Louis stared at the headstone as he tried to remember what his mother's touch even felt like. It was warm, he thought. After all, that's what everyone says about their mother's touch. It's warm and comforting, but as far as Louis could remember, Emilia's always felt cold and distant.
She always smiled at her son, but he also always saw straight through her forced happiness by just looking in her eyes. Her eyes were always soft when she looked at him, but they also seemed a bit bluer than her irises really were. The gleam in her eyes Louis loved so seemed to always disappear when grandmother and grandfather visited. Did they make mother not happy? Louis hated anyone who made mother not happy.
"No, no," grandfather told the little boy, "We make your mother here very happy, don''t we dear?" He looked at mother as he asked her, and she didn't even raise her head as she nodded. Mother wasn't only not happy, she was scared too. She was scared of grandfather and Louis had to save her like how the knight saved the scared princess in the stories. He turned to face the dragon, but the smile on grandfather's face terrified the young boy.
He reached down to pick him up, but the quick scaredy knight evaded the attack and retreated while pulling the princess along. They ran down the valley of halls, twisting and turning, then up the waterfall stairs before they met the king in front of the palace doors. He presented the princess to her king, and he thanked him for his efforts. "What a brave knight you are." he said as he patted the shy knight's head.
Louis liked when his father did that. He felt nothing in the world could destroy the happily ever after, but the dragon and his wife had followed them! How? With all those twists and turns, how did they make it up the waterfall? It didn't matter. He drew his sword as he faced the beasts before him, and avoided eye contact, for those were not dragons, but Medusa's kin. One look in their eyes and he would be turned to stone.
He closed his eyes as the 3 year old charged towards them at full speed, but he made the mistake of looking up at them when they called his name. Frozen in fear, he watched as the hand of the monster reached closer and closer to his face. He was going to be eaten! "Young master!" his fellow knight called from below the waterfall, "Where are you, young master?" He was above him, but the beast turned his gaze away from him momentarily, enough for Louis to attack.
He swung his little leg right between the beasts legs and pulled the king and princess along as they tried to run away from the beast. That attack always worked when he was training with the king and Sir Thomas, so he tried his luck and, to his luck, it worked! However, the kind-hearted princess took pity on the injured beast and asked him, "Father, are you okay?" Father? The beast was the princess's father? They never mentioned that in the book.
The king also asked him if he was alright, but the beast was red with anger. This was why Louis was trying to escape! The attack only momentarily stuns the beast! He drew his sword again and tried to attack the beast from the back, but the other beast grabbed the sword. This one was much stronger, and he needed a new strategy to destroy it. Luckily for him, the beast had long hair, so grabbed on and tried jumping on her back, but Sir Thomas grabbed him before he could.
"That's enough, young master." he declared. Enough? But he hadn't slayed the beast yet. He had to slay the beasts and save the princess and the kingdom. Then everyone would live happily ever after. "Beasts?" the male beast asked, "I am your grandfather! You insolent feign!" "Now, father," the princess said trying to calm him down, "He's but a child." The beast slapped the princess across the face in front of the little knight.
See? He was right all along. What kind of "father" hits the princess like that, but a beast? Unfortunately, the beast heard Louis and went to slap him too, but the king stood in his way and grabbed the hand. "I am going to have to ask you to leave, father-in-law," he said to the beast, "It's almost time for Louis's nap and he is a light sleeper." The beast clicked its tongue as it walked down the waterfall and out the door, probably back to its lair.
The king offered the princess a hand, but she rejected his help as she quietly walked back to her tower. Her smile was gone, but the little prince didn't think it would be but a memory. He couldn't understand it. The princess was supposed to marry the king and become the queen, so where was mother going? Had Louis done something wrong? "Mother dear just doesn't love father anymore," she tried to explain, "So, I'm going to be with a new prince I do love."
He didn't understand. Why couldn't the prince just come to their kingdom and just join the knighthood. If he did, mother wouldn't have to leave and father would be happy again. Mother? Why couldn't they do that mother? "Ugh!" the frustrated princess yelled, "I am no longer your mother! I never wanted to be anyway! This was all forced onto me! You! You were just forced onto me!" She gasped when she realized what she had said, but Louis had already run away in tears.
He sat under the bush and cried. She didn't even go after him. What kind of mother did that? She was supposed to be the kind, gentle-hearted princess who loved all, and was beloved by all. So, why would she hurt the knight who had saved her from beasts and monsters and sleeping spells? Why would she hurt her "precious son"? Thomas hugged the little broken-hearted knight as he slowly forgot the feeling of his mother's warmth.
He ended his reminiscing as he opened his eyes and stared at the name engraved on the grave. Emilia Scheneider... Emilia... Mother... He hadn't called her by her forgotten name in almost 13 years. For 13 years, he hated his mother for leaving him and taking her warmth with her to another man and another family. To another child. Laria Moore. That was supposed to be her name. It would've been her name if she decided to be as cowardly as he was.
