12 Nightmare
In a small town in Denmark, on the outskirts of a large forest, Kanda and Lavi and I stepped off of a train and onto the platform below. The steward threw our luggage toward us, and Kanda easily caught it. Then the train pulled away from the station, steadily gaining speed. It swung around in an arc and disappeared behind a thick cloud of fog. The blowing horn drifted back to my ears.
The cold wind blew around me, chilling me. Snow fell down lightly from the gray sky and created white flakes in our hair. I wrapped my scarf closer to my neck. The wind pushed its way through the fibers and I could not manage to get warm. My leather gloves did a steady job of protecting my hands from the wind, but they couldn't keep the rest of my body warm. I shivered.
"This way," Kanda said. He passed a suitcase to Lavi and started walking. I reached out and grabbed his arm.
"Here," I said, pulling a suitcase from his grip, freeing up one of his hands. He nodded slightly and then his free hand went to grip the hilt of his katana. My poor paranoid friend.
We strode through the streets. It was late afternoon, yet I felt like it was the middle of the night. Our boots made soft clicking noises on the cobblestones. There was no other noise. The streets were deserted. No one was out selling merchandise, there were no children playing in the snow that was piled next to rows of houses, no women doing shopping for dinner. It was empty.
The street we walked on ended abruptly. We stood in front of a large building. A sign on the road told us that it was the Town Hall. It was two stories high, made of rust-colored brick, and had a large church spire. The doors were a deep red color, and looked to be made of a very sturdy wood. Lavi was the first to climb the steps.
"Ready?" he asked. He had his hand on the knob and had his head cocked back to look over his shoulder at us.
"Che."
"Yes. Go ahead Lavi."
He turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Light streamed through the doorway, but it was dim and flickered. We stepped inside. The room was light by hundreds of candles. Pews lined the floor up to the altar. I looked at Lavi curiously.
"I thought this was the Town Hall," I said.
"Oh, it is. The Town Hall is upstairs. This is a church also, as you can see. When there isn't a mass the people wait in the pews to see the mayor. This town isn't the richest-- just look at their location. Trading is difficult for them. They couldn't afford to build separate church and town hall buildings. So they made the upper level the town hall."
I marveled at Lavi's endless knowledge while we walked through the aisles and up to the altar. Kanda inclined his head at the idol of Christ on his crucifix. Lavi and I also did a short bow before we turned left to pass through the door labeled TOWN HALL. We walked quickly up the stairs and pushed open the door at the top.
"...which is why we need to--" a man was saying before we walked in. When he heard the door bang shut he silenced himself.
"Pardon us," Lavi said. He stepped forward into better light. "We are from the Black Order."
The man sitting at the head of a long table stood up hastily. He was short and pudgy, with a round belly that stretched his suit jacket around the middle. He was wearing two-toned tuxedo shoes and a a la souvarov beard and mustache. His gray hair was slicked back and he looked rather flustered and threatened by the other man who had been first speaking.
"The Black Order?" he asked.
"Yes. We heard of you're troubles here with the forest and were sent to help."
"B-but you're just children," he said, smoothing his beard nervously. Next to me Kanda snorted at the comment.
"We are trained professionals," Lavi said, not telling him that we were trained to kill demons and fight against the Millenium Earl. The mayor would throw us out if he heard that.
The mayor looked even more flustered, if that was possible, and sat down. "Gentlemen," he said, "this meating will continue tomorrow evening at the same time. Please excuse us."
The group of six men gathered their things and took their leave. The man who had been talking when we entered glared at us as he passed. I looked down, but Kanda glared right back and Lavi even smiled and waved.
"Please sit," the mayor said. We walked to the table and sat down in a chair. "You say you are here to help my town?" he asked.
"Yes," Lavi said. "We understand that you have been having issues with the forest. Would you like to elaborate on those, please?" I laughed to myself on how Lavi had already taken control of the meeting. He winked at me, as if knowing what I was thinking.
