It wasn't until hours later into the night that Algernon finally awoke to set his eyes upon Lucy. She laid soundlessly asleep with her head resting against the leg of the wooden table and his hand instinctively reached up to her like he was reaching for something in a dream. But before the knuckles of his finger could brush across Lucy's cheeks, he noticed the claw marks etched into the wood table just above her. Made by his demon from earlier on it's way to kill her. He drew his hand back to cover his eyes, silently cursing himself as he did.
He wondered if she really comprehended how close to death she had just come to because of him, but as he watched Lucy rest, knew she must not, because if she had, she would have run far away from him, instead of lulling to sleep so peacefully by his side.
Algernon got up after a moment longer indulging in her lap and walked to find his ring in the same spot he'd left it. With his strength back it wasn't hard for him to lift, but to anyone who hadn't trained their muscles as well as Algernon had, they would have struggled to even hold it. The metal was shockingly cold to the touch and instead of putting it on, Algernon stored it in his coat's pocket.
Once he did, he gathered Lucy in his arms and started the long trek to the girl's dorm. Lucy didn't stir as Algernon did, with her mind as tired as her body was drained.
It was late into the night, a time when even owls would be resting so Algernon thought it safe. That none of the girls would be up to catch him. But as soon as he walked into the dorms he saw Pecilia staring at him from atop the metal railings of the second floor. His breath caught wondering if she would call out to the other sleeping girls to see the scandal. Instead, she simply pointed one long finger at a door on the second floor. Algernon grasped her meaning and climbed the stairs with Lucy's head relaxing against his chest.
Pecilia held the door for him as he carried Lucy into her room, but Algernon knew she wasn't doing it out of kindness. The spiteful look on her face as he set Lucy down was proof enough of that.
He walked out into the hallway and Pecilia shut the door, with one sorrowful glance at the helpless girl.
"Algernon," Pecilia called out, her arms crossed as her dark amber eyes cut into him.
Algernon turned around but kept his face blank, as he tried to come up with a good lie to explain what she'd just seen.
Before he could think of anything Pecilia grabbed the collar of his jacket.
"Let's not be so reckless with who we are seen with." She whispered, getting intimately close to Algernon's ear as she pressed her body into his own. "And especially when and where." Pecilia latched a hand onto his jaw to angle his line of sight past her shoulder. "Not with so many prying eyes around."
Algernon finally noticed a girl of their year who had come out of bed from the noise. She tried to spy at them from a crack in her door, but Algernon spotted her, as she spotted the two of them together and the topic of her next bout of gossip.
Algernon's jaw tightened.
"After all," Pecilia whispered into his ear so no one but him would hear. "We wouldn't want anything unfortunate to fall upon any innocent bystanders now, would we?" Pecilia waited until she got a look of compliance from Algernon's unwilling eyes. "Good." She untangled herself from him to twist around and shoot daggers at the spying girl, who responded by slamming her door shut.
Algernon left as soon as he could after that. His hand reached into his jacket and landed on the onyx ring with his cousin's words repeating in his mind, excellent control of your emotions. He cursed again before placing it back on his finger where it fit as perfectly uncomfortably as it always had.