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is0gild · 3 years

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Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Bonus Chapter 3

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 7,838

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"Are you sure we're allowed to do this?"

Lea tossed me a grin over his shoulder, giving my hand a small, reassuring squeeze as he pushed through the door and led me inside. "Course! Trust me, I've done it dozens of times. It's called auditing a class," he whispered.

"Oh," I breathed softly, taking a second to glance around the theater we'd just stepped into, which was slightly bigger and nicer than the Sunset Hill Auditorium. Class was already in session it seemed, with the teacher (who luckily hadn't appeared to notice us sneaking in) up on the stage and currently mid-lecture to the smattering of students dotted across the audience seating. I felt Lea tugging my hand again and I followed him as we ducked into the back row, gingerly slipping by in front of a couple people occupying the end chairs.

I'd of course heard of auditing a class, but had never actually done it before, so I didn't really know what it entailed. Still, I at least had a guess at an idea of how it was supposed to work. "...so you contacted the professor and got his okay for us to be here then?"

"Nah," he chose a pair of empty seats towards the middle, plopping down into one. "Don't need to, ya just show up."

My lips pursed to one side as I lowered myself into the one next to him. "...now that doesn't sound right," I muttered as my fingers absently fidgeted with the zipper on the sleeve of his leather jacket that I was wearing.

With a snerk, he settled his elbow on the armrest between us and propped his chin on his knuckles as he eyed me. "Look, did you or did you not say how much ya'd like it if you could get a sneak peak at Twilight U's Intro to Acting course before deciding if you were gonna enroll?"

"Well yes I did, but-"

"Then don't look a gift audit in the mouth, dollface," his fingers tweaked my nose. Still, I frowned uncertainly. With a chuckle, he slung an arm around my shoulders, hugging me into his side and smoothing a hand up and down my arm as he pressed a kiss to my temple. "Relax, we're fine. Just remember, this guy? Right here?" he jabbed a thumb into his collarbone. "Done it hundreds o' times, so I know my shit."

I squinted up at him, whispering, "...you said dozens of times a second ago."

"Nu-uh, maybe it's 'bout time ya had your ears checked. Ah, for the hearing to already be going in one so young such as yourself. Such a tragedy," he sighed, still keeping his voice low as he clasped a hand to his chest, fingers splayed. "My heart, it weeps for you, lil one."

"Whatever," I gave a quiet scoff, rolling my eyes.

Right then and there, I should've stopped talking and paid attention to the lecture.

And I tried. Believe me, I really did try. I needed to be listening to whatever it was the professor was saying. That was the whole point of being here after all, wasn't it?

And yet-

" ...pretty sure you needed to ask the professor first," I mumbled out of the corner of my mouth.

"Shh," Lea held a finger up to his smirking lips, his eyes glued to the lecturer as he slouched down into his seat now. "Some of us are trying to learn here."

I narrowed my gaze over at him. "...what are you doing?"

He turned his head towards me, giving me a flat look. "Didja not hear what I just said? Wow, maybe we really do gotta look into getting you a hearing aid, grannie."

My hand lightly shoved his shoulder. "No, I mean it looks like you're slouching."

"Seems your vision's still twenty-twenty. Sweet, least ya got that going for ya."

My eyelids drooped, "It would almost seem as if you don't want to be seen. One might even go so far as to say you look like you're trying to hide."

"An astute observation," was all he said with a noncommittal little shrug.

Leaning away from him slightly, I crossed my arms. "If it's okay for us to be here, why oh why then, pray tell, would you be worried about being spotted?"

Slumping down even deeper into his chair, he gave a lazy, dismissive wave of his hand, "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves and interrupt the class. It's a matter of course auditing etiquette, El. I'd know," he grinned and winked at me, "done it thousands of times."

"And the number keeps growing," I shook my head with a derisive snort. "What, are you auditing all these classes even as we speak?"

"Why yes, yes I am. Wait for it…" he held up a finger and paused for a couple beats. Then, "Bam. Just audited another one."

I facepalmed, "You're ridiculous."

"Bam, bam. Two more down. Lookit me go, I'm a course auditing wiz!"

"I'm rethinking taking this class," I grumbled under my breath.

Lea jolted, sitting up straighter, "Wha-? Aw c'mon, we were gonna take it together though!"

I shot him a rueful grin. "That's why I'm rethinking it. You're too distracting."

Smiling, he ducked down next to my ear and whispered, "You mispronounced the word delightful. Don't worry, babe, it happens to the best of us."

I was this close to smacking his arm when a throat cleared loudly in front of us. We both stiffened and froze before slowly turning our gazes towards the source.

A tall, lanky man eccentrically dressed in purples and yellows who hadn't been there a second ago was now in the row before us, knees perched on his seat cushion with him backwards in the chair so he could face us. Elbows propped on the backrest, his shoulder-length black hair framed his smirking face as he rested his goateed chin in his palms and simply watched the two of us.

And it was just suddenly coming to my attention that all eyes in the theater were on us now and the whole place had fallen eerily quiet.

Maybe because the professor was no longer talking on stage.

Maybe because he was the man now directly in front of us with a bright grin and predatory gleam in his eye.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," he batted his eyelashes at us, his toothy smile stretching even bigger. "How rude of me to interrupt you while you're talking. Please, do go on!"

"We're done!" Lea chirped back, mirroring the man's expression. "Don't mind us back here, we're just auditing the course."

"Ah! Auditing the course, I see, I see! Well that explains it!" he perked up with a chuckle. "Just if you could then, my dear boy, answer me one simple lil question… who am I?"

I sensed a trap.

One that I might be able to sneak my way out of, given the lecturer's full attention seemed to be on Lea at the moment.

I discreetly moved over one chair.

"Pop quizzing me already, eh Teach? Pft," Lea waved a dismissive hand. "That one's a no brainer. You're the professor!"

"No, no," he hummed a small laugh and waggled his index finger. "Who am I?"

"Oh, I see." Lea squinted at him with a frown, "...well, that's a rather deep and complex question. Did we wander into a Psych class by mistake?"

We? What is this "we" business? Oh-ho no, you're on your own, bucko.

I quietly slipped over into the next seat.

A tiny, amused huff escaped the man's nose. "No, silly boy. My name. What is it?"

One corner of his lips quirking, Lea gave a small shrug, "Well if even you don't know, I'm not sure how you expect me to help ya with that one."

He shook his head and tsked several times. But then his face immediately lit back up once more as he placed a hand over his breast and slowly enunciated, "Clopin Trouillefou."

Lea's eyes widened. "Shit, you having a stroke there, buddy?"

"...it's my name."

To Lea's credit, while "Clopin" deceptively reads like it only has two syllables, the professor had said it in a way that somehow stretched it out to four and-

...and why am I wasting valuable seat moving time by explaining this right now?

I made up for it by pulling the rather slick maneuver (if I do say so myself) of shifting over two chairs.

"Something you'd know if you'd audited correctly and contacted me first," Professor Trouillefou tacked on in a lightly chiding singsong.

Ha! I knew it!

My chair scooching became a tad smug as I crept over to the next.

"Ya know what, I actually did? Was just testing ya." Lea shot him a double thumbs up, "Well done, my dude. A-plus!"

He laughed, "Nice try, my dear boy, but I'm pretty sure I'd remember you if we'd spoken previously."

Lea heaved a dramatic sigh, "Woulda thought so too and to be perfectly honest, Clarabelle, I-"

"Clopin," he corrected dryly.

"Right. To be perfectly honest, Clip-Clop, I'm a lil hurt that ya didn't. But ya know what?" he flashed a huge blinding smile. "I'mma let ya slide on this one, bygones and whatnot. Just don't let it happen again!"

One more seat over and I was as far as I could go. I was now sitting next to the pair of students at the end of the row that we'd passed on the way in. Aka my new pals. That redheaded nutjob over there? The one who seemed to be taking perverse pleasure in pushing the professor's buttons and was probably nano seconds away from getting kicked out? Yeah, no, zero clue who that was. Never seen him before in my life, and I certainly hadn't shown up with him. No, I'd come here with my two friends here, Chet and um… Karen.

...yeah, they looked like they could be a Chet and a Karen, so that's what I'm going with.

"You're too kind," the professor deadpanned before his lips took on a wicked upward curve. "Well then, since I'm clearly mistaken here and you obviously did in fact contact me, I've no doubt in my mind that you've also paid to audit my course?"

Both eyebrows shot up Lea's forehead. "Crap, we hafta pay?! What the hell then is even the point of auditing?!"

His sinister grin twitched wider and he said in a sickeningly sweet tone, "Get. Out. Now." He then pointed a finger directly at me, "You too."

I stiffened.

Fudge.

"What? No, I-" my voice broke in a squeak. Clearing my throat and plastering on my sincerest teacher's pet smile, I tried again, "No, I don't know him. He just sat next to me and started bothering me."

"Traitor," Lea hissed at me.

I ignored him, still addressing the professor. "I'm actually here with my friends," I leaned slightly towards said friends. "Isn't that right, Chet?"

Ah, Chet... my ol' chum, my ol' buddy, mi amigo, my-

"Er… my name's not Chet."

...you're dead to me, Chet.

"Alright, let's go, you two," Professor Trouillefou put one hand on the backrest of his chair and vaulted himself over it into our row. He then yanked Lea up out of his seat and started dragging him by the scruff of his shirt towards the aisle. As they passed where I was sitting, he pulled me up to my feet as well and kept going, towing me by the wrist.

Lea staggered along, trying to dig in his heels, "Aw, c'mon, man! Throw me out if ya gotta, but can't you give her a pass at least? She's totally innocent!"

"Which is the worst crime of all!" the lecturer shot back gleefully, not breaking stride.

We were almost to the doors leading back outside. Heart thudding and desperate not to be forcibly removed from the class, I blurted out, "We're planning to take the course next semester!"

At that, the professor slowed, glancing back at me with one eyebrow cocked. "Pardon?"

...wow, that actually worked?!

Swallowing hard, I gave a small, hesitant nod. "We only… we stopped by today just for a quick peek. We, um… wanted to know what we would be getting ourselves into, if… if that's okay? That is, uh… p-please?"

