"Mmmmh." Was all Eugene said before he stared running with Ariana, still completely bundled within the curtain in his arms. She didn't know what to do, part of her wanted to let Eugene take her were she needed to go but another was doubtful he would do as he said. Then she remembered. "Eugene is a master of the con..." Ariana become horrified.
She started to struggle against the curtain. "What are you doing?" Eugene asked as he stopped running. "I... I can't... I can't breath!" She gasped as she started to put less force in her struggles to make Eugene believe she was losing strength. "Cut it out and just behave." He replied but Ariana suddenly went limp. Eugene gave Ariana's body a little shake but she didn't move.
He then placed his ear against what he assumed was her mouth and couldn't even make out shallow breathing. He then stared to unwrap the curtain and Ariana tried her best not to panic. His hand slid onto her body, stomping in between her breasts. Ariana shut her eyes and started to chant in her mind. "It's mom's hand, it's mom's hand, not a guy's, it's mom's hand."
He then moved his hand up towards her neck and gingerly tried to find a pulse. To his surprise he felt fabric and string wrapped around her neck with the tips of his fingers. He quickly pulled his hand out and placed her body against the ground. Ariana kept her eyes closed and felt that the curtain was being pulled apart. Eugene's hands trembled as he clumsy tried to remove the fabric and string from around her neck.
When he succeeded he brought his fingertips to her face and dared to just gently touch her, too afraid she would shatter under his touch. "No." He whispered. He moved his hand behind her head and pulled her into an embrace.
"No, no, no!" He said in frustrating as he put strength in his arms and burred his face into the crook of her neck. Ariana couldn't hold her breath anymore and gasped for air. She could feel Eugene's body tense up as she took in quick, shallow breaths. "Thank you." She breathlessly whispered into Eugene's ear.
Eugene said nothing and kept Ariana trapped within his arms. While Ariana couldn't really complain, the warmth and comfort she was receiving was too good to give up. Then she felt Eugene start to move, she forgot herself in the embrace and tried to push him away.
Eugene was strong, too strong for her and she could feel panic starting to rise. "Be good, I will safely deliver you to the Abela Manor." He said in a comforting tone but Ariana refused to be tricked.
She fought harder against his hold. He still held her in place, she heard movement from behind her and knew he was going to wrap her up in the curtain again. She bit down on Eugene's shoulder with all her strength. Eugene flinched but still didn't release her, even though she knew she broke flesh as she started to taste something metallic in her mouth.
Eugene couldn't help but laugh and the sound of his crystal clear laughter made Ariana release her jaws from his shoulder. She could feel her heartbeat pound against her chest. While Eugene unknown to him released his hold on her, his arm slid down her back and he could care less. She shook her head, she had no time to be dazed she brought her fist up and punched Eugene in the throat.
He was completely caught off guard and started gasping for air. Ariana stood up and took a few cautious steps back. She wanted to look at Eugene but he wore a mask, knitted hat, a tan coloured tunic and black slacks.
Ariana had the urge to pull down his face mask but turned around instead. "I'm sorry!" She shouted as ran full speed ahead. She had no idea where she was, her mind started lecturing her for being so stupid in trusting a person like Eugene, a complete stranger but her intuition said he was not bad.
She kept running, weaving herself in between people and trying to avoid soldiers that were now roaming the streets. Her heart pounded as she snuck into an alleyway, trying to avoid the soldiers sights.
She was stuck, she had nowhere to run. She tried to look for a fire escape or something to take her to the rooftops but in her search she made a grave mistake and toppled over a waste bin. The sound of the metal can hitting the ground scared the back alley cats.
Soon a hoard of cats started hissing as they started to approach the trespasser while soldiers started yelling that they heard something close by.
Everything started to move in slow motion, she failed, they would come get her in seconds and there was nothing else she could do. She closed her eyes and started to call out for Adelram and the others in a last attempt for help.
No one replied. She looked at the podiums and saw her tiny sparks look at her in worry. She walked up to Charoite and gave him a heart warming smile as she gently stroked his tiny cheek. "It's not over." She said as she placed an open palm in front of Charoite. "Will you help me?"
She opened up her eyes and smiled as her hands glowed a purplish pink colour. 'Master stop!' Aroha shouted but Ariana couldn't bother to wait, time was of the essence and unfortunately she was already in borrowed time. She then used her shadow to propel herself, on an angle towards the wall.
