Musicalocelot: Oh...Thank you! I was wondering what it was. Anyway I'm glad that you were smiling and kinda not becuase your face hurt...XD
Disclaimer: Lancelot and everyone related belongs to SEGA. OCs belongs to me.
Chapter 7: What friends?
Today was quite a bit more interesting than most.
Elizabeth held, the little bit of homework, that she had against her chest while she walked to where the her teacher instructed. As she walked in her spot, between two boys, she was poked on her shoulder. A little, green, hedgehog with blue eyes about an inch shorter than her, waved at her when she turned back. She assumed he was about six, the same age.
Well, this was unusual.
For most of the year, so far, not one person talked to her. In fact, when there was a need for partners she was usually paired with the teacher; her being the odd one out. This didn't bother her one bit until later she noticed she was the only girl in her class. She couldn't recall seeing any other girls in the school but the issue soon escaped the hinges of her mind. She didn't really care anymore, anyway. But, she was used to the fact that she didn't talk to anyone, this was sort of a surprise.
Not wanting to be rude, Elizabeth gave him a timid smile and faced forward. The other hedgehog just smiled at her even though she couldn't see him. For the rest of the day the two never talked or anything. She assumed he must've mistaken her for someone else and it was just a one-time thing so, she didn't think much of it.
The young, ebony, hedgehog ran out to her awaiting father. Her short hair was tied in a tiny ponytail decorated with a cute lavender ribbon. Elizabeth jumped into her father's arms and hugged him. She missed him terribly, like any other day. The girl absolutely hated school. Well, not totally. Maybe she wouldn't if they moved on from addition. It was the easiest thing in the book.
"How was your day, my dear?" Lancelot asked, happy to see her. He knew school was good for her but, personally, didn't like being away from his only child.
Elizabeth shrugged. "It was good," she said. That was what she said every day but once in awhile she provided extra information. "It was a bit boring though. I missed you a lot daddy," she added.
Before setting her down Lancelot kissed her cheek and said lovingly, "I missed you too." He grabbed a hold of her hand and they walked. "How was the day boring?"
"I don't know," Elizabeth said, "It's just that I already know how to do most of the stuff and nobody talks to me. I already know what five plus three is. Daddy, why do I have to go to school? Can I just stay home with you?"
She couldn't understand why but she could see her father's stare turn into a glare. He looked straight ahead and she followed his gaze to see what he was upset about but all she saw was the open walk-way. Elizabeth tugged at his hand. Maybe some good news would cheer him up, "Daddy, guess what!"
"What," he huffed. She slightly jumped at the volume of his voice but continued, "I-I got all the answers right on my paper."
"Elizabeth, do you feel comfortable at school?"
Well this was out of the blue. Didn't he hear anything she just said? Why wasn't he excited? Why was he angry? She wanted to ask these questions but she found herself in the middle of an answer.
"Umm yes?" she didn't know if it was the right or wrong answer but it must've been wrong because his grip on her hand started to tighten. "Daddy?" she questioned worriedly, "Are you okay? Did I make you mad?"
Lancelot sighed. "Yes, I'm fine, dear. It's just…." He sighed again and replaced his hard features with a gentle smile. Elizabeth instantly brightened up at the gesture and smiled back. He chuckled at her and said, "I just don't want you to be uncomfortable. You know you can tell me if you don't like being there or something's wrong, right?"
Why was this a topic? She never said anything about being uncomfortable. She said it was just boring. "Yeah daddy. I know. But it's okay. I like school," she needed to tell him that so he wouldn't get upset again. "I get to learn stuff. It's not all boring."
"I'm glad," Lancelot said.
The two ebony hedgehogs nodded at each other and continued to walk home.
He felt horrible.
He felt like a failure more so to put it. What kind of father put their child through something like this? He was basically setting his daughter up to be anti-social; like him. He wasn't a doctor or anything but being anti-social isn't something girls should be.
Lancelot deeply sighed as he fell back onto the mattress. He put his hands on his temples and rubbed them. His head hurt and on top of that he wasn't feeling like the best 'daddy' in the world. The moon that was covered by passing clouds only shined the tiniest bit of light in his room. Elizabeth had gone to bed in her own bed, for once. For the longest of time, the knight had been trying to get her to sleep on her own, but most of the time it resulted in her crying because of the scary monster under her bed.
And we all know those eyes always win in the end.
So, most nights he usually slept with her; not that he minded though. But tonight he was glad the young girl slept soundly in her own bed. He needed some time to think. To relay the day.
After their little trip back to home, the day went on as usual. Elizabeth finished her school-work, they had dinner and then it was time for bed. But as Elizabeth went through the day without trouble Lancelot had her voice stuck in his head. Each and every time he saw her, her little voice said, "Nobody talks to me."
