Cloak and Scalpel

ABERLEEN ARC: Family Drama

Everyone froze.

Everyone except Melissa, who scooped her doll up from the ground.  It scuttled up her arm and onto her shoulder.  "Heeeey, nice find, Muddles!" she said cheerily as she took the silver water canteen from the puppet's tiny hand.

"H-hey, that's mine!" Gusion exclaimed, pointing a finger at Melissa.

"Weeeeell, you know what they say, finders keepers!" Melissa smirked and folded her arms, oblivious to the growing tension between Aamon and Xavier.

Xavier moved to stand in front of Melissa, electric eyes boring into Aamon's.  They regarded each other with a cold and subtle hostility.  No doubt their last meeting weighed heavily on their minds.

"Finders keepers?" Gusion snapped, glaring at Melissa.  "You practically stole it!  Hand it back, so we can leave."

"That's not what Muddles said," Melissa said with a huff as she crossed her arms.

"Why, you little—!"

I glanced between Gusion and Melissa.  Did he not realize who she was?  What she was to their family?

"Melissa." Xavier's deep, authoritative voice cut through their argument and Melissa quickly fell silent as she glanced at the mage.

"Wait, do you know these guys, Xavier?" Melissa asked, tilting her head.  Behind her, I could see Yin and Julian sizing our group up.  Julian's piercing red eyes flitted from Aamon to Lesley to Gusion, and finally settling on me.

I knew Julian's lore—he had been indoctrinated into serving the Church of Light since he was a child.  Thrust into an elite squad of child warriors called 'The Ravens', it was their duty to 'deal' with the enemies of the Church—the people Rod Sidon and his followers dubbed as heretics.  

He had been sent after Melissa, Yin, and—after he turned on the Church—Xavier as well.  Though, I sometimes wondered if that was meant to be a suicide mission of a sort.  Did Rod Sidon really think Julian was capable of bringing down Xavier, an arbiter of light, and a master of mystic magic?

I was brought out of my musings when I felt eyes on me.  I looked up and met Julian's gaze.  Compared to Yin and Melissa, Julian's eyes were sharp, focused, and serious—they were not the eyes of a sixteen-year-old.  They were the eyes of a warrior, honed and seasoned in the art of killing and obeying orders.

Noticing Julian's gaze, Aamon shifted closer to me, frowning as he stared at Xavier and his group.

"Duke Paxley," Xavier said, inclining his head in an almost grudging manner.

"Arbiter of Light," Aamon said, and then paused, a small smile curling his lip.  "Pardon the faux pas—former Arbiter of Light now, isn't it?"

Xavier frowned at him, his eyes narrowed.  "So, you've heard," he said with a scoff. He crossed his arms as he glared at Aamon.  "Well, I suppose it's no—"

"Wait," Melissa said, cutting Xavier off.  She glanced towards Aamon.  The mischievous and preppy attitude she carried seemed to wilt down as she stared at him.  "You're...a Paxley?"

Aamon's gaze shifted to Melissa.  I suppose there was no putting off the elephant in the room anymore.  "Indeed," he said, his voice devoid of emotion.  "I am Aamon Paxley, the Duke of Castle Aberleen, and the head of House Paxley."

Melissa's violet eyes widened at that, an expression of surprise and disbelief on her face.  Her other cursed dolls appeared in a blink.  Muddles perched upon one shoulder, while Giggles sat upon the other.  Cuddles plopped onto her head.

For a moment, the girl was silent.  And then she gathered her wits about her and pointed a finger at Aamon.

"YOU!" Her voice was a vicious snarl that took me by surprise.  Beside me, Lesley unstrapped her rifle surreptitiously, her eye jumping from Melissa to Xavier and the rest of their group.