already gone ///E. Grimhilde

Chapter 13- Confrontations

HAYDEN LEaned back in his chair, kicking up his feet to rest on the little kitchen table in the middle of the room. His chocolatey brown eyes were half-opened as he lazily scanned the room. He knew that his sister dearest was going to be here soon, if she wasn't here already, so he had to be ready. He sent Evie and Claudia upstairs to get some rest- well actually, he wanted Claudia to rest in case there was a fight with a certain dragon, and he didn't want to answer any of Evie's questions or deal with her looks of sympathy. His elbows rested on the armrests and his fingers were interlaced. The grin on his face would have made a baby hand their candy right over, everything was going perfectly as planned. He knew through their faded twin-bond that she was very close, and he knew from past experiences that she was most likely right outside. He let out a sigh, his eyes opening all the way. This was the calm before the storm. He stood up, gently waving a hand, and all the furniture had disappeared as if it were just an illusion, replacing it with the original furniture, and walked quietly up the stairs. He couldn't help but smile at the girl he had considered a best friend since birth. Claudia Frollo was the one person he would never let any harm come to, she had been his rock to ground him since Mal abandoned him. As if sensing his thoughts, he was pretty sure she could, the girl stirred.

"Are you really just going to stand there like a creep?" She asked sharply, fully aware despite just having woken up. A small smile quirked on her lips. Just as quickly as it appeared it disappeared. "She's here isn't she. The brat." Claudia couldn't help but spit out the last part. How could she forgive Mal for leaving her brother? On the Isle, family was the one you could not give up on, no matter how bad you were. Even Maleficent didn't give up and leave her daughter. Her voice must have woken up the blueberry princess because next thing they knew, Evie was sitting up, wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

"She's here. I just don't know where exactly."

"What? The Heir of the Underworld is admitting he doesn't know something," Claudia said mockingly. Hayden gave her a look that said, 'shut up'. Evie looked at them through her lashes blearily.

"If I never knew her," she said tiredly," and I did, she's right outside, about to barge in at any moment." Her companions shared a glance, noting the edge that crept into her voice. The boy nodded once, before closing his eyes and focusing his attention on the little white that appeared behind his eyelids when he searched for it. Even though he had been abandoned, a twin could never completely sever the connection to their other half. Hayden had figured that out the hard way, and eventually accepted it, shutting it down. He was now thankful that the connection had stayed, or he would not be able to pinpoint his sister. Sister. That word felt like salt in a wound, bile in his mouth. She had willingly left him. Him and his father, and all of the other children. At first, he had forgiven her because she promised to come back. But she never made an appearance, never came back to see him. He finally located her standing outside of the door, about to kick it down. Her pathetic friends, he couldn't remember their names because he never cared for them, were with her. To be honest, the boy did not care for her friends, he would be done with them quite quickly. He twitched his finger and the door opened just as she was about to kick it down, causing her to fall on her face with a yelp. He smirked as he opened his eyes, her look of embarrassment seared in his brain.

"It's time," he said. Claudia flicked a stray ringlet over her shoulder, taking the appearance of someone who had somewhere else to be. Evie wrung her hands together nervously, as mad as she was that Mal had left her, a part of her didn't wish her any harm. That was the part of her that had loved and loved and loved until it was shattered. The other part of her, the girl she thought she had left on the Isle, burned through her veins savagely, telling her that whatever happened to Mal was deserved, and that she should feel as much pain as Evie had over the past few months. The bluenette shook her head, dislodging any thoughts of the matter from her head, donning an empty look that didn't have a care in the world.