There he was, in the courtyard, dressed in his satin top hat and suit, conversing with a few associates as they traveled out into the street. Abelle couldn’t imagine what they were talking about, as she watched from the second floor window of the manor, but it was likely about business; something that did not concern her, as her father often said. But it was the gentleman in the tophat, Mr. Ivon Plourde, whom her attention was set on, and she could not remove her forlorn gaze from him, even as a door behind her creaked open, and in Mr. Renard entered.
“It is time for this morning’s lesson, Miss Abelle.”
She kept her eyes on the distant Ivon until the man disappeared from the courtyard with his associates. Abelle then turned slightly, smoothing out her pale blue dress to avoid looking her teacher in the eye, “I’m afraid I cannot today, Mr. Renard. Might we reschedule for tomorrow?”
“Is something the matter?” The old man asked, and as she walked over to sit down in the lounger, he walked over the window.
“Yes, I am indisposed. I think it best I rest for today.”
Mr. Renard glanced over to see her staring at the chess board, again, avoiding his gaze. He gave a brief sigh, and looked out the window once more, studying the courtyard, though he already knew what ailed her. He had seen young Ivon leaving the manor just as he had arrived, they had exchanged a brief greeting before Mr. Renard made his way up to the study to meet with Abelle. Mr. Plourde had been visiting frequently these last few weeks, and always, the man seemed to leave a smile on the girl’s face long after he was gone. Mr. Renard thought it had been a good change for Miss Abelle, as her isolation here at the manor had left her with little company save for himself. And she had seemed to be in such high spirits until now.
“An aching heart is the worst of all the ailments, ma petite flèche.”
“It’s not like that!”
Mr. Renard, surprised, turned to the girl again to see tears forming in her eyes as she crossed her arms. But it looked more so like she was trying to keep herself together than lashing out at him. She had always been a sensitive girl, even when she was younger, and yet, surprisingly direct and straightforward, like an arrow, as he had nicknamed her. She likely admitted feelings to Mr. Ivon that he could not reciprocate. Mr. Renard waited until Abelle could compose herself.
She wiped a few tears from her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking, “It’s just,” She stifled another bout of tears, “We’ve spent so much time together. I thought he felt for me as strongly as I feel for him. We had such lovely conversations-” She sobbed, unable to contain it this time. It took her another moment to speak again, “And I listened to his pain, and he mine.” She tried to explain further, but she had broken down once more. Mr. Renard sat at her side to comfort her, acting instead of the father who could not be here for her. He soothingly rubbed her shoulder as she sobbed into the fabric of his coat.
A great bit of time passed before she could eventually explain that Mr. Ivon had told her how good of a person she was, and how he cherished her friendship and that he hoped to continue visiting her. On top of that, Abelle believed that he was going to seek reconciliation with his last heartbreak, the one who had caused the man so much pain to begin with.
“Did you confess your feelings to him, my dear?” Mr. Renard asked after she finished her fragmented story.
Young Abelle shook her head, “It would only hurt him more.”
In a small plaza near the tavern, in a quiet part of the neighborhood, a fountain stood at its center, with a fierce lion cut from marble that was posed at its base. The sound of the cascading water was wall that broke the midnight silence. Terra sat down at the edge of the fountain, contemplating as she watched the night sky. After a moment or two of gazing at the moon, she looked down at her rippling reflection in the water. So much had happened over the last couple of months, sometimes she forgot how much had changed in herself over the passed year. With her short blonde hair and old baggy rags she wore for clothes gave her the appearance of a young boy. It was a lie she had been living since the previous summer, to protect herself and those around her. But this person, staring back at her through the water- this was what Cicero made her into. The man whom she had trusted as her mentor, who inevitably betrayed them all. In a spark of anger, Terra swatted at the water, causing her reflection to twist and distort into an indistinguishable form of color.
“Terra.”
She jumped, spinning around to face Emilio, who had entered the plaza without Terra’s notice. She sighed and straightened herself up, adjusting her vest.
“You don’t need to sneak up on me like that.”
“I didn’t. You are usually more alert.” He glanced around the clearing before he sat down beside Terra. “We did well today. You should be celebrating with the others.”
“Yes, yes. We saved an innocent man from the gallows, and he’s a key part in all this, but how will we stop Cicero’s next move? We don’t even know what he is planning.”
“You’re right. We don’t know. But you won’t find your answers by sitting here.”
