Place - Central District, The Heart
Time - 8:46 am
(Narration)
clack!
After informing Lucy and rushing down from his office, Ari entered the clinic room and what laid ahead in a bit of distance from him were the shattered shards of the glass pod along with the liquid that's kept within one, now scattered all across the floor.
"8th lord, please lie down!" A nurse exclaimed who's trying to get the long haired girl to lie down on one of the nearby beds to the right side of the room by holding onto her arms.
"Sis…whe…re's Sis…" The delicate girl spoke narrowly, pushing herself away from the nurse towards the door; her hair, blue clothes, and entire body were drenched wet due to the liquid she was placed within prior.
"Rebecca!" Ari exclaimed, making his way to her, stepping and crushing the glass shards in the way without any regard for himself.
"What happened here? Why is the pod broken?" Asking that to the nurse, he held Rebecca's legs, then gently carrying her, made his way to one of the beds on the side.
"I came in the room according to my shift time and the pod had cracks on it, checked the vitals and saw that the 8th lord's eyes had opened so I decide-!"
"Calm down calm down, nobody's punishing you for this" Ari reassured the anxious nurse who incessantly spouted answers in a single breath as the two laid Rebecca down on the bed.
"Y–yes sorry! So…I informed you first through the telecoms that the 8th lord had woken up, then just as I put the receiver down, the pod broke down and shattered… Sh–she didn't get any injuries though! Her body still had those wires and oxygen mask attached, I cautiously removed them and was bringing her to the bed and that's when milord came in…"
'A sudden surge of energy… Her body exuded its own energy and absorbed the one's in its surrounding, must've been because of her consciousness returning' He thought examining the room, then turned towards his sights at the nurse.
"I see, don't call me 'milord' though…just call me by nam-"
"Un…cle…" The frail girl uttered, her eyes barely open, holding onto Ari's shirt with two of her fingers, "Did…you…find Sis…?"
An old question but a familiar one, listening to which his eyes widened, reminding him of something from many years ago. A bitter feeling enwrapped him as he watched this girl who is completely oblivious of her own condition.
"Yes…she's back…you can rest…" He responded, his voice crippled for a moment as he bent down and moved his hand on the girl's forehead softly.
"I…see…glad…" Whispering that, her hand holding onto Ari slipped and fell. She dropped into sleep, her lips forming a slight smile.
"sigh…I know you are new here, but can you perform a quick check up on her condition? I'll call the necessary staff for the clean up"
"Y–yes I'll do it right away!" The young nurse exclaimed and got to work.
Some minutes passed. Cleanup staff arrived, cleansed the floor with utmost decorum, not leaving a single speck of dust on it in Ari's presence who's sitting on the bed nearby Rebecca and took the broken pod away on their way out. The nurse finished up with her checkup as well, and just then,
"She's here" Ari whispered to himself and the atmosphere at The Heart suddenly grew tense.
As if a shooting star fell, she arrived, crashing down from the sky and landed on her feet, right at the main gate of The Heart. The heaviness in the air restored back to normal as she switched her state off and rushed inside.
A normal person wouldn't be allowed to enter the estate without permission, or prior notice, or an ID; everyone however, obviously knew who Lucy was. So, although the guards did get frightened by her presence a moment ago when she charged and landed right in front of them, they didn't turn hostile against her.
bam!
Within less than ten seconds of her arrival, she arrived at the reception, wrote down her details in the record book, ran up the staircase and busted the door open to the clinic room.
"Eek!" The nurse cried out, startled by the door being bashed open loudly and took a few steps back from Rebecca's bed in fear. Ari, who was sitting on a nearby bed silently waved his hand at Lucy, gesturing to her to come.
As she walked to him, she noticed the nurse's terrified expression which helped her calm down a little, realising her current conduct was a little overwhelming for the normal people around her and scared them.
"Quite the entrance… I would've charged you if the door brok–"
THUD!
"Eek!?" The nurse shrieked as the double doors broke and collapsed on the floor. Poor nurse, she has to face so many troubling things during the first hour of her new job.
"...You gotta pay for–"
"Yes I'll do it…" Lucy answered and sat on her knees near her little sister's bed, right by where her hands were laying and held them, "She's…?"
"Asleep, most likely due to lack of energy circulation, she should be up in some time as her body regulates to the surroundings" He responded.
"…I don't see the pod where she was kept in until now?" She said, looking behind her back where the glass pod once used to be.
Ari explained what had unfolded since the time he called her, what condition Rebecca was in when he reached the clinic and how the nurse helped in mending the situation. Listening to all of this, Lucy stood up on her feet and went to the nurse who was standing on the other side of Rebecca's bed from them.
