[Legacy of a Martyr #2] Liberation from the Masquerades (A Key Keepers novel)

Special Episode

*Noelle*

Once we left Alain's house, Hannah went back to her KKs and Ame dropped me off at the palace of Norma Esther.

"Want me to stay with you for a while?" Ame asked.

"I'll be fine." I waved my hand. "My strength is coming back."

She raised an eyebrow. "You sure? You could barely stand."

"I'm sure."

"Alright then. I guess I'll go."

Ame then left, which was a relief if I was being totally honest...

I should probably go check on Leon and Rachel... I was only gone for an hour or so, but anything could happen in that little sliver of time. That was a lesson I would never forget. Rachel wouldn't tell me if anything happened if I didn't ask. She wasn't comfortable "bothering" me when I was spending time with Alain or the others.

Anyway, my legs were shaking, but I willed myself to my feet. It was important to know if I missed anything.

When I made my way into the hallway, I passed by a woman on the staff.

"Do you need something, Miss Noelle?"

"Where are Leon and Rachel?"

She curtsied. "I believe they are in his office, Miss."

"Thank you."

I had to use the wall to support myself, but I made my way toward Leon's office.

They found me before I could get there.

"Kayleigh, Noelle..." Leon put his hands behind my knees and back. "You could have had someone on the staff come find us."

"Leon!"

Rachel walked beside us. "The way the staff were talking about you and looking at you right now, I'm shocked you could walk at all."

Leon set me in a chair in front of his desk. "What happened while you were gone?"

"Something happened to Lie, so Hannah asked me to come look at her. I think her powers were the cause of it. Anyway, I went to look at her, and I got a nasty jolt. My legs have been mush since."

"Yeesh..." Rachel said. "Sounds like the kid had a rough day."

Leon sighed. "I take it that sapped your strength somehow?"

"Unfortunately."

Leon pulled up a wheelchair and lifted me into it.

"Leon!" My cheeks got hot. "Where did you even get this thing, anyway?"

"The shape you're in right now, I'm not letting you take another step, Noelle." He glanced at the window. "As for why we had this thing laying around, you know just as well as I do how Elia was when she lived."

I looked at him sideways. "She didn't always know when she needed to take it easy. I admit that, but she couldn't have been that bad."

"Oh, she totally could be. There were times that Connor had to pretty much force her to stay in bed. I'm surprised you don't remember that. You were there at least a few times if I remember right."

If that was true, why didn't I remember that? We'd done that with Alain a few times, so why didn't I remember doing that to Elia?

Rachel knelt down, so she was on my eye level. "Noelle, sweetie, your job is to make sure I have everything I need, right?"

"Of course, it is." I furrowed my eyebrows. "What's your point?"

She put her hands over mine. "You can't do that if you don't take care of yourself, so what you need to do right now is to rest and let us take care of you."

Leon got on one knee beside Rachel. "She's right. Let Ame take care of things for a couple days. You hardly ever take time to let yourself rest."

"Leon's right. If your other KK was here, he'd probably tell you the same thing. You deserve to rest once in a while, because you always work so hard for us."

Leon got behind me. "It'd probably be a good idea if you rest in your room for a while. We can have a nice dinner with Rachel later." He took a deep breath. "If I'm being honest, I could use some time away from the staff."

"Wait." Rachel's eyes got big. "Noelle has her own room in the palace?"

"If I remember correctly, she lived here when I was a boy."

I sighed and if I'm being honest, I finally let myself truly relax since I got that peek into Lie's dream. They had won. If they wanted to spoil me, I'd let them.

"Alright... I really am tired from that ordeal... I can only imagine what poor Lie was going through today."

Leon rubbed my back. "I'll make sure the staff doesn't pester you. If they figure out what's going on, a few will probably try to smother you if I don't."

"Thanks, Leon... You really are the best..."

My exciting afternoon was catching up to me, too... If Leon hadn't given me the wheelchair, I would have fallen. I could barely hold myself up I was so tired.

***

Thoughts on this Noelle ep? Theories? Predictions?

~Shino out!