I'm here for you

After Miriam had left him, he hadn't resisted and had run toward the bathroom where Cindy was locked. He had carefully checked that Frollo wasn't around there, he actually didn't want to get the priest even more mad at him, even if he didn't have bad intentions. But Miriam had told him that Cinderella had asked about him, and he wanted just talk to her, just listen her voice...
"Cindy? Cindy, can you hear me?"
he asked in a low voice through the door

After Miriam left, Cindy spent the rest of the night and morning sleeping on the cold floor. She was hungry and tired of taking drinks from the sink. Suddenly, she heard Proteus's voice.
Her eyes bolted up. She almost thought she was dreaming. She missed him so much..
"Proteus?" she asked, crawling to the door. "Yes, Yes, I can hear you!"
She almost started crying of happiness. She thought everyone had forgotten about her or didn't care about her.
"I've missed you so much," she said, sniffling.

"I've missed you too, you can't even imagine how much" he replied, feeling his own heart breaking at the sound of her voice. He wanted so badly to can hug her, to can keep her in his arms and whispers that it was alright, that everything was going to be alright... but he couldn't...
"Don't worry, i'm sure that you'll be out soon, you have to stay strong, only for a short while..."

Cindy sat up and leaned her head against the door. He was right, she needed to stay strong. But it was so hard.
She wanted to be able to go out and protect her people and fight the demons, not stay locked up like she was one of..them..
She knew it was the right thing, but she wasn't fond of it at all.
"When can I see you?" she asked eagerly, hoping he could find the keys and open the door.

"As soon as your uncle will let you out" he replied with a soft voice: only the priest could know the right moment to let her go, and he wasn't even allowed to ask him...
He felt the guiltiness grow again inside him, torturing him from the inside "I'm so sorry, Cindy... so sorry..." he had already told the girl that he had introduced the demon inside the rectory, only that when he had told her he still thought it was a simple human, one of them... thought, the girl had surely understood, when he had talked about her... he shaked his head... could she really forgive him for what he had done?

"No Proteus," she said quietly, putting a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"It's not your fault I'm here."
She wanted to kiss him and hold him. In a perfect world, they could be together in harmony with no one telling them
what to do. But this was no perfect world. In fact, it was faar from perfect. Demons came to earth.
Making hell break loose, litteraly. And it seemed like there was nothing she could do about it.

He closed his eyes, thankful that she was so nice to forgive him, but he knew that if only he hadn't been so stupid, she wouldn't have had to be locked in there...
He just put a hand on the door, almost hoping to can feel her through it, and stayed in silence... what could he say in that moment that wasn't simply unimportant?
He just wanted to can do something, and instead... he could do nothing...

Cindy took a deep breathe and tried to stay strong. "Miriam visited me," she said slowly and un-steadily.
She thought back to their conversation, which was an unpleasant thing to think about. But unfortunately, she was right.
Cindy couldn't let the addiction take her over. She had people, humans, to defend.

"I know, i've asked to her to come to you and tell me how you were" he said, still with a soft tone "Your uncle... he's really mad at me, and he's right... but I needed to know that you were fine, as i needed to listen your voice..." he knew he couldn't stay for long, but stay away from her was even too difficult

"Why is he mad at you?" she asked shaking her head. Frollo had no right being angry with Proteus.
He did absolutely nothing. He just wanted to protect me from danger. She sighed, and leaned down beside the door.
"I can't wait to see you," she said, imagining them becoming re-united.

"He has his reasons... he hoped that i would have been a better man" he replied, defending the priest but without being able to avoid a bitter tone: he wasn't mad with the priest, though, but with himself.
"It will happen soon, Cindy... just wait and see."

"I hope," she said quietly. She wished more than anything to be with him.
None of this was his fault, it was the demons. Those wretched demons who destroyed everything.

He remained for a while next to the door, without saying a word: everything seemed useless in that moment. Only after a while he raised again: he had to go, he didn't want to be fiund there by Frollo to annoy him even more. "I'm going now… I'll be back as soon as i can… don't worry, Cindy, it's going to be alright" he didn't know if it was true, but he wanted to believe so…
Even if it was painful to leave her there, he had to… so he turned and left the place...