AN: This sequel is written with permission from the original author. All characters except Raven belong to Xipholynx or Hidekaz Himaruya.
Chapter 1: Meeting
The ancient city of London in England is famous for many things. Tourists flock to see sights like the sentinel clocktower Big Ben, the riverside Ferris wheel known as the London Eye, and the splendor of Buckingham Palace, seat of one of the longest-lasting monarchies in the world. Equally iconic are the double decker buses, the theaters, and the damp weather conditions.
Such was the state of London's atmosphere one particular afternoon when the heroine of our story found herself outside a less well-known landmark of the city.
It was only a light drizzle falling from the overcast sky that Tuesday so Londoners made do with jackets and umbrellas as they went about their business. The weather caused some crowding of walkways and also of roads, but for the most part there was tolerance and native British manners kept life moving briskly along.
On one busy street a young woman stepped out of the flow of humanity with umbrellas and paused. She was a newcomer to the city, still unfamiliar with the vast expanses outside a few blocks surrounding her flat. Peering out from under the dripping edge of her umbrella she tried to make out the house number of the nearby buildings.
Raven Waters never matched others' expectations of her. When asked they would say that any writer named Raven should be tall and willowy, with long black hair, dark eyes, and a serious personality.
She was the opposite. Long strawberry-blonde hair curved to frame her heart-shaped face and cascaded in a wavy curtain down her back. Her eyes were gray, softened by her perpetual smile and always sparkling with laughter and charming innocence. She was of short stature but overflowed with boundless energy.
At the moment Raven was searching for a certain address in crowded Central London. She had an interview scheduled with the chief editor of a small but popular publishing company. She was to present her newest manuscript and with luck it would be accepted and launch her writing career on this side of the Atlantic.
Unfortunately her directions weren't very clear. She had the address but her phone's Apple Maps app was a complete wreck. It was indicating the building she had stopped beside, but there were no signs on it to indicate that it housed any sort of business. As near as she could tell it was the place she'd been looking for.
"Okay, this must be it," Raven said to herself. "Here we go!"
~Meanwhile inside that building~
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, less formally known as England, was not by nature a patient person. He could give the impression of patience when necessary, but there was always the undercurrent of anxious energy to his frame. This was especially true when he was waiting for someone or something.
As he was now. Seated in a large comfortable chair behind a desk, he abruptly lifted his wrist to check the time. Lowering it again, England unconsciously clenched his jaw and his lips thinned to the point of invisibility.
It had been nearly an entire year since his infamous bet with America now, yet the fallout from that misadventure was still making extra work for him. After the discovery of personified corporations he'd been charged by Her Majesty's government to compile a database of those personifications for national security reasons. It was a massive job involving pictures, paperwork, and interviews; it didn't help matters that his brothers were less than diligent about collecting and forwarding this information to him and he often wound up having to send his own representatives to gather data that had already been compiled.
"It's just like those wankers to make more work for countries who actually have a sense of responsibility," he grumbled to himself. But, of course, he was used to it.
A sharp knock on the door quickly caught his attention. "Enter," he answered crisply.
He was pleasantly surprised. Up until today nearly all of the corporations had been men or older women, but he now beheld a young attractive girl passing through his doorway. She gave him a friendly smile and the thought that responsibility had its perks ran through his mind.
Quickly though he banished that notion - this was official business and he had no time to spend in idle chatter. He cleared his throat emphatically before she could speak.
"Ahem! Good day, miss. Please, take a seat." He indicated the seat on the opposite side of the desk.
The girl's eyes widened with honest surprise but she obeyed and settled calmly into the chair. Again before she could say anything, England took charge.
"Right. We'll start with this." Reaching into the top drawer of his desk he retrieved the standardized form that had been developed to gather information from corporations. He placed it and a pen before her. "Please fill this out while I elaborate on the behavior that will be expected of you."
She hesitated briefly before starting to write, and over the background noise of the pen scratching on the paper England recounted his speech in a bored tone. "You will be expected to present a professional appearance in public at all times. You will also be expected to refrain from commenting on government or confidential business matters without prior approval from myself or Her Majesty's officials. Any dealings with companies or governments of mainland Europe shall also require approval in advance. Furthermore…"
He continued on, eventually concluding his recital at about the same time as she completed the form. "I believe that covers everything. Do you have any questions?"
After a thoughtful pause she piped up. "No, that all makes sense. Though it seems like an awful lot of rules to follow just to get a children's book published!"
England was stunned, not only by her words but by the fact that she'd spoken with an obvious, unmistakable American accent. She wasn't a UK corporation at all!
"Bloody hell!" England exclaimed. Slamming both hands onto his desk he stood up and leaned over the desktop towards her. "What is the meaning of this?! Who the devil are you?!"
She flinched at his shouts and her expression clouded with confusion. "I'm Raven Waters. What are you mad about? I had an appointment scheduled."
England just stared at her, speechless. He had indeed scheduled an appointment for this time slot, but not with any 'Raven Waters'. And he had nothing at all to do with the publishing of children's books. There could only be one explanation.
He straightened up and tugged at his suit jacket. "Miss Waters, was it? Just where do you think you are at the moment?"
"Isn't this Jolly Badger Publishing?"
England's eyebrow twitched with annoyance. "No, this is a government office. Jolly Badger Publishing is two blocks to the west."
For a heartbeat Raven gaped at him like a typical clueless American. Then she pulled out a phone in a flash and glared at it. "Oh, that's the last time I use Apple Maps!"
Raven's irritation passed quickly though and her next expression was openly apologetic. "I'm sorry for taking up your time. It was my fault."
That knocked England back on his heels a bit and he rubbed the back of his head. "No, no, it's my fault. If I had done proper introductions to begin with I would've caught the error."
"But if I had spoken up sooner, I would've realized that this wasn't a publishing company. It was my fault."
"No, as an English gentleman I insist on taking responsibility for this."
The apologies went round and round for a time as the two of them slowly made their way back to the door. England found himself, rather than chiding Ms. Waters, instead explaining to her exactly how to reach Jolly Badger Publishing and what the building's appearance was. For her part, Raven listened very carefully to him, certainly much more carefully than a certain other American he could name.
England got one last surprise: when he went to open the door for Ms. Waters he found that there was someone waiting outside! They were clearly irritated and he quickly deduced that it was the real corporation he'd been scheduled to meet. England quashed his disappointment - the real corporation was a stocky middle-aged man.
"It's about bloody time!" he spat, glaring at both England and Raven. "It's well past the time for our meeting I'll have you know!"
"Terribly sorry good sir but -"
"I am a very busy man! I can't waste time standing about in the middle of the afternoon!"
"Excuse me," Raven spoke up. "The confusion was my fault. I was lost and thought this was the publishing company that I was looking for. I'm very sorry if I caused any trouble."
The effect was remarkable. At her words the corporation's irritation visibly cooled and the angry flush left his cheeks. "Well, good. I supposed I shouldn't have shouted at you both so I apologize for that."
"It's fine, really," Raven replied before England could muster a scathing rebuttal. "But if you'll excuse me please, I must be very late by now."
With a polite nod to the corporation and a little wave to England, Raven dashed out the door.