I Lost Them

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Elle's golden eyes peered at the bag of freshly baked bread. She couldn't wait to bring the breads back to the slums, imagining the faces of the children in the slums and how their eyes brightened with sparkles of hope filled her with happiness. She could only think of how happy they were and the relieve she could lend a hand to such terrible situation.

Although some times they would just take the food with a gloomy face, thinking about what they should do the next day, at least today she could provide them with a bit of something for their stomach.

Every seconds the carriage move, Elle's heart was filled with giddiness. She also reflected on how lucky she was. Despite the terrible attitude shown by her step mother and her step sister, her father, Count Arthur was a man with gentle heart. He didn't think to condensed her despite her growing up in a place that was poor and extremely looked down upon. He even gave her food and despite nobles being wealthy enough to provide food for the slums for decades, they won't bother. They see giving those slums people food as a waste as those humans are lesser compared to their pets or animals.

"Miss, should we make a right turn?" Suddenly the coachman opened the small window behind him to speak toward her.

Elle who had been staring at the view outside the carriage for hours nodded her head at once, "You can simply drop me beside the street after that." She doubted the coachman would like to step in the slums, nor would a carriage be treated well by those slums people who were traumatized by the nobles.

"No!" The coachman said in such a hurry that he was shocked by his own loud voice. He cleared his voice and spoke calmly, "The Count ordered me to make sure I drop you in front of your resident, miss."

"I don't think that's necessary—" seeing the frightened face that the coachman gave, Elle decided to nod her head as she feels bad if the man was punished for such a simple task.

"I insist," said the coachman again before shutting the wooden window.

Elle felt a sudden tinge in her heart but didn't want to mind it so much as she simply rub her chest, thinking the sense of uncomfortableness happened because of this tight dress she wasn't used to wearing yet.

Another few hours passed since the carriage began to take off. The bright sky had also turned darker as the distance between the slum and Vernon's family residence was quite far. By the time the carriage stopped, Elle had fallen asleep on the side of the carriage.

Her eyes were closed, unaware of the ruckus that started outside the carriage until she heard a wail— the sound of people crying, bawling their eyes in so much pain that they seemed to have their hearts ripped from their body.

Elle who was startled awake by the sad scream, pushed herself from the seat and hit her head on the roof of the carriage. She didn't mind the pain much and only winced a little while rubbing her head. But the louder cry outside the carriage had taken away all her focus.

Over the alarming noise, she pushed the door open only to feel the striking heart that caressed over her cheeks. Her entire body winced, her eyes shutting in response to the bright orange and golden light that shone over her face.

She snapped her eyes wider, her words refusing to leave her mouth as her jaw had floored the ground from the shock.

Fires.

There were fires!

Burning, hungry, fire roared the entire slums.

"H- HELP!" Someone who had been running didn't see Elle who had stood frozen on her place as though she was impaled through the ground. The person rose her face and it turns out to be Miss Rachel, a neighbor woman who was as old as Marcie and Lucas's mother.

Upon seeing her face, Rachel's eyes darkened in horror, "Elle! Where have you gone?! I don't know how to tell you this—"

"Lucas, Marcie!" Elle yelled the name in realization. She brought the woman aside and marched to the fire but the elder woman held her back with tears and shook her head.

"It's too late Elle, it's too late!"

The blood in Elle's body turned icy cold and she could feel sweats forming all over her back. Her eyes were burning and she didn't know if it was from the tears that immediately threaten to fall or it was the fire near her that was burning so strongly in demand for souls.

"IT'S NOT LATE!" Elle didn't want to hear the woman and chased after the flames. Her breathings became rough and her heart drum against her ears. Everything was hazy and she wasn't sure if it was a nightmare or the reality— one thing she knows is the urgency of finding her siblings.

They should be alright! Lucas is smart, he should ran away by now!

"Your house had been burned Elle! If you go there you will only harm yourse— ELLE! ESTELLA!"

Elle rushed into the fire with no hesitation. Her fear, shock, and disappointment created such uncomfortable feeling in the bottom of her stomach. When she saw the fire all over the slums the urge to hurl resurface.

She just couldn't give up yet. She couldn't!

Although the screams that Miss Rachel made and her cries saying that everything was "too late" kept ringing on the back of Elle's head, she refused to acknowledge it— she refused to accept the truth!

Even as she had rushed inside the fire that divided like a sea around her, Elle didn't want to believe no one had survived. Her blood ran cold when she came across the body of a person on their knees while their body had charred black. If her fear hadn't froze her yet earlier, it did now.

She stood briefly at the victim, praying to god above that it wasn't her siblings and felt bitterly relieved seeing it was a woman who she didn't know of. Not wanting to waste more time she entered the blaze again. This time the nearer she entered the core of the slums, the stronger the fire burned besides her.

She wondered why the rain had disappeared despite such heavy rains for the past few years. But questions stopped arriving when she finally stopped at what seemed to be her house.

The blaze that had ate her small house had turned the wood into ashes, leaving Elle to question fearfully if the rubbles in front of her was really her house.

"No," she whispered weakly, her voice breaking as she stepped forward, crushing the gray ashes under her feet. "NO!!" She yelled, her hand reached forward to enter the fire when a larger hand had covered her eyes, pulling her backward to safety.

Elle couldn't feel anything as a sudden darkness envelope her entire body, lulling her to an immediate sleep. The man held her body that had collapsed to his arms. Looking at her bright pink hair, his red eyes seemed to have frown.

Following his master who had suddenly ran into the fire was a butler clad in black. Only his eyes seemed to glow in red upon walking near to the tongue of fire.

"Lord Magnus?" Tuesday inquired, surprised as he noticed the lady with strawberry pink hair had laid on his strong arms.

The flames around Magnus seemed to have backed down upon feeling his presence, not daring to even touch his shadows despite it hungrily eating alive whatever was near their flame.

"It seems that this cat forgot how she would be burned if she enter the fire," Magnus stated stalely, his eyes staring at Elle's features with a deeper frown.