Pairing: Past Odd and Sam, hints at Ulrich and Yumi, Jeremie and Aelita
Note: If there's a subscript next to it, it's at the bottom. Bold means scene change.
Rating: PG-G
Warnings: Nothing, brief talk of death.
Author's Note: This is the last chapter. The epilogue. It was a long road that finally drew to a close. I want to thank everyone who read and stuck with this fic. Your reviews inspired me to continue. A special thanks goes out to my best co-author, RenaYumi. She really kicked me into updating again, without her, half this stuff would still be in my head and not available for you to read. So with that said, this chapter is dedicated to her. Ems, I hope you enjoy it.
He sighed, it had been a year since he had last seen her. He had called the police on her parents, telling them about the bathroom. They already had them in custody and her parents never said where her body was. They were still awaiting sentencing.
It was like some twisted nightmare, like what happened with Elizabeth. He couldn't protect her then and he couldn't protect Sam now. He sighed, resting his head against the brick building. It was grey out, it was always grey, almost always raining.
"Odd?"
He looked up, giving a small smile when he saw Ulrich walk over to him. "Yeah?" he asked, pushing off the wall.
"We're leaving for the Tower, come on." He turned to go and paused, looking back at the blonde. "You okay?"
"Yeah Ulrich, I'm alright. It's just...the if's are still there. I guess I have the uncanny ability of attracting self-destructive abused girl friends wherever I go, huh?" he asked, kicking a stone out of his path as they joined the rest of the class.
Principal Delmas had decided it would be best if he expanded his student's knowledge by allowing field trips to different places to help them understand better. This time it was London, England. They'd already seen West-Minster Abbey, Big Ben, and Parliament since they're arrival three days ago. Now they were on their way to the Tower of London, then Buckingham Palace. At least it had stopped raining.
"Don't say that Odd. You don't even know if she is dead," he pointed out.
"Come on Ulrich, where else would she be? I think she would've called. And the police put out a missing person's report for her, no leads. She's dead Ulrich. Those jerks killed her and buried her and we'll never find her," he muttered as the took their seats in the bus. Yumi, Aelita, Jeremie, and Emily who had started hanging out with them recently, sat down around them.
"It'll be alright Odd. Trust me?" Ulrich asked. Odd just shook his head, resting his forehead against the glass window and watching as droplets of rain began to slowly drizzle down. Perfect.
Odd groaned as the tour guide continued to drone on. It was a beautiful 43 degrees out and he was freezing. He shoved his hands deeper into his jacket pockets and exchanged a look with Ulrich. Boring.
"Oh my lawd! da Taaahr 'as 'oused lions, bears, an' even today flightless ravens. Needless ter say, i' was also Gates ov Rome ter notorious traitors ov da crown, framed members ov da caaahrt, lords an' ministers, clergymen an' knights. Lumme!(1)" the tour guide, a charismatic youth of twenty named Edward Doyle, explained.
Ulrich looked at Odd. "Do you understand a word he said?" he whispered.
"Nope. I think that's the point," Odd whispered back. "Hey, I wanna go for a walk. I'll catch up with you later?"
Ulrich looked uncertain and then shrugged. "Alright. I'll text you when we're heading inside, alright?" he asked. Odd nodded and slipped away when Jim was looking the other way.
He wandered the grounds for a bit, walking on the wet grass that was slowly sloping downward. He finally stopped at a crumbling wall, sitting on the lowest part and sighed, breaking off pieces of it and hurling it at the tower wall.
"Stupid. So stupid. I should've notified the police before. When she first told me.." he muttered. He hit his head lightly against the wall and then looked up at the sky again. It was heavy and grey, more rain on the way. In another week it'd be the anniversary of her death. He had made a make shift grave by the river where they used to swim. A stone with her name and the years she was alive etched into it. He would have to put fresh flowers there.
He glanced over, looking out the gate at the street beyond. Cars honked at heedless pedestrians that ran out into the middle of the street. He saw a cab pull up and a guy got out, holding the door open and offering his hand to the passenger inside. A girl with long blonde hair exited and stood next to him, talking to the inside of the cab. Another girl took his hand and he froze, staring at her. She had short, wind-blown hair that was about chin-length and was dressed in a long skirt and blouse. She laughed with the girl and shoved the guy lightly. She looked so much like Sam...
He got up, getting ready to approach them when his cell began to vibrate. He pulled it out and sighed, looking at the message. On our way to entrance. Hurry up. Ulrich always had perfect timing. He'd blame the guide with the hard to understand accent.
After they finished eating, Yumi, Aelita, and Emily all went upstairs to the room they were sharing to have a "girl's night" as they called it. Odd smirked when he saw Ulrich and Jeremie. They had no clue what to do with themselves.
"Why don't you two go to the arcade or something?" he finally asked.
Jeremie looked at him in surprise. "Will you be alright?"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes Jeremie. I'll be fine. I'm going to go wander around outside if you don't mind." He pulled on his jacket, storming out of the hotel room before Jeremie or Ulrich could react.
"Didn't mean to upset him," Jeremie muttered. Ulrich shrugged, gathering some loose change for the arcade.
Odd sighed as he walked outside into the back courtyard. He heard laughter coming from inside, through the open French doors on the other side of the terrace. He shook his head, he knew he was only feeling depressed because of the approaching date, because of the girl he'd seen earlier.
Sam had always liked the English culture, she'd let it slip once when they'd watched Pride and Prejudice. Which he swore not to watch ever again, it was to girly. He had wanted to bring her here one day, he never got the chance.
"I'll be right in, I just need a bit of air to clear my head!"
He looked up as the girl he had seen in front of the Tower wandered through the doors and entered the courtyard. She was oblivious to his presence, staring up at the night sky and swaying a little. He took a breath and walked over to her.