That didn't fit her though. The image of her hiding out of fear didn't fit mother at all. She was too strong for that. She had already cowered in fear once. With Louis, but she promised to become stronger for Laria's sake and for his sake. At least, that's what her final words were. Louis wondered what his little sister would've looked like. Would she have their ginger red hair? Or maybe mellow brown eyes? Rosy cheeks? Would she have loved him as much as he loved her?
Was he doing the right thing by doing this? "I would do the same thing if I was in your shoes, young master." What a nostalgic way his right hand knight called him. He also thought he was doing the right thing as he leaned over and kissed the top of the headstone as he said goodbye to his princess and little sister.
*****
"You ready?" Gilbert asked his son as they stood right outside the door, waiting for their cue to enter. "You're not nervous, are you? These things can be pretty scary the first time around, so just stay confident and-" He sounded like a naggy mother. "I am also technically your mom." No, Thomas was more like his mother, but they both nagged him way too much. "Then who am I if he's your mom?" His dad. Gilbert was his father. Who else would he be?
"I'm serious, Lou," He was serious too, and Gilbert needed to seriously stop nagging his son. Before he could badger his son anymore, they got their cue and walked out the door and onto the stage of the press conference. The flashing cameras almost blinded him, but Louis preferred blindness to the fear those fake smiles use to bring him. They were everywhere, wherever he went, he could see fake smiles and fake laughs.
However, like a fear of the dark, he found solace in these fake smiles and was soon used to them appearing in his daily life. He was comfortable around them; he didn't even think of them as fake smiles anymore. They were just smiles to him. Just like how his mother was just another woman in his life. He thought of them the same way, with the same indifference, and didn't see any fault with that. There was nothing wrong with the plastic world around him.
"I called this press conference," Gilbert said to the flashing lights and smiles, "In order for my son and I to clear my former late wife, the mother of my child's, name." That was right. With the whole world watching, Louis stood before those flashing lights as he set the record straight. Emilia, no, Mother was born into an abusive family, where she had no say in the events of her own life. Not even who she could and couldn't love.
She didn't love his father, her family did, and they used her as a way to amass fame and fortune under the noble Johanssenn name. They did so at her expense as she was forced to have a child with a man she did not love. She later fell in love with the man of her dreams and managed to leave the clutch of the beasts controlling her life. She found love in someone who also loved her when she had nothing to offer but herself.
The Saviours murdered her and Louis's little unborn sister hours before she could reveal the truth about them to the world. All Louis had left of his mother was a letter holding her last words and the files and documents she never got to share with Wisteria. Although they were practically irrelevant in the wake of Queen Mother Winona's revelations, he wanted to show the world his mother was not some promiscuous cheater.
She was but a princess trapped in a tower of glass all her life. She had a good life behind those glass walls, but she couldn't help but dream of life outside the fairytale. As her knight in shining armour, Louis was happy to say his mother had found love and happiness when she broke out of that glass tower of hers. That longing for love, after all, is strong enough to drive people to break through their glass ceilings and into the endless sky above.
Though the sounds of cameras and smiles were deafening, Louis's soul felt as though he was perfectly clear. He felt as though everyone was looking right through him, and for the first time, it didn't scare him.
*****
"So …" Gilbert asked suspiciously excitedly, "Who's the lucky girl?" What was he talking about? Lucky girl? Louis had no idea what his father was talking about. Right, Thomas? The bodyguard simply glanced at his rear view mirror before switching lanes. "I don't know about that, Louis," he incited equally sly, "Longing for love is strong enough to break glass ceilings? Sounds pre~tty romantic."
First of all, he said, 'longing for love is strong enough to drive people to break through their glass ceilings and into the endless sky above-' … and he realised he had given himself away. "Who is it? I need to know who stole my son's heart." Thomas said. "Me too." Gilbert replied. He had heard their conversation?! And why was father so fine with it? Although he tried his best to change the subject, they were relentless in their interrogation, so he conceded, almost.
There was this girl. He thought of her as quite loud and stubborn until she covered for him one day when he broke a measuring cup in their lab. He couldn't understand why she took the blame for it, but her excuse confused him even more. "I just felt like it." the 14 year old explained then. Why did she "just feel like it"? What was this pounding in his chest? Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? Her smile.
He had seen millions of smiles before, but none like hers. She smiled so beautifully with her braces exposed and eyes almost closed. Why was her smile so different? Why did it make him feel this way? Was it puberty? Was that why his heart rate was so high every time she said hi? What was wrong with him? He stayed up for days on end trying to find an answer until his body couldn't take anymore and he passed out in gym class.
He woke up in the infirmary, where the first thing he saw was Kiara's face. She startled him so bad he hit his head on the wall behind him when he jumped back. "Good, you're okay." Of course he was. He hadn't spoken to her properly in years, but she didn't act like it at all as he thanked her for helping him. "I didn't bring you here," she corrected him, "She was the one who saw you pass out and we brought you here ourselves."