He didn't answer at first, his gaze just darting back and forth between Lea and me several times, eyes calculating. Then he beamed so big and so abruptly, it startled a small jump out of me. "Well, why didn't you just say so?!" Before I even knew what was happening, he'd shifted his hold on the both of us to instead grab Lea's hand in one of his and my hand in the other before he happily skipped - yes, friggin' skipped - off towards the front of the theater with us stumbling behind him. "Come one, come all, class!" he gave a boisterous trill. "Up on the stage for warm-ups, everyone!"

Oh dear, what had I just gotten myself into?

Maybe just getting kicked out would have been the better call.

As he led us onto the stage, my feet tripping over the steps the whole way, I stammered out, "Th-thank you, I really ah… appreciate this opportunity, b-but I was thinking we could maybe more just, hrm… observe?"

The teacher gave a booming scoff as he pulled us to a stop, the rest of the students in the theater filing up the stairs as well to join us. "Don't be silly, you don't observe an acting class!" He paused before declaring with dramatic emphasis, "You act an acting class!"

Oh.

Well then… my mistake.

"Gather 'round, boys and girls, we've got ourselves some fresh meat to play with today!" Professor Trouillefou cackled as he finally released Lea and me with a small shove towards the center of the ring of students grouped up with us now. Producing (from where, I know not) what looked to be some sort of theater prop in the form of a long scepter with round jingle bells dangling from the top end, he tapped it to his shoulder pensively as he asked, "Now, what lil drama exercise should we use to break in our sweet, young, starry-eyed would-be thespians here with, hm?"

One undergrad's hand shot up as she called out, "Topsy Turvy?"

"Court of Miracles?" came another suggestion from somewhere else in the small crowd.

"Hush, let's not throw them in the deep end right out the gate! There's no need to upstage each other for the toughest game, we wouldn't want it to be curtains for the newbies so soon! Heh… lil theater humor for you there," the professor chuckled with a wink. "No, I was thinking we could warm up with something a lil easier, something like… ah, yes! How 'bout a rousing game of Stroking the Animal?"

Lea snerked beside me, crossing his arms, "Dirty. Didn't realize we were in that kind of class."

That earned him a bonk to the skull from the jingly scepter.

Flashing his pearly whites, the teacher went on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "Stroking the Animal is an excellent lil game for drama beginners! Each of you are going to pair up and choose some sort of beastie - secretly, mind you, don't tell your partner! Then you'll each take turns acting out holding your critter, petting it, caring for it - not saying a word, just purely miming - until your partner correctly guesses what it's supposed to be."

"So… it's kind of like charades?" I asked slowly.

With a triumphant point of the jingly scepter in my direction, he proclaimed, "Precisely, my dear, precisely! Now everyone, take a minute to decide on an animal while you find your partners! Hop to it, chop chop!"

"Dibs on my acting buddy!" Lea snagged my hand and raised it high, showing he'd staked claim.

As the rest of the students began pairing off around us, I scrunched up my nose and muttered, "I'm terrible at charades."

"What?!" his brow furrowed. "But charades is just kinda, sorta acting, isn't it? And you love acting!"

"Yes, acting. Musicals, plays, scripts," I emphasized, my hands twisting at my braid momentarily before restlessly shifting back to fiddling with the sleeve zipper once more. "You know, lines and directions I can memorize and follow. Charades is more like improv's distant cousin twice removed. I hate improv… whenever I'm put on the spot like that, I just sort of freeze up and draw a complete blank. So yeah, I'm not exactly the biggest fan of charades. It's a game that just makes me feel silly and-"

"Time's up!" A ringing filled the air, coming from the dreaded jingly scepter. I was really beginning to hate that noisy little stick. Once Professor Trouillefou had everyone's attention back on him, he called out, "Begin!"

Crud, I hadn't even picked an animal yet!

Alright, brain, go time! Think, think, think! Conjure me up a creature! Go on, spit out the first thing you can think of! Just give me something! Anything!

Naked mole-rat!

...okay, maybe not that one.

We're looking for something nice, simple and obvious here, something that'll only take seconds to guess, something like a… a cat! Yes! Perfect!

Hey, don't judge me! It's not like I was trying to earn points for creativity here, I just wanted to get this ridiculous game over and done with quickly!

The other students had already begun. Not wanting to fall behind, I hastily struck up a finger to Lea to indicate I was ready. Then I looked away with a frown, my hands hovering in uncertainty for a few seconds. Okay, a cat… how do I show that I have a cat? Grimacing, I awkwardly scooped one arm in front of me like I was cradling something close to my belly and used my other hand to start petting the air where its imaginary head would be.

Eh, good enough, right?

Lea's face brightened, "Oh, a puppy!"

Alright, close! Come on, you got this. Not a dog, but a…

He squinted. "...bunny?"

...sorry, not the answer we were looking for here. Would the contestant care to venture another guess? Third times a charm, after all! Surely he'll get it this-

"Porcupine!"

Wait, what?

"Snake!"

For the love of… in what possible universe could the make-believe thing in my arms ever be a friggin' snake?!

"Turtle? Penguin! Oo-oo, this has to be it… hyena! No? Armadillo? Puffin! Skunk! Capybara!"

Okay, now the jerk was just doing this on purpose to mess with me.

"Naked mole-rat!"

Are you kidding me?! Shoot, I should have gone with my first instinct!

Narrowing my eyes at him, I made a growling little huff in my throat and started petting at the pretend feline's head more aggressively.

As if that would actually help.

Did I mention how completely bad at charades I was?

"El, ya gotta give me something to work with here," Lea groaned, rubbing at the nape of his neck. "I mean c'mon, you're just petting air there, that doesn't tell me any-" he cut himself off, blinking a couple times. Then he snapped his fingers with a victorious smile, "Ah-ha! Got it!"

My whole body froze.

Wait, did he really?

"Air elemental! No, no, air spirit!"

Gah, that's not even a real animal, you dork!

I scowled at him, my hands moving to strangle the air in his direction as I pictured his throat between my fingers.

He looked horrified. "Don't do that to the poor creature! That's animal abuse!"

I give up! I puffed out a loud sigh, tossing my hands in defeat.

"Well now ya just dropped the critter." He gave a soft tsk. "Worst. Pet owner. Ever. Well… I mean, unless of course it's a cat, then that's fine cuz it'd just land on its-"

"Ah!" My heart leapt in delight. "Yes! That's it!" I laughed, barreling into his chest and hugging him around the waist.

He grunted softly from the impact, then quirked an eyebrow down at me. "Are you serious? Ya couldn't get me to guess cat? Well shit, babe, you really do suck at this game! If we ever play charades in the future, Anna will be the one who gets stuck with your undeniably cute but useless butt on her team."

Face pinching, I poked him where he was ticklish just below the rib cage.

"Hey, no fair!" he squirmed, jumping away from me. Then clearing his throat, he straightened up with a dignified sniff and grinned, "Alright, my turn now!"

...oh yeah. He gets a turn too.

I completely forgot that part.

Well fudge, I should have simply let him go first and saved myself the mini panic attack.

Lea closed his eyes and bowed his head, his hands rising and falling with a deep inhale and slow exhale. He was clearly and quite visibly honing, as if preparing to act out some great Shakespearean monologue. Finally, he snapped into action. He flourished his arms to one side, as if proudly presenting something standing next to him. Then his hand moved to start stroking empty space somewhere at about his eye-level.

Okay... so the mystery animal was tall.

I tipped my head to one side. "...a horse? A camel?"

He raised his hand up higher so it was above his head, still petting away.

Even bigger, huh?

"Ostrich?" I wrinkled my nose. "Moose? Giraffe?"

Lea went up onto his tippy-toes, his arm stretched as far as he could reach and fingers now… possibly giving under-chin scritches? Maybe?

Jeez, just how huge was this thing?

I shook my head with a tiny, unsure, "...whale?"

He lowered back down onto his heels, resuming the stroking at a height not quite as far up there, but still above his head.

Alright, so… what was smaller than a whale, but bigger than a giraffe?

"...a really, really big giraffe?"

Elsa, Queen of Thinking Outside The Box.

His eyelids drooped. But seemingly undeterred, he set about moving over to where I'd roughly guess would be the side of this ginormous creature. He mimed climbing up it and slinging his leg over its back.

Big and rideable, huh?

"Ah! A… A… An elephant!" I stammered to get out past my sudden excitement.

Lea was still going, bending forward to give his mount a couple pats on the shoulder (I guess?) before pointing up. Then he stretched his arms out wide to either side of him like he was… soaring?

"A flying elephant!"

Wait, no, that'd just be silly.

We were looking for a real animal here. A large animal that could apparently fly. It had to be some kind of bird, right? But… pretty sure there weren't any elephant-sized birds out there in the world… were there?

Note to self: google "elephant-sized bird" later.

Tuning back into reality, I realized Lea had moved onto showing me something else now. It seemed he'd dismounted and returned to petting the thing's… head, maybe? But then he elicited a tiny, pained tch and retracted his finger like he'd been burned. But no, that couldn't be right… no animals in actual existence burned people, so what could it… oh! It must have just bitten him… yes, that'd make more sense!

Now he was looking at the ground and rubbing his hands together before turning his palms forward, holding them there for a few seconds. Then he balled both hands, stacking one on top of the other and lifting the top one up in a long, straight line. With one hand still fisted, he then cupped the other upward and arced it over until it was upside down a few feet over his fist. Finally, he stretched his fist out in front of him while using his other hand to occasionally poke and pinch at the air above said fist.

I stared blankly at him. "...yeah, no, you've lost me."

The jingly scepter rang out loudly as the professor shook it high above his head, announcing, "Game over, boys and girls!"

Lea snorted and sighed, "Clearly I was roasting marshmallows there."

"...clearly." Not. "But why?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well what else am I gonna do with the fire that my good, big dragon boi here breathed for me?" he asked, once again gesturing to the vacant spot next to him.

"A dragon?" I huffed, marching over to him to glare down (or rather up I suppose) my nose at him. "You were supposed to pick a real animal."

He grinned and folded his arms beneath his chest. "Teach never said it hadta be real."

