The Leviathan's Rose

Chapter 15 - Dark Times Call for Dark Answers

The world was a collection of songs and it's people were it's verses. Lottie was the soft, warm verse that made people feel like they found home in the sound of it. Ellie was the bridge that commanded you to scream at the top of your lungs until all your worries faded into the bass. Jamie was the chorus that cradled your heart as it shattered piece by piece. And Haru was the interlude that fit perfectly at first, but became more unsettling with every beat. 

Jamie was a bright boy. He had an intimate knowledge with music and knew when something was right and something was wrong. A note that didn't follow the key signature, a chord progression that didn't make sense, and when the composer made a terrible mistake. 

He knew the way Haru looked at him, and the way he looked at Lottie. During his partizan training he was taught more than just combat. He was taught how to get the truth out of someone, how to tell when someone was lying, and how to trap someone into giving a confession. 

Haru shifted in his seat. "Are you sure they're in the school?" he asked cautiously.

Jamie felt his insides flip at the innocent facade. how easy it was to believe it before, to let it seep past his defenses. He was smarter than to let Haru trick him, no matter how comforting the older boy's presence was. Jamie could not afford comfort in his world. Jamie clenched his jaw.

"I'm sure," he said, leaving no room for uncertainty in his voice. "It's not multiple people though."

"Oh?"

"No, it's one person." he said. His menacing eyes pierced into Haru like an arrow. "They aren't someone you'd automatically assume is part of Leviathan, someone who can blend in and shift to fit any sort of crowd. Someone who new to the school, someone who might have been injured in a rooftop accident."

Haru tilted his head in curiosity. It did little to distract from the way his fingers twitched to reach for the bandages still wrapped around his stomach underneath his clothes. The warmth left his eyes. A cold gleaming presence overtook him.

"Are you afraid Jamie-Kun?" he asked quietly. There was an eerie calm in his voice. Jamie kept his eyes trained on Haru.

"Are you?"

"Not at all, little boys who want to be heroes fall the hardest when reality hits them, wouldn't you say?"

A lullaby played in the back of Jamie's mind. The same one that bore holes in his chest when he jumped from the rooftop in Tokyo.

"I'm not a fan of heroes," Jamie said nonchalantly. "They don't interest me. What interests me is what made you think you wouldn't get caught here."

A lazy smile played on Haru's lips. A group of students passed by outside the door, their laughter an echo. He picked at some non-existent dirt on his pants. 

"I was following orders. I should have known I couldn't hide from you forever," he said. "You are your father's son. I shouldn't have believed you to be so naive."

Something coiled in Jamie's gut. A sickening feeling clawed at his insides, begging, screaming to tell Haru he didn't know what he was talking about. No one knew Jamie's father, and no one should.

"I have no father." Jamie said simply. His words made Haru's casual demeanor stiffen. 

"You still don't know who he is, do you?" he asked in disbelief. Jamie clenched his fists. He didn't want to know who his father was. Partizans didn't have family, they had jobs.

"No one does," he said cooly. "I was born a partizan Haru, not a child. I serve king and country. My blood is Maradova. I am bound to them for as long as I shall live." he said. Something broke inside him at the words. Haru shook his head.

"Your father loves you very much," Haru said. "You know who he is, your king does, your princess does, you may not want to believe it, but you know his name."

"Stop it."

"No, I don't think I will. When I joined Leviathan, I did it for Sayuri. I did it because it was the only way I knew she would ever be safe. Her world could come crashing down at any moment. Her father's legacy can only do so much for her, I can do more, Leviathan can do more. Wouldn't you want to save your princess too?"

Yes, Jamie thought truthfully. He wanted to save Lottie so bad. He wanted to save her from the world and all of it's cruelties. He wanted to save her from Maradova, from Leviathan, from her past. He wanted to save her from his ignorance, from his compulsion of thinking about her more than Ellie. They loved each other more than she would ever love him. He wanted to save Lottie in every way he could. Someday he would be standing beside the Maravish royal family as they pardoned Lottie, releasing her into the world with nothing. He hated it.

"Shut up," he said. The sharpness of his words made him flinch.

"Face it Jamie," Haru snapped. "You know the truth. Leviathan is the only way you will ever be able to protect Lottie. You look at her with all the longing in the world. You belong to Maradova just as much as your father does-"

"Claude Wolfson is not my father!" Jamie practically roared. The chair he was sitting in scraped across the floor when he stood.

His heart was going to beat out of his chest. He could feel the bite of his nails piercing the skin of his palms. He wanted to scream, he wanted to run, he wanted to tear himself apart until there was nothing left of him. Haru rose slowly from his seat. He set his hand on Jamie's shoulder. Jamie's chest rose and fell like waves threatening to overtake a coastline. No, he would not let himself cry, not in front of Haru, not in front of anyone.

"Meet him at least once," Haru said softly. "He misses you. He talks of you everyday. He even has a Christmas present ready for you. If you come with me after Christmas, we can meet him together. Talk to him at least once, then you can decide."

"Decide what?" Jamie asked harshly, his voice choking on his words.

Haru swiped Jamie's tears away. He hated this. He hated the feeling of someone caring for him. He should hate Haru. He should hate how comforted he felt.

"Decide that it's time to accept who you are. The king and queen do not care for you, your father does. I know you have this violent urge to lash out on the world, to tear it apart, but that won't help. The Master can." Haru squeezed his shoulder. "Sometimes, people say something is wrong because they're too afraid to confront it. Don't become one of those people, Jamie-Kun."

Jamie Volk was going to burn the world to the ground.

a/n - I haven't felt right for a while. It's been a rough time. I wrote a book, I'm even halfway through book 2. I haven't been able to handle a lot of things mentally for a while, it really took its toll the past couple years. Writing for me has always been my medicine, but it's also been my enemy. I've been so stressed about writing here because I've been afraid to disappoint you all, that I should feel less confident in my abilities. I forgot what it felt like to write for the sake of telling a story, not to be judged by other people. I love seeing comments, sometimes feeling anxious when I see people asking to update, or seeing that they're excited for the next update. But I finally finished this chapter because I needed to write for me, not other people. A lot has happened since I last updated, I'm sorry for being gone for so long. I truly hope you enjoyed