Evie didn't know why she had taken this mission on. Why she had been so forceful in convincing her brother that she would be more suited to the task.
Now she found herself wishing that she hadn't been so persuasive. It was happening again. Her new employer hadn't noticed how distant she seemed, or at least if she did she didn't show it. It was during one of their usual evening discussions that matters finally came to a head…..
Evie nonchalantly walked into Pearl Attaway's study and quietly took a seat across from where the businesswoman was sitting at her desk. Evie stayed silent as she always did, preferring for the older woman to dictate the tone of their meetings. Picking up the discarded newspaper from the edge of the intricately carved desk, the young brunette hid her face from view and waited. She could only hope that Miss Attaway couldn't hear how laboured her breathing was.
"Good Evening, Miss Frye." said Pearl, as she finished up perusing her accounts.
Finally putting down her paperwork, Attaway made a polite coughing noise. Evie knew that this was her cue to pay attention to her employer. The young brunette could feel herself swallowing hard as she slowly lowered the newspaper, removing the only physical barrier between them.
"It most certainly is, Miss Attaway." began Evie, desparately hoping that her voice wouldn't crack under the strain. "Milner's buses have been dealt with. So, would you like to tell me how else I can be of service?"
Evie kept her voice cheery and buoyant as she addressed the older woman but she could feel herself unraveling inside.
'What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I- "
The Frye girl found her train of thought interrupted as Pearl continued to speak.
"Excellent, Miss Frye. I must say that you are very efficient. I'm so pleased that this partnership is working out." said Pearl, giving Evie a sly grin.
Evie didn't notice. She was trying to look anywhere but directly at Attaway, having opted to focus on a patch of faded wallpaper on the wall behind her employer. Something that did not go unnoticed.
"Are you quite alright, Miss Frye?" asked Pearl, frowning slightly. "It's just that you seem a little, shall we say, distracted."
"I'm quite well, thank you Miss Attaway." replied Evie, shifting slightly in her chair.
But Evie knew that she wasn't. Her mouth was dry. A wave of heat was raging through her body. Her heart felt as if it might explode.
"Would you care for some champagne?"
asked Pearl, as she poured two glasses and pushed one across the desk to Evie.
Maybe this was exactly what she needed. The alcohol would help to loosen her up a little, help her to relax.
Scooping up the glass in one swift motion, the young brunette downed the alcoholic beverage in one go, not even giving the liquid a chance to touch her lips.
"My goodness, Miss Frye." Pearl remarked, as she took a dainty sip of champagne from her own glass.
The alcohol went to Evie's head almost immediately, making her surroundings become blurred at the edges.
"I want you to kill him." she suddenly heard Attaway say.
Had there been a beginning to that sentence?
"What-?" asked Evie, puzzled.
"Milner. I want you to kill him." said Pearl, calmly.
Evie sat there, her eyes suddenly focused on the older woman.
"Not a problem, Miss Attaway." replied Evie, willing the words to leave her lips unhindered.
"Wonderful." came Attaway's reply, as she rubbed her hands together.
Evie looked up again and this time she caught Pearl's line of sight. Those deep brown eyes. She felt paralysed as she realised that her awkwardness must have been noticed. She wanted to concoct some feeble excuse and get out of there, instead Evie found herself staring at her hands resting in her lap, trying to ignore the deafening silence.
"Miss Frye, look at me." said Pearl, finally. Her tone was so soft that Evie was taken by surprise.
"I can't." replied Evie, her voice bearly registering above a whisper. "I've got to go." she said, abruptly. The young brunette could feel her legs buckling beneath her as she tried to get to her feet.
She felt as if she was in a dream-like state as she felt her body hurtling towards the floor, the only indicator that she was still awake being the heaviness of the fall as she hit the hard wooden floor of Attaway's study.
"Miss Frye, are you hurt?" cried Pearl, rushing to the young woman's side.
Evie tried to resist Pearl's help as she got up onto her knees, it was then that their eyes met.
Attaway was so unbearably close to her now, it was torture.
It was as if she were drifting through Heaven. Evie gazed into the older woman's dark eyes and felt a surge run through her and down into the pit of her stomach.
"I- I- I'm so sorry, Miss Attaway." stammered Evie, trying to get to her feet.
Pearl suddenly cupped Evie's face in her right hand and pulled her into a kiss.
They could taste the champagne on each other's lips as they pressed against each other with an urgent hunger. This was way more intoxicating than champagne could ever hope to be.