I blinked, then glanced towards Professor Trouillefou, who shrugged and echoed, "Never said it had to be real."

"Told ya!" Lea razzed his tongue at me.

In retaliation, my hand shot out to tickle him again, but he caught it. "Ha! Too slow!" he crowed, smirking as he shifted his hold to lace our fingers together.

So instead I just tickled him with my other hand.

He spasmed, hissing swear words under in breath before scrambling to get out of my reach. I crossed my arms and - in peak maturity, mind you - razzed my tongue back at him before looking away with a small harrumph.

The professor clapped his hands together, "Alright, well done, class! Gold star for everyone!" From his pocket, he pulled out a small, glittery star sticker that he slapped to the forehead of the nearest student. Pointing a finger to it, he tacked on, "That's the only one I have, so you'll all have to share! In any case, now that we've had a chance to flex and loosen our acting muscles a bit, onto a slightly more challenging game…"

Wonderful! Now I could put this horrible improv portion of the class behind me. I wondered what would be next… monologues or scene work or script readings or-

"Alphabet Improv!"

...or more improv.

Swell.

You know what? Maybe acting class just simply wasn't for me. Since, you know, it seemed to be nothing but improv, a thing that I was terrible at.

...to be fair, one might argue that acting class would be the way to help me get better at it.

On the other hand, one might also argue to hell with acting class!

Not going to lie, I felt that the latter argument made a very compelling and well thought out rebuttal.

"We'll be doing this in groups of four," Professor Trouillefou went on, a wicked grin slowly stretching across his face. "And just for funsies, I'll be the one picking the groups. Now, who will start us off…"

Not me, not me, oh dear god, not me!

He pointed that cursed jingly stick directly at - you guessed it - me. I paled, my heart plummeting into my stomach as he decreed, "Congratulations, my dear, you are our first lucky winner!"

...fudge.

Gulping, I stuttered out in a tiny voice, "No, b-but I… I can't-"

"Oh, but you can and you will! Next up, your partners will be… hmm…" he pursed his lips to one side as he scrutinized everyone else.

Lea's hand shot up high over his head as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Kuzco!" the lecturer jabbed his scepter towards the opposite end of the line of students from us.

A guy with long black hair jumped forward with a cocky laugh, "Boom, baby!"

Right. Guess that'd make him Kuzco.

The teacher slowly swung the jingly scepter past the students one by one, preparing to select his next victi- erm, participant. Lea kept jumping in front of it like an eager puppy, saying, "Oo! Oo! Me!"

Jerking the prop to Lea's immediate left, it landed on a short girl in a white sundress trimmed in black lace, her red hair tied back into a pair of pigtails that fell past her waist. "Strelitzia!" he cried, seemingly taking great joy in rolling the R as he did so.

She merely smiled sweetly at her name being called and stepped forward.

"And last but not least…" Professor Trouillefou squinted as he gave his students another once over. Lea bounced up in front of him yet again, both index fingers pointing up at his own face as he favored the teacher with a big, ear-to-ear smile. Rolling his eyes with a small huff, the teacher grumbled, "Fine. You, I guess."

Oh, thank goodness!

Don't get me wrong, this game was still going to absolutely murder me.

But with Lea's help, maybe it'd be just a tad less murdery.

As my boyfriend moved to stand beside me, taking my hand with a squeeze and a grin, the professor made a sweeping gesture with his prop, "Everyone else step aside and give our stars center stage! Now, Alphabet Improv is quite simple really. I'll give you four a scene prompt and a letter. Then one of you will begin with a line that starts with that letter. The next person will continue the scene by saying something that starts with the next letter of the alphabet. You will each take turns working your way through the alphabet until you're back around to the first letter, then work your way backwards through the alphabet."

I think he had more to say, but his words began to fade to the point where I couldn't hear them anymore. No, all I could hear now was the hammering in my ribcage and hiss of my rapid, shallow breathing through my nostrils. My mouth was dry and my hands were clammy. Yup. No doubt about it. This was anxiety. And not the good kind like I usually felt before a show. This was just plain bad. All bad. Nothing but bad, bad, bad. So bad that-

"Nervous?"

I gave a start as that soft voice broke through my thoughts, my head whipping towards it to discover the girl from earlier - Strelitzia, I believe - now standing next to me. She tilted her head to one side, grinning warmly at me.

A scoff from Kuzco had me jolting in surprise yet again. "Psh, like she has reason to be! Not with me in the group! Just simply bask in the awesomeness and perfection that is me and be at ease!" he smirked, puffing out his chest and stretching his arms out wide, curling and uncurling his fingers a couple times. "Go on, bask. You know you want to."

Lea snerked. "Check out the ego on this guy."

Heh… look who's talking.

"Just ignore him, that's what the rest of us do," Strelitzia giggled softly before turning her kind eyes on me once more. "And don't worry, I was nervous too when I first started taking this class. I still am, actually… but I've gotten better. Some day, I hope to be as good as my brother!"

Lea blinked. "Brother? Wait a minute…" he squinted down at her, rubbing a curled finger over his chin. Then he snapped his fingers. "You're Bubble Yum's baby sis!"

Her eyes widened at that, then she laughed, "Oh dear, don't let Marluxia hear you calling him that."

"Too late," Lea shrugged.

"But yes, he's my big brother. He's majoring in Theater Arts here, while I'm just taking this class because I want to be a little more like him. He's so confident and brave…" she trailed off shyly into a thoughtful pause. Then her face brightened, "I just wish I had a little more courage so I can make him proud of me! I think this class has helped me a lot with that, and it could help you too."

I think this girl was about to give me diabetes from sweetness overload here. It was almost enough to lure me into a false sense of security. Almost. But then-

Jingle-jangle!

Ugh, those damn little bells were going to be the death of me! Immediately, my pulse spiked and I inhaled sharply.

"Now that you've all had a lil time to get acquainted, let's move this along, shall we?" Professor Trouillefou beamed from where he'd taken a seat at the edge of the stage to watch us. The rest of the class had done the same, giving the four of us plenty of room to work with. Oh gosh, so many eyes on me, about to witness my epic failure at improv. Was it getting harder to breathe in here? "The letter you'll be beginning with: Q!"

I started desperately tugging at Lea's hand and he glanced down at me. "I can't do this," I told him in a whisper, the loudest I could muster through my constricting throat. "I can't… I just can't!"

"The scene," the lecturer went on, "...Kuzco here has just been transformed into a talking llama!"

Lea stepped in front of me, taking both my hands in his and drawing light circles along their backs with his thumbs. The sensation sent a soothing warmth up my arms and into my chest where it clashed with the icy panic pumping out of my heart. Ducking down to my eye-level, he said, "It'll be okay, El. I'll be right here with ya the whole time. You got this, trust me! Don't think, just say the first thing that pops outta your head. Simple as that!"

"But-"

"Annnnnnd action!" Professor Trouillefou roared.

Kuzco wasted no time, turning to the three of us. "Quick question guys…" he held his hands up and waved them back and forth in front of him with a chipper, "Why do I suddenly have hooves?" That earned him a few tiny chuckles from the students watching.

Fighting a smile herself, Strelitzia gasped, "Randy! You're a llama!"

"Sweet! New pet!" Lea went over to start patting Kuzco on the head. "Think I'm gonna name him Cheez Whiz." A few more snorts from onlookers.

Then there was dead silence.

...that was my cue, wasn't it? Crud, what comes after S again?! How do you alphabet?! I couldn't remember! So instead I just stood there, stock-still and rooted to the spot, hyperventilating and my eyes round as I stared out into our small audience.

...do...something…

What was it Lea had just told me? Don't think, er...

Don't think, just… uh…

…

Well I'll say this much for me - I had the 'don't think' part down pat. I was totally not thinking like a pro! Nothing was going on in my brain right now. Nope, not a goddamn single thing. Not even so much as a tumbleweed rolling through the barren wasteland that was my thoughts at this very second.

"This has ruined my face! My beautiful, beautiful face!" Kuzco suddenly burst out, covering for me.

Ah! T! That's what comes after S!

Dang it, I knew that!

Strelitzia hesitated for only a split second before coming up with, "Um... your face was never really all that beautiful to begin with…" There were a couple snickers from our audience at that.

"Veronica!" Lea suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me to look at him instead of the people watching us. "Tell us, what should we do?!" His thumbs were stroking up and down my arms as he gave me a single, encouraging nod.

I tucked in my bottom lip, listening to a couple pounding beats of my heart before giving him a tiny, almost imperceptible shake of my head.

Still nothing going on up in the ol' noggin except for crickets and paralyzing, soul-crushing fear. Sorry, bud.

Then I realized his lips were silently moving… was he mouthing something to me? Looked suspiciously like… W...?

Oh! Right! The next letter!

Now I just needed to think of a word that started with W! Simple, right?

"W…" I began shakily sounding it out, hoping the rest of some word would just magically follow. "W…" Mm-hm, yup. "W…" Got nothing here. "W…" Absolute zilch.

Apparently that was deemed acceptable. "Xavier, can't you see she's petrified cuz I'm an ugly, stinky llama?!" Kuzco wailed as he fell to his knees.

"You have a point there!" Strelitzia chimed in, struggling to keep a straight face now at his overdramatic antics.

Lea smacked himself in the forehead, "Zounds, can't believe I forgot about her crippling llama-phobia!" …llama-phobia? At that, a tiny snerk managed to break through the all but suffocating anxiety and escape through my nose. Then he was grabbing my face with both hands, "But it's okay, you'll get through this! ...you'll get through this." The last part was repeated more softly as he gave me a small reassuring smile.

Something in his touch, his voice, his steady gaze… actually had me calming down a bit. With a tiny gulp, I closed my eyes, breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly, letting some of the tension go with it. Alright, after Z came… ha! Yes! So easy, even my useless, panic-scattered brain could do it!

"A…" I began weakly, but then hesitated.

Don't think, just say the first thing that pops outta your head.

"Alpacas!" suddenly exploded from my lips as my eyes snapped open again. Lea's head rocked back slightly at my little outburst, a bemused grin tugging at his lips. Gaze shifting, I scrambled to expand on it. "Don't, um… don't forget I'm... d-deathly afraid of those too..."

