I logged in to Fanfiction today to see that you can now upload images to the site. That means we can now have covers for our stories! Yes! I'll have to get to work on that (or if anyone would like to draw me a cover, then that would be awesome too!).
Anyhow the thank yous. First, I'd like to thank Equalibriem for putting this story on her alert list. Second, I'd like to thank WillowC1 and ilikedan for the lovely reviews. I love to hear when you guys have questions, and WillowC1's question was a good one for anyone confused about the ages of characters. Feel free to private message me if you have any other questions. Third, I'd like to thank Cstan for putting this story on their favorites and alert list.
Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray-man or the song used below. I also do not own any of the dialogue written by Katsura Hoshino.
SPOILER ALERT CHAPTER 214!
Chapter Twelve: Scarborough Fair
"Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme;
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
Then she shall be a true lover of mine."
Traditional English Ballad, 1889
He had not expected the village to be completely destroyed. Uncle Adam had sent out Neah with his cousin Road to a small village east of the Mexico City to do some 'clean up' after an akuma attack. Neah had never been out on the field before. Most of the time he would read world newspapers to find information on current conflicts for his uncle so that they knew where to plan the next attack. This work was below his strategist position, but he knew it had to be done. He just had not expected it to be so dirty.
Everything he had heard about akuma attacks was that they were quick and painless, much more humane than human wars. His current surroundings begged to differ. Neah was sure that the darker large clumps of dirt sitting among the smoldering remains were held together by blood. He might have vomited if Road were not with him.
Road seemed to be the complete opposite of his morose appearance. The thirteen-year old skipped amongst piles of dust and debris humming some little tune to herself. She had a wild grin plastered across her face as she examined their handiwork.
"Uncle Adam will be so proud when he has heard how well this attack went!" she called over the howling wind. Her limp hair danced like snakes around her head and mingled with the flying dust. Neah couldn't help but feel that his dignified cousin looked, well, savage, in this environment. Sure, Road wasn't dainty like Aunt Lulubell, but she was generally refined. If he didn't know Road beforehand, he would have thought she was a witch upon seeing her here.
"Sure," he replied. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shut his eyes as more dust flew past his face.
"Come one, Neah," protested Road, "you must be a little bit proud. You planned this whole attack, and look! There's not a human left for miles around." She whirled around in a circle, causing her green dress to fan out around her.
"That's certainly true," Neah stated. "Aren't we almost done yet? I want to get out of this damn dust."
"That's not polite, Neah," tittered Road. "You shouldn't use such language around a lady. Plus, we'll probably head out again as soon as we arrive home, and I hardly get to see you alone anymore. I've missed you, Neah."
He was missing the old Road now, too: the Road that was vain and bothered him nonstop about stupid things like hair-bows and tea. Neah honestly would not have minded going on a picnic right now, anything that would take him away from the bloody crater he had helped to create. "That's nice," was all he managed to say. He gave the village one last scan and knew with that he had done his job all too well. "Perhaps we can get some time off to have tea together soon. For now, though, I believe we are done. Let's go home, Road."
She pouted but began to head back towards Neah. He let her pass him so that he wouldn't have to hear his monster of a cousin humming her happy tunes or see her smiling as she saw the carnage. Neah summoned a gate at the edge of the dead village, and they returned to London.
oOo
Uncle Tykki invited him (forced him) to attend a ball later that week. "You're a suave type like myself," he explained as they rode in a carriage bound to Campbell Manor- the house where his mother grew up.
It was owned by to her second cousin Cyrus. Neah would have to say that Cyrus was the weirder version of Uncle Adam, although the two looked nothing alike. Cyrus was somewhat short and always very cheerful. He lacked the grace of his esteemed Uncle Adam. Despite his social short-comings, Cyrus was the oldest male on his mother's side of the family, so once Arienne had married and Cyrus' father passed away he became the head of the Campbell family. He spent most days tinkering with odd tidbits here and there. Cyrus was trying to build a motor-powered glider that could fly for great distances. Neah thought he was crazy, but he put up with the once a year visits for his mother's sake.
"It would be a shame to let your talents go to waste," continued Uncle Tykki.
