Tord's P.O.V
It's been a week since the girl has come to my base, she hasn't said a word, she won't look at anyone, and she won't talk. Thomas and I don't even know what to do. I was on crutches and I finally finished Thomas's goggles. It made me wonder if there was anything I could make her. "Tord I'm not going to tell you again, we're not running any tests on her."
"Think about what it could tell us. I'm not just talking about her being a lab rat, she could be sick. I know you've seen how skinny she looks, she's been looking paler by the day and she's not eating. Monster or not, she's still human." There's a knock at the door Thomas steps in front of me to block it.
"Tord! She's been tested enough!"
"Thomas you're not thinking!" I yell back. The knock gets louder, I fling the door open.
"What?!" We both yell at the same time.
Paul and Patryck stare back at us, Patryck huffs, "I told you it was a bad time!"
Paul elbows him, "Whatever Patty Cakes. Anyways, she said she wanted you so here ya go." The girl comes out from behind him and walks towards Thomas.
I gawked, "She said?"
"Yeah?"
Thomas and I immediately make eye contact, he bends down. "You talked to them? What did you say?" She shyly looks away.
"She said, I want him, so I said who, and she just insisted on him so I assumed it was you. Oh and look at the dress we found for her, isn't she adorable?" Paul cooes.
"She looks like a doll," I mutter. She hid behind Thomas in a big ruffled white dress. "She's probably hiding because of the hideous clothes you forced her into."
Patryck laughs at my comment, "Awe come'on if you were a girl we would have put you in it." He winks. "But we've been on babysitting duty all day every day. We've been with her more than you have, we've got training to get to."
"Besides, she asked for you. See you later Red Leader," The grin and salute.
"Idiots," I groan.
Thomas sat her on the couch, "Are you hungry?"
Suddenly her eyes go wide and she screams, "N-NO!"
"Hey hey it's oka--" His hand touches her and a spark of purple hits his skin. His breath hitches with hers and he lets go. "It's not like that!" he stands up and rummages through my drawers. He grabs a bag of chips he brought in a few days ago. "Look," He puts one in his mouth, "See? It's like this. This is food." She stares and pokes it, she watches Thomas eat another one then does the same. Her face lights up and she eats more, Thomas hands her the bag. "Tord, when I touched her-I-it's like I saw a memory. She um.." He stretches his neck, "She ate people."
"She what?!"
"SHH!" he shuts me up.
"What do you mean she ate people?!" I whisper yell.
"I don't know! But that's what being hungry means to her. She didn't like it. She didn't know either. If we want her to trust us we have to trust her. You have to trust her."
"T-Thank you," We both jumped at her unexpected presence. We didn't even hear her.
I thought, "Do you have a name?" Through stuttering she begins to list curses and degrading comments said to her, the color in my face drains. "N-Not like that." I fret.
"W-What is a n-name?"
"My name is Tom and his name is Tord, that's our name," Thomas explains.
She points at me, "No y-your da-daddy and he is d-dirty s-son o-of a b-beach."
Thomas cracks up, "I think you mean bitch,"
"D-Daddy and s-son of a--"
I stop her, "If you don't know what a name is, how do you know that's who we are?"
"T-Thats w-hat m-mommy told me."
"Mommy?" Thomas asks. His voice sounds pained and worried. I can't imagine being in his position. This was the first time I've talked to Thomas in a while, he's been keeping to himself the past week. He doesn't say much and doesn't leave his room at all. I've noticed the missing alcohol from the shelves in the kitchen.
The girl fidgets with her hands. "I d-don't know, I-I n-ever saw h-her. I always h-had to wear a b-blindfold. But one t-time I took it off a-and I looked t-through files a-and f-found a picture of you. I-It said you w-were my daddy." Her lips frowned and she grabbed at her dress, "I-I n-never thought I'd e-ever find you o-or espace." Even through the void of eyes, there was still a sadness looming and pouring out.
"You're here now, you're safe." Thomas smiles and grabs her hand, "Let's give you a real name kay?" She nodded, and we spent 30 minutes trying to come up with a name. Somehow we ended up writing each idea on a piece of paper for her to sound out and learn to say for herself. The crayon fell out of her hand and rolled to my wall, she quickly stood up to retrieve it.
"Thomas, I'll let the missing vodka bottles slide, if you promise me one thing," he rolled his eyes in response to go on, "Talk to me. You haven't been eating either and barely leaving your room, what's going on?"
