“Mild or intense dose?” He asked through the smoke.
“Just a mild dose,” Lawliet answered.
I heard the tapping of a cash register. I assume Lawliet was paying for the lotion, but I couldn’t see a thing, so I am not too sure if that’s what is happening. While they did business, I looked down at my hand that held onto his. My touch was gentle. I couldn’t squeeze any tighter. If I wanted to, I could slip out of his grasp without unflexing my own hand. But I didn’t want to do that. At least not right now. His warmth was comforting. Almost burning, in away. I liked that feeling.
“Thanks,” Lawliet spoke softly. “We will be out now.”
“Wait,” the man spoke. Purple smoke that surrounded us dispersed simmered down and cleared around us. The man had his arms on the table, and he leant towards me with a wicked grin upon that well-shaven face of his. Those dark eyes held curiosity. “Before you leave, could the Frost girl show me her curse?”
“Curse? What curse?” Lawliet asked.
Lawliet hasn’t seen the mark that plagues me. In winter, it is easier to keep a beanie on without being in trouble or feeling uncomfortable in summer times. I have had the beanie on almost every day, hiding what stands out the most. In this situation, I feel awkward. I wanted to tell him no and leave, but I am too afraid to say anything that could hurt my family in any sort of way. The man was just curious, that was all. He even let me inside of his shop as well while I knew many would have declined and said no.
I reached up and went to take my beanie off when Lawliet growled. “Get lost,” he spat.
Holding my hand much more tightly now, he tugged me back the way we came. Purple smoke swirled and thickened around once again. The man at the table vanished within, a dark chuckle following our trail until we left the shop. The door slammed shut behind us, and I heard the click of a lock. Lawliet then released his hold on me. There was an angered look in those golden eyes that surprised me.
“What was he talking about?” Lawliet asked. “Since we got here, mages look at you with… with hate. Why?”
“You really don’t know?” I asked.
“I don’t follow any mage news. There’s no use. When I turn eighteen, I will be a guardian. At this stage, I am just in limbo, between both worlds until then.” Lawliet raised his hand and reached out to the beanie I wore. “Can I?” He asked.
Embarrassed, I felt heat radiate off of my cheeks. Looking away from him, I nodded slightly. My beanie rose, lifting away from my forehead and up. The cotton scratched, and the hair rose with the beanie, like static. Beanie off, I could feel his golden eyes staring at the curse that stains me.
Lawliet huffed a breath. “Makes sense now.” I looked back at him. Those golden eyes liquidised right before my eyes. “You smiled that day you called me beautiful.” That’s embarrassing. “Now, you’re embarrassed. That’s easy to tell. Your face turns red. Probably the only reaction you can make.”
“No,” I disagreed. “I can puff my cheeks.” I then puffed my cheeks to prove my point, and that made Lawliet laugh. “What’s funny?”
“Your cheeks puff up, yeah, but everything else doesn’t move at all.” He laughed some more. “You’re weird.”
Lawliet then his hands and placed the beanie back on my head. “How did you get that curse? Obviously, you are not dumb enough for it to be self-inflicted.”
“My parents would have loved that,” I murmured.
“Huh?”
I shook my head. “Never mind. It’s a long story. Can we go somewhere? I need to go someplace.”
Lawliet shrugged. “Whatever. After, we can go to eat. Where do you need to go?”
“Central Plaza,” I answered.
In the centre of Sorcerer City, it was always a trendy and overcrowded place to be. The most famous shops surround the centre. There were also a lot of homes, as well, that are very expensive. They were tucked away above shops and stores. But some were beside them, like my house, for instant.
Nearby where Lawliet and I were, Charlie and Lollie stood outside of a very posh and costly dress shop. I could hear them swooning from all the way over the opposite side of the fountain that stood in the centre of central plaza.
I then looked away from them and at the fountain, in the hopes that they couldn’t see me if I couldn’t see them. A few children, bundled in warmth, wrapped in scarves and big warm jackets, flipped coins into the water. I heard the plop in the steamy warm water that continuously melted the snow when it touches the fountain.
I turned away and to a home that was still there and looked well managed. Wouldn’t surprise me that mages would keep the outside cleaned, but in the window, behind the thin, closed curtains, there was a throb of yellow light. My heart contracted within my chest and was beating faster and faster. I went to the door and knocked, but there was nothing. No sounds from inside at all. No footsteps or murmured voices. I knocked again. When there was no answer, I grabbed the handle and shook, but it was locked. I have never known that this door would lock on a Frost member, considering it opens on command for us.
“Are you trying to break and enter?” Lawliet asked.
“Trying,” I admitted.
“Is there a back window?” He asked. I nodded. “Show me.”
We went around the back and to the window. I remember from inside my old bedroom, I used to sit there at my desk and look out at the mages and their Guardians. I longed and yearned to be a part of them for so long, and a part of me still does want to be accepted, for the sake of my family.
Lawliet stood before the window and raised his pointer finger to the window lock. His hand morphed. White scales rolled along the surface of his hand, and his fingers drew longer, and his nails were pointed and sharp. He slid his nail inside of the lock and flicked the switch, and it clicked. Excited, my throat tightened when Lawliet lifted the window. Mesh pink curtains flapped inside from the chilled breeze from outside.
