I Will Be Your Knight

Chapter 5

"Ivan?" you say again unsure. This time it came out more like a question.

"Da?" Ivan replies with a tight smile on his face. It's hard to see him in the darkness, so you weren't sure at first if it's him, but his answer reassures you that it is, in fact, the Russian. But there's something a little off about him.

He's standing there holding a long metal pipe, which has a faucet attached at one end. The faucet pipe vaguely resembles a cane, and the whole scene would've been somewhat comical, if it isn't for one thing. It's too dark to tell for sure, but you think you see blood on the faucet end of the pipe. If that is really true, that's also blood dripped on the concrete sidewalk. Ivan doesn't look hurt, and you know you're not hurt, so it must be from those two goons, but where had they gone?

You try not to focus on what could be blood when you notice the strange aura surrounding the tall Russian. No, you haven't suddenly converted to whatever mumbo-jumbo Arthur believes in. You can quite literally see the dark, purple energy radiating off of him. You've never seen him, or anyone, like this before.

Your common sense tells you that you should be scared, but your mind is too foggy to listen to reason. Right now Ivan is the only thing keeping you from going completely off your rocker. He's the only real, tangible person in your mind as it shifts between images of bullies, the Alfred and Arthur lookalikes, and a myriad of other things.

Slowly, you slide down the wall and onto the ground with tears still falling. Your vision has gone a little blurry, and you don't bother to try to fix it. Ivan takes a step towards you, and you flinch slightly, the memory of bullies and the two men still fresh in your mind. This causes Ivan to take several steps back. It's not him you're scared of, right?

At this point, you're close to hysteria. You pull yourself into a ball and start sobbing loudly. That's when your hysteria finally takes over and all you can do is scream. You thought it was over! You thought after high school, if you moved far enough away, you could escape the torment your peers had put you through. It's the only reason you moved so far away from your parents. You would've rather gone to a college near your hometown, so you could visit them often, because you're their only child after all. But, you couldn't stand the idea of being near to the people who made most of your four years of high school a kind of nightmare. The kind where you know something awful is going to happen, it's just a matter of when.

The pain comes back all too fast. Not to mention your near death experience, that just adds to the torment. You stop screaming, but you continue to sob as you hold your head between your hands, your hands tangled in your now messy hair. Tears drip off your face and onto your lap. Some find their way to the ground. Your mind has gone so blank that you don't notice a gentle hand placed on your back. It begins to rub soothing circles onto your back, and with each circle you feel your panic start to fade.

You look up and to your left. Ivan is crouched next to you and is the source of your comfort. His faucet pipe has mysteriously disappeared along with his previous mysterious aura.

"Ivan," you whisper. Your mind is slowly starting to clear and you can form coherent thoughts now.

"Da," he breathes just as quietly. "It's me. You don't have to be scared anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you." All trace of his dark aura is gone, and now seems like bad dream that you can't remember clearly.

You feel a fresh wave of tears threaten to spill over at his words. He said he'll keep you safe. All through high school, that's all you ever wanted. Someone to stand up for you when the bullies showed up. You had friends in school, but they would quickly disappear when the bullies showed up. They didn't want to be the next target. Now Ivan says you don't have to worry or be scared. It's like a prayer being answered. You quickly lean over and hold onto Ivan tight. It startles him for a moment, but then he smiles and wraps an arm around you.

"You should probably be getting home," Ivan says quietly into you ear. The two of you have been sitting against the wall for some time now.

You hold him tighter in response.

He chuckles softly, then frees himself from your embrace. You look up at him in confusion. He saves you, but now he's just going to ditch you? He gives you a reassuring look and scoops you up into his arms. You gasp at the unexpected action, then blush. No one has ever held you like that, except maybe your father when you were small. The only thing stopping you from protesting is the fatigue you feel quickly descending on you. That, and you feel very safe in Ivan's strong arms.

Ivan begins to walk in the direction of your house. You wrap your arms around Ivan's neck and lay your head on his shoulder. His scarf flaps as he walks, and the part wrapped around his neck brushes your cheek occasionally. It's cold out tonight, but Ivan is very warm, so you nuzzle closer to him when the chilly wind blows. He looks down at you with a gentle smile.

"Thank you, Ivan," you whisper faintly. "I was...so scared." You tighten your hold around his neck. "H-how did you find me?" you ask after a few moments of silence.

Ivan looks down again and answers with a serious expression. "I was walking down the street when I saw you walking further up ahead. I was going to catch up to you, but that's when I noticed someone following you. I stayed back to see if he was up to something. I also didn't want him to see me in case you needed my help later. Then I caught sight of the other ублюдок (bastard) up ahead. That's when I knew there would be trouble." He pauses and looks away. "I ran as fast as I could, and then I let them have what was coming to them." His dark aura starts to become visible. "The looks on their faces when they saw me was priceless," he practically snarls.

"I-Ivan?" You look up at him with wide eyes. Where was this coming from all of a sudden?

At the sound of your voice, the purple aura disappears, and so does the maniacal smile that was beginning to form on his face. You notice that he's stopped walking. He looks down at you and smiles sweetly. It was a little eerie the way his mood seemed to shift back and forth.

"Sorry (y/n). I got carried away. What's important is that you're safe, da?" He continues walking.

You slowly nod your head. What was that all about? You're too tired to give it any real thought, so you relax again in Ivan's arms. The rest of the walk passes in silence as Ivan carries you to your house. When you get there, he sets you down so you can unlock your door. You do so on shaky legs, then proceed to open the door. As you walk into your house, you almost collapse from exhaustion, and the stress of your what you've been through. Ivan manages to grab you before you hit the floor. He pulls you close, and you feel his breath on the back of your neck as he talks.

"You need to go to bed, da?" he says more to himself than you. He picks you up again and carries you up the stairs. You listen to his heart beat as he walks up the stairs. It has a strong, steady rhythm. It's the heart of a very strong, very kind person you think to yourself.

Once at the top, he walks toward the only open door hoping it's your room. His guess is correct, and he carries you inside. You're barely conscious as he softly lays you on your bed. He moves your blankets and comforter out from under you, and then covers you with them. You look up at him with half closed eyes, and he smiles. He reaches out and brushes the hair away from your face. Then he leans down and places a gentle kiss on your forehead.

"You're safe now (y/n). хорошо спать (sleep well)." He turns to leave.

You have a silent panic attack when you realize he's about to go. You don't want him to leave. He makes you feel warm and safe. What if those guys show up? Several similar thoughts go through your mind. All you know is that Ivan cannot leave. Not yet. "Ivan," you manage to say through your sleepy haze. "Ivan...don't go."

He turns and looks at you quizzically, and then chuckles. It definitely sounds like 'kolkolkol' you think to yourself. Ivan walks back towards your bed.

"You don't want me to leave?" he asks with a raised eyebrow.

You shake your head no.

"Then I will stay," he says matter of factly.

He takes a seat at the foot of your bed and turns to look at you with a soft smile. You reach out and take one of his gloved hands carefully in one of your own. The last thing you remember before falling asleep is the warmth of Ivan's hand in yours and Ivan saying something softly in Russian.

"хорошо спать, моя подсолнечника (sleep well, my sunflower)."