She did? Louis's face flushed red as he thought of her carrying him to the infirmary. Was he embarrassed? Obviously, a girl had carried him to the infirmary. "Really?" Kiara asked questioningly, "Why would you be embarrassed she helped you?" Because she was the one who made him faint in the first place. It was all her fault! If she never helped him for no reason, he would've never stayed up all night looking for answers to his feelings!
He hated her! "But," the young princess protested, "That sounds a whole lot like love. Wow, those two must be really similar. Love and hate." Love? No. He hated her, and so he treated her accordingly until that hatred slowly turned into love. He had always thought love was what drove his mother mad, but he finally understood how compelling the emotion could be. He loved her, but wasn't it too late?
"It's never too late!" Gilbert assured him, "You just have to make her fall in love with you. Simple." Cool, cool. Now, how was he supposed to do that? "Swoon her," Thomas suggested, "Make her find you irresistible. Considering your case, play nice." Play nice? Was the Louis Johanssenn really capable of "playing nice"? How the abyssus was he supposed to do that anyway?
*****
Flowers. Every girl loves flowers, right? Louis ran his decision to get Rebecca flowers by Kylian for the 17th time in two minutes, and he told him for the 17th time, "She's going to love them." She needed to love them though, so hopefully she could love him too. "This really isn't like you," Michael commented, "Since when do you of all people try so hard to impress … anyone." What did he know? Huh?
So what if he had a happy, smooth sailing relationship with his crush's best friend, and could get information about out of him … Louis slowed down for a second and looked at the dumb look on Michaelangelo's face before swallowing his pride and asking him for advice. "Me and Britney?" No, you and the Queen Mother … yes, him and Britney! "Geez, I don't want to help you with that attitude." No, please.
Louis was desperate.
Michael told him to just be himself and not to give up on Rebecca so easily, so the obvious. He sarcastically thanked him for his life changing advice, before Mikey commented, "Well, this life changing advice landed me the girl of my dreams, so maybe you should take it." Huh? Who did this little boy think he was talking to Louis like that? "I'm Britney's boyfriend." What? Was that supposed to be a medallion or something? BRiTnEy'S bOyFriENd.
Kylian broke them apart as they got closer to Halley and Brandon's home. "We're here to help prepare for and celebrate Mr. Markson's release. Don't forget that." Wait, Kylian had already met their grandmother, so Louis asked him how to impress Rebecca's family. "I can't tell you. Every family is different. Just do what feels right." he signed. What feels right … Louis thought over and over again until he walked into the front door.
Michaelangelo and Kylian were having the time of their lives, cackling at his blunder as a man opened the door. "What was that huge thud?" he asked, and Louis said he had knocked on the door. He didn't completely lie, but the man's intimidating stare at Louis didn't let any of them in as he asked who they were. T-they were- "Michael!" Britney called from inside the house, "You guys made it!"
The man looked to Britney and asked if they were the boys she and Halley had invited, and they were. He stared at the three of them suspiciously before slowly letting them into the house. He sat them all down on the couch and began interrogating them one by one, with Louis being the last. "Name." Louis Johanssenn, sir. "Age." 16. "Occupation." Currently in high school. "Relationship to Rebecca." Friends, but hopefully boyfriend soon.
The man rose and stood above him like a giant above an unlucky trespasser or a hawk above an unlucky worm. Louis hadn't realised what he had said until it had all come out of his mouth. He clenched his teeth as he prepared to take a punch, but instead he heard the giant crying out in pain. "Ow, ow, ow. Not the ear." he pleaded as Rebecca pulled him up to her height by his ear. "Aren't you supposed to be decorating, dad?" she said threateningly.
D-dad?! That was Rebecca's father? You had got to be kidding. He just said that to her father's face. Louis contemplated jumping off the nearest bridge into an endless hole, but Rebecca had him go to the kitchen to help her step-mother out. Contrary to her husband, Mrs. Spirko was a lot kinder and less hostile towards Louis's existence. How someone so kind could marry someone who would kill anyone at a moment's notice?
"And those are for?" she asked him. Louis had forgotten about the flowers completely as his brain entered survival mode the moment he met Mr. Spirko. He handed the flowers to Rebecca, and apologized for being so difficult to work with while they were looking for Daisy. She appreciated the sentiment, but Mrs. Spirko destroyed Louis's picture perfect apology by announcing, "Rebecca hates flowers." What? She was joking, right? She wasn't serious, was she?
Sadly for Louis she was. Rebecca placed the flowers in a vase and mentioned, "I may not like them, but they would make a great centerpiece for the table, wouldn't they?" They did … Clearly dejected, Mrs. Spriko had Louis cut up the vegetables for the stir-fry with Rebecca. He apologized again for not knowing what she liked, and she was fine with it. "After all, you never really cared." What if he started caring now? Would that change how she saw him?
Rebecca looked up and away from her knife as she asked Louis if he was joking, "Because that's not funny." He wasn't joking. He wanted to- "Ow!" Rebecca exclaimed. She hadn't been paying attention and cut her finger with the knife. Luckily the wound wasn't deep and Louis moved quickly. He removed her from the counter and sat her down at the table in the kitchen. He somehow found the safety kit and cleaned and bandaged her wound.
