Charles wasn't sure where to go, who to ask, and what he should do.
To go to Erik could mean giving Erik power, which- at this point- wasn't even on Charles's radar at the moment, but it could also mean that Erik would shut down Charles's whole search.
Going to some of the servants could mean rumors or betrayal. Some might also take advantage of a vulnerable telepath. Charles could also wander around, hoping to find any of his past servants. However, that might take longer with no results, but the same risks were still in place.
Risks were all around, and if Charles wanted to learn what he desperately needed to know about the fate of his servant, he needed to take a calculated risk. Nothing right was ever easy, but how to know which course of action was right?
Charles decided on the most familiar course of action, going back to the library where he'd left Erik, Raven, and Emma. He went to the door of the library, moving to open the door. The slimy Toad tried to stop him, but Charles easily brushed past him, bursting into the room.
Erik and Raven were standing nose-to-nose, Emma sitting exactly where she'd been when Charles left, looking bored. However, Charles could sense her anxiety, even as she tried to bury it. Most couldn't sense telepaths' emotions unless physically connected, but telepaths could always sense others' emotions. The suppressor collars only prevented telepaths from controlling how others feel, reading others' thoughts, projecting thoughts, and telepathic communication. Telepaths could still sense how others felt, like empaths. Empaths were actually just low-level telepaths, but they held the same fate as strong telepaths such as Charles and Emma.
At the sound of the door opening, the two sprung apart, and Emma breathed a sigh of relief. Charles looked between them once more, hoping they understood that he still knew they must've been fighting, most likely over him.
"Where is Jean? What has happened to her?" Charles asked, accusation clear in his tone.
"Nothing has happened to her. She's in much the same condition as she was when you last saw her," Erik replied, secretly enjoying Charles's little fire that he was showing now.
"I want to see her," Charles ordered, not much different from when Charles was giving orders to generals. Erik shivered. Thankfully, Charles didn't notice, but Raven and Emma did.
"I'll take you to her," Erik said hastily, unsure why Charles was so suddenly fervently interested in the fate of this one servant. Erik distantly remembered that this servant was a telepath and a nursemaid, but Erik wasn't sure why it mattered- why she mattered so much to Charles. They'd taken all of his servants, all of his generals, into captivity. The only one who'd escaped that fate was Lady Raven. So why did this one matter? The others had simply been ensured safety by a simple promise he'd given Charles not to kill them, but this girl Charles was taking a special interest in?
A flare of jealousy burned Erik up inside.
Erik still led Charles out, brushing past Toad with no acknowledgement, and Toad glared after the two. Raven and Emma followed, Raven giving Toad a look of disdain. She'd seen insects with more loyalty than this pest. Toad was the sort of creature who would easily switch sides without a second thought if he believed his side to be losing. Toad had been a servant to Shaw, too, and now look at him.
Erik led the three down a mess of hallways, Charles committing the path to memory. Emma was already familiar with the path, with their destination. She shivered at the memories. Raven wrapped her arm around Emma's waist, sensing her distress when their arms brushed. Emma wanted to pull away, to lash out at Raven who allowed this damn collar to stay on, but her arms felt frozen with fear, only her legs being free of the fear. If her legs ever froze up, Shaw would've beaten her until she submitted, until she did as he bid.
