#nemo rider | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

violetlunette · 26 days

Text

Runaway Chapter 8: Departure

Summary: Malleus continues to sort through his emotions while Lilia finally receives news…

Previous Chapter

Master List

Ao3

Notes: *Twst spoilers for Chapter/Book 7

Lilia’s body went cold as the world stopped around him.

“A...body?” he repeated, his heart coming to a sharp stop. No. No, that couldn’t be true.

It had to be a mistake. It had to be.

“Papa, please live a long and healthy life.”

“No matter how strong you are, you’re still my one and only father. So, please, let me take care of you.”

“Let’s stay together, forever!”

‘Silver…’ Lilia’s body quaked with terror. N o. No! This couldn’t be real, it couldn’t! There had to be a mistake. There just had to be. Silver couldn’t be dead ! He couldn’t!

Lilia never had a chance to explain things, to apologize. He didn’t get to tell the other he was sorry for everything--

‘This can’t be happening.’ He felt sick.

This couldn’t be real! This--

“Yeah, near a skeletal body on a pirate ship.”

...eh?

“What?” Both Lilia and Crowley mirrored the question.

“The ring hooked on to the hat somehow and sank it down to the bottom of the sea. It landed near the body of a dead pirate on the wreckage of an ol’ ship. Already looted, unfortunately.”

. ..

. . .

.. .

. ..

. . .

… !

Lilia tilted to the side as the world restarted itself, the man's face completely blank.

Once the world rebooted, Lilia shifted from a stunned bat to an angry cat.

“ You--!! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT?! ” he yowled, loud enough that the other men jumped. He nearly pounced, claws out, when Crowley grabbed him around the waist.

“Oi! Easy now, Vanrouge! Easy! ” Growling like a dog, Lilia easily shoved the headmaster aside, glaring at the sailor.

“Someone get a map!” h e demanded. “I want to know the exact location you found this!”

If the broom was missing a rider, then Silver must have fallen into the ocean. If so, it was likely he was swept to a nearby island. Provided, he didn’t drown. Lilia just needed to figure out which island that was by finding where Silver was and what the current was like that night.

The sailor was startled by the sudden demand.

“Huh? I--” Lilia’s patience snapped, and he leveled the poor old man with a glare that would make a dragon tremble. (And had.)

“ Did I stutter? ” he barked, making the others jump like rabbits, his red eyes flashing like warning lights. “Get me a map! NOW! ”

~*~

After getting the frightened sailor to pinpoint the area where the ring was found and getting information about the currents, Lilia took the map back to his room to decide his next course of action.

It wasn’t easy.

There were several islands, and there was no way to tell where Silver was swept. Lilia could only guess when Silver fell into the sea, which made tracing the tides difficult. It didn’t help that the storm had thrown everything off, messing up the waves of the currents.

Regardless, Lilia had to figure it out quickly.

If Silver was on a little island, it wasn't a big deal, as it would limit where he could go unless a ship came. In that case, Lilia could easily inquire about it. (Assuming the island wasn't abandoned.) However, if the boy was on the mainland, Silver could be getting further and further away from him every second. And what if Silver never even made it to land?

What if he was abducted by pirates and was forced to work as a swabbie? Or sold off as a slave somewhere? Or what if he was taken by Nemo and forced to live on a submarine for the rest of his life, drinking turtle milk and the like? Never be seen again by the surface world? Well, if it was the latter, then Lilia would make sure Nemo was never found again, and if it was the pirate thing, he’d--

Lilia took a deep breath to rein his mind in.

‘Keep it together, Lilia,’ he told himself, rolling Silver’s ring between his fingers. Letting his imagination run wild wouldn’t help a thing. But then, what would help?

Lilia looked at his reflection in the crystal stones of the gold ring.

It had been three days since the jewel piece was brought to him.

That meant it had been a whole week where Lilia had no idea where his son was or if he was safe.

It was driving him crazier than he thought. Lilia hadn’t slept in days, and he only ate when Sebek or Kalim came to check on him.

‘Heh. I’ve really become a worrywart, haven’t I?’ Then again, according to Malenore, he was always this way.

His expression dropped as he thought of his dear friend and first love.

Malleus said that by taking in Silver, Lilia had betrayed her. Lilia never thought of it like that.

When he took in Silver, he only thought of Leven’s dreams for their people and if Lilia himself could come to care for a human. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder: how would Malenore react to Lilia raising the son of her enemy?

She hated humans. Even before the war, she looked down on them as inferior and thought it was “cute” that Leven wanted to live at peace with them, at best.

If she saw him now, how would she react?

Lilia bit his lip, then shook his head.

‘No. There’s no time for that.’ Lilia had to concentrate on pinpointing Silver’s location. The rest could wait. It had to.

The bat frowned.

‘If only there was a way to track him—‘ “Ah!”

As he thought about this, the ring seemed to jump out of his hand.

It landed on the map and began to roll around and around before falling. Lilia read the name under it; his brow furrowed in thought.

“The Queendom of Roses?” Could that be where Silver was? Even if that were the case, how would Silver’s ring know?

The jewelry piece glittered as if responding. The frown on Lilia's brow deepened.

Despite having had the ring for all these years, Lilia had no idea what its magical properties were. Only that, it helped both the knight and Silver and had diurnal magic. Regardless, it had a connection to the two.