She tried to get up when he was all done, but Louis stopped her. He could handle the stir-fry, all she had to do was remain seated and not touch anything. She obliged to his orders as he and Mrs. Spirko took over all the cooking for the party. If there was one thing Louis was good at, it was pissing people off. He was pretty good at cooking too, but the proper timing just never rose until that day.
*****
Louis's culinary skills were met with "mmm"s , "wow"s, and "this is incredible." all around the table as they all caught up with Jebediah. As they were eating, Louis couldn't help but realize how smaller he looked compared to the last time he had seen him. Kylian returned to his own body before they were able to inflict their cruel punishment, which meant Jeb took the full brunt of the blow.
What happened to him that day anyway? "Oh," he said as if he had recalled a painful memory. Louis immediately apologized for awaking any trauma he had, but Jebediah was still willing to talk about it. "After I woke up in my own body, I couldn't feel anything. My entire body was numb with pain, and all I could think about was dinner. I felt food would remind my body not to completely shut itself down, but apparently so did the guards."
"The warden personally went to my cell to let me know I wasn't going to be eating or drinking anything for a week as punishment." "What had you done wrong?" Mr. Spirko asked, but Jebediah didn't know. It was routine for guards to pick on inmates for the sake of feeding their superiority complexes, but it was unusual for the warden himself to visit inmates and relay messages. He knew if he tried to argue the unjust treatment, they would lengthen it, so he took the cruel abuse on quietly.
"I stopped being able to feel my own lungs and heartbeat at times, and I was afraid of falling asleep. I thought if I closed my eyes, I'd never see my kids again, so I kept them open. On the third day, the two guards who brought me outside snuck me a small loaf of bread and a bottle of water. They risked their jobs and freedoms to feed me until the head of the sector caught them on the fifth day."
"He scolded them for deliberately disobeying the warden's orders, but he was soon the one bringing me food as well. I was eating 3 loaves of bread and drinking 3 bottles of water a day until I finally fell asleep on the seventh day. The kitchen staff snuck me a lot of extras, and some of the guys in there gave me their food as well. I was honestly shocked by how well they treated me. If I can pay them back someday, I swear I will. I have to help them. An eye for an eye."
Louis and the others had first hand accounts of how bad Quod Tergora Inpenetrabiles Decipula really was and the lies the public was fed about it. They knew how badly they had to get Jebediah out of there, but now Louis wanted to get everyone out of there, somehow. He didn't know how, but he just knew he had to. Maybe if he used his status he could get high enough in the ranks to do something about it? Ah, but that would have to be some time after college. Were there any quicker options?
"What about you?" Brianna asked while sitting on Louis's lap. What about him? "Do you know Kiwa?" Kiwa? Oh, Kiara. Yeah. They've been friends since he was 5 years old. She was really happy all her time around her grandfather, but she was always scared when she first met other people. Louis startled her a bit when they first met, and he yelled at her for being such a scaredy cat. Weirdly enough, she started laughing at his 5 year old sermon.
He wasn't annoyed or scared by her smile though. He didn't realize why until he met Rebecca. He hadn't known as a child, but Kiara had one of the realest smiles he had ever seen in his entire life. They eventually grew apart as William and Kylian drifted away from her, but she didn't act like it at all when they met again in high school. Now that he thought about it, Kiara had always been one of the strongest people he's met. He was sure she would be alright. He just knew she would.
Snore. Snore? Brianna had fallen asleep as Louis talked about his old friend in such a gentle voice. "That's our cue to wrap up this party," Mr. Park said as everyone quietly rose to clean up before leaving. "The cleaning might wake her," Mrs. Spirko said, "So, could you and Rebecca take her to the car?" Louis obediently agreed as he slowly turned the 3 year old around and picked her up as Rebecca slowly slipped her jacket on her.
"I have yours too," she said, holding his jacket, "so left arm first." He carefully put one arm in his jacket sleeve and carefully maneuvered his right into its own sleeve as Rebecca helped. Once all three of them had their jackets on, they headed out of the house towards the car. They walked in silence for the duration of the stroll to the car until Rebecca placed her hat on Brianna's head to keep it warm.
In the car, Rebecca carefully buckled her into her baby seat as Louis turned the car on and started the heater. It took a while to heat up, and they spent that entire time in absolute, awkward silence before Rebecca exaggerated the temperature of the vehicle. "I could freeze in here," she jokingly said, but Louis thought she was being serious and started worrying. Was it really that cold? He couldn't tell. Ah! What if she actually froze to death?
He tried to think of different ways to help her until it hit him! He took off his scarf and wrapped the warm wool around her neck and head before holding her left hand in his pocket. He figured this was the fastest way to warm her up because of his high body temperature, but he once again didn't realize what he was doing until the deed was done. He apologized as soon as he realized what he had done, but Rebecca didn't seem mad?
