Chapter 6: Raven Haired Boy

Screams roared out of me as tears ran down. I hid my head in my knees as I pulled my hair. I couldn't fathom what I had just done. It made me sick now that I thought about it. After I couldn't tug anymore without pulling my hair out, I looked at my hands in front of me. The blood was still there. Her blood.

I remembered that night with the fire clearer now. I know why we fought. She had seen people fighting on the bridge. She wanted to investigate but I said we should save those living in the area. I trusted my instinct like an animal. I stayed away from the cause though Rikki wanted to find the source, so we could make a full report. The man in gold she mentioned, had to be Gilgamesh.

This is what they wanted wasn't it? The Mages Association wanted to make me out to be a monster, and now they had every reason to. There was a difference with killing your kind, and killing your family. Damn, I played into their hand. I didn't even think twice about piercing her through the stomach. I just did it, without hesitation.

Gilgamesh probably saw a coward in me. If he wasn't there I wouldn't have fought, I would have gone with her. Or am I just saying that now to put blame on him? It wasn't his hands that killed her, it was me, but I wanted to fight her. I felt like I had to, which is why I told him to take the others. Probably because I thought I could change her. But you can't change someone who likes who they are.

That's my problem. I never asked if I liked who I've become. There are positives, I'm strong, adaptable, and can stand by myself which was something Rikki was not able to do. But my past always seems to pull me back. Maybe deep down, I wanted to kill her. No. I can't think that way. That would make me a monster. But that's what I was now to them. Damn, I needed a distraction.

"Are you okay?" Said a male voice. It wasn't Gilgamesh, his tone was colder and he wouldn't be so kind as to ask that question. I was so focused on my grieving that I didn't notice a man walking past me. He was about my age with long black raven hair that was in a ponytail. He was dressed nice, in black slacks and a green buttoned shirt and a black rain coat. He had a satchel with him that appeared to be full, but if there was a weapon inside I didn't care. I deserved to die at this point.

"What do you think?" I was harsh. It was obvious that I wasn't in the best mood.

"I don't know. But I'd hate to leave somebody crying and not know why." He pulled out a handkerchief from his coat, and kneeled in front of me. "Here. What is your name?"

I wiped my face and noticed the initials engraved 'W. V.' I looked at him and he was smiling but was shocked when he saw my eyes.

"Hazel Matterhorn." I said, and he jumped back a bit. It was possible he knew who I was. But he sat down on the ground with me. "And what's yours?" I asked.

"Waver Velvet." It was odd. I was suspicious, he could be someone from the Mages Association.

"That's a strange name for around here." I said. He wasn't trying to run.

"Yeah. But it's the one I got." He let out a nervous chuckle. There was silence. Only the wind could be heard blowing.

"Are you a magic user?" I gasped a bit. The only way he would know is if he was a mage or executioner.

"How can you tell?" I asked, with a hint of caution.

"Well, I read the papers. And the wanted signs" Great. So he did know who I was. I began to charge my right arm. He noticed.

"Look. I don't want any trouble. I just wanted to see what was going on." I retracted my gold blade. I was scared. I always was scared that I'd be found. That's why I ran.

"I try my best to lay low. But they always follow." I paused and shuffled the handkerchief in my fingers. "So you must be a mage too?"

"You'd be right." He noticed the blood on my shirt, and got up.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you." I had to reassure him. In case he was someone else after me, I would have to gain some trust before attacking.

"Sorry I didn't mean to give that impression. If you want you can stay at my place tonight. I can at least wash the blood out of your shirt." What? Why would someone do that? If there is blood on my shirt that should mean stay away, but he didn't seem to get it. That, and I was guarded for my own safety.

"If this is some trick to get me in your bed, then no." He sighed and backed away.

"I'm not like that." He gripped the strap of his satchel. He took a deep breathe before he continued.

"Okay I get it, some guy comes out of nowhere who you never met asks you to stay at their place." He paused and thought about what he said. "That sounds creepier when I say it out loud." I laughed a bit. He was funny in an awkward way. He let out another sigh. "The point is I wouldn't think of harming someone unless I had too. But you shouldn't be out here by yourself. I'm sure whoever beat you up has some friends who want to hunt you down?" I paused for a moment and looked in his eyes. They were big, but welcoming.

