Chapter 9
The Ice
"I thought we are not supposed to talk to each other," said Laia coldly, her dead-looking eyes somehow stirring up sleeping flames within Kanda. Damn it, he couldn't control his emotions around her…
Before he could open his mouth, Lavi flew by and slung an arm around Kanda's shoulders, grinning his idiotic grin.
"Laia-chan! We need your help with a mission!" he exclaimed loudly, taking utmost care in shouting as close to Kanda's ears as possible.
Mugen barely grazed his neck, but Lavi was in no fear. No, not with Allen here. The British boy had practically clung to Kanda's sword arm and prevented him from slicing Lavi's neck in a clean cut. Ah, how he loved being in control.
"If you're bothering me just for a useless drama like this, I'd say you go to another place. You're giving me a headache," said Laia coldly, swinging the door shut.
Lucky for Lavi and his brains, he had wedged a boot-clad feet between Laia's doorway to her room and to the hallway. He shivered for a slight moment when he saw Laia's eyebrow furrowed a little, which means she's angry.
Nobody makes Laia angry. Not unless they wants to be trapped in an indestructible Innocence-made box of swirling, flammable and surrounded with exploding dust of Innocence dust. Strange to say, nobody seems to want to say that her Innocence is strangely and eerily akin to the powers of what Road Kamelot has.
"Well, nobody knows how to skate on ice, much less performing a dance on top of an ice skating ring. You're good at dancing, Laia-chan, so we'd figured that you'd like to come along with us?" said Lavi, eyebrows bouncing with excitement.
Madarao stepped in.
"I'm afraid that particular order is not yours to offer, Lord Exorcists," the Third Exorcist said in a monotone voice. "Lady Laia has been placed under orders of strict surveillance by Inspector Leverrier, and it is to be carried out by me. She is not to leave her room without a guard and without valid reasons."
The loud noises of veins popping on each male Exorcist's head used to be able to make Laia laugh, but she remained as cold and stony as her expression is when it happened.
Lavi rolled his eyes off angrily. "She's the only one who could help us with retrieving the Innocence, dammit! The old ghost had said that he will only hand the Innocence over to us if an Exorcist is able to perform a dance on an ice skating ring! If Laia-chan's there, then it'll be as easy as peanuts!"
"We've each tried to dance on the ice, but all we're able to do is fall on our butts. The worst cases here is Kanda, who only managed to slip and kiss the ice instead of actually standing on the ice-"
"Shut your mouth, Moyashi!"
"It's Allen, BaKanda!"
"Mou! You guys again! Stop it will you?" said Lenalee, a frown on her forehead. Stepping forward when they both didn't listen to her advice, Lenalee held both of Laia's hand and squeezed them slightly, a desperate look on her face.
"Laia-chan," she started, her voice held a tinge of desperado. "We really need that Innocence. The Earl's minions are on the move and anytime soon that Innocence is going to get into his hands. We need to retrieve it as fast as we could."
Laia had a troubled look on her face. She couldn't possibly reject Lenalee. Lenalee is once her best girl friends. She didn't want her to be far from her, and be afraid of her as well. Lenalee and Allen and Lavi are the only ones who did not question her status and her current affairs with the 14th as his adopted sister. They did not seem to mind her past. For that, she is grateful.
And she will repay their kindness with anything that she could do if they were to ask her to do it…
"Where is the place?" Laia asks, and immediately, Lavi hopped around in his place like a rabbit while Allen smiles brightly at her. Lenalee hugged her out of gratitude and squealed happily.
"Oh, thank you, Laia-chan! Thank you so much!" Lenalee said to her, and Laia had no idea what to react but to put her hands on her back and patted them gently.
They brought her to a far away place. There is a small tomb there by the sides of the iced lake. Nobody went there to skate anymore. They said that the iced lake would drag anyone down who couldn't skate well or slipped on accident. For that, they are afraid of the lake.
They have said that the lake is cursed.
"I have come to dance on the ice," Laia said to the tomb, giving it a low bow. "Please be my audience. I shall give you the performance never before seen by human eyes in this Era."
Laia stepped onto the ice with her skating shoes, which is beautiful silver and the many-edged stars, the White Rose Cross, known widely around the world to be the symbol of the Church and of the Black Order, is embedded by the side of the shoes. She loved the shoes, but knew she could only wear it once. She wanted to remember every moment of this when she still has what little freedom is left for her. She wanted to remember the exorcist's faces well, and at the same time, she wanted to forget them and just be someone who has only a code name and the position as a test subject. She knew why she does all this. She knew why she avoided him and his dark blue gazes. She knew.
And she confidently takes a deep breath as the music starts hauntingly, letting herself go into a straight line towards the center of the frozen skating ring. Turning around, she stood up straight and stared at the ground.
Until the music hit a point, and she started to dance.
ai lima tasmiya
iyadi rai hoyasma
ai lima terasmiya
iyai mai yola aa
Moving her left arm into the air, followed by the other, Laia gave a very low bow to the spirit of the Innocence, where only one other known Exorcist is able to see it; Allen Walker.
