Loud House Experience Chapter 6

Prologue

Chase: Woah, look at that screen

On one of the screens something was showing....

"Aphmau?"

She glanced over at him,

"Yes, Laurance?"

He stared back at her with glassy crimson eyes,

"You don't think I'm dangerous...do you...?"

Days later, his question was still as fresh as a daisy in her mind. It worried her so, that she was having a hard time sleeping.

Now was probably the worst time to be worrying about anything, ever. It was only a couple hours ago had they finally gotten themselves situated outside Lucinda's house. They had all agreed to discuss their plans on getting Aphmau into Pikoro Village undetected- though unfortunately, Dante and Laurance had dozed off a bit too early, much to Garroth's amusement. Though as funny as Garroth found it, he ended up falling victim to whatever force of nature had beckoned Dante and Laurance to sleep as well.

Unfortunately for Aphmau, she was exhausted but still couldn't sleep, the aforementioned force of nature seemingly not having an affect on her. Her naturally anxious mind kept her awake at night, and as much as she gave the excuse that she "just wanted time to herself", it was becoming so recurring, Garroth and Laurance were starting to think that she actually had a problem. Poor Dante hadn't known her for long, so he didn't find it weird as the others did.

Most of what she was concerned about was O'Khasis. Not being present in Phoenix Drop as O'Khasis welcomed themselves into Bright Port was asking for trouble, even if it was an emergency. Her village, still being relatively small, didn't have the proper fortifications or weaponry to take on an empire. She had to make sure she got home safe to Levin and Zoey, she had to make sure Kiki was going to be okay, and she had to rescue Logan from the werewolf tribe. What was she going to tell Donna if she wasn't able to? What was she going to tell Donna if he didn't make it?-

She was interrupted by soft snoring, following a frustrated, "Shut up, Dante."

Ah, Laurance. Which was... strange, because Aphmau hadn't remembered him being there. If she had to be honest, he was somebody she was worried about too.

She turned to look at him, and watched silently as he slept. He surely wouldn't notice...right..?

She didn't want to remember the state she found him in a couple of nights ago. She had never seem him so upset about something- especially something like petty rumors.

It had been about midnight in the slumbering Phoenix Drop when Aphmau decided to go for a stroll to clear her mind. She ended up finding Laurance, sitting by himself at the docks. She recalled talking to him for awhile, not realizing there was something wrong until he slowly began to lose his composure. She had never seen him so vulnerable before, sobbing to her about how much he didn't want to be like Gene and Sasha. And now, as he lay asleep next to her, she wasn't sure how she could forget such an intimate moment with a man so terrifyingly good at masking his fears.

Laurance's transformation as a Shadow Knight had shaken his whole perception of reality. It made him question himself as a person, it made him doubt his abilities and it forced him to wonder if he'd ever be accepted as someone truly "good" ever again. The gossiping women of Phoenix Drop made this guilt horribly worse for Laurance, as they feared and whispered of his potential betrayal amongst themselves. Laurance was able to hear everything.

Even Garroth had his own fears about what Laurance could do- how he could harm the people of Phoenix Drop if he lost control of himself. Laurance knew this, Laurance knew when people talked about him, he knew the people's fears, and now he was beginning to wonder if his dear lord thought the same of him.

Aphmau knew Garroth only meant for the well-being of the village, after all, it was his job, he was the head guard. But sometimes, Garroth didn't think about things like that until the unfortunate emotional aftermath.

Aphmau glanced back up at him, the moon lightly illuminating a sweet face. She had to stifle a giggle as she watched him scrunch up his face at the breeze.

Though her smile quickly faltered.

She frowned.

Sometimes she wondered how Laurance, a man so previously distressed, was able to appear so peaceful in his sleep.

After all, Laurance was a man who had been beaten, and tortured in the nether. He was a man who would willingly walk hand-in-hand with death if it meant her safety. He was a man so broken over the shadow realm, a man whose mind had left him to perish in the grey lines of morality. And now, he was a man who deserved to know that he was deeply cared about by the people who loved him. He needed to know that he was more to Aphmau than just her guard, but also her friend. She... just wasn't entirely sure how to tell him.

She found herself fiddling with a lock of his hair, and for a moment, it was almost as if she felt the burden of sorrow radiating from his soul. The wind blew over them as if It were bent over, trying to kiss his tears away.

Tears? Where did she get tears from?

A soft but concerned voice breaks the silence,

"Something on your mind, Aphmau?"

"No- I'm fine, I swear!"

"You've been staring at me for the past twenty minutes. I know it's incredibly difficult to resist my natural charm and fabulous hair, but I think you need to get some sleep...and maybe stop worrying about me, too." He flashed a pretty smile, the one he gave Aphmau a lot.

"How did you-"

He winked at her, "A guard always sleeps with one eye open."