"You're right. I guess I can stop by." He offered his hand to pull me up. His eyes looked innocent. If he had seen anything in his life, he hid it under a smile. I took his hand but let go once I was standing, and crossed my arms. We began to walk.

"Oh, I should tell my Grandma." Waver got out his phone and called. He hung up when the phone went to voicemail. I waited to talk, but this was plain weird.

"You live with your Grandma?" I asked smirking.

"Well, I'm just visiting." Okay, then where was he actually from? Was his Grandma's house just a code name for a trap? I doubted it, but I still walked with my arms crossed.

"If you told me you were staying with her I wouldn't have questioned your intentions." That was true.

"But then you wouldn't have got up the curb." He was right about that. But was I that desperate to walk off with a stranger I just met? Well, Gilgamesh fell in that category. He just made me feel like I was in control because he was bored. Waver at least seemed kinder. Assertive in a social way rather than with belligerence. I figured small talk wouldn't hurt.

"So, where do you live?" I asked as I took off my long sleeved shirt. I didn't want to be wearing my sister's blood any longer. The blood on my pants wasn't too noticeable because they were black. There was just a rip about half way through the thigh.

"In Europe, and that's all I will say." Great, a secret hideout he wouldn't talk about. That meant I was probably in for another fight. I put my bolero jacket back on before I folded the shirt over my arm. We walked up to the house and he knocked on the door. I stood behind him and made a small switch blade with my amplifier, just in case. The door opened.

"Waver, dear." It was an elderly woman. I put away my weapon.

"Hey, Grandma." He said.

"You're home late, I was worried." Her eyes made contact with mine. "And who is this young lady?" I didn't know what to say. It had been a while since someone addressed me like that.

"Her name is Hazel. She's a friend. I was wondering if she could spend the night?" There was no pause before his Grandma smiled and spoke.

"Oh of course dear. I'll make some tea." She went inside and I followed Waver. I took off my shoes and was impressed by the small home. It was similar to the one I grew up in. He grabbed the shirt from my hands.

"I'll take this downstairs to soak." He said and took off his satchel, dropping it near the kitchen table before he went downstairs

"Okay." He went away which left just me and his Grandma. I sat at the table that had three chairs. I thought it was safe to assume that was okay to do. I was quiet for a bit as she began to brew the hot water.

"So Hazel, are you one of Waver's friends from school?" I had to make up a story. I was already going Hell for what I did, lying to the elderly would only make for an extended stay.

"Ah, yeah. We ran into each other at the carnival, but I got ketchup all over my shirt." I paused. She just wanted to make small talk. "I know it's late but I didn't have a place to stay." She smiled.

"Not a problem dear. Waver rarely brings home people he's met. He talks about them, but I am glad he finally introduced me to someone."

"Yeah. Well, everyone is busy." I was growing impatient. It was strange to talk normally with people. And it shouldn't take that long for waver to soak the shirt.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but are you single?" My eyes became wide, at that point Waver came up the stairs.

"Grandma, don't scare her!" He screamed, like an embarrassed child. He sat in the chair across from me. I hid my face in my hands. This was awkward for me.

"Is the tea ready?" I asked. If I had something to sip on I could at least avoid this conversation.

"Yes." His Grandma grabbed two cups for us and I took a big sip. It was good, not too hot.

"Thank you." I said. She was still standing, but looked tired.

"Well, my dears I think I will head to bed. Waver, can you lock the door?"

"Yes, Grandma." She began to walk up the stairs but turned around.

"It was nice to meet you Hazel. I'll make breakfast in the morning." I didn't think I would stay that long. I had to get out by then, to avoid being attacked. To keep them from being hurt. "Waver, you should make your bed for her." I didn't want to be a bother.

"I'll sleep on the couch. I don't mind." She let out a soft sigh. One that meant 'I don't get you kids, but do what you will.' I just didn't want to cause more problems, and compared to the ground that I was used to, the couch would be much better.

"All right. Good night." She went upstairs.

"Good night Grandma." Waver shouted. He waited for her door to close before speaking to me. "Sorry, she asks a lot of questions."

"It's okay." I didn't have a problem with her, but I needed to ask him some questions. What he did for a living. "So, you travel?"

"Yeah, I collect and repair artifacts, then sell them to museums." That was easier than I thought it would be. I was interested if his skills were anything like my father's.

"Do you want to see?" It was a perfect opportunity. Of course I wanted to see what he did, I was curious. Mages rarely reviled the spells they knew.