Why didn't he see this coming? Lancelot, of course, knew she would have a bit of a hard time in school but why couldn't anybody talk to the poor girl? They were six even, he was pretty sure they couldn't understand the complications of the system and how it used to be.
This thought tortured him for so long until he got up and went to check on her. He opened the door slightly and saw the child curled up in blankets and the mass of sheets rising up and down in a calm manner. Lancelot smiled at the peaceful sight and left leaving the door slightly ajar.
Perhaps he is worrying just a tad too much. He had to factor in that Elizabeth was not the type of person to make the first move. Well, for right now. In order for her to talk she needed some encouragement and she kept to herself, most of the time, when she wasn't surrounded by familiars. He was partly to blame seeing as he was an idle person but that was okay. As long as she was okay then he was okay. That was all that mattered. Her happiness.
With a lighter heart then before Lancelot traveled over to his bed and fell asleep the moment his head touched the pillow.
"Hi, I'm Tyrone."
She blinked. She hadn't even gotten three steps in the building and this hedgehog already was speaking to her. Elizabeth eyed him carefully. It was the same boy.
"Hello?" she said, unsure.
Three words in one day was a bit to take in. No one talked to her except the teacher. What do you say to someone who you've never spoken to before and all of a sudden they sputter out their name? It's hard to come up with words but, she couldn't be rude.
"My name is Elizabeth," she was going to put out a hand but decided against it. She, instead, quickly walked away to her assigned seat waiting for the class to start. Suddenly the same boy shyly sat next to her, cross-legged, and when Elizabeth turned a questioning gaze towards him he just folded his hand in his lap and smiled.
She couldn't hold the questions in any longer.
"Why are you sitting next to me?" she cut to the core. There was no use covering the question with honey. If she was going to get answers she needed to be blunt. "You never did before."
Tyrone turned his attention to the girl and he studied her. He suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and he looked to his lap. "I'm sorry. If you don't want me to sit next to you I can just-"
"No!" she exclaimed, hands up. Elizabeth's eyes widened at her sudden outburst. She placed her hands back on her lap and repeated, quieter, "No," she continued, "I didn't mean it like that. I don't mind you sitting next to me. Just…why?"
"Oh! Because nobody has talked to you and….I just thought, maybe, I could be the first one," the green hedgehog said timidly. His face was heated up terribly and he kept scratching the back of his neck.
Suddenly white hot rage filled Elizabeth's chest. Her eyes turned a light shade of red and Elizabeth crossed her arms. Tyrone gasped.
"W-what's wrong-"
"If you're sitting by me just because you feel bad, then you shouldn't have at all. I don't need you to fake being my friend!" she shouted. She drew attention to the boy and herself from the teacher.
The two tailed fox raised his ears attentively.
She didn't need his pity or any friendship he had to offer. She didn't really understand why she was upset or why she felt like crying but she just did. Maybe it was because everything just hit her at once. No one talked to her, everyone avoided her, she even attracted someone who felt so bad they were forced to talk to her. Was something wrong with her!? Was she ugly?
She didn't know but she did know that she didn't like anyone here. They all ignored her. Not one person tried to talk to her but this Tyrone person, and that was out of pity.
Point, blank, pity.
For the first time, in school, tears started to roll down Elizabeth's rosy cheeks. She stood up in front of Tyrone, who looked on the verge of tears, and yelled, "Go away!" and without any room for answer she ran off.
With class just about to start, everyone looked towards the direction of which the little girl ran. The golden fox, who was the teacher, called after her.
"Elizabeth!" he yelled. He turned towards the class and said quickly, "Everyone, please stay in your spots. Be good. I'll be right back." With that he hurried off.
Tyrone's eyes filled with hot tears. He put his head in his hands and silently cried. Some of his friends went up to him and tried to console him. He eventually stopped crying but he only looked towards the ground. He never took a glance up. Not even when the teacher announced Elizabeth was alright and that her uncle picked her up.
For the rest of the day, he only thought about how he always messed up.
She cried and cried and cried and cried.
Gawain didn't realize someone could hold so much water in such a small body. He almost thought she would be dehydrated afterwards so in order to get her to stop he had to say something. But, he wasn't very good at cheering others up.
"H-hey, Bessie, stop crying," he tried to be comforting by awkwardly petting her head.
Elizabeth lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him gasping for air. Gawain wiped running tears from her cheek. "Cheer up. I bet your friends don't want you crying."
Wrong move Gawain.
Elizabeth's eyes turned a deep shade of purple one that made him want to be blue and she started to wail. She dropped her head on his shoulder and latched onto his dreads. Gawain winced as she pulled them each time she cried a high pitch.
"W-what did I do-oww!" he exclaimed painfully yet, worriedly.
When she didn't answer he just sat there and sighed, dealing with the pain. He automatically blamed Lancelot. He wouldn't be in this mess if he hadn't accepted that request from the king. In fact, King Arthur could be blamed for this also. He was the one that assigned the journey to Lancelot, so it was only fair he took part of the blame.
