Boys Will Be Bugs

Chapter 128: Oh great, it got even worse

Remus practically burst through Arianell's front door. He had initially thought about entering the house as secretly as possible, spying on her until he could work out what was happening, but his protective instinct had other ideas; if Imogen was in danger, he wanted to get to her as soon as possible.

The two were sitting at the table, drinking tea. Remus looked between them, trying to figure out if he had interrupted something sinister, trying to read the expressions on their faces. Naturally, they were shocked at the sudden imposition, but Arianell soon composed herself, putting on a strangely polite smile.

"Remus," she said. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Cut the crap," he retorted angrily, refusing to back down on his dramatic entrance. He knew he was probably screwing everything up, but he was terrified. He had been half convinced that Imogen was dead, so it was a struggle to come back down from the adrenaline rush. "What's Imogen doing here?"

"Why, she just popped round for a chat." Imogen was saying nothing. He expression was unreadable, blank in fact. That didn't make sense. What had Arianell done to her?

"You asked her to come round," said Remus.

"Well, we enjoy spending time with each other," she smiled. "Don't we, Imogen?" Imogen nodded wordlessly. Remus felt incredibly uneasy by the scene in front of him. There was no way Imogen was okay after last night; the fear in her eyes was as real as anything, but this blank stare was not real. Remus stood up to his full height, deciding what to say next. He could very well continue trying to interrogate Arianell, but he realised his main priority was simply to get Imogen out of there as soon as possible.

"Emmeline wants her home," he said. "She hasn't finished her schoolwork." Arianell laughed lightly, a laugh that made Remus suppress a wince.

"I hope you're not overworking her too much," she remarked. "She's allowed to have fun here, you know."

"I know, but her education is important." The two of them seemed to enter into some sort of staring contest. Remus knew full well that Arianell could see his every thought. She knew exactly what he was thinking and what he had found out and every secret he held from the last twenty four hours. Remus had, at once, doomed this entire village. Morgana was right.

He needed to leave.

"So formal," Arianell mused. "Since when did you decide to act like a father towards her?" Remus didn't reply. He didn't have time for her mind games. Arianell stood up from the table, her demeanour as calm as ever. If she knew what Remus was thinking, then she certainly didn't let on. Remus walked towards Imogen and tried to coax her to come back to the farmhouse with him. She wouldn't budge.

"You can go, Imogen," Arianell said, and instantly, Imogen finally agree to accompany Remus home. He didn't like that. Arianell seemed in full control of her. "You've come at a convenient time, Lupin."

"What do you mean?" Remus held Imogen's hand tightly in his, ready to take her away from this place and back to the safety of her sister. She didn't have Farne with her either, which was another red flag considering she brought the dog with her everywhere she went. Arianell turned around and smiled at him.

"Morgana always was a bit of a loose canon, but I had hoped she would have enough self-preservation to keep her mouth shut." Remus's breathing became almost unnoticeable as the silence of the house befell them. He didn't exactly need confirmation that Arianell knew what he knew, but it was nonetheless still terrifying.

"You're not going to hurt her, are you?"

"My dear child, I'm not trying to hurt anyone." She laughed derisively. "You seemed to have gained some awful impression of me... This whole time I've only been doing what's best for werewolf kind. My people. Your people."