"But I'm betrothed," replied Neah. "Road would hurt me if I tried to flirt with any other girl. I'm not a free agent like you, Uncle Tykki."
Uncle Tykki laughed at this comment. "That's true," he chuckled. "I can't imagine Road going easy on either of us in that case. Maybe I can persuade one of your peers to distract her for a bit…"
Neah rolled his eyes, which only caused his uncle to laugh again. He wasn't very fond of Uncle Tykki- it was hard for any of his uncles to measure up to Uncle Adam- but he was at least jovial when not around the rest of the family. Maybe the man had some of the same doubts that Neah was having himself…
The party was long and boring just as Neah expected. Vain girls pranced around in weather-balloon-sized ball gowns trying to catch the eyes of the young lords. He found that he was often the target of their affections since he would inherit the title of the head of the Walker household in the next couple years. Neah really wondered if anyone knew that he was betrothed, or if they just didn't care. He had heard of cases where a betrothal was broken due to better prospects coming up. Perhaps he should pay more attention.
"You don't have to marry anyone," rumbled a voice inside his head. He felt a familiar spot in his chest begin to burn. Neah hadn't really noticed the burning sensation until later in his childhood, but he continued to ignore even afterwards. It was only when he lay in bed with a severe fever that he had finally told anyone, causing great panic for Rhian. He had awoken not too long after that. His chest burned almost all the time now. "You could just cut off ties with Road."
"And then what?" he thought. Neah walked out of the ball room onto a veranda outside. He leaned up against a wall. "It wouldn't please the Clan."
"Must you always live for the Clan?" mocked his Inner Noah in a tone similar to Mana. "Your brother is a weakling, but he's right about how enslaved you are to your family."
"Enslaved?" laughed Neah. "I have the birthright to two estates, and after I marry Road I'll own another. I can travel anywhere I want in the world without a thought. I can buy anything I want. I live the definition of freedom."
"You live a freedom bound by chains," said the Inner Noah. "Your family only lies to you, Neah. If you would listen to me and do things my way, then I could give you true freedom."
"And what would that be?" asked Neah. "Destroying everything? I know you too well, my friend."
"It's out of destruction that you can create things," reasoned the Inner Noah. "If you would destroy all of this then you could create a new world that follows your rules."
"I'm fine with the current game," snapped Neah.
Shadows seemed to rise around him. "Then why are you unhappy?" inquired the Inner Noah. "You cannot lie to me about your pain. I am you, and you want out."
"Shut up!" growled Neah. He slammed a fist against the wall of the house.
"Just give me power, you damn brat!" the Inner Noah shouted at him. Neah plugged his ears and slid down against the wall. "You cannot resist me, so just give in already!"
"Mana, help me," he moaned. As the Inner Noah continued to shout profanities into his ears, Neah hoisted himself up and brushed his clothes off. Once he was certain he was presentable again, he went back into the ball room.
He ran into Uncle Adam as he made his way to the front door. "Neah, there you are," said Uncle Adam. His bright smile turned to a slight frown when he looked into Neah's face. "Are you alright, nephew? You're looking awfully pale."
"I'm not feeling too well," admitted Neah. "I'm thinking of retiring early tonight. Would you mind if I borrowed a horse, Uncle Adam?"
"Not at all," replied Uncle Adam. "You know where the stables are. Are you certain you can ride back, though, in your current condition."
Neah felt a spell of dizziness overtake him. "I may rest for a bit before departing," he stated.
"Feel free to use one of the upstairs rooms, then," quipped Uncle Adam. He turned his attention back to his guests.
Neah found the second floor to by satisfactorily empty, so he picked an empty guest room and lay down. Thankfully, the Inner Noah had given up on yelling at him at this point. It always restrained itself whenever he spoke with Uncle Adam and for a good while afterwards. He was still feeling quite shaky, though.
A floor board in the hall creaked. Neah looked up at the door and then lay back down. However, he heard another creak, so he sat up and went to investigate the noise. When he opened the door he saw Uncle Sheril sweep into the neighboring room. Avoiding the creaking floor boards (he knew where they were due to increasingly frequent visits to the estate on 'business') Neah crept up to the door of the adjacent room and peaked inside through the crack between the now open door and the doorframe.
