Adeline

Chapter 14 - City Captured

Finally home. Finally safe inside Arthur's impersonal apartment. The walls that surrounded them kept the secret of their position, cradling them from the frenzied city that was crumbling to the ground. But still, the impending danger that loomed over them, over the discovery of Mark and his intent to murder the both of them set an uneasy feeling in Arthur's home. It made everything seem cold and nervous, and the two of them paced aimlessly around the living room, quivering with nerves and anxious paranoia. The probability of Mark and his goons bursting through the door and shooting both of them in the head for sabotaging his master plan was slim but still the both of them couldn't help but feel absolutely terrified. It made the room, with the lamps lit and the fire crackling seem so unsafe.

Arthur had now taken his jacket off to inspect his injuries, rolling up his sleeve to look at his arm. He peeled the blood-soaked cloth from his arm and winced as dried blood feel off of it in crusty flakes. He threw the ripped piece of Victor's shirt onto the floor and groaned at the sight of his cut. He didn't know what to do – and was too terrified of being discovered by Mark to call a doctor. Adeline sat beside him, eyebrows furrowed and a concerned expression. She held him, looking over his cut.

"I'm so sorry that I let this happen to you." She said, going through Arthur's limited supply of aid and medicines that he kept in a box in the bathroom. He didn't have much in the way of antiseptic, so all Adeline could do was wash his arm with water, some of Arthur's finest alcohol, and a damp cloth. She dipped the cloth into the bowl of water that she kept by his foot and immediately it turned red with the blood that she had soaked up into the cloth. Her hands and shirt were covered in Arthur's blood water that had spilt everywhere, even over the couch. She dabbed it over his arm as he gritted his teeth and shut his eyes in pain. She looked up at him, a lock of her dark curly hair falling over her eyes, "I'm sorry."

"No," Arthur said, looking away from his cut. It was still so covered with blood that they couldn't distinguish the cut from the mess of blood that surrounded it. Some of it was black as it had dried, and some of it was bright red. Adeline was surprised that it was still bleeding. As she washed it, she continuously checked to see if there was any debris from the explosions lodged inside of it. That might be the cause of the severity, "No, don't be sorry. You had no idea that those explosions were going off. The only one you knew about was in Westminster. That doesn't mean you're excused, though. But you're certainly excused from the blame in regards to my injuries."

"I know. I know..." Adeline said. She looked down, focussing on the cut. She didn't want to look him in the eye knowing what he thought of her. She knew that she thought she was crazed, extremist, stupid. She didn't want to face that kind of judgement. He was such a good person, he always acted so perfect and lawful, how could she ever equate to him. She could never be as good as him, and being with him made her feel like such a bad person. Arthur could never do wrong – he was just and fair. She wiped away the last of the blood, dropping the blood-soaked cloth in the now crimson bowl of water. Her hands were covered in his blood and Arthur tried his best not to look at it for fear of being sick. "This..." She said, fumbling with his cut arm, "This is deep. I'll have to stitch it." Adeline said, looking to him for confirmation.

"Do whatever you need to do." Arthur said. He bit his lip and squeezed his eyes closed, "You know," He said whilst he listened to Adeline retrieve the needle and string from his box of medicines. Celeste forced him to keep this box just in case. He needed to remember to thank her for that – if she ever found out what was happening. He had decided that if he survived this night, Celeste would never know. She didn't need to know – she was too innocent and sweet to know the kind of horrors that he had witnessed, "This isn't exactly what I had planned for tonight."