Archived:The Modern Janissaries/Eleanor

**Eleanor**

She sat on the window seat in the library, second floor, and stared at the strangers walking on the streets below.

Her head snapped over at the sound and stared at Erraline in slight surprise, slight suspicion and wondered if she should say something. She didn't particularly care for the girl–well, she didn't really care for anyone for that matter–and she doubted Erraline cared for her. But, Elle supposed, it would be rude if she wasn't going to announce herself, "nice clothes," she said as she looked at her up and down.

She slowly blinked, slightly insulted, "what book?" She pressed, now taking it on to get some sort of conversation out of her. Plus, it'd have been awkward to just drift back into silence.

Her eyes sparked at this, "I've read that," she said with her voice jumping an octave midway through, "I really liked it."

She frowned at this, as if she was offended by the notion, "*definitely*not," she said and scrunched her nose up, "that is, and always be, the incorrigible optimists club."

She shrugged, "sure," she said with a wave of her hand, "it's a title, they're not really that optomistic."

She glanced over at him and nodded once, "yeah, I am."

She glanced at Erraline and sighed before moving past Roger and into the hallway.

Her heart skipped a beat but her face was motionless. *First rule, don't care. They'll tear you down.* Those words resounded in her head and she pursed her lips slightly, "and you brought me out here to tell me that?" She asked slowly, hedging the sentance completely.

She narrowed her eyes, "again, you brought me out here to ask me that?" She asked slowly, "why do you even care? And for your information–I don't. I just play and he's fun."

"I don't have friends," slipped out of her mouth and she raised an eyebrow at him, "and I answered it. I said no, I don't."

She pursed her lips, "as I said, I don't have feelings for anyone. I just play. Is that all?"

"After two weeks of nothing," she said, "yeah I can imagine we do."

Julian, who had been aimlessly walking around the mansion, came across the library - getting there just at the time Roger announce he was going to call for a meeting. Instead of responding though, Julian walked into the room and spotted Erraline, a small smile forming on his face while doing so. "Hey Erraline." He said as he walked deeper into the room and letting his eyes wander around before they landed back on the Lunar duchess. "What you up to?"

she froze at the sight of Julian and watched him disappear into the library.

He moved his shoulders in a slight shrugging motion. "I've been better." He answered while sitting on the seat next to Erraline. "Which boring book you reading today?" He asked while looking at her with a small smirk.

She brushed in after him, "nothing, it's just started," she said giving Miquel a frown, "nice bear by the way," she added on.

"I don't know," she said with a yawn, "not my problem."

"But everyone is not contributing," she said flicking a magazine open, "and I am not everyone."

"That sums it up," she said reading it, "and, by the way, I don't act like I'm better than you–I am better than you."

"It's like I'm in school and I'm being told to go to principal's office after mouthing off a teacher," she said with a yawn and followed Eliza.

"I've never claimed to be anything but selfish," she said with a smile, "and I'm anything with Julian. We're nothing to each other. We've talked. Nothing like you and Roger," she said with a snort, "and...what flowers do you want for funeral? How about poppies? Or roses? And, I've pulled my weight. Always have. Repeatedly. Try saying that to one of the others before saying it to me."

He just examined the books cover as he heard her response. "Sounds boring." he said as he looked around as the others filled into the room, slightly annoy at how loud the room had just gotten.

She looked at Diana before looking at Eliza and spat on the ground, "absolutely nothing," she snarled, "I was just leaving–I'm done with this, done with every single one of you," she said and shoved past both of them and down to the foyer to grab her coat to leave.

She turned to glare at her, which made most people back off instantly, "none of your business, go back to them," she said jerking her chin in the general direction of the library before slinking through the doors and onto the street and she brought the coat closer to her.

She whirled around to sneer at her, "go back inside, or I will kill you," she threatened, "I will get a knife and slit your throat. So go back inside. Where it is safe and warm," she said. Mentally she squirmed. She wanted to leave without a follower and make all of them hate her enough to not follow. But this one had to come at the end. She had a small window of opportunity and she intended to climb through it. Diana was wasting her time. "Just go back inside, will you?"

