Chapter 6: Life and Death
"Trixi," Lavi called, breaking her from her sleep. "It's time to get up now."
She cracked her eyes open and let out a groan. Why was she so tired? Like hitting a brick wall head on, the memories of last night flooded back into her mind, making her realize why her body felt so unrested. She looked up to see Lavi just staring at her, his eyes smiling like usual. Remembering how she had clung to him the night before made her blush and feel so embarrassed for her actions that she felt obliged to apologize to him.
"Lavi," She said, as she bent down into a kowtow. "I am so sorry for the way I behaved last night. It was rudimentary and I should have composed myself before consulting with you. Will you forgive me for my childish actions?"
She heard him sigh, and soon felt his hand on her head, patting it slowly. "There's no need to apologize, Trixi. Your actions were perfectly fine, and I found no offense in them. Will you please get up?"
She lifted her head up, to see him smiling down at her. Beatrix could only smile back, as he offered her his hand to get up. She took it, and in an instant she was lifted to her feet. She dusted off her dress, and felt the icy air against her bare arms, making her shiver.
"It's colder than I expected." Beatrix said, as she reached down to get her jacket.
"It's much colder outside." Lavi said, looking towards the door. "I'm sorry for sounding rude, but we really need to be on our way."
"I understand." Beatrix said, nodding. "Let's not waste anymore time."
She reached for her jacket and slipped it on, her skin slowly warming up inside the worn leather. This was short lived as a gust of chilly air swept past her the instant she stepped outside. She shivered, and hugged her jacket closer to her body as she walked briskly, trying to catch up with Lavi, who was scanning the misty forest around them as he walked. He didn't turn to her as she approached, and she knew now was not the time to carry on a casual conversation with him, as much as she hated the silence. She walked beside him, feeling the familiar breath of air hit against her face, and soon began to watch her memories flickered quickly through her mind, like a wavering flame. She didn't let them bother her, and to keep her mind from lingering on them, kept herself busy with trying to name everything around her in German.
Lavi suddenly stopped, though Beatrix was a little late to notice. She rammed into him, muttered quietly her excuses, and looked up at him. He was staring back at her, and she quickly shut up, thinking that he was upset that she had hit him, distracting him from whatever he was doing.
"You're cold, aren't you?" He said spontaneously, scanning her face.
"Yes, why?" She asked, amazed that this was all he had to ask her.
He started pulling on the end of his scarf, unraveling it from around his neck, he held it out to her, looking away. She stared down at the dark orange scarf, and soon took it from his hands, wrapping it smuggly around her petite neck.
"Thank you." She said genuinely, realizing that this wasn't something Lavi did every day, especially when they were on a mission.
He just nodded in reply, and started to walk again. As Beatrix walked, her face slowly warmed up, all thanks to his scarf. The wind pushed past her from time to time, but it was barred by the scarf's thick material. She snuggled her face deeper into it, and breathed deeply, inhaling Lavi's familiar scent. It was as comforting to her as not many things were, and she felt safe being with him, no matter what mission they were going on.
They were deeper into the forest now, the whole landscape seeming somewhat familiar to her, but it all seemed so much more daunting then she remembered. Strangely, though she was excited at the beginning about coming back to her homeland, now she felt all alone, as if the forest was shunning her because she had left its protection. She casted her gaze downward and tried humming softly to herself, knowing that it usually soothed her anxiety. To her dismay, with each passing step her worries grew, as her heart started to beat wildly in her chest. Suddenly, a quick, small shaking was felt beneath their feet, making them both stop dead in their tracks. Lavi scanned the area, as well as the ground, as he moved over to a large tree beside them, putting his hand on its trunk, though Beatrix wasn't wuite sure why he was doing this.
"Did you hear anything?" Lavi said, not looking towards her.
"No, it didn't." Beatrix said. "It could have just been a slight vibration from something farther into the forest."
"You're not a hundred percent sure, are you?" He asked, now scanning the sky line.
"No." She said, now getting quite irritated with him. It had only been a slight vibration. What was he so worried about? "But I'm sure it's nothing life threatening to either of us. I think we should continue walking, and get to headquarters like we're suppose to."
With that, she began to walk, leaving Lavi with no room to argue back. He followed, slightly irritated himself, but kept his indifferences tucked away inside of him, not wanting to create a petty argument with this somewhat hot-headed girl. Beatrix would have smiled, knowing she had had the last word, but decided against it, knowing that would be childish behavior. She just kept going, playing the little game she had been when they had first started walking.
It seemed like an eternity that they had been walking, but still it seemed that there would be no clearing coming their way any soon. Beatrix, like a typical girl, began fretting if anyone would remember her, or if anyone even cared to remember her. The only person she wanted to meet was the director, General Yeegar, the kind old-fashion mannered man who was one of the only people who paid her any mind when she was first starting in the Order. Everyone in the Order respected and followed his directions, and the German branch was a happy place because of it.
Suddenly, there was a large explosion, and the ground beneath their feet trembled with great might, as if a earthquake was tearing through the forest. Beatrix stood her ground, watching the smoke rise from the direction that the German branch at a fast rate. Soon, there was a flash of fire, and another great explosion was heard, shaking the earth yet again. Beatrix almost lost her balance this time, but caught herself, leaning her weight against a tree near to her.
