Sorry Peter lovers but he's off the polls. The finalists are Gray Ringmarc and Elliot March so keep leaving who you would like to see her within the Reviews. The winner will be announced roughly two or three chapters from now, but there WILL be another story featuring the other couple in the future. Enjoy!
GRAY'S POV
The large dog softly whines as I finish up the bandages around his chest and torso. I still can't believe a dog of this size was stupid enough to leap off of a building and nearly land on me. If I had known it was a dog I would have caught it rather than let it land. I gently pet his head as it lays down, doing his best to find a comfortable spot to lie down. He's lucky it was only a few cracked ribs and a sprained paw.
"Grayyyy~ let me take a break~," Master Nightmare whines as he lays across the top of his desk, blatantly ignoring the stacked paperwork.
"Not until you're done." I chastise, doing my best to ignore his whining as I try to feed the dog some medicine. His nose scrunches up as he huffs, turning his head in refusal. My eyes run over the dog's harness lying on the coffee table, running my eyes over the word 'Police'. Is that some sort of organization or is it the dog's name? He certainly responds well to the word Police. But then there's the big bulky green collar on him. Avery ... that's the young woman Nightmare keeps talking about. I'm assuming this dog belongs to her then. Oh, so that makes this a foreigner dog?
"Heh ... it looks like Avery is coming to us." Master nightmare says with an excited grin.
"Is she?" I ask, glancing out the window. Well, a large tower in the middle of town is awfully hard to miss.
"Wah~ I can't wait!" He excitedly cries, rolling around on his desk and knocking over stacks of paper.
"Master Nightmare-!" I start, leaving the injured dog lying on the couch before picking up the paperwork. Honestly can't he be more considerate of the work I put into organizing all these documents so they would make sense for him? I pause and wait for his response but it never came. I roll an eye up to Master Nightmare, spying him a tense and fixated on view out the window.
"Master Nightmare." I say, ready for an order. Something is wrong.
"Gray, go find her. She's in the woods and will be in town soon. The lands are starting to get more unstable while everything is moving around." He says, looking honestly concerned. Before he was confident about her arriving her on her own but now he is weary? Something is most assuredly wrong.
"Yes, Master Nightmare. I will find and retrieve Miss Avery." I acknowledge before heading to the door. The dog perks up at the name 'Avery' and gets up with a high pitched whine.
"No, no boy, stay down." I try to coax, watching as he slips onto his feet. He wobbles for a few moments but starts to limp towards the door, sniffing the air. I step in front of him and gently wrap my arms around it's forepaws and back legs but he starts to struggle. If I'm not careful he's only going to further injure himself.
"Go ahead and take him. He could probably track her scent," Nightmare laughs, probably planning to relax while I am out searching for Miss Avery.
"Very well. And I expect for all that paperwork to be done and properly organized before I get back." I say, gesturing to the mess on the floor.
"GWAH!" He hacks, immediately dipping down and aiming for the trashcan.
"Please don't throw up blood on the documents, Master nightmare."
AVERY'S POV
My muscles tremble and ache from the long search as I finally come to a stop and rest for a bit. I hunch over and lean against a nearby bench, letting my breath catch back up to me. The soles of my feet ache from carrying the heavy man and walking around for so long. Goodness I'm tired. The man's body trembles with laughter before it bursts out in a loud, ear popping blow.
"I'm amazed you could run so fast with me on your back!" The man heartily laughs as I wobble forward. Last night was a nightmare. Fish suddenly started swimming through the air and, with little to no warning, the sky suddenly changed from night to sunrise! I can't ... I can't take much more of this. I just can't. If this is some messed up dream from drinking too much diet Pepsi before bed then please wake up soon!
"Ha ha! We finally made it to town! Clover Tower is that way." The knight points out with a broad grin. I lazily crane my head back to stare at him. Is it? Because I've been walking around for hours and we just made it to town, when I could see this path connecting to the one I was on when I started. Is it possible he just has a terrible sense of direction?
"I think I'm going to asks for directions." I say, looking around the near empty street before spying a lone man kneeling by the edge of a shop, propping the leg of a broken table up with a few bricks.
"Awe~ you don't trust me?" He laughs as I walk up behind the hunched over man and gently tap him on the shoulder. I'm sure he will be nice enough to help me.
