Unknown L (Book 1)

~~~ I Don't Like Surprises ~~~

It must have been the middle of the night, and they were miles away from the farmhouse now. Emilia stopped and gestured for the Worcesters to be laid down on the grass. She put her finger to her lips and ran off into the trees. L watched in confusion for a second until her attention returned to the Worcesters. They were crumpled on the floor, panting. Robbie's leg was still set at an odd angle, and blood was pouring from it. She tried to go to him, but Lort wouldn't let go.

When she looked up at him, about to speak, he put a huge finger to his lips and turned his gaze to where Emilia had disappeared. L was still confused, but a minute later, Emilia reappeared, and she let out a breath she must have been holding in.

"It's safe, for now. We rest until the others arrive, and then we'll be leaving immediately. L, I must speak to you in private."

L raised her brow at the curt tone to Emilia's voice. She had never been anything other than friendly to L. Had what she done pissed off Emilia, too?

She sighed and held up the arm with Lort attached to it. Emilia nodded her head to Lort, and he finally let go. L rubbed her arm and followed Emilia a little ways away from the group. L knew it must have been so the Worcesters couldn't hear.

"Are you going to lecture me about how dangerous it was for me to come upstairs and help my friends?" L asked before Emilia could speak.

She was used to being lectured and just wanted to get it over and done with.

"Actually, no, I am not. I wanted to warn you as to the condition they're in. It's not good, but especially the boy, he's steadily bleeding out. We need to get them back to the base as soon as possible... or he may not survive."

Her tone was emotionless, as though she was just stating facts. L was both surprised and annoyed that she was reacting that way. L gritted her teeth and was about to turn away when Emilia stopped her.

"And I also wanted to prepare you for how angry Brycathlen will be. He expressly told you to stay with the Ogres. You put yourself directly in danger when we had it under control. Do you understand that you could have been taken there and then, L? It would have all been over in that instant. They'd have taken you to Frallica and the world as we know it would cease."

L looked at Emilia. She didn't regret her decision, but she understood how it could have all gone wrong.

"What happened to not lecturing me?" L frowned and waved that aside, "Look, I know that what I did was reckless, but I couldn't help it, I couldn't stand idly by and do nothing while it sounded like a war was going on. When I heard Robbie cry out, I just reacted. What would you have done if that had been Bryce up there?"

Emilia opened her mouth to answer and faltered. She peered down at her sword in its scabbard. She looked like she was stopping herself from smiling, and instead, she sighed.

"I would have done the very same thing you did, though it is very different since I am trained in battle, magic, and I have a weapon. You had none of that. What were you planning to do to defeat Kasseal? Sprint around him and wait until he got tired?"

Slowly, her words sank in, and L realised how badly thought out her plan was, though she smiled faintly.

"His name is Kasseal? Seriously? What twisted creature named him that? No wonder he was so angry."

L thought she caught a hint of another smile on Emilia's mouth, but it was gone in the next second. Her tone was softer, however, and she nodded.

"Yes, that is his name... but that's beside the point. He is one of Frallica's inner circle of Demons. He is extremely dangerous, and you need to start listening to what you're told regardless of what you think you can do. I will never forget Brycathlen's face when he saw you running into that room. It was a truly pained expression."