𝘚𝘏𝘈𝘋𝘖𝘞 // 𝘈 𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘕𝘌𝘠 𝘍𝘈𝘕𝘍𝘐𝘊 𝘝𝘈𝘔𝘗 𝘙𝘖𝘉𝘐𝘕 𝘟 𝘍𝘐𝘕𝘕𝘌𝘠

𝘚𝘐𝘟𝘛𝘌𝘌𝘕 - They Kill With Arrows

a/n) You're questions are finally being answered in this chapter.. also help all of my acrylic nails fell off and it feels so weird to be typing "normally" again instead of pressing my nails against my keyboard

_________

"He runs the manor.." Robin said, his body trembling.

"What..?" Finney said, standing up from his chair and approaching the other side of the table, looking down at the documents in front of him.

"It's paperwork.. paperwork to earn custody of the Manor." Robin spoke, looking up at Finney whos eyebrows were furrowed as he studied the sheet.

"It says it's being passed down by a family member, what does that even mean." Finney mumbled, fidgeting with his nails. 

"Do you think Vance is related to whoever that guy was.. his name was.. the Hawk-Knocker or something?" Finney then asked, completely unsure of what he just said. 

"The Headmaster? No definitely not." Robin replied, chuckling at Finney's mistake. 

"Hawk-Knocker.. Headmaster.. whoever this guy is. Why would Vance be earning custody of the Manor?" Finney asked, irritated. He hadn't had enough information to know anything. Robin wouldn't budge, he wouldn't answer any of his 'ridiculous questions' as Robin would oftentimes call them.

Robin shushed Finney, gripping onto the document and reading it more, he was focused. 

"So.. it says the original owner was Paul Hopper." Robin muttered, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Paul Hopper? Who's that?"

"That was Vance's dad, I remember him." Robin said, his voice cracking as he held his tears back. The puzzle pieces were starting to connect in his brain, but he was still very lost. The memories he once had were fuzzy to him now, as his trauma formed from the manor, the headmaster, and I suppose Vance, in which completely drowned out his happy memories, replacing them with sinister ones. 

Then, like a flower blooming, a very random memory clicked into his brain.

_________

- 11 Years Prior , West Elementary School -

Mrs. Ruth, Robin's 1st grade teacher, held a glass jar in between her hands, which inside contained popsicle sticks with all of her students names in. She put her pointer finger and her thumb in the jar, pulling out the first popsicle stick she touched. 

"..Vance! It's you're turn to present!" She said joyfully, calling Vance to the front of the room to present. Vance was a short, chubby, 6-year-old boy. He was missing his two front teeth, causing him to have a lisp. His hair framed his face, the ends of his hair resting against his chin and the back of his neck, tickling his skin. Because his hair was longer than most of the boys, who would have buzz-cuts and fluffy mops of hair, he would oftentimes be teased by the other kids. He would be called "Girly Boy" , "One Of The Girls" , "Fairy" , "Princess" , and other 'mean' remarks.

Vance got up from his desk, which he shared with Robin, walking to the front of the class as he heard people whisper and giggle. The boy held a folded paper in his hand which was clearly very old.

"..This is my dad..! His name is Paul." He gulped, unfolding the paper, which was a photo, and facing it towards the class. Vance was very nervous. Today was 'Parent occupation day', all of the kids parents came to Mrs. Ruth's class for the presentation, but not Vance's. 

"Very nice, Vance! What does he do?" Mrs. Ruth asked sweetly, in her angelic 'teacher voice'.

"..He.. He uh.." Vance mumbled.

"Hurry up!!" A little girl in the class groaned, her mom scolding her quietly immediately after. 

"He was a construction builder.." He spat out, looking around the room, clearly upset.

"Was??" A little boy, who was named Matt, asked.

"Well.. he's.." Vance trembled, tearing up. 

"Okay everyone, no more questions!" Mrs. Ruth scolded, grabbing Vance's hand and walking him into the hall to 'talk' as the class giggled and babbled. Robin sat there for awhile, thinking about the photo.

..The photo. 

________

"Paul.." Robin whispered, scratching his head sternly.

"Paul..?" Finney asked, confused.

"Paul. He was a construction builder." Robin exclaimed. 

"I don't understand." Finney chuckled nervously, puzzled.

"What I'm saying is I think Paul built the manor." Robin replied, flipping through different documents the suitcase held.

"I don't understand why Vance was hiding this." Finney muttered, shaking his head in confusion as he watched Robin flip through the documents. 

"He didn't hide it," Robin argued, he was angered, not that it was Finney's fault, he just wanted the truth to unfold. 

"What do you mea-"

"It's been in plain sight this whole time!" Robin said, standing up from his chair. 

"Wha-" 

"Vance. He was meant to die. This was staged. He wanted me to know the truth, so I can end this whole massacre once and for all!" Robin said, pacing around the room. 

"Robin.. that wasn't planned, this wasn't mean to happen! We're not some superheroes of a story!" Finney spoke, raising his voice. 

"Surely it was." Robin replied, turning to face Finney and pausing in his tracks. 

"I know who killed him."

Robin's world froze as a whole when he heard those stupid, stupid, words. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't even know what he was trying not to believe anymore.

"What do you mean.." Robin trembled, approaching Finney.

"The guards.. I overheard them." Finney said, tearing up under the pressure of the situation. Robin put his hand on Finney's cheek, frowning at the boy whos eyes leaked small tears.

"They spoke of this society, organization." Finney mumbled, looking down. Robin furrowed his eyebrows at the information he was just given.

"They said they kill. They kill with arrows, Robin." Finney said, hugging onto Robin tightly. 

"Those men, they killed with Arrows." Finney spoke against Robin's chest, his words muffled, Robin's shirt now tear-stained.

They killed with arrows.