Blaze couldn't believe what she was hearing. The man in front of her wasn't giving off any bad vibes. He had released her from this prison once, and she had not forgotten about it. She was thankful and was willing to trust him without question, but what he was asking of her right now was something she would have never thought of doing. Never would she ever stab a friend in the back.
"Do this and I'll give you whatever you want. A way out of this place… and to be reunited with Cecil." He continued.
"NO—" A firm "NO" slithered out of her mouth. "I won't….." She trembled.
"You have no idea what he has done…you don't know what he has done in the past…"
"I don't care about his past, nor do I care what anyone thinks…."Blaze retorted.
"Well…no medicine for you then. It would be easy for you, you know. He trusts you. He rarely lets anyone get close to him, but if it were you, I'm sure he wouldn't mind.
"Maybe this guy has a point. If I agree to this, I will get to see Cecil again.
Besides, I didn't know much about GK…heck—, I don't even know his real name…" She wondered about Cecil. Was he doing well? Was GK taking good care of him? Was he even capable of caring for a child? GK could sometimes be devoid of emotion..., but he always chose to do the right thing.
The man got up to leave, but she called out to him.
"I'll do it…."
The doctor was silent.
"Give me the implant—I'll do it,…and the meds…"
"Follow me, Miss Mary." He replied curtly.
***
GK disregarded the Fallen's advice, and surprisingly, they had given him their contact number and left without saying anything. He was relieved but even more confused than before. Perhaps she was mistaken. Mistaken about him being an archangel. An angel that had forgotten its past and was wandering around Ravenhide aimlessly.
The memories were there, but they were patchy. How did he end up in Ravenhide? He looked towards Cecil. The boy was tired, his eyes half-open. He was swaying left and right and bumped into GK by accident.
"You know…I could carry you if you're feeling sleepy."
"What? NO WAY…" Cecil brushed him off, masking the embarrassed blush on his cheek. He was not a regular child anymore. After everything that had happened to him, he was much more mature than most.
"Hey..can we go to Blaze's place instead of Kepp's….. First?" Cecil asked.
"Sure…as long as they haven't barricaded it yet. I got a message from Kepp saying that my apartment was currently off-limits. Lucky for me, he had managed to get all the important stuff out before the police arrived."
Cecil carried around an E-mobie. A simplified mobile device for children that could be used to send and receive text messages, receive and make calls, and play a few selected games.
"I just have a few messages from him asking if I'm OK," Cecil replied. Together, they made their way to Blaze's apartment. Cecil put his hand under the doorway and dragged out a key.
"I'm glad they haven't touched this place yet."
GK was a little taken aback by all the red in the room. Red sofa, red carpet, red paintings, red curtains….If the walls were red, he would've fainted, but thankfully they weren't. The color says a lot about a person. Blaze was strong, energetic, stubborn, and passionate. Thinking about her, he felt her energy, but there was a certain bloodthirsty aura surrounding the place that he hoped wasn't hers.
Somehow, he felt that she wasn't dead. Cecil had gone to bed. His room was better designed. Just like his eyes, the deco was mostly aqua blue in color. Soft blues and greens, a nightlight that projected images of sea life onto the walls. He felt a lot calmer in Cecil's room.
"Whatever you do, don't enter Blaze's room," Cecil advised him. Now he was even more curious. "If you do…just don't judge her based on her hobbies."
Cecil fell asleep. A thin layer of dust had settled upon most of the surfaces. Combined with all the redness, it was suffocating, and he decided to clean up the place.
There was a tiny storage cabinet right next to the open kitchen. He took out the duster, dustpan, and broom and started with the kitchen while whistling one of his favorite tunes. By the time he was done, two hours had passed. It was now nine at night, and Blaze's room was the only one left. After what Cecil had said, he had to mentally prepare himself before entering Blaze's room.
The door clicked open, and he entered it slowly. He felt like he was about to enter a vampire's den. What if Blaze were a vampire, feeding on poor little Cecil to stay forever young and beautiful?