Kuzco was quick on the draw, snarling, "Both of you shut up and help me fix this already!"

"Can it!" Strelitzia snapped, planting her fists on her hips and narrowing her eyes on him. "We're not taking orders from you!"

Lea stamped a foot down and raised his fist at him, "Damn right, you demon llama!"

That statement had me hiding a smile behind my fingers. And with that, a little bit more of the anxiety was banished. I could do this… especially now that I'd regained the power of the alphabet! Especially with Lea's hand finding mine once again, sending more warm tingles straight to my heart.

Don't think, just say the first thing that...

"Everyone, let's…" Okay, good strong start. Now, where are we taking this? "...exorcise?" Sure, let's go with that. "...the, uh... the demon llama?"

Success!

"Fiends!" Kuzco yelled, pointing an accusing finger at us. "Traitors! Evil criminal masterminds! This was your plot all along, wasn't it?!"

Turning to look up at Lea, Strelitzia told him, "Go on, say the words that'll expel the evil spirit!"

Not missing a beat, Lea joined Strelitzia's hand with mine before taking my other back in his once again. Then he led us into a skipping daisy-chain that circled Kuzco a couple times, all the while happily chanting, "Hocus pocus! Shazam! Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo! Nutella! Benedict Cumberbatch!"

This was all just so... utterly… ridiculous.

I spluttered, then erupted into full blown laughter.

Oh gosh, how did Lea always do it? How did he always know how to get a laugh out of me, no matter what? How did he always manage to calm me down and help me feel safe?

As he slowed our skipping to a stop, his eyes crinkled down at me as he prompted, "That oughta do it! Whatcha think?"

Ah. Right. I was supposed to be doing something… or saying something… something to do with the letter I. But I couldn't quite remember what. I was too distracted by his gaze on me, causing all sorts of warm fuzzies to flutter throughout my chest and an extremely silly smile to pull at my mouth. Alright, letter I… letter I… my lips parted...

Don't think, just…

"I love you."

The words had barely left my mouth when my whole body locked up and I swear my heart skipped two full beats as Lea's wide-eyed stare landed on me.

Crud.

That… had not been part of the game.

I knew it.

He knew it.

Everyone in the whole goddamn theater seemed to know it too.

That is, if the awkward, deafening hush now permeating the air as no one said or did anything was an indicator. Several eyes just slowly shifted back and forth between Lea and me, probably curious to see what either of us would do next.

Lea was the first to recover, snagging my hand in his. "Excuse us for a quick sec," he struck up a finger to the others, flashing a polite smile. Then he walked off backstage, gently tugging me along behind him. My knees had gone numb, causing me to stumble a couple times as I followed. I frowned at his back, feeling my insides shrivel with dread.

...oh gosh, he was about to break up with me, wasn't he?

Neither of us had ever said… said… gah, the L-word to each other before! And I'd been okay with that! I'd been just fine! I didn't even know whether I was in L-word with him or not!

Or rather… I hadn't known...

...but I guess I did now?

Apparently?

Not that that mattered any more! Not now that my stupid mouth had gone and screwed everything up! Lea wasn't the L-word type! He was the one-night stand type. This thing he'd been doing with me this whole time had been a one-off. A fluke. A wonderful fluke. An amazing fluke. A fluke that I had just totally and completely ruined.

It seemed he'd found a spot he deemed quiet and private enough, for we abruptly came to a stop. As he turned to face me now, I swallowed hard. This was it. He was about to tell me it was all over. My vision blurred slightly and I squeezed my eyes shut against it.

Maybe if I couldn't see him, he couldn't break up with me. Ha! Take that!

...okay, that sounded a bit desperate, even for-

My thoughts were silenced as I suddenly felt his arms wrapping around my waist, hugging me tightly up against him. Then there was the familiar scent of cinnamon before I felt his warm lips on mine, causing my eyes to fly open and my hands to unconsciously grip at the front of his shirt.

Wha-

...oh. Wait, no I get it. He was trying to let me down easy. This was a goodbye kiss. One final kiss for the road. The kiss of relationship death.

Yup. This sealed it. He was definitely breaking up with me.

All too soon, his lips were pulling away from mine, although he didn't release his hold on me. I couldn't look him in the eye. I was too scared. So I just stared hard at his collarbone instead and waited for him to say it. It's over between us. Just go on and get it over with already. Put me out of my misery. It won't be hard. Just four little words. Just-

"I love you too."

I blinked.

Okay… not the four words I'd been expecting...

I slowly dragged my gaze up to meet his, giving him a blank look. "...this has to be the most confusing breakup ever."

I felt his body tense against mine as both his eyebrows shot up his forehead. "Break up?" he repeated incredulously. Then a laugh burst out of him and he shook his head, "How did you even-? No, El, this isn't a break up! I mean, I certainly hope not anyway."

"Oh." Well that was a relief! But then my brow furrowed. "Wait…"

...back up… had he really just said he-

My heart flip-flopped and face glowed red hot.

"...you…" Dear lord, it was so hard to even say it. The struggle was real. "...love me?"

"Mm-hm!" he hummed, squeezing me closer and nuzzling his nose into my neck. "Known for a while too."

His breath tickled against my skin and I squirmed, my arms inadvertently wrapping around his neck now. "You did? Why didn't you say anything?" The question came out almost somewhat indignant.

Raising his head so he could once more look me in the eye, Lea gave a sheepish chuckle. "Didn't wanna spook ya or make you feel pressured into saying it back if you weren't ready."

"Well that's…" I paused, my mouth clicking shut as I looked down to mull it over for a second. Then my gaze shyly lifted once more and I mumbled, "...a fair point. And actually kind of thoughtful… thank you…"

His expression softened and he pressed his forehead to mine. "...say it again."

This time, my heart skipped three full beats. He wanted me to say… that again?! What, once hadn't been enough? I didn't even know if I could say it again. I didn't even know how I'd said it in the first place! "I…" Oh gosh, how did couples tell each other this all the time? There had to be some trick to it. What was the magic secret? "I… I'm not like you, Lea. I'm not sappy and mushy and… and I know how to do corny stuff like giving romantic speeches about lantern festivals or walking into lampposts or-"

"I don't want a speech. I just want to hear you say it again...please..." he coaxed in a low murmur against my ear, turning my legs to jelly.

Well when he put it that way…

As our eyes locked once more, my pulse raced and I opened my mouth. Then immediately shut it. Nope. Alright, take two. Again, my lips parted. And again, they snapped shut. Gah, this was impossible! Was almost surprised I couldn't smell smoke at this point, considering how badly my cheeks were burning. Finally, I turned my head to one side, gripping at the collar of his leather jacket and pulling it up to hide my face in it as I at last muffled out a quick, "I love you."

He bit back a grin, tugging the collar back down so he could hook a finger under my chin and tilt my gaze up towards his again. "One more time? Couldn't quite hear you."

I wrinkled my nose at him. I couldn't do it. Not with the way those beautiful green eyes of his were watching me with such intensity.

So I did the only thing I could think of.

I clamped my hand over them, blinding him and blurting out before I could stop myself, "I love you!"

He stiffened. Then snerked, letting my hand stay put over his eyes as a huge, dopey grin spread across his face, "Love you too. And eagerly awaiting the day when I can look at you while you say that."

Despite feeling flustered, one corner of my lips lifted. "...yeah, well... you might be waiting a while there."

Now he removed my hand from his face, weaving our fingers together and pressing a kiss to my palm before clasping it to his chest just over his heart as he smiled down at me.

"Take all the time ya need. I know it'll be worth the wait."

...maybe acting class wasn't so bad after all.

I mean, if only one session had helped me get this far...

...just imagine what I might be able to accomplish after completing the entire course!

Author's Note: Relationship milestone, woooo! Achievement unlocked! xD Not sure if ya'll even realized that these 2 dorks had yet to say those three lil words each other :P Like Lea said, he's known for a while - the goob might've even fancied himself in love back while they were fake dating - maybe it was still just really strong infatuation back then, but eh... does it really matter? xD As for Elsa, she's been in love for a while now too, she just didn't KNOW that's what it was until her mouth did what it does best, took the reins and blurted out her feelings for her XD On another note, yay for Elsa exploring theater further and pursuing acting classes! Hehe, these bonus chapters are quickly turning into an excuse to squeeze as many cameos in as I can. The professor was originally supposed to be a smaller, faceless part but then I came to the conclusion that I should have more fun with it and tried to figure out who would be good fit for a drama teacher - I think I made the right call with Clopin xD In case anyone didn't recognize him even with all the lil hints I dropped, he's the jester guy from "Hunchback of Notre Dame" which I wouldn't blame you if you read the name and went "uh…who?" - the guy only says his name once in the whole movie and it does legit sound like it has 4 syllables when he says it! My whole life (right up until I looked it up for this chapter) I've thought his name was something like "Cleopelle" haha oops xD And I'm glad I found a place to squeeze in Strelitzia at long last! Not to mention Kuzco - fun fact, he was originally gonna be Selphie, but this was before I came up with the scene prompt for the Alphabet Improv bit. I was looking up acting class prompt suggestions on the internet before I was like "screw it, I should just pick the plot of a Disney movie or something", started scrolling through the long list of Disney movies until I landed on "Emperor's New Groove", stared at it blankly for few seconds, then DING! Off went the lightbulb, Selphie was yeeted out of the scene, and Kuzco bounced in to take her place x'D Also, yes, both Stroking the Animal and Alphabet Improv are real drama class exercises - I know this from WAY more time than I care to admit spent on the internet trying to figure out what I wanted to happen this chapter xD Stroking the Animal is also sometimes called Ironing the Animal, but (1) I don't even understand that title and (2) Lea couldn't have made his dumb innuendo if I'd called it that xD

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

Be back for next week's bonus chapter, which is a for funsies one-shot! Your hint this time for what's to come will be *drum roll*... blindfold ;D Ooooo, the intrigue is real! Stay tuned!

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mystblbk · 5 years

Text

La Hija--Chapter 2

BANG!

