𝐼𝑁𝑁𝑂𝐶𝐸𝑁𝐶𝐸 𝐿𝑂𝑆𝑇 // 𝐴. 𝐷𝐸 𝑅𝑈𝑁𝐸

𝑋𝑋𝐼𝑋

| XXIX. Le Changement |

—

Days had passed. Days since Hugo had gone missing in the night, days since Amicia ran off after him, and days since Marion had gotten any proper sleep. A sudden bout of nausea had overtaken her body– she couldn't tell if it was from the stress of Amicia and Hugo being God knows where, or from the baby. Surprisingly, the only thing she could keep down was Mélie's entirely-way-too-over-peppered-malnourished-rabbit-stew. It was nasty, no offense to Mélie, but it kept her stomach from constantly churning.

Lucas had tried keeping her and himself occupied by teaching her about alchemy. Marion felt as if he was speaking in a foreign language when he did, and she quickly found her mind wandering. It was too dangerous for a five-year-old to survive by himself, but if Amicia found him then maybe he would make it. Would the Twins ever find them? Were they even alive?

Marion sucked in a deep breath as Arthur, Mélie and Rodric entered the lab, light snow sprinkled atop their clothing. Amicia was still gone, as was Hugo.

"Nothing?" Marion asked desperately, and Mélie shook her head.

"No... we haven't even covered half the woods around the Château yet." Mélie responded, pulling her hood down with a frown.

Marion clenched her jaw– if they would allow Lucas and her to search too, then maybe they would be able to cover more ground. Alas, it was too cold for her to go outside without hacking up blood– which was a fairly new symptom.

She was wide awake when Hugo ran off– if she hadn't been wallowing in self pity, then maybe she would've heard him wake up, or leave. She could beat herself up about this all day, go over a thousand 'what if's' and 'maybe's' but it wouldn't bring them back.

The dark-haired girl chose to stay quiet. Perhaps a few weeks ago, she would've lashed out, demanding that they take her with them for their next search. But, she stayed quiet. Marion sucked in a deep breath, rubbing her temple with her middle and forefinger of her right hand– the better one.

Lucas frowned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "They'll be back before we know it..."

Marion turned to look at Lucas, brown eyes scanning his face. He looked as if he barely believed his own words. She gently grabbed his hand, squeezing it as best as she could. She could see how this was affecting Lucas too; late nights spent huddled up in his lab led to dark circles growing under his light eyes, and his hands grew shaky and slightly-gaunt from occasionally skipping meals.

"I hope you're right." Marion muttered, eyes flickering to the Twins and Rodric, before retracting her hand.

She left the lab and its tense silence, climbing the stairs to find her way back into the main room. She walked through the large arch leading to the area with the big tree, eyes flicking to the single necklace that rested on one of its bare branches. Amicia had taken Hugo's before she left, in turn leaving her own.

The dark-haired girl stopped in front of the necklace, a soft sigh leaving her lips. Her fingers found the carved tree of the medallion, and when it was flipped over, the words 'Amicia De Rune' were carved in fancy lettering. She pulled it off the tree, cupping the medallion and its long chain in her hands.

Marion couldn't take any more loss. If Amicia didn't come back... she didn't know what she would do. She needed her, especially at a time like this. Amicia was her courage, her chevalier. Their little roles had been reversed for quite some time. Now, Marion was the damsel, Amicia her knight. She didn't quite hate the thought as she did some weeks ago.

She pulled the chain over her head, allowing the cold silver to dangle at her chest. Her body was changing– though not just because of the baby. Her hair was getting longer, the ends had begun to curl, just as they had before she begged her father to shear it all off. Amicia had never seen her with long hair... Perhaps she would continue to let it grow.

At the thought of her father, her good, kind, real father, her lip began to quiver. What would he think of her now? Would he be upset? Or would he take her into his arms, and press gentle kisses to the crown of her head? She had so many questions, questions that would never be answered.

Marion wanted to be good to her child– just as her father was good to her. She would be a good mother, even if she didn't know how. Even if her babe was a scary, monstrous thing, she would love it... because that's what her father would've done. She might not have had a perfect mother to look up to, but she sure as hell had a perfect father.

She sucked in a deep breath, allowing a few quiet tears to roll down her cheeks. She wasn't going to try and hold it back anymore– doing that only made her feel worse.

"Amicia will come back to us." Marion muttered, turning to go back inside. "She's too stubborn to die."

Amicia, was in fact, too stubborn to die. The next day, when Mélie, Arthur, and Rodric showed up with her unconscious in his arms, Marion felt as if a weight had been lifted off her soul. He gently laid her down on a straw mat, and Marion was immediately on her knees at her side.

She brushed a strand of her light-brown hair away from her face, gently cupping her cheek. Hugo was still gone. Marion looked up at Rodric, who let out a soft sigh.

"We found her lying face down in a ditch... no sign of Hugo." He explained, and Marion frowned.

If the Inquisition hadn't gotten him by now, the cold, or a wild animal probably did. She looked back down at Amicia... the brunette would never forgive herself.

Lucas looked her over, checked her pulse... everything seemed to be fine. Her lips were slightly blue, the tips of her fingers too. Her body was frigid, clothing and hair slightly damp from the snow. The boy looked lighter– his eyes less droopy, his body moving with more vigor. Marion knew he'd be able to actually rest now, seeing as Amicia was safe. Yet, Hugo... they might never find him.

Marion untied her cloak, draping the fabric over Amicia's cold body. "She's never going to forgive herself."

The room went silent. Everyone knew how devoted Amicia had become to Hugo, the amount of times she had laid down her life for him...

"We will keep searching–" Arthur chimed in, and Marion shook her head.

"Do you really think a five-year-old little boy can survive out there by himself?" Marion asked, looking up at them. That made them go quiet, again.

Lucas placed a hand on her shoulder, and she sucked in a deep breath. She placed her hand over Lucas', giving it a gentle squeeze. Eventually, everyone in the room dispersed, and Marion was left alone with Amicia.

She removed the now warm chain from her neck, pulling back the cloak she had draped over Amicia to place it into her cold hands. Marion kept her hands over Amicia's for a moment, letting a small frown grow on her face. They could never have it easy, could they?

—

A/N

HEY gUYS it's been a minute, but I'm back! Sadly this is shorter than what I wanted to post, but it seemed like a good place to end.

I have been struggling with the plot so much 😭 I need to focus more on what's going on now instead of trying to plot out later chapters because all that is doing is messing me up. Anywhoosedoosie, school has been biting me in the ass, as always, but I'm pushing through!

I know originally, it was Hugo who took the necklace, but I kinda forgot about that... so I just did a little something in replacement :p and we see a little bit of character development/change!

I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, and I'll try not to make y'all wait as long for another one 😭

(ALSO PLEASE, IF ANYONE HAS ANY CRITICISMS FOR THE PLOT/STORYLINE PLEASE LET ME KNOW PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I WANNA MAKE THIS AS GOOD AS POSSIBLE OKAY THANKS BYE!)