Hello. I'm so sorry it's been almost a year since the last update... I promise though that I do intend to finish this story. Really happy that there are still people out there reading this. Really appreciate it.
Enjoy!
Rain beat against the window in a steady rhythm. A short sharp tap of a heavy drop colliding with the smooth glass, followed by a second tap…a third tap… a fourth tap. The sound so loud Tyki felt as if the rain struck against his very own skull.
The air was hot and humid, the darkening sky outside, thick and suffocating. Since his arrival a few days ago Tyki had been confined to his rooms. The weather had been too muggy to go spend any time outdoors and now the clouds had finally made good on their threat bursting open into a torrent of rain.
On his lap lay an open book, completely ignored as Tyki gazed steadily out of the window. Inside the room is different shade of grey, not yet dark enough to justify lighting a lamp. In any case Tyki preferred the gloom, it suited his mood better. He was bored. As large as the Manor was with its twisting corridors and quarters it was still too small to contain Tyki's ever growing anxiety at being confined. At least solitude in one's own room was infinitely better than quality time spent with his brother.
His thoughts wandered to Lovely, the red haired beauty he had not seen again since that day at breakfast. Tyki was loathe to ask Sheril about her whereabouts, but if truth be told he wondered if his stay in the Manor could not be improved with her by his side. The expressions she made and the way she spoke were so refreshing, and something stirred below his stomach when he remembered the way she felt against him pinned against the wall.
Tyki coughed loudly to clear his throat and his thoughts. Solitude was all that was on the menu for him.
Not that solitude was what fate had in store for Tyki Mikk.
"Why are there toys in here?" A high voice cut through the air, oblivious to the internal agony of the other occupant of the room. Half her body hanging out of a footlocker she had dragged out of a cupboard, Road was steadily emptying its contents into a messy heap on the floor around her. Amongst her spoils were an old deck of playing cards, a magician's top hat and wand, a magnifying glass and loops of string to play 'Cat's Cradle'.
"Tyki, why do you have toys?" Road said as she tried on the magician's hat in various jaunty angles.
"Because they're mine," Tyki replied shortly, still staring out of the window.
"Can I have them?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because they're mine."
The ten year old had made it her mission in life to keep her uncle company with or without his consent. Each morning Road would follow Tyki from the breakfast table and stay with him all day. Although he would never admit it, Tyki had become used to her nonsense prattle and even welcomed it at times.
"But toys are for girls and boys," Road reasoned aloud as she removed a set of miniature automobiles. Some of the trains had become entangled Road attempted to separate the cabins, quickly getting bored when the job proved too difficult and threw it aside choosing to wind up a tin man instead. "And you Uncle Tyki are not a boy."
"When I was your age." Tyki replied blandly, resting his chin on his palm leaning against the arm of the chair. He crossed his legs, not even caring when the book fell to the floor with a dull thump.
"But you're so old!" Road giggled at her uncle's scandalised face and continued to wind up more tin men, setting them off in a troop one after the other.
"Oooooh! Can I keep this?"
Tyki ignored the girl, assuming that whatever it was she would decide to keep regardless of his say on it. He stretched broadly and jumped to his feet, grabbed a jacket and made to leave.
"Hey! Where are you going Tyki? Are you listening to me?"
A spiky and very annoyed head completely filled Tyki's vision as Road thrust the battered bear in his face, waving it around under his nose. Tyki let out the smallest of sighs before answering her.
"Yes Road?"
Road smiled sweetly, "I haven't finished picking what I want yet."
"Fine. Make it quick." Tyki leaned against the door frame, impatient to leave as soon as the little brat released him.
Road skipped around all the toys she had laid on the floor of Tyki's room, inspecting each one. Through the mess she picked out marbles, jacks, and a small deck of cards. Tyki nodded confirmation for each, all the while reaching out for the door knob ready to make his escape.
"Can I have them?" Tyki turned to see Road carrying all the wind-up soldiers in her arms. He almost automatically said yes, stopping himself just in time. He had another destination in mind for them.
"No."
"Why not?" Road whined and stood her ground when her uncle attempted to retrieve the items from her grasp.
"Because Road, they are mine." He knelt down in front of her and tried to reason with her, even if he could not be sure that anyone had ever attempted to reason with this child before. "Road, you can have anything else from the box, anything. I just want to keep the toy soldiers. Come on Road, be a good girl."