She jumped back and forth between the buildings, the distance was too far apart for any normal person to try and bounce off of but by using her shadow as a boost the distance seemed none existent.
Ariana laughed when she made it to the top and dropped down to her knees. She was out of breath and exhausted but she made it out of the alley. She heard the soldiers shouting at eachother as they put the blame on the cats for making the racket.
Ariana tried to get up but found herself too weak to stand. 'Master.... you won't be able to move for the next little bit.' Loralei said apologetically. "Why? I... never had... a problem... before." She said as she tried to catch her breath.
'True, but Master in the times you have used your powers you were overflowing with an abundance of magic. Though it was not the purest of its true form, it was more then enough to fuel your connection with the elemental's gifts without using a medium." Aroha explained."I don't understand." Ariana replied flatly.
'Basically Loralei, Vasu and myself have acted as a medium to fuel your connection to the gifts. You are no where near strong enough to properly use the gifts by yourself. While we, proud Lumas, are reduced to being whispering aids, sitting along your ears... Master, you can't use the gifts without causing great strain against your body." Aroha continued.
Ariana groaned. "Being breathless and weak doesn't seem like too much of a burden though. I will just wait here until I recover some strength."
'No Master. Today you were lucky, you swam in the cursed river and was kissed by the newly born hippocampi pixies. That gave you some magical strength. In all honesty it was enough for only one of us to come back to our true form.' Aroha said.
Ariana sat up in shock but quickly regretted it as she plopped back down. Her world was spinning and she couldn't afford to pass out. "Why didn't you?"
Aroha sighed. 'We didn't know who would be the most useful to you. Loralei, Vasu or I could have helped you with your gifts but which one would you have needed? We thought we would make the decision in the last second but you used it up yourself.'
Ariana brought her hands up and covered her face, trying to stop the world from spinning. "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you first but you have to admit, you were at fault too for not telling me."
'You're correct and next time we will discuss such important matters with you but for now you need to get up.' Aroha said apologetically. Ariana rolled to her side and tried her best to stand but found it difficult to balance. She clung to the edge of the roof and tried to use it as support as she inched towards the exit. She then heard banging against the door and froze on the spot.
Her eyes were wide in disbelief, how did they know she was on the roof? She dropped down to her rump and tried to come up with a plan. There was no way she could use the gifts again, she had been warned and there was no one coming to save her. The banging on the door got louder and she dared herself to stand and look over the edge. She saw the pile of garbage and hoped it was enough to cushion her fall.
The door broke open just as she pushed herself forward. "No!" She heard a familiar voice yell as two strong arms wrapped around her waist, catching her mid air. "Why must you always give me a heart attack!" The voice yelled as he pulled Ariana closer.
"Eugene?" Ariana whispered as she tried to turn around. Again Eugene's body turned stiff and she found herself trapped. "Please let me go! I have nothing! I am completely useless and worthless! I don't even have the strength to fight you but I want to live.... Please, I'm just... I'm really scared! I'm so scared! People are after me and you might get hurt and I don't want that! Please just let me go!" She cried.
To her surprise Eugene spun her around. In a split second her crying was silenced and her tears stopped flowing. He had caught her completely off guard and kissed her without restraint.
Ariana's eyes widened with shock as his lips collided onto hers. A familiar and warm sensation spread throughout her whole body and she started to melt. Eugene readjusted his lips and started to kiss her more hungerly, he coaxed her to part her lips and slipped his tongue into her mouth, fully tasting the inside.
Ariana's world turned bright, she lost all sense of reason. She allowed Eugene to continue his passionate kissing as she let out small moans of delight. When they parted he was completely breathless, she caught sight of his eyes and started to close hers. "Those eyes... It's you again..." She mumbled before she passed out in his arms.
....
Ariana slowly opened her eyes. She was now staring at a dark ceiling as she laid on a soft pillow. The room was swaying slightly, she figured she was in something that was moving. Suddenly a cute, familiar face came into view and Ariana turned bright red. She tried to sit up but Edlyn kept her pinned down. He face full of concern and Ariana averted her eyes. "I'm okay... can I please sit up?"
Edlyn grabbed Ariana's cheeks in a pinch hold and turned her face to hers. She then shook her head no and Ariana turned a brighter shade of red. "Please! I rather not be using your thighs as pillows!" Ariana cried out. Edlyn released Ariana's face instantly as she turned a bright shade of red herself. Ariana quickly sat up and both girls looked out their windows until they could calm their hearts.
