daughter of esmund

Twenty-Three

A/N: Hey y'all! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Sorry for such a long wait for it to come out, hopefully next time you won't have to wait as long! School has been crazy, as has theatre, but I finally found the time to sit down and do some writing. So I hope you enjoy and I will see you in the next one!

- Joya

Word Count: 1199

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Almost as soon as we arrived in Pikaro, Aphmau forced me to go rest at a local inn. She said she was more concerned about my emotional well being rather than physical after my..reaction to Laurence. Even though I insisted I was fine, it was no use. It probably was a good thing though, since as soon as I arrived to my room at the inn, I collapsed onto the bed.

I'm awakened the next morning by a soft knock on the door. I'd fallen asleep on top of all of the blankets, not even bothering to change, or at the very least, take off my shoes. The early morning sunlight shines through the window, casting streaks of light across the rough, wooden floor and onto the aged, dusty brown rug that covers the ground in the center of the room. I shift onto my back, causing the blankets beneath me to curl around my body. After a quiet yawn escapes me I sit up, the shaky wooden bed creaking in protest beneath my weight. There's yet another knock on the door, this one a bit louder, as I rub my eyes, "I'm coming!"

I stand, the bed creaking once more, and reach up, stretching out my back. I then head to the door and open it just enough to look to see who it is. I bite my lip as I take a deep breath, releasing it in a sigh. It's Laurence, and he's not looking too good.

The bags under his eyes are excessive, draining the usually vibrant blue of his eyes and giving them a more icy appearance. His skin is a pale, almost sickly green color. His brown hair is untamed, sticking up in the back and shuffled in front of his bloodshot eyes, appearing as almost he'd constantly been running his hands through it. He's wearing the same outfit as yesterday, the only thing missing is his sword and jacket. He rubs at his face and that's when I notice that he his hands are shaking, "Can we talk?"

Hesitantly I open the door so he can walk in, pushing it shut once he's inside, listening to is close with a creak followed by a quiet click. I cross my arms, watching him as he stands with his back turned to me. Eventually he does turn to me, eyes searching my expression, for what I'm not sure, as he takes a deep breath, "I-I um..wanted to make sure you were okay after..what happened yesterday.." His voice is quiet and as shaky, as is the rest of him.

I give a hesitant nod, wrapping my arms around myself and hands tugging at the sides of my shirt, "I'm fine."

He shoved his hands into the back pockets of his jeans, leaning a bit away from me, "Good."

We stand in silence for the following moments, avoiding eye contact. I'm pretty sure that he's almost as equally uneasy being around me right now as I am about being around him. I'm just..still thinking about it. Whenever I think back on it, I only think about his blood red eyes and just, the pure anger that radiated from them. When I saw them, they just filled me with dread, and that feeling, just like the image, is burned into my mind like the branding on a cow. I never have admitted that I've been terrified of something, and I assure you, I'm not remotely scared of Laurence. I'm fearful of the bigger picture.

I'm scared of shadow knights.

I've encountered shadow knights throughout my life, and not once has it resulted in a happy ending. The first time I lost my brother. The second time I almost lost my life. And this time...I'm shocked that nothing horrible happened. I've always connected shadow knights to hatred and tragedy, but what do you do when one tries to protect someone? Does that make them less of a shadow knight? Does being a shadow knight make someone less of a person? These questions haven't ever crossed my mind until I reunited with Vylad and met Laurence. And now that they're there, I'm questioning my own perspective that I've had on this group of 'people' for...years.

"I-I would never hurt you Annie, you know that right?" Laurence says, his voice a bit hoarse as I look up to him, breaking my train of thought.

I give a small nod, "I know..."

"A-and if I did, Irene I would never forgive myself," he sniffs, sounding like he's on the verge of tears. I step forward, expression shifting to one of concern. He steps back almost instantly, looking at me with glossy eyes, "I-I didn't want to scare you. I-I just was so scared that...t-that he was going to hurt you...I-I didn't think I was going to hurt you, I-I'm so, s-so sorry-"

"Hey, hey..." I cut him off as I step just in front of him, moving to cup his cheeks, "It's okay. I'm okay, it's all over now, okay?"

A few tears stream down his cheeks before he lets out a choked sob, burying his face into my shoulder as he wraps his arms around me tightly. I rub at his shoulders gently, kissing the side of his head, "It's all okay, I promise. You're okay.."

He only clings to me tighter, "A-annie I don't w-wanna be a m-monster..."

A monster, Irene, wait...

I really thought that didn't I?

I thought they were monsters.

I close my eyes, pulling Laurence away to cup his cheeks and look into his eyes, "You, Laurence Zvhal, are not a monster. And do you know how I know?"

He sniffs and shakes his head, exhaling shakily. I smile at him, "I know because you stopped that man from hurting Isabel and I. A monster? They would've let him hurt Isabel and I. Irene, Laurence, you are the farthest thing from a monster."

I start to tear up, voice trembling as I pull him back into a hug and nuzzling my face into his shoulder, my hands still rubbing at his shoulder blades as he relaxes them. After a few more minutes, he starts to calm down, his breathing becoming even and the shakiness of his arms, still wrapped tightly around me, has lessened. I pull him away once more, one hand resting on his shoulder, the other resting on his cheek, "You mean the world to me Laurence, you being a shadow knight isn't going to change that. I was just..caught off guard. I-I'll get better at it I promise.."

He nods, sniffing as I wipe away his tears. His hands move to hold mine, eyes falling to the ground, "I-I'm trying to control it, I-I promise.."

I give an understanding nod, "I know dear," I pause, sighing, "Hey, look at me."

Slowly he looks back to me and I cup his cheeks, pulling him closer and connecting our lips for a few moments. Once I pull away I give him a smile, "You're not going to face this alone, I'll be here to help every step of the way, alright?"

He returns the smile, "Alright, Beauty."