The Blade

Chapter Three - Emelia

Emelia

The duffel bag zipped up quite nicely and she flung the strap over her shoulder, turning around. She froze when she noticed a figure standing in her doorway, leaning against the frame.

“Calm down, Emmie. You’re safe here,” Elliot chuckled to himself. She rolled her eyes, shoving past him into the hallway.

“Elliot, I told you to stop sneaking up on me,” She spat at him. His eyes filled with guilt and she paused in her way down the hall, “Look, I’m sorry. I’m just really on edge.”

It was true; Emelia drew her weapon every time she heard a creak or a thump. She was aware that her family lived in a safe house, but no matter where she was she never felt safe. Elliot felt bad for his sister; he had heard her pacing around in her room all night. He knew she would most likely collapse of exhaustion any second now, and he wanted to go with her to protect her in case her fatigue got the best of her. Yet, being fifteen meant he couldn’t join the Blade, no matter what his connections were. His sister, who had joined at twelve, was a special exception and she had made it clear she wanted him to wait like he was supposed to.

“Gam made some breakfast for your trip,” Elliot informed her, only receiving a nod in return. He watched as Emelia walked into their small bathroom and rummaged through the cupboard until she found the toiletries she was looking for. Emelia could feel his gaze on her, and she wanted to snap at him to cut it out, but she couldn’t. He was always like this when she was about to leave on a trip. She could understand his point of view; she knew what it was like to not know if someone was going to come back or not. Either way, having her little brother stare was aggravating.

“I’m going to be fine, Elliot,” She groaned, slamming the bathroom door shut. She could still sense he was in the hallway, but she distracted herself by splashing water on her face. Her hair was still down and she had accidentally gotten it wet, but she didn’t care. She met her own eyes in the mirror and watched herself for a few moments.

She snapped out of it when her grandmother’s voice travels down the hall to where she was. Emelia opened the door, not surprised to find Elliot still there, and walked to the kitchen.

“Potatoes again, Gam? I thought you would spice things up a bit,” Emelia playfully teased the woman and grabbed the container of food.

“You know very well that it is practically the one dish that the supernaturals let us have,” Her grandmother muttered grumpily back. Emelia’s anger rose at the sentence. Though it was truth, it only reminded her how tight the supernaturals kept the humans’ leash. The amount of laws and legislations were ridiculous. Humans had no rights; they weren’t allowed to leave the house past eleven unless they had documentation saying otherwise. Humans had a strict diet; though many people made their living farming, no one was allowed to eat the crop. Every tasteless food was given to the mortals, while the supernatural ate luxurious meals.

“I’m only kidding. Thank you for this. It means a lot,” Emelia smiled holding up the small bowl. Her grandmother nodded and continued to clean the kitchen counter while Elliot sat down to eat.

“You know, I could still come and help. I’m better trained than half of the people in the division,” Elliot pleaded one last time with his sister before he knew she had to leave.

“I don’t want to see you get hurt, Elliot,” She sighed, looking into his eyes. They were the same as her mother’s and she looked away before she got too caught up in herself, “Besides, you aren’t sixteen. You know the rules.”

Elliot groaned, throwing his head back causing Madeline, their grandmother, to chuckle.

“I’ll keep him under control, sweetheart. Go. Be safe,” She kissed her granddaughter’s forehead and sat down next to Elliot, throwing her arm around his shoulder.