Those eyes looked at Evie again and she surrendered.
"Miss- Attaway-" Evie gasped, through the kiss. "Please tell me that this is real."
The Frye girl took in the sight of the woman in front of her, the dark blonde hair with those few stray strands of grey showing through, those glorious deep brown eyes, the way that the Royal Blue of her dress brought out her features even more. This beautiful, intelligent, courageous woman who was so close to her in that moment.
"I know how it feels to have an unbearable ache in your heart. An ache that will never subside, because the love you feel is wrong and you fear that it can never be returned." said Pearl, as she began to lose herself in Evie's greenish blue eyes.
"Evie, I..." began Pearl.
Evie couldn't get her thoughts in order, was this some kind of confession?
The evening light began to stream in through the windows, illuminating Pearl's face, making her eyes shine even brighter. To hell with the fact this woman was almost twice her age, it was of no consequence to her. Right then, Evie was faced with the realisation that she was falling irreversibly in love with Pearl Attaway.
"I love you." said Evie, waiting for the shout of anger, the slap across the face, the dismissal. But none of that came. Instead, she found a soft pair of lips back on hers. Slightly calloused fingertips running down her face. A soft moan of pent-up desire released from the back of the older woman's throat as she felt tender arms wrap around her and pull her into a tight embrace.
"Love is love, no matter what society tells us." said Pearl. "I have loved you from the moment that you walked up to me that day and I don't ever want to let you go."
Before she was swept away with her emotions, Evie snapped her mind back to attention and pulled away from Pearl, much to Attaway's surprise.
"I wish to retire to my quarters for an hour or so, that is, if you don't mind, Miss Attaway?" asked Evie.
Pearl was bemused by Evie's sudden return to formality as she gave her reply.
"Yes, of course." said Pearl. "Shall I wake you for supper?"
"Please." replied Evie simply, as she headed out of the room without giving Pearl another glance.
Evie had intended to sleep for an hour to try and clear her alcohol infused mind. Instead, she was perched at the foot of her bed, rummaging through a leather trunk which contained her various belongings and gathered research. She dug down to the base of the trunk and pulled out a piece of parchment. As soon as she looked at the document she felt the air hitch in her throat.
"I miss you so much." Evie whispered, as she looked upon Henry Green's sketch of Lucy Thorne.
"I still love you, Lucy. I can't let you go." she cried.
Evie thought that she could never love again after losing Thorne so cruelly at the hands of the very man who had recruited her.
The thought of Crawford Starrick made the young Assassin's blood boil. He had killed his own ally in cold blood after she had refused to give up her research and accept the Grand Master's monetary offer. He had been driven by pure greed and his insatiable lust for power. It was something that the Frye girl would never be able to forgive.
Evie was plagued with guilt. She knew that there was the slightest possibility that she might have been able to save Lucy, if only the redhead had confided in her before she had confronted Starrick but Lucy had always been very independent and wasn't one to let others fight her battles for her. It didn't make the truth any easier to accept.
Now Evie was left with having to create the illusion that she was the one responsible for killing Lucy. Even her brother had been pulled into the web of deceit.
The day that Thorne was murdered, Evie had calmly boarded the Rooks' train and pulled the drawing of Lucy down from the noticeboard without showing a shred of emotion. It was only when she reached her own carriage and bolted the door behind her that the tears began to stream down her soft cheeks. If it hadn't been for her resolve to make sure that Starrick perished she could just as easily have turned her hidden blade on herself.
Finally lying down on her bed, Evie closed her eyes, her body heavy from the alcohol. She gradually fell into a dreamless sleep with the drawing of Lucy Thorne still lying beside her.
About an hour or so later, there was a soft knock on Evie's door as Pearl came to inform her that their evening meal was prepared. Attaway froze at the threshold of Evie's quarters as she heard an anguished cry.
Evie awoke, calling out for Lucy as the sound of the knock disturbed her from her brief slumber. The young woman's eyes were blown wide as she shot bolt upright on her bed. It was then that she noticed Pearl standing at the door.
"M- Miss Attaway. How long have you been standing there?" asked Evie, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The young brunette knew that she had shouted Thorne's name in her semi-conscious state and dearly hoped that Pearl hadn't heard her, she didn't want to have to explain herself.
Evie had disregarded all thought for the sketch of Thorne that was still lying on the bed as Pearl entered and walked right up to her.
