Illyana felt her heart leap into her chest when the door to the bus opened and Faolan and Lucien returned. Immediately, she dropped her eyes to the ground and gripped the edge of the bench in her anxiety. Her rational brain knew that she had no reason to fear these men, she could tell they would never do anything to hurt her physically or emotionally, at least not on purpose. But years of scoldings had trained her subconscious to expect the worst when adults wanted a word.
At Lucien's question, the girl nodded and found herself awash with a feeling of calm. Slowly, she felt her breathing become more rhythmic and her grip on the bench loosened a little. She was still not used to the effect that radiated from Lucien, and it took her a little bit to absorb it fully. Eventually though, she felt herself relaxing the closer Lucien got. Her anxiety, though it was still there, was much less powerful.
Slowly, she looked up when he sat in front of her, but only managed to focus on the man's chin. She could not yet bring herself to look into his eyes. She listened to his explanation, and though it hurt her to think that she had lied to such kind people, she could not shake the compulsion to explain everything.
Before she spoke, she looked up to Faolan who had also entered the bus. He was standing near the front driver's seat, one hand in his pocket, the other resting on the back of the seat. He was looking directly at her, but his gaze was no cause for concern. She could feel the gentleness, the protective instinct radiating from him as well. How had she never felt these things from her own parents? Just confusion, anger and...fear. She owed them nothing and gave them everything with her silence. It was time to set things right.
"What really happened..." she began, quietly, thinking back on the events that had left her stranded on the side of the road. She started slowly, but eventually her words picked up speed. The more she talked, the more she wanted to just...get everything out, to rid herself of the awful weight that sat on her shoulders.
"I didn't get lost camping...but I know you already know that. My parents they...." she paused, taking a deep breath to steel herself. She fixed her eyes on Lucien's shoes, well-worn but clean and taken care of. That helped, to think of a real object, it let her calm herself a little easier. "They didn't lose me by accident. They....they sent me away."
"I was born like this," she gestured to her forehead and the eye that sat there so unnaturally. "And my parents, they were afraid that because I was deformed that...something bad would happen to them or to Isy. For a while everything seemed fine, but then I kept having these dreams." She paused here, biting her lip as tears threatened her composure. "I didn't know what to do, so I told my parents about them. They didn't know what to do either, for a long time...but then, one day they just decided that they couldn't have me around any more. I was too dangerous to be near them and my sister. So, in the middle of the night they woke me up and they made me grab just a few things." She glanced briefly at the bag that lay next to her on the bench and paused a moment to catch her breath.
After this, she looked up, finally able to meet Lucien's gaze. She glanced between him and Faolan as she spoke, but didn't have time to think about their reactions or expressions. She was too busy holding back tears. "There was a circus, or a traveling carnival in town a little while ago. In the middle of the night, my mother drove me there. She talked to some men and I think..." she paused again as her voice cracked, though she was still able to keep from crying outright, "They gave her some money. She told me I had to stay with them now, to keep my sister safe. All I wanted was for her to be safe...so I stayed and my mom...she drove away."
"But I knew I couldn't stay there!" She rose her voice a little here, as if defending herself, "The men were mean and I knew...I knew something bad would happen to me if I stayed there. So, one night I took as much food and water as I could find and I just left. I started walking up the road, back the way I thought we came."
And here is where dam finally broke and fat tears began rolling down the girl's cheeks. "I was walking and walking and walking for so long that I...I don't know what happened. I must have gotten turned around and I didn't know where I was. I was hungry and tired and my skin hurt and I just wanted to go back home and sleep in my own bed." She made no effort to cover her face now, which was blotchy red from crying. She sniffled loudly and wiped her nose on her sleeve, but otherwise let the tears fall. "But...that's when you found me." She looked from Lucien to Faolan and back again. Both of their faces were strained, surprised, and hurt.
Faolan listened to the entirety of the girl's tale in silence. She didn't move, he hardly breathed as she told of all of the events that had lead her here. Knowing now that her parents could be so cruel, that they were unable to accept her for who she was and just love her because she was their child...that hurt him more than he could say. It reminded him of how he felt as a boy, before everything had happened. How scared he was of who and what he truly was...how angry his father would have been if he had found out before he died, of how sad his mother would have been...His heart beat for this child, a small helpless thing rejected by her family.
Before he could control himself, he crossed the bus in one stride and crouched next to Lucien. Not caring about Illyana's personal space in the moment, he reached out and laid his gigantic mit of a hand on her tiny frail shoulder. Her looked her directly in her eyes, which reminded him of his own...no, not his own, his sister, Fiona's. He leaned in and said quietly, "I'm so sorry for everything that you've been through, Illyana. I can't imagine it..." he paused a moment and shook his head, "But I want you to know...whatever you want to do from here on out, Lucien and Aurel and I, we're here to help you. You don't have to worry about anyone abandoning you again, because we won't let that happen, okay? I promise you, no matter what we--"
It was then that the little girl, so small and frail and so broken inside, flung her arms around Faolan's neck. She pressed her face into his shoulder and wept, her little chest heaving with the force of her tears. Faolan, surprised and slightly taken aback, accepted this contact rigidly at first. He didn't know what to do. But eventually, knowing that he could not let this girl cry this way without some comfort, he laid his hand on the back of her head and held her as she cried. He could hear her speaking to him, though her words were muffled, she was simply said "I'm sorry" over and over and over again.
"Sshhh...it's okay. Nothing to be sorry for. You're safe now." He said, rubbing her hair with his enormous hand. He glanced at Lucien and gripped the man's hand with his free one, not caring any more about the implications. Faolan had never comforted anyone like this before, he had never been asked to. Lucien, of course, was different. This child...this was something he had never done. Though he cared deeply for Aurel, like a father would for his son, the boy had never let his emotions get the better of him like this. Faolan had not even comforted his sister this way before she passed. It was all new to him, and he needed a little support here as well.
