Long time no see friends! I've gotten into some lovely conversations with people reading Broken Wing, and I've decided it's time to put out this little ditty I've been working on. I'm also working on another SanSan oneshot, and who knows after that!
Happy reading :)
Oh for goodness sake, thought Annalise for the seventh time that afternoon. How hard can it be to find a bloody theater in this city?
She'd been wandering for 20 minutes, every since she'd lost Richard in the crowd. He was probably so immersed in a book he didn't even notice she was gone. Luckily she'd had the good sense not to go screaming his name in the street-in London it was best to look as though you knew where you were going and to draw as little attention as possible.
But the problem was Annalise didn't know where she was going, or at all how to get back to her family, who were most likely wondering where on earth she could be. It made her smile to think of the annoyed expression on her mother's face when she finally found them-Annalise was always running off and getting into mischief with her brothers, much to her mother's chagrin.
A sudden push from behind almost sent her tumbling to the pavement. She managed to steady herself as she felt her arm jerk to the side, away from her. Before her mind even comprehended what happened, her purse was out of her hand and sprinting down the street in the hand of a very disheveled looking man.
Annalise was not the kind of woman to stand there and scream for help from someone else. Her feet started running before her brain told them too. That man is in for a surprise, she thought with a slight grin. She could even beat Charles in a race, despite her voluminous skirts, and he was nearly seven years older. She was vexed by the cumbersome shoes her mother had forced her to wear-they were noticeably slowing her. She was not at all upset when she lost one in the street, and then the other a moment later. She almost managed to catch him down a narrowed alley, but his coat slipped from her grasp when he rounded the corner. Damnit.
But as she came round, she heard a large scuffle, and an "Oomph." When she came upon the thief, another, much taller man had him pinned against the wall, pressing his arm into his throat. She marched forward and wrestled the bag from his grasp, much emboldened now that he couldn't run. She almost wanted to kick him in the shin, but resisted.
"Now now Davies, I believe you and I have talked before about your stealin'. What are you doin' with that lady's purse?"
"I 'aven't stolen nothin!" he choked out.
"You must be joking!" She nearly shouted, incensed by his insolence. "I wasn't chasing you for my own amusement!"
"And I'd never believe you'd own something so fine. Try again Davies."
"Come off it, Mikaelson. Clark's on me back about my damn debt, I got nuthin' to pay 'im with."
"That's hardly the lady's fault. She didn't drink all your money away."
"Well what's a piece like that doin' round 'ere anyway?"
"None of your damn business," she replied haughtily. Her rescuer chuckled and looked to her.
"It's up to you miss, I'm more than happy to drag Davies over to the Coppers if you like." He raised an eyebrow as he waited for her answer. She had to admit, her anger made his suggestion tempting. But as she looked at the man, whose eyes were now pleading with her own, she actually pitied him a little.
"Oh just let him go," she said with a hint of exasperation. "Maybe he'll actually remember what kindness looks like in the future."
"Oh, I will miss. I thank ye, thank ye so much."
"Yea, yea," the man, Mikaelson, as she recalled, said. "Go find someone else to blubber to 'fore she changes her mind."
Without another word the man scampered off, and Annalise breathed a sigh of relief. Her head had finally cleared enough that she could look at her rescuer properly. He was moderately dressed-he didn't stand out in fancy clothes like she did, although he was well kept and carried himself well. He stood tall, almost as tall as her father, who was nearly a head and a half above her. He had a strong jaw, but curly blond hair and just a hint of a beard. Just now a small smirk played on his face, and Annalise found herself both annoyed and a little mesmerized by it. But she remembered her manners.
"Thank you sir, I am very grateful for your assistance."
"It's no trouble. Davies is always causing some manner of mischief. I try to prevent it if I can."
"You know the man well?" she asked, slightly wary of the man's connections.
"I'm a barrister in some of the lower courts. I'm afraid I'm connected to a few unsavory characters. I am glad to say that they seem to develop a healthy respect for the law around me."
"How fortunate for you." She replied, slightly relieved he was not a criminal as well, but a man of the law. He took a step closer to her, and she could see his clear blue eyes even more now.
"If you don't mind my asking, what is a woman like you doing in this part of town? Or is it 'none of my damn business' either?" he asked with a smile. She blushed at remembering her words-in anger she often had little control over her mouth. But she also bristled at his question.
"A woman like me? What do you mean?" Why on earth shouldn't she be here?
