~Noel~
"......"
"......."
"............" The silence was so thick and it made me uncomfortable. He's just staring at me with a blank expression on his face. His eyes are locked on mine and God it makes me antsy! My fingers are clasped together, but my fingers just can't stop shaking. I keep shifting in my spot, here on the concrete ground with my back against a stone wall. Across from me is Leon, his blue eyes staring me down. His hair is damp with sweat and his chest is rising and falling as he heaves in gulps of air. He's still out of breath, and so am I. He's gently touching his bruised cheek.
"Dammit Leon, say something!" I yelled at him. He cocked his eye brow. He doesn't seem to have the words to say his feelings. He must be feeling shock, or disbelief. But at the same time, he can't deny what he saw with his own eyes. I set those men ablaze with my tongue alone. I saw his brow furrow. I imagine seeing the gears turning inside his head, and they're turning too fast. I can see them turning non-stop, and it looks like they were about to blow.
"What can I say Noel? What I saw with my own two eyes was impossible." He looked up to the sky and tried to relax, but I could see his frustration. I'm frustrated too, probably even more than he is. Something happened, and I don't know what. I don't want to it to happen again, but I still want answers. This fire, it must've been... it could only have been...
"Magic." Leon said out loud. I shook my head and denied it.
"What are you saying Leon? That's impossible, absolutely positively impossible."
"Noel, let me tell you what I saw. I saw you demand those thugs to 'burn'. And two seconds later, they burned."
"Be reasonable Leon. Are you telling me that because I commanded it, a fire started, and those men burned to hell?" Leon shrugged.
"You're denying what we both saw with our own two eyes?"
"How are you just so, just so calm?!" I feel like I'm stressing and he's just the coolest person in the world. When I feel like tearing my hair out, he has a huge grin on his face. It's always been this way. He's always been so cool, so calm. I wish I was like him. I wish I could understand how to be like that. It seems so impossible, so impractical. I look into his calm eyes. He so still, smiling back at me with confidence and resolve. Something inside me felt light again. I let go of the air I held in my chest, and for once I was still.
"You see? All you need to do is take a breath and think things out. Right now, we're in the worst part of town. Our priority is to talk to Lady Durante and get back home before the sun sets. And who knows? The town chemist may know something about magic. And if all fails, we still have this." He tapped his satchel, suggesting that we still have the druid book. "If anything we can teach ourselves about magic." He stood up from the ground and helped me up, and then put his hand on my shoulder.
"So are you going to be calling me a witch from now on?" He laughs out loud.
"And have you burn me alive? I'll call you when I'm suicidal. Let us carry on." He took my hand and we were on our way.
The rest of the alley ways weren't that bad. Sure we were mugged three times, but we defended ourselves well. The southeastern market was within our reach. Thank God we didn't run into any more mad dogs. But we did run into something beyond strange. There was a wanderer, in a long black coat. A strange traveler, and they were running. They kept looking behind them, as if they were running away from something. With all their might they ran, and with all their might, they ran me down. They bumped into me and I fell on my ass. They fell next to me. Their large hood came flying off. It was a girl. She had a long white braid of hair. Her eyes were strikingly beautiful. But her face, it was gorgeous, but it scared me to death. That face, it was mine!
"Y-You. W-What the hell? Who are you!?" Those eyes stared at me, surprised and confused. But that just made me even angrier. "Who are you? Answer me?!" But she did not answer, she quickly got up and continued to run. I got up to run after her, but Leon stopped me. "Y-You saw that too, right Leon? She had my face! Leon she had-." He dusted off my clothes for me. He's not listening.
"Are you even listening?! She had my fucking face!"
"I heard you the first time Noel, and to be honest you sound like a wanker. Calm down and we'll figure this out later. We need to get out of here." His cool composure irks me so much. Is he not surprised at all? I just don't understand him. With a pout on my face and his arm around my shoulder, we carried on. We reached southeast safe and sound. Leon led the way, since he knew this side better than I did. It wasn't long until we reached our destination.
"Lady Durante is indeed a nice woman, however she shows compassion differently than others. Get to know her before judgment." He warned me. I rolled my eyes at him.