"I have nothing better to do." We went upstairs and into his room, and he grabbed his satchel. Surprisingly he left the door open a crack. Unlocked. His Grandma was sound asleep, you could hear the snoring from his room. Waver wasn't concerned, but also made sure I could leave if I wanted. There was a giant map of the world on one of his walls. He had pins that pointed out all of the places he had been, or possibly places he wanted to go; but there was one particular path that stood out.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Are you tracking the King of Conquers?" He looked shocked.

"How…how did you know?" It wasn't hard to figure out, but I think he was used to dealing with people who didn't know about ancient history.

"This is the path he took. Anyone who read about him would know that." He scoffed at me. I smiled. He asked the next question.

"You must like history then?" He took the artifact out from his satchel. It was a vase. I continued the conversation. I could trust a fellow archivist with my father's past.

"My father did what you do now. But he would find artifacts and deliver them to the Church and the Mages Association."

"He didn't fix them?" Waver began to cast a spell. The vase became incased in a green glow which slowly began to fill the cracks. There was some ash on the bottom, but he must have cleared most of it off.

"No. He looked for magical items, so the condition didn't matter most of the time, so long as it worked for the original purpose." Waver smirked. Not maliciously, just to be a smart ass.

"I try to make them like they did in their time, they're more valuable that way." Well of course, but if it wasn't a true artifact then it was worthless no matter what. The glow stopped. He asked me to look it over. It was good for the most part, but the top of the vase still had a chip.

"So you augment reality." I paused. "I can still see a chip. But a non-mage wouldn't notice it."

"Okay I'll work on that." He began to focus his spell on the area with the chip. I couldn't tell if he wanted to ask a question. So I stood over his shoulder until he said something.

"But can you guess the year of this Greek vase? I am terrible with dates." I stopped him there, as I looked at the base of the artifact.

"It's Roman." He didn't want to be wrong but I knew this for a fact. Waver glared at me. "There is an engraving on the bottom."

"I guess you're right. But I bought it from an antique shop in Athens." He seemed disappointed, but I could answer his first question easily. "What was it like when you first saw it?"

"Charred on the inside. There was ash outside the base when the guy found it." I knew exactly what time it was from. This was something my father Charles would test me on.

"So I would say it was during the Great Fire, which was 64 AD." I was pretty sure it had to be then. It would make sense from the evidence. His eyes grew big, I couldn't tell if he was scared or surprised. It wasn't that hard to determine the dates.

"You can do that without checking?" I nodded to his question and put my arms over my head.

"Most of the time." I replied.

"That's amazing." He had no idea that an archivist was not who I was now. This was just a part of my past I thought I forgot.

"Not really." I wanted to be modest.

"Could you help me preserve this?" I was stunned. He wanted my help? I guess I already assisted with dating the artifact. But he was insecure with his magic. It was strange, to feel like someone cared.

"I can try." I said, and we began to work on making the vase more presentable.

For about another hour we talked and worked on the artifact. I was beginning to feel like a kid again. Looking at the art on the vase was exquisite. I didn't want to show how I used my magic, so I mostly told him where he could touch up some small details. But I had had a long night, and it was time to sleep before I left town in before sunrise.

"I should rest." I said as a yawn come out.

"You can have my bed." Waver didn't get it. I wanted to sleep on the couch for two reasons. One was because I could leave easily before sunrise, and second so I wouldn't be a bother.

"That's okay, I'll stay on the couch." I left the room and shut the door without saying goodnight. I walked down the steps and jumped over the top of the couch and lied down to look at the ceiling.

Though this was a nice distraction, I didn't want to make a connection with these people. They were too…nice. It seemed like anyone I made contact with would only end up dead, and I would hate it to be from my hands. Waver and his Grandma didn't deserve my company, which is why I didn't want to stay too long. They would only become targets, but if I left before breakfast there'd be little to no evidence. The Mages Association wouldn't connect me to them. They would be safe.

Maybe I was so used to being treated like crap that I didn't know how to accept gratitude. I couldn't get used to this normalcy. I was Most Wanted by the Mages Association, now a savage for killing my own family. Rikki, I wish I could have been more gracious, but my damn instinct kicks in, and I protect myself before thinking of others. But I am alone now, nothing changed there. And the least I can do now is go after the mages who made her that way.