FALLOUT [Index One - Part Two]

Chapter Two

Elle had returned to school in two days' time, and had been asked if she was alright so many times she thought her head would spin.

"Because I'm not!" she complained to Cameron as they walked to the cafeteria for lunch. "I'm really not."

"What's wrong?" they said.

"Arinoi's not here." She crossed her arms as they sat down. "I haven't seen her all day."

"Now, why, oh why, would you be sad about that?" Cameron asked knowingly.

"Shut up," Elle hissed, frowning. "She's my friend, I want to make sure she's okay." She leaned forward. "You've been here. Y'know, when we weren't. Is she-"

"I don't know," they shrugged. "They weren't here, same as you."

A concerned look crossed Elle's face. "You think she's alright?"

"Your cute, hot friend, not mine," Cameron pointed out.

"She's not my- I mean, she is, but she's not-"

"Elle!" Kate called, sitting beside her with Jack. "Are you al-"

He quickly put a hand over her mouth before she could finish. "How was school?" he asked instead.

She slumped onto the table. "Horrible."

Kate laughed. "Have you seen Arinoi?" she said.

She shook her head. "I was hoping you had," she admitted.

"No, sorry. I could, uh..." She glanced at Cameron. "...swing by her house after school, though," she said awkwardly.

"Good save," Jack muttered from beside her, too quiet for them to hear.

"Please do," Elle said softly. "I want to know how she is."

Cameron rubbed her arm. "We know, girl," they chuckled.

~

Kate came back the next day quieter than usual. After not coming to lunch, Jack stood up and offered to go look for her.

He found her on a bench on the south side of the school, quietly tracing small runes onto the discoloured metal. He walked up, trying to be a bit louder than normal so he didn't startle her. "Hey," he said softly.

"Hi," she responded, not looking up.

He sat beside her, still giving her space. "You alright?"

She shrugged. "Probably."

A frown crossed his face. "What's wrong."

"Nothing's...wrong..." she said hesitantly. "Just..." Jack stayed silent, letting her finish her thought. "Index Four never went under."

He raised an eyebrow, still not clear on everything. "Okay?"

She shook her head. "When Nadia...died," she muttered, hugging herself, "that was the last tie to the royal family. Everyone else should be dead, too."

"...And they're not?"

She nodded. "So, somewhere out there is an heir to the throne." A grim look crossed her face. "And we don't know who."

"Maybe - and I know you knew them better," Jack said quickly, "so you could tell me the chances, but maybe they had illegitimate children?"

Kate shook her head. "The king and queen - may they rest in peace - loved each other, I doubt they would without anyone knowing."

"Now what?" Jack asked.

A numb look crossed her face. "I have to go look for them," she said quietly.

"How long will that take?"

"...Weeks?" she said, starting to cry. "Months?"

Jack put an arm around her shoulders, comforting her. "Hey," he said. "It's alright."

"I don't want to go," she said softly. "I- I want to stay here, with you and Elle and Cameron and the others..."

"You could always visit, right?" 

She shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well...We'd figure it out." He squeezed her arm gently. "Okay?"

"Mmm," she grimaced, doubting him but not wanting to say it directly.

"I'll figure it out somehow."

~

Arinoi returned the following week without so much as a word to anyone. Opting to respond in a monotone manner when called upon, she stayed quiet otherwise. Elle waited for everyone else to file out the door once math ended, sitting on the desk next to Arinoi's. Neither of them spoke.

Then, before Elle could say anything, Arinoi opened her mouth. "I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine," Elle pointed out.

"I-" She shook her head. "Yeah okay, fair point. But seriously." She slid the math homework packet into her bag and closed it, sliding it over her head to her other shoulder. "It's fine."

Elle blocked Arinoi's way before she could exit. "You and I both know that's not true."

"How do you know?" Arinoi asked, both harsh and questioning at the same time.

"Because..." She exhaled, frustrated. "Because I'm not okay, and- and I'm too scared to tell anyone else, because they're just going to baby me," she muttered, "but I thought you'd get it, since, y'know..."

"I knew her?"

"Yeah."

She shrugged, pushing past her. "So does- did?" She shook her head. "Kate too."

"Kate's gone," she blurted out stopping Arinoi in her tracks. "She left yesterday."

Arinoi turned, eyebrows raised. "Why?"

"Something about finding Index Four's heir?"

She looked at Elle for a second, quiet, before her mouth formed a thin line. "I see." She walked out of the room.

Elle chased after her. "What aren't you telling me?" she asked.

Arinoi chuckled dryly. "That list is way too long."

Elle brushed it off. "Come on, Ari, please."

Arinoi stopped, the bell for the next period ringing. They had it off for lunch, so neither of them were too worried. "Look I'm just...surprised."

"Why?"

"Because Kate knows who the next heir is."

Elle blinked. "She does? Who?"

Arinoi started walking slowly, ignoring Elle's question. "And if she's not telling them, she's trying to protect me," she murmured to herself. "Which is messed up on so many levels that I don't want to get into it-"

"Who's the heir?" Elle asked again.

Arinoi glanced up at her. "Why did you think I was gone for a week?" she said.

"...Grief?"

"...Fair point." She looked at the ground. "Turns out that the king and queen asking to adopt me was less of consent and more of a...warning, I guess?"

"What are you saying?"

Arinoi sighed. "I'm a princess, Elle," she admitted quietly, finally looking up at her. "And in a month, I'll be a queen."