Pride & Humility

IV

Beta: Taintedletter

Artwork by peachijuiceart on tumblr/twitter

(óヮò)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Elizabeth blearily opened her eyes in the dead of night. It took her a few seconds to remember that she had fallen asleep with Selim, and she was not at the Luxanna mansion.

She rubbed at her eyes, slowly sitting up. Her bladder had woken her up, so Elizabeth pushed back her covers and stumbled out of bed. When her feet hit the cold floor, she turned around to make sure Selim was still asleep, but found that he was gone.

'Did he have to go pee, too?' Elizabeth thought, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She groped in the darkness until she found the lamp on the nightstand and flipped it on.

She flinched at the sudden brightness, but it made it much easier to find the handheld electric lantern Selim kept. She grabbed it, flipped it on, and slipped out into the dark hallway.

'Wonder why Selim didn't take the lantern?' Elizabeth thought before she shivered. The night air was bitterly cold, since it was the dead of winter.

'Ah... where's the bathroom again?'

Elizabeth hadn't used the bathroom much at the Bradley's, and she certainly couldn't remember how to get there from Selim's room. The young girl scratched at her cheek as she thought before she decided to just head to the front door. She could find her way to the guest bathroom from that point, at least.

Maybe.

Hopefully.

She headed down the hallway, using the lantern as a guide. When she headed down the stairs, she thought she heard an odd noise. Like a strangled shout that was abruptly cut off.

It was such a weird noise Elizabeth immediately decided to investigate it. She doubted it would be anything unsavory. She was in the führer's home, which was in Central, and surrounded by roaming military patrols.

'Maybe someone stubbed their toe?' Elizabeth guessed. 'Or maybe it's Selim?'

The sound had appeared to come from the back patio, and when Elizabeth rounded the corner to see what the commotion was—

—a creature of shadows devoured a man in whole. Not a sound escaped the man since the first to be eaten was his head, and in two gulps the shadows had swallowed him entirely.

A small surprise of oh escaped Elizabeth, and the shadows turned around.

Selim Bradley had an indescribable look on his face as he faced Elizabeth, the same shadows that ate the man surrounding him.

'The shadows... are Selim?' Elizabeth realized, surprised her friend had such an ability.

And that he ate someone.

Selim and Elizabeth stared at each other, neither certain how the other was going to react.

Elizabeth then remembered why she had gotten out of bed in the first place. She blurted out, "I had to go to the bathroom, and I got lost."

Selim blinked once.

"I still have to go," she admitted shyly, scratching her cheek. "Can you take me?"

Selim opened his mouth to respond, closed it, abruptly turned around and said, "Come."

Elizabeth hurried to his side, and the shadows slowly retreated entirely into Selim. He guided her down the hallway, and stopped before a door. He gestured to it.