"How terrifying could this woman possibly be?" I marched on ahead of him. I heard him mutter under his breath "you'll see" as I knocked lightly on the laboratory door. At first glance, it appears to be a house, but something felt "magical" about it. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was made of smooth red brick, and the rooftops were flooded with green. Green meaning plats, a lot of plants. In fact the plants grew so much that vines spread along the red brick wall. The front steps were simple and sensible cement, my boots clicked as I stepped lightly. The front door was a normal wooden door with a golden door handle. I grabbed a hold of it and knocked again. She has yet to answer the door.
"Is she not home?" I ask aloud. Leon tried to knock himself.
"Lady Durante, you may not remember me, I'm Leon? Leon Clarke?" There's still silence. "I used to visit you all the time back when I young chap. I'm here with a friend, her name is Noel Blakeway. We need your help Madam." The silence turned eerie and chilling. Leon was about to give up.
"Leon, think of all we've been through to get here. We came for Elise Durante, and that's what we're going to get," I put my hand on the knob, "Madam, I-" the door suddenly slid open. I looked at Leon, confused. He nodded reassuringly and went ahead of me.
"Lady Durante?" he slowly stepped into a dark and silent room. "Are you here milady?" Carefully I searched my pocket for matches and lit one illuminating the room. He turned to me with careful eyes. "There might be dangerous chemicals and experiments here. Best be cautious with that fire." He turned and confidently step forward. "We wouldn't want the poor woman to 'burn in hell' now would we?"
"I ought to burn you, damn fool." I knew it was impossible, but somehow I heard him crack a sinister grin, silently teasing me. Knob head! As we continued on, we avoid furniture in the dim light of fire. Once we were a few feet away from the door it suddenly closed on its own.
"It's just the wind." Leon reassured. I went over to the door and tried to open it, but it didn't budge.
"Does the wind usually lock the door?" I started pounding on it and kicking it to get open, but it wouldn't budge. "Hey, since you're such big strong man, you want to give me a hand?"
"I don't appreciate your sarcasm."
"I don't appreciate useless men." I proceeded in kicking down the door myself.
"Hey, where's the ol' inquisitive Noel eh? Let's worry about getting out of here after we take a look around yea?" I was appalled.
"Just what kind of gentleman goes snooping through some lady's home?" I yelled, pointing my finger at him.
"I'm a serf. I have no business being a gentleman, come on let's go. She might be in here somewhere." And she slowly walked inside.
"If she was really here then why couldn't she just open the door like a normal person?!" I complained. There was a long hallway ahead of us. The entire house was in darkness and silence. We moved forward slowly and with caution, for the wall was our only guide. A single match would only do so much. We were led into someone's personal chambers, probably. I saw a lamp and lit it with the match. Once illuminating the atmosphere we saw that the room was relatively untidy.
"It looks just like your room." I jabbed Leon in the shoulder for his rude comment.
"Where do you think she is? You don't think we have to search every room in this building do you?" I asked him with an annoyed expression. Leon looked equally annoyed at that suggestion.
"I don't know, for now let's just wait outside, we'll break the door down if we have to."
*SLAM* *Click!*
".... What was that?" I said, shivering in my boots. We immediately turned around to see the door we just entered was shut, locked, and even worse, bolted. How could this happen? Adrenaline ran through my veins, I was petrified.
"It's magic, it must be. That chemist is playing games with us. Break it down!" I started pounding on the door, but it was no use. It was bolted shut. Leon grabbed a chair and hauled it at the door. It didn't even make a dent. We were desperate, screaming and begging for our freedom.
"Oi! Lady Durante! Let us out! Please!"
"Please!! Let us go!"
Suddenly there was a large gust a wind. It blew out the lantern and left us in darkness. It blew like a storm. I couldn't even stand. I tried to grab on to something, but I couldn't see anything. I hit the floor. The wooden floor broke into my skin leaving splinters in my cheeks. I let out a large wail.
"Noel! Noel, are you alright!?" I couldn't open my mouth to answer him. I grabbed the floor the best that I can, scratching and leaving pieces wood under my fingernails. But it wasn't enough to hold me down. My fingers failed me as they let go, and I was swooped into the air. Up was down, left was right, I lost all sense of direction in orbit. But it wasn't long for the force to push me into a hard surface. With a quick whoosh, my body smacked into the wall. My body went numb. Then suddenly I hit the ground, and all the pain burst out of my skin. It stung like a knife, but the pain circulated. First my chest, then my stomach, then my back, then my arms and legs, then my chest again. I let out a loud shriek, and suddenly sank low into a pit of darkness, silence, and pain.