Unknown L (Book 1) [Editing]

~~ Actions And Reactions ~~

L turned quickly and immediately had to steady herself on a thicker section of branch to see Bryce looking mischievously at her. He was dressed in regular human clothes again, but they were ripped and filthy. He was wearing a dark blue beanie hat this time, which some of his hair was escaping. L narrowed her eyes at him and tried to keep her voice as quiet as possible.

"Where have you been?! You said you had things to do, but I didn't think you meant you'd be gone for days. Did you go save the Worcesters without me?"

She couldn't keep the anger and betrayal out of her voice. 

Bryce's grin faded when he heard it and was replaced with a shocked expression. He must have been expecting a different reaction to his return.

"Of course I didn't. What would make you think that? I told you you could come with me and I meant it. I just had to gather some information from my contacts. Did my going away bother you that much?"

L frowned at the sincerity in his voice, shaking her head and shuffling along her branch until she reached the trunk.

"I just thought you might have when nobody would tell me where you were. No, it didn't bother me that you were gone, just what I thought you had gone to do."

L tried not to acknowledge the gnawing feeling inside of her.

Bryce moved closer to the trunk now.

"I wouldn't tell you that you could do something, then go behind your back to do it anyway. That would just be pointless and cruel."

"Well, they're doing the exact same thing," she gestured towards the cottage and the Council below. "They said they were going to answer my questions, but they're keeping everything from me. I had to climb up here just to find out what was going on. Maeve and Matilda have been keeping me company every minute of the day, but neither would tell me anything."

Bryce's face crinkled into an uncomfortable smile.

"That might have been my fault. I asked them to keep an eye on you, and it seems they took it literally. Sorry." He glanced towards the cottage and pursed his lips. "As for the Council, they probably have good reason to keep things from you... they usually do. But, erm, we should get down from here. I have a lot to tell you, and if they decide to stop arguing for more than a minute, they will hear us."

L's brow creased, but her curiosity was outweighing her annoyance. She soon climbed back down the tree to where Bryce was already waiting on the ground. He flashed a wide grin and gestured towards the path at the back of the cottage.

They walked along the darker path, away from the big cottage and anything else for that matter. L hadn't taken this route before because it had seemed deserted.

"Those clothes suit you, you know? I almost didn't recognise you up there. I'm guessing Matilda forced them onto you?"

Bryce spoke suddenly, interrupting L's thoughts before she had the chance to ask where they were going.

"No, she actually tried to persuade me into an assortment of dresses, so I had to find a compromise. Luckily, Maeve told her I'd prefer these, and she brought them along. I kind of like them. But how did you know where I was? And where are we going?"

"Nice to see your list of questions hasn't changed with your wardrobe. I knew because you weren't indoors, and you had been without answers for days. I had a feeling you'd be clawing to find them yourself by now."

He said it almost smugly, and L wanted to trip him up. She resisted and tried to see anything ahead of them that might indicate where they were going. She saw nothing of note, just uninhabited trees and bushes, with a colourful scattering of wildflowers. Bryce was watching her from the corner of his eye, and he chuckled. He pulled his hat off, letting his hair fall messily around his shoulders.