Sea of Lies

Chapter 14

Sub waiting patiently outside the door. He fidgeted with his clothes as he leaned against the wall. They had to come up with some sort of plan to keep the gem safe while also not putting anyone else's lives in danger.

His head snapped up as Elijah opened the door. He carefully shut the door, staring at the ground.

"Oatgro qeboangbribl? (What happened?)" Sub asked. Elijah glanced up at him then back at the ground. Sub stepped forward but as soon as he did so, Elijah stumbled forwards, practically falling and clinging onto him.

"Biro...(No...)" Elijah whispered, tightening his grip on Sub. "Biro, biro...anqu ietre oad joang og. (No, no...I can't do this.)"

"Oatgro aif? Oatgro qeboangbribl? (What's wrong? What's happened?)" Sub tried to pry Elijah off of him. He pulled back his arms, holding his hands. "Eibgoutn, yph ibrdra cux. (Elijah, talk to me.)"

After Elijah didn't respond, Sub wrapped his arms around him and led him down the hall. Sub went to his bedroom. As he locked the door and turned around, he saw Elijah sitting against the bed, curled up. His breath had picked up, he mumbled to himself, and gripped onto his hair. Sub sat beside him. He wrapped his arms around him and Elijah quickly gripped onto him.

-

"Eipsaoa? (Ethan?)" Sub lightly knocked on the door as he opened it. Ethan turned to him, reading a book on his bed. He smiled and put the book on the nightstand beside him.

"Oatgro ieek? (What's up?)" He asked as he got up. Sub sighed and glanced out into the hall.

"Lidebe Eibgoutn. Aicail oisang pobraroalpe wogro. (It's Elijah. He's been acting strange.)" Sub noticed Ethan's smile quickly drop. "Eic uthphu yph ibrdra aiccroa? (Could you talk to him?)" Ethan nodded and Sub led him to the room.

When they walked in, Elijah jumped and spun around to them. He relaxed slightly after a moment. Ethan walked over to the bed where Elijah was and sat beside him.

"Oatgro aif, Eib? (What's wrong, Eli?)" Ethan asked.

"Letre anqu oacysphaba eicri zie uthgra ainaheper neidra oacbra eifgogha eixfr? (Can I borrow one of your blindfolds for the coronation tomorrow?)" Elijah mumbled.

"Uthphu goiibiang eisroalpe ainaheper. (You hate wearing blindfolds.)" Sub chimed in. Elijah stayed silent for a moment.

"Anqu jou ishbro repearaw ietina tre esnggachoposh. (I thought it'd be respectful.)" He said.

"Eibgoutn, oatgro ruroalpe oub? Eiboang Dusgascaang yaic at ibrdra uthphu? (Elijah, what's going on? Did Denis say something to you?)" Sub mumbled as he walked over. Elijah stayed quiet again.

"Oadra...(Yes...)" Elijah whispered, looking down again. Ethan quickly stood up.

"Ym awgroang aicail? Anqu hic eiggaoujro oimro aiccai oiqro– (Where is he? I'm gonna beat his ass–)" Ethan turned to the door, but Sub grabbed his arm to stop him. He looked at Elijah.

"Oatgro eiboang aicail yaic? (What did he say?)" Sub asked as Ethan pulled his arm away and pouted.

"Aiccai ngu awgroang aibbaangalpe eixfr, (His father is coming tomorrow,)" He looked up at Sub as his eyes widened. Sub noticed Elijah's eyes begin to water.

"Anqu hic bevfobxiroposh, Sipghth. (I'm scared, Sub.)" Elijah's voice shook. "Uthphu uh ciakgaeib oatgro oubgaro toswai paang ibr. Jou oacbra ishbro zie aiccroa trealpe jo shelheper cux ojagro ibrdra anblai chocaioaro. (You've seen what that man has done. Just the thought of him being here makes me sick to my stomach.)" Ethan looked over at Sub. He stayed silent, staring at the ground.

Sub sighed. "On ngloi shelheper uthphu iz vus, joang skaxbro uthphu pho. Oic atsky pho ibrdra aibbaang ieek kec juxbo trbroro neidra eixfr. (If it makes you feel safer, do whatever you want. But we need to come up with a plan for tomorrow.)"

1721

"Welcome home, Darling!" Mrs.Kopotun cheered as he leaned in and kissed her husband. Sub walked out and took his bag and Denis' inside. Mr.Kopotun hugged his daughter, then looked around in confusion.

"Where's Noah?" He turned to his wife. She left out a deep sigh.

"He left," She mumbled. "I don't know where he is. He didn't say."

"Hm. I'll go see if anyone's seen him." He looked at Sub as he walked back outside. "You. Go get the other one." Sub nodded and walked over to the cart. He climbed into the back but paused. Elijah was laying there, rope tied around his wrists, arms, and ankles. The only part of his face not wrapped in cloth was his nose so he could breathe.

"Eibgoutn? (Elijah?)" Sub said as he lightly shook him. Elijah didn't move.

"Ugh, it hasn't worn off yet?" Sub looked up as Mr.Kopotun walked over. He picked Elijah up, his limp body hanging in Mr.Kopotun's arms.

He brought Elijah around the back of the house to the shed. He placed him down, untied most of the rope, then tied the rope around Elijah's ankles to the anvil. He left, shutting the door behind him.

Sub got up and got a pail of water. He brought it back to the shed. He sat there for a moment, briefly looking over his friend's injuries. He took the cloth away from Elijah's face to let him breathe better.

He grabbed a rag and dunked it in the water. When he pressed it to Elijah's face, he quickly woke up, his hands flying to his eyes. He stayed quiet, hyperventilating and burying his face in his knees.

"Eibgoutn, zoang uthphu crraang? (Elijah, are you okay?)" Sub asked. He placed a hand on Elijah's arm but pulled it back after he noticed Elijah flinch. Elijah looked up slightly and glanced at the cloth on the ground.

"Eic uthphu oim oubgaro an? (Could you give that back?)" Elijah mumbled, pointing to the cloth. Sub stared at him in confusion for a moment. He handed it back and Elijah quickly tied it around his eyes. His knees lowered and he seemed slightly more calm.

Sub dipped the rag in water again then wiped the dirt from Elijah's face, trying his best to get everything. He frowned at the dried blood along with healing scars.

"Ioraouq. (Shirt.)" Sub said as he pulled at Elijah torn clothes. Sub's frown grew as Elijah took his shirt off. It was visibly noticeable how much skinnier he was and the scars and bruises didn't help.

"Uh uthphu oisang joangalpe ytrbra cuiesroalpe? (Have you been doing more training?)" Sub asked as he twisted the rag to get the dirty water out.

"Fouro phdra... (Kind of...)" Elijah replied. The shed door opened. Mr.Kopotun walked in with a roll of bandages. He handed it to Sub, glancing at Elijah behind him. He kept his face covered, his whole body shaking.

After Mr.Kopotun left, Sub tapped Elijah's back and he looked back up. He calmed down slightly, but Sub could still notice the shaking.

"Eiboang aicail phobrozag uthphu? (Did he hurt you?)" Sub mumbled. Elijah stayed silent. He slumped over, balling up his fists and burying his face in the ground again. Sub sighed, turning back to the bucket. He carefully wiped away the dirt and blood before getting up and grabbing a brush. 

He tried his best to get any dirt and debris stuck in Elijah's hair, working around the fact that he wouldn't look up.

"Sipghth? (Sub?)" Sub perked up as Elijah lifted his head slightly. He sat up right, holding his legs to his chest.

"Zoang uthphu...bevfobxiroposh zie cux? (Are you...scared of me?)"

-♕⚓︎♕-

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