The sudden pulling of his dreads ceased. Gawain sighed in relief before coming face to face with the girl. Elizabeth looked at him with tears still rolling down her cheeks. The red echidna almost had to look away.
Lancelot was right. Those eyes could turn over the vilest villain.
"Bessie," he started gently, "What's wrong? What happened at school today?"
The ebon hedgie rubbed her eyes, "No-no one likes me uncle. No one. They don't talk to me, none of them!" She began to hiccup and gasp for air at the same time. "What's wrong with me? Am I-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa there, Bessie. Don't go jumping to conclusions. And that can't be true. No one talks to you? Not even your teacher?"
" does but he's the only one."
"No one else?" he urged on.
"Well," Elizabeth sniffled, "There was this one boy…"
Gawain smiled with triumph. "See? At least some-"
"But he only did that because he felt bad for me! I don't want a friend that fakes being one Uncle Gawain," she yelled. Gawain's eyes widened at the sudden outburst and then his eyelids lowered. "I-I even yelled at him. No one wants to be my friend Uncle Gawain. I don't wanna go to school anymore! I want daddy!" She lowered her head to his chest plate and, despite how cold it was, she buried her head in it and sobbed.
All he could do was stroke her quills and shush her. There was nothing he could say. He was never put into this type of situation before. Of course, Gawain knew it was once a law that females could not enroll in any type of education and that this law had just been re-written. Lancelot had talked to him about his worries about any problems Elizabeth might run into but, he didn't think much of it. Six year olds could barely read so, he didn't think it was a big deal.
But this just proved him wrong.
First of all, he didn't think a six year old could hold so many emotions. Truthfully, he only thought the two emotions they had was happiness and want. Well, when they didn't get what they wanted it they kind of threw a tantrum but still. What could he do? He couldn't go in and force all of them to talk to her, as much as he wanted to. Perhaps a few threats would-no. Elizabeth would never speak to him again. She seemed to be a bit like her father. Never wanting anything out of pity, and getting upset when offered it.
Speaking of Lancelot, should he tell him about this?
It would be the right thing to do but, he didn't know if anybody else noticed but, he has a record for being paranoid about her. The slightest misfortune and it's like they've just gone into war. The whole world would end because she tripped or she cut herself. Lancelot would march right in there and do something worse than threats to every kid in that building if he were informed about this. But, he couldn't keep something like this to himself, it wasn't in his place. And even if he wanted to he was almost sure Elizabeth would tell.
But he was doing this to take some of the stress off of him, like any other friend would. If he did keep this between them then they could figure out a solution by themselves and everything would be okay in the end, right? Well, that was what he was going with.
Gawain nodded at himself and praised his mind for coming up with such a brilliant idea.
"Hey, hey Bessie!" he tapped her back. Elizabeth lifted her head with tear stained cheeks. She seemed to have run out of tears. "Why don't we go out and get some pastries, huh? Then while we're eating we'll think of how to get friends."
"But don't we need to go out of the castle grounds to get that? Daddy doesn't like me going out there without him. Remember when you took me out and he found out? I didn't see you for a loooooooooonnnnnggg time," she explained stretching the 'long'.
The crimson knight shuddered. He remembered every detail of that horrifying day. He would was going to take that glare to his grave. "Yeah, let's not bring that up. And the only reason we got caught was because you told him."
"Was I not supposed to?" Elizabeth blinked.
Gawain shook his head, "No. You weren't supposed to tell. That was supposed to be a secret."
"A secret?" she repeated.
"Yes. A secret is just something two or more people say or do and they keep it between them. In other words; they don't tell anybody else."
"Oh," Elizabeth said, putting a finger to her chin. Then her eyes shined with interest, "Can we go to get pastries and keep it a secret Uncle Gawain?"
"That's exactly what I had in mind, kid."
No, no, no. Bad Uncle Gawain. We arent supposed to keep secrets from our fathers. But i would be a hypocrite if I said I didn't so I guess he's won this round.
Yeah, but this chapter jumped around a lot. Sorry. But it was needed and I introduced to new characters. Tyrone and Tails!. Two T's. Who knew? Yeah, obviously, Tails is older but he still has that genius mind. He's going to be talked about, some more, later but anyway... Tyrone... Yeah, he's already crying and he's barely spoken huh? But Elizabeth was supposed to be kind of mean. She needs some traits from her father and better way to put in the pity law. Everyone knows Shadow/Lancelot doesn't appreciate pity. It's just who he is. So, it's only normal Elizabeth has the same feelings.
About Lenora, I will describe her and what not because I do realize it's kind of confusing. But not until chapters, later, in the story. She kind of has an important part but, at the same time, not really. It's confusing but, oh well. That's all.
R&R
~God Bless You~