How Soon is Now? (Jean x Marco)

Part Seven

The next morning I awake to an empty bedroom. It's the bedroom that Marco and I sleep in, however there is no Marco. I run out of the room at fast pace with bare feet and nothing on but a nightgown. I would have run straight into Thomas' room if not for the movement I see from the corner of my eye.

At the end of the corridor is a huge window with crisp winter sun glowing through each element in the glass. There is a meadow behind the house and in the centre is a horse, galloping across the frosty grass at intense speed. Riding it is Marco, not wearing a helmet of a saddle, just riding the horse as if it was natural to him. He looked...free.

There wasn't a cage of fear surrounding him. Just wind and cold air, biting at his skin and making his unruly locks of hair fly in many directions.

At that moment, Mina stalks up beside me and smiles, "It's beautiful isn't it?"

I nod without breathing.

"He looks so wonderful. He loves riding. I wish he would always be that happy."

"Why...is he not?" My words are so silent I'm surprised she hears.

"He feels very out of place in this home. He and Thomas don't get along...well; no one gets along with Thomas. But Marco believes all the...foul things Thomas says. He believes he is a worthless, gypsy bastard who should have been left to die on the streets. I think you'll be good for him, Jean. You have to make him understand that he is worth something."

I glare out the window once again and watch as the horse slows into a canter, then to a trot. He eventually halts and slides off the horse, whistling as he leads it out of sight.

"Jean," Mina says, snapping me back to earth, "Please, I beg, be his friend."

~~~

"I-I met a travel...no...traveller from an antic...antique l-land, who s-said-" Marco is interrupted by Erwin's enthusiastic boom of a voice.

"Jean! Marco! We're going to visit the market today."

We call back to him saying we'll get ready.

It's been three weeks since I arrived at this household. Three weeks of spending my time with Marco. Watching him learn the alphabet slowly, learn his phonetics and how to structure his words. I taught him all the basics before moving onto verbs, adjectives and nouns. He picked it all up so fast and so easily. I can't help being proud of him for that.

I know he only learned it easily because he can, in fact, read, in certain lifetimes, and so the memories are embedded within him without him knowing them.

I searched around the library for poems and sonnets and whatnot, and eventually found a favourite, Ozymandias, and so asked him to read it out.

Even if Erwin had interrupted, we could easily just finish it later.

"Come on, Marco, make sure to put something warm on before we go. I'm not watching you turn blue again."

He laughs, yes he laughs, and pulls on a dark jacket and leather gloves, along with a pair of black boots.

All 6 of us, including Levi and Thomas, leave the house together and decide we will walk to the biggest village nearby.

The market is a bunch of wooden stalls with people chatting idly, and some other people selling products like fresh milk, or meats and breads. Erwin makes Levi get some steak and potatoes for our meal tonight. It seems weird that there would be a market on the 18th of December...isn't it a bit cold? Perhaps I'm just a wuss.