Gossip Talks: Sage and Elijah
sagemacmillian:
âLike I said, too noble for your own good.â She grumbled, punching him lightly in the arm. âYou should have given up whoeverâs you knew; you said it yourself, hers wouldnât have legal repercussions,â thank Merlin because that meant it definitely wasnât hers he knew, âand itâd be saving yourself. I just- why not?â She asked, a little desperately. She knew why, already; Elijah would never value himself or his wellbeing over someone elseâs, especially if he was either sworn to secrecy or knew that secrecy was necessary. It just wasnât Elijah.
However, it was very much Sage, and sheâd give up (almost) anyone to keep her own secret from coming out. Let alone the friends sheâd lose, the brothers sheâd disappoint, sheâd probably be expelled⊠if they could prove it. Which hopefully, if she played her cards right, would never happen. And until that day, sheâd protect her wellbeing over almost anyoneâs.
She growled aloud at the name, but shook her head at the words that followed. âNo. Donât do that, donât make this about what you should have done or shouldnât have done. People think Rosalynâs a good person, it wouldnât be out of the norm to think she could keep such a big secret, to think that sheâd realize what sort of consequences this kind of thing could have on you and your future. I mean, unless sheâs hiding that she like, killed someone, she just fucked you over to save herself. Thatâs not on you, thatâs on her.â
Elijah lowered his head at the desperate undertone in Sageâs voice, the distinct lack of understanding of why he would put himself on the line the way he had done simply for the sake of someone elseâs secret, especially when that secret wasnât as intense as his own was, wasnât as high risk as his own was. And she did have a point, didnât she? He could have sealed himself an Azkaban sentence or expulsion if the professors who needed to know hadnât already been informed of the situation and the tentative legal stance as they waited for Laurent to either wake up or completely lose brain activity.Â
As it was, there were professors who hadnât known who were now far more tentative with him than they had been before, and all because he had kept that secret so close to his chest, all because he hadnât spilled the truth about Colette and her parents. And no one in their right mind would do that, would they? No one with any shred of self-worth and self-preservation would allow someone elseâs secret, a secret that wouldnât have nearly the same impact as his own secret had, to keep them from saving themselves. He had acted in a way that wouldnât make sense to anyone, hadnât he?
But he had done it, and Elijah knew exactly why he had. âIt would have been wrong for me to break that trust,â he admitted, shaking his head slightly. âYou know how much worth I put into someone trusting me. Itâs not as though most people do -- most people donât even like to spend much time speaking with me, let alone trusting me with a secret.. And I found it out on accident, but she still trusted me to keep it. I couldnât break that, especially not for my own sake. Iâm the one that made the mistake in mine, Iâm the one at fault for what happened with Laurent. Sheâs not even at fault for hers. It was the right thing to do. Morally.â
Even if he didnât know for certain if it was right practically. Morally, he was in the clear, and he could breathe a little bit easier for it -- just a little bit, but enough to make a difference. Letting out a sigh, he shook his head slightly at Sageâs growl and the words that followed up. âIt wasnât her fault. I shouldnât have kept it secret in the first place, and Iâm sure anyone else would have done similarly if they were in her shoes. She was probably trying to protect Bridget as much as herself, since I never told her either. A good friend would do that, right?â Anything to keep your friends safe, right?
âAnd I donât even know why she told for certain. Maybe she decided it was time everyone knew, maybe they just overheard her talking about it, I donât know. I just know it came from her. She was the only other one that knew, and the Gossip Witch didnât go looking into Laurentâs accident, Iâm sure. No one would have given out information about it that freely anyway, even if she did go asking.â He didnât think they would have, at least. There werent enough people who knew what happened, save professors and parents, for him to believe anyone would talk about it aside from Rosalyn. âI lied to everyone.â
