Chapter Eleven: Wildfire

                                    

                                          

October 10th, 2015
	Fleur watches out of her second story window as leaves blow through the trees and over the dying grass. Her lavender eyes studied the ground before looking over the trees, wishing she could go out there too. Her mother forbids it though. She was just spoken to about being friendly to a human boy in school.
	She wishes her mother would just let things go sometimes. But she knows she won't be free until she's eighteen and able to run away. Unfortunately some of the humans rules, they must go by. Sixteen year olds can't be running around on their own in the human world.
She pulls her two-toned hair into a long ponytail before going over to her bed, kneeling down so she can pull a large storage bin out. She reaches inside it and gently takes out a box of soaps. She also takes out a special carving knife before opening the packaged soaps. After picking one up, she begins to carve into it. Her hands move slowly and efficiently, carving a grand design into the pink soap.
She finally smiles before a knock sounds on her door. She hides the soaps and knife before answering the door. It's just Shaye.
"Yes?" She asks the brunette who sighs softly.
"Dinner's ready. Are you okay?" Shaye asks and Fleur nods before exiting her room and following the taller girl downstairs. She sits near her mother and father as per usual, hating that her mother watched her every move. Fleur looks at her mother defiantly but Delilah doesn't take it too kindly afterwards.
After dinner, Delilah drags her daughter into her study to scold her. "Don't ever look at me like that. How many times do I have to tell you? You must behave like a Langley," she says and Fleur closes her eyes before shaking her head.
"I wish I wasn't a Langley," the young girl murmurs. Then Delilah raises her hand to her, but her husband stops her.
"Delilah...what's gotten into you?" Ellis asks his wife and she glares at him before he releases her. Ellis looks at his daughter before giving her a nod. Fleur nods once before leaving the study. "How can you treat our daughter like that? She's our only child," he reminds her and the woman sits down at her desk, refusing to answer.
Ellis shakes his head before exiting the study as well, hearing his daughter crying as she treks upstairs. He attempts to follow her, but she locks her door so he can't get in. "Fleur, please let me in. I want to talk with you," he says as she sits on her bed.
"Why? So you can just excuse mother's behavior again? She's insane," she says from inside her room and Ellis sighs softly.
He steps back from her door before taking a deep breath. "No, no more excuses. Please just let me in," he murmurs and he listens as she takes a moment to stand up and unlock the door. His eyebrows scrunch together as his eyes begin to show sadness. "I'm sorry sweetheart," he says softly as she sniffles and tears stream down her face, "I'd never let her hurt you."
Then he wraps his arms around his daughter and hugs her tight. "But she almost did," she mumbles before hiccuping and wiping under her eye. He nods before taking a deep breath. "Why can't you be the head instead of her? She's not thinking clearly," Fleur whispers and he smiles softly at his daughter.
"She can't hear what we're saying, you don't need to whisper," he assures her and she sniffles before saying a soft 'thank you'. "And I know she isn't. But I've been in contact with the EC. Hopefully when they come here next month, they'll talk with her. And if they find her incompetent, they might change the head to me or possibly Bastion's mother or father," he tells her and she looks up at him.
"Mrs. Wright? I don't think she wants to do that," Fleur murmurs before looking up at her father, "dad...I'm scared of her."
"Of Mrs. Wright? She-"