"It's fine," she said with what looked like a slight blush, "I've been cold for a while now anyway." Didn't the scarf smell of him? "It does, but I like this scent," Didn't it bother her he was holding her hand in his pocket? "No, they were pretty cold after all." Louis, fairly sure Rebecca was sending 'signals', leaned towards her and asked her if he could kiss her. "Are you sure you want me?" she asked worryingly, and he was sure. Rebecca was the only thing he could see as he leaned closer and closer to her.
Knock. Huh? The two of them frantically turned around to see Mrs. Spirkp pointing to the truck of the car. Louis scrambled to find the button right in front of his eyes, and Rebecca found it mildly amusing to point it out.
They got out of the front seats, and Mrs. and Mr. Spirko both thanked Louis for everything he had done for them. "You should come over and teach me that stir-fry recipe of yours," Mrs. Spriko said, "Wouldn't that be great?" "I don't know," Mr. Spirko answered grudgingly, but he couldn't bad mouth the food no matter how hard he tried. They eventually got into the car as Rebecca was the last to get in.
The air between them was still a bit awkward, so Rebecca tried returning the scarf to break the icy atmosphere. He told her to return it to him when she got a different scarf to stay warm with, and they ended the night with a few giggles and a loving, sweet dreams.
*****
Louis was not happy. One: Brandon was taking forever to pick an outfit for the stupid ball, two: Rebecca was avoiding him, and three: Brandon was being so slow~. It was obvious he was trying to impress his wanted hacker boyfriend, but he denied it. Who was being stubborn about love now, huh?
Brandon was being such a hypocrite! He was also afraid of love because of past trauma and having the gall to compare someone like Daisy to a piece of trash. No, trash was too good for that piece of work. Besides, that had nothing to do with why he was taking forever to pick a damn outfit. "Why are you so grumpy?" he asked the already annoyed red-head. He already said it before. His three reasons Brandon apparently ignored.
"What do you mean she's avoiding you?" Axel asked, but his eyes didn't leave the tv screen in front of him. She was avoiding him. Intentionally not going near him at school, at the dorms, after school, on the weekends. She was always busy and always avoiding him! He didn't know what he had done, but he figured she wasn't into him after he tried to kiss her 5 months prior. The thought saddened him, but he didn't give up.
Oi, Louis grumbled as the three of them laughed and chuckled at his testament. You see, that? That was why Louis used violence to solve most of his problems. "Lou," Kylian signed, "A blind man can see she's in love with you." Then why was she avoiding him? "She probably isn't used to you yet," Brandon explained, "Reba has a tendency to avoid unfamiliar things. She completely avoided her entire family up until a few months ago."
A few months? Brianna was three though. Did that mean Rebecca avoided her own little sister for practically her entire life? Because she wasn't familiar with her and her mom? What did that mean for Louis? If she could avoid family for years, Louis wasn't going to be getting a response from her for the next several decades. Even more dejected, Axel offered the depressed Louis a few suggestions.
"Man up, bro," he said, confusing them all, "Just go grab her and have your way with her if you can't wait that long." What did he say? Was Axel trying to pick a fight with Louis? Kylian and Brandon separated the two before things could get ugly, and before Brandon gave him some real advice. "If you really don't want to wait, you can try being extra nice to show her you are bringing happiness and not pain to her heart." Extra nice?
Louis couldn't do that. He wasn't programmed to be extra nice to anyone or anything. That just wasn't him. If Rebecca was going to fall for him, he wanted her to fall for the real him, not some weird persona of him. If he had to wait, he resolved to do so. After all, it was way better than changing himself for the worst.
*****
Louis knew Kiara was bound to have immeasurable dark magic as the Dark Creator's magician, but she was still Kiara. She would never use her power to hurt others. He thought he knew what kind of person Kiara was. The happy-go-lucky ray of sunshine who could see the good in those who hurt her. If given the chance, she would make everyone in the world happy and keep them all smiling for as long as she could. This was the Kiara Louis knew.
He didn't know the cold, unresponsive princess before him in that palace hallway. William didn't get a decent amount of sleep in six straight months, looking for her. Looking for answers. Looking for ways to get her back, so he could apologize for all he had done. Apologize for all the hurtful things he had said to her. He wanted to apologize for taking her love for granted. He needed her to function, and she just said she didn't want him.
What kind of selfish declaration- Louis found himself unable to speak as he suddenly felt his right lung being crushed from inside of him. Kiara? There was no way she was the one hurting him. Kiara wouldn't hurt a fly. But who else had that much power? Enough power to make someone feel as though their entire existence was being crushed from the inside out. He couldn't breathe. The air around him wouldn't enter his respiratory system.
Was he dying? No. He just couldn't breathe. Was this what she had been holding and hiding behind that smile of hers? All of this pain and suffering. Was she finally sick and tired of wearing her mask after years of abuse and alienation for things outside of her control? This was hurting her more than it was hurting him, wasn't it? He could tell. Kiara silently and unknowingly pushed others away from her when she needed to repair her mask.
