Illyana followed as Lucien began to move throughout the house, but stopped when she heard his voice. She nodded in response and did feel the need to get out of the house as quickly as she could. It was strange, because she thought she would feel the opposite way. This was the house she had grown up in, the house that held so many of her memories...she should want to be here, right? But seeing it so empty, so desolate...somehow it made her want to run away as fast as she could. They had a job to do. She needed to focus on that so they could all get out of here.
After Lucien's comment, she heard Faolan grunt in agreement behind her. "Illyana, why don't you lead. This is your house, you would know where to look."
She paused mid-step, but nodded as she completed the movement. She scanned the kitchen but knew there would be no clues here unless they were hidden in a drawer. She went to one side of the fixture where her father kept a tool and junk drawer handy for doing repairs. She slid it open but there was nothing inside. From here, she lead the men to the family room, but it had been cleaned out. Then, the living room, but her heart sank when she saw not a trace of her father's desk where he kept his papers.
All that was left were the bedrooms. She made her way to her parent's first, knowing it was possible that they would have left something there in their haste to leave. She felt her heart leap into her throat as she entered and saw that they had left a large armoire behind. There were doors and drawers on this piece of furniture, so she crossed the room to it and rifled through it. Nothing. Everything was empty.
The two men followed her through the house using their eyes and ears as well. Occasionally, Faolan would pause and tilt his head to listen, but would eventually move again. He was their lookout on the inside and would know if anyone was approaching, but so far, so good. He could see that the girl was focused, that was good as well. He was afraid that being inside would distract her, but she proved him wrong. She seemed to be doing a lot of that, at least since they had met her.
Illyana left her parent's room but hesitated when she made her way to the room she had shared with her sister. The door was shut, and she paused as she reached for the handle. A lump had formed in her throat again as he hand hovered over the cool metal. She knew that Faolan and Lucien were watching her, but she could not move...something was stopping her from entering. She knew it would not be the room that she had known since she was an infant, the place she felt most safe in the world. She knew that when she opened the door she would find it barren, empty...wasted. But she had to.
Eventually, she forced herself to take and turn the handle. The door swung open, and she was surprised to see that it was not empty, as she had imagined. In fact, it had quite a bit of furniture still inside.
All of her furniture, at least.
Slowly, Illyana stepped inside and scanned the room. All of her sister's belongings and furniture was gone. Everything that would indicate that two children lived here...but Illyana's bed, her small chest with her clothes in it, her curtains, and even the small mirror that hung on the wall so she could check herself before leaving the house...they had left it all.
She walked to the chest and slowly opened it. Empty. At least they had taken her clothes...Isabella was the same size as her, after all.
From here, she moved over to the mirror and tentatively reached out to touch the frame with her fingertips. She did so hesitantly, as it were going to shock her, but it didn't. She let her fingers touch it and then her arm fell to her side, her eyes fell to the floor.
Faolan watched the girl with a heavy heart as she entered her bedroom. One set of things a little girl would need was still there, and he guessed that it all belonged to her. She had a strange look on her face...sadness, focus, and confusion all mixed into one. She wore it well, but the Irishman could tell that she was in deep pain, too deep for words.
As she passed by the bed, he watched her shadow fall under it and furrowed his brows. "Wait, Illyana..." he said quietly as she touched the mirror on the wall. "There is something down there." he said, pointing to under the bed. He approached it as the girl turned toward him, her eyes widening slowly.
He bent down and noticed the shape, then fell to his hands and knees and reached under to grab the object. It was difficult for him, given his size, but easy enough as the object was rather close to the edge of the bed. He rose to his feet once more, then held an open hand toward Illyana. "Is this yours?" he asked.
The girl approached him slowly as if she was afraid to contract some deadly illness from his aura, and stood on her toes as she peered into his hand. He held a barrette, small and pink, with a butterfly design on one side. She shook her head, "No..." she said, her voice heavy with tears that threatened to overwhelm her at any moment, "That's my sister's."
"Mmm..." Faolan hummed, looking at the small thing, then gestured it toward the girl. "Well, maybe you should have it anyway." He held it to her between his thumb and forefinger so that she would not have to touch him.
Slowly at first, Illyana nodded. She didn't want to take it. It didn't belong to her. It felt...wrong. But she wanted to have something of her sister's. Maybe it would help them feel more conne--
As soon as her skin touched the barrette, Illyana's eyes rolled back into her head. She shook, violently, her mouth opened and closed as if she were gasping for air. The fit lasted only a second before the girl stumbled backward, loosing her footing, and fell hard onto the wooden floor.
Faster than lightning, Faolan was at the girl's side. He did not touch her, but he was on his knees and hovering over her. "Lucien!" The word escaped from between his teeth as fear gripped him.
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