Frank and Evie had remained silent since they left her apartment.
They had walked upstairs, from the third floor to the fifth floor of the Frozen Tower where she lived, to access the wall walk that connected it and the Broken Tower.
Once inside the desolate construct that had cracks everywhere and seemed to be about to collapse, Evie tried to say something, but as they both walked up three floors of spiral-ish stone stairs until they made it to the battlements of the Broken Tower, she didn't make a sound. The only thing she did was look at the starry sky and pray to whoever listened to give her the strength to confess.
Frank immediately took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with his lighter finger, then took a couple of long drags.
After looking at the moon and stars above him, he took another drag and talked.
"Don't waste my time, Evie. Tell me what's so important that you brought me here." Frank said, "It's been a long time since you and I set foot on this... Dangerous roof."
"It's complicated. I know it is dangerous to be here, but there's no better place to talk about this. This place is important to both of us." She replied, "Neither of us knew it could collapse, but if it happens..." She raised her grapple gun, "You know I'll save you."
"Yeah, right," he grunted and resumed his smoking.
Lyonfort had changed so much over the years that there were roof gardens, outdoor gyms, heliports, bars and even some swimming pools by now on the battlements of each tower, but no one dared to build anything on this unstable architectural failure. It was a quiet place, perfect for talking about difficult topics or meditating with the imminent risk of dying by falling into a hole.
The whole thing was terrifying in its own right, but at night, it was especially magical. It was a place where the air was filled with truth serum, or gas? Well, like Draco said... Semantics.
"I am waiting. Or will you not say anything?" Frank insisted, smoking faster. His eyes were on the north, where the sea and the sky ended, hearing how the tidal waves clashed against grey rocks at the base of the cliff. That was the only sound he could hear, that and the wind, but there was not a word from Evie in the air.
"I'm thinking how to tell you what I want to say without breaking you any further, Frank," Evie wanted to talk about so many things, but she knew there wouldn't be enough life or words to confess all of her sins.
But she was sure of one thing... Frank would forgive her, because he was a noble boy, and even the enormous Great Keep of Lyonfort wasn't a big enough place to house Frank's heart.
The first time Evie entered Lyonfort, she thought for a moment that she was a princess.
When she entered The Great Keep, the first thing she saw was the Main Hall, a huge place with lots of stairs, a red carpet and classical music playing in the background. There was a lot of gold here, long windows, and a huge gold and glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There were also many people with colourful hair and eccentric clothes, monsters to be precise, probable victims, a paradise for any Hunter. Surely it was a risk that Zeth decided to bringing her here, but perhaps her regret was too sincere in his eyes, because it was, for him to allow her to come and apologise to Frank.
Zeth guided her up some stairs at the back, through a wide golden arch that was covered by heavy red curtains that he opened for her. What she found behind those curtains left her breathless. It was a squared balcony that looked down on the Ball Room. It was a fairy tale place, a squared room, golden floored, and the balcony she was walking on had a window to the left that overlooked a beautiful garden with a fountain, and across said garden there was a corridor of enormous arches.
Zeth led her through a door in the back of the Ball Room into what everyone called 'The Heart of Lyonfort' which was a bunch of stone stairs that seemed endless and at each landing there were balconies that formed a square around it, and many doors as well.
Upon reaching the fourth floor, a tired and out of breath Evie finally entered the Solar.
She was nervous, because behind that door was Frank. Luckily, that night he asked her to go to a private place with him even when Zeth refused to leave her alone with him. They made it to the Broken Tower, where he forgave her for her biggest sin, and gave her a chance to redeem herself. The night of October 30, 2019 became the anniversary of Hunter Evie's death, and the dawn of Bodyguard Evie.
"So, you brought me here to not say a word?" Frank asked while lighting his second cigarette, and Evie shook her head.
"Not quite." Evie's face turned pink. "I'm sorry. I just... I didn't want you to know."
"Tell me once and for all why I was your Trojan horse, Evie! Who was your target? Because I doubt that the best Huntress of them all would be so stupid as to want to want to take down a vampire and a Golden Heart with a bomb," Frank paced around and around, with a hand shoved into his pocket and the metal hand bringing the cigarette to his lips. The lips that Evie kissed once and never forgot.