Lawliet slid through first and then leaned back out and raised his hand to me. I took hold, and as he helped me through. I wondered if he had done anything like that before. Looked as if he had, but I wasn’t ready to ask, especially now that he was helping me break into my own home.
“Wow. This room is very… pink.” Lawliet breathed. “Whose home is this?”
“Mine, and this is my bedroom,” I answered.
To my parents, pink was a very cliché colour and popular for girls to have and love. They wanted me to fit in with other mages and be more likeable. Pink made me look girly rather than yellow, the colour I enjoy the most. Yellow was too bright and blinding. Pink was an attractive colour to them, and they were right. The number of articles written about me because my room was pink and fashionable was particularly crazy.
“Never pictured you for a pink kind of girl,” Lawliet said as he touched the dust that cacked the desk. “I am also guessing you haven’t been here for ages.”
“Five years. Also, I like yellow.” He nodded, amused. “What’s yours?” I asked.
“Silver,” he answered.
We stared at each other for a moment in silence. I found his answer to be odd. I don’t want to read too into anything, I barely know Lawliet, but for some strange reason, whatever he says makes me think harder than I would typically think around others. I am not sure if Lawliet genuinely liked the colour silver or if he was cryptic.
Embarrassed, I tucked strands of golden hair behind my ear and looked away from Lawliet, while he snooped around my room. He was more than likely curious, so I let him be.
I went out of the bedroom door, for I had no attachments in my room. My room was always a prop. A piece of artwork designed to make my family look good. There was nothing inside I desired or wanted. No lockets, jewellery, drawings or pictures that I had to leave behind. There were no letters or notes from friends that I yearned and longed to read. Unless hate mail counted. For that was all I got after that incident five years ago.
Outside of the bedroom, I looked down the hallway, where the
light from the lamp in the living room was on. The doors on either side of the hall were shut. Even my own parents’ bedroom. I opened doors, but everything was in their place. Perfect, clean and tidy, just like I remember. There was no sense of life breathing in this home. Only a lamp left on in the living room.
When I got to the living room, everything was in its rightful place. The leather couch looked untouched. There were no plates, nor food crumbs sprinkled anywhere on the white, glossed floorboards.
Annoyed, I turned the lamp off and went around to the kitchen. Mages walked down the side street through the window, going about their way. Beside the window was a dark silver fridge. I opened the door, but there was nothing inside. There were no signs of food, and the refrigerator wasn’t even switched on. Exasperated, I shut the fridge softly, but all I wanted to do was slam the door and then drag my hands through my hair, shaking profusely.
“What’s pissed you off?” Lawliet asked. “Where you expecting to find something?”
“I wanted to know if my parents were here, but if they were, they left,” I murmured. “I must have missed them.”
“Don’t they want to see you?” Lawliet asked. I shook my head. “Why?”
“I am a disappointment to them,” I answered honestly.
“Mage parents are so bloody weird,” Lawliet muttered. “Your parents don’t deserve to see you if they really think that.” He touched my arm, and I didn’t move away. I let him squeeze my arm. “You aren’t a disappointment, Eileen. In fact, from what I have seen so far, you are an improvement to what the heck Headmage is accepting at this Academy. Your parents should be proud.”
“They were,” I then admitted. “But… but I did something bad that I cannot be forgiven for, so… yeah.”
“So… so what?” Lawliet shook his head and looked away, out the window. “Who cares about them, or anyone else that thinks you are a disappointment. You do you, Eileen, and forget about what others think, it will only drain you… trust me.”
Then, I saw it. The way he talks to others, and looks at them and perceives himself all came together to shape him into what he is today. Here I am having a pity party when Lawliet has undergone possibly worse punishments and not for five years, but his entire life. And he is still being punished. Like he said, he will be a Guardian once he turns eighteen. For some reason, that saddens me.
“If we are done here, we should eat.”
“I’m done,” I then admitted. “And starving.”
“I could tell. Your stomach is loud.”
Outside my home, following Lawliet, I turned back around for one last look at my old house. The light in the living room switched off and plummeted the house in cold, bitter, winter darkness.
I blinked slowly and looked away and followed Lawliet down a narrow street. Shops, very tall, dominated over us. Clotheslines hung from one side of the narrow road to the other, high up in the sky. Clothes, clipped by pegs, hung, drying up above us. Some floated off, inside windows, rotating and filling up space. I don’t think I would ever be confident enough to let my undergarments hang and dry in the open for everyone to see. I am also not entirely sure why they are letting them dry now, in the middle of winter, where nothing really dries unless they are inside and near a fire or in a dryer.
Lawliet weaved around streets, getting further and further away from the central plaza. I was content with following, more than interested in knowing where he was taking me. Where we were going, there were fewer mages, and the hum that filled the air turned quiet.