"This was a terrible time to wake up, my dear," drawled Uncle Sheril. He was looking down at a tiny figure in a very plush bed. The heavy velvet curtains were drawn open. Lying among numerous pillows was a young woman, probably a little over twenty years old. "The Earl is very worried about you. The guests are in hysterics having seen Road faint so suddenly."
"I know," replied a very weak voice. The woman looked up through very limp black hair at Uncle Sheril. "My emotions just boiled over when I heard Neah was not here to dance with me. It's hard to contain such emotions to a dream."
"It doesn't matter now," replied Sheril. "Just go back to sleep, Cornelia, so that Road wakes up."
"Of course, Sheril," yawned the woman. Heavy eyelids shuttered her dark eyes, making her sunken, sickly pale skin stand out. Cornelia began to breath evenly.
Neah silently raced back to the room he had occupied just before Uncle Sheril exited the neighboring room. He listened for the creaks accompanying his uncle's footsteps as he walked down the hall and returned to the ball below. Neah found that his hands did not stop shaking even after Uncle Sheril's footsteps faded to nothing.
He began to pace to ease his nerves. So Road had fainted when this Cornelia woke up, and Cornelia had said something about maintaining a dream…
"Told you that they lied to you," grumbled the Inner Noah.
Neah didn't even argue back. He flung on his abandoned tailcoat and ran out of the room, down the stairs, and out the back door towards the stables. The stable boy ran about at his snappy orders to ready a horse, terrified at the sight of the enraged young Lord Walker. Neah swung his leg over the horse and rode back to Walker Manor.
oOo
He remembered the name Cornelia very well. There was one tree planted on the grounds around the manor. His mother had always been very fond of it, calling the tree Cornelia. She would say hello whenever she came outside.
Neah liked the tree as well. Whenever he needed to get away from his brothers or the annoyingly watchful eyes of Git, he would climb up into the branches of Cornelia. Even though he would get dirty, his mother didn't seem to mind. Some of his best memories of his mother came from the times they had talked out by Cornelia.
He remembered one day in particular. Neah had been six years old at the time, and Mana had taken very ill. Rory had sat outside Mana's door with Gitano, asking constantly when Mana would wake up. Mother and Rhian spent most of the time sitting by Mana's bedside holding his hand or pressing a cool cloth to his forehead. He remembered being quite jealous for the amount of affection shown, but also extremely lonely.
Several akuma in the Camelot Family staff had been whispering about the fact that Mana might not grow up. He might not even wake up at all. Everyone was pretty certain that his brother was going to die. They said he wasn't strong enough to join the Clan. His death would make Neah the oldest, and he did not feel ready to be the head of his family. Gitano didn't respect him- then again Git didn't respect anyone- and Rory had never looked up to him the way he had looked up to Mana.
He felt ill at the thought and felt the burning sensation in his chest- one of the first of many times.
That's when mother had appeared at the base of the tree, smiling sweetly up at him. Only when she was alone with him did Mother truly show how much she loved him. Mother was cold to the outside world, but that was because she had to be stronger than it, raising three children on her own.
She was wearing her favorite pale yellow dress with the puffed sleeves that day. Mother had always looked very pretty in that dress. It made her reddish-brown hair look like it was on fire. Uncle Adam had said that whenever she did. She had teased Neah about talking to the wind that day. He supposed he had been talking to himself but definitely not to the wind. Then he would be just plain crazy.
She had been very playful that day, talking like a child. Mana seemed to talk like that now. Maybe it was genetic. Neah hoped it wasn't contagious.
He was just about to divulge his fears to his mother when she started laughing and Mana crawled out from under her skirts calling out his name. Neah had been much too relieved to be angry at his older brother for playing that trick on him instead of running out of the house to greet him. His brother was flushed with joy at being alive and able to run outside again.
