Lea's Liberation

Escaping the City

Escaping the City

With no way to track time in the basement room, Emilien couldn't exactly be sure if three days had passed or not. However, he didn't need to track them to know that enough hours had passed for him to become concerned about whether Addie was coming back or not.

If she was captured, he couldn't possibly leave her. However, Lea was in no condition to try to help rescue her if it were possible. Her fever was going down, but it had by no means broken, and she was still weak and in considerable pained.

More worryingly, Emilien noticed that she was obviously uncomfortable being around him. He couldn't fault her that reaction, considering he had stripped her nude before even greeting her, and he felt awful for making her uneasy. Yet, no matter how nicely he tried to treat her afterward, she never seemed to be able to look him in the face again.

He supposed that it was just something that he would have to live with. She insisted that she didn't begrudge him for what he had done, and was even thankful for his actions. That reassurance was hard to believe when she was curled tight into a ball, pressed in the far corner when she said it.

He only felt worse about his actions in light of her reaction to them, but he couldn't even give her space to come to terms with it. She still needed his help for almost everything. She wasn't even able to walk to the waste closet by herself. Every time she had to ask him for help getting there, her face burned brighter red and nothing he could say would make it easier. It was an embarrassing thing and he couldn't deny that, even as he assured her that he didn't mind helping.

He wished that Addie would hurry up and join them. He was sure that Lea would feel better with her sister paladin as a buffer between them. But, as the uncountable minutes ticked by, Addie remained absent.

All together, he was in a tough spot. He couldn't take care of Lea, help her escape, and also mount a rescue mission for Addie - if necessary - all at the same time. He would have to choose and, at this moment, it seemed his responsibility to Lea was greater. No matter how much Addie meant to him, he knew she wouldn't forgive him for undoing all of her work and potential sacrifice by not taking the opportunity she had given him to escape with Lea.

To his great relief, however, it was a choice that was taken from him an unknown amount of time - that could have been a week for all he knew - later.

The sound of movement from the small antechamber brought Emilien quickly to his feet, fists raised, ready to fight. He had been across the room from Lea, giving her as much room as possible, sitting in uncomfortable silence. At the first sound, however, he was up, putting himself between her and the door. He knew to expect Addie, but he was still cautious, his jaw tight as he prepared to fight.

The latch on the door jiggled-

-then the door burst open!

"Honey, I'm home!" Addie announced when she strutted into the room.

She no longer resembled a male priest but, instead, was a dark haired young woman that could have been Emilien's sister. She was wearing a plain dress he didn't recognize and had a large, heavy bag tossed over one shoulder, resting against her hip. He was only able to identify her by the sound of her voice which was identical to Felicie – Addie's twin sister.

"You're all right!" Emilien beamed, dropping his fists.

"Did you doubt it?" Addie flipped her hair back before focusing on Lea who was slowly getting to her feet, holding onto the wall to steady her shaky legs. Addie's playful expression faded into a small smile of relief as she rushed forward. "Lea!"

"Addie..." Lea smiled, accepting her embrace. "I was getting worried."

"You were getting worried?" Addie laughed, stepping back but keeping an arm around her waist to help keep her upright. "You weren't even conscious when I found you. You're feeling better now though, right?"