"Excuse me?" he asked.
She turned around, looking surprised. "Hello?" she asked. He noticed her accent, definitely English, and smiled a little.
"I'm sorry, you just, remind me of a girl I used to know. Do you mind...what's your name?" he asked, watching her. She just looked so familiar, so much like her.
"Isabella Darrow. I go by Bella," she replied. She looked uncertainly to the open doors, then smiled at him. "And yours?"
"Odd. Odd...Della Robbia," he muttered.
"Pleasure to meet you Odd," she murmured. "Enjoying London?"
"Er..yeah. It's cool if not wet."
She laughed again, so familiar yet different at the same time. "I seem to remember France being wet as well."
"Yeah well...wait. How do you know I live in France?" he demanded, eyeing her. Maybe...He refused to let the thought form in his head.
"Your accent," she replied after a moment of hesitation. A shadow fell across the stone terrace and Odd turned to see the guy from earlier standing in the doorway.
He looked at Odd, then at Isabella. "Bella?" he asked.
"It's alright James," she said, smiling. Even the smile was familiar. "I was just talking," she added. She looked at Odd. "I hope you enjoy London," she added. She turned and entered the hotel and James looked at Odd once more over his shoulder as they walked away. "Where's Elise?" she added loudly as they disappeared through an archway.
She sighed, tossing her jacket onto the couch in the suite Jimmy had rented for them. Elaine looked up from the chair where she was painting her nails. "Something wrong?" she asked when she saw Jimmy's expression.
"No...just ran into someone I hadn't expected," Sam replied, sitting on the couch and nodding when Jimmy offered her a coke. "I don't think he recognized me," she added, running her hand through her hair. She still wasn't used to it being so short, or without any streaks of red. But it was part of their disguises, all of them.
Jimmy sat next to her, handing her the soda and smiled grimly. "It'll be alright, I doubt he did, your accent was flawless Bella," he stressed.
"Yes James, I know, I've worked on it," she sighed.
"So what now?" Elaine asked, capping the bottle of polish and wiggling her now lime green toe nailed toes to help them dry. "Are we leaving?"
"It'd seem a bit suspicious leaving tonight...we'll wait until tomorrow," Jimmy finally decided. Sam nodded, throwing her head back and taking a deep gulp. He rubbed her back and looked over at Elaine. "We don't want anyone to raise any questions." She nodded and then reached for the remote, flipping on the television set, finding some obscure movie to watch.
Sam stood, yawning as she stretched. "I'm gonna shower and turn in. I'll see you both in the morning." She wandered into the bedroom she shared with Elaine and then into the bathroom, showering quickly and dressing warmly. She reentered the room and looked over at the desk. The hotel stationary beckoned to her and she walked over, pulling out the chair and sitting stiffly, picking up a pen and beginning to write. She sealed it in an envelope, addressing it to a Mr. Odd Della Robbia before packing her suitcase and laying out her clothes for tomorrow, tucking the letter in it.
She slept restfully that night, aware of every turn Elaine made, every sound in the room. The next morning she dressed quickly and made warm oatmeal and toast for breakfast. Jimmy and Elaine met her at the table, mildly surprised, but smiling. They ate silently and then Jimmy announced that it was time to leave.
She and Elaine waited in the lobby as Jimmy checked them out. "I'll be right back Elise, I want to see what's keeping James," she said, smiling. Elaine looked uncertain but nodded and Sam walked over to the check-out counter, smiling at the receptionist. "Can you give this to one of your guests? He's with the school group - blonde hair and purple clothes," she whispered. The woman nodded and she walked over to Jimmy, smiling at him. "How went the check-out?"
"Fine, we're already." He grabbed her bag, slinging it over his shoulder and took her elbow, guiding her and Elaine outside. She glanced back once and saw him entering the lobby, she looked away quickly. That was the past, she was her new beginning. Un Nouveau Commencement... "You alright?" he asked as they hailed a cab.
"I'm perfect. Thanks again."
"I promised I'd protect you," he murmured and she nodded, smiling at first Jimmy, then Elaine, before entering the cab.
"Sir?" Odd paused, looking over at the receptionist. "Sir, I think this is for you," she said. He walked over and she handed him the envelope. He stared at it for a moment before opening it and reading it quickly.
Odd-
I haven't much time before someone enters. I want to say thank you, for everything. You were my knight in shining armor. I hope that with time, you can learn to forgive me for all that I have put you through. Perhaps Ulrich was right with not trusting me. Don't look for me anymore, I'm safe, I'm happy, and I'm being cared for. I don't know where I'll end up, I'll try and write to you again, in time. You were the first to care and I will never forget that.
Samantha Isabella Larson
"Odd?" Ulrich asked, approaching. He shook his head, letting Ulrich read the note before folding it up and putting it back in it's envelope. "She's...alive?"
"I saw her Ulrich. I talked to her. I never would've known she was her, I suspected, but I didn't know..." He sighed, and looked around as they approached the front of the hotel where the tour bus had pulled up.
"It's okay, at least you know she's safe, right?" Ulrich asked. He nodded mutely and looked down at the envelope again before ripping it in two, then in half again, tossing it into a trash can. "Odd?" Ulrich asked again.
"It's the past Ulrich. It's time I moved on," he said, sighing. Ulrich smiled and wrapped an arm around Odd's shoulders. "It was time a long time ago..." he whispered.
(1)"The Tower has housed lions, bears, and even today flightless ravens. Needless to say, it was also home to notorious traitors of the crown, framed members of the court, lords and ministers, clergymen and knights..."
Author's Note: And that's it. The end. Fin. Done. Through. That's all folks. A bittersweet end, but how did you like it? I made it longer just for you people!