Chapter 4 - Cory

Liam Halifax stood over Aramis and stared at him with a look of contempt. He was wondering when the boy would finally wake up when he suddenly flinched. The bottle in his hand shattered as Aramis clenched his fist and the ground beneath them cracked as he sat up in shock. Liam had already taken a step back, always wary of the young master's strength. He was not as harmless as many made him out to be even without his magic. 

The Morricone's butler was a tall old man dressed up in a suit befitting of a gentleman of a past generation. He wore glasses that hung on a string around his neck, perhaps the only indicator that his old age was getting to him. His hair was a dirty blonde, streaked with strands of gray, and neatly combed back as it usually was. Some might mistake him as the noble rather than the half-naked child sitting before him with a broken bottle of alcohol beside him. 

He was also a good man. He'd served his father before him according to his sister and had continued till now without any intentions of retiring. He'd always been more than a simple butler, he was family. 

Aramis seemed disoriented, his mind thousands of miles away. He was still thinking about the dream when Liam sighed and plopped a set of warm clothes down onto Aramis' lap. 

"You'll catch a cold like this Master Aramis. I suggest we hurry, the Mistress is not going to be happy." Liam chided as he offered a hand to help him up. 

Now that brought him back to reality. They should indeed hurry. 

Being the sister of a generational talent like Aramis before the disease would have meant she would have been overshadowed by him almost her life. This was not the case. In fact, many would consider Cordessa Morricone a far more valuable asset to invest in. The scholars of the Human Realms had accepted her as one of their own as the youngest member of their ranks. What made her stand out was her innovation. She wanted to experiment with everything and she lost herself in her work. She was doing what she loved to do. 

To be quite frank, they had never been close when they were younger. Aramis had been busy being a Prospect and Cory had been busy climbing the academic ladder. In his most vulnerable state, he truly thought he would be left alone in the Lost and Cory would choose to remain in the Capital. He wouldn't have blamed her. Her career would take a severe hit if she decided to move to such a rural area away from the great educational sphere that was the Capital. 

Despite all his worries, it hadn't even been a question for her. She hadn't said anything about it except for the fact that she was going to have to get a lot more warm clothes to deal with the cold. 

Ever since then, she had become his best friend. At the same time, she had also become old enough to be his official guardian. That meant when he fucked up, she had to say something about it. Right now, he was royally fucking it up. 

The first year was hopeful. After that, he'd pretty much given up. He began to drink. Considering he was a noble, the bartenders couldn't really refuse him so that's what he did. He drank till the sun rose, he partied till he could no more, he simply wanted to disappear into the bliss that came with letting go of the world around him. Lately, it had been getting worse. 

He'd started skipping school entirely. Even though he'd gotten rid of a few bad influences he'd met here, he was still drinking his life away almost every night without fail. He'd become a regular. Aramis was known as a drunken nuisance who caused commotions to every bar he went. Sure he was a party animal but there was a limit and he was pushing it. 

"I have told you your lies would catch up to you sooner or later young Master. She's probably in her study. Try not to make it worse." The butler warned as they walked up the path towards the manor.

"I'll try. You got anything to eat though? If I make it out alive, I mean." Aramis was felt the feeling of dread grow with each step he took. 

"No. I would have thought that bottle of whisky would have filled you up quite well." 

"Oh shut the fuck up old man." Aramis retorted, letting out a little breath of laughter. 

"Language young master. I shall get straight to it. Let's hope you are still able to stomach it after this. Be on your way now." With that, he turned and headed towards the kitchen and he headed towards an impending sense of doom. 

The Morricone Household was not a small estate. Of course it wasn't really much compared to the usual noble estates especially for Dukes. They'd been appointed that title before Aramis lost his magic so he guessed he should have been grateful they'd been allowed to keep it at all. That title allowed them to live so comfortably even in the Village of the Lost. 

Most of the storage space was meant for Cory and her giant collection of books. There seemed to be more shelves every time he walked towards her study hall. It was incomparable to the Capital's Library however and that thought made him feel even more guilty. He was probably just making life harder for her. 

He'd even promised, he'd SWORN to her that he would stop drinking.

Cory wasn't effortlessly smart. She worked harder than anyone he knew. She could remain within these study halls for days at a time with barely any rest, unwilling to leave until she accomplished what she set out to do. It sort of made Aramis jealous sometimes. To have that level of dedication and love for your craft was something he hadn't felt in a long while. 

Finally arriving at the giant wooden doors, he knocked loudly before pushing them open.

Large cases of books, notebooks and even some antique scrolls were strewn all over the floor. It wasn't what you would call a very conducive work environment. Being neat was not her strong suit. They definitely had that in common at least. His sister had fallen asleep, pen still in hand, face first against the table. He sighed, smiling a bit as he watched her peacefully resting at her desk.

He hoped she was getting enough sleep, though he highly doubted it. He pulled the large rug she'd used as...a blanket off of her. Gently, he began shaking her awake. Ever since she'd joined up with the Riders, she'd been throwing herself at her work even more than she usually did. She mumbled something incomprehensible under her breath, wincing as she turned over to face him.