"Um, excuse me, could you tell me where Clock Tower is-?!" I jolt at the end, frightened as I stare into smooth slopes on the man's head where his eyes should be. W-Where are his eyes?!
"Ma'am?" He asks, tilting his head in confusion. I-I-Is that normal? Is that some sort of serious health condition? I-I shouldn't stare, it's rude. I nervously gulp as my legs start to tremble a bit, wanting to run away but I hold firm.
"U-U-U-Uh, y-y-y-y-yes, er, can you please tell me where C-Clock Tower is?" I stiffly ask, nervously gulping. Don't stare at his face don't stare at his face d-don't stare at his face-! I listen closely for his instruction, pointedly looking away and trying not to rudely gawk at him.
" ... uh, sure?" He says, clearly puzzle as to why I'm so stiff, "Clock Tower was just over there," he says, pointing me in the right direction. I ignore the past tense he used as my eyes dart towards him and glance at where he is directing me to go.
"Thank you-!" I quickly say, adjusting the knight on my shoulders before dashing off. What happened to his eyes?! There were no scars or anything so where were they? Even if it was some sort of horrible disfiguration at birth he would still have some sort of scar tissue there. But ... i-it felt like he was staring right at me even without actual eye balls.
"H-Hey, is that Julius's dog?!" The man shouts. I glance back at him the moment he said dog, immediately looking around for an actual dog. Dog? Could it be Jaiden or Jett?
"H-Hierr." I call, looking around and listen intently for the tapping of paws. If he saw a dog maybe it's one of my dogs? But who's Julius?
"Uh oh~ you talked to the wrong faceless, Miss Foreigner." The knight chuckles though his jaw strains a bit.
"W-Wrong faceless?" I stutter as I turn back around face the man as he pulls out a small pocket watch from his jacket. Why did he call him a faceless? My eyes widen as the pocket watch fades and visibly reassembles in the blink of an eye into a gun.
"I-It turned into a gun!?" I cry, startled as I wobble back from the man shifting on my shoulders. How? How did a watch turn into a handgun?!
"You murdered my father, Knight of Hearts." The faceless coldly states, his hand trembling as he keeps the barrel locked onto the man. M-Murder? Just who am I carrying right now?! My head whips back, spying the knight's cool smile.
"Your father hid the clocks from Julius." He simply states, doing nothing at all to help the situation and instead makes it worse. Isn't there something else you could have said?!
"W-W-Wait, let's talk about this-," I start, stumbling back as he takes a few steps forward. Please, please don't involve me I'm just helping someone I hurt so why am I being punished and dragged into this?!
"No. This man killed him and took his clock-!" He starts before an old, reverberating bark sounds nearby. The man's head snaps down the alley as Jaiden makes a weak lunge for the man, sinking his canine teeth into the arm with the weapon.
"AAAAAAHHHHH-!" The man shouts in searing pain and anger as he tries to rip his arm out of the dog's jaws. Jaiden hops in the air a bit before ripping his head back, snarling and refusing to let up on his hold. The man sneers as he brings his gun back. My heart drops to the put of my stomach, horrified. Let go, Jaiden let go!
"FUSS!" I shout, ordering him to heel. The man's arm slips out from Jaiden's jaws as he brings the butt end of the pistol down and over the dog's head. A sharp yelp sounds as he jumps away, limping on his unstable paws. What happened to him? The man grits his teeth before bringing he weapon back for the dog.
"Don't shoot!" I shout as I throw the knight off my back and lunge forward, aiming to knock the gun right out of his hand. A shiver rivets up my spine as I spy a dark figure press a knife against the man's throat, making him stiffen up in fear. I stumble forward, breathing hard as I meet the gaze of the topaz eyed man with black hair. He stares at me for a moment, measuring my level of threat, before looking to the man with the gun.
"This here is neutral territory for not only Role Holders, but faceless as well. This is a warning." The man coolly says before withdrawing his blade into a casing fastened to his wrist. I ignore the faceless man as he runs off, my eyes glued to Jaiden's weak state.
"My goodness, Jaiden-!" I cry, feeling pained for the whimpering dog as I kneel beside him. He dances on his paws, making sure not to touch the ground with the bandaged one, as he whines and happily pushes his head against my stomach. I nervously brush my fingers through his fur, listening to him whimpering with joy and pain. My eyes run over the bandages over his chest and foot. Who bandaged him?