Attaway looked at Evie and then to the drawing. It was too late to invent a plausible explanation. The young woman merely sat there and waited for Pearl to make the first move. Pearl slowly sat down on the edge of the bed next to Evie and took the sketch of Lucy in her hands, looking at it fondly.
Nothing could prepare Evie for what Attaway said next.
"You loved her, didn't you?" asked Pearl.
Evie's mind was in disarray, she wanted to scream, cry, pull Pearl into a deep kiss, hold her. She wanted to tell her the truth about Lucy.
"She was everything to me." whispered Evie, still not looking Pearl in the eye.
"Fate put us on different paths, Miss Frye, I don't blame you for Lucy's death, it was your duty as an assassin." said Pearl, trying to control her tears for the friend that she had lost.
"I didn't kill Miss Thorne, I couldn't. My only regret is that I couldn't save her.' lamented Evie, finally looking at Pearl.
"Well, who did?" asked Pearl, puzzled. "I presume that it was your brother then."
"It was Starrick." said Evie matter-of-factly. "He betrayed her."
"Do you have proof of this?" asked Pearl, her tone of voice slightly raised in shock.
Evie got up from her bed and opened the trunk again, this time retrieving a bundle of notebooks and diaries.
"Lucy sent these to me as soon as she knew that her research was in danger of being stolen. She cared more for her research than she did her own life" said Evie, as she flicked through the pages of one of the notebooks.
The young brunette finally found the note that Lucy had hastily written to her and as she began to read aloud, the tears returned to her greenish blue eyes.
"My dearest Evie,
I don't have much time. Crawford wishes to have the Shroud for himself and as such has deemed me obsolete. Please keep these notes safe, you are the only one I can trust. I will never forget you and I will always be grateful for the brief time that we had together. I hope that we shall meet again in another life. I will wait for you.
Forever yours,
Lucy."
The note fell from Evie's grasp as her grief took hold of her. Pearl instinctively took the young assassin into her arms and comforted her.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Frye." said Pearl, putting a finger under Evie's chin and lifting the young woman's head to face her. "I only wish that Lucy had confided in me, I might have been able to help her."
"She wanted to protect you." replied Evie, still staying close to Pearl. "She was afraid that Starrick would have harmed you if she had sent the notebooks to you. She didn't want to put you in danger."
"So Lucy sacrificed herself." said Pearl, quietly.
"This is not exactly professional of me." said Evie, wiping the tears from her eyes. "A Templar such as yourself doesn't show their emotions so readily."
"Wait- what? You know that I'm with the Order?" said Pearl in shock, suddenly becoming tense in Evie's embrace.
"Unlike my brother, I always do my research." said Evie.
"So, is this some sort of elaborate scheme? You get close to me and then you-" began Pearl.
"Kill you?" asked Evie. "No. You are fortunate that I like you, Miss Attaway. Probably much more than I should."
"Then what was your plan exactly?" asked the discovered Templar.
" To gain your trust." said Evie. "I wanted to make you understand why I have to do what I have to do. I must kill Starrick. I will not rest until Lucy's memory is avenged."
"Lucy was my closest friend, my confidante. She was like a sister to me and I loved her." said Pearl softly, as she looked back into Evie's eyes. Starrick and I may share the same gene pool but if he was responsible for Lucy's death then - he is already dead to me."
Pearl suddenly changed the subject, trying to lighten the mood.
"What do you say to having something to eat, Miss Frye?" asked Pearl, as she headed for the door.
"I must say that I am not feeling particularly hungry but if you wish." replied Evie.
Pearl gave the young assassin a slight smile.
Taking Evie by the arm, the pair walked through into the small dining room.
Evie bearly let a morsel touch her lips. She sat across the table from Attaway, stirring the food around her plate. She occasionally looked up and found herself staring longingly at her employer. Her heart was pounding again. It was hopeless, the attraction that she felt couldn't be extinguished. Her heart wouldn't let go.
"Miss Attaway, I must speak with you. Privately." said Evie, indicating that she wished for the attending staff to be dismissed from the room.
"Very well, Miss Frye." said Pearl, turning to the valets. "You may leave us, we shall call if you are needed."
Evie couldn't control her feelings toward Pearl Attaway any longer. She leapt up from her seat, her agility allowing her to reach Pearl in a single bound.
"I want you." said Evie, looking down at Attaway in her seat.
Pearl froze in place, dropping her cutlery down on the table with a clatter.
"This is what you wanted to-" began Pearl.
Suddenly, Evie pulled the surprised Templar into her arms, lifting her to her feet and kissing her without pause.
