Elizabeth Cailyn Flint (![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} eliza_flint) wrote in ![[info]](http://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small} liberalis,@ 2009-05-24 13:15:00 |
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Who;; Elizabeth Flint; eventually Cliff Warrington
Where;; Warrington Manor
When;; Tuesday, 1:15 AM
What;; Special delivery
Rating;; R
Status;; Incomplete
Moving into a squatting position, Eliza set down the gift bag she was holding beside her and reached out for the dog. "Hey, boy..." she spoke quietly, the house so large that it practically absorbed her words as she ran her hands over the dog's head, rubbing behind it's ears as it gave her it's usual greeting kisses. Having the dog around was one of the only things that kept Warrington Manor from not entirely freaking her out when it was dead silent like this. Even the maid had been known on occasion to scare the hell out of Eliza when she suddenly appeared at some end of the hallway. She always apologized so profusely that Eliza practically had to raise her voice just to get her to stop. Lola was an incredibly sweet woman - she couldn't be much older than her mid 40's, but with Witches and Wizards you never really knew - and after Laney had left she was the only one that was really around the place when Eliza was there. Cliff had his hospital to run and care for, and if Eliza did see him during the day it was just briefly.
These days she wasn't sure if they were avoiding each other or not; they exchanged brief acknowledgments of the others presence, even carried on a short conversation when a subject had submerged that was actually related to both of them enough to call for one. She was fairly sure that the most she had seen of him in the past month was at Order meetings, and even then they seemed to avoid each other as much as possible. He simply wasn't someone that she could understand. Everything that he did had some sort of meaning behind it, or he claimed to know what he was doing - Eliza wasn't particularly sure that he ever did, though - and after awhile she had gotten tired of the element of mystery that surrounded him.
Things had come to make more sense when she'd joined the Order and discovered what he truly was; and believe it that she was just as shocked as the next person, but in the long run it made everything become so much clearer. How he was always at St. Mungo's through the night, how he rarely made a sound when he was home, how those familiar brown eyes she'd grown up knowing as a sanctuary when Marcus wasn't there had so suddenly turned to a shade of topaz. Everything made sense after that, but then it just made their world that much more complicated as well. Eliza tried to be reasonable with him; she understood that it must have been a hard transformation to deal with - an entirely different life entirely, to be frank - but had he needed to push Laney away like that? It frustrated her so much that even when he had super speed and strength he couldn't just come home every once in awhile and spend some time with his girlfriend. Anyone in their right mind would have needed to escape like Laney had, and it was true that Elizabeth had considered it on more than one occasion. This wasn't home to her at all, despite the fact that she'd been keeping residence there since January. Everything had been perfect when she was living with Marcus...
Shaking her head to snap out of her reverie, the youngest Flint stood from where she had been squatting next to the dog and sighed once more. All thoughts of her birthday dinner had nearly vanished from her mind, though it wasn't as though she'd wanted it to be that way. For a couple of hours she'd actually let herself have some fun and truly appreciate her teammates and management, and now that she was home she felt like she'd already ruined her entire night by letting her mind wander. Convincing herself that while it looked like it couldn't be helped since she was living in this house, she could at least try to force it out of her mind until she drifted off to sleep, Eliza bent over to wrap her fingers back around the handle of the gift bag before straightening back up and moving toward the staircase.
She still had to do something with at least half of the flowers in her room, knowing that if she left that many of them on the floor that she'd end up knocking some over when she got up in the morning. Letting her mind go no further than the generous gifts that she'd been sent from family, friends, fans, and even some of Marcus' friends, Eliza had made it up the staircase and was halfway down the hallway that led to her bedroom when she heard the huge metal knocker pound against the solid wood doors at the center of the manor. Freezing in place, her mind scattered as she tried to think of who it could possibly be. Going unguarded to answer a door that late at night - morning, actually - wasn't the wise thing to do in a world that was stricken by fear of a Dark Lord returning to power. Her eyes shifted down to the dog at her side, his ears perked up straight as it sniffed the air in the general direction of the entryway. There was a soft growl emitting from deep in his throat, and Eliza listened as hard as she could as she slowly placed the gift bag and her shoulder wrap on the floor gently, her eyes trained on the end of the hallway where she could see the top of the staircase.