"Like you care commie," he turns away, and I grab him. His eyes look at my hand on his arm, he takes a deep breath. "Tord . . .I magically have a kid now. A kid. A kid I know nothing about, how she even exists, who the mother is, or how to take care of her. There are so many questions going through my head, she's been locked up and been through hell and I didn't even know she was alive. I feel terrible. I've already failed her I don't know what to do anymore."
I grabbed the paper with scribbled-out words on the floor, "Does this look like failure to you? This girl hasn't seen the light of day once, whoever did this we will find them and they're going to pay. No child should have to endure those things. The only thing she knows and the only person she trusts is you. You're going to do just fine." I look down at the letters she wrote, "And I think she's ready for that name," I smile.
Her scream fills the room, and my head quickly movies to find her. She stood in front of my mirror yelling, "S-Someone i-is here!" She shrieks pointing at her reflection. Her expression changes when she sees Thomas's body next to her matching the movement in the mirror. He began to explain.
I always wondered what it was that made Paul and Patryck take me in, why would they ruin their lives for some kid. Thomas smiled at her, it made my own lips curve up. When you see someone struggle, someone, hurting, it makes you want to take them in and protect them. It's the same way I felt with Thomas, he made me realize I had good in me. I have a feeling she's going to do the same for him.
Tears roll down her cheeks, Thomas looks at me for help, and I grab my crutches and go over. Thomas tries to console her but she won't stop. He asked what was wrong, she wipes her face but tears keep flowing. "I-I look so s-so hideous!" Instant regret hits me for my word choices about her dress. "I'm scary,"
After the incident, I hated the way I looked, in times I still do. I was fixed on my own reflection even now, "Take it from a guy who looks like hell, you look great. Look, I've been through a whole lot of wars, I've seen a lot of scary things. But when I see you, I see a pretty little girl."
"I think you look like a princess," Thomas agrees.
Her face lights up, "W-What is a-a princess? It sounds pretty!" She gets a cheeky smile and her tail moves left to right.
"It's someone who is royalty, usually arrogant and-" she stares at me, "Ahem-um a strong woman who is royalty. She's brave and confident, smart and kind, and she's absolutely beautiful. Like you." She jumps up and down and flaps her arms.
"I W-W-WANNA BE A P-PRINCESS DADDY!!" She grabs Thomas's hand and pulls him around.
"And what's my little princess's name?" He asks.
I handed her the piece of paper she wrote on, "T-Ta-Ta," She began to get frustrated with her wording and her mouth not matching what she wanted to say. We patiently waited, Thomas held her hand to encourage her. "T-Tamra Tamra!" She cheers.
Toms P.O.V
Tamra jumped on my back and squealed with laughter, she placed the crown on Tord's head, "W-W-Wanna be a p-princess Uncle T-T-Tordy?" His eyes fall and his demeanor changes after she calls him that. His grey eyes turn darker and his posture goes stiff.
I nudge him, "You okay?" I ask, he snaps out of his daze and manages a fake smile. Suddenly Tamra flies around the room, "Okay okay, come on its bed time now princess." She sighs and grabs my hand, I pick her up and walk her to her room. It wasn't much but I promised her we were going to make it anything she wanted. But for now, it would do. I laid her in bed and pulled up the covers. "I want you to have this," I pulled out Tommy Bear, "He was mine since I was little, he'll protect you while you sleep. I promise." She nodded with an uneasy smile, "And remember if you need anything we're right next to you okay?" Her hair was sprawled out on the pillow and her cheeks were rosy pink. She squeezed me tight. "Good night princess," I leaned in to kiss her forehead.
She is such a cutie.
"G-Good n-night daddy. O-Oh, and um t-tell Uncle T-Tordy I said g-g-goodnight t-too." She turned over and I shut off the light with a laugh. She and Tord have been interesting, to say the least, Tord has definitely never dealt with a child before, and she's only heard things about him being a devil. It was strange, it seemed like he wanted to get closer to her but something was always stopping him. All of a sudden he has to go to meetings and check on things. It didn't make sense. But it seemed like playing princess was changing things.
