James rolled over in his bed, dazed. His room was still cloaked in darkness, the island still in a deep state of sleep. He wondered if he had dreamt of a disturbance, if he had only imagined something interrupting his moment's respite from all the schemes and conspiracies. A sudden rap on the door, quiet but firm, caused his heart rate to quicken. It resounded again through the gloom, confirming that his sleep had in fact been disturbed by an outside source.
James switched on his light as he sat up, blinking away the sudden brightness and his lost sleep. Why can I not just be left alone, he thought bitterly? He ran his hands through his hair irritably, using his alteration to open the door. At least if it was Bennett, there was a few metres distance between them before the weasel-featured man could get his hands on him.
The door fell open against the wall, thudding and shuddering slightly from the impact. James was more than surprised to find Iseult Deluca standing there, framed in the open doorway. Her blonde hair fell about her shoulders, the warm light from the corridor catching in it and forming a strange halo about her. James laughed despite himself, shaking his head. This angelic girl was the brains behind their revolution, the most threatening mind Kingston had ever created.
"Why are you laughing?" she frowned, by way of a greeting, folding her arms obstinately across her chest.
James smiled, shaking his head. "I'm just thinking about how completely non-dangerous you appear and yet..."
"Yet, any warlord or dictator in the world would trade half their broken country to gain a whiff of what my mind can do?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well I wouldn't have put it in those exact words - but yes," he grinned again. "Are you coming in, or did you just come by to wake me up?" he asked, sleep retreating quickly from his mind.
Iseult nodded, stepping in and closing the door. James didn't need her heightened sense of understanding to know why she was here. She couldn't be seen talking to him during the day and they needed to talk.
"How did you make it up here without being seen?" he asked, climbing from his bed and shrugging on his shirt.
Iseult rolled her eyes and pursed her lips, moving them from side to side before smiling. "Who said I wasn't seen?" James frowned, but bit back the response she was hoping for. She's testing my commitment, my fate in her, he thought, observing the blonde girl with a casual gaze, fitting his face with his mask of indifference, afraid of what she might be able to see in his true expression. "I met a few of the forgotten," she said, with a shrug, moving to the armchair James offered her by his window. He sat in the one opposite, watching her fold her legs beneath her. She was still in her nightclothes, looking more unassuming and saintly than ever. If only people knew, he thought.
"Desmarais had a lot of faith in the forgotten," he said by way of a response, trying to hide his own mistrust in them.
"Hmm, so do I," she nodded, smiling a bright, dimpled smile. "They will make all the difference in the end, I think".
"They didn't chose this life either, I guess," he nodded, not completely willing to commit to her belief. "How did you manage with Elmhirst after? Annakiya told me that he had you cornered in Ashley's office, but I haven't been able to speak to anybody since you resurfaced," he asked her.
"Oh that," she grinned triumphantly. "That was too easy," she nodded. "I just told him that I had come to look for some guidance from Porter for the next exhibition and when I arrived she was completely out of it. I told him that I had pressed the alarm, because I was afraid to move her," she shrugged, with a strangely happy smile on her face.
"Yeah - I heard she had been taking stuff..." he frowned.
"To help with her stress," Iseult sighed. "Rumours do fly. So many of the staff are self-medicating, it was only a matter of time before one of them slipped up. It explains her very strange behaviour recently though - or so Elmhirst concluded when he saw what she had been taking," she grinned broadly.
James laughed. "Bravo," he smiled, applauding her gently. "You would put any warlord to shame I'm sure".
"Never doubt it," she nodded. "Speaking of warlords," she continued without a moment's hesitation, "I've been thinking a lot about what we're planning on doing in fact". She suddenly became serious, fixing her pale brown-eyed gaze on him.
"So have I - not in the same contexts I'm sure," he said, when he saw her expression, "but I have some concerns". Iseult clicked her tongue in disapproval, her expression becoming stony. "No - don't start looking at me like that. I am not reneging on my agreement to help," he said quickly. "I know we don't have a choice - I don't have a choice, but we can't just launch an attack without thinking about it".
"What do you suggest?" she asked in firm voice.
"When do you plan to attack?" he asked casually.
"When things are ready," she said, in an easy tone. He watched her waiting for further explanations. "When I know we can win. When I know where our strengths are and where his weaknesses lie".
"And if we fight and we win. How do you plan for us to get off the island?" he asked.
She seemed to mull this over, contemplating his question carefully. He wondered if it was something she had not given thought to, if she had been so focused on the battle that the aftermath was of little consequence. Yet the whole point of even fighting had to be that they would find their way to freedom, that he would have the chance to find Charlotte again.
"The only way off the island is when the ship with the patrons arrive," she said thoughtfully.
