Abridged Ties (Gilbert x OC)

Khorin Dörvön (FINAL)

About a year passed, and suddenly, Glen stopped coming to Noelle's room.  She had begun to understand, more or less, of what was going on with her body from the mark that appeared on her chest, but her answers ceased when the one person who visited her also ceased to do so. 

A maid came and went from her room, bringing her two meals a day, but no more of the strange, purple juice.  The black-and-white clad woman didn't ever speak to the isolated twelve-year-old, until she asked, "What happened to Mister Glen?"

The maid was startled at her question for a moment before averting her flustered gaze.  "He died." She answered solemnly, quickly rushing from the white room.

About a year later, Noelle was visited by the single person that would transform her life for the better.  A young man with tousled dark hair and kind golden eyes brought her a tray of food instead of the usual silent servant.

That boy, adopted into the Baskerville household by the name of Gilbert Baskerville, truly touched the lonely young girl's heart.  She had thought that the previous Glen cared for her, but that kind of compassion was nothing compared to the kindness that Gilbert gave to her.  Though, he wasn't aware of the fact that she cried every night that he left, both due to being alone again and to the gratefulness that he was a part of her little isolated world.

However, several months after she met Gilbert, Noelle was visited by Kheree again.  Having already succumbed to the white-haired woman in her mind, she was able to embrace the young girl.  The first meeting with Kheree, she had told the young girl that they would leave together to somewhere they would never be alone, and she knew that this was the night that Kheree would take her to that place.

The woman took her small, frail hand, leading her through a door of her mind, leading her into another black realm...

The realm that served as none other than The Abyss.

~+-+-+-+~

One hundred years passed.

Noelle was pulled from the dark depths of The Abyss along with Kheree's foul heart, waking in some world that clearly wasn't the same one she had left.

Her first troubled thought lied among the fact that she had left Gilbert, and she knew that surely, he was dead by now.

"Hello...?" Noelle turned at the sound of confused voice, meeting icy blue eyes.  "Are you alright, young lady?"

The thirteen-year-old examined her body quickly, checking for any signs of injury.  "I... think so..."

"You don't look like you are from around here. Where are you from?"  He seemed kind as he asked her these questions.

But Noelle paused, unsure of that herself.  "I'm not really sure... I just know I'm not from around here..."  Her violet eyes narrowed as she tried to comprehend her situation.

"What is your name?" The dark-haired man offered a hand to the young girl.

She didn't offer him her original last name as she considered herself to belong to a different household from the moment Glen pulled her from her mother.  "Noelle Baskerville." She answered.

Shock crossed over the man's typically confident expression, but it soon faded into a smile.  "Ah, Noelle, you may call me the 'Doctor.'  Why don't you come with me, I'll save you from your confusion."

Thus, Noelle slowly took his hand.  And from that point, she was invited into several years of torture, confusion, and emotional destruction as the Doctor seemed to enjoy every bit of it, recording every horrid detail in his notebooks.  He had tried to figure out what was "inside of her mind," and she knew what he meant.  She just decided to keep Kheree a secret, fearing what he may do to try to destroy her.

Nonetheless, the late-night bird drawings and persisted, the Doctor collecting those and treasuring them as artifacts as well.  The clock mark on her breast had faded into her skin, only becoming visible when she had a pounding headache, undoubtedly due to Kheree.

After several more years, she had consistent meetings with Kheree.  But one would transform her vision of reality or the next year and a half.

The Doctor, putting on a warm, kind facade that only Noelle knew to be fake, was instructed to accompany him on a business trip.  However, soon after leaving his house, the all-too-familiar white-haired woman haunted her mind, giving her an excruciating headache.

Seeing her change of strength, the Doctor pulled her into a dark alleyway, hiding this scenario from anyone who would pass them.

"I wonder... is this what precedes your 'episodes?'" He wondered aloud, dropping his gentlemanly act.  "What if... I cut your head open? Would whatever's inside there come out?"  His grin was horrible as he seriously considered the fact.

"I... I don't know."  She answered with both fear and pain.

"Let's try it, why don't we?"  The Doctor picked up one of the wooden boards that haphazardly rested in the alley, lifting it over her head.

When he swung it at her, she managed to escape the impact.  But her feet failed her on the wet stone.  She released a yelp as she fell to the ground.

She looked up, the Doctor looming over her with a corrupted expression, the wood still in his hand.

Noelle raised her hands over her head to protect herself as the icy-eyed man laughed maniacally.  But the shield was useless as the heavy board collided with her skull.

As soon as blackness engulfed her mind, Kheree stood before her.  She embraced the terrified Noelle, but did not let this time that she was so vulnerable be taken for granted.  The white-haired woman knew it was the only time she would have.

Kheree lifted Noelle's small chin, taking her lips... and also, all of her memories before that moment.

~+-+-+-+~

"I remember everything..."  Noelle looked at the concerned golden eyes before her.  When the element of surprise faded, tears erupted from her violet orbs.

She felt weak as she let Gilbert hug her warmly, stroking her thick curls as he always did. 

As she gripped onto his shirt, releasing all of the sadness that she held within her.  All of the pain she had experienced and forgotten, all of the terror she had to endure, all of it was being let go in this moment.

Finally, Noelle had calmed down, and that was when she explained every detail that escaped her during her amnesia, including what she had learned about Levi Baskerville's 'White Wing Project' involving her own blood, and undoubtedly Kheree.

But Kheree was still with her.  However, this was the true Kheree: The true 'White Raven,' not the one that had corrupted her mind and body for so many years.

And eventually, in many, many years to come, Kheree would leave her, only to return to the Raven she was a part of: The Raven that dwelled within Gilbert Baskerville's blood.

Just as Noelle felt connected to Gilbert through her love for him, the White Raven inside of her was truly meant to be a part of Gilbert, or otherwise, a part of Raven inside of him. 

But for now, it was enough to just be by Gilbert's side.  That was a bond that would never fall to the corruption of The Abyss.