Alethian Shield: Arjuna

THREE

C. 003
Accusation

Endenna felt funny walking like this.

Her hands balled into fists, shaking from head to toe as the coldness of the weather settled into her nerves. She had already rung her clothes out from the excess water, but the smell of dampness lingered in the air. She worried the smell might reach out to others and cause them to isolate her, after all the rain done nothing but ruin the clothing she hung out earlier this morning too.

Not that it mattered. She has a dream in mind now. A clear goal, to hunt and kill the terrorist that has been plaguing the whole place. She continued to trudge with her soggy shoes, taking a turn from the hidden spot only to find that the funeral was gonna end.

The people in unforms were waving each other good bye, fixing an umbrella above their heads as they went into their respective vehicles. She eyed the umbrella hungrily, it would be nice to be shielded from the rain without using her hands. She wanted warmth.

As she passed the entrance of the Estate, she locked eyes with the white coffin inside. Beautiful, she uttered under her breath. She looked down, taking deep breaths to stop the incoming waterfall. It stung her throat as she held it in, but she needed to be strong.

"I... strong...." She mumbled, her hands unclenching themselves before curling in their previous position. She looked up once the creaking of the huge double doors sounded. She locked eyes with a blue eyed male, he appears to be so worn out. The bags under his eyes was enough to convey the message as he waved at her. A sad smile resting on his lips.

But before she could approach him, something—or rather someone, bumped into her, hard.

"Im so sorr—are you okay? Can you stand?" A frantic voice asked, reaching out his hands to lift Endenna up. "Your clothes! Are you... okay?"

Endenna managed to get a good look of the culprit. Dirty blonde hair, light blue eyes paired with a comfortable oversized green trench coat. As if on instinct, she smashes her face on to the clothing, relishing at the smoothness it held. She heard a chuckle from the towering adult before her.

"you can have it."

++++++

They boarded a taxi.

Its been a while since Endenna saw one. If she has to remember, it must be when she found herself lost at a town's shopping complex. Strangers would approach her after noticing her eyes. The unfocused orbs of hers were always looking at something, but not somewhere she wanted to be. A taxi driver even offered help, but when he noticed the condition of her school uniform all tattered and unclean, he decided to leave and never look back.

Being lost made her feel terrible. A huge amount of sadness piling up, that suffocated her more than her hands would. But she found herself unable to express that.

However the piling sadness was sealed off as the driver craned his neck to face her. He gave her a small grin before turning his attention to the gentleman beside her. "where to, Sir?"

"The Police Headquarters in Spring Street please." The man replied. He watched the little girl carefully. She was shivering as she huddled closer to the coat. Her whole face was covered from the hood of it, only the tip of her red nose peeking out of it.

He turned a small knob around the car's armrest, encasing warm air into the atmosphere. They both sighed in relief. The sudden weather was a surprise to those who predicted the summer would come all around, so the warmth was something to take pleasure in.

He brought out his notepad, a pencil in one hand as he got into strict business mode. "My name is Albert Calhousse. Im a detective in the monster division." He tapped his badge, the shrill clinking bringing Endenna out of her stupor of warm air conditioning. He immediately went to questioning her as soon as he noticed her uniform. It was the same school Alissa also went to.

"Since I saw you lingering near the Estate, I figured you might have some clues on Alissa's whereabouts before the incident."

Endenna widened her eyes. Albert's eyes narrowed at this, but chose to dismiss it. After all, when he stumbled upon her, she had this sort of hazy look in her eyes. It made her look like the type of person who lives to stumble upon the clouds, to float and never return, despite the plunging fall that lays below.

"I see! You must be a daydreamer!" He chirped. Deep inside, it hurts his pride to sound so optimistic. "Do you think you can answer some questions before we reach our destination?"

Endenna blinked, head popping out of the hood as she nodded at Albert.

"what are your relations with Miss Alissa Harkova?"

Her breath hitched, head cocked to the side as she contemplated her responses. Friends? Are they friends? She just met her yesterday...

"class... mate."

"how long have you been friends with her?"

Should she tell him she forgot how to count? She shook her head internally.
Instead, she pointed to her school logo, hoping he would atleast take a hint.

"Middle school Auburn?" Albert questioned, furiously writing on his notepad. "Since the start of Middle school? Wow, you two must've been really good friends!"

She chose to ignore him, her head already trailing off from boredom as she set her sight outside. They were in the City's Spring Park, right at the heart of the city where pink flowers bloom every season.

Flowers. They just had to be the same as her dead friend's hair pin.

Her eyes wandered again. She found herself drawn to a pair of shops. A bakery house and a 7-eleven store. They were shut close, with big boards hung from its door, the letters 'closed' written in bold red. However, as she squinted more she could a slinking shadow shifting in the space between the two stores. Her breath stilled as the strange figure appeared, its signature red hood covering its features partially.

She wanted to ask albert if she could see the person. "Red ho—"

Instead she was greeted by the sight of Albert stabbing his notebook with his pencil, the sound of his curses finally staring to sound less muffled.

"damn it kid, you've been ignoring most of my questions!" He shouted, eyes reddened as they fell on her.

She gasped as the light blue eyes began to darken under his rage.

"Why can't you just say 'yes' or 'no' huh? Is it that difficult?" He began tugging on her collar, breath fogging up her vision as she stayed paralyzed in her seat.

"A-Albert?" she choked out, palms pushing away the hand clasped around her collar. "h-hurts! Hurts!!"

"Sir, please let go of the child." The driver interrupted, he had a worried look as he watched the girl start to cry. "Sir, I will report this to the police, you need to let her go!"

"I am with the police you bastard!" Albert shouted.

She didn't realize they had long arrived at the Police station. It was only when the door to her side was forcefully opened did she notice.

There were two police officers who immediately placed handcuffs on her. They all had displeasure written on their faces as they watch her try to wriggle free.

"Miss Endenna, you are under arrest for the murder of Alissa Harkova."