"How did I get here?" Ariana asked as she turned to Edlyn. Her friend raised her hands and started to sign. "A boy brought you to our Manor and told us to protect you. He said soldiers were looking for you so we figured the worst case scenario happened."
Ariana flushed and tried her best to keep her voice steady. "The boy... did you see what he looks like?" Edlyn shook her head no. "He wore a knitted hat that covered almost all his hair and a mask that covered his lower face... I barely could see his eyes!"
Ariana's heart sank. She knew she shouldn't think about what happened between her and Eugene but her mind wondered to their kiss. She brought her hands up to her cheeks and smacked them a few times, trying to wake her up from her adolescent hormones.
"What about your family? Will they be okay?" Edlyn shook her head yes rapidly. "They'll be protected, the Countess made sure of that." Edlyn signed. Ariana let out a sigh of relief and sank back into her seat. Edlyn reached out and tapped her friend's shoulder to get her attention. "Ariana what happened?" Ariana let out a cold laugh. "The Council is beyond evil...."
After Ariana told her tale Edlyn paled at an alarming rate. "So they're abducting people for fortune and power?" Ariana nodded her head. "Yes... and worse yet someone on the board of directors at the Academy is Romanoff's rat."
Edlyn clutched the fabric of her skirt and gritted her teeth. She couldn't feel more blessed for finding someone like Ariana and to befriend her too. Her family was at peace, they were no longer being scammed, she was no longer alone but the truth of the matter was that the church had their eyes on her.
If they came knocking on their door one day and convinced her parents to hand ward over to them. Edlyn could feel the stinging in her eyes as her vision blurred. Though she was told why she had to run with Ariana, reality did not sink in, she would have been dead or worse if she never befriended someone like Ariana.
Edlyn bitterly brushed away her tears and looked at her friend. To her surprise she had fallen back to sleep and was leaning her head against the carriage wall.
She laughed to herslef, she didn't think she could even laugh in the situation they were in but Ariana was able to perform miracles just like the stories revolving around her mother. She gingerly coaxes a sleepy Ariana to lean onto her shoulder and she placed her head on top of hers.
She snuggled up to Ariana's hair and swore that she would always stand by her best friend's side no matter what happened. After a few moments of listening to Ariana's soft snoring Edlyn was lulled to sleep to.
The driver pulled up to the Academy's gates and presented an envelope to the guards stationed there. The guards looked at one another and then the driver. The one guard signaled for the gates to be opened and the driver pulled on the reins, making the horses trot cautiously into the unknown territory.
A dashing, older man stepped forward and looked up at the driver. "Are they unharmed?" He asked and the driver nodded his head as his eyes glowed an eerie liquid amber colour beneath his newsboy hat.
"I will ride within the carriage then." The man said as he reached for the door. The driver whipped the horses and moved the carriage enough so that the old man wouldn't catch the handle of the door.
"Sorry sir but strict orders to keep them two safe." He said making the older male chuckle darkly. "Are you insinuating that I am not trust worthy?" The older man asked jokingly but the driver caught the subtle warning he was giving.
The driver shook his head. "No sir, many apologies... it's just the young missus and her friend are sound asleep inside. I think it would look very inappropriate to have a male, regardless of their age sitting with them as they sleep."
The older male tensed up and he tried to laugh off the situation. "It seems that you are indeed correct! Hey young fellow why don't you move over and let me sit next to you then?" The driver nodded his head and moved aside for the older man to sit.
The driver whipped the reins and the carriage moved forward. "Say young man what is your name?" The driver laughed as he pulled off his hat. A scar was visible on the side of his face, eyes that resembled pure amber which contrasted with his cobalt blue hair.
"Honestly Headmaster Nakia, is that what you really want to be saying to your new librarian?" Caelan burst out laughing as he slapped the driver's back. "Gregory my boy! How have you been?!" Gregory flashed an awkward smile towards the Headmaster and Caelan couldn't help but start laughing again.
"I guess you are fine, no wait... better the fine! If your trying to smile it means you found Petunia!" Gregory tensed up and gripped the reins until his knuckles were white. He then let out a calming breath and looked straight ahead. "No sir, not yet but I'm a lot closer to finding her then before." Caelan's eyes shone with delight as he watched Gregory. "Not yet is a lot better then no."