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The Road Ahead

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Life at the Kamelot residence was weird, to say the very least.

At first, Wisely had been far too preoccupied with Red to really notice, much less worry about the rest. He did after all have ample amounts of good food as well as clean water to drink, good clothes to wear, plenty of books to read and the protection of nobility; it was everything he had dreamt of in his wildest imaginations and then some.

And so, no longer having to worry about his imminent survival, Wisely readily stepped into the role of an observer. Because, while it would have been a great exaggeration to claim that he was completely uninvolved in this whole ordeal, it was also pretty obvious that he was not the main lead in this story.

No, that role had fallen onto another, and to anyone with a functioning pair of eyes, it was perfectly obvious that they didn't particularly enjoy it.

Heck, while Wisely had initially seen it fit to provoke Red with reading all those passages of Oliver Twist out loud, he certainly didn't dare to do it now.

Because, still recovering or not, this Red was volatile. He might not look like it at first glance, but Wisely had spent so much time alongside him that he could definitely tell. Red obviously felt cornered, hating the mere thought of being at the Duke's mercy. Given opportunity, he would likely have escaped through the window, leg injury or not; Wisely definitely realised that, which was why he still stuck around, even when instincts told him to leave.

However, Wisely obviously couldn't keep watch all the time; he himself was also recovering and in addition to that, still human enough to suffer from various inconveniences such as for example hunger and exhaustion. Besides, with the recent increase in both the portion sizes and the quality of his food, he needed to be careful. Eating too well or too much could actually make one very sick, and even if they didn't exactly have to worry about food anymore, Wisely instinctively didn't feel like wasting it.

Of course, with Red's unusual constitution, things such as eating too much was apparently less of an issue, the far greater issue being his stubbornness not to eat enough.

From a survivalist standpoint, this was absolutely insane, of course. Red obviously wanted to leave, and the sooner he recovered his strength, then the sooner he would be able to do so; hypothetically speaking of course, because there were really no guarantees that he would be allowed to leave in the first place.

Looking at it now, Wisely found that he kind of understood Red's reluctance to rely upon the Duke. Because, sure, while the man displayed obvious concern for their wellbeing, the guy was far more than the gentle elderly nobleman he had initially masqueraded as, at least towards Wisely. He was dangerous, and if Wisely was correct in his assumptions, then the man was the 'big boss' of the whole 'family' of freaks. Of course, calling them freaks might just be a bit hasty, considering the insinuations that Wisely might eventually become one of them.

Other than the Duke, who generally showed up simply in order to be more pointedly ignored by Red, Wisely had encountered four individuals so far; that Tyki guy, that Sheril guy, a beautiful blonde, and lastly, that Sheril guy's adopted daughter, Road.

Red got this look on his face whenever the latter made a move to get near him. The look wasn't overly aggressive per se, but it was still enough for the girl to stop and smile before skipping off in some mockery of a strategic retreat.

Her childish appearance aside, Wisely could not help but think that the look in her eyes was far too old for the rest of her, as if her body's physical age had frozen at some point and never progressed farther.

Soon, a significantly wiser Wisely would look back at this memory and sigh, rather embarrassed with it all. For now however, for a little while yet, he would remain as a mediator and casual observer, simply taking it all in.

Red looked a lot different now; a bit pale and sullen, sure, but still indefinitely better than before. He still barely left the bed though, but Wisely made no move to comment on it. It was after all a good thing if Red refrained from overexerting himself. Because, while his condition had definitely improved, it was still pretty easy to relapse and possibly contract an infection or something.

However, as things were, while Red's physical condition seemed to be picking up somewhat, his mental state was definitely deteriorating.

As previously mentioned, this Red was admittedly volatile. However, a lot of the time, he just lay on the bed or sat over by the window, staring out or at nothing in particular. He showed clear irritation though, especially when his attention shifted towards the strange bracelet wrapped snugly around his wrist.

The Duke was likely responsible, going by Red's obvious hostility. It − whatever it was − was likely there for the sake of Red's own protection, even if he himself obviously didn't view matters as such.

Given the supernatural side of things and the fact that the bracelet was wrapped around the left wrist, Wisely supposed it had to be some sort of suppressor. It would have made sense after all, because if it wasn't, then Red would likely have brought out his claws at this point.

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It was in the early hours of the morning, hours before dawn, that Wisely suddenly shivered awake.

Opening his eyes, he confirmed that it was still dark. It was pretty quiet too; too quiet as a matter of fact.

Wisely immediately rolled over onto his back, confirming that yes, the other side of the bed was definitely empty. Moreover, it was cold, meaning that Red had to have been gone for a while already.

"That fool," Wisely muttered to himself, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

He got up and didn't really bother to change out of his nightshirt. After all, if Red had already made it outside, then Wisely would hardly be able to catch up, even with Red's handicap. Then again−

Wisely shook his head and slunk out the door. No matter the situation, he obviously had to go out and have a look around, and not just in the offhand case that Red still remained in the building. If Red had really made a run for it, then Wisely obviously had to inform someone. Yeah, he obviously had to tell someone, because if Red got out now, then there was a definite risk that he would−

"Trouble sleeping?"

