Loving the Fallen

Chapter twenty four: calming

Orion's point of view

"I'm going to kill that bastard." I found myself promising, keeping my white eyes outside the car window. Eren and I were seated inside the backseat of his car, being driven towards where I had last heard Laelynn.

Eren didn't respond to me, so I turned to look at him. His eyes were stuck on the other window to his right, so I couldn't see his face at all. I knew that he was deeply hurt about what Laelynn had done. I was also stuck in a puddle of disappointment, but I've always been better at hiding my emotions than he was.

"She changed her mind," I told him, hoping that my words would give him a small sense of reassurance. "She told me that she wants to be with us. I heard her."

My jaw clenched when I remembered her strained voice. She sounded scared and full of regret. Still, with all that fear, all she was thinking about was Eren and I. In the end, it was us she wanted to be with. Jakob was forcing her to continue with her 'escape', if that's what it really was.

His intentions were starting to seem more sinister.

I had heard a lot of things during the last couple of minutes, but it was difficult to piece all of the information together. Listening through far distances was still a bit troublesome for me because I wasn't able to separate the noises completely.

In the midst of Laelynn speaking to me, I could hear owls, wolves, chatting humans, and supernaturals. Car engines were the most annoying sound. The sound of them being revved gave me headaches. It was bothersome for me and made it more difficult to completely master the technique of separating distant noises.

I sighed softly when I didn't receive a response from Eren. My eyes drifted back to the window, and I found myself relaxing my shoulders, despite the silence being painfully constricting.

I heard him clear his throat and found myself turning to him for the third time. He opened his mouth but closed it. I was patient with him, as I've always been. He never spoke about his feelings much, especially those such as sadness and heartbreak.

"Do you think she did all of this just to escape?" He asked me after a minute. "That she pretended that she loves us so we could let our guards down and make this whole escape easier for her?"

I found myself quickly shaking my head no, as if I was a hundred percent sure of my response. I was sure. I do not believe that she had used us or planned to at some point.

"Then tell me, brother. Why did she leave us?" He asked me, ripping his eyes away from the window. Their deep blue shade washed over me like a bucket of cold ocean water. If I hadn't known him all these years, I would think he hated me with his glare. It looked mean and full of hatred.

But that hatred wasn't directed to me.

I thought carefully about my next response, trying to think back at what could have caused Laelynn to drop everything and leave. In all honesty, I didn't know why. Eren had started treating her well. She was living comfortably with us. It made no sense why she would choose to leave us now.

"Perhaps she just really misses her family."

Eren clicked his tongue at my response, and he looked away. He was annoyed with my answer, but since he didn't respond, he knew that it was a huge possibility.

I mean, why else would she leave?

"Maybe she's afraid." I found myself mindlessly saying. This drive was long and very bumpy, too. I was starting to get restless. One of the newer human technologies I wasn't fond of was cars, especially with where we lived. They polluted the air, were incredibly loud, and also very uncomfortable to sit in.

I preferred our traditional method of travel, horses, and a little something the Fallen called tree-sprinting.

It's a technique we developed when we still lived in the forests. We ran at full speed, but at the highest canopies of trees. It wasn't something that everyone could do. Only the fittest could, and it's something I've taught myself since I was a little Fallen.

I would have long reached Laelynn if I had decided to tree-sprint.

"Afraid of what? She has a powerful king, and his second wrapped around her fragile little finger. What type of fear does she have that we aren't strong enough to counter?" Eren asked me.

This seemed to interest him more than the family story. Let me keep at it.

If I left him angry at Laelynn, her punishment when we found her is something I wouldn't be able to save her from.

"Think about it, Eren. She is a human surrounded by a bunch of supernaturals. It's like a rabbit surrounded by lions. Then there's us, two massive lions that noticed something that's supposed to be hidden. That must be scary for her."

Eren's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Yeah, but it's not like we noticed her for bad reasons. We treat her well enough."

"I've heard that humans are very... emotional species." I said, also trying to understand how Laelynn could have been thinking. "She must have fear that we'll change our minds about her, or maybe that we won't love her openly for everyone else to see."

Eren and I had extremely important positions. A lord and the second in command, which is a mild way to put it. He is a king, and I am his second in waiting, should anything happen to him. I also control the military of our land, so I was also the commander.

Loria wouldn't be able to function without the both of us there. That also meant that we had reputations to maintain. All eyes were on us, both belonging to the Fallen and the rest of the supernaturals.

Just the mere thought of loving a human was an outrage to our kind, especially making her queen or anything of a high status. They are much weaker than everyone else, both in mind and body. They would be an obvious and dangerous weakness to supernaturals of high power.

We would have to keep Laelynn a secret. For her safety.

But Eren and I both knew that wouldn't work for too long. Secrets always have a way of coming out. Whether the timing is perfect or horrible, the universe does not care.

I would also expect Laelynn to grow tired of being a secret and want us to tell the world of our love.

But I doubted that Eren would agree to doing such. Which would complicate things for the three of us.

"So please do not blame her for her escape yet. Let's try to think of her perspective." I nearly begged him. I would do anything to protect her, especially from Eren's wrath.

Eren looked at me, "We'll discuss it when she's safe in our arms. Right now, all I can think of is breaking Jakobs bones, and whoever the hell is helping him do this."

I managed to calm him, which made me slightly relieved.

I nodded in agreement, once again focusing my hearing towards Laelynn. I could hear her heart beating uncontrollably, and I could also hear the annoying noise of a vehicle coming closer. Slowly, I rolled down my window and untied my hair, feeling my scalp relax.

"Someone is coming closer, Jakob, I believe. Laelynn is left behind with another male. I'm unsure who it is." I updated Eren, turning to face him.

His jaw clenched, "Pick your target."

I have a bone to pick with Jakob, but I know that Eren will make his punishment more painful than I could.

"I'll get our girl back."

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