My hand is steady as I stay pointing at the young man that is now leaning against the bloodstained wall behind me. I roll my eyes and put my gun back in its place.

“Your kids suck at sneaking around Armenta,” I huff at the man, “You should have taken them out early as my father did to me. I mean look at me. Only eighteen and the leader of Mexico’s Mafia!”

I turn back around and see the man staring at me with pain and sorrow in his eyes. I watch as tears collect in his eyes then flow down his greasy cheeks. He then turns his eyes up to me and I see anger and revenge floating in the muddy orbs. I roll my eyes at his hypocrisy and turn back to the group huddled up in the corner.

Directly behind Marcos is Valentina, staring at me with her big blue eyes. I raise a brow and she has the gall to look sheepish with her lips forming a small pout and eyes wide with a puppy like expression. I shake my head and walk over to her, ignoring how Eva trys to pull Val by her sleeve. Val simply pulls her sister’s hand off without looking and stands her ground. I make a ‘shoo’ motion to Marcos and the man moves over to allow me access to the heiress. I stop directly in front of the blue eyes beauty and glare at her.

Val’s expression turns from a sheepish to embarrassed. I sigh and pull out a chain from my pants pocket. A shiny gold chain dangles from my fingertips, a small hooded figure similar to the one hanging on mine sways back and forth from the end. I slowly untangle the gold figure from it and pull the jewelry over Valentina’s head. The golden figure with bright clear diamond eyes dangles a few inches below the neckline of her black blouse in the space between her breasts.

I look up at the girl and give her another harsh glare. In response, Val smiles with a shrug. I growl and lean forward and speak next to her ear.

“I told you not to forget it on your way out,” I growl, “Niña traviesa.”

Just as I suspect, instead of causing fear Val shivers and her breath hitches. She opens her mouth and a squeak comes out, more likely from me nipping at her jaw with a smirk on my lips than anything else. Val’s hands grasp onto my shirt with force as I nip her ear with love and annoyance at what my brat has caused me to do today. I know for a fact that the reason she has been causing more ruckus in her family’s paper now is from gaining my protection.

“Son lencahas?”

The outraged shout brakes my peaceful state, so in one quick motion, I take out my gun and shoot at the knees of the speaker—all without moving from my position near Val. Begrudgingly I pull away from the minx in my arms and look back to the kneeling mass of stupidity near Armenta. The man closest to the leader, his second in command, lays backward holding his thigh with bloodstained hands as the bullet hole I made bleeds out onto the marble floor.

“That was very disrespectful,” I snap, “And you really are not in the positions to say anything to upset me.”

The man is too much in pain to give a shit about what I’m saying, and even though I know this, it annoys me even more so I give a signal to my men. My boys give me twisted grins and force the pathetic man back into his position, making sure to kick his wounded thigh as they do. I smirk in thanks to them then look back to the other leader in the room.

“Well on the bright side,” I chuckle, “You know why I’m here now.”

Alacran answers for the pitiful man, “To protect the princess.”

I grin at my godfather, “One of the reasons.”

“One,” Armenta asks with furrowed brows.

I nod, “Sure, pretend you didn’t take out my old man. I have evidence in the form of many spies and your own handwritten note. Don’t be a coward and pretend you haven’t been hiding from me. I’ve been trying to track you down for months. Luckily for me, here you are served to me on a silver platter by my girl.”

Alacran laughs, “I’m sure if he had left well enough alone, he would be at home with his slut of a wife a and both of his kids. It’s not surprising to see this egotistical moron be played by two young women.”

I laugh, this time accompanied by my men. Realization of where I am hits me like a ton of bricks when the sound of sirens approaching the property can be heard. With a huff, I turn to Alacran.

“Scatter.”

Alacran and the other men nod and leave one by one through the back doors leading to the pool house. The whole procedure takes no more than fifteen minutes so by the time all of my men have left, the sound of sirens surrounds the house. I shake my head and start walking to the exit leading to the back of the property, a hand tugs at my shirt and I look up to Val. Her expression is worried, but I smile and lean forward to kiss the corner of her lips. I pull away and walk to stand in front of Armenta. To each of his sides are his ten men still kneeling in a line, visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

With a loud bang, the Carvajal’s guards burst in followed by the police. The commotion escalates as Eva and Lúcia start shouting to them where they are. I stay there and wait as Montilla and a group of heavily armed officers enter the living room. As they take in the scene, I catch a blur of red lights directs themselves onto their targets. With a smirk, I draw my gun and slowly turn around. I point my gun at the Detective and then use it in a ‘shush’ motion.

“Juliana,” Montilla gapes, “What—”

Before the Detective can finish his sentence, the glass windows explode as ten long range bullets break through and hit the ten sicarios in front of me, killing them simultaneously. Their blood sprays around me and the men fall forward from the force of the bullets. All around me, police officers and Carvajal family members cover their heads as the glass continues to fall around us. Through the chaos, I wink at Montilla and dash out of the building and jump into my waiting Camaro only a few feet away.

By the time they’ve noticed me, my Camero is peeling out of the property at full speed. I hear the shouts of angry men and feel as bullets rain over my car in a feeble attempt to stop my getaway, I have no injury except for the glass that had rained on me earlier. The wind flows through my hair as I speed out of the streets behind the mansion. I take back alleys and dirt roads, ones that I have memorized for this exact reason, and take an extra five minutes to reach my home.

Upon reaching my ebony gates, Marco looks over the guard post and then signals down to the other to open up. The gates open and I drive the two miles into my property. I sigh and look over to the small picture Val gave me that is taped on my dashboard. In the picture, she is grinning to the camera while I stare lovingly at her. My chest tightens at the thought of her recklessness but I can’t help but smile fondly at the thought of my troublemaker.

I shake my head and force myself to think in the present. A cartel boss is now in the custody of the Mexican authorities, my father’s murder to be exact, and I need to start making up a plan to keep Montilla’s mouth shut. Money doesn't work on men like him but if I can speak to his higher up, Director Ramirez, I’m sure I can force him to submission.

With a nod, I finally reach my home and park the car directly in front of the steps up to my residency. I toss my keys to Ernesto as I walk by him and walk up the steps and into my home. The house is mostly quiet except for the guards patrolling the place. I walk to the dining room and ignore the looks our maids give me. I know their concern is mostly due to how close I was to getting caught than for my safety, I was trained by the most skilled assassins of all North America so the possibility of injury is little to none, but when being ambushed by so many officers it still puts them on edge. Their alliance to me warms my heart, they had taken care of me since I was born and have a nanny type of role with me. Both women follow me, Emilia carrying a tray of sandwiches and snacks from the States that I enjoy while Teresa carries a tray of sweet tea and different types of soda.

As I reach the long table, now occupied by all the members of my gang, my two maids place their trays in front of me and in hush tones fuss over the state of me. I roll my eyes and give them a look so they hesitantly leave but not without making me promise to be checked out in my room later. I allow the women to leave before turning to the others.

“We need to contact Ramirez,” I tell them, “I need this peace offering to go smoothly and effectively. If the Detective doesn't shut his trap then we act, but not before his higher up deals with him first.”

The group leaders nod, all four pair of eyes full of understanding. I then sigh and pick out a sandwich then look up at Alacran. He takes the silent permission and speaks.

“The shipment to Cuerna Vacas has been sent,” he sighs, “The cartel has agreed and will keep an eye on who will take over El Sur. The new leader will be notified on our rules and if they disagree we will send a group to dispatch them.”

“Good,” I nod, making sure not to show the food in my mouth, “I don’t want any loose strings.”

Hernandez takes this opportunity to speak up, “We found a new opening in the Patrol.”

I pause and look up from my drink, “And?”

The man smiles, “A Director by the name Danvers has sympathy for the travelers and will turn a blind eye on the pass between Cali and Arizona. She wants an alliance in exchange.”

“Alliance,” I raise a brow, “On what terms?”

“Her sister-in-law has a company that builds machines and searches diseases,” Hernandez explains, “She wants a contribution to it and political pull to allow them access to hidden flies on Cancer and other diseases. She’ll in exchange allow us to use the pass and give us resources that we may need for our pueblos and members.”

I pause and think it over, “Okay. Make it a written contract and have them sign it. It’s a gain on both sides and above all else, gain on our society standards.”

Hernandez smiles and me with a nod. I look to Almendarez and see him shake his head. I frown, displeased.

“Nothing yet,” he sighs, “We suspect it may be someone in the company but we can’t go that far without causing suspicion. We’re working on it, boss. We’ll find your suegro’s killer quickly.”

I narrow my eyes but nod anyway. These things take time so there’s no point in beating up my men for something we can’t control. I finally turn to look at Perez. The woman grins at me.

“We recruited twenty new guys. They look promising but you know how it goes,” she explains, “The forty we had are ready to be sent out. I already have their placements so we’ll have new men on the table by the end of the month.”

“Excellent,” I sigh, “Now how about all of you eat and relax. The weekend is here and we all deserve some rest. Oh and Alacran?”

“Yes boss,” he answers.

“I got you a new friend in thanks,” I smile, “He’s in your room.”

Alacran grins, “Thank you.”

I nod and motion to the food before getting up and walking out. My steps come to a halt when I reach the staircase. A small figure with long brown hair and fierce green eyes glares at me from her place on the highest step of the first flight of stairs.

“Hola mama,” I sigh, “How are you?”

“How am I,” she huffs, “Pissed off! What were you thinking? What if they caught you? What if you ended up like El Jefe? What if you were hurt?”

I roll my eyes as I slowly go up the staircase, half hearing my mom’s rant and half thinking about another the other fierce woman that I allow to talk to me this way. Once I’m at the top of the stairs, my mother pulls me into her arms and starts cooing up a storm. I allow her to fuss over me, I’m the only person she has left. I don’t say a word as she dragges me up to the other flight of stairs and into my room at the end of the hall.

When we reach my room, my maids are patiently waiting with a truckload of medical supplies and even more food. I sit on the stool they placed in the middle of my seating area, and allow the three women to take my shirt off to clean my wounds. I eat silently as they fuss over me and scold me at the same time. A sad smile spreads on my lips at the thought of my father going through this whole affair. His angry hazel eyes would most likely be fed up but his expression would be lovingly annoyed, he always acted pissed at their antics but loved their care for him even more.

