The Leviathan's Rose

Chapter 6 - The Pied Piper

a/n Connie's cleverness never ceases to amaze me :) 

The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Jamie knew the tale, he'd read the poem time and time again. The tale of a piper who promised to take care of a town's rat infestation in return for money. When he wasn't paid he lured the town's children away, never to be seen again. Though it was more than just a fairy tale, it was real. A piper lured away one hundred thirty children, never to be seen again. 

Jamie was the child, and Leviathan were his Pied Pipers. He'd sworn to himself that he wouldn't fall victim to Leviathan's tricks, that he'd make sure he was in top condition for the sake of his princess. Both of them. 

How could he have let himself be fooled so easily? It was so subtle, so unbelievably subtle that even he didn't think twice about it. 

Jamie had to meet Professor Devine earlier that morning so she could ask him more about how he got injured in Tokyo. It wasn't everyday one of your favorite students gets injured so badly. On his way out Professor Devine offered him a stick of gum from a pack Haru had gifted Professor Devine earlier after their morning tea. However Professor Devine didn't like the flavor, so she instead offered them to students that met her in her office. 

Whoever was gutsy enough to try to use the Hamelin Formula against Haru didn't think things through. Jamie thought distantly.

It was too late when Jamie realized that there was a thin coating of the Hamelin Formula on the stick. He should have noticed that the wrapper didn't fit on it like perfectly new gum wrappers did. He should have been more cautious, even if it was coming from a trusted teacher. 

It was like the formula had coated his senses, creating a sticky numbness. As though honey had drenched his entire being. Making his reaction time slower, his alertness seemed to be completely drowned out. 

Jamie knew he needed to find Lottie and Ellie before he lost complete control of himself. Eventually he found them in the rose garden with Anastacia and Saskia. 

By the time he saw Lottie and Ellie turn their heads, he'd already become hostage to his own self. It was like viewing the world from another persons body. A marionette with control over only half of the strings. 

Everything started to blur and meld together. He could barely control his facial movements. The fog barely left his mind until a growl ripped through the air. 

A hand gripped his shoulder. 

"Why do you smell like the Hamelin Formula?"

Ellie, that's Ellie's voice! 

Jamie smiled. Snap out of it! 

His smile faltered, his eyes twitching and scrunching shut. His callused hands gripped the sides of his head. 

Focus, focus, focus! 

A gentle voice floated to his ears. "Jamie? What's going on?"

Lottie, that's Lottie! 

"I'm..." Jamie scrunched his eyes. He became bleary eyed. 

His blood ran cold as the sickening voice of Claude Wolfson sunk into his thoughts. 

"Don't fight it Jamie. You know you don't want to let go. You know you want to be free. You know you don't want to be a Partizan."

The serpentine voice rang in Jamie's mind like a church bell. He knew it wasn't real, he knew it was some disarming trick. A part of him also knew that the formula can't make things up. He pushed that part down as hard as he could. 

Jamie felt Lottie and Ellie tense at his sides as he groaned in pain. It felt like a drill was going right through his head. 

"Does he need headache tablets?" Saskia said, but her voice sounded so far away. Jamie looked up in her direction, to everyone's surprise, tears were welled in his eyes. 

Jamie choked down a sob. "It hurts." he said shakily. His glazed eyes looked between everyone's faces. Worry and fear and frighteningly clear. 

Jamie's chest heaved.

"Jamie,"  a female voice reached out, coaxing and warm. Jamie shuddered. There were very few times that Jamie dared to let himself wonder what his mother would sound like. He was glad he didn't have a family. He was almost thrilled about it. But every once in a while, whenever he dared to seek out comfort when he felt alone, he'd let himself wonder. 

"Jamie, let it go. You know it would be easier. You get so worked up as a Partizan. You'd be so much happier with Leviathan. You wouldn't be tied down to Maradova."

Jamie audibly gasped at her next words, warm tears running down his face. 

"You could finally save Lottie. You could find a way for her to live her own life. You could find a way to sever her ties with Maradova too. She'll be okay."

"I'm sorry Ellie." he said shakily.

"Jamie? Jamie what's going on?" Ellie said frantically. 

Hate wasn't enough when it came to describing how Jamie felt. He regretted ever imagining what his departed mother's voice would've sounded like. He loathed the fact that the thought of protecting Ellie never crossed his mind while the formula seeping into his senses. He hated himself more than anything. No matter how many times Lottie or Ellie or even Nikolay would talk about the good things he's done, he'd always see himself as a failure. 

He felt two pairs of arms embrace him and lift him up. 

Lottie and Ellie acted as two unwavering pillars, keeping him from crumbling all the way down. They draped his arms over their shoulders, the heavy weight of his tense muscles causing the two girls to haunch slightly. 

Anastacia and Saskia followed closely behind as they walked to the hidden area where Riley the stag stood. 

Jamie couldn't control the sobs wracking through him. He felt weak and helpless. He hated feeling this way. All his life he was trained and told to be strong. Not for himself. Never for himself. It was always for Ellie. And now he was breaking like fine china, and it was Ellie who had to be strong for him. 

Whether it was the formula or Jamie's constant exhaustion, the shell of a weapon he was born into, was breaking like Lottie and Ellie's hearts as they tried to hold him up. 

Anastacia and Saskia did a good job of making sure no one dared to look too long at the unusual group. Anastacia's gold glare paired with Saskia's discreetly threatening sharp eyes and tense demeanor made sure no one would dare come up to them nor speak about what they witnessed. The couple would go as far as to make sure to find the source of any rumors and make them wish they'd never said anything. 

By the time they'd made it to Riley, Jamie was already starting to fade away. He'd fought so fervently that he'd worn himself out.

Lottie and Ellie carefully lowered him onto the bench as Riley's bronze eyes gazed curiously down upon them. 

It felt wrong having people other than Lottie with him in this spot. To Jamie, this was their spot. The spot where they'd collided on his first day of attending Rosewood Hall, the place where they spoke about family, the place where he nearly... 

"Jamie?" Lottie spoke, her voice hesitant. 

Jamie blinked in her direction, teary eyes showing so much exhaustion it made Lottie want to cry too. The reflection from the pond rippled across his skin, making his tears gleam like diamonds. 

"Someone from Leviathan is here. The formula..."

A hand grasped his shoulder. The sweet smell of roses swaddled him like a blanket. 

"Jamie?" Lottie said.

I'm so tired... 

Everything melted away around him. The world turned black around him as he passed out, falling into the soft, trembling embrace of Lottie's arms.