The streets weren’t cleared of any snow. Fresh crisp flakes settled down, creating a sheen white blanket that sparkled in the dim light from the sun hidden behind layers of white clouds. I struggled to breakthrough. Icicles, jagged and long kissed walls and were sleek along the stone pathway we took. I had to step carefully, making sure I didn’t slip and fall on my arse. Lawliet had no problem. Every step he took, ice melted right underneath his boots. I knew it wasn’t because of a rune. I inspected both of his boots, and there was only the stick rune. That means the heat that radiates off of him was definitely from the Guardian side.
“What kind of –” Before I could finish my sentence, a loud crashing sound came from behind me. Surprised, I turned as fast as I could. Barrels rolled along the sleek ice.
I took a few steps back, towards the barrels when Lawliet announced we have arrived at our destination. Hunger was more important than knowing why barrels decided to fall down for no apparent reason. Perhaps they aren’t that stable, and the wind gently pushed them over. Not so plausible, but satisfied me enough to ignore them. Instead I stepped inside of the door Lawliet opened for me.
The warmth immediately flooded to my cheeks, and there was a bite to the burn. Numb cheeks tingled, and circulation was coming back slowly.
I touched my cheeks and looked around. It was a cosy type of tea house. Looked as if this place must also extend to someone’s actual home. There was a small seating area. Floral, old sheets tucked in over the lounges that directed itself to a boxed television. Three elderly ladies sat there, teas on the wooden coffee table, on coasters, simmering with steam. They were watching an old soap opera. One I recall my grandfather used to watch whenever he babysat us when I was a kid. My brothers used to run and play while I sat down with my grandfather. All I could remember was that the television series was rather dramatic. Everything they did and said was… was dramatic. I wanted to roll my eyes now just watching it.
“Lawliet, good to see you again.” An old man behind a long bench, at the sink, washing dishes, smiled at the both of us. “And you brought a friend this time. What’s your name, young girl?”
“Eileen Frost,” I murmured.
“Frost!” His smile turned into an outright grin. “I have always wanted a member of the Frost family to attend my shop. Come, both of you, sit down over here, window view. Food will be on me. Two specials and two hot chocolates. You still like hot chocolate with pink marshmallows, Eileen?”
I can already tell that this man was obsessed with my family. One of the few that may have defended my actions and tried to calm down the anger and hate mages displayed towards my family and me. I am very grateful but also uncomfortable to be praised. It has been so long since someone treated me with kindness that I am not used to it anymore. I should prepare that he would want a photo of both of us together.
“Could you get yellow marshmallows for her instead, Raymond?” Lawliet asked.
“Of course!” Raymond straightened up and scribbled that on his notepad. “Eileen Frost, I used to go to school with your grandfather. He was such a bright mage. I looked up to him. He was an amazing mage. His Guardian was so loyal as well. How is Gospel Frost? Have you seen him lately?”
“No.” I shook my head. Raymond sighed and frowned; wrinkles overlapped around his face. That twinkle in those dark green eyes diffused at my answer. “Sorry. He’s still missing.”
“Well, I hope he comes out of the dark soon. We all miss him.”
“We all do,” I agreed.
He flipped the notepad shut and smiled at both of us. “Alright, I best be getting on to your meals. Sit back, relax. Martha will come out with your hot chocolates.” He rushed back around the bench. “Martha, you wouldn’t believe who just entered our tea shop!”
“You are famous?” Lawliet asked. I nodded. “Why?”
“I am highborn, for one. My mother owns Organisation. I am supposed to follow in her footsteps, but from unfortunate circumstances, I have been declined. My grandfather is Gospel Frost, and he was the one who killed Victor Malloy. He was the one that wanted to destroy the world if you didn’t know. My last name is very ancient, as well.”
“Huh.” Lawliet furrowed his brows. “That must be a heavy burden to carry.”
He still has no idea who I am. I am grateful for that. Means we still have time before he hates me for what I have done. Even if he doesn’t consider himself a mage, he is a Guardian, and they have the same beliefs. I interfered in A M
ages War. Both Guardians and mages don’t like when that happens. Some Guardians believe that they should be allowed to execute the mage that killed their master or mistress by breaking rules that have been long in place. That would have been very unsettling if my own mum agreed to that law.
“Are you going to be in the tower tomorrow?” I asked.
“More than likely,” Lawliet answered. “Why?”
“Can I borrow your boot?”
Lawliet sighed. “Screw it, why not.”
“Thank you.”
An elderly lady, scraggly white hair in a bun, tied with a hairnet, came over with two mugs of hot chocolate. She nodded and looked to have bowed to me before she waddled off, giggling, back towards the kitchen.
“What do you want to be, Lawliet?” I suddenly asked. I must have caught him off guard because he paused before he took a sip of his drink. “A mage or a Guardian.”
“Probably a mage,” he answered, shrugging.
“Why?”
“I’m not a slave, Eileen. Once I have been summoned, I am nothing more but a pawn on a chessboard to a mage. I do as they say. I fight when they say. I die when they say. I have no life but theirs. Death sounds less painful and more peaceful than becoming a Guardian.”
“Would you be summoned easily?” I asked.
He breathed a laugh. “Probably not. But even so, I’d rather still be a mage and not go through that hassle of wondering if a mage is strong enough to summon me.”
Emotionless (The Emotionless Book 1) Page 18