AN: Chapter Eleven. I'm sorry I left you guys on a cliffhanger last time. Well, sort of sorry. :P
...
Walking up to the door quietly, he put his ear to it to see if he could hear anything. He couldn't hear anything, but silence. Careful not to disturb anyone, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside. The next thing Wheatley saw caused him to stare in shock.
Wheatley couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sitting in the floor, in the corner of the room, was Chell. There was a glowing blue orb floating just an inch or so above her palms.
How is that possible?
Wheatley watched as Chell manipulated the orb, moving it around and altering it's size, ranging from the size of a small pincushion to the size of an orange. Judging by the smile on her face, she was quite proud of herself. Suddenly the orb disappeared and Chell's eyes come in direct contact with Wheatley's.
Uh oh.
The little girl quickly got to her feet and ran towards him. Pushing him into the hallway, she shut the door behind her. He crouched down to eye level with her. She placed both her hands over his mouth, as if to tell him not to say a word. Understand what she was asking, Wheatley nodded. Chell removed her hands.
"Who taught you to do that?" he asked, his voice barley above a whisper.
Chell pointed behind him. Turning to look, Wheatley realized she was pointing to Vincent's bedroom door. He looked back at the girl.
"Vincent?"
She nodded. He looked back at the door.
Is that why he seemed so interested in her?
Suddenly the sound of distant footsteps filled the air, and Wheatley knew it was one of the night guards making his rounds. He returned his eyes to Chell.
"You better get back to bed before that guard catches you out here."
Chell nodded in agreement. Turning around she opened her door and slipped back into her room. Standing up, Wheatley retreated to his own room.
Once inside, he pulled out his journal and began to write.
I need to speak to Vincent as soon as I can.
...
Sleeping was proving to be difficult. What happened with Chell kept replaying over and over in his mind and with it, came questions.
Was that really magic? How long has this been going on? How did Vincent even know she would be able to do it in the first place? Does anybody else know about this?
As far as the first question went, Wheatley had always thought magic was simply a myth. He remembered horror stories of wicked witches tormenting innocent people and spiriting away sleeping children straight from their beds. Those stories had scared him a lot as a child, and for a long time, he had a hard time sleeping at night. Though, as he got older, he assumed the stories were simply that. Stories.
For the second question, He was certain this hadn't been going on too long, as Vincent hadn't been working at the castle until recently. But how soon after he got here did he start teaching her?
He had no idea how to answer the last two question.
But if Chell could do magic, wouldn't she have to be evil? The witches in the stories were always evil.
Wheatley shook his head. No. He was sure she was a good person.
So, does that mean good people can do magic too?
Then another thought crossed his mind.
Or Vincent is evil, and he's trying to make her evil too.
He wondered if that's why he always felt uneasy around him. The thought scared him and made him worry about talking to Vincent alone. If he was evil, what would stop him from killing Wheatley for discovering his secret? Was it possible to have someone come with him?
I could bring Chell.
He quickly dismissed that option.
But what if he decides to kill her once she knows he's trying to make her evil. I can't let that happen.
But if not Chell then who? After some thought Wheatley realized anyone he brought could be in danger. He had to do this alone. He wasn't sure he was looking forward to that conversation.
...
The next morning, Wheatley had to drag himself out of bed. He felt like he hadn't slept all night, and in a way he hadn't. What time he was asleep, he tossed and turned so much he might as well have been awake. He scooted around a bit like a zombie towards the dining area.
"Are you alright, Wheatley?"
He looked up to see Eliza staring at him. Chell was standing behind her, looking a bit worried. He wasn't sure if she was worried about him, or worried that he might not keep her secret.
"I'm fine. Just didn't sleep well." He plopped down in his seat.
A plate of eggs, bacon, and toast was placed in front of him.
He muttered a quick "Thanks, Daniel."
As Wheatley ate his breakfast, he kept looking over at Chell. Usually she's the life of the party, so to speak, but this morning she seemed a bit reserved.
"Good Morning, Everyone."
Wheatley inwardly flinched at the sound of Vincent's voice. There were several 'Good Morning's' that filled the room. Vincent looked over at Chell.
"And how are you this morning?"
Chell gave him a soft smile. Eliza rubbed her back.
"She's still a bit tired. Poor thing didn't get a wink of sleep." Eliza kissed the top of Chell's head. The girl blushed with embarrassment.
"Oh, I see how it is. Getting to old to be getting kisses from your old mother now, huh?" Eliza chuckled.
Chell shook her head.
"No?" Eliza smiled broadly. "So it's ok if I still do this?" Suddenly Eliza wrapped both arms around the girl's waist and began covering her in dozens of kisses. Chell was doubled over in silent laughter.
Wheatley watched with a small smile on his face.
If only she knew what might be happening to her little girl.
