The Elementals (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter 13

As silently as I could, I slipped past the tree and quickly hid behind the side of the house nest to me. Ducking my head out to take a peep, I saw Aurelia walking down the street, the black fabric of her dress swishing around her legs.

Once she was some distance away, I left the safe hiding spot of the house and followed her down the street.

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Fifteen minutes later, with Aurelia occasionally turning left or right down the streets, she finally came to a stop and looked at up the sign of the shop next to her. I halted as well and dove behind some shrubs instinctively, poking my head out a little.

Aurelia happened to turn around at that very exact moment. Glancing around and seeing nothing, she shrugged and pushed open the glass door of the shop. The bells hung up as decorations on the door tinkled against themselves lightly and I scrunched up my nose because of the strong fragrance of flowers.

As she stepped in, a cheery voice could be heard greeting her, "Welcome back, Miss Lane!"

I showed my head fully once she was in and looked up at the wooden sign swinging and creaking in the slight breeze. 'Fragrant Flowers' said the printed fancy lettering. Well, they got that right. I thought to myself.

A few minutes later, with my head back in the middle of the leaves, the bells could be heard again and I knew that Aurelia had come out of the shop and finished her purchase.

I could hear her flats slapping against the concrete pavement, getting softer and softer as she walked further away. I pushed my head out again and seeing her figure, holding a huge bunch of flowers, get smaller, I made a dash inside the shop.

The blasts of cool air-conditioning greeted me and the smell of flowers got stronger as I basically ran in, as well as the shopkeeper's trilling happily, "Welcome to Fragrant Flowers! Can I assist you with anything?"

"Um, yes please. That girl in the black dress who just came in, do you know her?" I asked 'casually', praying she wouldn't question my totally weird interest in a 'random stranger'.

Thankfully, she didn't suspect anything off. "Oh, you meant Miss Lane. Sweet girl there, doesn't really talk much though, very quiet."

"Oh, I see. Then can you tell me what she bou-"

"And a pretty little thing too. She's been coming here every few months or so."

"Do you know why-"

"Poor thing, ever since last year, she's been coming here often to buy the same flowers. Always a bunch of roses, asters and a single red poppy."

"Why?" I finally managed to stop the florist's chirping. Her wide beam slowly drooped down to a sad frown.

"It's not my place to tell you, dearie." She said gently. "You can ask Miss Lane herself. Just keep walking down the street and turn left on the next junction, you should see her there then."

"Alright then, thank you so much." I flashed her a quick smile and rushed out of the shop.

"You're welcome! Have a nice day and visit again someday!" She called out as I ran out of the shop, the fading scent of flowers still lingering in my nose.

Rachel's words to me then started ringing through ny head again. Sometimes, you might not like what you find.

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A few minutes later, I arrived near my destination and I stopped to catch my breath. I'd doubled my normal walking speed to try to catch up to Aurelia.

Straightening up, I caught sight of Aurelia staring up at the huge open iron gates of the entrance with glazed eyes, like she was far away, back in memory lane. Taking a deep breath, she walked in.

I followed quickly, thoughts racing through my head frantically. Oh my gosh, why is she walking into a cemetery?

Sometimes, you might not like what you find.

Aurelia calmly walked past hundreds of graves, engraved tombstones and crosses popping up everywhere. However, this did not seem to faze her as she continued striding forward while I shuddered my way through behind her.

Finally, she reached a small clearing. The sight took my breath away. Everwhere, beautiful flowers of every colour and kind had been planted, more than I could ever imagine or name. There was a clear path of lush green grass cut clean through the garden of flowers and Aurelia walked past them with one thing seemingly becoming her target.

Beyond all that beauty, was a single white marble headstone.

Aurelia knelt down and placed the bouquet onto the grass right in front of the headstone, before shifting her legs in front so she was in a comfortable sitting position.

"Hey sis, I'm back again."

Sis? I crept closer to a tree behind Aurelia. I squinted to make out the words carved on the smooth marble.

Willow Persephone Lane
Beloved daughter, sister and friend
12 June 2009 - 16 September 2014

Sometimes, you might not like what you find.

Holy. Shit.

"So, I got the usual flowers for you, of course." Aurelia let out a small laugh.

"Roses, 'cause you were born in June. Then asters, 'cause that was when..." She swallowed then, like something had clogged up her throat, not letting the words escape.

"That was September, when you left us. Left me." Her voice had softened greatly now. It almost sounded like she was going to break down any moment soon.

I let out a small involuntary gasp before quickly covering my mouth with both hands. Eyes wide, I prayed she didn't hear me and that my cover wasn't blown.

It all made sense now, mostly. Why Aurelia was so distant and why she didn't let us know about this. The only thing was, why and how did her sister, Willow, die? It all didn't piece together perfectly without that missing information.

"And of course, the red poppy." I snapped out of it and listened closely to Aurelia again.

"They were always your favourite; I remember how you always wore one in your hair. And they signify rememberance so two birds with one stone, I guess."

She then plucked out the poppy and laid it gently in front of the headstone. "I'll always remember you, Willow, even now that you aren't here with me."

I honestly felt like I was going to cry anytime soon. I stepped out from my hiding spot quietly and smiled sadly at Aurelia's direction, mouthing the words 'I'm so sorry.'

It was like I was intruding on a super secret private moment between the two sisters. I stepped back, preparing to leave.

Snap!

What the heck? I looked down to see a broken twig, cracked under the sole of my right foot.

Oh shit.

I whipped my head back up. Aurelia wasn't there anymore, gone. She literally just disappeared.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm and another caught hold of the other arm with blinding speed and a strong hold.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Aurelia...

Well, I'm doomed now.

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Hey guys, here ya go, the rewritten version of Chapter 13 :) Idk how the first one even disappeared in the first place -.-

So I changed some things, like Ally decides to consult the florist instead of just tailing Aurelia and there are way less flowers now. I also increased the length; it's about 1000+ words now, the length of all my current chapters instead of 700+ like back in the past.

Read, comment, vote and enjoy! Let's get the Elementals back to 4.44k reads woo hoo! :D