“Are you suggesting that I go out searching every house in Venice?” Terra looked at him with a bemused smile.
“No. You can’t pull a disappearing act whenever you want anymore. The guild looks to you now.” Emilio stood up and offered his hand, “Come on, they’re all waiting. Just... let them enjoy this small victory tonight.”
Terra looked at his hand for a moment, then gave a curt nod, “Alright.” She stood up without taking it, however, and Emilio only stood there for a moment before following her lead and exiting the plaza.
Ayurnamat: The philosophy that there is no point in worrying about events that cannot be changed.
The blades of wheat danced in the wind, flicking to and fro and licking at Gail as she lay in the field. Her hair was a long tangled mess, and her clothes were torn and ragged, revealing the many scars and open wounds that decorated her pale flesh. Even the slightest movement unleashed a fiery pain all over, but fortunately for Gail, she had passed out on a soft bed of wheat. There was nothing that could motivate her to move from this spot.
Several moments went by as Gail stared at the orange sky and listened to the hushed wind. Soon, she could also hear footsteps tromping through the wheat field. Her gaze drifted lazily towards the source, and a young scruffy man appeared, carrying a first aid kit in one hand, and a case of beers in the other. Gail eyed the latter as the bottles clinked together in sweet harmony.
“Eiiiiiivind, just the man I wanted to see!” Her voice sounded scratchy, as though she’d been screaming or yelling all night, “How’d you find me so quickly?”
“Well…” The man with hazel eyes glanced back over his shoulder, “It was not difficult.” Gail could not see from where she lay, but behind Eivind, at the borders of the forest, claw marks stretched across several trees, showing a clear path that Gail must have come in from last night. Eivind didn’t expect her to remember much so soon after her transformation the previous. Werewolves always had such fuzzy memory right away waking up from a night under the full moon.
“You really roughed yourself up this time ‘round.” Eivind observed as he set the beers down next to Gail and helped her sit up. “Did the beast have something to be angry about?”
Gail grimaced as a sharp pain ebbed at her side from being moved. While Eivind busied himself with the first aid kit, Gail popped open a beer and shrugged, “Don’t know.”
They grew quiet as Eivind opened the first aid kit and withdrew his wand. “Tergeo,” He muttered quietly, and the dried blood covering her wounds started to melt away. There was a large gash in Gail’s arm, right over an old scar that resembled deep teeth marks scraping all the way down her forearm. “You never mentioned how you got these old scars. They're from the werewolf that turned you, aren’t they?”
Gail gave a curt nod and took a swig of beer as Eivind cast another spell, this one causing the bandages from the first aid kit to come out and wrap around her wounds. “My father was a werewolf. Dark wizards came after him during a full moon, and I chased after him. I got too close to him.”
Eivind gave her a wide eyed look, fearing that he’d asked something that would only resurface painful memories. He never expected that Gail had gone through something so traumatizing. To be turned into a werewolf was one thing, but to be turned by your own father was another. There was far more to the story than Eivind could have imagined. As he looked at her though, she was staring up at the sky with a calm smile. She didn’t seem too bothered by his question.
Still, he felt he should apologize, “I did not realize, sorry for bringing it up.” He closed the first aid kit and stood up, offering his hand to help Gail to her feet, who shrugged once again.
“It’s alright. It happened a long time ago.” She smiled as he helped her up, and Eivind couldn’t help but be surprised by her response.
“Still, it can’t be easy to talk about.”
Gail quickly shook her head, “Well, I do miss him… but nobody can change what happened, you know? And he wouldn’t want me spending all my time being sad and worrying about what I could have done to save him.”
“I see…” Eivind grew quiet for a moment, choosing his words carefully, even if Gail was handling the conversation as well as she was, “So you don’t regret that you were turned then? Does that bother you?”
Gail looked him in the eye now, not out of anger, but instead, confusion. “No, it doesn’t. Of course it’s difficult, but its just how things are. I just have to be careful not to hurt anybody, and maybe even help people with it. And you and the rest of the gang have helped me a lot! I’m grateful for it.” She smiled once again, and started walking back towards the forest, though Eivind could tell based on how she walked that her wounds were still causing a lot of pain.
“Speaking of the others, let’s go meet up with them, make sure they got through the night as well as we did.” Gail called over her shoulder. Eivind gave a curt nod and picked up the first aid kit and case of beer before following after her.
