Flame (Sequel to Green Eyes)

chapter five

Madaline is sprawled across her bed, her face knitted in concentration as she draws, the thick paper resting on the mattress. Amber watches as the tip of her quill slides across the paper, guiding Madaline's hand. Each ink-stroke is thick and deep, embedding into the paper. Madaline seems angry, distraught, and somewhat distant. Ever since Amber returned to her room last night, the usually peppy girl has transformed into someone more melancholy.

Last night...

Amber's fingers rest on her lips, her thoughts wandering to her kiss with Ronald. It sends shivers down her spine and her cheeks flush. Kissing Ronald felt...right; like they were meant to be.

Madaline digs the tip of her feathery quill into the paper and there is a tearing sound as it rips, snapping Amber out of her daze. Growling furiously, Madaline casts aside the quill and crumples the paper, tossing it onto the floor. Already, the ground is littered with her unfinished artworks, an obvious sign that her creative juices aren't flowing the way she hoped. Amber's finger drops from her lips to her lap as Madaline crosses her arms, flipping onto her back causing the wooden bed frame to creak.

"What's it like being in love?" Madaline inquires idly, fiddling with the hem of her sleeve. Amber watches the red-head for a second, trying to conceal the shock gnawing at her; that question came out of nowhere and it is extremely unexpected. Sighing, Madaline brings herself to a sitting position, "I mean, how do you know that you're in love and that it's meant to be? How do you know that it's not infatuation?"Amber shifts uncomfortably, unsure of how to respond; Madaline is more than a few years younger than her-she must be at least ten. How does she explain love to a ten-year-old?

"Well, um," Amber begins hesitantly, shivering under Madaline's intense glare, "You, feel like-"

Screaming rips through the air and Madaline flies to her feet, her eyes growing wide. Amber's heart thuds furiously against her ribcage as the feelings of fear and anxiety blossom in her chest. The screaming is on-going, ricocheting off the walls jarringly, causing Amber's ears to sting. The door to their room swings open with an ear-splitting creak and the screaming increases in volume and intensity. Amber feels pins of ice pinning her joints in place, unable to move as Madaline shrieks and hurls a pillow at the doorway. Amber's tense form becomes languish when she realizes that the person at the door is only a boy who doesn't react when the pillow collides with his shoulder. Madaline has come to the same conclusion, her panic diminishing

"Ryan?" Madaline asks, relief flowing through her, her voice quickly becoming overpowered by the screaming, "Ryan, what's going on?" The boy only stands in the doorway mutely. His face is pale and he is trembling uncontrollably. He has flaming orange hair and dark obsidian eyes, with a bandage  wrapped around one hand. There are dark red stains covering his shirt and sleeves and his eyes are wide and horrified as he stares at the two girls. The terrified feeling in Amber's chest spreads to her limbs; beyond Ryan, the hallway is in complete chaos: people are running and screaming, some are even crying.

"Well?" Managing to find her voice, Amber tears her gaze away from the disorderly scene. They land on the still horrified boy and she realizes that the stains on his clothes are made up of blood. Her muscles tense and Ryan utters the words she was least expecting:

"The Headmaster is dead. Murdered. His body is in the library...covered in so much blood..."

                                                                                                                                    

"Ryan Phicer?" The Undertaker hums, striding over to one of the smaller coffins. With pale fingers, he wipes the dust off the dark wood. Ciel taps his foot impatiently, biting back a growl as The Undertaker begins to giggle, "What a small boy!" He says inbetween laughs, "What a small corpse! A perfectly bloody corpse! It took me a lot of time to make him pretty again!"