Pulling her wand from the bag as she went to stand back up, Eliza swallowed hard before she silently slid her heels off; if there was any danger present she wasn't about to be stuck wearing heels when she tried to defend herself. She pressed her hand against the wall as she rebalanced herself from taking the shoes off, her eyes dropping down to her companion who had his complete guard up at whatever it was he was hearing at the door. Two, then three, and then four steps. Moving down the hallway in complete silence other than the sound of her own heartbeat, breathing, and the sound of dog toes clicking against the wood flooring, the pair of them reached the top of the staircase in a matter of seconds. Her eyes didn't need to strain to see if there was anything or anyone in direct view of the top of the stairs due to the huge window that cast moonlight in from behind her. The only moving shadows that could be seen were hers and the dogs, cast long and dark, rippling over the wood steps; and then there was one more.
Just inside of the door was, from what Eliza could tell at this distance, a large box topped with the biggest bow she'd seen all day. Her mind didn't quite settle at the idea of it just being a present, and it was with cautious steps that she made her way back down the grand staircase to the ground floor, her faithful companion only two steps ahead of her the whole time - his nose actively working to identify the scent that came with the box. Eyes investigating the entire room for signs of anyone else or any sort of trap, Eliza's only reassurance was that she wasn't alone and the K-9 showed no interest in the rest of the room. Clearly whoever it was that had left the box had simply placed it inside of the door and then left right after; but how had they even... well, she hadn't locked the door. Reprimanding herself in her head for being stupid enough to leave the door unlocked and the enchantments off, she brought herself close enough to the box that she could get a clearer view.
There was no tag or note on the outside; nothing that gave away who or where it could have come from. The Shepherd was still sniffing curiously at the box, his nose never stopping even for a second as he tried to identify the scent(s) on it, and it was because he was so interested in it that Eliza kept from believing that it could possibly be from Cliff. He had said that he was going to drop by a gift for her later that night, after all... but why do it like that? The signs were there; she hadn't heard anyone come in, yet the box was inside, the box was huge and Eliza had specifically told Cliff not to get her anything. It would be just like him to get her something huge just so that she'd have to deal with the fact that he did. Those reasons weren't calming the alarm going off in her head, though. If it had been Cliff then why was his dog so interested in the scent on the box? Surely he would have recognized Cliff's scent and been no more interested in it then the next inanimate object in the manor. Maybe someone else had brought it over for him? Why would... Asking this many questions was getting her nowhere, and as hard as her heart was beating, Eliza couldn't deny that she wanted to know what was inside.
Finally moving her feet again after those long minutes of pondering, her feet made the softest of noises as they unstuck from the bare, wood flooring and she moved around to the longer side of the box, just next to the bow. Not bothering to turn on a light - and with really no need for it with the window at the top of the stairs providing plenty - she carefully placed her slender fingers over the end of the huge ribbon that made up the bow, using her thumb underneath and pulling slowly to undo it.
As soon as the bow had been loosened from the box, the rest seemed to just sort of undo itself. All four sides, along with the top, simply fell to the sides as if the ribbon had been the only thing holding it all together. If the sudden movement hadn't been quite enough to scare her half to death, what was inside was enough to freeze her heart in her chest and stop her from breathing. There was no mistaking what the hexagonal shape in front of her entailed. Even someone who hadn't been to their fair amount of funerals would have to be knowledgeable enough to instantly recognize the shape of the coffin lying on the floor in front of her.
Every inch of her body was instantly covered in goosebumps and other than the echo sounding around the manor from the bark that the dog had given, there was absolutely no sound whatsoever. Eliza had taken a few steps back, her hand had risen to her throat, and several minutes passed without another move or sound from her. Thousands of thoughts spilled into her mind all at once, and it was with great effort that she gasped for needed air, her eyes filling up to the brink with tears all in the same second. Trying to process the situation while trying to remain on her feet and breathing was proving to be incredibly difficult, and it was before she could do anything to stop him that the dog was nuzzling it's nose against the lid to the casket, trying to get a look for himself as to what was inside.