"I'd like to see you try," she said rather haughtily as she curled her lip. *Make her hate you. Make her hate you. Only way. She'll destroy you. You don't care.*She stared at Diana, "I can take care of myself. I don't a need a babysitter and being alone is so much than being in company, especially with a princess like you."

The breath of relief was stamped out of her as the knife was pressed into her skin and the words were spoken and she rubbed the spot where the knife was. Elle couldn't help the thought entering into her mind that Diana should have just done it. "A brothel," she declared looking at her with a smile, "I got to make my money somehow, you can come, I guess? I suppose people would pay triple to get the both of us."

Her face fell, "I would have thought hooking up with Liam every other night be enough, is he not good enough?" She asked rather sarcastically. "I don't want you around, Diana, I'm serious. Go away. I'll be back in an hour or so, anyway."

"Diana, *please*, go back inside," she pleaded with her and her face began to show some desperation, "I'm begging you. Go back inside and don't follow me. You'll be safe."

This is bad. This is very, very bad. She breathed silently for a moment, not moving Diana's fingers and wondered when on Earth did she...start to care. Care enough to try and keep Diana out of danger. "I'm not...I'm not worried about you getting in my way, I-" *Don't let them know you're scared.*"Where I'm going? It's dangerous for you. For anyone but me and I can't guarantee you'll come out alive."

Her jaw dropped and she closed it again, "okay, now that was just cruel," she grumbled before turning on her heel and storming through the snow, "better keep up, I won't look for you if you get lost."

She huffed and soon enough, any familiar territory disappeared in the heavy sheet of snow as they weaved through streets and roads. Finally they reached a warehouse-the one she'd gone to see with Julian and stopped outside of it.

She scuffed her foot on the ground and seemed to shrink as she looked at it. She didn't want to answer and, for the first time since she had arrived in the academy, seemed to actually be scared of whatever it was that was inside. "People I use to know," she replied, "people I don't really want to know again."

"You can stay out here, if you want, I don't mind," she breathed out before snapping around to stare at her intensely, "but if you do come in, don't talk. Stay behind me and never, ever, make eye contact with anyone."

She sighed and rushed down to the door that was heavily graffitied. Knocking on it, she impatiently waited for someone to open it.

She sneered, "why don't you go get Linus before I break down the doors to castrate you."

"My name is Henrietta Emerson," she said leaning forward, "my father is mozart and I demand to see Linus."

She breathed out and rocked back on her heels.

Her face turned red and she scuffed her foot."My grams was traditional," she grumbled as an explanation. "and I went by Etta," she added on as an afterthought.

She forced herself not to snap at her for the name and replied, "a guy named Linus," she said in a dead panned voice but brushed over it, "he was my dad's protegee. He was something like an older brother when I was growing up."

"The only reason he wouldn't is because he thinks I've come for revenge," she said tightly, "and it's only been two years."

"Sorry, darling," she said and her words were soaked in a British accent, "we're a package deal."

She took a step backwards and slipped her hand into Diana's and gripped it tightly. Raising it up, she shook it, "we're lovers," she said and pressed her lips onto Diana's knuckles, "I don't exactly trust any of you to not mess with her whilst I'm gone. Linus will understand, I'm sure."

