China Sorrows was quite content with her life at this very moment. She sat, her legs curled beneath her, reading a book that she had ordered someone to kill to get, a glass of vintage red wine in her perfectly manicured hand. The fire roared from it's place on the far wall. She took a sip, turned a page, and sank lower into her plush sofa. She was half way down an old, crisp page when her buzzer went off. She frowned, gently setting her glass and book on the coffee table before her. She padded into the hallway, looking at the monitor by the door to see who was here. She gasped slightly, then turned and opened the door. There stood Ezra Bloom, soaked to the skin, her face pale and pained.
"What are you doing here, dear?" China asked, guiding the small girl in. She lead her into the lounge, pulling a chair up to the fire place and ushering Ezra into it.
"What's the matter, Ezra?" China asked, not used to being ignored. Ezra opened her mouth, tried to find the words. None came. She did this a few more times before China raised her hand.
"It's alright. You're welcome here. Dry off, warm up, then we can speak, yes?" China said softly. Ezra nodded. China went into her grand, ornate kitchen and started a kettle. While that boiled, she found towels and blankets and a change of clothes that wouldn't make her sad if Ezra ruined them for whatever reason. She gave them to Ezra, then made piping hot, sugary tea. China was anything but stupid, and she suspected she already knew what this was about. Ezra was still sitting when China returned, dripping. The bundle of clothes, towels and blankets still sat on her lap. China set the mugs down, then gently lifted Ezra. She wrapped her golden hair in a towel, then eased her out of her drenched clothes. China dried her off, becoming increasingly worried as the smaller girl stared with glassy eyes into the fire. This was worst than anyone could have anticipated. Once China had dressed her, sat her back down, wrapped a blanket around her and handed her the tea, her phone went. Ezra didn't flinch, didn't move. She just whispered "Please don't tell them I'm here." so quietly that China strained to hear her. China turned and her face crumpled. No one had ever seen Ezra in such a state and China didn't know what to do. She answered her phone.
"Hello." She said softly. Skulduggery's velvet voice responded with a crack of desperation.
"Ezra knows, China. We can't find her. Have you seen her? Have you heard anything?" He asked. China turned back to the frozen girl in the chair and said, smoothly.
"No. But I'll keep a look out."
"Thanks, China." He replied, and before she could say anything more, he hung up.
"Thank you." Ezra whispered. Her eyes hadn't moved from the fire. China pulled up another chair and sat, crossing her legs. She grabbed her mug of tea and took a sip, enjoying the warmth.
"Do you want to talk about it?" China asked, somewhat awkwardly. Ezra shook her head, once, every so slightly. Then the tears started. Were it anyone else, China reckoned she would cringed. But it was Ezra. One of the very few people that China had liked since she met her, and one she hadn't betrayed. So China laid a hand on her back and said nothing.
Ezra had fallen asleep in her chair, and China took the half empty mug of tea out of her hand. She touched the symbols on her biceps, and they glowed blue, strength, and China picked the girl up and brought her to one of the many rooms in the house. She tucked the small girl in, and something fluttered in China's chest. She took a step back and stared at Ezra, the bundles of blankets hiding her small frame, her eyes closed, her face peaceful. China had always had a small slice of that maternal instinct. Of course, she would be an awful mother, but having a child always seemed somewhat appealing to her. Having a family had always seemed appealing to her. She reasoned she didn't deserve it, for a long list of reasons, but she did feel envy when she saw Ezra and Dexter doing, well, anything. She tutted, waving such distasteful thoughts from her mind. She left Ezra's door open and padded to her own bedroom.
The next morning, China was up first, and she made breakfast. Cooking was something she would never admit to liking, but she did enjoy it occasionally. And, like all things she did, she was exceptional at it. She made what others refer to as 'comfort food', which she would never understand. She made scrambled eggs, avocado toast and mushrooms. She laid the table, then made a pot of coffee. Ezra wandered down the stairs, her hair messy and frizzy. She stopped dead when she saw China plating up.
"You cook?" She asked, gobsmacked.
"I do, yes." China curtly replied.
"Since when?"
"I am an independent woman, my dear, I can also clean and do laundry."
"I thought you paid people for that?"
"I usually do, why waste my time on something so mundane when someone else will happily do it? But I figured you wouldn't want any company, and it's a good thing too, because look at you." China said, adding the slight insult so it didn't seem like she'd gone soft. Ezra frowned but smoothed her hair through with her fingers.
"Come on, sit sit, before it goes cold." China urged, taking a seat at the table. Ezra sat and stared at the food, then glanced at China. Ezra wolfed it down, not realizing how hungry she actually was. China said nothing as she took dainty and delicate bites.
"They're looking for you." China said softly. Ezra swallowed the mouthful, then put her fork down.
"I know. But I don't deserve to be around them... I... I did bad things." Ezra said.
"Ezra, we all have done unspeakable things."
"Not to each other."
"Some of us have. But the difference is, you weren't in control, you didn't even know you were doing it."
"It was still me."
"No, Ezra. It was not."
"I want to leave." Ezra blurted out. China raised a perfect eyebrow. She considered for a moment, then stood up and walked. Ezra took a moment before realizing she was supposed to follow. China waved her hand at a door and a symbol glowed blue, then the door opened. The room was empty except for eight plain card board boxes. On each box there were initials, written neatly in black ink; SP, VC, SR, AS, DV, EB, ER, GB.
"What are these?" Ezra asked quietly.
"Your 'get out of jail free' cards." China replied, and Ezra made sure to make a mental note about China playing monopoly. China picked up the box with EB written on it. She dusted the thin layer of dust off the top and opened it. She gave a low whistle, sitting in the floor, a leg on either side of the box.
"You did all of this?" Ezra asked, astonished. China gave a curt nod.
"I had a weekend off and talent going to waste." She exlained.
Inside the box was everything one needed to disappear. A passport, driving license, birth certificate, even residency cards for various places. There were bank cards and credit cards amd three thick wads of rolled up cash. Ezra opened the passport, to see a photo of a woman with auburn hair and green eyes. It was Ezra, but obviously charmed. The name was Sarah Anderson, 23 years old, born in San Francisco.
"I know you can do that accent." China said, slightly amused. Ezra nodded, placing everything back in the box.
"That doesn't look like me."
"Well that's because i haven't given you the disguise sigils yet."
"Are you going to?"
"Naturally."
And hour later and Ezra left. Her new hair was very, very long and very, very auburn. She had braided it in an attempt to keep it out of her way. She had thanked China, filled a backpack with the contents of the box and headed for airport. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just knew she had to go. As she got into the taxi, she looked her phone screen and fought back tears. It was a blurry photo of her and Dexter, laughing and looking up at each other. She closed her eyes, opened the window and threw her phone to the side of the road. She cried the rest of the way.