I walked to Tords room, and my hand touched the handle, but it didn't turn. "He ... locked it?" I groaned, "Tord I don't know what the hell kinda weird stuff you're doing in there but you better open the door!" No response, "Tord come'on, it's late just let me grab my things!" I listen, nothing, "Okay fine! Well, I'm coming in you better hide your henti now!" I yell. I let out my claws and pick the lock, I carefully open the door worried about what I might find. I don't see anyone, "Um Tord? You here?" I shut the door behind me, "Huh?" I looked down at the spilled pill bottle on the floor. I read the label, what are you taking?? And when did the room become such a mess? "Blue to Paul."
The radio buzzes, "Blue we're already here guarding her door. There's nothing to worry about. Go fish-PAT! YOUR CHEATING!" He yells.
"Have you guys seen Tord?"
"Nope, aren't you always with him?"
"Unfortunately," I sigh, "But he was just in his room. I put Tamra to sleep and now I can't find him. It's weird--" blood drops littered the floor. "Paul put this base on lockdown right now, no one leaves. The Red Leader is missing," I race through the room, and I see Tord with his head hanging over the toilet. I crouch down, tears streaming down his face as he vomits. Blood pools out around his leg, I gasp and quickly look around for something to stop it.
"What's going on?" Patryck worries.
"I don't know, there's blood on the floor, he's vomiting and crying, he won't say anything."
"I-Is his phone around?" Paul asks, panicked. I search the bathroom, his phone is in the sink cracked, I lift it up and look at it. I instantly drop it and feel queasy. "Oh no, I'm coming!"
I stare at the back of the phone, what did I just see? There were guts everywhere and blood and a dress. "Where is he?" Patryck frantically yells, Paul runs in behind him. They both get on their knees next to him, Paul rubs his back and throws the phone out of the room, "Paul I need you to go get some water and new clothes, take Tom with you."
"Come on," He says, I look at Tord one more time before leaving the room.
The walk was quiet, "What the hell did I just see?"
He opens the fridge and hands me water, "When Tord was younger, he was around 11 at the time. He was being trained with a girl, her name was Maria. They would go on missions together all the time, it was his first friend. They looked out for each other like siblings. During one mission, she went missing, we spent hours looking for her. We were ordered to come back, and Tord fought us the whole way getting there. Days later it turned out she was captured by the Black Army, they offered the Red Leader a trade but he didn't take it. He didn't care for some soldier. Tord stepped out of line and complicated things, the Black Army found out about their ties. A week later an unknown number sent his phone a video, a video of her, of her ... being tortured to death in ways you'd never think. He didn't sleep for a month after that, he became so anorexic we had to force him to eat, and he wouldn't get close to anyone." He let out a breath he didn't realize he'd be holding, "Which is why we were so shocked when we found out about you guys. You know in some ways, I think Tamra reminds him of her, I think he's scared. I'm going to be honest Tom, I don't think Tords going to be able to run the Army right now. Until then you're going to have to take command."
"W-What?"
"I don't know how they got that video through or how they even know but they're going after our leader. Someone is planning something and they're going to plan it while he is at his weakest. Even if he is okay, he won't be in the headspace to make big calls. I would never ask something this important of you unless it was necessary."
"I . . . I understand. I'm going to call Edd and Matt, I think it'd be best if Tamra stayed with them. Is he going to be okay?"
"I hope so."
I walked towards Tamra's room, she opened the door, "What are you doing awake?"
"D-Daddy are y-you okay?" She worries.
"Of course, I am, why do you ask?"
"Y-Your crying," she points out, she flies in my chest and wraps her arms around me.
I wipe my eyes, "I'm okay I promise. I came to get you, Uncle Tord is . . . sick so I'll have to take care of the army. While I'm doing that I want you to stay with Uncle Matt and Uncle Edd, remember them?"
"B-But I don't want to l-leave daddy!" She cries into my shoulder. "W-What if they f-find me!" I hold her tight.
"Princesses are brave, remember? You're brave and you're so strong. No one is going to get you, I promise, Edd and Matt are my best friends and I trust them. Here, take Tommy Bear with you. You can call me anytime, and I'll always answer. Sadie will take you out to do whatever you'd like, she's the best at playing princess." I smile.
"S-She is?"
"Mhm, and I bet Uncle Matt can sew you a brand new princess dress."
"W-Whoa! O-Okay but you g-g-gotta call me e-every night and every morning!"
"Of course, you'll leave in the morning okay? Why don't you come to sleep with me tonight." She smiles and I carry her to bed with me, I pull the covers over us and she hugs me.
"I-I love you d-daddy."
"I love you too princess."