The wood shifted, and just as she stepped forward - her mouth failing to command him to leave it - to pull him back, the lid slid off and a mixture of the most disgusting, beautiful, familiar of scents drifted out to meet her. The disgusting part came from the fact that this coffin had very obviously been occupied recently - though there was no body in it now - and the beautiful, familiar aspects of it came from the dozens of multiple colored roses that were resting inside. All at once Eliza was reminded of the roses that would constantly be in her father's room when she was much, much younger. Her mother's favorite flower, though it was a more obvious choice, and it was his way of holding onto her after she died in childbirth. She remembered walking past his room on her way to her own and getting a nose full of rose... it was simultaneously the most painful and loving reminder she ever had of her mother, and it was for this reason that she generally steered clear of roses.
Eyes wide as she stayed frozen in place, Eliza's hand was outstretched still where it had been to try and stop the dog, and her other hand was now covering her nose and mouth. The first outbreak of tears trickled over the edge and down her cheeks until they met her hand, and then continued to trailed down her fingers until they either dropped to her shoulders or the floor. A soft whine sounded from beside her, but she was completely unaware of it as she stared down into the coffin. Directly in the center of the roses, right on top of them where it could be clearly seen was a note with a single sentence on it, and she didn't need to bend over to read it.
It should have been you.
One foot went back and then another, her hand not moving from her face as the first sob of many sounded from behind it. Her mind reeling with her father's voice, repeating the words that he had so clearly written on the parchment over and over again, she moved back toward the stairs in a fumbling, clumsy manner. No comprehension of the world around her, her ankles met the steps without her knowing that she was even moving in that direction, and she fell directly onto her bottom as her body trembled with fear and sobs. Hand dropping from her face, her fingers wrapped around the railing of the stairs and her head slowly moved to rest against the wood as her sobs turned to wails of pain.
Where;; Warrington Manor
When;; Tuesday, 1:15 AM
What;; Special delivery
Rating;; R
Status;; Incomplete
Moving into a squatting position, Eliza set down the gift bag she was holding beside her and reached out for the dog. "Hey, boy..." she spoke quietly, the house so large that it practically absorbed her words as she ran her hands over the dog's head, rubbing behind it's ears as it gave her it's usual greeting kisses. Having the dog around was one of the only things that kept Warrington Manor from not entirely freaking her out when it was dead silent like this. Even the maid had been known on occasion to scare the hell out of Eliza when she suddenly appeared at some end of the hallway. She always apologized so profusely that Eliza practically had to raise her voice just to get her to stop. Lola was an incredibly sweet woman - she couldn't be much older than her mid 40's, but with Witches and Wizards you never really knew - and after Laney had left she was the only one that was really around the place when Eliza was there. Cliff had his hospital to run and care for, and if Eliza did see him during the day it was just briefly.
These days she wasn't sure if they were avoiding each other or not; they exchanged brief acknowledgments of the others presence, even carried on a short conversation when a subject had submerged that was actually related to both of them enough to call for one. She was fairly sure that the most she had seen of him in the past month was at Order meetings, and even then they seemed to avoid each other as much as possible. He simply wasn't someone that she could understand. Everything that he did had some sort of meaning behind it, or he claimed to know what he was doing - Eliza wasn't particularly sure that he ever did, though - and after awhile she had gotten tired of the element of mystery that surrounded him.