Mana explained that Mother had really wanted to play a joke, seeing how depressed everyone had been (minus Git). It was the happiest he could remember ever seeing his mother and his normally cold older brother. Neah even remembered crying that day as he climbed out of the tree, getting dirt all over his new shirt. He had shared a tight embrace with his brother and his mother and then ran off to the house to see if Rory knew yet. Before he had reached the front steps, however, he had stopped and turned to see Mother and Mana's progress.
Mana ran towards him, slightly out of breath (he hadn't been one for exercise in those days). Mother was several meters behind, her skirts flying behind her like the wings of a butterfly as she jogged towards them. Neah extended his hand to his older brother and smiled. Mana took it gratefully and gave his free hand to Mother. Together they walked through the front door.
Now he was confused. The good memories he had of the tree Cornelia seemed to mix with the face of the young woman in Uncle Adam's house. His mother's soft loving greeting to the tree now seemed like a conspiracy. He really wanted to ask Mother why the tree was called Cornelia…
oOo
"Lord Neah!" exclaimed Sophia when he stalked through the door. "You're home early. I thought you were returning with your uncle."
"I-I wasn't feeling well," he stammered. Neah tried several times to remove his gloves with clumsy, trembling hands. Finally, Sophia walked over to him and tentatively removed them for him. She led him to the sitting room and pushed him down into one of the large cushioned armchairs.
"Would you like something to drink?" she asked. She sounded genuinely worried. Her large eyes searched his face for any sign of his distress. "Perhaps some tea?"
"No thank you," he mumbled.
Sophia curtsied and then turned to leave. Suddenly she stopped and walked hurriedly back to him. "I almost forgot," she said. "Bookman sent a telegraph earlier today. He was reminding you to fetch Sanjiv from Venice."
Neah wanted to hit his head against a wall. He really didn't want to face either Bookman or his apprentice right now. They would be able to tell that something had happened, and for some reason Neah felt that it was best that nobody found out. He didn't know how forgiving they would be if they found out he had stuck his nose into family secrets without being invited…
"I honestly don't think that I have the energy for that," replied Neah. "However, I have the gate open already in my room. Could you perhaps go in my stead?"
Sophia looked completely shocked that he was asking her a favor and that he was being polite about it. He couldn't remember ever giving her an order that was not expressed in a command. "Of course," she stated. "I'm afraid I don't know which door goes to Venice."
"It's the one on the second level of the city across from the boarded up door," responded Neah. He shivered at the mention of that door.
She seemed to understand what that door meant and bowed her head. "I won't touch that door, Lord Neah," Sophia said. As she turned her raven curls fell unglamorously over her shoulder. "Do you know where in the city he is?"
Neah thought about it for a moment. He knew that Bookman had set up a meeting place for them and said it was for a very specific reason, but Neah could not remember it at the time due to his current mental state. "I cannot remember," he sighed. "I think I set it to the right place. At least that's always where I enter Venice. I'm sure Sanjiv can't be too far from that point. Now go."
"Yes, sir," replied Sophia. She rushed out of the room and up the stairs.
He heard his bedroom door swing open slightly on its hinges. Neah would have to remember to ask that girl to oil the hinges when she returned. It only occurred to him later that he should have told her to wear a coat. The night could still be pretty chilly in April.
"Just look at you now," seethed the Inner Noah. "You're pitying a human!"
"So what?" groaned Neah. He had heard just about enough from his Inner Noah tonight. It was bad enough that he'd had some doubts about his family. He didn't need anyone or anything else telling him what to do.
The silence after that might have been worse because now he could actually think. He now knew that Road wasn't really Road. It would be correct to say that there wasn't even really a girl named Road. Road was Cornelia, a twenty-something year old confined to bed in order to maintain her powers. And Neah was supposed to marry this woman. He somehow felt sicker than when he had first thought about what it meant to marry Road.
Luckily, Sophia returned before he could continue thinking about his current dilemma. Her footsteps sounded rather heavy, though. Almost like she was wearing a pair of boots…
"Hey, Neah," said a very familiar baritone. He wanted to groan. The girl had brought Sanjiv back with her to Walker Manor. It completely defeated the purpose of him not going to Venice. "You should give the kid better directions next time. Venice floods at night this time of year. Plus she couldn't remember where the door to Paris was, so I'm just going to bunk here tonight. I'll be in the other room writing a telegraph to Bookman."
