Hellfire On The Other Side

Chapter 17

   Clara stood on the balcony of the church. She was forced to stay here, for days. She hadn't even gone back to the mansion. She was wearing an older purple dress and a black leather jacket that was old and slightly dusty. She needed help and she just hoped that if Shane did come, he figured out she was here and not in the mansion. "Thought you'd be here," echoes the voice of Shane. "I have a shadow projection hidden somewhere because I don't wanna get too close, but I heard what happened." Clara's eyes widened and she turned in a 360-degree circle before tripping over herself and fell on her back. She let out a loud gasp of pain and a loud yelp escaped her lips. She wiped away some tears. "Ow..." she whimpered. "Sorry for scaring you," says Shane. "You just surprised me, is Claytin alright? Did they get him? And, is my mom captured?" Clara asked, flinching as she stood up. She was trying her best to hide her pain but was failing each time she moved. "Claytin's okay, and I checked on Roma before I got here. Everyone's fine," says Shane. "But what about you? Are you alright?" Clara grabbed onto something, a rusty old dagger that she had hidden here years ago and stabbed it into a crack of the stone. "I'm not even going to try to lie, I'm not okay. We need to go before my father comes back to check on me. Or a guard comes to get me for my scheduled..." Clara stopped. Sighing, she took off her jacket, though you couldn't see all the scars, you could see some of her scars from the flogging that made it to her shoulders. Shane's shadow projection couldn't see the scars, but Shane was fortunately hidden in the shadows. "What did he do to you?!" says Shane, seething with rage. "Oh, that's not it. He wanted me to scream in pain and I didn't." Clara said. She moved her hair away from behind her neck. A cross was branded into the back of her neck. "I think I know what hellfire is now..." she muttered. "Well, good on you for keeping it together. That's the Clara I know. Non-submissive," says Shane. "I screamed when branded but in my defense, I had burning medal on my neck. But seriously, we need to go now. Do you think you can take me where my mom is? Like right now?" Clara asked. "Won't the guards know that you're gone?" "I don't care! I have five minutes before I get flogged again and trust me, Shane, I need to speak with my mother!" Clara said her voice slightly tenser, "Besides, it takes half a day to get to that side of Paris normally so even if my father comes after me, I don't think I really care. He doesn't know where the court or my cabin is so honestly? Let him come." "You can't see, but I'm smirking right now," says Shane. An arm emerges from Clara's shadow. "Don't be scared. It's my arm." "Don't touch my back or neck, and I don't care. Hurry up!" Clara said, tossing her old rusty dagger away. She hated that thing now. Shane's arm, along with Clara sink into her shadow. 

   They appeared in the cabin, Roma and Claytin were there. Clara ducked past Claytin and immediately punched Roma so hard in the jaw, she fell to the ground. Then she started kicking her and cursing her out in french. Claytin quickly tried to get in between them. "Shane! Grab her!" Claytin called back. Shane grabs Clara and restrains her with shadow chains. "What's your problem, Frollo?!" he shouts. "Let me go! I swear, let me go!" Clara screamed struggling to get out of the chains. Claytin tried to grab her hands and calm her down but it didn't help. Roma got up. "Let her go, there is obviously something she wants to say..." Shane releases Clara but ties the chains around her hands to avoid any more violence. Clara marched up to her mom, "You lying piece of..." Clara saw her dagger out of the corner of her eyes. "If I promise I won't hurt her can I have my hands free?" She asked Shane. "Clara..." Claytin started. "For heaven's sake! I won't hurt her! Just let me out!" "Well, I do have my ways of calming you down," says Shane, making the chains disappear. Clara quickly grabbed her dagger and put it close to her mom's throat. "You are a liar! Tell them how you lied!" "I don't know what you're talking about Clara..." Roma said calmly. Clara put the dagger tip only a centimeter from Roma's neck. "TELL THEM!" She screamed. Roma didn't respond. Clara, fed up, quickly went to stab her gut but Roma was fast and pulled her sword out and blocked her. Then Clara fully attacked. After a minute of fighting, Roma shoved Clara back with the sword. Clara fell to the ground. "Yeah, father told me. Only okay at sword fighting? That's better than most of the guards back on that side of Paris! You were right there! Less than five feet away from me! You could have taken them out and freed me before I was knocked out! Before father took me back! But you left me!" Clara stood up and brushed herself off. Shane sighs. "I should've known." He walks over to Clara and uses the same technique he used on Claytin. "You are in desperate need of an anger management class," he says. Clara pushed Shane away slightly. "I'm fine! I didn't hurt her! I kept my deal! I am going to get some air." Clara went to the door and looked back at Roma. "I was flogged and branded because you didn't even try to help. If we do end up doing an actual wedding, don't show up or I swear, I will put this dagger through your heart and watch you die all over again!" Clara left, Claytin chasing after her. Roma went up to Shane. "Shane, you have to understand. The Court, they already kicked me out once when I was forced to marry Frollo! They only gave me a second chance after he died and I explained. I don't know if they would give me a third chance and the court is my family. Clara, Clara will always be a Frollo at heart! She says it herself, she is a villain! If I saved her, the Court might have dismembered me again! If they don't want her and Claytin to get married, I can't be the reason that made sure it happened!" Roma explained, basically pleading for him to forgive her for lying. "I'm sorry, Roma. But I can't forgive that. You lied to save yourself. That was a selfish lie. That's what villains do, and you're no villain. I'm disappointed in you, Roma," says Shane, clutching his cap. "Clara is a villain kid! She doesn't even try to learn!" Roma said. "Roma, you don't think I know that?!" Shane yells. "Listen, as long as I've known Clara, she's been pretty adamant about being a villain. Heck, most of the time when I tell her to be a hero, or she tells me to be a villain, it's just us messing around. But look at everything she's been through! She lost you, got her abusive father back, got into a forbidden relationship, lost me for four months, ran away from the church, found out the truth about pretty much everything, gotten branded, and then realized that her own mother lied!" Shane is shaking and points his cane at Roma. "Like she said, you could have saved her, but you didn't. And why? Because you didn't want to be kicked from the Court. Did being an outcast stop me from anything? No! In fact, it fueled me! Roma, I have a lot of respect for you, but here's what I think." Shane turns his back to her. "Even Frollo was a better parent than you. At least he thought of Clara every once in a while." He storms out of the cabin.

