Little Bird

Better the Devil you Know

Lucy believed she may have been in a state of catatonic despair for a while, as she did nothing as her two captives knelt beside her holding her hands. Upon realising her situation, she snatched her hands free, although the two were certainly not holding them with any force. She cradled her hands as if they had been burned from the contact.

Her mindset on her situation was nowhere near acceptance, however it was nearer to comprehension than before. She summarised it all to herself internally: She had been taken from outside her home. The whole thing had been expertly planned. She was kept by people who had a strange otherworldly connection to her, who seemed to deeply care for her yet never intended on freeing her. Lastly, and most importantly, they were not human. It was the latter thoughts that stirred up emotions for her. Although she doubted that having human kidnappers would make her calm and serene, she was completely derailed by the idea that her captives weren't human.

It was very overwhelming, and she sobbed into her cradled hands. She was not a stranger to crying, and knew full well that her emotional outbursts were causing her to have other physical side affects. Her head pounded and she felt sick, which only added to her misery.

"Lucy," Erasmus cooed gently. "Come now child, you must pull yourself together"

In that moment she felt no motivation or inspiration to do anything other than cry, although she wondered bitterly if she would run out of tears soon. Could she cry herself to death?

"Enough of this stupid misery," Regulus huffed impatiently, pulling her up by her shoulders. Lucy merely flopped forwards, her tears now falling into her lap. "What do you gain from this?"

Erasmus went to scold him, but Lucy spoke first, her voice cold and distant. "What do I gain from anything? You took me from my life!"

"You barely had a life," he scoffed. "You were a lonely little child barely getting by."

"I was going to get a job! I was going to get better!" She shrieked desperately, sitting up.

"Sure whatever, how many times have you said that to yourself?" He hissed back bitterly.

It was not the first time Lucy had been spoken to in this way regarding the subject of her mental health, she was used to it from family and those around her. However, the fact that Regulus was essentially a stranger to her, yet spoke to her with intimate knowledge, caused her blood to boil with a new found fury. She stood up suddenly, stepping towards him. She hesitated only for a moment upon realising their ridiculous height difference, but she refused to let it stop her.

"What does it matter to you? Why can't you just leave me alone!" Her voice was near shrieking now.

Regulus seemed to look upon her sadly for a moment, holding a gaze full of anguish before his cold stare returned. "You could never understand, you foolish, weak, human!" His voiced boomed, causing her to step back.

"Regulus!" Erasmus shouted suddenly, only to be ignored.

"You don't know what's good for you, or maybe you just don't care!" He spoke bitterly. "You were destined to fall into a pit of misery without us!"

The tears returned in full flood upon Lucy's face, yet she was not reduced to sobbing. She stood shaking, her fists clenched at her side. "I don't need any of you! You don't know me!" She felt like a teenager throwing a fit to her parents, she topped it off by running towards the exit.

"That's enough Regulus!" She heard Erasmus shout furiously behind her.

Lucy didn't hear much more, for she immediately left the room and slammed the door behind her. Once on the other side of the door, she felt a moment of hesitation. She was faced with the plain panneling of an unfamiliar corridor. Doors lined the corridor on one side, and plush neutral carpet sat beneath her feet. Her body and mind were fueled with anxiety pretty instantly, and she just picked a direction and ran.

Her senses were dulled by her own fear, her nose stuffed from crying, her eyes full of tears, and most importantly her ears felt full from her pounding pulse. It was all of this that led her to be completely taken by surprise when she was suddenly grabbed and pulled to a sudden and uncomfortable stop by someone.

"No!" She hissed, kicking at the figure behind her.

The figure simply moved her easily in his grasp before pushing her against a nearby wall, pinning her in place with his hands. Upon looking up at his face, she saw the red head staring down at her confused.

"Isn't it Regulus and Erasmus's shift? How did you manage to slip past them?" He smirked at her.

"Let me go!" Lucy retorted.

It was then that she heard the sounds of people running towards her, and quickly made out the faces of Rajesh and Ryan, both of them stopping behind the red head, peering over him at her.

"Is she okay?" Ryan spat out desperately, his eyes wide and sad.

Rajesh quickly responded, "I don't think-"

"Of course not!" She screamed, slumping miserably against the wall. "Why would I be okay!?"

Nobody spoke, all of them uncertain that they could produce words to calm the situation. Instead, they stood awkwardly, the red head still holding her in place. Coming down from yet another adrenaline high, Lucy felt weariness in her bones. She did not cry, finally out of tears, but hung her head carelessly, going essentially limp.

A few moments later Rajesh spoke up again, "Ryan, perhaps you should take her back now," his eyes stuck upon the red head as he spoke.

Lucy peered up briefly as the grip against her was lifted, replaced in a moment by a gentle hand upon her shoulder.

"Do you mind if I carry you?" Ryan spoke softly, earning himself a careless shrug in response. "Okay, then hold onto me if you feel the need."

She felt herself being elegantly lifted off the ground into a bridal lift. She felt herself gripping onto his shirt desperately, more in an attempt to console herself than avoid falling.

"It'll be okay Lucy, I promise we'll take good care of you." He whispered softly as he carried her. She turned her head and burried it into his chest, blind to her surroundings but comforted by his gentle heat. She could not bare to look at the room as she entered it, too ashamed to face the two she ran from.

"Ah, thank you Ryan." Erasmus spoke softly as he approached them.

"Could I stay a while? I... I know I shouldn't... it's not fair to the others, but..." Ryan spoke nervously, holding her a little tighter, but not tight enough to cause her discomfort.

"Of course, I do not think Regulus will return this shift."

Lucy shifted slightly at the mention of Regulus, but dared not look around the room. It brought her comfort to know that he was not there, yet she did not trust them to be telling the truth.

Ryan thanked Erasmus, before gently sitting down on the end of the bed. "You can get down now," he told her.

She shook her head, gripping tigher, burrying her head as close as she could to him.

"Ah... uhm, then..." he softly put his arms around her. "Is this okay?"

She nodded softly, closing her eyes and leaning into his soft embrace. In this moment of gentleness, she could almost forget the miserable situation she had found herself in.