‘Could it lead me to Silver?’ Well, it wasn’t like he had any other directions to take. He would have to gamble and hope for the best.

“Well then! Time to head to Queendom to paint the roses,” he decided, circling the island with a pen. He only prayed that he would find more than white rabbits and Cheshire cats there.

~*~

When Lilia announced his departure to Sebek, the lad insisted on accompanying him, but Lilia turned him down.

“You’re still a student, remember? I’m not,” he reminded the other. While Crowley was “kind” enough to allow Lilia to remain, the fact remained that he had already dropped out. He couldn’t stay forever. (As much as he would have liked to.)

Lilia had to push down his emotions.

They were in the mirror hall now, Crowley having gotten the mirror ready to send him to Queensland, where he would begin his search. Sebek found out and came to see him off, even ditching his class to do so, something Lilia made sure to scold him for.

“Whatever else is going on, you have to continue your education,” he told the boy. “Otherwise, you won’t be able to become a guard, and all your efforts will be for nothing.

"Besides, Malleus would be all alone if you came. I know you don’t want that.” Lilia pushed down even harder at the emotions his ward brought up and the reminder that the two had yet to make up.

Sebek went stiff at the thought, his eyes shining.

“Ngh! Of course not. But…” His expression was torn. Of course, he wanted to be there for Malleus, but Sebek also had a sense of loyalty to Silver, who had been like a brother to him all this time.

Lilia lifted a hand to his shoulder and smiled.

“You did more than enough, Sebek,” he said honestly. He gripped the boy in appreciation. “Without you and your efforts, I wouldn’t even have a lead. You did your part. Now let me do mine.” Then he winked. “I’ll bring Silver back, and you can kick his ass for running away like this.” Lilia prayed that wasn’t an empty promise. Sebek still looked unsure.

“But will you be alright by yourself? With your magic..." Sebek trailed off, causing Lilia to tense as he forced his smile to remain.

“Even without my magic, I can take care of myself.” Lilia was magicless, not helpless, and he refused to be treated as such. (It was partially what pushed him to leave in the first place.) He continued;

“I still have my strength, my speed--” ‘My clever.’ “--I’ll just fine.” A teasing grin crossed the old man’s face.

“Or are you doubting my skill?” he asked, fangs glinting in the light as he revealed them with a grin. Sebek jumped erect.

“I would never doubt you, Lord Lilia!!” he boomed, his voice echoing around the room. Lilia chuckled.

‘Cute as always,’ he thought. He patted the boy’s arm.

“Excellent! I leave Malleus in your hands, which I know are more than capable.” At the mention of his ward, the amusement drained from Lilia’s features and was replaced with solemnity and a heavy heart. “...Take care of him, Sebek,” he said quietly, his arm dropping. Sebek’s expression fell like a puppy’s.

“Won’t--Won’t you say goodbye to him?” he urged. Lilia paused in his action to grab his travel bag (the rest of his stuff was generously stored by Kalim).

Malleus hadn’t taken the news of Lilia’s departure well last time—in fact, that was what led to this whole mess—but now, it may be different.

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to see me gone now.” Lilia sighed as he picked up the sack, his fingers shaking. Sebek nearly burst into tears.

“Master Lilia! You can’t believe that.” Lilia didn’t know what he believed.

Before this whole debacle started, Lilia truly believed that while Malleus would be saddened by his departure, he wouldn’t be as affected as he was.

Then, after he woke up—He didn’t know. Lilia just didn't know anymore.

Was leaving like this for the best, or was he just running away from his own feelings?

“I don’t know,” he admitted, shouldering the bag. “Regardless, Malleus won’t talk to me, and Silver—" The man closed his eyes. “Silver’s all by himself right now.” That’s right.

Malleus was alone before but was saved by Silver and Sebek, just as Lilia was saved by Malleus and Silver once upon a time. Now Lilia had to save Silver.

“I’m not saying goodbye—not yet,” he promised. “But I have to go, for now at least. I’ll be back when I find Silver.” That part may have been a lie, considering Malleus was directing all his pain at Silver, but saying so would have hurt his student even more.

Sebek looked as if he were about to argue but bit his tongue. Instead, he closed his eyes and retracted his sobs with a loud ‘s niff.’

“Take care of yourself, Master Lilia!” he said in a thick voice. “Both Malleus and I—we’re counting on you to bring Silver back.”

Lilia nodded. “I will.”

Sebek stepped back from his teacher as his mentor approached the mirror. In front of the glass, Lilia paused.

He felt as if he was being pulled in opposite directions. The father was eager to find Silver as soon as possible. But on the other hand, leaving Malleus...

His grip tightened on his bag.

‘No. No turning back now,’ Lilia told himself.

All other factors aside, Malleus was safe and had friends who would help him. Silver, on the other hand...

Determined more than ever, Lilia stepped into the mirror, leaving Night Raven College and all those within behind.

Not as exciting as the previous I'll admit, but I promise to make up for that in chapters to come.

#mine #twst #twisted wonderland #twst silver #lilia vanrouge #twst lilia #twst runaway #lilia twst #lilia twisted wonderland #twst fic #dire crowley #sebek zigvolt #twst diasomnia

12 notes · View notes