“Is Valentina alright,” my mom asks as she pulls my bra off to get the small pieces of glass off of me.

“Yeah,” I grin, “She’s alright. Her family was pretty confused though.”

Mom rolls her eyes, well I assume she doses as she’s patching up my back.

“I told you to tell them before something like this would happen,” she murmurs.

“It doesn't matter,” I sigh, “Eva will be Eva and she will be displeased anyway. Plus this way she knows not to force her thinking onto Val.”

My mom scoffs, “Sure, with the threat of being killed on the spot she won’t say a word.”

I laugh, “There you go.”

My mother and the maids finish their actions so I stand up and walk to my closet doors. I quickly pull out some sweat pants and a loose shirt. With the help of my mother, I change into the loose clothing and walk to my balcony. I can feel my mother follow me as the maids leave to tend to the house with relief. I stare out onto our property, catching our farm hands taking the horses out for a stroll. I look at the guard points and am pleased to see they have been changed, everyone needs a break.

“What are you thinking about.”

I blink and glance at mom, “Dad. Val. Her dad. Her family.”

“You think you’re becoming like him,” she says, speaking my thoughts, "You are also thinking that you're dagging Valentina into something that she may not want in the long run."

I nod.

“Well, you are like him,” she nods, “But you are also me.”

I grin and she returns it.

“And you are you,” she continues, “You are the best of us both. The worst of us both too. But you are you and that is what Valentina loves, the perfect mixture of all three. Just as I threw caution into the wind to love your father, so will she. Love is like that. She is crazy for you, mi amor. She’s finding her place in your world and that’s okay as long as you find yours in hers. It will take time, but you will find a balance. She loves you. I can see it when she looks at you. So I'm sure you aren't dragging her into something. She's not the kind of girl to be pushed around.”

I nod and pull my mom into a hug. The warmth of her motherly embrace clams my fears and builds my hope.

“You always know what to say,” I whisper.

She chuckles, “That’s because I’m your mother. Now go take a nap. I’ll let the boys know to allow Valentina up here when she arrives.”

I pull away and thank her. She nods and leaves me outside. I stay there, watching René pet my horse. My thoughts are heavy with worry about dragging Valentina into this world, but the love I saw in her eyes an hour ago calms me down. I sigh and go back into my room to take the nap mom directed me to take.

She’s one of two women I take direction from after all.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19186732/chapters/45646936#workskin

#amar a muerte #juliantina #valentina carvajal #juliana valdes #fanfic

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no-white-knights-blog · 6 years

Text

Halo - An Etrian Odyssey Novel (Chapter 36/50)

Notes: The following chapter contains intense fanboying over Hamza. Also angst. But the fanboying is the important part, because Hamza deserves some adorable fans <3 Hamza is not mine, he belongs to @theshatteredrose!

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"I want you to do something for me, Seara," a familiar voice whispered directly into his ear, "Remember."

Magenta eyes opened to a cabin made of wooden planks, Seara found himself lying on a gently rocking hammock, in the ship room his guild had taken residence in for the trip from Etria to the city of Lagaard, where a Labyrinth was waiting to be explored. The young survivalist had come on this quest with four others, but when he rolled his head on the pillow to look at the other hammocks, he found them empty, a sigh of frustration falling from his lips as he pushed back the blankets and sat up, smiling when he saw his brother's sleek black wolf companion sitting beside the closed door.

"Morning Na'axri," he greeted, pulling his knees up and folding his arms over the tops of them, a slight pout on his lips, "Eliath didn't wake me up like I asked him to. Again. I'm not a kid anymore, I'm not supposed to sleep in all the time. He won't listen."

Na'axri barked once and stood up on all four legs, his tail wagging furiously as Seara slipped out of the hammock and onto the cold floor of the ship's cabin, quickly dressing for the day and collecting his long hair up before tying it in a ponytail and pushing the door open to bask in the bright morning sun.

"Sleeping beauty is finally awake," someone to his left sang, and he lurched forward a little from the way that man ruffled his hair, grumbling a little with a pout and reaching up to fix the ponytail.

"You guys are the ones who didn't wake me up," he argued, turning to see the war magus standing beside him, "Did you eat all the breakfast, Naylin?"

"I am very offended by that question," Naylin clicked his tongue, throwing an arm around Seara's shoulders and leading him towards the front of the boat where the other three members of Historia were located.

"Morning!" Seara greeted, throwing himself against his older brother's back and wrapping his arms around the other survivalist's waist.

Eliath turned at his waist to wind an arm around Seara's shoulders, smiling in delight, "Hey, did you sleep well?"

"Oh I slept fine," Seara squinted at the man, "You didn't wake me up like I asked, though."

"I swear I was going to," Naylin offered, leaning his back against the boat railing, "But Eliath shooed everyone out of the room saying you needed sleep."

"El," Seara whined, and Eliath just looked out over the water, ruffling his brother's hair and not looking guilty at all, "I'm an adult now, you've gotta treat me like one."

"I don't care how old you are, you're my baby," Eliath argued, pinching Seara's cheek before grinning over at the landsknecht who was curled up on the deck, his face pale, "At least you don't have to miss watching Flandr deal with sea sickness."

"Fuck your existence," Flandr snarled, stretching out on his back and clutching his stomach, looking dizzy, "This isn't natural, people should have their feet firmly on the ground, not... whatever this is."

Naylin cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered towards Flandr, "Cottage cheese."

The landsknecht's eyes widened and he scrambled to his knees before throwing himself over the railing, vomiting as the war magus laughed and Eliath shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"That was mean," Seara scolded Naylin, who stopped laughing and pouted a little at Seara's disappointed glare.

"Ah come on, it was a joke."

"I'm not laughing," Flandr moaned, still leaning over the railing.

Seara walked over and patted his back, looking over his shoulder and Naylin, "I think I have something for nausea in my bag, you go get it since you made it worse."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Naylin sighed heavily, pushing away from the railing and shuffling his feet as he made his way towards their cabin.

Seara shook his head with a soft smile and rubbed Flandr's back as the landsknecht spit out bile and wiped his mouth with his shirt sleeve, sliding back to his knees, "Ugh, I hate boats. I hate them so much. Why did I leave the Labyrinth?"

"You're fine, come on," Eliath chided, arms folded, "You've been through worse things than this."

"I'm going to die on this ship," Flandr mumbled, and Seara laughed a little as Eliath held his hands up in disbelief.

"What are you working on, Lesai?" Seara called over to the hexer who was sitting near Eliath's feet, back against the railing and knees pulled up, head bowed and messing with something in his hands.

"Same thing as he was yesterday I think," Eliath hummed, looking down at Lesai with a soft smile.

The hexer just curled a little further into himself, hiding whatever he was holding against his chest. As usual the hood of his robes was pulled low over his eyes, though Seara could still see his pale red bangs peeking from under it. Lesai had always been a quiet person, he'd never spoken a word directly to Naylin or Flandr in the three years they'd been in Historia, and he rarely spoke to Seara. The only one he seemed comfortable speaking to was Eliath, but Seara wasn't surprised.

Eliath was a born leader, he just had one of those presences that drew you to him even if you didn't personally know him. He was kind to everyone, unless of course you wronged his guild in some way, and he was phenomenal with dealing with kids, thanks in large part to the experience he gained while raising Seara.

He was humble, generous, and intuitive, smart enough to know when to draw back from the Labyrinth and when to take a chance they may never get again. Eliath's uncanny ability to read situations and people flawlessly were one of the reasons he was guild leader, and one of the reasons they were so sought after for Labyrinth requests, and Historia's reputation was why they'd been asked to travel to the Labyrinth of Lagaard, to collect samples of rocks and plants they couldn't find in their Etrian Labyrinth.

Not that everyone in their guild was up for the journey. Flandr for one couldn't stand it if his feet were too far from the ground, so being on a boat like this was the same as being in hell for him, head buried in his lifted knees and arms wrapped around his knees as Seara sat beside him and rubbed his back to somehow help ease his discomfort.

Then there was Lesai. The moment Eliath took the request, the hexer tried to get across how much he didn't like it, stating it was a bad idea, they shouldn't go to Lagaard, they would regret it. Of course, Eliath took his concerns to heart, but at the same time he'd already accepted the request, and he wasn't one to back out of something or break a promise he'd already made.

He was wary about this request, because of what Lesai had said. The hexer's intuition was never wrong, and Eliath himself had a pit in his stomach, leaning with his arms folded on the railing of the boat and staring out over the water, a heavy frown on his lips. He looked down when he felt something tug on the leg of his pants, smiling at the hexer.

Lesai's cloak was black and baggy, the sleeves so long they hung off his hands and hid them entirely from view, but that never stopped him from clinging to Eliath whenever he was close enough, tugging on him when he wanted the survivalist's attention, and Eliath never minded much, he felt rather honored that the hexer trusted him so much.

He crouched down so he was eye-level with Lesai, smiling, "What's up?" he asked, and the hexer pulled his other hand from where he'd been holding it against his chest, presenting what he'd been working on to Eliath, who held his hand out so Lesai could drop the item into his palm.

It was a shiny green gem with silver wire wrapped around it in what appeared to be a meticulously made design, hanging from a chain and roughly cut as if Lesai had pried it from one of the mining spots in the Labyrinth, which he probably had. He had quite the collection of stones from their many trips into the Labyrinth's, and coveted each and every one like they radiated with power. Which, for all Eliath knew, they did.

"What's this for?" he asked, and Lesai pulled his hands back towards his chest.

"Just in case," he replied, and Eliath smiled, undoing the clasp of the chain and hooking it around his neck.

"In case of what?" he asked, reaching out and pushing Lesai's hood from his head, something he always did in an attempt to get the timid hexer used to people seeing his face.

"If we get separated," Lesai mumbled, "I'll be able to find you."

Eliath frowned, brushing Lesai's bangs up just enough to see his pale silver eyes, "Why would we be separated?" he asked, smiling in forced amusement, "And how would you be able to find me using this silly thing?"