She let out a small sigh of relief and forced herself not to run as she entered the premises and dragged Diana along with her, not daring to let go of her hand. Though she'd never admit this to anyone, especially at that moment, speaking to Linus terrified her and everything inside of her screamed at her to turn on her heel and get out. Holding Diana's hand? Not only did it give people reason not to touch her, and to stay far away, but it also gave Elle an anchor. An anchor that she'd rather cut out her tongue than confess to. The place was indeed a factory and after a small hallway with barren hooks and lockers, they were brought into a large space that had couches, beds, tvs and a pool table thrown into it. The lights barely lit anything and she could only just see the outlines of the people in there and the faces of the people who were sitting directly underneath one of the lights. There must have been nearly fifty people, she guessed, and she knew that they were all young. No older than twenty five. She could feel their eyes pressing into her and, after passing underneath a lamp, the murmurs of voices halted to a stop. Elle's nails dug into Diana without meaning too. Eventually, they went up a flight of stairs and headed to a cubicle that was most likely once an office that overlooked the workers. The lights were much better up here and the two guards, heavily armed, were easily visible. As they reached the door, one of them leant over with a grin, "well, if it isn't Mozart's daughter. Didn't think I'd see you in this miserable place." Elle gave him a small smile and her nails relaxed slightly, only slightly, but was brushed into the office before she could reply.

She shifted and glanced behind her shoulder as the door was shut. She then positioned herself to stand slightly in front of Diana, "I haven't come back. I'm here for information."

"A..." she trailed off before mentally kicking herself, "a friend," she said, "you can say whatever you want with her in here and she's not leaving, so I'd rather get past the whole "kick her out" part."

The temperature dropped and Linus's eyes snapped over to Diana's but Elle didn't move. She froze with a mental curse.

"If I didn't," she said, rushing to get past Diana's slip, "you would have hunted me down. To kill me, or to drag me back, I'm not sure. But I wasn't going to risk it."

Her heart clenched at the words and she struggled to form a thought, "that's got nothing to do with anything."

"You've reminded me," she muttered before nodding at the chairs, "why don't we sit down, Linus, and get through everything and I'll be on my way."

"Don't treat me like a little girl," she snapped back at him, "I told you. I don't want to come back so get that thought out of your head."

She slid into the seat across from him and gave him a smile, but a fake one, "and, anyway, I consider them a guideline to life. Not something to base my life around," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I shouldn't insult it, though, because you do base your life around it. How are you, though? Finally getting frostbite from your frozen heart?"

She sighed and her knee began to bounce, "you know of the elementals."

"Doesn't matter," she said simply and continued, "I'm assuming that's a yes, so you must know of the rebellion brewing against them. Katherine De Lightly ring any bells?"

"Ask me a question like that again, and I'll slice the other half of your face off and don't think I wouldn't do it–just look inside a mirror," she snapped, "I don't have to answer questions, or my motivation, to you."

"Trust you?" Elle growled and her temper rose, "you shot me."

"Well, you failed and you're lucky you only got a scar," she snarled and crossed her arms, "regardless, here's the deal. You tell me what I need to know and I won't go to daddy. I never told him the real reason I left but if I do, we both know you'll have your throat slit by the morning. Understood?"

She was silent at this before taking in a deep breath, "what's in it for you?"

Elle doubted that Katherine would ever give them that, even if she let them survive if she'd won, "the usual," she replied, "do you know how to contact her?"

"Reckon you can sneak us in?" She asked, jumping at the opportunity.

She leaned forward and snatched them from his hands and gave him a hard look, "don't think I owe you, Linus, in my eyes–you've paid off one debt." After saying that, she stood up and tapped Diana on the shoulder to follow.

"Linus–I'd rather die," she whispered before beginning to walk out of the room.

She was opening her mouth to reply with something along the lines of "that's because you're a dog" but hearing Diana's remark she closed it with a small smile.

## Meanwhile, back in the meeting room...

Julian watch the three talk, staying silent and enjoying the company of Erraline - even if she was just reading.

## Returning.

She hung her coat up on the hook and gazed up at the stairs, in the general direction of where she'd last seen the others and opened her mouth to say something but after a few seconds of indecision, she closed it.

She looked at her and shrugged, "it doesn't really matter if I am or not," she said, "hey, by the way, before we go in..."

"If you ever want to be my lover, hit me up," she said with a wink before darting back into the library, pulling her hair into a ponytail, "you all look cheery. Christmas spirit arriving early?" She asked to no one in particular.

"That made no sense," she said frowing at Miquel.