Hellfire On The Other Side

Chapter 18

   Shane walks in on Clara and Roma, after Claytin. "Well, that's a bit of a shock. You two actually aren't tearing each other apart." "Oh trust me, I have markings on my hand from holding this dagger so tightly," Clara said tensely. "I'm just going to take that..." Claytin said, taking the dagger out of her hand. "Clara, I..." Roma started but was interrupted by Clara punching her. "You know, why don't we move back," Claytin said grabbing Clara's hand and backing up. "That felt really good," Clara said. "Ugh. And to think, I could be hanging out with Charlene right now," Shane grumbles. "Roma, Clara, you two have some serious unresolved issues. Roma, you start. Say what you need to say." "You should bring Char here, I've been meaning to text but I was... oh yeah, kidnapped. Anyways, I don't know clothes. I thought maybe she would want to help find a dress for the wedding and possible help decorate. Basically we need a wedding planner. Tina can do the catering if she wants." Clara says. "Clara, Shane is right, we need to talk," Roma said. "What I did was selfish, I am sorry. But the Court has been my family since I was a young girl. I was afraid of losing that." "And I was afraid of my father, but you didn't do anything," Clara said. "Okay, that's it." Shane snaps his fingers. "There. I've put a silence spell on Clara. You may proceed," he says to Roma. Clara glared at Shane and would have slapped him but Claytin, knowing what she would do, had pulled her into a tight hug. "Clara, I don't know if you can forgive me anytime soon but I do want to be your mom. I do love you, I do care for you." Roma said. Clara gave a struggle against Claytin's hug but he held onto her tighter and kissed her neck, calming her down some. "But you didn't help Clara when Frollo got his hands on her. Why?" says Shane. "I had to choose! I had three choices! One was to let him have Clara and I would stay in the Court. I knew you would go after her to save her! I thought that was the best option. I could have saved her, yes, but I thought I'd lose my spot in the Court! The Court is my home, I couldn't lose that. And my last option was to be taken by Frollo as well and I would never do that! I didn't know what he would do to Clara! I don't know their relationship! I knew if he got his hands on me... well, let's just say, he would have done a lot worse to me then he did to her." Roma explained. Shane puts a hand on Roma's shoulder. "Listen, I understand that you were scared. That's normal. But you shouldn't let that fear stop you from saving those that you love. Do you know how many times I've been scared half to death trying to keep Clara safe? More times than I can count on my hands and feet," he says. "Heck, when I was disguised as Facilier, talking to Frollo, my heart was going so fast that I could barely feel my own heartbeat." Clara had gotten out of Claytin's hug and went to the fridge. She grabbed a beer from the back of the fridge. "Hold up, I thought Tina broke all your beers, we haven't gotten you anymore..." Claytin said getting up and looking in the fridge and then to Shane. "This girl has gotten a secret fridge in the fridge hiding more beer." Clara rolled her eyes, kissed him and continued drinking. "Can you not get drunk when we are trying to fix your relationship with your mom?" Claytin asked. "Leave it Claytin, she is a drunk, you can't fix that," Roma said. Clara tensed before ignoring her and taking a long sip of her beer. "Point is, Roma, that I would rather have the entire world hate me than ruin my relationships with the people that I love. If you get kicked out of the Court, so what? Your daughter is way more important. You missed thirteen years of her life. The last time you saw her before I brought you back, she was only a toddler. And I know that she couldn't tell Frollo about a lot of her firsts growing up, so she told me." Shane shudders. "She told me everything, Roma. And I had to explain so much to her. Those conversations scarred me for life. You couldn't have been there for her then, but you can still be there for her now." I know she doesn't give off that vibe, but she loves you and wants to give you one more chance," says Shane. Clara threw her empty bottle near him, again making sure she didn't actually hurt him. "I don't think she likes you speaking for her..." Claytin said, grabbing her waist before she could go get another beer. He sat down with her on the bed. "Well, that's too bad! I'm doing it anyway!" Shane says. "Roma, don't pay attention to her violence or aggression. That's just the behavior implanted into her head by Frollo. I know what she really wants. I can sense her aura. If you need to fight back, do it. Don't let fear stop you." Roma looked to Clara, then to Shane, and back to Clara. "I do care for you, Clara. I always will and I want to help you. But I don't know how. I won't lie to you when I saw you after I came back and I saw what you did to your motel room... you scared me. You weren't even fazed that you cut your hand or you destroyed the room completely. I hate to say it but you are a lot like your father." Claytin tightened his grip on Clara but was struggling. "Shane, can you restrain her or something, I can't hold her back much longer," Claytin said still trying to hold her on the bed. "Shadow Projection!"Shane shouts. Three shadowy figures grab Clara, restraining her. Claytin unwrapped his arms from her and moved in front of her. "Clara look at me! You need to calm down. Attacking her won't fix anything. You know this baby. Please, baby, calm down, Claytin said putting his hands on her cheeks. Clara looked at him and started crying. Claytin looked to Roma. "Will you put a filter on what you say! She has gone through enough, she doesn't need you talking her down like Frollo did!" Shane raises a finger. "On the one hand, I agree with you, Claytin. Clara doesn't need to be talked down to. On the other hand, it's just the truth. Aside from her appearance, Clara's nothing like her mother. And side note, you calling Clara 'Baby' made me realize how Clara feels whenever Charlene calls me 'Darling'. But, yeah, you need to be really careful what you say to Clara," he says. "To a point, she isn't like Roma. She is amazing with a dagger while Roma is talented with a sword apparently and both of them are gypsies." Claytin said. Clara kicked his shin, she was still crying some. "Ouch..." Claytin muttered. Roma took a few steps to Clara. "Clara, I am willing to try and learn to be your mom. I don't know how to be your mom because I didn't raise you. But if you let me, I will learn. I will be there." Roma said. Clara looked to her and then to Shane. She mouthed the word, voice, to him. Shane snaps his fingers, then glares at Clara. Without saying a word, Shane let her know that he will not hesitate to take action if she isn't calm and collected about this. "Testing testing, oh, thank the lord. Anyways, of course you don't know how to be my mom. That part has been clear and I never asked you to know. I never asked anything of you. But even I know that to be a mother, your number one job is to protect your child. Do you think I don't know how scary he is? I lived with him for years, more than you did." Clara said. "Shane, get your shadow buddies off me." Shane waves his hand, making the shadows disappear while giving Clara the same glare as before. "I thought I was the one who glared." Clara laughed as she went to Claytin who wrapped his arm around her waist. She looked at Roma. "It doesn't have to be said, you lost any trust or respect I have for you but the beautiful thing about trust and respect, with a lot of effort and work, you can earn it back. Which reminds me..." Clara said. She went to the closet and grabbed something. She tossed it to Roma. "Been hiding it from father for thirteen years." Roma looked down at it. It was a baby Clara and her sitting on a stage. "Where did you find this? I lost it..." Roma whispered. "It's the only baby picture, also been hiding it from Shane now that I think about it. Baby pictures are the most innocent and innocence was something I kept from him when it came to me." Clara laughed. "It's true. I honestly didn't think she had any innocence after a while," says Shane. Roma pocketed the picture. "I should go, I've got other things to do. I am sorry." Clara nodded and Roma left.