"Are you alright?" Lavi said, after all was quiet again.
"Yeah." Beatrix said, realizing that something serious was going on. The German branch was in trouble, and they needed to hurry and help, if there was anything left to help. How could they get there, though? There was at least another hour of walking, and it was far to dangerous to cut through the forest.
"Boo." An eerie voice called from above Beatrix, chilling the inner depths of her body.
Beatrix took a few quick steps away from the tree, and glanced towards the tree's branches, trying to clam her nerves. Her eyes soon settled on another pair of eyes, though these were large like an owls and the color of melted gold, peering in between the tree's higher branches, menacing and ominous. Soon, a laugh broke through the air, sounding like a small girl's voice, but nothing like it. This laugh wasn't pure or happy, it was taunting and as eerie as the voice they had heard a few moments ago.
"Who are you?" Lavi said, being the first of the two to speak.
"Oh, no need to worry, Junior." The voice called, smugly. "I'm just doing my job, as you two do yours. So you two are exorcists, hm? That means I get to have more fun."
"What do you mean?" Beatrix said, feeling the fears in her rise. "What did you do to the German Branch?!"
"Oh, calm down, little forest sprite." The voice said, laughing yet again. "I just did what I was told, and had some fun with the other German exorcists. Sadly, they didn't want to play nicely, so I just killed them all."
It was all too silent for a moment, as the meaning of what she was saying sunk in. The German branch was gone, along with everyone inside of it. This person, or thing, was what had killed them all. That was far more than Beatrix could stand to hear.
"You monster!" Beatrix screamed, the tears flowing down her face. "How could you!"
A frightening chill filled the air around Beatrix, making goosebumps flare across her skin, and quickening her heartbeat. "Now, now." The voice said, a hint of anger hidden behind it. "You're from the German Branch, right? Let's play a little game then."
The world around Beatrix suddenly faded to a shade of dark gray, her shadow in front of her, white and unrealistic. She wasn't quite sure where she was, or if she was still even in the world of the living anymore. She could feel that someone was watching her, and quickly turned around. No one was there, just an empty expanse of forest.
"Lavi?" Beatrix called, her voice echoing in the expanse.
Suddenly, something appeared at the end of the expanse, running towards her. The figure, like anything at a distance, was blurry at first then became more and more familiar to Beatrix as it approached her at a fast rate. The figure soon took the shape or a young woman with hair so straight and long Beatrix had no room to question who it was.
"Lydie!" Beatrix cried, remembering the close friend of she and her sister.
"Beati!" Lydie called back, using the nickname everyone in the traveling group used for her.
As Lydie approached, Beatrix felt the tears brimming in her eyes. Lydie was one of the few people from the traveling band that Beatrix longed to see. Lydie had never done any wrong onto Beatrix, and treated her with as much care and kindness as Addie did.
"Beati." Lydie said, as she finally stopped in front of her.
"Lydie..." Beatrix said, smiling through her tears. "I'm so glad to see you!"
"I know." She said, starting to frown. "Please, don't cry anymore, Beati. I'm here now, and I'll take you to Addie. You poor thing! Let's go clean your sister's blood off of you."
"What?" Beatrix said, looking down at her hands confused. There, dripping slowly down her arms was a thick stream of blood, making Beatrix feel sick to her stomach. She looked up, but Lydie was no longer there. Instead there was a large pine tree, with a small muddy cross at its roots. She fell to her knees, trying to figure out how all of this was happening. Why was she reliving her memories?
"Beati." Everett said placing his hand on her shoulder. "Please don't cry anymore. We have to move on soon, or else we'll be separated from our traveling band too much."
"Don't touch me!!" Beatrix screamed, moving away from his touch. If this was a dream, how could he be touching her? Was she back in the past? What was happening to her? "Get out of my head! Get out of my memories!!"
She heard the faint tinkling of laughter, and felt the scenery around her change yet again. This time she was in a cave, all too familiar to her like everything else she had encountered. There was a small fire burning in the middle, her cloak and Everett's jacket hung beside it, dripping with the enormous amount of rainwater trapped in their fibers.
Everett was sitting on the other side of the cave, watching her with a expressionless face. Beatrix immediately remembered this face, and what would soon follow it. She felt the tears slide slowly down her face, and she began to tremble, knowing that whoever was controlling her memories now wouldn't stop. Just like that, Everett got up, and was making his way across the cave to her. She put her hands around her head, and was the most frightful she had ever been in her life.
"Lavi..." She whimpered, wishing with all of her might. "Save me. Lavi!!!"
Everett was upon her now, and she felt something hot and sharp dig into her skin all across her back.
"Die, forest sprite." The omnious voice cried, and the world of her memories slipped away from her.
The Black Forest was once again around her, but for some reason Beatrix couldn't breathe. How could this be happening if she was back in the world of the living? Like an impact of a million of daggers being forced into her body at once, Beatrix fell face first into the ground, her body no longer under her control. The scenery around he was quickly diminishing, until she blacked out into a cold, empty place she had been in only once before.
AN: Such an eerie chapter, but I hope you liked it. Please review!! ~E.F.