Neah waited for Sanjiv to leave the room before turning on Sophia. He found, however, that he couldn't glare at the sopping wet girl in front of him. She was shaking terribly- whether out of chill or fear he didn't care- and clung tightly to a light coat that was now draped over her shoulders. Sophia's eyes were turned to the floor, almost like they could burrow a hole big enough to hide her. She reached one hand to grab onto a chain around her neck. Rhian had given the girl a silver pendant in her will. Sophia had taken to holding onto the silver pendant whenever she was frightened. The pendant had recently been joined by an emerald ring on the chain. Neah didn't know where Sophia had come across such a trinket. "Just go and change clothes," he sighed. "Then clean up all this water."
"Y-yes, Lord Neah," she replied through chattering teeth. Her face seemed to relax a bit. She still ran from the room despite this display of comfort.
Sanjiv returned not too long after. "The geezer is pissed, but you don't have to take me back to Paris tonight," stated Sanjiv. His dark eyes scanned Neah from head to foot and then raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you? You look almost as bad as Sophia."
Neah really wanted to pulverize Sanjiv and his annoyingly blank face. He sat up straighter in his chair. "Nothing," he snapped. "Aren't you a Bookman? You should have been able to remember which door goes to Paris."
"I do remember that it was on the fifth level and that it's surrounded by and arched vine bearing red roses," Sanjiv remarked. "However, it would take too long to look at every door on the fifth level and your maid looked like she would get lost if I left her there. As I said earlier, you're terrible at giving directions."
"What do you care about how I treat my staff?" asked Neah.
"I don't," responded Sanjiv. One of his hands twitched. "I still want to know what you're hiding."
"You're just making assumptions," grumbled Neah. He crossed his arms over his chest.
"I don't need to make assumptions. I know," said Sanjiv. "The way you're sitting tells me everything. When I came in you were slouched. You only slouch whenever something is weighing heavily on your mind. As soon as I mentioned your appearance you straightened up as if you were trying to hide the fact that something is wrong. Then you became defensive and crossed your arms in front of you. You can't hide things from me, Neah Walker. I will find out one way or another."
Neah's eyes became wide at this analysis. He hadn't even noticed those things about himself. Even his actions were betraying him tonight. "I'm not that easy to frighten," seethed Neah.
"I know," replied Sanjiv. "I'm willing to trade, though."
"Isn't that against your credo?" questioned Neah.
"No," stated Sanjiv. "As long as I believe the information you have is useful, then I'm allowed to trade almost anything."
"And what kind of trade would this be?" asked Neah.
Sanjiv locked his fingers together and extended his arms to crack them. "I might have run into somebody or somebodies you might or might not find interesting."
Neah had a good idea about these people. Right now he'd be willing to let Sanjiv stay a weak if he could have something to think about besides the Cornelia issue. "Fine," he spat. "I suppose you ran into Mana."
"Not at first," replied Sanjiv. "I went to Sicily first because I heard Cross was in Sicily. The akuma attack there went a bit overboard, though. I thought for a bit your clan ordered the entire island to be destroyed."
"There were akuma in Sicily?" he inquired. He couldn't remember sending them there, but then again he was sending new akuma out almost every day.
"Yes, and if it wasn't for the Black Order then Cross might not still be among us."
"The Black Order rescued him?" exclaimed Neah. If they found out about Cross' former ties, then he was going to be in serious trouble.
"He didn't tell them anything," replied Sanjiv, rolling his eyes at Neah's display of panic. "He wasn't exactly friendly to them. Pretty much tried to do whatever he could to get them off the island as quickly as possible. He left for the mainland after that. Now when I first arrived there he accidently gave me information on Mana's whereabouts, so I headed to Venice after that."
"Mana is in Venice?" repeated Neah. Sanjiv had been pretty lucky in that respect, otherwise he probably would not have been able to drop in on his wayward brother.