She was changing. She was beginning to value herself more than others around her. She was starting to become the queen everyone was expecting her to be in a few years. "That's not Kiara." Brandon said, but who else would that be? Someone so kind and caring and selfless. That was Kiara! She stops forcing herself to be the gleeful little girl everyone wants her to be, and she's suddenly a monster? She was hurting!
But what right did Louis have to say anything against her or the others? He left her side. He didn't try his hardest to keep her by his side, and this was his karma. Now he had to wait patiently for her to be willing to have him as a friend. That's all they had to do: wait, so why couldn't they have just waited. Why did they feel the need to rush her period of grieving just to see a smile? Why did they hurt her like this?
Why didn't he stop them? If he did, then Kiara may be alright. He could've saved her life if he wasn't such a coward! If he actually had the common decency to tell them what they were doing was wrong and actually stop them too, Kiara's body wouldn't be so cold. If he ran after her in that hallway, into that portal, out of that shield, outside Winona's office, through those throne room doors, onto that cliff, back in the forest, that burning pawn shop, in that rose garden, the ballroom!
If he had put aside his petty fears and properly used the courage she had given him that day they met, he would've never walked up to her. He would've never yelled at her or found her smile pleasant. He wouldn't have helped William try to make her fall in love with him, only for him to treat her like some sort of burden afterwards. He wouldn't have spoken to her in high school, and they would have nothing to do with each other. Maybe then she would still be there with them.
Ah, that blinding light. Louis wondered what was happening as it filled the room, but he couldn't be bothered to think. It hurt to breathe. His heart felt as if someone was slowly slicing it open with a long, neverending knife, not that it mattered. He couldn't be bothered to feel anything. The world felt numb around him. It was passing by, and he didn't really seem to care either. A world without Kiara's smile after all was … bright?
That Julian guy, her soulmate, he told her to get up. Why would he talk to a lifeless body that way?! Had he no respect for the dead- … Kiara? Kiara! She was … alive! He saved her! Truly the power of the Light Creator was matched to none for him to defy death like that. "As the Creators' magicians, immortality is the price we pay for such power." Immortality? As in Kiara couldn't die? He would never have to worry about her death?
The news overjoyed Louis. Seeing Kiara dying made him want to die himself, but now he didn't have to deal with the agony the occasion would never bring. He could finally continue waiting for her to be ready. That's right. He had to wait. Wait for her to open her heart up once more. He could wait. He had to, for her sake-
Wait, what? She couldn't remember them? What about the Kiara he was waiting for? Was she really gone? It wasn't possible. Louis refused to believe it was real until he and 4 year old Kiara made eye contact. It was brief, but so was the first time they made eye contact. If the water reverted Kiara to this way, then wouldn't it know a way to reverse the effects? A Fountain of Corruption. Did that even exist? The water was from Mytherra, so it's existence proved the fairy tale land existed. In a land of myth, there had to be a way.
Louis got the water from Kylian and shared his thoughts, but Kylian wanted nothing to do with the water anymore. "This water is cursed. It has to be to do something like this." he signed. However, luckily for them, every curse can be broken, so all they had to do was break the one over Kiara. They needed to keep the water safe from everyone, though, so they gave it to the one person who could protect it best, Britney.
*****
Another wave of guilt crushed Louis's heart as he watched the Myra family celebrate the return of their long lost princess.
He had met Princess Celestia when he was four years old, but he didn't get close to her until Kiara came into the picture. She and Celestia had an inseparable bond. Nothing could break the older protective sister from her dependent, loyal, follower of a little sister.
Kiara's mask even first broke when she was 13 years old upon the news of the kidnapping. Louis later found out she missed a month of school, and figured she was helping with the investigation. He couldn't understand why everyone felt the need to lie to him every time he asked about her whereabouts. "I don't know", "She's gone, too", "No one knows". All they had to do was say where she was, but they just kept lying, so he asked her himself when he entered high school.
"I was in Magiterra." She was in the land of Magis, where no human could go, for a month? "A month? I could've sworn I was there for a day." She was lying to him as well. At least he thought she was. It took him 2 years to realise Kiara went to Magiterra when she needed to take off and repair her mask. The first time he knew she went there was because of Celestia. Her disappearance shook her up to the point of berserk.
That wretched curse with its neverending guilt. How dare it not let Kiara recognize her own little sister. How dare Louis let this happen. If he stopped them from giving her the water … the water! He figured he could ask Julian about the water as he watched Axel almost get his eye taken out by a hair pin. What the abyssus was that? Yea, right. As if Louis would believe a blatant lie like a "trigger". She knew exactly what she was doing as she threw that hair pin.
Why did she want to kill Axel? She couldn't have known he was dating Britney by looking at him, so why? What did Julian whisper to her? First, Louis had to get to Julian before he could get to figuring out what was going on with Axel, again. He managed to catch up to the Light Creator as he was leaving with Kiara, and he asked him about the curse of the water. "It isn't cursed," he laughed, "But I should be able to reverse its effects by tampering with it a bit."
