Chapter 8: Fake It
Disclaimer: If it's name isn't Elta, it's not mine!
Elta sighed. She was standing on top of the west turret in her same red dress. Jane had tattered it a little as to prove she had run away for 4 days. She looked down at her wrist. There were more than a dozen fake scars and red slashes. This is one important cover up, Elta thought. She sucked in a huge breath of air as she stepped into view of the city. Her superior hearing detected Alec's voice from somewhere in the very cloudy square.
"Look up there! Someone is atop the western turret!!" he said. Elta smiled. She knew Alec was going back to their turret now. His part was done. Elta could see people pointing at her, hear their exclamations. She took another deep breath and jumped. And then the screaming started. She screamed loud and shrilly, all the way down until she hit the stones below, where a deafening crunch sounded. Elta knew it wasn't really her. Aro had a store of human bones that she knew Demetri had just crushed through a speaker system somewhere nearby. She kept her eyes open in a look of utter fear as she lay there unmoving. And then she heard the screaming again as someone pushed their way through the medical team surrounding her.
"My baby!! That's my baby! Let me through!" Elta heard her mother say as ambulance people were shoved aside. "ELTA!! OH MY GOD! GIANNI!! ELTA'S DEAD!!" her mother screamed. Elta tried her hardest not to flinch as she heard the agony in her mother's voice. And she saw her father coming into view. His sobs hurt the most. Elta's father was so in control of his emotions, or so Elta had thought, up until now. He bent over her back and Elta felt moisture seep through her dress onto her spine. She was going to kill Aro for this. She hadn't known how much it would hurt. Elta fought back tearless sobs as she felt herself being lifted onto a stretcher. Then it all went black as they covered her with a sheet and loaded her into the ambulance.
The next thing Elta knew she was in the morgue. Her legs protested as they lay her on the cold metal.
"She's definitely dead. Not only is she not breathing and her heart is stopped, but jumping from that height, her neck and spine, plus a number of other bones, would be completely shattered," a doctor said to the morgue director.
"Do we have identity?" the morgue director asked.
"Yes. Her name is Elta Bella De Luca. She was the girl who went missing for 4 days," the doctor replied.
"Was their any indication as to why she jumped? I mean, I know it was a suicidal attempt, but the priest's daughter has always been shown as a happy girl. She had perfect grades at school, tons of friends, and the most angelic voice," the morgue director said.
"Well, we know this wasn't just a sudden wave of depression. I had some people tell me she was depressed for quite a while. And this," he said, lifting her sleeves, "would be more proof. I counted in the ambulance and there are exactly 45 scars and 20 slash marks that look quite recent. In fact, this one has just scabbed up." Elta felt the doctor press lightly on the fake scab. They're good. I wonder how many times before they've had to do this, she thought to herself.
"She's very beautiful. It's such a shame to the family. Such a shame," the morgue director said as he slid her into her slot. And with that, they both left. Elta waited until she heard the door lock to push herself out. She sat up and her breath cam out in a quiet whoosh.
"Wow, I sure can fake it," she said to the empty morgue, looking around. This was going to get old fast.