Things had come to make more sense when she'd joined the Order and discovered what he truly was; and believe it that she was just as shocked as the next person, but in the long run it made everything become so much clearer. How he was always at St. Mungo's through the night, how he rarely made a sound when he was home, how those familiar brown eyes she'd grown up knowing as a sanctuary when Marcus wasn't there had so suddenly turned to a shade of topaz. Everything made sense after that, but then it just made their world that much more complicated as well. Eliza tried to be reasonable with him; she understood that it must have been a hard transformation to deal with - an entirely different life entirely, to be frank - but had he needed to push Laney away like that? It frustrated her so much that even when he had super speed and strength he couldn't just come home every once in awhile and spend some time with his girlfriend. Anyone in their right mind would have needed to escape like Laney had, and it was true that Elizabeth had considered it on more than one occasion. This wasn't home to her at all, despite the fact that she'd been keeping residence there since January. Everything had been perfect when she was living with Marcus...
Shaking her head to snap out of her reverie, the youngest Flint stood from where she had been squatting next to the dog and sighed once more. All thoughts of her birthday dinner had nearly vanished from her mind, though it wasn't as though she'd wanted it to be that way. For a couple of hours she'd actually let herself have some fun and truly appreciate her teammates and management, and now that she was home she felt like she'd already ruined her entire night by letting her mind wander. Convincing herself that while it looked like it couldn't be helped since she was living in this house, she could at least try to force it out of her mind until she drifted off to sleep, Eliza bent over to wrap her fingers back around the handle of the gift bag before straightening back up and moving toward the staircase.
She still had to do something with at least half of the flowers in her room, knowing that if she left that many of them on the floor that she'd end up knocking some over when she got up in the morning. Letting her mind go no further than the generous gifts that she'd been sent from family, friends, fans, and even some of Marcus' friends, Eliza had made it up the staircase and was halfway down the hallway that led to her bedroom when she heard the huge metal knocker pound against the solid wood doors at the center of the manor. Freezing in place, her mind scattered as she tried to think of who it could possibly be. Going unguarded to answer a door that late at night - morning, actually - wasn't the wise thing to do in a world that was stricken by fear of a Dark Lord returning to power. Her eyes shifted down to the dog at her side, his ears perked up straight as it sniffed the air in the general direction of the entryway. There was a soft growl emitting from deep in his throat, and Eliza listened as hard as she could as she slowly placed the gift bag and her shoulder wrap on the floor gently, her eyes trained on the end of the hallway where she could see the top of the staircase.
Pulling her wand from the bag as she went to stand back up, Eliza swallowed hard before she silently slid her heels off; if there was any danger present she wasn't about to be stuck wearing heels when she tried to defend herself. She pressed her hand against the wall as she rebalanced herself from taking the shoes off, her eyes dropping down to her companion who had his complete guard up at whatever it was he was hearing at the door. Two, then three, and then four steps. Moving down the hallway in complete silence other than the sound of her own heartbeat, breathing, and the sound of dog toes clicking against the wood flooring, the pair of them reached the top of the staircase in a matter of seconds. Her eyes didn't need to strain to see if there was anything or anyone in direct view of the top of the stairs due to the huge window that cast moonlight in from behind her. The only moving shadows that could be seen were hers and the dogs, cast long and dark, rippling over the wood steps; and then there was one more.
Just inside of the door was, from what Eliza could tell at this distance, a large box topped with the biggest bow she'd seen all day. Her mind didn't quite settle at the idea of it just being a present, and it was with cautious steps that she made her way back down the grand staircase to the ground floor, her faithful companion only two steps ahead of her the whole time - his nose actively working to identify the scent that came with the box. Eyes investigating the entire room for signs of anyone else or any sort of trap, Eliza's only reassurance was that she wasn't alone and the K-9 showed no interest in the rest of the room. Clearly whoever it was that had left the box had simply placed it inside of the door and then left right after; but how had they even... well, she hadn't locked the door. Reprimanding herself in her head for being stupid enough to leave the door unlocked and the enchantments off, she brought herself close enough to the box that she could get a clearer view.