Pearl closed her eyes as she returned Evie's kiss.
"Ohh." moaned Pearl, as Evie moved to kiss her neck.
"I love you. I need you. I don't want to be without you." said Evie, punctuating each sentence with another light kiss on Attaway's neck.
Pearl opened her eyes and found that she was looking straight into Evie's greenish blue eyes. She felt her heart racing.
"If I asked you to stay with me tonight, would you consider it to be inappropriate?" asked Pearl, hesitantly.
"Take me to your room, Miss Attaway." said Evie.
"Call me Pearl...Evie." said Attaway, giving the assassin a sly smile.
As soon as they reached the privacy of Pearl's quarters, Attaway took Evie in her arms and all of her repressed feelings for the young woman were set free.
"I love you, my dearest. My beautiful, brilliant Evie." said Pearl, stroking at the young woman's face. "I know that I'm not Lucy. I can't expect you to love me the same way but I just want you to know that I will love you absolutely."
"Just let me lie in your arms tonight." replied Evie.
Pearl felt a single tear fall down her left cheek.
"Society would have us condemned for simply loving each other." said Pearl, gently lying Evie down on the bed. "To love is the most precious gift in the world."
Pearl lay down beside Evie.
"Surely you would like to make yourself more comfortable." said Evie, gesturing towards Pearl's attire.
"I hadn't really given it much thought but I suppose that you are right." said Pearl, getting back up from the bed.
Evie herself decided to remove her waistcoat and loosen her shirt as Pearl slipped behind her dressing screen to undress.
When she reemerged, Evie felt herself stop breathing as she took in the sight of Attaway in her undergarments, her hair now cascading down her back.
Pearl said nothing for a moment as she lay down on the bed and slipped her left arm around Evie, pulling her close.
Evie closed her eyes, concentrating on the rise and fall of Pearl's chest as she rested her head against it.
"I never thought that I could ever be this happy again." said Evie, as she looked up at Pearl. "You have made my heart sing once more."
Pearl leaned over and pressed a kiss to Evie's lips.
"We will make sure that Starrick pays the ultimate price for what he did to Lucy. I shall do whatever I can to assist you." said Pearl, holding Evie tight.
"Thank you." replied Evie.
The young brunette closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep in the arms of her friend, her ally, her lover. Her Pearl.
Evie was trying to find her way in the dark. She was following the sound of a familiar voice as she stumbled blindly in the direction that she thought the voice was coming from.
"Where are you?" Evie called out, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.
"I'm right here, Evie!" said the voice in the darkness.
Evie could feel herself falling forward when she was suddenly pulled into a woman's embrace.
"I've got you, Evie." said Lucy.
The young assassin could feel Lucy's arms around her but she couldn't see her face.
"I thought that I had lost you, Lucy." cried Evie.
"I'm always here." replied Lucy, still shrouded in darkness.
"I love you." whispered Evie…..
"LUCY!" screamed Evie, as she awoke suddenly. The young woman was bathed in sweat and breathing rapidly as she felt Pearl putting her arms around her. The cold morning light began to seep into the room and the stone cold reality of Lucy's death hit her once more.
"Are you alright, Evie?" asked Pearl, softly stroking the young woman's hair.
Nothing about this felt right to Evie. It should have been Lucy lying beside her. It should have been Lucy touching her. It should have been Lucy loving her. Now that the alcoholic haze had cleared from her mind all that she wanted to do was down another drink, let go of her inhibitions. Maybe then she could allow herself to love Pearl the way that she truly deserved to be loved. Maybe then she could forget about Lucy Thorne.
Evie leapt up from the bed and gathered up her clothes.
"No." said Evie, abruptly. "I'm not alright." She headed back to her own room to get dressed, leaving Pearl speechless.
Pearl threw on her dressing robe and rushed through to Evie's room, she didn't even stop to knock the door.
"What is going on, Evie?" asked Pearl.
"I'm getting dressed." snapped Evie. "You wanted me to kill Milner, so that is what I am going to do!" she exclaimed as she clipped her belt of throwing knives in place.
"Yes, I know but you don't have to go right this instant." insisted Pearl, trying to block Evie's path.
"Miss Attaway, if you don't mind, I have a job to do." said Evie, sharply.
Pearl felt her heart sink as she stepped aside. Evie didn't even look at her as she left the room. When Pearl heard the door slam shut she began to cry, the usually stoic entrepreneur had been turned into an emotional wreck by a mere girl. She knew that Evie didn't have room for her in her heart. She couldn't compete with Lucy Thorne's memory.
