Hey Sunshine

Letting go of a Lifeline

They moved fast. Jesper kept his hand on Inej's bicep and the two stumbled as they tried to rise, staring at the unmoving body of the man that had tried to kill them.

"We have to go," Jesper gasped, tripping over the motionless hand of the man. Righting himself, he finished the last few feet and Inej shut the door tightly. "Is he even breathing?"
    Inej was shaking. "I have no clue," she said, biting her lip. "We have to find Wylan and then we can leave. I-I - Van Eck," she paused, "what do you think even happened to him?" She twisted in his grip and the two began to make their way down the hall as fast as they could go.

    "I think he ordered that man on us," Jesper said, hand shaking rapidly.

    Guns.

Weapons of war.

    They had entered an entirely new game, a path that college students - even college students like them - weren't meant to tread on. But Wylan had been on this path his entire life. Had always lived with Jan Van Eck. Had he ever faced the end of a gun?

    No. He couldn't have. Wylan would have said something.

    "Down the stairs," Inej panted, and the two began bounding down the stairs. "Where could Wylan's room even be?"

    Jesper shrugged and pulled open a door. It revealed a storage closet, and he let out an exasperated sigh as he shut it again. "Why are there a million doors in here? Which one leads to Wylan's room?"

    "And where are the servants?" Inej asked, pulling open another door. She made a face as it revealed a bathroom. "Where is the man that let us in? Where is anybody?"

    Ghost manor, Jesper thought, and with a sinking feeling he remembered what the man had said. You're not worth enough to kill for. But if you're problematic enough...

    "Van Eck was willing to kill us," Jesper realized as he kicked open another door. It was an empty room, practically unused. "What if he evacuated the entire mansion to just... kill us all?"

    Inej shook her head. "It'd be easier to play it off as a freak accident if all his servants and a handful of his son's friends died in his mansion at once," she said as she opened a door leading to the kitchen. Shutting it, she eyed the stairs again. They had made a full circle. "Back up?"

    Jesper bit his lip. "Yeah."

    Quickly, they hurried back up the stairs. Shuddering as Jesper passed the familiar halls, they turned the opposite direction this time and began opening doors at random. He made a face as they passed a portrait of Jan Van Eck, only slowing down as they reached another portrait of Wylan himself.

Jesper cringed. "That looks nothing like Wylan."

    The portrait featured an almost total stranger - chin raised regally, perfect ginger curls (Wylan's real hair was almost always a mess, partly due to Jesper running his hands through them to mess it up all the time), and icy blue eyes. He seemed cold and formal, impossible to touch even through the portrait.

    "It was probably added after Wylan had left for college," Inej reasoned. "There's no way Wylan would model for a portrait like that. The details aren't even accurate."

    Jesper bit his lip, before turning his head. "Alright, let's g- duck!"

    Grabbing Inej, he swung open the closest door at random and shoved the both of them inside. Inej shot wide eyes at him and he pressed a finger to his lips. Silently, they listened to footsteps - that sounded suspiciously like soldiers, Jesper withheld a shudder - marching for a while, before fading away completely.

    "Guess that's where some of the servants went," Inej whispered. Her voice was breathy - almost completely inaudible. Jesper nodded.

Reaching for the light switch, Inej quickly pulled his hand away from there. "If they come back, they'll see the light underneath the door," she explained. "Although I think the coast is clear. We should leave."

    Jesper nodded, grasping the cool metal door knob firmly. Pulling the door open, Inej and him peeked out before they continued their journey down the hall.

"If we found a servant patrolling this hallway, we're probably going the right way, aren't we?" Jesper asked Inej as they passed another row of Van Eck blood portraits. "Like, that makes sense to you?"

    Inej bit her lip and nodded. "That makes sense."

    Pulling at every door they saw, Jesper reached out and tugged at one. It was locked.

    Inej and Jesper exchanged excited glances.

"It might be the room to his office or something," Inej said, hesitating. "But this also might be Wylan's room."

    There was something in Inej's voice - the excitement leaking through, the hesitancy to get her hopes up - that triggered something in Jesper's chest making him fall to his knees. Rattling the doorknob as ferociously as he could, he pounded against the wood as loudly as he could get away with, while also trying to hide from the servants/soldiers that prowled the house.

Inej swallowed and twisted her head back. "C'mon Wylan, do something and open the door."

    Jesper kept rattling the door. "Wylan?" he asked, raising his voice just the slightest bit.

"Sunshine, are you insi-?"

    The door swung open, almost causing Jesper to lose his balance.

Suddenly, they both gasped.

Because Wylan Van Eck, five foot nothing, bright-blue eyed abomination, ginger hair bright against the darkness of the house, pulled Jesper up awkwardly against his own body. The almost ridiculous height difference kicked in and Jesper leaned down as Wylan rose to the tips of his toes - and tilted his head.

"You're here?" Wylan whispered, breath ghosting against Jesper's lips. "You're here."

    Jesper tilted his head and pressed Wylan's chest against his own. Their legs lined up and Wylan's arms wrapped around his own.

It felt like an exhale after a hurricane. It felt like letting go of a lifeline. It felt like love.

Finally.