"It's special," Lesai explained, reaching out to touch the green stone, "What I was doing was enchanting it, infusing it with my energy. I should be able to connect with it if we're separated, it will act as a beacon and I can find you," he paused and pulled his hands up, hiding against them so only his eyes were visible, "It has special properties and will protect you from minor dangers."

"Thank you," Eliath smiled, "Wish I had something to give you in return."

Lesai just murmured and reached back, pulling his hood back up and holding it down over his eyes as Seara laughed a little from the side, "Don't be shy, Lesai. If you asked for something I'm pretty sure El would give it to you."

"Give him a kiss," Naylin suggested from where he'd crouched down just behind Eliath, leaning back when the survivalist swiped at him.

"Stop teasing him, honestly," he scolded, and Naylin giggled as he walked over to Flandr's other side, dropping himself down and holding a small vial out.

"Here, this'll help with your stomach."

"I don't trust you," Flandr mumbled, his voice muffled in his arms, and leaned towards Seara, laying against his shoulder, "Is it safe?"

"Yes, yes," Seara assured, taking the medicine from the war magus and patting Flandr's hair, "Here, drink, I promise it will help you."

Flandr pulled his head away from his arms to reveal his face was tinted a gray and green color, he was so ill he couldn't pull the top of the vial off, so Seara did it for him and pet his hair as he downed the medicine. One of the side effects of the medicine was drowsiness, which was better than having the landsknecht throwing up the whole way, and he ended up stretched out on his back with his head in Seara's lap, fast asleep.

"Do you think he'd throw up in his sleep if I whispered gross food names into his ear?" Naylin asked from where he was standing leaning his back against the railing, and Seara punched his knee.

"Quit being a pain."

They reached the docks at noon, when the sun was high in the sky and casting down on the large city, which Seara leaned over the railing to get a better look at while Eliath held the back of his shirt with one hand, the other propped on his hip.

"This place is amazing!" Seara exclaimed, spinning on his heel to face his brother, "What are we doing first? Can we go sightsee?"

"I think since it's so early still we should get a few hours in the Labyrinth, then find an inn we can stay at for the night," Eliath decided, handing Seara his bag before moving towards the ramp that lead down to the dock, "Everyone good with that?"

"Yea boss," Naylin chimed from the back, and Seara giggled a little.

For a while they all walked in sync, until Eliath stopped at a fountain near the center of Lagaard to ask someone for directions to the Labyrinth, and when he turned he frowned, "Where's Flandr?"

"Probably throwing up," Naylin held a hand up, "When we got off the boat he was still really dizzy so I named a few of his least favorite foods and he stumbled over to a trashcan."

Eliath pinched the bridge of his nose, "And you waited until now to tell me this?"

"Last night he told me my flute playing sucked," Naylin argued, "This was my payback!"

"You're a war magus, not a troubadour," Seara said, and Naylin pointed at him.

"I'm allowed to have hobbies!"

"I'll get him," Eliath said, unable to stop himself from smiling at how childish his guild could be, "Wait here for me."

Seara end up sitting on the edge of the fountain with Lesai next to him, and Naylin walked along the edge with a bamboo flute in hand, mumbling about how he played fine and Flandr was just tone death before playing a few notes.

"Don't feel so bad, Flandr enjoys your music just like the rest of us," Seara assured with a smile, "He's just shy about admitting it."

"Yea, I know," Naylin agreed with a half-smile, flipping the instrument around between his fingers before hopping off the fountain and sitting down, leaning back, "Hey, Sear, if you had a chance to, would you meet your hero?"

"My hero?" Seara tilted his head to the side, smiling, "Eliath is my hero."

"That doesn't help me," Naylin argued, "If it wasn't the boss, would you want to meet them?"

"Is this about that veteran war magus you keep talking about?" Seara asked, and Naylin threw his hands out.

"He lives in Lagaard, I might actually run into him!"

Seara sighed with a slow roll of his eyes, "I don't know, Naylin. From what you've heard, does he seem like a good guy? It would be kind of disappointing if you met him and he turned out to be a complete jerk."

"He sounds like the coolest war magus to ever exist!" Naylin insisted, hands clenched into fists, "I've heard a few stories from travelers, telling me how this guy's the leader of the strongest guild in Lagaard, and is a highly respected explorer who even helps train rookies not in his guild. They go around saving people from the Labyrinth and doing good deeds all around the city, evidently they even started a weekly soup kitchen that works out of the local hospital!"

"Okay," Seara hummed, looking impressed, "That's pretty admirable. The leader of a guild like that has to be a good guy, right?" he smiled, "I just don't want you to be disappointed if he turns out to be a jackass."

"He won't be," Naylin practically whined, "You have so little faith in these things, Seara!"

Seara just laughed, "I just don't want to see you upset, sometimes it's bad to meet your heroes."

Lesai pulled on his sleeve, lifting his arm like he was pointing to something, and both Seara and Naylin turned their heads to look at what the hexer was motioning to. Standing several yards away were two people, one with silver hair and the other with black hair, and they seemed to be deep in conversation so they didn't notice the three younger explorers watching them.

"Who are they?" Seara asked, and Naylin jumped to his feet.

"That's Hamza!" he gasped, "That's the leader of the strongest guild in Lagaard! He's my hero!" he spun to face Seara, "How do I look?"

"Desperate."

"Great! I'll be right back!"

Seara shook his head and watched Naylin dart across the courtyard before turning to Lesai, "How could you tell that was the guy Naylin was talking about?"

Lesai shrugged his shoulders and tucked his hands into his sleeves, "He has a good energy," he said simply, and Seara hummed in reply.

"So he won't get too freaked out to have some strange guy run up to him?"

"No."

"Great," Seara leaned back on his hands, tilting his head back to smile up at the sky, "Then we can just relax while we wait for Eliath to get back."

"Freaking asshole," Flandr mumbled as he shuffled away from the trashcan he'd been leaning over, wiping his sleeve over his mouth and spitting out the bile still on his tongue, "I'm snapping that flute in half when I see him next. Ditching me like an ass."

He stomped his feet as he walked forward, bumping into someone's shoulder. His initial reaction was to snap at the man and dart off to avoid confrontation with another human, but Eliath had been spending a lot of time trying to hammer good manners into Flandr's head, so instead he turned and bowed a little as he apologized.

"Sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going."

The man just turned his head to glance at him, and Flandr tensed a little when he recognized the clothes he was wearing, categorizing him as a hexer. His hair was as dark as his eyes, and his skin was a pale white, chains singing as he turned fully to face Flandr and simply stared at him with wide eyes.

"Boy, there's an energy hanging off your aura," the hexer said, and Flandr squinted in unease, taking a slow step back.

"I don't know what that means, but I'm sorry again for bumping into you."

He turned to leave, but was stopped when the hexer reached out to grab onto his left forearm, squeezing hard and pulling Flandr closer, "You've come into contact with it? How is that possible?"

"Wh-what?" Flandr winced as the man's unkempt nails dug into his skin, "Knock it off, what's the matter with you?! This is what I get for trying to be civil."

"You don't have it," the hexer stated flatly, his grip loosening a fraction, "Not with you, but you've come into contact, you've spent long amounts of time in its presence. I can sense its energy still lingering in your aura," he tightened his grip yet again, making Flandr cringe, "Where is the stone?"

"What stone?!"

"The Lapis Galəksē."

"Lapis what?" Flandr pulled on his arm, "I don't know what that is."

"No, no you wouldn't," the hexer murmured, narrowing his eyes and tightening his hold yet again, to such a painful point that Flandr gasped, "but you've come into contact with it. It's been over a decade since I found the grotto, and I've had no leads," his dark eyes brightened, "What luck. It's good I came to Lagaard," he whispered something, and Flandr's eyes widened in horror as black mist seeped from the hexer's mouth and towards his arm.

He yanked on his arm to get away, but when the black smoke touched him he felt himself go slack without meaning to, "What?" he breathed, mouth gaping open from pain as he watched as the black touched his skin and burrowed beneath it, entering his veins, and making them turn black, so it appeared as if there were dark webs spreading out from where the hexer was holding him.

"Now, puppet," the hexer said in a disturbingly soothing voice, "I have an order for you."

Flandr's world became foggy and unclear, words whispered into his ear, echoing like he was in a giant cave, and he stood there for a long time before he felt someone shaking him gently by the shoulder, blinking his eyes until his vision cleared.

"Boss...," he greeted Eliath dizzily, looking around as the survivalist squeezed his shoulder, looking confused.

"You okay? You were just standing here staring off into space."

"I...," Flandr trailed off and looked down at his left arm, turning it over a few times before exhaling, "I'm fine."

"Okay," Eliath nodded, though he didn't look convinced, and smiled, squeezing Flandr's shoulder again before stepping away from him, "I left the others in the center courtyard, let's meet up with them and head to the Labyrinth."

"Sure," Flandr agreed, taking once step before pain raced up his arm, making him freeze up and lift his arm, choking when he saw the black marks webbing out from the area on his forearm where the hexer had grabbed him.

He could feel something flowing the wrong way in his veins, and touched his arm with shaking fingers, his stomach flipping when he felt the marks pulsing like there was a parasite in his blood. Flandr forced himself to swallow the lump and looked up at the back of Eliath's head. He was about to speak, tell the older man what had happened and show him the marks, but he stopped when his head started to ache, lifting his right hand when something hot dripped from his nose, black blood pooling in the palm of his hand and a voice echoing in his head.

"Don't bother," it was the hexer's voice, "He won't understand. Do as I've ordered, and no one will be hurt. If you fail, I'll kill them in front of you and leave you with this curse, a curse that will have you live a full life, but in complete and utter agony, and don't think I'm joking. I've cursed plenty before you."

Flandr choked, his hands lifting to grab at his hair, blood dripping to the ground at his feet, "Please don't hurt them," he whispered, and the hexer's voice echoed yet again in his head.

"Then do as I say. Put a jacket on, we don't want them seeing those cursed marks."

Flandr nodded numbly and wiped his hand under his nose, trembling as he pulled his coat from his bag, pulling it on and buckling the front before quickly running after Eliath, who turned when he heard Flandr following him, arching an eyebrow and pointing at his own nose.

