Things Lost and Found (a Waglington and Mianite fanfiction)

Chapter 44

Anyone up for something a lot less serious than last chapter? Yep, kay. You've come to the right place. :)

*Donella's POV*

I knocked on the wooden door before me, shifting the small box I carried from one arm to the other. I heard shuffling from inside the house followed by light footsteps approaching the door. A lock clicked, and the door opened a few inches to reveal Martha. Sadness lingered in her eyes, though she tried valiantly to hide it when she painted her face in a false smile. "Oh, hello, Donella. What brings you here?" She asked, eyes flitting to the box under my arm.

"I brought you something. May I come in?" I countered politely.

"Yes, please do," Martha said as she opened the door fully and stepped aside. "Would you like any tea?"

I was about to decline but decided to take the young goddess up on her hospitality. Checking in on Matt could wait a while longer. "Yes, please." I stepped into the cozy abode with Akatena by my side. The house opened to a kitchen on my left and stairwell on the right. A few paces ahead, shallow steps denoted a sitting area with a few armor stands and bookshelves between the octagonal windows on the rounded far wall. A leather sofa and a low glass top table sat across from two matching leather chairs in the center of the room. The afternoon light filtered through the latticework of the windows to add supplemental light to the open space.

Martha motioned me into the sitting area before walking into the kitchen to fetch me some tea. I walked over to the table and set the box next to an open book already sitting there. I glanced at the book and started to turn away when I realized I recognized one of the people in the photograph on the left hand page. A quick double take confirmed I was not seeing things. The photo was black and white, depicting a man and woman standing before the walls of a city. A few of the taller buildings were visible in the background above the wall, but the couple demanded the majority of my attention, specifically the man.

He stood tall and straight, though I couldn't be sure of his exact height from the photograph's angle. His dark hair was swept slightly to one side to keep the ends out of his eyes. The picture captured his slightly cock-eyed smile and intelligent eyes perfectly. He was a spitting image of James, but without the grey skin and tattoos. This must be a picture of him before he'd gotten the athar. Martha walked back in then with two steaming cups of tea. I tore my eyes from the book and had to ask, "How did you get a picture of James from before he had his powers?"

Martha looked at me as if I'd just asked why she had cat ears and a tail. I pointed at the book on the table. Martha's bewildered expression remained in place as she stepped over to see what I was talking about. "I don't..." She started to say, stopping as she looked at the picture more closely. I knew she had to have seen him without his hood on a few times at least. I could practically see her envisioning the man in the picture with messed up hair and charcoal skin. Wait, how did she have a picture of him and not realize it?

She blinked a few times, her expression going blank, before handing me my steaming tea and sitting down on the sofa. "I couldn't meditate this morning. So I decided to read; this," She said while pointing at the book in question. "Is a history of Urulu. How is there a picture of Wag in there? That portrait is from hundreds of years ago."

I raised my eyebrows at that news. What? Tena sent me a similar sense of surprise and puzzlement. After a few minutes in silence enjoying our hot tea, Martha cleared her throat and tried to leave the disconcerting subject. "You brought me something?"

"Yes. Before you open the box, I want you to keep in mind that James can be very rash when angry." That sadness flashed across her face again. I sighed and lowered my eyes. "I won't lie; I found these in his trash can," I disclosed as she lifted the box's lid. Her face fell when she saw the contents. It hadn't taken much to figure out James in his rage had thrown out everything that reminded him of Martha. "I know that once he cools off, he'll regret his actions. I thought I might leave these in your safe keeping until then." I hoped she didn't know about the picture that was missing from the box. I hadn't had the heart to bring the half burnt one.