He briefly wondered if he should tell Eliza what he feared was going on, but he'd expressed concern over Vincent before and she dismissed it. Unless he had proof, he didn't think it would do any good to tell her.
...
Breakfast was now over and Wheatley was in GLaDOS's chambers working on the next stack of invitations. He found it increasingly hard to focus on his work, and was trying his hardest not to fall asleep right at the table. He sincerely hoped she hadn't taken too much notice.
He felt his eyes try to flutter closed.
Have to stay up.
He honestly wasn't sure how well he was doing on his work, but he assumed he wasn't doing too bad since GLaDOS hadn't snapped at him yet. Maybe she was too busy reading to notice.
Wheatley supported his head in his left hand, resting his elbow on the table. He used the ink bottle as a paperweight to hold the parchment still while he wrote.
That helps a bit.
There was a knock at the chamber door. GLaDOS responded.
"Come in."
The door came open and Wheatley used what strength he had to look up. The Head of the Royal Guard was standing there.
"My Queen, I must speak with you."
GLaDOS nodded. "Of course." She looked over at Wheatley. "I'll just be a moment."
Wheatley gave a weak nod. With that, GLaDOS left the chamber.
With her out of the room, it became harder for him not to fall asleep.
Maybe she'll be gone for a while and I can rest my head, just for a second.
Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.
...
GLaDOS returned to her chambers to find Wheatley asleep at his station. She should have guessed. He's been struggling to stay awake all day. Part of her wanted to chastise him, the other couldn't help but admire how handsome and sweet he looked.
I really should wake him up.
However, she decided otherwise, and simply stirred him just enough to lead him to the nearby couch.
Now that that was taken care of, she had more important things to tend to. As she returned to the door she just entered, she took another look at Wheatley.
I really am getting soft these days.
Smiling to herself, she left the room.
...
"DON'T KILL HER! PLEASE..."
Wheatley struggled to make it up the hill. Each time, it seemed harder and harder for him to reach her and each time he failed to stop the hooded man in time.
He felt like time was running out for her, and he was powerless to stop it. But he had to. He couldn't lose her.
He watched as the hooded man thrusted the knife into her.
"NOOOOOOOOOO..."
The man disappeared and Wheatley put every ounce of effort to reach her, just as he had every time before.
This time, however, as he reached the top, a pair of red eyes filled the sky...
Wheatley woke up to discover himself somewhere he didn't recognize. The only light he could see was the tiny bit of moonlight that had snuck it's way through the closed curtains over the window. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes, trying to make out where exactly he was.
Last I remember, I was working on...oh, no.
He was in GLaDOS's chamber last he remembered, but he clearly wasn't in the dungeons. So was he still in her chambers?
Wheatley stood up and made his way to the window. He opened the curtains, and the moonlight shined bright enough for him to see his station and the couch he had just gotten up from.
So I'm still in here. But how did I get to the couch? I'm sure I fell asleep at the table.
He also wondered why GLaDOS hadn't punished him. Although, now that he thought about it, he realized that she hadn't punished him since the accident that broke her wrist. If anything, she'd been quite kind actually, though, it hadn't really occurred to him until now.
Honestly, I really shouldn't question my good fortune. Might ruin it.
He looked outside. The sky was so clear, you could practically see every star in the sky.
I think I'll go outside for a bit. A night like this might be what I need after that nightmare.
With that, he closed the curtains, and cautiously made his way to the chamber door. Making sure not to make too much noise, he opened the door and headed down the hallway.
I wonder how the sky would look from the roof? It's much closer than the back courtyard.
Deciding on the roof, he headed for the stairs that led up to it.
Once up there, Wheatley got a good view of the moon and stars.
The sky looks absolutely amazing at night from up here.
He looked out over the Kingdom. He could see the street lamps glowing, creating a beautiful nighttime view.
This is a perfect place to think.
Of course the nightmare took precedence at the immediate moment. It had been the same thing for months now, and suddenly there were those eyes.
Red eyes.
The only person Wheatley knew that had eyes that color were Vincent. Maybe the nightmare was trying to warn him.
Does that mean the woman in white is Chell?
But Chell was a little girl, and he could clearly tell that the woman in white was an adult.
A grown Chell then?
It was possible, but he wasn't sure why Vincent would train her to use magic, just to wait until she was grown to kill her. What he did know was that whomever this woman was, meant a lot to him. He could feel it, even through the nightmare.
Wheatley laid down on his back and looked up at the sky. Trying to analyze the nightmare was a pain. He hadn't put too much thought into figuring it out until Eliza told him that it could come true. After that, he wondered if there was any truth to it and began taking more detailed notes on it in his journal.
His journal.
I need to write this all out.
He stood up and returned to the staircase and went back into the castle.
...
Forgive me for having a couch in GLaDOS's chamber. I tried looking up weather or not they had them back then, but couldn't find much on it, so I just went with it. :P
Reviews are always welcome.