There was no tag or note on the outside; nothing that gave away who or where it could have come from. The Shepherd was still sniffing curiously at the box, his nose never stopping even for a second as he tried to identify the scent(s) on it, and it was because he was so interested in it that Eliza kept from believing that it could possibly be from Cliff. He had said that he was going to drop by a gift for her later that night, after all... but why do it like that? The signs were there; she hadn't heard anyone come in, yet the box was inside, the box was huge and Eliza had specifically told Cliff not to get her anything. It would be just like him to get her something huge just so that she'd have to deal with the fact that he did. Those reasons weren't calming the alarm going off in her head, though. If it had been Cliff then why was his dog so interested in the scent on the box? Surely he would have recognized Cliff's scent and been no more interested in it then the next inanimate object in the manor. Maybe someone else had brought it over for him? Why would... Asking this many questions was getting her nowhere, and as hard as her heart was beating, Eliza couldn't deny that she wanted to know what was inside.
Finally moving her feet again after those long minutes of pondering, her feet made the softest of noises as they unstuck from the bare, wood flooring and she moved around to the longer side of the box, just next to the bow. Not bothering to turn on a light - and with really no need for it with the window at the top of the stairs providing plenty - she carefully placed her slender fingers over the end of the huge ribbon that made up the bow, using her thumb underneath and pulling slowly to undo it.
As soon as the bow had been loosened from the box, the rest seemed to just sort of undo itself. All four sides, along with the top, simply fell to the sides as if the ribbon had been the only thing holding it all together. If the sudden movement hadn't been quite enough to scare her half to death, what was inside was enough to freeze her heart in her chest and stop her from breathing. There was no mistaking what the hexagonal shape in front of her entailed. Even someone who hadn't been to their fair amount of funerals would have to be knowledgeable enough to instantly recognize the shape of the coffin lying on the floor in front of her.
Every inch of her body was instantly covered in goosebumps and other than the echo sounding around the manor from the bark that the dog had given, there was absolutely no sound whatsoever. Eliza had taken a few steps back, her hand had risen to her throat, and several minutes passed without another move or sound from her. Thousands of thoughts spilled into her mind all at once, and it was with great effort that she gasped for needed air, her eyes filling up to the brink with tears all in the same second. Trying to process the situation while trying to remain on her feet and breathing was proving to be incredibly difficult, and it was before she could do anything to stop him that the dog was nuzzling it's nose against the lid to the casket, trying to get a look for himself as to what was inside.
The wood shifted, and just as she stepped forward - her mouth failing to command him to leave it - to pull him back, the lid slid off and a mixture of the most disgusting, beautiful, familiar of scents drifted out to meet her. The disgusting part came from the fact that this coffin had very obviously been occupied recently - though there was no body in it now - and the beautiful, familiar aspects of it came from the dozens of multiple colored roses that were resting inside. All at once Eliza was reminded of the roses that would constantly be in her father's room when she was much, much younger. Her mother's favorite flower, though it was a more obvious choice, and it was his way of holding onto her after she died in childbirth. She remembered walking past his room on her way to her own and getting a nose full of rose... it was simultaneously the most painful and loving reminder she ever had of her mother, and it was for this reason that she generally steered clear of roses.
Eyes wide as she stayed frozen in place, Eliza's hand was outstretched still where it had been to try and stop the dog, and her other hand was now covering her nose and mouth. The first outbreak of tears trickled over the edge and down her cheeks until they met her hand, and then continued to trailed down her fingers until they either dropped to her shoulders or the floor. A soft whine sounded from beside her, but she was completely unaware of it as she stared down into the coffin. Directly in the center of the roses, right on top of them where it could be clearly seen was a note with a single sentence on it, and she didn't need to bend over to read it.
One foot went back and then another, her hand not moving from her face as the first sob of many sounded from behind it. Her mind reeling with her father's voice, repeating the words that he had so clearly written on the parchment over and over again, she moved back toward the stairs in a fumbling, clumsy manner. No comprehension of the world around her, her ankles met the steps without her knowing that she was even moving in that direction, and she fell directly onto her bottom as her body trembled with fear and sobs. Hand dropping from her face, her fingers wrapped around the railing of the stairs and her head slowly moved to rest against the wood as her sobs turned to wails of pain.
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