"Thank you very much!" She exclaimed, pressing her hands against her thighs, bending forward and bowing her head down as much as she could, "For ensuring that she's alright…"
"I–it's fine! I was just doing my job, anyone would've done the same!" The nurse replied, still anxious, however a bit calmer than before, "Please lift your head…"
"Are you new? I've never seen you before" Lucy asked, lifting her head back up, looking at the young woman in front of her who's in her early 20s, wearing green scrubs, surgical cap and spectacles. She's a bit smaller than the 3rd Top Lord in front of her (5 feet and 9 inches), she has short brown hair (chin length) and brown eyes.
"Uh yes, I am Eina, today's my first day here…" Eina replied, scratching her head with a bitter smile, trying to appear nonchalant.
"Wait really…? I am so sorry that you had to face so many problems right on your first day!" Lucy cried out apologetically.
"No no, it's fine! If anything it excites me that everyday will be different and unique than the one before" She replied enthusiastically putting a guise to hide her unease.
"In any case…thank you very much for taking care of my sister…I really mean it and can't emphasise just how grateful I am" The 3rd Top Lord said, bowing a little once again.
"Ahaha, you're welcome…" Eina responded, rubbing her cheeks with her index finger.
'T–t–t–the 3rd Top Lord is bowing down to me!? I helped the bigshots… helpful to both her and the KING! It was horrifying when I came in the room and saw the cracks on that pod thing, but I actually did well… Not to mention the King actually knew I am a new person at the job, he's so diligent and proper and so cool, ah…I am so happy that I managed to get this job… Hopefully I am not making a strange expression right now and looking like an idiot… Ehehe…I was helpful…' Eina thought, fortunately maintaining a neutral demeanour that didn't showcase her actual chaotic fangirl emotions that were dancing inside her head to the two who were in front.
"What are you going to do now?" Ari asked, looking at the frail girl tucked in the bed, "I called you because it seemed that she had woke up, but she's gone back to sleep now and I don't think she'll wake up again for at least a few hours"
"I'll wait here for some tim–"
"Ack…" As if the girl heard what the two said, squeezing her eyes a little first and making a somewhat scrunched expression; she woke up.
"gasp…Rebecca!" The big sister exclaimed as she sat on her knees and took hold of her little sister's hands in both of her palms.
"...Sis…? Is it you…?" Rebecca whispered, opening her eyes ever so slightly and looked to her right.
"Yes, it's me…! It's me Lucy…" She replied, her voice crippling a little as she gripped her sister's hands, burying her forehead into them. Meanwhile, Eina, the nurse who was watching this heartwarming moment unfold, realised that she shouldn't be here. So she silently left the room after bowing to Ari (despite the fact that right now, more than anything in her life, she wanted to witness the entire scene from up close).
"Where…were you…? When did…you come back…? Me and Mama…were very…worried… Did you…meet Mama yet…?" Just then, hearing what Rebecca muttered, a brutal realisation dawned upon the two lords. One which they never even considered being a possibility prior to now.
"Mom…" Lucy whispered, finally looking up at the fragile face and squinted gaze that were staring at her intently.
Two things came to her mind simultaneously, first was a flashing question of what she was even talking about with her mother before the three month time period she had disappeared for. The fact that the final moment she spent with her mother was something so trivial that she couldn't even recall it anymore killed her from within, she had regretted that for a long time, yet stopped thinking about it eventually over the years, only to now be confronted with it once again in this moment but in the worst possible scenario.
As for the other factor which was eating her up rapidly, it was that she just came to terms with the possibility that this little one wasn't aware of something that had happened years ago at this point; the possibility that Rebecca was oblivious of the truth.
"Mom…doesn't know" She replied, loosening her hands, and put them down.
"Is that so…? Let's go tell her then… Eh…?" The girl replied and tried sitting up, but failed to do so, "Huh…? Ugh…! Haah…I am unable to move…"
At that moment, she noticed the smell of something odd, something bitter yet fragrant.
'Antiseptic…?' Rebecca pondered and tilted her head to look at her surroundings, noticing Ari first, then the beds and glass pods in the room.
"Is this…the…clinic…? Did…something happen to me…?" That question from her dropped Lucy's heart further down.
'It might be because she just woke up and doesn't quite recall how she ended up in this situation…' Lucy thought, clinging onto the only hope she had for finding out what exactly happened that day.
"Do you remember what you were doing…before you went to sleep…?"