"And they are not coming back until after the winter storms - that's in little less than four months' time," he added.
"That's a long time to wait," Iseult exhaled, her pale brown eyes searching him for an answer. He refused to offer one, trying to keep his expression blank. "It would only take one mistake, one stupid comment and our rebellion would be finished before it ever started".
"Yet if we act too soon, the ship will never return and we will never find a way to get off this island. We don't have the resources here to build a ship large enough to accommodate us all," he pointed out.
Iseult clicked her tongue once more, thinking deeply on James' argument. "We can only wait then - it's a long time, but we need the ship here. We will attack when the patrons return. We can use the time to make sure we are strong enough to destroy this place completely".
"We also have the problem of the younger students - we need to protect them first. The children in the hospital, the students still in the transition period - they need to be protected. Elmhirst will use them against us if he thinks it will benefit him, and you know how volatile they are, how little control they have - it's not optional," he said, trying to sound confident.
"Okay - what do you propose we do with them?" she asked, giving him the job of solving the problem he pointed out. He grinned, he wasn't as naïve to think she would hand him all the answers, nor was he willing to relinquish all control to her, that just seemed a little bit rash. She was built to create war, not to protect the civilians involved. He knew that the person of Iseult was wonderfully kind, wonderfully sweet, but he also knew that her alteration, any of their alterations, blinded them to the true world in a sense, it could take over. Charlotte understand that too well; he understood it too well. He clenched and unclenched his right fist, stretching his tendons as he banished the thoughts of the destruction his alteration had created, of the harm he had caused her.
"There is a massive bunker beneath the school," he said after a moment, flexing his fingers thoughtfully.
"A bunker?" Iseult frowned, doubt marring her perfect features for a moment.
James couldn't help but grin widely. There were still things she didn't know about this school. "Yeah, beneath the second level of the hospital," he nodded.
"I never heard about... how do you know about it? Privileges of being Head Boy?" she questioned. James smiled, surprised to find her a little stung by his knowledge of its existence, or perhaps her lack thereof.
"Privileges of being Head Boy?" he scoffed. "No, we found it by accident one night when we were trying to get away from Bennett and Elmhirst," he continued.
"We? Who's we?" she frowned.
"Charlotte and I," he said, clenching and unclenching his fist repeatedly.
"She never told me about..." Iseult murmured, obviously a little annoyed.
"Well - it was one of the privileges of her being the Head Girl then," he sighed, trying to push forward with his idea to protect the younger students.
"I want to see it," she ordered, suddenly standing up.
"Iseult, are you mad?" he hissed. "We can't just go snooping through the school at this hour". Reflexively he glanced at his watch, only remembering then that it was no longer worked. He sighed, tapping the glass thoughtfully. It was a standard issue piece of their uniform, but on their last excursion through the bunker to the Western Cliffs he had destroyed its usefulness, immersing it in the frigid ocean in an effort to escape Bennett. Strangely it always reminded him of Charlotte now.
"And I guess you and Charlotte were getting the official tour?" Iseult growled, rolling her eyes. "This could be important, James. If we are going ahead with our plan, I need to know exactly what Elmhirst is hiding beneath the island". At those words, James blanched slightly, his mouth going dry. Iseult was so much smarter than she let on, or maybe he still underestimated her, but she didn't miss his sudden expression change, his sudden discomfort. She fixed him with a narrowed, suspicious stare, as if he could tell all from his momentary fumble. He gritted his teeth, trying to push back on his mask, trying to get past his momentary doubt, before she started asking questions.
"It's different though. Charlotte could sense people around us, she knew if the coast was clear. Neither of us can do that and I am not about to walk into a trap". He swallowed, hoping she would take the bait, that she would not strike at his momentary weakness. He had to distract her.
"Oh for God's sake, James. How on earth are you going to be of any use if you are always worrying about getting into trouble?" she snapped, not pressing him for answers. James breathed a sigh of relief. He knew he had to tell her what he knew, but if he told her now she would drag him to the depths of the school for definite. Tomorrow, he thought reluctantly. He knew he was avoiding having to deal with the reality they were now facing, and if there was anybody who could find a solution, it would be Iseult, but he felt like avoiding reality for the time being. He hadn't even told Charlotte what he had seen that night as they fled from Bennett. He couldn't. He had even did his absolute best to suffocate the fear, terrified she would find it, that she would know what Elmhirst had planned for them if the worst were to happen - only now the students were planning the worst.
"I am not worried about getting into trouble," he growled. "I am worried about getting the rest of you in trouble - again. I am worried that if I get caught again I'll be killed".