"You've got something black on your face. I think dirt?"

"Hu?" Flandr rubbed his sleeve under his nose, nodding, "Yea, sorry."

"What's with the coat?"

"I'm cold."

"Really?" Eliath asked in amusement, "Says the guy who grew up in the Labyrinth and constantly refuses to wear a coat when it's snowing or raining."

"I can get cold sometimes," Flandr responded, and Eliath shrugged, turning on his heel.

"Let's go then, we'll buy you a scarf."

Flandr shuffled after him, cleaning the rest of the strange colored blood from his face and wincing when the hexer's voice came back, "Good boy. You know what you need to do now?"

The landsknecht swallowed the knot in his throat and nodded, "I know; and you won't hurt them?"

"Follow my orders to the last detail, and none of them will be harmed, but one slip-up, and I can't guarantee their safety."

"I understand..."

"This Labyrinth isn't too different from ours!" Seara yelled down from where he was perched on a branch high above the ground, one hand shielding his eyes as he looked over the area, "Just as beautiful!"

"Right on!" Eliath called back, smiling as his younger brother hopped off the branch and landed in a crouch to his left, "We'll check along the path this way and see if we can find some herbs or even a mining spot."

"We could've asked directions," Naylin said, "Or asked for a map. You know who probably had a map?"

Seara propped a hand on his hip, "Hamza?"

"He probably had maps to spare!" Naylin threw his hands out, and Eliath rolled his eyes as Seara chuckled.

"He's very happy he met his hero," Seara explained, and Eliath shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm happy for you, Nay, but can you concentrate right now?"

"I'll do my best."

Seara couldn't help the grin, but it faded when he caught sight of Flandr, who was lingering at the back, his feet scuffing the ground, "Flandr?" Seara backed up and slowed so the landsknecht could catch up to him, "You're being really quiet."

"Hu?" Flandr lifted his eyes, which appeared hazy, "Oh, yea, I was just thinking is all. There's this big house, like a mansion, towards the edge of town in the higher wards. We should go there after this."

"What for?" Naylin asked, walking backwards with his arms folded behind his head, "Is there something there?"

"Yea, maybe," Flandr agreed, staring at the ground, "We should just go there is all."

"Tell them why, boy."

"I ran into a guy earlier, he offered a lot of money for us to take a quick request. I know we're already on a pretty big quest now, but the guy said it wouldn't take too long."

"Sure, I don't see why not," Eliath hummed, and Lesai stopped in his tracks, his lips twisting as he reached out to grab Eliath's sleeve, successfully pulling him to a stop.

"No," the hexer stated, clear enough for everyone to hear him, which was unusual in itself.

Everyone stopped walking, and the wind started to pick up, cool air making the sage plants and grass dance at their feet.

"No?" Eliath repeated, turning to face Lesai, "No what?"

"We can't go to that place," Lesai said, "We'll never leave."

"Sounds like a chill place, I pet they have a pool," Naylin joked, and Lesai curled his lips between his teeth.

While Naylin seemed to think it was a joke, Eliath felt uneasy, and stepped closer to the hexer, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing, "Explain," Lesai kept his head bowed for a long time, it was hard to notice, but Eliath could feel him trembling, and pulled him closer, leaning down so Lesai could whisper if he had to, "Easy, I need you to be clear and tell me what's wrong. Does this have to do with why you didn't want to come to Lagaard in the first place?"

Lesai nodded slowly, releasing his hold on Eliath's sleeve and instead taking his hand, pulling it closer and pressing the survivalist's hand against his cheek before urging him to go higher. Eliath tensed up when he realized what the hexer was referring to, his jaw clenching tightly as he moved his hand from Lesai's shoulder and instead wrapped his arm around him, pulling him against his chest.

"I see," he murmured, his chin on top of Lesai's head.

Naylin and Seara both looked concerned, exchanging worried looks before focusing on Eliath, "What's happened?" Seara asked, and Eliath smiled at him.

"Lesai just isn't comfortable meeting someone he doesn't know. Sorry, Flan, do you mind? We're going to skip that request and just focus on this one."

Flandr's face pinched up, "Skip?"

"That's no good, boy. You can do better than that."

"But...," he held his hands out, "I mean, I'm not good with people either, and I'm willing to go."

"Flandr, you're acting strange," Seara noted, and Flandr gaped at him.

"No I'm not, I'm acting like I usually do."

"Shame," the hexer's voice started to boom in his ears, "I'm disappointed in this turn of events, boy," Flandr gasped a little when his left arm started to burn, grabbing his wrist with his right hand, his eyes widening when the black marks started to crawl along the skin of his hand, wrapping around his fingers, "I'll take over from here."

"Flan what the fuck?" Naylin strode forward and grabbed the landsknecht's wrist, "You got a tattoo that can move?"

"Are you a moron?!" Flandr shrilled, shoving Naylin away as hard as he could and holding his left arm against his chest, "Fuck!"

"Flandr," Seara quickly moved closer and grabbed the landsknecht's shoulder to steady him, "What's happening?"

"I'm fine, get back," Flandr gasped, and Seara shook his head.

"Stop trying to deal with things on your own, you're not alone anymore!" he scolded, "Confide in us so we can help you!"

Flandr gaped at Seara with wide eyes before gritting his teeth and looking down, "I don't know what-."

"Boring," the hexer sang in his head, and his eyes widened in horror as Seara took a few swaying steps back, his magenta eyes wide in surprise as blood poured down his face, "That boy is dangerous, you should stay away from him."

"Seara!" Eliath screamed, somehow managing to reach his brother as his legs gave way, his face pale and his eyes unfocused as Eliath cradled him against his shoulder and pushed his hair back to reveal a deep, jagged gash along his hairline.

"Sear....," Flandr lifted his right hand, his eyes falling to his left arm, choking when he noticed his axe was hanging from his hand, blood dripping from the edge of the blade, "Did I... do that...?"

"Bastard," he looked up in shock to see Eliath was glaring at him, fury in his eyes that Flandr had never seen before, "I'll kill you."

"I didn't...," Flandr trailed off, his right arm falling to his side as the black marks crawled up his neck and across his left cheek, his lips quirking into a manic grin as his dark yellow eyes brightened, head tilting to the right, "My, my, my, I didn't think a landsknecht could be this soft-hearted. That's a problem."

Eliath gaped at him as Naylin eased his way closer with Lesai slipping behind him and kneeling on Seara's right side to see the wound in his head, "You're... not Flandr?"

The landsknecht scowled, "And you're the guild leader, I guess we're both surprised."

"What the hell is going on?" Naylin demanded as Seara sat up shakily, lifting a hand to his head as Flandr sighed heavily, his head rolling to the side.

"Come with me and I'll tell you," he grinned and held his hand out, "If you don't make a fuss or fight back, then no harm will come to you."

"Fat chance," Naylin snapped, and Flandr hummed.

"Pity, but I did warn him if he didn't get you to my mansion then he'd have to watch you die. This will be upsetting for him," he smiled, rapping his fist against the side of his head, "He can see and hear everything that's happening you know. His screams are like music to my ears," he lifted the axe and held it with both hands, laughing, eyes rolling up, "I hope you enjoy the show, landsknecht! Lucky me you're so strong! Killing your family should be a piece of cake!"

"What's... happening?" Seara murmured, and Eliath quickly scooped him up, looking at Naylin.

"Hold him off, I'll be back, I'm hiding Seara."

"Go for it boss, we can fight this idiot," Naylin assured, and Eliath turned, running into the trees far enough that he could barely hear the fighting.

He set Seara on his unsteady feet and turned him to face him, "Do not move, understand?" he asked, and Seara nodded, leaning his back against the tree and watching Eliath run around it to join the fight.

Everything around him seemed to slosh together. Turning and slipping his hand across the bark of the tree, he found himself confused at the rough texture.

Beyond the trees and back with his guild, Flandr was backing up, as if he was going to put his weapon down, but another grin took to his lips and he lifted two fingers to his lips, whistling.

Eliath and Naylin froze, eyes widening in horror as Flandr laughed, "Perhaps he's not as useless as I thought!" he exclaimed, his arms stretching out as two Raptors broke through the trees on either side of him, "Who knew there were people out there besides hexer's who could control these monsters?!"

"Fuck!" Naylin screamed, dodging one of the monsters before the second swiped at him, throwing him across the clearing until he'd slammed into a tree, falling to the ground and not moving.

Seara was staring down at his hands, his brow furrowed, his mind blank as he started to pull the gloves from his hands. Why was he wearing this heavy gear again? He was just taking a walk, right? He set his bow and quiver against the trunk of the tree before pulling off the rest of his gear so all he was wearing were his underclothes, a white shirt and black pants with boots, dizzily looking around the area until Eliath stumbled back around the tree, covered in blood and eyes wild as he grabbed Seara's shoulders.

"You need to listen to me," Eliath started, squeezing Seara's shoulders, "Run. Run as fast as you can, get the soldiers that were posted at the entrance, tell them what happened," somehow, he managed a shaky smile, leaning down and pushing his forehead against his brother's, "I'll hold them off until help comes. You trust me, don't you? You know I'm strong," something like clouds filled his eyes, but he smiled, "I love you, kiddo, and I'm really proud of you," he whispered, pulling Seara closer and kissing his cheek, "I'll take care of this and see you soon," he promised, cupping Seara's cheek with his hand, "Don't forget me, alright?"

Seara just nodded dizzily and turned, running off, and Eliath breathed out heavily, turning to join Naylin and Lesai fighting the Raptor but stopping when he came face to face with Flandr, who was swinging the axe casually, smiling.

"Oh no, boss. The landsknecht liked that one. Guess I'll have to grab him another time," he crouched down and lifted his axe, "Can you fight me off with a bow and arrow, survivalist?"

Eliath scoffed with a smile, dropping his bow and undoing the belt that was holding his quiver to his back, letting it fall to the ground before pulling a dagger from his belt, "No. But I'll die trying."

#EO #Etrian Odyssey #whoop now we know what happened to Historia #dont hate flandr he didnt mean it #shits gettin good now #naylins love of hamza is my love of hamza #just saying

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