"Shall I get rid of them now?" James's words rang through her ears.
Frozen as her eyes stayed fixated on one page specifically in the folder, Lain shook her head. "No. I can help." She said softly.
"What?"
"I said I can help." She threw the folder down onto the concrete floor before looking determined at James.
"But why?"
"Because...I just have a good feeling about this class. Besides it would be a shame to put them all down before we've seen what they're capable of."
"What they're capable of?" He scoffed. "Did you not see their percentages? They're doing horribly. If anything were better off without them." He was taken aback by the woman's persistence.
"It's my call James. And I said we're not going to kill them."
"What do you want me to do then? They don't listen to me." He said frustrated as the claws on his hands extended out longer.
"I'll help you. I-um-I'll take some of the pressure off of your hands. I can take over."
"You're going to take over? Lain, I appreciate the offer, but do you really think teaching Bloodlet's who you frightened beyond reason is a good idea?"
"Yeah. Why not? I think I can do it." She said confidently as a droplet of sweat dripped down her face.
But James knew her better than that.
He could see behind her confident facade. Watching as her shaky eyes kept glancing towards the back of the room, he could now smell the reason behind her persistence.
Smirking as Lain continued looking between him and the Bloodlet's, James roughly cleared his throat as he pulled the woman in closely to his side. "I know what you're doing." He said before pulling away.
"What're you talking about? I'm not doing anything."
"Don't lie Lain. It doesn't look good on you." He said as he paced around the front of the room briefly with his hand to his forehead. "I can sense your attachment from a mile away. I'm surprised it took me this long to realize it."
"What?! Attachment?! I don't know what you're talking about?!" She jumped in place as her eyes darted all around the room.
But just as James's had predicted, she finally landed her fast moving eyes closely on the group of Bloodlet's in the back of the room huddled together again. However, while her glare was directed at them, James could see the way her eyes sparkled as they locked onto someone in particular.
"You know it's against the rules." He whispered to her dismay.
"But-"
"You know our laws Lain. If a Bloodlet fails this class then they're sentenced to death. It's what we've always followed. And this is no exception."
Realizing that her brother-in-law indeed knew more than she thought, Lain wasn't going to go down without a fight. "But this will be different. The rule says that Bloodlet's who fail the class will die. There isn't one that says someone other than you can't teach them...or...or...that they can't learn outside of the classroom."
With his knowledge of knowing all of their rules like they were written out in the palm of his hand, James sighed.
She was right.
"What is Mallix going to say about it?"
"We'll find out." She shrugged. While her husbands opinion mattered to her, Lain couldn't focus. She couldn't get her mind out of the sky as the same lingering thought played in her head. "What do you say James? You know I've never asked something of you before. This is the one time I will. Just let me take her out, take her home, I'll show her our ways. She'll learn everything she needs."
His brain was telling him one thing but his heart was saying another.
Sighing as he scrunched his face, James shut his eyes momentarily. "If she doesn't pass the final then her fate will be the same as stated in our laws."
"And if she does?" Her eyes lit up hopeful.
"Then she's free to do whatever she wants."
"Oh thank you James!" Lain hugged the man tightly as excitement burst through her heart.
"Don't get too excited now. She still has to pass."
"She will don't worry about that."
"What am I suppose to do about all the others then? I know you don't want the other lot of them."
"I'll still deal with them." She put a finger up before waving the man to move into the dark corner of the room as she turned to address the scared group shivering with fear in the dark.
Standing with pose and confidence, Lain cleared her throat calmly trying to draw the groups attention towards her.
But their previous encounter with the woman was so scarring that nobody dared to even move.
Clearing her throat again, louder and firmer then before, still Lain got no response from any of the Bloodlet's. The neglect was starting to become unbearable. While she still felt her racing heart nearing beating out of her chest, she was still the same woman she always was.
One who tolerated no disrespect.
Taking one giant step closer to them, Lain cleared her throat much more violently than before.
And this time everybody noticed. There was no way they could miss it. Her yellow glowing eyes were so bright it was as if they had enough power to light the entire room up by itself.
Seeing one of the Bloodlet's looking up at her, their gasp sent a cold breeze through all of their fellow classmates. The hairs were sticking up on the back of their necks, and their dry throats became more apparent from the amount of panting they were doing to keep up with their heavy breathing.
"I need all of your attention please." She called out to them in a loud and clear voice.
And slowly she found that they were each giving her the attention she craved from them. Despite it being a slow process, it was still process being made nonetheless.
"I heard from James that you all are having a hard time adjusting here. Is that true?" She said. But unlike the harsh voice they remembered hearing her use the first time they met her—she was soft. Almost seeming like she were inviting them into her conversation.
With a deep fear coursing through their veins, all of the new class members just nodded their heads. "I want to go home." Begged one of the Bloodlet's off to the side as she curled her legs to her chest.
Rather than staying up in the front of the room, Lain approached them all. Moving carefully as she got closer, the woman bent down to join their little huddle.
Those closest to her instinctively scooted further away but in their mode of panic they felt their body's freeze in place.
As she got down onto their level Lain spotted the same girl she had met only a week ago sitting across from her. The sight alone was enough to make her heart beat so forcefully that she could feel its beating from her head to her toes.
Her kind eyes and gentle face were exactly as Lain remembered.
And for a moment Lain's mind went blank as she could only focus on the one person who had been glued in her mind since the day she first met her. But as reality sunk back in, she was ready to get this over with so she could go and enjoy her new treasure.
Kneeling besides the girl who seemed to be taking it the worst Lain put her hand on her shoulders with her long nails retracted. "If you want to go home, all of you, then you've got to do as I say."
They all kept their eyes on the floor as the woman's eyes darted between all of them. "What do I have to do to get home?! Please I'll do anything! I have to see my family again!" A man across the huddle begged.
"Calm down now, you'll be able to see your family again. All you have to do is listen. Remember I told you all that the only thing you had to do was pass this class and you're free to live your lives again."
"But if we fail-"
"Which none of you will. James, here, is a natural when it comes to teaching. He knows all there is to know about our rules and culture. As long as you listen to what he has to say then trust me you'll be fine. In all my years, there have only been a handful of individuals who haven't passed the exam."
"Really?" One of the older individuals from the group said with some hope in his voice.
"Yes. I know each of you can make it through this class. So what do you all say?" She asked looking at them with a smile on her face. "Will you give this class another try?"
With no other options available, the only reasonable answer was to agree. As they each nodded, James could feel the life growing again inside of this dark room.
Watching as fear turned to hope, he remembered why he chose to follow under Lain again. She may be family to him, but her ability to lead and motivate a group kept his mind at bay. He knew that she had a knack for dealing with any situation.
With all of the Bloodlet's on track once again as they began to disperse slowly from their huddle, Lain made sure to keep one of them in particular closer to her than the rest.
"Faye?" She gently called for the terrified girl still sitting in the back as James began, for the last time, their first lesson.
Getting a small grunt in response the woman grabbed hold of the much younger woman's shoulders gently. "I need to speak to you privately." She whispered.
Waiting until the small girl stood on her own, Lain began to guide her over towards the large door.
With her heart beating faster than it had before. Lain was surprised that the girl in front of her couldn't feel the worried sweat coming off of her hands. Her eyes were fixated at the girl the entire time they walked out, she was exactly as Lain had remembered her.
Shutting the door behind them, Lain shut her eyes briefly as she collected her excited and nervous thoughts. 'Now or never.' She said internally to herself.
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Let me know what you think. Thanks Lexx signing off