White Thorn | On Hold

Suspicion

"Brown eyes..." Loxian tilted his head, his eyes darting over to where his partner, Alex, stood. "Brown hair..."

"Did she look anything like this?" The blonde stepped forwards, pulling a photo out of his pocket. A photo of someone Arya knew very well.

"Velvet wouldn't do something like this!"

"Oho?" Loxian smiled. "So you know the girl in the photo?"

"Velvet Thorn." She said, folding her arms, glaring at the brunette. "She's my friends. One of the few I've got, and I know she's got nothing to do with this whole fiasco!"

"You've known her for what... a month?" He said, watching as his partner tucked the photo back into his inner pocket. "You've got no clue who Velvet Thorn really is... Not that your puny little mortal brain could comprehend the reality of the situation."

"Loxian!" Rian scowled. "She doesn't know!"

"About Fae?"

The Head of Riverdale's Hospital froze, nearly dropping the cup of tea he'd been sipping from. "How the hell?!"

"Velvet."

One grey eye twitched, the man letting out an exasperated sigh. He was far too accustomed to her inability to follow rules. It was part of the reason she'd gotten herself into so many sticky situations. "That girl never does what she's bloody well told..."

"That's why we get along so well." She grinned. "I wouldn't mind a full explanation of things, though... Velvet didn't really go into much detail about it."

"That can come later." Alex said, closing his eyes. "We need to go and find Miss Thorn and have a word with her."

"And by that, I take it you mean tying her to a chair and interrogating her?"

Loxian turned his gaze on her, amusement written across his face. "She's a sharp one, isn't she?"

The one in question raised her fist. "Might she remind you that she's currently still in the room?!"

"Chill out, would you, kiddo?" A voice rang out from her bedside table, her green eyes swivelling to find a matching set of jade orbs staring back at her from a few centimetres away.

"Argh!"

A lollipop was in her mouth in record time, interrupting her strangled scream at the girl's sudden arrival. "Quiet down, now." The girl sighed, her long black hair bunched up in a ponytail on either side of her head. "Loxian, I think you'd better explain why you're suspecting Velvet Thorn... Otherwise dear Arya here might get the wrong impression of you."

"Wren..." Rian blinked, staring at the Headmistress of Riverdale High, not having the slightest clue as to her appearance in the room. "What are you doing down here?"

"None of your business."

"Burn." Arya sniggered, wincing in the next second as a hand chopped down on her head.

"Quiet, kiddo." Headmistress Wren sighed, crossing her legs as she sat on the bedside cabinet.

She stared at the girl, perplexed by her young appearance. Arya had expected the Headmistress to look a lot older, but instead she was met with the sight of what looked like a seven-year-old girl with a petite frame. She was the complete opposite of her expectations for someone who led the school which trained the next generation of warriors.

"Explain away, Lox."

The brunette slumped, knowing he had to obey. "I can't tell you everything, but Velvet has a very long history..."

"She's only one year older than me."

Wren smiled knowingly, folding her arms. "I feel like I should tell you at this point that Fae are immortal."

Arya stared at the wall, the words wringing in her ears. "Immortal?"

"Well... actually, that was a bad word to describe it..." She paused, mulling over her statement. "The correct phrasing would be undying, since there are actually True Immortals who can't die by blade or age... or any method, really... well, aside from-"

Loxian coughed.

"I think you might confuse the girl if you go on." Alex smiled sheepishly, his eyes closed, silently praying he wasn't about to be injured in any way shape or form.

"Oh." Wren slapped her fist into her palm, pretending not to notice as the man flinched. "Good point... Even you idiots didn't learn about the Immortals till you were in your third year." She shrugged. "That's normally when they come and scout out my dear sweet students."

Arya turned to the Headmistress, her mouth moving before she could stop herself. "How old even are you?"

Silence descended upon the room, alerting her to the gigantic mistake she'd just made.

"Arya." The girl smiled sweetly. "Haven't you been taught not to ask a lady her age?"

"Well-"

The hand chopped down on her head yet again, green eyes blazing. "Do you need me to drill that lesson into your head...? Because I will." Wren grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "Literally."

She cowered back. "Monster."

"Oh, sweetie, if you think I'm a monster then you'll lose your mind when you meet the creatures that inhabit Grisha." She said, rising to her small feet. "In fact, why don't we go there now? I'll give you a little survival exercise while I'm at it... and if you survive then I'll forget about this whole incident."

"She gets a bit touchy about her age in case you hadn't guessed." Rian said, patting the poor girl's bruised head. "So just don't ask her again."

"I won't."

"Good." Wren said, smiling sweetly, looking like an innocent little girl as she popped another blue sweet into her mouth.

"Back to the topic at hand then." Loxian sighed in impatience. "Believe it or not, but Velvet Thorn has a history of walking the line."

"The line?"

"Between the forces of good and evil."

Arya stared at him. "That sounds... dramatic."

"That's why she's considered a suspect, and now with you giving a description that sounds somewhat like her, we'd like to go and get her alibi for the time this incident occurred."

"Do you understand now?" Wren asked, intelligent green eyes scanning Arya's own. "Their suspicions aren't groundless, no matter how much you might want them to be." Small hands grabbed her shoulders, gently pushing her back onto the hospital bed. "And now that's all been explained, you should really get some rest." She smiled softly. "You've had an eventful day."

"It couldn't have been Velvet." She shook her head. "It can't have been."

"Tch." One eyebrow twitched at the girl's mutterings. "Looks like you need some help in the getting-to-sleep department."

"Wren-"

"Oh, relax would you...?" She sighed, watching as dark blue thorns emerged from the underside of her arm, pricking Arya's skin in an instant. "Sleep, silly girl." She said, tucking a strand of black hair back behind the girl's ear as her eyelids fluttered, sleep washing over her slowly as she lay there, trying to ignore the small, niggling voice in the back of her mind that whispered to her quietly as she drifted off to dreamland.

How well do you really know the girl named Velvet Thorn...?