as triumphant as he thought he would. Maybe the truth was something that people thought was important to have, until it was theirs and they couldn't remember why they needed it in the first place.

Lucius mulled one question over and over again in his head and the more he thought, the more he reached the same conclusion. He wondered if it would be better to tell everyone the truth. If he told everyone the truth…would they not want to leave the village? It was pure curiosity. Even he wanted to see the outside world and he knew of the sorrow that went with it. It seemed cruel to him to lead the villagers on and to keep that fear of the creatures that was necessary for keeping them in the village. He had felt fear when he had feared for Ivy and he knew that was what it felt like for every villager, every time the dreaded bell rung. Was it right to make them feel this undue fear? Or should they be allowed to leave…the people they loved, allowed into the cruel world. Was the fear they endured worth keeping them in the village? And the one question that plagued Lucius: Was what he and the elders were doing now right? And his conclusion hit him like some kind of invisible force. It was either the villagers fearing something that could never hurt them…or going out into the world and fearing what had torn the elders' lives apart. Fearing something that was real, and true, and painful.

There would be fear in the village and outside of the village…but what they would fear outside the village would be something that could hurt them. They would fear murder and violence and they would fear other people. Here they would fear farce creatures. But the difference was that here they would be safe. They would fear for a moment…but then it would go away and they would always, always be safe. In the world they would fear with a reason, and there was always a chance, a good chance even, that what they feared the most would become reality. No matter where they were, there would always be fear, but there would not always be danger.

Lucius wanted the ones he loved to live in a place free of most dangers. Their village. And although he was keeping secrets too now, he finally realized that there are several different truths, that they all lie within the heart, and that the village is governed, not by truths or lies, but by love.

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The End.

Technically. I mean there is another chapter…I have always planned the next chapter…but it doesn't really fit in the immediate plot…so I decided that the story would sorta end here…and then the last chapter would be an 'epilogue' even though I think of epilogues as like years after the main event and this one is like the next day lol it's going to be the wedding and everything and wrap up loose ends and just be happy and fluffy and stuff.