"Yes. He's living it up too. Definitely not what I would think of as a young lord," elaborated Sanjiv. He sat down on a chair across from Neah. "He was practically intoxicated and running around screaming with little children."
Neah was having a hard time imagining this at first, but then he thought about Mana in Berlin…
"Sound like him," he mumbled. "But besides that?"
"He was well," responded Sanjiv. "Things were pretty dull in Venice."
At least Mana wasn't facing any akuma attacks. Sanjiv looked at him expectantly, so Neah began to talk. "I was at a ball tonight at my Uncle Cyrus' house."
"Your mother's cousin, correct?" questioned Sanjiv.
"Yes," replied Neah. He finished telling Sanjiv about the woman named Cornelia and what Uncle Sheril had said. Neah wasn't surprised when Sanjiv came to the same conclusion.
"So Road is actually this Cornelia," said Sanjiv. Neah nodded. "Normally these kinds of things are surprising, but with the way your clan is it somehow lessens the effect. What are you going to do about this, Neah?"
"I don't know," he grumbled. He stood up and began to pace. "I want to find out more about her, but I feel like I'm not supposed to know just yet. I'm sure Road will want to strangle me if she finds out that I know that she's that weak little thing rotting away in a bed."
"She wouldn't kill you," responded Sanjiv. "You're part of her dream."
"I don't want to be part of her dream!" shouted Neah. He felt his face turning red with anger and embarrassment. "Do you know anything about her?"
"Not much," admitted Sanjiv. "The old geezer probably knows more."
"You could find out then," prompted Neah.
Sanjiv shrugged. "I'd require another favor then," he stated.
Neah moaned. "What do you want?" he questioned.
"I'm not sure yet," replied Sanjiv, "but I'm sure I'll think of something. We'll just call it an 'IOU.'"
"Alright," he snapped. Sometimes he really hated working with Bookmen. It only gave him headaches when he thought about how difficult it had been to persuade the old man to find Git and his brother. This had not been quite as difficult, but it still reminded him of those five long days last summer working out a deal. He decided this would be the last deal he'd ever make with a Bookman.
oOo
Unfortunately the Cornelia issue came up again the next day. It had been sitting quietly like a foreboding shadow all the way through breakfast. He was surprised Sanjiv was polite enough not to bring it up. Neah supposed that he should have thought better of the young Bookman. Sanjiv had always taken his work very seriously. They had just finished having tea when a knock came at the door. Sophia answered the door and reentered the room, her face very pale.
"Lady Road," she announced.
Neah furrowed his eyebrows as Sanjiv raised his. Sophia retreated to the kitchen as Road swept into the dining room. Her large lavender skirt almost knocked over a vase of flowers close to the door. "Neah!" she cried out. "I was ever so worried about you! Uncle Adam said that you were not feeling well last night."
"I wasn't," he said stiffly. He was feeling even worse now. Neah was sure that if Sanjiv were not trained so well then the boy would be snorting into his tea right about now.
"Well, you're looking much better today," she said. Neah stood up reluctantly and pulled out a chair for her. Road sat down gracefully, folding her hands daintily on her lap.
"Sophia Maria?" she inquired.
Silence greeted Road. Neah was sure that Sophia was quivering in the kitchen, praying to God that Road would just forget about her.
"SOPHIA MARIA!" Road barked.
The kitchen door opened a crack. "Yes, Lady Road?" she asked.
"I would like some tea," demanded Road. "A biscuit would be nice as well."
"Yes, m'am," replied Sophia. The door closed. Seconds later she reemerged carrying a biscuit on a plate and a fresh tea cup. She placed both in front of Road with trembling hands.
Sophia was about to poor out the tea, but Neah could see this would only end in disaster. Road was just asking for scalding tea to be poured over her lavender dress. "I'm the host," he said, holding up a hand. "I'll pour."
Sophia seemed shocked for a bit, but Sophia recovered quickly. With a quick curtsy and a nod of thanks she left the room. Road was not as pleased, but she waited to voice this opinion until Neah sat down. "I still cannot fathom why you keep her around," she scoffed. "Of all the human girls in the world, Sophia Maria has to be the most useless."
