"Why would I want to remember?" There was a hint of anger in her voice and emotions. He remembered her saying that she knew her limits. Was this something she was trained on as a Guardian or did she come across a situation where she needed to drink it? For the first time, he wondered about the kind of life she led. To him, a Guardian had been an annoyance at best and a possible danger at worst. Only through meeting her did he begin to see that maybe he had been harsh in his judgment. She might be reckless in her methods but she was steadfast when it came to helping others.
[How can you tell what the percentage is?]
"The darker it is, the more Rose Red there is."
[Fifty-five seems too little for how dark it was.] Marie shrugged. She shifted so she was leaning against the sofa’s arm. Her eyes were beginning to droop. Marie said before she didn’t like sleeping afterward but maybe with how much she drank she would just fall asleep without any trouble.
But it also meant he might only get one more question out of her. He decided to gamble on whether or not she would answer.
[Why were you scared earlier?] She looked into his eyes and shook her head. He could feel her sadness become tinged with fear.
"I don't want you to get hurt." Him? Before he could ask more, her eyes closed and her breathing evened out into a slow rhythm. There would be no more answers from her. He picked up the catalog and flipped through it looking for the current item. They were only a couple of items away from the knife. Since their goal had been to see whether the knife was sold, he decided to leave once he knew. There was no point in him staying longer. He watched as the items were sold one by one but the knife never showed up.
Adrian tossed the catalog to the side and picked Marie up. She didn’t even twitch as he carried her all the way to their room and into his. He had already decided to put her on his bed. This was better than waking up and finding her gone. Marie didn’t move from where he placed her on the bed so he was able to take his time removing his jacket and shoes. A piece of paper fell out of his jacket and he bent down to pick it up. He removed his tie as he reread the information. Dante had included information on a special guest that had come to the party.
The guest had been specially invited by the host. Dante could only tell him that the man was dangerous and to stay out of his way. He sighed as he put the paper back into his jacket. It would be nice if the man learned to write neater or slower. It was hard to tell what the name of the guest was based on what was written. Lims? Linus? Lems? He shook his head before he tossed his tie on the table.
Adrian dragged a chair over to the door and wedged it under the knob, just in case. With this, he should be able to sleep without any issues...
He bolted upright in bed, his mind still half asleep. Adrian scanned the area for the source of the disturbance. What had woken him up? He took stock of the room, trying to find what was out of place. The chair was still against the door and Marie was still sleeping next to him. A noise? He listened but all he could hear was her soft breathing, the sound of her heartbeat, and the ticking of his watch.
Adrian was about to go back to sleep when a wave of pure negative emotions slammed into him. He gasped as he gripped the sheet to keep from doing something he would regret. His teeth ached as he swung his legs off the bed and put his head in his hands. Adrian breathed slowly, trying to get his hunger back under control when another wave of emotions slammed into him. He was nearly knocked off the bed by the force of her emotions. His eyes closed for a moment as he fought to regain control of his hunger.
He needed to wake her up. He needed to wake her up now.
Adrian grit his teeth as he stood up. He took a deep breath before walking over to her side and leaning over.
“Marie? Wake up.” Adrian tried not to shake her too roughly but his control was fraying with every wave of emotion that crashed over him. Nothing. Her brow furrowed but she didn’t move beyond that. He shook her again. This time her eyes flew open and she took large, gasping breaths as if she had been on the verge of drowning. Her eyes darted around the room before focusing on him. She brought her knees up to her chest as she sat on the bed. Marie wrapped her arms around them as she laid her head down.
His issues with control would need to be revisited on another day. Right now, he needed to focus on Marie.
“Everything is alright.” Adrian rubbed her back gently. Marie looked at him over her knees before she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Do you want to talk about it?” She shook her head and stood up. “Where are you going?”
“Back to my room.” She stumbled as she passed him and he caught her before she hit the ground, face first.
“Stay here and sleep.” He knew that if he let her go now she wouldn’t sleep. She shook her head and tried to get up but he wasn’t going to give her the chance to leave. Adrian stood, flipping her up into his arms before he lightly tossed her back into bed. While her mind tried to catch up with what had happened, he went to the other side and got into bed. Marie tried to flip over and get off the bed again but he was ready for her. He wrapped one hand around her waist and dragged her across the bed. She turned and tried to push him away but he only reached up and took both of her hands in his. A frown crossed her face as she realized she wasn't going anywhere.
“Let go.”
“I’m not going to let you go.” She looked him straight in the eyes. He’d thought she was still drunk on Rose Red but there was an awareness in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. Not that she was completely sober either but something about this gaze made him feel like she was searching for something. He wasn’t sure if she found what she was looking for but she sighed and closed her eyes. Her breathing deepened and he was sure she had fallen back to sleep. He thought about letting both of her hands go but decided not to take any chances as he fell asleep with her hand in his.
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