Iseult appraised him for a moment, her kind eyes full of feigned pity. She took a step towards him and rested a hand on his chest. "James, Elmhirst has already misplaced Charlotte. He can't afford to misplace you too. Now stop being such an idiot and show me the bunker," she ordered, raising an eyebrow, goading him to defy her. He had expected a bit of compassion, not this patronising tone. He realised then that she was never going to forgive him for sending Charlotte away.
James frowned, gritting his teeth. "Iseult, at least Charlotte seemed to have some common sense," he snapped.
"Well she's not here anymore, no thanks to you and..." James closed his eyes, trying to ignore the knot of anxiety in his stomach.
"Yeah, she's free," he hissed angrily, trying to cling to the strands of his resolve.
"Free? Free really? How the hell do you know that?" she snapped, unwilling to leave him be.
"Desmarais will protect her," he said in a slightly uneven voice.
"He is one man and she is the most stubborn and uncooperative student Kingston has - or should I say had," Iseult snapped. "I can only imagine how angry she was when you told her you were putting her on the ship, let alone how angry she was when she was taken into an unknown world for safe-keeping. Do not for one instant think she is not doing everything in her power to get back here," she hissed.
"To get back here? Why on earth would she come back here?" he growled. "She's free". Guiltily, a part of him wondered, no hoped, that she would come back for him. He shook his head, dismissing his moment of hope. He would give anything to see her again, but not like that. He gritted his teeth.
"No - she's hunted. They will never leave her away with her freedom. Why on earth do you think our service to the patron's only ends in death? We are too much of a liability to be allowed have a normal life. They will hunt her, they will torture her and they will kill her. This is war, James," she said in a commanding tone.
"As long as Elmhirst is angry I know she's still alive. The day I see him smile then I will know my efforts were in vain, but don't be so naïve to think I don't see why you are so bloody pissed with me for sending her away," he replied, harshly. He was not about to leave her make him regret what he had done.
"Excuse me?" Iseult breathed, stepping towards him threateningly and for a moment James worried she was about to punch him again.
"You want her here, because you want her alteration. Everything would be so much easier if she was here, because she could just cast one of her projections and we could take them all out when they were distracted with their own fears. It's not like I hadn't thought about it too. When I realised what she could actually do, I thought finally we could win this, but... it's not that easy. Elmhirst has compensated for a rebellion - he had compensated for her," he snapped. He could feel his cheeks blushing, as he regarded Iseult, her complexioned paled, looking away from him, not obviously upset, but bordering the realms of a teary breakdown. Urgh, he groaned. Charlotte, was one thing - I could deal with her, but if Iseult starts crying I'm...
James found his thoughts cut short, as she turned her pale brown eyes back on him, hard and dangerous. "Of course I want her bloody alteration! I mean it was fantastic - I didn't even know we were in her projection until the very end of that game - I didn't even know she had that power, but when you start thinking that is the only reason I want her here, you are sorely wrong. Charlotte deserved this. She deserved to have a chance to fight him. She deserves, more than anybody, to be allowed to kill him for what he has done. I loved her. I still love her, and I am not selfish enough to want her here if she is happy out there, but I knew her better than you did and I know for a fact that as long as we are here, any of us, she will do everything to get back, to end it. You have just focused more eyes of the enemy on her," Iseult growled, turning from him and striding to the door.
James gritted his teeth, anger coursing through his veins. It was easier to feel angry, than doubtful. Iseult thought she knew everything and she was making it almost impossible for him to work with her. Well, she didn't know everything. She didn't know what he had saved Charlotte from. She still didn't know just how deep Elmhirst's evil ran.
What happened to the angel I saw standing in the doorway only twenty minutes ago? James glared at her as her hand hovered over the door handle. Her shoulders were raised about her ears, her breathing shallow with fury.
"I will meet you in the New School stairwell in thirty minutes. I expect you to be there," she said in an even tone, a tone that bridged no argument. "From now on Charlotte does not exist. You are to focus on ending this. I can only put up with your bullshit for so long. You are not always right," she watched him carefully, her alteration, obviously in full swing. "I can't believe she never told you that".
James gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as she vanished from his room, leaving him alone once more. It was time to face the reality of the horrors Elmhirst had kept hidden, deep in the basements of Kingston Academy.
Well, Deluca better come up with something if she plans on beating this, he groaned, slamming the door behind her, with an overwhelming and helpless anger.
Thanks so much for continuing with Altered! I hope you enjoyed this chapter - if you did please show your love by voting :) - And do comment and let me know what you think could be hiding under Kingston! Could it really get much darker!
I have dedicated this chapter to @Truevendetta10 as his powerful story Wings of The Chosen brings Angels to life in such a dramatic and powerful sense! Check out his story if you get a chance - it's definitely worth it!
Thanks again for taking the time to read my story - I really do appreciate it! Sorcha x