Wisely very nearly jumped out of his own skin at the voice. It was a sheer miracle that he didn't trip over his own bare feet. "R-Road?!"

Because it was Road, standing in the hallway like some type of ghost.

"You scared me," Wisely said at last, keeping his voice low.

She looked amused. "I can see that," she said.

Wisely honestly wasn't too sure as to how to deal with her. She was a child after all, but given that she was the adopted daughter of that person, she had likely had a very different – privileged – upbringing. It would be fair to assume that she'd been pretty sheltered and therefore largely ignorant of the world out there. However, considering Red's reaction and the look in her eyes, it would also be fair to assume that she was probably like the Duke, and Tyki, her adoptive father and that blonde woman; a 'wolf in sheep's clothing', as one might put it. Considering that− "Red's gone," Wisely said. "I think he might've−"

She took him by the hand, and Wisely thought he saw a glimpse of a smile. But it was pretty hard to tell, seeing that it was pretty damned dark and all.

"Don't worry," she said, tugging him along. "Come on."

Curious but also slightly intimidated, Wisely followed.

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As it turned out, Wisely could've might as well have stayed in bed. Because the situation definitely looked to be under control, even without Wisely doing anything.

"Ah, young Mr. Cunningham. I see that you are also quite restless tonight…"

The Duke was sitting in a rocking chair over by the hearth, with his back to the doorway.

Next to him was a chaise longue, and upon it lay a familiar figure sprawled on their side.

Wisely wanted to enter the room, but at the same time, he didn't want to disturb anything. He looked towards Road, only to find her slinking past him.

In little to no time, she had made it to the chaise longue, and once there, she quickly reached out to pet Red's hair. For a brief moment, Wisely prepared himself to see Red either smack the hand away or snag her by the wrist and twist her whole arm behind her back. None of this happened however, leading Wisely to an inevitable conclusion. He didn't put too much thought to it however, closing the door behind him before venturing farther into the room.

After making it over to the chaise longue, Wisely chanced a look towards the Duke where he sat. The man was actually knitting, and appeared in the midst of making a striped scarf.

"He is truly too stubborn for his own good, isn't he?" the Duke said, continuing to knit. "If I hadn't caught him, then who knows where he would have been tomorrow…"

So, the Duke had gone out to catch him personally? Whoa.

Wisely looked back towards Red, only to find that Road had climbed up onto the chaise longue and now had Red's head resting upon her lap, hand still stroking it tenderly. It was an outlandish image, especially considering just how Red viewed these people when he was conscious. Then again, perhaps it was not all that strange after all; the Duke had obviously staked some sort of claim, so it would not be all that strange for the rest of the family to follow suit. The seeming affection proved confusing however, that is unless Red was also−

As if somehow aware of the direction of Wisely's thoughts, Road looked up, locked eyes with him and put a finger to her lips.

Wisely didn't say anything. Instead, he took a seat on the edge, suddenly thoughtful.

Were they the same? Could that be the reason for why things had ended up like this or was there something else at play? Besides, Red still had that abnormality of his, didn't he?

"Young Mr. Cunningham."

Wisely immediately snapped his head up and looked towards the Duke. "Yes?"

"I have a house out in Cornwall," the Duke said, in part to Wisely and in part to himself. "It is rather far out, but the air is far cleaner over there. Wouldn't it be a good place to recuperate?"

Uh… "It probably would, but isn't Cornwall kind of far away?"

Granted, Wisely had never been to Cornwall; heck, he had never even left London, really. But he had seen Cornwall on a map very recently, and thus, he imagined it would take quite a few hours – days even – to reach it by carriage or even by boat.

The Duke gathered up the knitting needles and ball of yarn before standing up and putting it on the rocking chair. "That depends on the mode of transportation though, doesn't it?" he said. "Shall we?"

Wisely looked from the man to Red where he lay, blissfully oblivious to it all. Or not so blissfully. It was pretty hard to tell.

"Duke," Road said, her fingers still carding through Red's hair. "Would it not be better to wait until the servants have put everything in order? That villa has not been used for quite some time."

The man's posture slumped in seeming disappointment. For several moments, he behaved more like a child than the actual children in the room. "But…"

"No buts," Road said, obviously having taken command. "Go to bed. He'll still be here in the morning; I guarantee it."

There was obvious resignation at that, and the high and mighty Duke retreated, looking very much like a sullen child who had been denied some request.

Wisely just stared after him, because what the Hell was that?

"Wisely."

Wisely snapped his head back around towards Road.

"Accompany the Duke," she instructed, and her tone left no room for arguments.

Yeah, Wisely thought, sneaking one last look at Red before hurrying after the Duke. That girl was definitely one of them.

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