Tears began to pool at the corners of her eyes. Oh good lord, Tyki groaned internally.
"But you don't even play with them. Why can't I have them? Why!" A grating pitch had crept into her voice. Tyki assumed he was barely moments away from the temper tantrum of the same level as the one she had at breakfast just days earlier.
"Fine! But I'm keeping this one." Exasperated, he took one of the little men and put it back into the chest.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The change in her demeanour was immediate as she fondly cradled her newly won toys in arms. Tyki sighed shaking his head, this girl is dangerous.
At that moment he spotted a stuffed bear amidst the tin men, a curious silver necklace hanging from its neck. He reached and removed the chain, the attached pendent bore a set of initials. Tyki thumbed the initials before quickly stowing the necklace away into a jacket pocket and cleared his throat loudly. Tyki looked up to find Road watching him, waiting for him to speak. He gave his niece a quick smile and gestured towards the door.
"Why don't we go for walk?"
"All I'm saying is that I don't care what or who he spends his money on. I just wish he would actually spend his own money!"
Lavi could not help but stifle a laugh as the crippled boy held his white head in his hands as he once again complained about his guardian. Allen Walker was pacing up and down the stall, a shovel abandoned on the floor. Lavi watched him as she continued to muck out the stall. She had already finished her half of the stable, but she decided to help the boy considering his arm. In the end it turned at that she mucked out the entire stable while he trailed behind her complaining.
"…never ran so fast in my life. Three guys. Three!" Allen paused to take a shuddering breath. Lavi thought it best to cut him off before he could get started again.
"Cross is an arse, I get it. But you might wanna keep your voice down, you'll spook the horses." She cocked her head towards the mare in the next stall that had all but bolted through the wall into the far enclosure. She wiped the sweat off her brow and secured her beanie in place. "And at least pick up that shovel. Pretend like you did some work."
Allen rubbed his head apologetically, "Sorry… Cross, he just… He winds me up something rotten." He bent done to pick up the shovel, wincing as he did so.
"You're like what- 12? You shouldn't be this stressed. That's probably why you're hair-"
"Ugh…"
The pained sound sparked concern in Lavi and she became instantly worried when she saw him rubbing his left shoulder. Lavi sat Allen down and pulled the collar of his shirt wider to inspect the area. Aside from the usual red and black scarring, the result of a house fire when Allen was barely walking, there was greenish bruise at the junction between his neck and shoulder. This particular mark looked suspiciously like a hand print.
"Who did this to you?" Allen shrank back from the fire in her eye. He tried and failed to shrug her off.
"I told you, last night. Those guys cornered me, don't worry they didn't do more than that. But now I have to find some way to pay them off before next week."
"Oh okay that's alright then." Lavi pushed him away, flashing a grin, "Just win it back. Everyone knows you cheat. They just can't prove it."
"I don't cheat, I just play better." Allen grinned back, "And I'm 15 not 12."
"Whatever."
All the stalls had been cleaned so Lavi took both shovels and lead Allen out, she stopped at the door to call out over her shoulder. "I did the shovelling, so you take care of the mess." She burst into peals of laughter as the grin disappeared like magic of the younger boy's face.
For the next 15 minutes Lavi watched as Allen emptied bucket after bucket of… well muck. The younger boy kept throwing her evil glares. Lavi did not mind because she knew that he was grateful she handed made him do the hard actual hard work. Lavi absently stroked the nose of the stables latest arrival, a tall beast with a glossy black coat. The horse was a true black, and it held such an arrogant stance Lavi could not help but be drawn to it, even after its first few attempts at biting her. A calm approach, persistence and a good measure of stubbornness soon had the creature eating out of her hand. Literally.
Turn those brown eyes gold, curl that mane and voila you'd be the spitting image, Lavi chuckled at the observation.
"You're such a boy." An amused voice caught her off guard.
"What?" Allen had lifted himself up onto the adjoining wall.
"Everyone here is the same. The boys like the big muscly horses. The girls like the pretty little ponies. It's really predictable." Allen gave her a droopy look to indicate his boredom.
Lavi smirked, "Did you just admit that you are not a boy? Which pretty little pony is your favourite?"
Allen deflected the joke with another bored droopy glare.