"Hello, Miss Avery. Are you alright?" The man asks, offering a hand in my direction. His bright, fiery eyes keep a steady lock on me as I return the stare, trying not to fall right into his eyes.
"Y-Yeah," I breathe, my face reddening with embarrassment. H-He's got gorgeous eyes. A faint whimper from Jaiden catches my attention as he lays down, head on my lap.
"Did ... you bandage my dog?" I ask, gently petting Jaiden's head. His eye lids slowly close, thoroughly enjoying the gentle treatment.
"Yes, I did. I came upon him when he was injured." The man says as he crouches down along with me. He remains silent for a little while, watching my fingers stiffly comb through Jaiden's fur.
"O-Oh, thank you, um ... ," I trail off, trying to think of what to call him.
"Gray Ringmarc, " he finishes before smiling, "would you care to come with me, Miss Avery?" The man asks as he looks at me. My flush deepens with embarrassment at the gentle question.
"C-Come with you?" I stutter, suddenly nervous as pins and needles stab my stomach. This gorgeous eyed man wants me to come with him?
"Yes. Master Nightmare would like to meet you in person." He says, reaching forward and very gently slides his hand under Jaiden's jaws. The old dog lifts his head slightly, thrumming a faint grunting sigh as the man softly rubs back and forth.
"M-Master Nightmare?" I ask. That's a name? That's a, er, scary name. Who wants to call themselves 'Master Nightmare'? I shiver at the thought, tempted to go just because this man asked me. N-No, no I need to find Jett first.
"I-," I start before the knight interrupts with a long sighing boo.
"Awe~ boo~ did you forget about me already?" The brunette's voice calls with a laugh. My heart nearly leaps into my throat, just remembering that I had dropped him onto the sidewalk.
"O-Oh gosh, so sorry! Um, do you know where a hospital is?" I ask, turning to Gray who's narrowed eyes linger on the man.
"Ace, what did you do?" He demands more so than asks.
"I didn't do anything, Mr. Lizard." The knight innocently claims with a smile.
"Y-Yes, well, he-," I start, wanting to explain it but at the same time hesitate. Will he think horrible of me because of what I did?
"It was amazing, Mr. Lizard! The foreigner kicked my a**!" Ace heartily laughs with a cheeky grin, resting his chin on his hand.
"I beg your pardon?" Gray asks, looking over to me in confusion. O-Oh gosh-!
"I-I-I-I-!" I nervously stutter. Here it comes again. The embarrassment. The shame. The guilt and the accusations. Please ... please don't judge me so harshly before you get to know me. I know I hurt him but it was an accident and-and-! No ... why bother explaining? No one listens to the giant who hurts the smaller person even if it was a mistake. They'll just point and mock and believe what they want to, believing I hurt them on purpose because I am bigger and stronger than they are.
My words and sorrow mean nothing.
"Never mind that. Please come with me, Miss Avery." Gray asks, gently picking Jaiden up into his arms. I snap to attention, suddenly remembering where I am. My eyes shoot back to the grinning knight and to the man who saved us, torn as to what to do.
"B-But we can't leave him here." I anxiously say, feeling guilty about breaking his foot. I-I still need to take him to a hospital to get his foot looked at.
"Sure we can. That faceless will be back, I'm sure." Gray says with a sweet smile.
"B-B-But he'll die!" I cry, stunned at the horrible in taste joke he made. That's terrible!
"Awe~ so cold, Mr. Lizard." The knight laughs. Gray stares at my mortified expression for a few moments before sighing.
"Very well, I will bring him to Clover Tower and give him aide." He says, gently setting the dog in my arms. The way he hands Jaiden to me hardly causes a sound to slip past his lips. Rather, Jaiden looks content instead of pained due to the caring way he handled him.
"Thank you." I softly smile, gently thrumming my fingers through Jaiden's fur with a faint touch of pink on my cheeks. He's so soft and gentle with Jaiden. He glances at me for a moment before walking over to Ace and tossing the knight over his shoulder.
"Wow~ Mr. Lizard, you're being so nice," he snickers as Gray tries to visibly ignore him before the knight smiles, "and I wonder why that is?"
This was a long chapter so I decided to split it in half. 10 REVIEWS for the next chapter~