To his amazement and some disappointment, her room was fairly average. A shelf stood directly opposite her door, right next to her four-poster bed. On the right was a study. A red laptop sat on it. He approached the shelf and was a little creeped out by her questionable taste in books. Yaoi Matchmaker, The power of sapphire, and 'I will always be on top' were the few titles that caught his eye.
The door creaked open wider, and he turned around to see Cecil standing in the doorway.
"I thought I told you not to enter here."
"I uh—was—well you see…about to clean up her room and uh….."His failed attempt at a cover-up for his curiosity made Cecil giggle.
"Anyways, I guess liking these kinds of stuff is normal for a healthy female."
"Okay..I'll accept that judgment…I guess…"Cecil nodded.
"Do you want me to clean your room?"
"It's fine I'll do it myself," Cecil replied and took the cleaning equipment from GK. They tidied up, changed the bedspreads, curtains, and cleaned out the fridge, and went to bed. GK was prepared to go get some groceries from the store nearby when the doorbell rang.
There were some eggs, a few cheese slices, and an expired carton of milk in the fridge, which they threw out. The pantry was well stocked with spices and dried herbs. They just needed some fresh ingredients to get cooking.
GK answered the door, but there was no one in sight, just a paper bag on the doormat with the aroma of freshly baked goods wafting throughout the twelfth floor.
"Change of plans…I guess…" Cecil and GK decided to sit at the dining table to have breakfast. The guild never failed to deliver. They were thankful to have someone like Kepp on their side. The guild had provided everything for them. Food, information, and a place to stay if there was nowhere left to go.
Blaze and Cecil were lucky, but he couldn't help but feel something amiss. Cecil had everything he could hope for. A nice home, a person who cared about him, and reliable friends, but he couldn't help but notice that there was still a great deal of sadness drifting within him….and some hostility.
The kid rarely laughed, his smiles were brief, and he rarely made eye contact.
"You need to forget…leave behind the past. Otherwise, you will not be able to move forward." GK spoke, his tone was flat and calm, and it caught Cecil by surprise.
"You're still afraid, afraid to trust others, afraid of losing what you have. You're way ahead of the other kids your age because of what happened to you."
"You….you'll never understand…." The boy's voice trembled, and his eyes were teary.
"It's true, I'll never be able to understand what you've been through. I…I was dumped at a monastery. Despite not having parents, I had a good, fulfilling life, people who cared about me, and people who looked up to me. I could never understand what it's like to be abused, to lose your innocence at such a young age, and I know it's difficult to forget but…." The boy was sobbing.
"You need to leave behind the past, forget it…and the only way to forget is to forgive your enemies. It took me ages to open up to people… "GK cleared his throat.
"I've tried but….."
"Put the bad stuff behind and focus on the good. Be happy, ignore the bad. Don't think about them, they don't deserve your attention." Cecil got up to leave, but GK rushed to him and hugged the boy, and Cecil hugged him back, burying his face into GK's shoulders.
"Let me help you…"
Cecil was enveloped by a comforting, healing warmth. It made him feel safe. He was at peace with himself. He hadn't felt this way before. A sense of relief, comfort, security, and hope.
"Fill yourself with love and nothing but love." GK's voice was a little disembodied, but it wasn't frightening, even in the least. Some otherworldly divine aura had enveloped them, and Cecil wondered what kind of magic it was.
"You know…I almost killed Blaze when I was overcome with fury. It was difficult to fight back against so much power. It reels you in, makes you feel unstoppable. If I hadn't stopped it from taking over, she'd most likely be dead, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I hope I never give in to that darkness ever."
GK's phone buzzed, and a weird text message showed up on the screen. A message from an unknown sender.
"Meet me at the warehouse by the docks at sundown tomorrow" ~ MBL
"MBL?….those are Blaze's initials…" Cecil had an uneasy feeling rising in the pit of his stomach.
"Sorry to say this Cecil, but I'm pretty sure she isn't dead, and I'm not getting any friendly vibes from this text." Cecil took a nervous gulp and looked at the message again.
"It looks like a trap."
GK got up and patted the boy's head.
"We'll walk right into it…like we always do." He then proceeded to mumble something under his breath.
"Summer, autumn, winter, spring,
Upon the throne sits the corpse of a ruthless king,
His legacy ended by a butterfly's sting."