…
"It was evening…was…sitting in the living room…waiting for Mama…to make food…then…"
…
"I don't know…everything after that…is hazy…head became heavy…and now I am here…"
"I…see…" Lucy replied with a caring and earnest smile, but behind that warm expression, she gnashed her teeth, barely keeping her calm.
"Hey…tell me…what happened to me…?" Rebecca whispered, clutching and pulling Lucy's t-shirt with her fingers.
Two choices stood in this situation; one was to delay the inevitable and the other to rip off the band-aid, however the real conflict lied between not wanting to choose either of them. Not wanting to say the truth to begin with and be faced with what came next. How does a person dive into explaining the mishaps that occurred? Telling it to someone who's been absent from the world of living for years, not to mention
informing them of their absence to begin with which they are utterly oblivious of; how does one overcome such an ordeal?
"You…"
"Amane tried cooking something new and it turned out strange once again, you passed out as a result of that" Interjecting through Lucy, Ari spoke first and 'answered' her question, "That's why you should rest as much as possible"
"Is…that so…? Haha…makes sense…" The girl sighed as if it was a normal occurrence.
"U–uhm yes…get rest…I'll go…meet up with Mom…" Lucy said, glancing at Ari who was sitting across on the next bed while trying to maintain a nonchalant expression.
"No! I want to go…together with you!" She exclaimed, trying to get up.
"Be a good girl Rebecca, you need rest right now, Amane…Lucy doesn't know but I told your mother already that she's back" Ari said, lying further with a 'smile' on his face.
"Oh…I see…okay…I'll sleep…" She murmured and turned to Lucy's side with a slightly irritated expression, "Don't run away again…or else I'll beat you up…"
"Mm…I won't…goodnight…I'll come again later" Saying that, Lucy gently moved her hand on her sister's forehead, stood up and shot a piercing look at the King.
"o u t s i d e" Ari softly uttered and gestured with his hand, pointing to the entrance of the clinic whose doors have broken down.
"What was the meaning of that?" Lucy questioned as they got out of the room with her arms folded.
"You want to tell her the truth in her current condition? What if she does something desperate which makes things worse?"
"I know! I am not talking about that…" Lucy exclaimed while suppressing her voice as much as possible, throwing away the facade of calmness and clearly annoyed now, "I am asking why did YOU cut in between, could you stop lying for my sake already…? I am really thankful that you've helped me out with the situation of Central 20 but I'd rather you don't bail me out of at least this one situation…"
…
"Were you going to make an excuse as well?" He asked after some seconds to which Lucy nodded in response, "I see…you are right…I thought you weren't going to speak up which is why I interrupted, my bad, sorry"
"It's fine, I know you didn't mean any ill intentions"
"But, when do you plan on telling her the truth?"
"As soon as her condition improves than what it is now…I'll do it then"
"Will you be able to do it?"
…
"It's not a matter of whether or not I can do it, I'll have to no matter what, I can't just keep her in the dark" She answered, leaning on the wall beside the (broken down) doorway with her arms folded.
"Mm… There's…something else as well that I need to tell you of" Ari said, his expression that was a worried yet an affectionate one was now turned to a grim and serious look, "I've…found a suitable candidate for the position of 2nd Top Lord"
…
"I see…" She replied, looking to the side.
"You seem calmer than I imagined, I thought you'd pounce on me or something like that" He said, imitating with his hands showcasing a scene of him getting jumped upon by the girl in front of him.
"Eh…sigh well it's not like I am not taken aback but this was bound to happen sooner or later, if anything I am surprised with how long it took for this to happen…but…"
"But?"
"Is it a guy or a girl?"
"A guy…?"
"I see, I'd like to fight him, I expect him to be capable, if he can't defeat me, he won't get the position, it's a fair deal I suppose? 2nd Top Lord should be stronger than the 3rd after all"
"Haha, I expected you to say as much, I'll tell you the date when it's decided" Ari said, waving his hand in air as he walked ahead, "See you later, I got work to do now"
"Yeah, take care…" Lucy said as Ari left for his work.
…
Then after standing in her spot for a while, she walked inside again and sat on the floor beside the bed that Ari had sat on that was beside Rebecca. Her little sister's face was facing the other side which was just what she wanted and needed right now. Being cautious of whether anyone is in the immediate area of her by relying on sensing energy, she checked that indeed nobody was around and so she buried her face down into the palms of her hands.
"I am glad…" She whispered, tears flowed down, clenching her teeth, overwhelmed by relief and quaking with happiness, she waited for this moment not knowing if it'll ever arrive but didn't stop believing even for a second that it truly will come. Her hopes have been returned and answered, albeit late but it did happen, the day Rebecca awakened finally arrived.
To be continued in Arc II