Thank goodness! Louis reached into his pocket to get the water, but it wasn't there. Maybe it was in his other pocket. Nope. Jacket pockets? No. Back pockets? Nein. Inner jacket pockets? Not there. Where did he put it? He frantically searched himself before remembering where it was. Britney's pocket. He turned to go get it from her, but she and her family were already long gone. You had got to be kidding.
He promised he would get the water, so he asked Julian to meet him at the center of Olympia the next day as he ran after Brandon and Halley. "Who's taking too long now?" the annoying twin snidely asked, but Louis didn't have time for that. He needed to get to Britney as soon as possible, so he took him to Britney's house. After all, Bran and Britney were childhood friends and practically family.
*****
They got to the house late at night, and went to knock on the door, when it suddenly opened. If Grandma Bao was 3 centimeters taller, she would've had a reason to end Louis's existence. To his luck, she wasn't, but that's not why they were there. "Grandma," Brandon said politely, "We need to get something important from Britney." "Great," she replied, "Then go get it." She slammed the door in their faces, leaving them confused.
The two boys looked at each other, and at the door before knocking again. She opened her front door again and asked the boys what else they needed. They needed to get something from Britney, and it was super important. "Then. Go. Get. It." she said slowly before closing the door again. Louis put his foot in the door's way before explaining how he needed to see Britney, but Grandma Bao simply stomped on his foot and closed her door.
"Ohhh," Brandon realised as Louis hopped around holding his foot in indescribable agony, "Britney's not home." He couldn't have told him that before he got his foot stomped on by her grandmother? He claimed he just figured it out, but him stifling his laughter didn't help his lie at all.
Anyway, if she wasn't home, where was she? "You expect me to know where the 16 year old trained daughter of two government assasins is?"
If he didn't know who would? Brandon went to smack Louis on the back of the head, but he suddenly stopped his hand midair and said, "I know one person who could probably find her."
*****
"So you're telling me," an annoyed William asked, "you can't find Britney, so you woke me up at 2 in the morning to ask me to use my telepathy to find her?" That was what they had just explained, but the angered William simply ignored their request and tried to go back to sleep. "Please~" Brandon pleaded as he shook William, "You gotta help us out. You just gotta." "No." William firmly declared, so Louis used his trump card.
If William helped them reverse the curse of the water, then Kiara wouldn't be completely angry with him for the rest of his life. And if she wasn't completely angry, then he would have a better chance with her. The hypotheses grabbed William's attention to the point where he sat up and looked at his two desperate friends before him. "Fine," he conceded, "But you two have to help me win her over." Deal!
William sat up as his dreary blue eyes turned jungle green and glowed in the darkness of the dorm room. "Nayeon." he said aloud before telling them she was on the move. She had just left Kylian's dorm room and was heading towards the convenience store down the road.
Their minds flew to the gutter upon hearing she had just left her boyfriend's dorm room, but they went to follow her anyway. They almost forgot to thank William and went back to do so, but their "your welcome" was a "shoo" wave and a tired grunt to accompany it.
*****
Brandon and Louis caught up to the unregistered spy on her way to the convenience store, but Brandon pulled Louis into an alleyway and out of her sight as he tried calling out to her. What the abyssus? Brandon pointed to Britney before Louis could explode on him, and he saw her with Kylian. No way. They wouldn't. Louis couldn't believe his eyes. Kylian was cheating on Halley with Britney and so was she on Axel?
He carefully turned to see Brandon's reaction to the news and he was livid. His fist trembled as the two snuck around from alley to alley? Wait a minute. Something about their movements didn't seem right. There was something else going on, and Louis managed to calm Brandon down enough for them to begin stalking the two as they turned into a dimly lit street and headed towards the old pier.
The pier? Why were they hiding behind a storage container, and who were they looking at? A hoodie? Why were they following such a suspicious character at the dead of night? It wasn't adding up. Louis decided to get up and confront the two about their promiscuous and dubious behavior. You would think he'd approach the situation with caution, but he just walked up to the both of them and grabbed their shoulders.
Rule #1: never sneak up on or scare someone who is physically capable of snapping you in half. Why? If you do, you'll end up like Louis here, who got his world flipped by Britney. "Louis?" she asked worryingly, "What are you doing here? Are you okay?" He was until a few seconds ago, but unfortunately, the throw scrambled his brain cells, so he needed time to recover. "We were following two suspicious people." Brandon said.
"Two?" Kylian asked, "We only saw Michael. Who's the other one?" Huh? They were there for the fountain water from Britney, why were they there? "Michael's been acting really weird lately," Britney began, "He's just a lot more violent and insensitive than before our midterm break. Kylian noticed too, but I decided to come and talk to him before I started jumping to conclusions. That's when we saw him go into that warehouse after telling Kylian he was going to buy some ice cream."
That's some ice cream he was getting, but Louis did also notice strange behaviours from Axel. Before, it was usually Louis trying to pick a fight with Michaelangelo and him talking his way out of it. Lately, Axel would say something insensitive to piss Louis off, and start the fight in the first place. Unlike Kiara's behaviour, Louis couldn't figure out or rationalize Axel's behaviour at all.