   Claytin ran up to him, "She is asking for you, and stabbing things. I think your thingy wore off. I can't stop her..." "Claytin, I understand that she's your girlfriend, but I know Clara a lot better than you do. She's 75 percent rage. These..." he holds up his index and middle fingers. "... can only hold her for about a good ten minutes." He sighs. "I'll go see what she wants," he says, practically tired of everything regarding Clara. Clara had stopped stabbing a tree when she saw Shane, "I've been thinking. I have parents who care little to none about me, I have abandonment issues, anger issues, a messed up life, and all that sort of thing, I am a stereotypical villain..." Clara started and then stopped. "Do you see where I am going with this? An honest question, yes or no?" "Yeah, and that's okay," Shane answers. "So you're a villain. I can live with that. But I'm just worried that you'll end up like... him." His voice tensed on the word "him", clearly referring to Frollo. Clara started laughing, it took her a minute to stop. "God, your forgetful. Shane, what's the number one thing I hate? Stereotypes. I try to stay away from being a stereotypical girl. So if being a villain means I am a stereotypical girl and being, a hero or good person means I'm not then..." Clara gave him a weak smile. "I... don't believe I understand. I've got a whole lot of emotions running through my head, and I cannot think straight for the life of me," says Shane. "Shane Facilier, you might have to mentor me but... I'm done being a villain. I am not ending up like my parents, my only condition is I am still allowed to get drunk," Clara laughed punching him gently in the arm. Shane suddenly realizes. "Well, then. That definitely changes everything," he says. "Eh, what the heck. I'll be able to sober you up when you're ready, anyway. I'll be your guide to the other side... of the hero and villain dynamic." Clara smiled, "Though I was serious about the wedding and my mom. She better not show." 

   "Strange," says Shane. "I thought I'd feel a little bit better about you finally joining the hero side. Instead, I feel kinda... ugh, what's the word?" Clara shrugged. "Suspicious? I don't know. I don't feel any different though... well, I want a drink but I always do." "What about Claytin and Roma?" Shane asks. "I'm getting married to Claytin. And my mom can go die in a hole for all I care. She doesn't care about me so I don't care about her. At least my father cares very little in his own wicked messed up ways." Clara said. Shane sighs. "And that's the sad truth," he says. "Buy, y'know, it's not too late. Technically speaking, you've only known Roma for about 6 years. That's only a third of your life. Besides, I'm pretty sure that she'll be motivated to be a better mother from now on." Clara rolled her eyes. "I'm eighteen, there is nothing she can do anymore. And I gave her a chance. She messed it up. And I have scars and a branding to prove and remind me." Shane smirks. "I actually told her that she's worse than Frollo when it comes to parenting. If being worse than Frollo isn't enough to get her to come to her senses, I don't know what is," he says. And, it's not like I can't heal those wounds." He waves his hand around. "But if you'd rather have keep those there, I won't argue." Clara shrugged. "If you knew how bad my father was, why didn't you take me away? Before I grew all stubborn. Sure we are only a year apart but you have always been more mature than me. I mean, I hardly remember what happened when I told you he was back and mom was dead." Shane begins waving his hands over Clara's wounds. "Tell you the truth, I don't know why. I guess I thought that you wouldn't want to be seen with me anymore. That I'd be nothing but trouble for you. And given the situation we're in, I guess I was sort of right. I mean, I could have just snuck over to Paris and saved you before it was too late. But I didn't. I feel like you only ever see me as some sort of screw-up. It seems like every time I try to do something good for you, you never appreciate it. I can't even remember the last time you said, 'Thank you' to me." Shane wipes a tear from his eye. "Anyway, wounds are all healed. Now, let's get out of here before Frollo finds us." "Shane, I am drunk a lot. And most of the times, villains don't say thank you. But you know, if you would have left me, I would have hunted you down. I love you Shane Facilier, as a brother of course but that doesn't change anything. And I am grateful for all you have done for me. So thank you." Clara gave a small smile as she started to walk past him to get back to the cabin. Shane feels a sense of satisfaction upon hearing Clara's answer. He smiles and follows her to the cabin.