Holding up a hand, she rubbed her eyes sluggishly. So Aramis stood there, waiting on her as he glanced over her study table. Everything on it was a mishmash of stray pieces of papers and open books as usual, but an opened letter that was addressed to her was what caught his attention. To Cordessa Morricone, Aramis' guardian. It was a letter sent directly from...from school.

His face immediately paled, but before he knew it, Cory had wrapped a firm hand on his head. She was now very much awake as she forcibly yanked his hair down, Aramis yelped in surprise and pain. 

"HOLD ON, LISTEN-" He really hadn't known that she would have found out this early. He had done everything and he meant EVERYTHING to cover his tracks. With how busy she always was, a foolish part of him thought that he could have possibly gotten away with this for the rest of the school year. He had even made sure to check the mailbox every single day without fail…but he must not have been careful enough because she had gotten her hand on a letter from the principal himself. 

"Good morning little brother." She spat out, venom in every word as she gestured to the letter. Aramis might have been strong, stronger than most people period if he really tried, but he was powerless against his sister. So even though he tried to struggle out of her grip, it was to no avail. He was simply forced to wriggle around helplessly with his face squished up against the wooden desk. 

"Listen, I can explain. I didn't mean to miss so many days, I just..." He trailed off, trying desperately to excuse himself from all the absences from school.

"Shut it, you fucking little shit. Do you know how fuckin' embarrassing it is, to have to tell your teacher, that I thought your semester had ended two weeks ago? You told me it was BLOODY FUCKING winter break!" It was always winter here. So...you couldn't really tell the difference. Heh. Aramis winced as she pulled harder, but Cory suddenly stopped. 

"Have you been drinking?"

Aramis winced. He guessed the smell was still on him, he should have tried to wash up before coming over. Rookie mistake. Her look of anger shifted into one of disappointment and her grip loosened on his hair.

"You promised me, Missy. You promised you were going to stop. I know your body can't really feel its effects but it's really not good for you." She said in a more serious tone. Her disappointment made him even feel worse than her rage. 

He wanted to give an excuse, maybe tell her someone spilled a bottle of whisky onto him. But he couldn't. He felt bad since lying to his sister was well, something he never wanted to do. Since she didn't get a reply, Cory sighed and let go. "You will stop drinking. And you will go to school starting from today onwards. Come on, you're going to be late!"

Liam had already set the plates down in the living room. The man had whipped up a storm as per usual. Aramis could see an almost amused expression on his face, understanding what had transpired. 

That was another reason why Aramis really liked Liam. He was cool. He had learned of him skipping out on school and though he never had a helping hand in his act of truancy, he never snitched on him. A real one.

He bowed and greeted his sister but Cory was probably too angry to even acknowledge it. She proceeded to sit down and Aramis decided it was best to do the same. He didn't want to do anything to make her even more infuriated than she already was. 

They sat in silence for a few moments, but even guilt could not contain his hunger after so long. He picked up his spoon and began to dig in. But as soon as he did, Cory raised an eyebrow as if appalled at his genuine audacity to feast when he was in so much deep shit. Immediately, Aramis stood and began packing his bag. 

"Apologies madam, I am preparing for my departure to school." He squeaked out, quickly pulling on a uniform. He shoved some random books in his bag, though he did sneak in a few bites while doing so. 

Finally, Cory sighed, shaking her head. "Listen...Missy...."

"Please don't call me that."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Sorry."

"Sit down just for a minute, will you?" She asked, a little bit of the fury from her voice fading. Just slightly though. He nodded slowly and returned to his seat at the table across from Cory. 

"Listen Missy, I know it's been tough. And I know that going through what you have is something I can't even imagine. But you can't just give up. We're out of the North, we're here. We're together, we're...safe. I promised our mother that I would at least make sure you graduate. And I don't ask anything more of you. Your education is important even though it might not seem that way right now. There needs to be a balance of fun and work, trust me. Just none of the drinking kind of fun. So just put a little more focus on school. Please?" She said in a softer tone, now reaching her hand out for him to take. 

He did, his hands closing around hers and nodding slowly. He knew his sister meant well, and she really did want the best for him. She'd sacrificed more than he would ever know to get them out of where they once were and he'd never forget that. The North had been a dangerous place. 

She was doing what she thought was best for him. Most of all, she was right. School was important even if it didn't mean jack-shit to him as a growing teenager. This time, he looked her straight in the eye. 

"Yeah. Of course. I promise. Love you." He meant it too. He would try. 

"I love you too Missy. Also, I'll be out for most of the day. I can pick you up and drop you off at home if you want! Or you could even come with me for a while to the office….?" 

He was already halfway out of the dining room and headed towards the door. "Sure. I don't mind. Maybe we can have dinner together?" 

His sister finally cracked a smile despite berating him just moments before. "We'll see if I can get my shit done before then. Hit the books Missy. And don't be late." He gave her one last glance to see her glaring daggers at him. He booked it for the door, realising he'd have to run if he wanted to make it on time. 

Cory stared after him, just hoping that she'd ever be able to see the Aramis that had been so full of passion and well excitement for each passing day again. She doubted it but she would still love that kid all the same. 

"He'll be fine Madam." Liam told her reassuringly. There was a mysterious glint in his eyes as if he knew something that she did not. "I have a feeling things are gonna start to get a lot more interesting from now on."