Tick. Tick. Tick. Bomb! Britney kicked the smoke bomb away from them before it could detonate, but someone came up from behind Louis and put a cloth to his face. He watched helplessly as more attackers did the same to his friends as he shut his heavy eyelids and lost consciousness.
*****
Louis lay in serenity in the endless sea as he floated around nowhere to nowhere with no destination in mind. He just looked up at the red sun above him as the water around him carried him nowhere. "Louis!" he scrunched his face as the water tickled his ear. "Louis!" Was someone calling him? He didn't want to leave this serene place and go back to that pier. Wait, pier? He suddenly remembered what happened. What happened to everyone?
As he began to panic, Louis felt something below him pull him by his arms, and he was soon under water. He tried to fight the restrictions as the once calm water filled his lungs in raging waves and angered motions. Was he going to die? He couldn't! He needed to get back to the others. He needed to save them. He couldn't die now! "Louis!" Britney yelled, releasing him from his hallucination and into a dark warehouse.
Bound by his arms, Louis tried his best to turn around and check on Kylian behind him. He seemed alright and so did Brandon (to his left) and Britney (to his right) as Britney mentioned how their captors had to be intelligent to tie them all to each other. With them all facing away from each other, it was difficult for them to work together to untie themselves. "Even if we did break free," Brandon explained, "Reinforcements are probably waiting for us outside."
They were trapped in that dark warehouse, with no apparent way out. "Loquere." Kylian said before verbally reminding them he could control water and they were by a pier. "If we get out of these ropes, we should be able to escape through the water." That was the plan. Untie, run, jump, swim all before the mastermind behind all of this decided to show up. "We also need to find Michael." Britney reminded, but Louis was almost 100% sure he was the one who had led them into their trap.
Didn't she even mention his shady behaviour as of late? "I just need to know why he went against us. Plus we can find out who his target really is." "It's Kiara." Brandon declared, "He's going to use us as bait to somehow capture Kiara." How was he so sure it was Kiara he wanted? Sure, she's the Dark Creator's magician, but she was weaker than Louis in her current form. It would make more sense if his target was Julian.
"And could you tell the class why you think so, Mr. Johanssenn?" They all turned at the disgustingly familiar voice as their captor entered the warehouse with one other person to his left. "Richard Mustollini," Brandon said with murderous intent, "Whatever happened to the faces and voices?" His back was turned to him, but it was better he didn't see the face of the man who killed his mother.
"They're still there," the villain explained, "but now they hunger for something other than my sanity. Your friend there got it right too." Brandon wasn't his friend. What did he want anyway? Richard reached into his pocket and revealed the fountain water he had taken from Britney. If he destroyed it, Louis promised to end his life in the most painful way possible. Richard slyly smiled at the threat and said, "So, it's fine if I don't."
He handed the bottle to the person who accompanied him into the room. He had been standing away from the dim light, and Louis felt his blood boil as the light revealed Axel's face. That lecherous bastard! After all, they had done for him! This is how he repaid them! He was going to rip his limbs off one by one and set them on fire as soon as he got the chance. No, as soon as his arms were freed.
"Michael!" Britney called out to him, "Please, you have to help us, Michael." Why was she still appealing to him? It was clear which side he was on, so there was no use in trying to convince him to help them. Still, she kept on calling out to him over and over again until Richard talked over her. "Axel, destroy the water." Axel? Louis 's confusion quickly turned to rage as he watched Axel obediently destroy their only hope of bringing Kiara back.
His eyes turned to fire as Britney untied the last knot and he lunged at the traitor fist first. He hit Axel over and over again, but he seemed indifferent about every punch. The face, the stomach, the chest, no matter where he hit, Axel didn't move nor did his expression change. Verto ut cinere! Louis poured all the available magic he had inside of him into one last finishing move before Britney suddenly grabbed his legs and broke his concentration.
"You're going to kill him!" That was the point! "You can't kill Michael. I won't let you." she buckled the back of Louis's knees making him drop to the ground. She tried to reason with the imposter until Richard said, "Axel, attack." "What?" Britney blankly asked. That idiot! Louis's gut shriveled at the words as his body moved faster than his brain. He screamed in agony on the floor as he held his arm. Or rather what was left of it.
Louis looked down and wanted to throw up at the sight of his missing left arm, but the pain wouldn't let him. The others all gathered around him, desperately trying to stop the bleeding as that scheming murderer called two other people into the room. Louis couldn't see them. He was starting to lose consciousness again, but he couldn't. Not until he had killed that bastard and his traitor with his own two hands.
"What now!" Brandon asked the mastermind as he giggled to himself. "Just think about it for a second," Mustollini replied, "Imagine. Just imagine, how frantically everyone will rush over here when they see the injuries poor, poor Michael got while fighting for his life." No! "And once all the rats are in one place-" No, please! Don't do this! "The fun will begin." No! The beast smiled as he walked out of Louis' s line of sight. He had to go after them! He had to! He … had … to …