Turning around, Laia bended her knees slightly and spinned once very slowly, coming to a halt right back at the same place where she had first stood.
ai lima tasmiya
iyadi yai hoyasma
ai lima tasmiya
iyai mai yola
maje laiyo omaho soladi aiyo lama
maje laiyo omaho soladi aiyo maya
ai lima tasmiya
iyadi yai hoyasma
ai lima tasmiya
iyadi mai yola aa
Spinning around once again in an agonizingly slow motion, Laia put up both of her arms into the air, her face facing the grey sky that is threatening to spill its snow-filled clouds to earth. From where the Exorcist's stand, it is as if Laia is preying to the sky, her God somewhere within the snow-filled clouds.
That is, until the spirit shouted at her.
"That's so slow!" the spirited cursed her loudly, one hand pointing rudely at her. "Do a faster one that could make men excited!"
"Hey!" Allen suddenly shouted, angry at what the spirit had spew from its transparent mouth. "Watch what you're saying!"
"Allen-kun," Lenalee started, patting his arms comfortingly. "You'll disturb Laia-san."
"But the spirit just insulted her!" Allen defended, pointing at the spirit. For once, he is so angry that he felt the innocence is not worth Laia's time and performence. All the Exorcist hadn't seen her for quite a while, and she had lose a lot of weight, and yet still retained her beauty. He felt sorry for Laia. What the Order had done to her, nobody would ever know. It is really up to her to open up to them soon.
And as if on cue, the song came into the part where there is a little Indian mix to it. Laia danced according to the rhythm, shaking her hip and belly accordingly, a wide grin on her face, grinning at the Innocence, who looked more shocked than anything else.
Then she started to skate.
ai lima tasmiya iyasma…
ai nima kasmiya imaya…
maje laiyo omaho solari iayo lama
maje laiyo omaho solari iayo maya…
ai nima tasmiya iyasma
It was as if she were flying; one leg in the air whiles the other skated straight. Once, she turned around with one leg in the air, staring up into the sky, her long hair danced around with her. She looked so happy to be able to dance again, and while she has the chance, she'll use every moment of her freedom to fulfill her desires.
maje aiyama soladi lama
maje aiyomo solari lama…
yei mirayi kosa medi
yei mirayi lasa medi
nei irai lasa medi
diya (miya diya…)
ai nima tasmiya
iyadi rai hoyasma
ai nima tasmiya
iyai…
She skated around the ring for a few rounds, doing dangerous yet beautiful turns and movements in the air, sending most of the Exorcist's jaws drop slack. They knew she could skate, but they didn't knew that she could skate this well.
"Wow," Lavi said, blowing a tune of whistle at the sight of Laia skiing on the ice. "She's good..."
"Really good..." Allen's reply rhymed with Lavi's surprise.
Then, nearing the ending of the music, Laia came back to the center of the skating ring and slammed her heel into the ice, breaking and cracking it a little. Keeping her legs straight, Laia moved her arms and torsos fluidly, her body bending softly and skillfully. Smiling to the spirit innocence, Laia stepped back according to the beats of the music, almost coming into contact with the person standing directly behind her, facing her; Kanda Yuu.
There was such a coincidence that the center of the skating ring just happened to be the spot Kanda Yuu chooses to stand as a spectacle. He never knew that nearing the end of Laia's wonderful performance, both she and he himself would be standing so close for a second before she took off again.
Her hair brushed Kanda's chest accidentally. She knew she couldn't move backward again as she felt that there was someone behind her. She knew she had the spirit's interest and full attention, and thus did not turn back and see who it was that stood behind her.
The music took another turn again and this time, she slammed her other heel into the ice and skated forward fast, surely and confidently, she came to the corner of the ice skating ring where the water had constantly flowed into the ring, making the ice that froze by the skating ring curved slightly. Moving forward forcefully, Laia skate right into the curved ice and soared into the air, face facing the sky. Turning herself around gracefully in the air, Laia came back down to the ice skating ring with another slam of her heels into the ice, her legs straight and a wide, happy smile on her face, knowing that she had succeeded in giving the spirit the best performance that money couldn't buy. Both arms spread out side beside her, Laia spins herself around and pirouted a few times, turning around with a speed and sending herself flying into the air again, spinning in the air for three times before landing back to the ice. Lifting her left leg, she jumped and turned left, and when she landed she jumped again with her left leg in the air and landed again, and jumps again and again. Then abruptly, the music stops.
And Laia's dance came to a halt.
Everyone was silent with awe. Even Link is silent, and watches Laia holds her position well and perfect. It was so beautiful, and he couldn't help but to start to applaud.
Then slowly, everyone applauded. They whistle, and even Kanda gave her a perfect clap. The performance is so wonderful and perfect that they gave her the applause of her lifetime. And for once, after the miserable time of her life, Laia smiles and bows to them.
"You've earned it, pitiful yet beautiful exorcist," said the spirit with its transparent body glowed in the early twilight, a happy smile on its face. "I'm happy I've given my precious thing to someone like you."
"Rest in peace, Albert," whispered Laia to the spirit, "And thank you for everything."