"She knows too much already, and my mother requires care," responded Neah as always.
"Well with the way things have been the past couple months I doubt she'll be requiring care for much longer," drawled Road. Neah clenched the napkin in his lap. "I don't think I've seen her up and about since Christmas. Just last year she would come down the stairs to say hello. Now she just lies in bed. I'm not an expert on human health, but I know that this is not a good sign."
"What would you have me do?" he asked, trying very hard to keep his temper.
"Why haven't you give into your Inner Noah yet and just kill her?" asked Road. "Don't you just want to strangle her with that chain around her neck every single time you see her?" Road's dark eyes seemed to bulge out of her sockets. "I have to stop the akuma in my house from flying over here every single time I come home. My clothing reeks of human. How can you stand such a stench? I just want to snuff it out whenever I smell it."
Road twisted the napkin in her lap tightly like she was wringing someone's neck. A bit of tea sloshed over the rim of Sanjiv's cup as the hand holding it twitched. Neah set his own cup down to avoid spilling anything.
"No," he said honestly. "I just don't pay any attention to the Inner Noah. I'm more civilized than he is, so we don't really have the same tastes. He can say all he wants, but that isn't going to change the fact that Sophia is part of the household staff."
"She's a thorn in my side, Neah," Road groaned, leaning back in her seat. This was the most unladylike he could ever remember seeing his cousin. "The staff in my manor keeps taunting me about how it's practically just you and her locked up in this place all the time. I know that you despise humans just as much as I do, but there is only so much a lady can take."
Now he was furious. "I don't care what your household may or may not be implying, but I can assure you that there's nothing fishy going on here," he seethed. "I can't say the same about your house."
For once, Road glared at him. Her face turned a bright shade of red, which was only brought out more by the pale lavender dress. He saw the vein in her right temple bulge in her fury. Neah felt instantly satisfied. "HOW DARE YOU BRING UP THAT FILTHY EXCUSE OF A GUARDIAN!" she shrieked. Sanjiv leaned forward, truly intrigued now. "THIS IS NOT ABOUT UNCLE SHERIL AND AUNT LULUBELL. IT'S ABOUT THAT STUPID BITCH THAT WORKS IN THE KITCHEN. I AM YOUR FIANCE, AND I DON'T WANT TO SEE HER ANYMORE. AS SOON AS YOUR MOTHER PASSES I'M GETTING RID OF HER."
Neah stood and slammed both fists on the table. "IF YOU DIDN'T WANT TO SEE HER ANYMORE WHY DID YOU EVEN COME HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE?" roared Neah.
"FINE!" she screamed. Road threw her tea cup on the ground causing it to shatter. "THIS ISN'T OVER, THOUGH! I'LL HAVE MY WAY IN THE END. MAKE NO MISTAKE ABOUT THAT!" She stormed out the door. Seconds later Neah heard her coach pulling away.
He pushed his tussled black hair out of his face. Neah felt much better now that Road was gone, though he knew there would be hell to pay for it later. He noted that for someone who wasn't real, Road could still cause one massive headache. Sanjiv was giving him an appraising look. "Don't even start," Neah snapped.
He left Sanjiv at the table and went upstairs. It was approximately half past nine: time to say good morning to his mother. Neah gave a light knock on the door and then opened it a crack. His mother turned towards the streak of bright light that now entered her room. "Rory?" she asked in a very weak voice, even weaker than that of Cornelia.
Neah felt his spirits fall. Every day it was the same routine. "No," he replied. "It's Neah."
His mother didn't seem to register this fact. "You came back," she cried, extending an arm to Neah.
"Mother-" he began to say.
"I love you," she breathed. "I never told you that enough, but I love you, Rory. I don't care that you're not as strong as your older brothers. Please, just always stay by my side."
"I'm Neah, Mother," he stated.
His mother looked at him again, and then her face fell. He really hated seeing that damn look of disappointment every morning. She really had some nerve taunting the Noah of Destruction like that.
"Oh," she replied. She didn't even apologize. Without another word she turned her back to the door.