"You don't come to London a lot, do you?" he chuckled. Annalise found her blush growing, this time in annoyance. She did not care for his condescending tone. "We don't often get well-dressed ladies around here, rubbing elbows with men that'll steal their jewels right out of their hands." She knew of the danger of being here, but still didn't like him insinuating that she couldn't take care of herself.
"He would have gotten away with much," she said holding up her purse, "a few coins and a handkerchief, hardly enough for any debt."
"And yet you ran after him?" he replied with another raise of his brow.
"Of course," she said as though it were obvious. "It wasn't his to take."
"Well, you have the spirit for Holborn, that's for certain." Annalise was calmed a little, it would do her no good to be confrontational with someone who had helped her. "Is there anything else I can assist you with?" He asked as she smoothed her dress. She looked around, realizing she was even more lost than before.
"If you would be so good as to point me in the direction of the Crown Theater, I would be most obliged."
"The Crown, well that's nearly on the other side of Covent Garden. How on earth did you get all the way over here?" Again, she was annoyed by the tone of his question, but answered anyway.
"I lost my escort in the crowd. I've been walking for near half an hour, that is before I was running after that man."
"Aye, it'll take near that long for us to get back. That is, if you'll accept me as an escort." He held out his arm, and she had to admit he was the best option-if she was indeed in Holborn, there was no chance of finding the theater on her own. As she walked forward to accept his offer, she blushed again at realized she was barefooted.
"There is something we'll need to do first," she said shyly, "find those damnable shoes."
He chuckled again, "well, there's one at the end of the alley," he said pointing, "and we can retrace your steps until we find the other. Hopefully it is still where it fell." They picked up the first one, and Annalise leaned on his arm as she placed the constricting monstrosity back on her foot. Walking was uncomfortable with only one, but it had to be done.
When they came upon the second shoe a few moments later, she cursed under her breath. It had fallen into a pile of mud that, upon closer examination, couldn't simply be brushed away.
"Can it be cleaned?" He asked, clearly only out of politeness.
"I could care less," she replied, "it's my mother I'm concerned with. She'll already be furious with me, and I'd rather not provoke her any further. An afternoon of her 'making a lady of me' is hardly enjoyable."
"I can imagine so," he said laughing. She couldn't help but chuckle to.
"Well, I can hardly blame her. If you met my aunt you'd understand." She laughed as she put the shoe onto her foot. She cringed at the roughness of the dirt, but if she walked a certain way, she might be able to keep it hidden under her dress, which didn't look too poorly.
"Is she very unlady-like, your aunt?" He asked as they continued walking.
"My grandfather uses the words 'silliest girl in England', my mother calls it 'headstrong and foolish', while my grandmother calls her 'my darling girl'." she replied with another chuckle, thinking of all the family gatherings she had endured where her aunt and grandmother seemed simply incapable of keeping anything to themselves. "With all my genes working against me my mother is determined to make me into a sensible lady, and not make the same foolish decisions Aunt Lydia did."
"What sort of decisions?"
"Something to do with her marriage. I don't know all the particulars, and I'm not sure I want to. Even if I wanted the story, its something my parents are loathed to speak of. So you see I'm continuously punished for a crime I know nothing about." She said with a smile. It was her never-ending struggle with her mother, and truth be told they both took a small amount of delight in vexing the other.
"There are worse things," he said with a small frown "than having a mother who cares for you too much."
"Oh don't mistake me, I'm not ignorant of my good fortune when it comes to my family. I love them all dearly. It's just...being the only daughter with four brothers, and the youngest at that, can come with a great deal of pressure and no small amount of protection."
"Four brothers? I can imagine so." He smiled again, and she noticed he looked very handsome when he did.
"I'm sure they would all prefer I simply act more like a female," she said with a sigh. "Do you know the trials of sibling relations as well?" she asked.
"I'm afraid not, I was raised by my uncle, who taught me the law. I have no memories of my life before, but I'm told I was an only child." His eyes fell a little as he told the story, but if possible he carried himself a little straighter. His curt response told her that she'd better not ask anymore questions on the matter.
"Well, feel free to borrow a brother or two whenever you feel the need for sibling companionship," she said with a small smile, waiting to see if her joke would be well received. She smiled when he relaxed his jaw and posture, and breathed a sigh of relief as they continued to walk.
"Which could you possibly part with?" he asked after a moment of silence.
