Love and Other Delusions | Chilumi

Empty Seat

"Is this a joke?" Lumine glared at the harbinger before her.

"Does it look like one?" Dottore grinned.

"You make me sick." Lumine glared before running to the young man at the end of the hallway.

"Ajax!" She called out.

He instantly recognized her voice and turned to her direction. Just as he was about to sprint his way to her, he was held back.

"No running on the halls," said a Skirmisher. His grip on Childe's wrist was so tight it would most definitely leave a mark.

"Same goes to you little miss." Another Skirmisher showed up, blocking Lumine and holding her back.

"Hey! What gives?! Let go of me!" Lumine struggled as her eyes locked on Childe.

"Oh don't be so dramatic." Dottore rolled his eyes.

"Ajax!" Lumine shouted, comepltely ignoring the comment.

"Lumine!" Childe reached out his hand.

Dottore scoffed. "This is ridiculous." He gave the two a look before passing the struggling Lumine to go to the much more struggling Childe.

"So this is what love does to people." Dottore looked at the two, a huge grin on his face. Then in an instant, his smile faded. "How stupid."

"Take them to their cells." He waved his hand.

***

It was cold. Freezing cold. Not a blanket to keep them warm, not even a cushion.

It was brutal in the cell. What made made it worst was the distance between them.

Sickening, they even went and put them on different cells just to keep them apart. A cherry on top, it wasn't beside each other– it was across.

"Ajax." Lumine reached out. "Ajax, do you hear me?"

There was a rustle from the cell across. "Starlight?" Said a weak voice. It was soon followed by a cough.

"Ajax." Lumine stood up and ran to the bars, holding on to them tightly. "How are you feeling? Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?"

Childe laughed. "Nothing that can hurt me more than I already am." Another cough.

He slowly walked over to the bars to Lumine's direction, finally allowing Lumine to get a glimpse of him.

He was pale, unbelievably so. He looked weak. His legs were wobbling like a soft jelly left to melt on the sun. He couldn't stand properly any longer.

With the help of the bars, he slowly set himself on a sitting position to where Lumine would be able to see him still.

"Ajax... I thought..." Her voice trailed off as she noticed the state of the person in front of her.

Childe laughed softly. "I thought so too." He shrugged.

"You said they'd be able to help you." Lumine's eyebrows furrowed.

"I guess I was wrong," Childe said. "I was... Naive."

"Hah, didn't think I'd say that in a situation." He laughed to himself.

Lumine looked down. "No," she said.

"I'm sorry Starlight. I couldn't. Not in this state," he admitted.

"No," Lumine repeated. She was shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't really come clean to you didn't I?" Childe said.