Falling [completed]

47

Aldric waited for Remmy for a few minutes, but then started on his workout.  She was rarely late and sitting around waiting for her to show up grated on his worry.  He didn't want to seem like the smothering boyfriend, texting her after being ten minutes late.  He had already asked her to move in with him and they had only been together for a few weeks.  Something in her had pulled on his heart.  She was amazing in every way.  He wanted to take care of her, but also to let her independence flourish.

He thought about her as he wrapped his hands and made an enemy out of the bag.  Treating it like the captor of time that had been stollen from them, the time he should have gotten, but she was late.  Maybe he had been smothering her.  He thought back to the time they had spent together and couldn't remember any subtleties that would have clued him in to her needing space.  The more he thought about it, the more he thought he was the one that had been chased.  She kept coming to him in the beginning.  She gave him his shirt back.  She barged in and asked for lessons on self defense.  Even after the tournament, she had waited outside of his place in the human world to see him.  She was the pursuer, and he was the pursued.

So why wasn't she here now?  Had she grown tired of him?  With each heavy thought he struck the bag.  Maybe her first day back at school had been demanding.  But she was too smart for anything like that to be demanding.  She didn't once complain about having extra assignments to do.  Maybe she had been bullied because of her failure.  But Remmy was tough, inside and out.  She would never let something like that bother her.  She had lost because of him.  Because she wanted to be with him.  But then, why wasn't she here?

Aldric paused for a moment.  His knuckles throbbed from hitting the bag harder than he had meant to.  He walked over to his towel and his phone.  She was now over thirty minutes late.  He text her, "Where are you?"

Aldric couldn't concentrate anymore on his training.  He took a brief shower and headed to Remmy's house.  She hadn't text him back.  He called her and no one answered.  He could feel in the pit of his stomach something was not right.  He began to run.

He made it to Remmy's house in less than ten minutes.  Mack's truck was gone.  He was probably still at work.  Aldric knocked on the door.  There wasn't a sound coming from inside the house.  The only noise he could hear were the crickets chirping and the throbbing of his heart in his ears.

He couldn't remember where Mack's office was and silently kicked himself for never asking Remmy more about her job.  The only other place she could be was at the library.  He checked his phone again, a picture of them together stared back at him.  He tucked it into his back pocket and headed to the library.

His mind raced, moving faster than his feet carried him.  If she wasn't at the library, he would go back and wait for Mack to get home.  That was all he could do.  She was too responsible to be doing this to him.  Panic began to set in.  There was no way she would leave him like this.  She would tell him if she wanted space.  She would tell him if he overstepped.  She would tell him if she didn't want him.  She hadn't though.  She hadn't said anything other than happy words about their relationship.  He was being insecure. 

Aldric Walton had finally found something to be insecure about and it was Remmy.  That was how much she meant to him.  He picked up his pace, seeing the roof of the library ahead.  She had to be there.  Or maybe the librarian would know where she was.  Remmy seemed to have a special connection with her.

Aldric took the steps two at a time and flung the heavy wooden doors open.  He slowed himself to a fast walk trying to control his breathing.  He needed to slow down so if she was here, he could talk to her.  He rounded the corner to find the table empty.  He looked around and the place was quiet.  The only sound that entered his ears were his own heavy breaths.  He walked over and placed a hand on the back of the chair where Remmy had sat when he last saw her here.

His muscles began to burn in his legs from being pushed so hard.  He started to walk away, to find the librarian, but she had found him.  He straightened his pose to look more presentable.

"Is there anything I can help you find?"  Aurora gave a subtle smile.

"I'm looking for Remmy.  She was supposed to meet me, but never showed up.  She isn't answering her phone and she isn't at Mack's house."

Aurora's smile faded easily.  She stood for a moment, taking in the sight of the young man that Remmy had grown attached to.  She intimated for him to sit, but Aldric shook his head.

"She came to me a few hours ago.  She was concerned about the mistake she had made."

Aldric looked slightly confused.  His insecurities overtaking him.  Was he the mistake?  He didn't think his heart could beat any harder but terror drove it forward.  He tried to mask his face but felt control slipping.

Aurora smiled gently at him.

"Not you my dear, she cares for you deeply.  The mistake at the tournament.  She has had a change in heart after realizing what the new Ruler is capable of, and realized how her world would change because of it."

His heart stumbled.  Remmy cared for him, but then why was she forcing the Ruler issue?  He had heard of the new laws and saw no harm in most of them.  But Remmy must know more than she had let on about the new Ruler.  He needed to find her, to figure this out with her.

"It is only through her that I care to help you.  She mentioned getting assistance to the capitol."

Aldric's heart almost stopped.  The curfew would begin before she arrived at the castle.  Punishment was being locked up in chains. The longer you were out past curfew, the longer the chains stayed on.

"Do you know where Mack works? Where his office is?"

"I will give you the address."

Aldic didn't make it to Mack's office.  He was a block away when he felt his powers telling him something was wrong.  He looked around and found Remmy's bag.  Her books were still neatly tucked away inside.  He sniffed it and caught her scent, along with a scent of a male and something sweet.  He slung the bag over his shoulder and let rage fill him.  Someone had taken Remmy.  One of his kind had taken her and he had no idea where she could be.