"What's his name anyway? Do you know?" Lavi gently combed through the horse's luxurious dark mane.
"Joyd," Allen scratched his head. "He's come along way, when he was born we all thought we would have to put him down. Tyki's done a good job with him."
Lavi's interest was piqued. How did this boy know this? And so she asked.
"I used to be a hand over at Millennium House. Joyd was raised in the stables there and I guess so was I… Kind of." Allen laughed unsurely, scratching his head again. A tick Lavi had noticed the boy was prone too whenever under pressure.
"Oh." Lavi processed this new information about her friend. She was about to ask him more questions when Allen was pulled roughly off the wall.
"SLACKING OFF AGAIN ARE WE?" Came the roar from the other side of the wall.
Lavi dropped the brush and ran into the next stall where Skinn Bolic, the giant excuse of a stable master held Allen up by the collar of his shirt in a two handed grip. The boy's feet barely sweeping the ground.
"Hey! Let him go!" She tried to pull Allen out of his grasp, but Skinn's massive hand had an iron grip. This close Lavi could see the murder in the stable masters eyes, and smell the alcohol coming off him in reeking wafts.
Allen struggled in Skinn's grip, face purpling from the lack of air. Seeing no other alternative Lavi bit into Skinn's wrist, clamping down hard into thick skin. Skinn caught her in the face with one beefy hand, knocking her off and releasing Allen at the same time.
Allen fell to the floor in a crumpled heap, desperately trying to draw air back into his lungs. He could only watch as Skinn advanced on his friend.
"You little bitch."
Both froze at the sound of Lavi laughing on the ground.
Lavi had landed on all four, hair streaming down around her, vaguely registering that her hat must have also been knocked off as she took the blow. She swiped a hand across her face. Blood. Her cheeks felt white hot. Just another bruise to heal. Laughter bubbled in the throat and spilled uncontrollably from the mouth.
"Now you've really gone and done it Skinn Bolic." Lavi pulled herself to her feet spitting out a gob of blood and saliva. The blood on her face and the mass of red hair making her look like a demon. "You know, the only thing that tastes worse than you is Sheril Kamelot."
Skinn was frozen to the spot, the blood draining from his face. Sobriety and the consequences of his actions hit him full force. His mind numb, which was usually sluggish at best, failed him.
Lavi stopped mid laugh to regard the stable master now. "I wonder what Sheril will have to say when he sees the beautiful shiner you've decorated my face with?"
She strode passed Skinn when he tried to grab her. "Touch me again and I assure you it will be your last regret." Lavi remained on the spot until Skinn walked out muttering something about preparing feed for the horses or else.
Allen stared wide eyed at his friend incredulously. Had she really just faced down Skinn Bolic? The younger boy continued to stare even when Lavi crouched down next to him, he opened and closed his mouth wordlessly a few times before he could summon any sound.
"You're a girl?" Allen finally managed to croak.
At this Lavi laughed again, a warmer, less maniacal laugh. She lifted a finger to her mouth and winked. "Our secret alright?"
Allen watched as she wiped the blood from her mouth and bundled her hair back into her beanie. How could she act so nonchalant?
"You're a GIRL!" The poor boy must have been brain damaged by Skinn, Lavi assumed.
"Yes Allen, we've covered that already." She closed her eyes, leaning against the wall. "Do me a favour and prepare the horse feed. I'm shattered from doing your share. I might just have me a sleep now."
Lavi peaked one eye open to see Allen walking out of the stall scratching his head and mumbling.
"A girl… knew he was too pretty… she was… she is – HE is not pretty!"
"Who's this, Allen?"
"That's – Hey! Don't do that!"
If asked later on, Lavi would not have been able to recall at which point she drifted off into a light snooze in the empty horse stall; she could however tell you at exactly which point she was dragged back to reality.
White sparks exploded in her skull as a hot pressure enflamed the entire right side of her face drowning out the voices in the dark. Wildly she lashed out with her arms, which were deftly caught by a large strong hand. Another hand grabbed her under the chin and a freezing cold seeped into Lavi's bones as a sparkling set of golden orbs locked onto her.
Lips curled in amusement and arrogance in abundance, "What a lovely little mess we have here."
Hope you liked that! If you did tell me. If you didn't please tell me why! I live to improve!