Loyalty-

Merlyn was expecting something.

She had felt the humming in her veins, the prickling in her neck; had felt her gut screeching to climb the stairs. To reach the third landing. To reach. To what? Or rather whom? There was nothing. It was plain. Blank. A wall. Not blank, there were wooden panels, they had loved tapping them as children, as if one would press and unlock some magical land. It felt like that. Maybe, Emerald had found it, and left? Why would she go alone then? Why not take her to the magic realm? She swore; she would never leave her. Never.

Yet, she disappeared and she had waited. Waited, despite everything. Emerald had been many things, she had her fury, her temper, but she is not a betrayer, not selfish and she loved her family whole. No, leaving was a ridiculous factor. She suddenly turned to her right. Leonard was looking at the same blank panels; his eyes fixated on the small nail fixated which had hung her. He looked blank, his body motionless but his eyes were frantic, his mouth curved in anger or despair, and his fingers trembled. A habit she knew he had tried growing out off, but always crept in him. Surely, she can never that to him. Even if Emerald considered that she had grown up, fine, she had. He was young, and she would never leave him.

Leonard felt the gaze. He looked down, dug his hands deep in the depth of his pockets. He slowly turned, hoping he looked fine, though, his head felt churned.

"Well" Merlyn asked.

Leonard did not know exactly what should have been the expected reaction or if there is some kind of a normal reaction to a thing such as this, but this was definitely not that. His Aunt reaction rather cleared his head, "well?" unsure of what could possibly be the build up here.

"Did someone steal it?"

"It was here in the morning." He said quietly. "Why would anyone steal it? There is no one to steal here. These people," he said pointing, "freak out." He said his voice rising with each word.

"From the painting? They are scared of it?" his aunt voice made him look up to her face. There was a satisfaction or maybe he mistook it. He usually was good with expressions, but his Aunt seem to have different set of transitions if emotions were the topic of discussion.

"They are weary of it."

"As you are?"

He felt the phantom of the anger, he felt whenever asked about this, "I am not weary; I am not scared of my mum."

My mum.

Merlyn looked at him, "why are you guilty then?"

Leonard unfurled his fists and pulled them out of his deep pockets. "Where did she go? It's not like she can walk away."

Merlyn understood the change. She did not push it. After a while she added, "Maybe she can."

Leonard was surprised? Baffled? That should be a common reaction to a statement such as that.

Instead, he felt relief, this was not a bizarre theory then, Aunt had considered it too. He had too.

"Shall we then? Ascend?"

"I do not think I can."

"Do not worry; it is all about a leap of faith-"

Leonard brushed her off, "I cannot."

Merlyn looked on, "like you want to and cannot?"

He seemed to be struggling, "maybe."

"Leonard."

"She does not want me to." He said in a rush.

Merlyn was definitely baffled.

"I respect her choices, I have never crossed that threshold." He gave a shrug, it was supposed to look casual, "and now, it's hard to understand what she wants." He pointed at the wooden panels almost accusingly, as if they had swallowed her. Maybe they had who knows, "since she is not here."

Merlyn looked- she looked- hurt.

"You think she does not want you near her? How did you reach to this outlandish conclusion? How Leo, can you think of such sorts?"

Leonard did not share the same emotion. He had felt it, ignored it and then rolled over it. The feelings felt distant. Alternatively, that is what he liked to believe.

"I- I, feel a tingling in my nerves, a shot of weird emotions pulsing and pain even if I touch," he pointed to the wooden floor of the third landing, "more of a shock." He shook his head.

At his Aunt's distressed look, he went on, "It's my theory, I am not sure if it's purely because I want to cling to some positivity, she wants to protect me, from this floor. She likes to see me, yes-I-, she does; she allows me until here but does not appreciate me crossing this. Although I don't think how much I appreciate this whole thing." He said his eyes fixed on the empty space.

"Well."

"Well? Well what?"

"Am I supposed to find everything?"

Leonard almost said 'what have you found', but grounded his teeth in that one precious moment. This was the saving grace moment. He rephrased his sentence, "What do you know about this? Why did you belief there is some para- weird activity going around here?"

"It's definitely not paranormal." His Aunt said with a smirk.

Leonard did not know what to make of that, but he waited for her explanation. For the longest time, he had sincerely believed and accepted that- nothing changes here, nothing, he knew every movement, every turn of head and yet something has shifted. He felt that too, something would unravel today and it would be bittersweet.

Probably the reunion he has been waiting for.

Turdley was lying down on his bed, but he was far from sleeping.

What were they doing? He wanted to rise and follow them. He would be quite, not making the slightest sound. Like a cat, he grinned. That little girl had let him off early but there was nothing to off from- this was his life. She had never insisted him to sleep. Did she mean that?

The master needs to be protected. He would always be in his shadow, because the master never commanded him to sleep. Should he break the wish of the mistress, he felt a lurch in his heart even as he considered it. How could he even wonder that? How? All wishes and whims of the manor must be abided.

What if the wishes collided? What if the desire of one intervene with another, what must be done then? The younger threatened the promise he made to the elder.

He waited his loyalty to answer. It had never failed him.

He waited.

Emerald Willington.

Yes, he said rising.