Aylia Holmes

8. An Unexpected Saviour

"Grail," a sharp voice from the door snapped. "Back away."

Aylia was pressed up against the wall, her eyes shining with tears that refused to fall. She had been hit thrice more, once at the jaw, once just short of her eye, and once directly into her gut, but even still, she refused to speak, even to insult him.

But at the sound of the voice, Aylia looked up in surprise to see her brother, her aristocratic, uptight brother, standing in her cell.

"Mycroft," she said weakly.

"Now," Mycroft said, ignoring his sister. "Unless you have enough evidence against my sister to take her to court this exact instant, release her."

Grail straightened, staring at Mycroft a moment before glancing back at Aylia.

Then, with a mischievous smile, he said, "Very well then. She's free to go."

Without another word, he disappeared. Aylia let out a long, relieved breath before she began to cry again, sinking to the floor and covering her mouth with her hands in an attempt to stifle the noise. Mycroft hesitated a moment before approaching her, crouching down to take her hands from her face.

"I believe I saw your husband attempting to find his way in," he said in the softest, gentlest voice Aylia had ever heard him use. "You should go to him."

Before he could straighten again, Aylia wrapped her arms around him, whispering, "Thank you, Mycroft."

Mycroft hesitated a moment before returning the embrace with a small sigh and a concealed smile.

Pulling away from her, he remarked, "Well, now that you're respectably married, there's no use letting the likes of Grail put all that...respectability to an end."

Aylia gave a watery chuckle before taking his outstretched hands and rising to her feet. Once they walked out of the cell, Mycroft offered her his arm and led her down the corridor and out into the fresh air where they found Elwin sitting on the curb, his head in his hands.

"Elwin," Aylia whispered in relief.

His head shooting up, he stood, breathing out, "Ayla."

He instantly rose to his feet and pulled her into his arms. Aylia hid her head in the crook of his neck as he hid his head in her hair, breathing in her scent to convince himself she was truly there with him. They stayed like that for so long that by the time they managed to pull away from each other, Mycroft was gone.

Before Aylia could say anything about it, however, Elwin exclaimed, "Ayla, what happened to you?"

He had turned her head and was gently brushing his thumb over the welts that has risen up on her cheek, the side of her head, her jaw, as well at the bruising around her neck.

"Don't worry about it," she said with a smile, holding back tears as she pulled his hands away and into her own. "Come on, let's go."

.

"You can't stay long," Elwin said, shutting the door behind Aylia as they entered their flat.

"Why?" she said in surprise, turning back to look at him.

"Because Grail will come back for you," he said, crossing into their bedroom and withdrawing a suitcase from the storage closet. "You need to pack your things and change out of your bloodied clothes."

"Elwin, where am I supposed to go?" she retorted, her brows furrowed in confusion.

"I haven't gotten that far yet," he replied in agitation, opening the suitcase on the bed and opening the wardrobe.

.

"Elwin," Louis said in surprise, opening the door to his flat. "Aylie. What happened to-"

"There's no time," Elwin said, pulling Aylia in after himself. "Look, it's a long story and I don't have time to tell it, but Ayla needs to stay here."

"Yeah, okay," Louis said in a still confused but accepting tone.

"Good," Elwin said before turning his attention back to Aylia. Cupping her cheek, he said, "I need to get back to Sherlock and see if he needs help, but I love you, okay?"

"I know," Aylia said softly with as much of a smile as she could muster.

Elwin wrapped his arms around her, kissing her cheek gently and burying his head in her shoulder. Aylia's eyes filled with tears, but she said nothing in protest as he released her and left. The moment he was gone, however, a single tear slid down her cheek.

"Are you all right?" Louis asked in concern, eyeing the bright red welts across her face and neck.

Wiping away the tear, Aylia quickly said, "Yes, I'm fine, Louis."

"Well, er, I have somewhere I need to be tonight, but you are welcome to stay as long as you need," he said cautiously. "Can I get you anything?"

Aylia shook her head, sinking onto the couch silently and staring off into space in an attempt to empty her mind to avoid tears, but even so, the moment Louis closed the door behind him, she broke down.