"No, they weren't my target," Evie backed away from him, placing a hand on a merlon and another on a crenet, facing south. She looked down at the rose garden eight floors below counting the roof she was standing on, and then she looked up to see the Donjon, her eyes locked on the windows of Frank, Draco, Alex and Finn's rooms. The Donjon was quite very tall, it was several floors higher than where she already was, and sometimes she was curious to explore the battlements on top of it, but she never dared to do so. It would be like being on top of a skyscraper, even more so because this castle was on a steep cliff.
Maybe she wasn't as fearless as she thought.
Her phone buzzed and she checked it quickly.
"Kimberly's locked up and asleep, tranquilizer dart," Evie told Frank, eager to evade her confession.
"The blonde is with the dancer, right?" Frank complained as he took another drag on his cigarette and exhaled heavily. "The one who isn't a dancer, another damn secret of yours."
"If there's anyone as good as her and me, it's Blackfox. He'll keep an eye on her."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the 'angry blonde' kick your butts?" Frank narrowed his eyes at her and walked a few steps away, "You're playing dumb. Just tell me... Why me? Why did you use me?"
"There are some things in the world better off not knowing. This is one of them," Evangeline grunted, approaching Frank, who was already leaning on the edge of this tower, staring at the moon. The sound of her heels was already a part of her personality, but Frank didn't want to hear it tonight, "And you're still here, which means you must have more questions."
"Oh yeah," Frank groaned and looked at her in the eye, "Lots."
"You're mad at me, I understand." Evie avoided his gaze and turned her head towards the west, her eyes fixed on the white flag of the Frozen Tower where she lived. Obviously, because someone as cold and cruel as her could only live with the Yeti.
"You've hurt me more than once in more ways than one, and yet, I still..." but then his eyes widened, and he fell silent.
"You still what?" She was standing there, right next to him, looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something else.
She wasn't entirely sure she wanted an answer, though.
And he wasn't sure if he should give her one.
He remembered how he felt when they met. She was so fierce, so determined, and she was beautiful beyond belief, with her black hair and sly lips and those dark, deep brown eyes.
Oh! And she was particularly tall, especially in her characteristic high-heeled boots, so she never went unnoticed.
Back then, he just wanted to kiss her so bad, but... Then he learned that she was a Huntress the bad way.
That she killed vampires and monsters that no other human being could.
That was long after he had learned about dragons, wars, and witches. Frank had heard stories about Evalon many times. Draco and Zeth had told him about the wars and the world that existed before humanity prospered. Thanks to them, Frank understood that his ancestry came from the cruel world Draco and Zeth escaped from years ago, with too many monsters following them.
That was a grave mistake.
All those monsters were hunted. Many were killed. Entire families were murdered by the likes of Evangeline.
Before coming to the human lands, those monsters were stuck in the middle of war, famine, and violence. Upon exploring new and supposedly safe lands, many became orphans, alone and scared because of the Hunters.
There was nowhere they belonged.
And now Frank was wondering if he had a place in this world.
"Do you remember the first time we came here, just you and me?" Evie asked, and Frank nodded without turning to look at her, lighting his third cigarette. "It was a cold night, and you granted me forgiveness."
Frank frowned, remembering how cold that night was. Evie shivered and hugged herself against the cold while he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
Frank could remember the moment vividly.
And he hated it.
"I wrote my part of the song 'No More Love, Enough' with you in mind," Frank whispered and turned to the right, lost in the dancing of the red flag that crowned the Vampire Tower. A little further east, he could see the turquoise blue flag of the Watermen Tower. "I forgave you, but I'm not sure I can forget..."
"Forget that I cost you too many body parts?" Evangeline asked, and she looked so beautiful with the wind blowing her black hair, caressing her fine features.
Frank hated himself for seeing her like that again.
"I can't forget that you took my heart and stepped on it with your high-heeled boots," Frank replied. She turned, almost scared and blushing, to look him straight in the eyes. "The betrayal, the pain of knowing that the one you love was only interested in ending your life... That's what I can't forget."
"I know that now." She looked up at him. "Frank, I never meant to hurt you..."
"Then why?" he snapped, and suddenly she looked very young, like the little girl she was never allowed to be. "Why did you kiss me hours before you blew me up?"
"I don't know anymore. I told myself that it was to put the bomb in your backpack, but I always knew that, in reality, it was because I fell in love with you," Evie shook her head. "But you deserve to know this... I always told you that you weren't my target, but I never told you who really was."
"And will you now?" He asked, exhaling tobacco smoke slowly.
"Yes, I will."