"Yes. Well, you see, we are not the most economically sound of towns. I've been sending a few of my merchants through the forest, but they never seem to come back. I don't know what happened to them. I've sent letters to the mayor of the other town, but he always replies saying that no new traders have arrived. I'm getting nervous. Something is in there, and it's killing my townspeople." He got suddenly skeptical. "You say you can help?"
"We can. Thank you so much for your time. We've heard enough." Lavi stood up to leave and Kanda and myself pushed our chairs backward and rose aswell.
"Wait!" the mayor cried when we started to walk towards the door.
"How could you possibly help with this?" he asked, twisting a hat in his hands.
"We've dealt with this kind of thing before. Please don't worry. We will fix the problem. Now, could you please point us off to the nearest inn. We'd like to rest up before we set off in the morning."
The mayor did so, also saying that he would anxiously await our return from the forest and good luck. We left the church/town hall building and headed to the inn.
"Valeriya! Come here," she called. I stopped playing with my dolls and ran over to my mom. She wrapped her arms around me and lifted my small body up. I curled my arms around her neck and she ran with me.
"Alena! It's that man! He's here. Hide Val!" my father called to mom. She was crying, tears dripping from her face and into my hair. I started to cry too.
"Mommy! What's going on?" I asked.
"Shh Val. I need you to be quiet. Stay in here and don't come out until he's gone," she said, opening the closet in the living room. She set me down and closed it behind her. I sat down amid the shoes and coats. Through a hole in the wood I watched.
Mom stood clutching Dad's arm. He was holding her ackwardly. Then he came in. He was a dark shadow, a form that I could not make out. He raised a hand and spoke in a hoarse whisper.
"You've seen too much," he said. "I'm so sorry." His words were insincere and he smiled a smile that reached his ears. I started crying softly. Then he moved so quickly I couldn't see how it happened, but suddenly my parents crumpled to the ground, dead. A single cry escaped my throat. The man turned and smiled hugely again. His golden eyes were on the closet and he started walking forward.
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"No!" my voice cried.
"She's thrashing around too much. Hold her still!" another voice reached my ears.
"I'm am, baka usagi!" This voice was more familiar to me. I struggled against the bonds holding me down.
"Val stop! It's me. It's Kanda!" he cried. I opened my eyes and jerked urpight. Our foreheads connected with a crack.
"Dammit!" he cried. I held my head.
"I'm sorry! Are you alright?" I asked, reaching out. Kanda swatted my hand away.
"I'm fine. What the hell happened?" he asked.
"What do you mean?" I took the ice that Lavi offered me and held it to my throbbing forehead. My clothes were sticking to my skin and I saw that I was drenched in sweat.
"Oh my," I said. Kanda rolled his eyes.
"Go get cleaned up," he said. He got off the bed and let me out.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"Two in the morning," Lavi yawned. "I'm going back to bed."
"I'm sorry to have woken you." He just waved his hand, crawling back onto his cot. I smiled and went into the bathroom. I took a quick shower and put on clean dry clothes. I brushed out my long hair and then went back into the room.
Kanda had changed my sheets when I was gone. I looked at the pile of sweat covered sheets and blushed. He said nothing. I sat down on the bed.
"What happened?" he asked.
"I had a nightmare, is all."
"About what?"
"About the day my parents died."
Kanda looked down at the bed and then back up at me. He reached out and placed a hand on my face.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'll be fine," I said, my breath speeding up at the contact. He didn't seem too satisfied, but he didn't continue with the questions. He pulled his hand back and went back to the couch.
"Get some rest then," he said. He blew out the candle and we plunged into darkness.
I am so sorry. I wish I could have posted sooner. I've been so busy lately. Please forgive me!
What did you think? I liked this chapter. I've got plans that stem from that dream so don't forget it. Hehe. I'm excited to finally have a bit of time to write, but there is no telling when I will be able to post next. So to keep you semi happy here is a little teaser about what will be in the next chapter, roughly.
They go in the forest. Val is clumsy and falls through ice. Jealous Kanda. LAvi being Lavi. Innocence. Yay!
That was a really pathetic teaser, but that is what will occur, only with more detail, unless you want me to make that the chapter. ;)
Please Review!