"Good morning, Mother," he said. He shut the door behind him and stomped down the stairs. He really wanted to go into the dining room and smash the rest of the tea set that Road had already desecrated, but it would just cause him more grief later. Neah sat himself in front of the piano. Sophia came in at that moment with a fresh vase of flowers for the entrance hall.
"Sophia!" he commanded. She set the vase down on the nearest table. "Sing!"
She walked over and stood next to the piano. Neah played the first chords of the piece he had left open the other day. He felt much better. Music had always done this for him. It didn't matter that the world seemed to hate him right now. As long as he had music to play, music to hear, music to breath he could continue living like this.
"Pietà, Signore, di me dolente! Signor, pieta se a te giunge il mio pregar," she sang. Sophia truly had a beautiful voice. It was something he could never say aloud for fear of angering Road. He knew Sophia would only become better and better as she grew older. It was a shame he would always be the only one to hear her sing. Mana and Gitano used to sit in the room when they were children- back before the accident- to listen to him play little ditties so that Sophia could sing along. If they could only hear her now…
Something in the back of his head began to throb terribly. He stopped playing to grasp his head and cradle it in both hands.
"Lord Neah!" Sophia exclaimed. She helped him sit up. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," he gasped. "Please, just keep singing." He returned to playing the piano. However, the more that she sang, the worse his head hurt. Sanjiv watched this with an emotionless expression from the door across from the piano. Finally, Neah gave up. "Please stop."
Sophia ran to fetch him a glass of water as he sat there nursing his headache. He gulped the entire thing down, but it still didn't relieve the pain. Out of frustration he threw the song book down on the ground. He started to play again, this time a piece he knew from memory: Scarborough Fair. Neah noticed that this time when Sophia hummed and then began to sing that the headache did not resurface.
His head was filled with so many questions now, but they were questions he couldn't ask anyone here. He was already in debt to Sanjiv; he didn't need to owe the young Bookman more than one favor. Neah doubted that Sophia would understand what was happening to him. She might even be hurt if he told her that her singing might have been related to his headache. There was no way he was asking his mother anything- she'd probably understand less than Sophia.
Neah heard a horse whinny outside. He looked out into the stable and saw the horse he had borrowed from Uncle Adam standing in the stable with his four other horses. Neah now knew exactly who to talk to.
"Sophia, I must return a horse to my uncle," he stated. He stood up from the piano bench. "Fetch me my coat, hat, and gloves."
"Yes, Lord Neah," said Sophia. She left the room to gather his things.
Neah walked up to a mirror hanging on the wall out in the hallway. He combed his fingers through his hair, trying to make himself look more presentable. Sanjiv's reflection appeared in the mirror. "I'm going with you," he announced.
Neah turned to glare at the young Bookman. "No," he said firmly.
"I'm already later than expected," argued Sanjiv. "It will be bad for both of us if I don't have something interesting to tell Bookman when I get back to Paris."
"I've already told you enough," retorted Neah. He walked over to the door.
"And how are you coming home?" inquired Sanjiv. "I don't think you're one to walk a country mile."
Neah clenched his fists. The damn Bookman had gotten him again. As soon as he came home he was taking Sanjiv directly back to Paris and locking the door. "Fine, you take the cart with two horses," he groused.
Sanjiv went outside to hook up the cart and fix the saddle on Uncle Adam's horse. Sophia helped him straighten his shirt and tie, wishing him luck with whatever he was doing today (he realized he was very bad at hiding his emotions). Neah gave himself one last look in the mirror before taking up his walking stick and rushing out the door.
Alright, this chapter became pretty loaded in the end. Let's have a small discussion about things sort of like the end of chapter one. As of now the story is pretty much officially AU. I did my best to incorporate parts of the new chapter, but it was a stretch at points. The thing with the tree became my focal point because: a) I wanted to show Arienne's more human side, and b) it deals with hers and Road's back story. We'll delve into that more later though. XD
This chapter, like the last, didn't have a ton of visible plot development since I needed more of a focus on Neah and his changing views. I also really needed to deal with the issues between him and his mother. Hopefully it seemed realistic enough to you.
Anyhow, for any Cross fans out there, he'll be back next chapter. Please review!