Home; Almost Alone
"What brings you here?" Elise enquires, looking as regal as ever.
"I wanted to see how you were fairing," he replies.
Elise shifts slightly, moving so that she doesn't face him. Her gaze flits across the dusty, stone floor. He shifts in the shadows, not so obviously displeased. Small slats of light filter in and catch on her dress and hair. Her hands rest peacefully in her lap, entrapped within handcuffs. Her gaze wanders up to him.
"I assume you already spoke to Shun," Elise whispers. "Have you told him he caused Anna's death? You know that is not true…"
"Do you want me to take it back, Elise?" He asks, pleading. "You know I can't. I've already told him, and I can't take it back."
"Must you really be so harsh? Your actions give you such a cruel air," Elise murmurs, watching him carefully.
"I'm not being cruel. It's the simple truth. He left us all to die!" he roars.
"He was trying to protect those he values," Elise presses firmly. "If you so insist on the cruelty of his actions, think over your words."
He scoffs, and turns on his heel, the midnight obsidian of his cloak shimmering in the rare slats of light. At the corner, there's a flash of white. Elise's eyes narrow slightly; he's wearing a mask. She shifts in her seat, and he comes to a halt. He looks over at her curiously and slyly.
"Do you find pleasure in revealing others weaknesses, dear friend?" Elise asks speculatively, but directs it to no one. "Is there such a thing, as too harsh, in your eyes? Have you no idea of the damage you do to others, or do you simply not care?"
"… I have perfect awareness.. The truth is something that is hidden too much, and I reveal it to others," he replies. "It is the truth, not an insult. It is the truth, not an opinion. The truth governs everything, and it cannot be hidden."
Elise glares at him, choking on her own fury. "Yet you are wrong. This one simple truth, Shun is not guilty. We disbanded by his order, and we chose to leave. It was a decision by her own free will, and you have no right to take that right from her."
"You think you know so much, but you're blinded," he says. "You will be released. I promise you, you will."
"No," she says. "No! Come back Kai! Don't do this to us!"
With a loud, resounding crash, the stone door slams shut. Inside her prison, Elise shudders lightly and hunches forward. Small droplets of tears glisten as they float down her face. In her lap, her hands tremble. A spark of hope seems to have extinguished.
Kai forces the door open and strides in. The ever-shadowed figure gazes up from his work. He leans back in expectation.
"Reverse the deals," Kai orders. "Call Alice, and ask her, if she may remember us from the last time."
The shadowed figure chortles evilly. "Of course, as you wish. Your schemes rest here, securely, with me."
Author's Note: Hi, um, sorry it's not much of a chapter. It's a filler chapter for what's happening next chapter. A kind of lead in. I've made you all wait for so long too. I'm sorry. I wanted to lead us back to the main focus of the story. The past Shun has in the story kind of is the main focus…
Anyway, that guy Elise is talking to, he's the guy who was talking to Shun in the previous chapter. Well, he was taunting him evilly and accusing him of killing Anna… Don't ask who she is. She's someone from his past and isn't coming back.
That's all.
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