"Well, Edward you would get along with famously. He teases and jokes all day, me the brunt of most of them. But he makes friends easily and loves meeting new people."
"I strike you as a fun-loving person?" He said smirking again and looking sideways at her.
"Adventuresome would be a better word" And he did. He seemed to enjoy teasing her, but conversed readily. He carried himself well, yet could talk as one of the common folk. He reminded her of her second-oldest brother, as she found herself conversing with him as easily as Edward could with others. There was hardly anything he loved more than meeting new people-whether those people deserved his acquaintance or not.
"Exciting better yet," she continued, "and that's certainly something Edward is constantly seeking."
"I assure you I'm not rescuing beautiful women every day," he replied with a chuckle, "in fact I rarely interact with such high-born ladies."
She started a bit at being called beautiful, but recovered quickly. "You don't even know my name, how could you possibly know I'm high-born?"
"A wild guess. But you're right, we haven't been properly introduced. James Mikaelson at your service miss." He stopped and turned to bow to her. She returned it with a curtsey.
"Annalise Darcy." His breath caught audibly in his throat, and she giggled. "I never said I wasn't high-born, I simply said you couldn't know that for a fact."
"Well, this must be the first time a Darcy has graced that part of London with their presence" he said as he took her arm again.
"Well, I suppose you could wander the streets, waiting to help poor high-born ladies and be their rescuer, as you've been mine," she teased. "If you're so keen on being part of that crowd."
"I think I'd almost prefer mine." They fell silent at that, Annalise mulling over the slight in her head, the frown re-appearing on her face. When she looked up again she saw the bookstore where she'd lost Richard.
"Wait, stop! Richard might still be here." She charged ahead of him. Who the bloody hell is Richard? Sure enough, a dark haired man with glasses appeared out of an alleyway, and Annalise ran towards him. Well that's the end of that. He looked positively frantic, then relieved as he saw her approach. They conversed quickly, and mostly on her side, as she dragged him over. He caught the tail end of your conversation,
"Return to the theater without you? Mother would have my head."
"I cannot believe you told her."
"You were missing, Lissie. Father and William were beside themselves." The man seemed genuinely concerned, and scared at the prospect of her being missing. He must care for her a great deal.
"For goodness sake, I was not missing. Mr. Mikaelson here was good enough to lead me back" she said, finally remembering he was standing there. (Although why her lack of interest should bother him, he couldn't say.) James dipped a bow towards the man, as Miss Darcy spoke again he straightened. "This is my brother, Richard. Who I had the misfortune of losing before I met you."
Mr. Richard Darcy returned the bow and said in a quiet voice, "Mr. Mikaelson, I am so obliged to you. Thank you so much for returning my sister to safety." Miss Darcy rolled her eyes, and he could almost hear her thought of I didn't need him at all. But she held her tongue at seeing him smirk at her again.
"Not at all, I'm happy to be of use."
"Will you accompany us to our father at the theater? I'm sure he would like to thank you as well." This time he looked to Miss. Darcy, who again sighed at the spectacle this was turning into.
"I'm sure that's not necessary. Now that she's been returned to you, I trust you can see her safely back." It was taking everything he had not to make a joke about losing her again, but the poor man seemed so distraught he thought better of it. He bowed again. "Mr. Darcy, Miss Darcy" and turned to walk away.
In truth, he didn't want to meet her father. He had heard of the stern pride of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, and he had no desire to be reminded of just how far beneath Annalise he was. He couldn't stand society people.
Although he must admit, Annalise Darcy was the strangest girl from that society he had ever met. Oh well, best put her out of your head. For he didn't suppose there was any chance they would meet again.
Annalise watched him go with a strangely heavy heart. This was undoubtedly one of the most exciting afternoons she had ever had. And she was hardly looking forward to meeting her parents and brothers again. Richard was alright-he was too quiet and reserved to ever give her any cause for headache. And it would be nice to put William at ease-her best friend and closest brother in both age and temperament. But she dreaded the looks on her mother and father's faces. She had the strange feeling of being led back by a leash around her wrist.
Sure enough, as she caught sight of her parents, she heard her mother's voice, "Annalise, what on earth has happened to your shoes?"
The plan is to update this once a week, giving me lots of time to adjust story as needed.
Ooh! Last but not least... This new story is dedicated to HeRonFan, who convinced me to put more of my stuff out there :)