Little Clover

Chapter VIII

**Abandoned**
Something shook me awake, again. This time though, it wasn't a person doing all the shaking, it was the ground. I heard Yami's gruff voice somewhere outside my room say something along the lines of, "what the hell is that?" Before a loud, oddly familiar, scream came from outside. It was Asta, there was no mistaking his turbulent voice anywhere.

I stepped outside only to see Yami standing by a window, scratching the back of his head with a look that could best be described as exhausted annoyance.

"What'd he do this time?" I felt slightly awkward after addressing him so informally, but Yami just shrugged, unperturbed.

"My guess is that he pissed off Noelle, the other newbie that joined."

"The white haired, snooty girl?" I asked without the slightest thought of how rude my description may or may not have sounded.

"So you've met her then." Yami grunted with the slightest hint of amusement.

"I wouldn't say I met her... more like I was insulted and then ignored by her." Yami actually laughed this time.

"Shes definitely handful, I will admit to that." Yami stated, pointing to the window. I followed the motion with my eyes and almost had to pick my jaw up off the floor at what I saw. A giant ball of water was hurtling through the woods at break neck speed, Noel in the dead center of it all. All the others had already gathered outside of the hideout and my eyes landed on Luck who watched the scene with wonderstruck awe.

"What are they gonna do about that?" I asked, looking over to where Yami stood but found the spot unoccupied. I looked back out to the group of members and saw he had suddenly appeared amongst them.

From my spot at the window, I watched the whole scene play out like some dramatic action movie. Asta came flying over to Yami (literally) Yami pointed at the ball, said something I could only assume to be along the lines of, "take care of that for me," and then Asta was tossed into the sky. It took only a few seconds, and it was almost too quick for me to have seen, but Asta grabbed what looked like a big black sword from his grimoire and sliced the giant ball in two.

In a large explosion of water, the water ball burst apart, leaving both Asta and Noel to fall to the ground. Before they could hit it though, a portal opened up and swallowed them up before transporting them safely to the ground. I could only guess that had been the work of Finral.

Asta stood triumphantly and victoriously screamed about not dying. Yami laughed. The moment lasted longer as everyone began chatting to one another. Noel took Astas hand and everyone retreated back into the castle.

A small part of me was upset that I had missed out on what looked like a bonding moment between them all, but then again, I didn't really believe that I belonged with them at all. I was just some random stray Yami had decided to bring along. I wasn't close to any of them and I definitely didn't have the outgoing personality that Asta possessed. If this was a story, I was just a background character.

With that in mind, I made my way through the hallways in an attempt to find Yami, or find something that would give me answers to all of my questions. I began opening doors at random. The first door I opened led to an overcast room, in the center was an alter of odd looking stuffed dolls. Each doll seemed vaguely familiar. That's was before I realized that each doll was modeled after one of the black bulls. Hell, even Asta and the princess were there... and I wasn't. This new information didn't surprise me in the slightest. I knew that whoever had made the dolls had to have been one of the black bulls. What did surprise me though, was the sudden ache that arose from deep inside my chest. I felt...abandoned? Trying my best to brush off the feeling, I turned and nearly jumped ten feet into the air when I was met with an odd black and white painted face. He was mumbling something that I couldn't make out, but his eyebrows were slightly scrunched up, so I could only assume he was trying to ask me a question.

"Uh...sorry if I'm not supposed to be in here, I'm just looking around!" I fought to remember his name from the first night of introductions but came to realize that he had been one of the two names I had missed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't ever learn your name!" The mans eyes seemed to fill with sorrow at my words. His mouth moved and I very faintly heard him whisper something, but I wasn't sure what he had actually said.

"Do you have a name?" This time the man titled his head forward a bit and leaned in closer to me. This new proximity caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand on end and I had to resist the urge to jerk away as he whispered.

"My name is Gordon and that room, is my room." I felt the heat of embarrassment quickly creep up my cheeks.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I was just trying to find Yami!" I explained in a rush before scattering away as quickly as I could manage without waiting for a reply. I had never felt so creeped out before.

He didn't scare me, like Luck did, but something about him still unsettled me. No wonder I feel like I don't belong, they're all crazy. After trying door after door, I finally found what could only be a library. There were rows and rows of shelves with books filling every corner, each was ordered by size, the smallest books starting on the left and the biggest ending on the right. To be frank, the set up was definitely aesthetically pleasing to the eye, but in no way was it an efficient way of ordering a Library.

I remembered a time when I was with someone who (I couldn't remember exactly who) would take me to a library. I was young at the time and the only real thing I remembered was their explanation to me on how to find books, 'so I could do it on my own some day.'

It was one of the only muddled memories I had from before I had been taken. There were always bits and pieces of memory that resurfaced from time to time, but for the most part, all I had ever known was that place.

I must have learned to speak before I was taken, and after, I had always tried my best to learn as much as I could. Sometimes when there was another girl in with me, she would teach me the things she knew, and I would teach her the things I knew. That's how I learned things like basic mathematics. Granted, I was no rocket scientist, but I could add and subtract as well as multiply and divide. I even learned how to pick-pocket there. It was a street girl who had taught me. Still, I found it odd no one had ever mentioned magic before.

That place had taught me so many lessons, lessons that I knew would never leave me no matter how hard I tried to forget them.

A/N: Wow two chapters in the same year! Guys I'm really outdoing myself here! Alright see ya next winter, peace.

Oh and side note... don't mind the terrible formatting, I'll fix it eventually.