Pearl made her way back to her chamber and sat down on the edge of her bed, letting her head fall back against the pillows. Evie's scent filled her senses as she pressed her face into the fabric. She clung to the pillow as her tears fell onto the pillowcase.
"Oh, Evie."
The docks seemed eerily quiet by usual standards, maybe it was just that her thoughts were elsewhere and not properly focusing on the mission. Evie swept across the rooftops and her target came into view.
Malcolm Milner was standing at the dockside barking out orders to a large group of Blighters.
"Keep a sharp eye!" shouted Milner. "Mr Starrick won't tolerate any more cargo being lost!"
"Well now, Mr Milner, someone is looking nervous." said Evie to herself with a mischievous smile. "Don't worry, I'm here to put you out of your misery."
The young assassin leapt down from her vantage point straight down onto the unexpecting Milner. The man crumpled to the ground, with the point of the assassin's hidden blade through his throat. "It's done." said Evie, coldly.
Just as she was claiming the trophy of Milner's blood with her handkerchief, the Frye girl found herself being ambushed by a large group of Blighters.
"Hello, boys." said Evie cheekily, as she launched at them with her cane sword outstretched.
The Blighters were coming at her from all directions but her superior skills in combat gave Evie the upper hand. It was only a brief lapse of concentration that would be the young assassin's undoing.
When the pain came, it felt as if a red hot poker had cut into her side. She didn't stop to try and examine the extent of her injury, she needed to escape the area as expeditiously as she could manage. Evie clutched at her side as she deployed her rope launcher and pulled herself to safety.
The young assassin knew that she had to get back to Pearl, she couldn't let her last words to her be in anger. Pearl was all that she could think about as she ziplined down towards Attaway's home. She had to make it. If she died now, thought Evie, she would be reunited with her beloved Lucy, but Thorne wouldn't have wanted her to give in so easily.
Evie willed herself on as she finally fell through the open door and collapsed to the floor in agony.
Pearl was in her study when the sound of the thud caused her to put down her work and go to investigate. Attaway felt the blood draining from her face when she saw Evie lying there in her semi-conscious state.
"Oh God, no." Pearl whispered as she rushed over to the young assassin and fell down at her side.
"Help!" screamed Pearl, as she examined Evie. "Someone please!"
One of the valets came rushing through at the sound of attaway's voice.
"Miss Frye is badly hurt," said Pearl, swallowing hard. "She needs a physician. Quickly!"
The man turned and ran for assistance as Pearl tried to tighten Evie's belt around her wound in a bid to slow the bleeding.
"Pearl…I" whispered Evie. "I love….you. I had to get… back."
"Stay with me ." replied Pearl, as she softly stroked at the young woman's face and took Evie's left hand in her own, gripping it tightly.
"Look into my eyes!" said Pearl, forcefully. "Focus on my eyes!"
Evie could feel her grip on her surroundings slipping away as she slowly fell into unconsciousness, she could faintly hear the physician call her name and Pearl willing her to stay alive.
Evie had no idea what time it was as she came to in Pearl's room. Was this real or was she dreaming? She could feel the tender caress of fingers stroking her forehead and as the room came into focus, Evie saw those beautiful dark brown eyes looking at her with a mixture of both love and sheer relief.
"Evie, you- you're awake!" exclaimed Pearl.
"Ahh!" shouted Evie, in pain, as she tried to move in the bed.
"I'm afraid that you are going to have to take it easy for a while." said Pearl.
Attaway's gaze suddenly dropped to the floor, "I should never have sent you to kill Milner. This is all my fault, I almost lost you!" cried Pearl.
"This happened for a reason, Pearl." said Evie, reaching out and putting a hand to the older woman's face. "It made me realise how much I love you and how I needed to stay alive to be with you. My heart belongs to you now."
Pearl's businesslike persona crumbled to dust as Evie said those words. "Stop making me cry!" said Pearl, smiling at Evie through her tears.
"There's room on the bed for two you know." said Evie, giving Pearl a playing wink.
Pearl didn't say anything as she moved to the empty side of the bed and lay down next to the woman she loved. Evie tried to make herself more comfortable, wincing through her pain as Pearl took her into her arms.
This time it felt right. This time she felt as though she had come home.
"I love you, my Pearl." said Evie, as she closed her eyes.
"I love you with all my heart." replied Pearl.
She lay in the darkness waiting for the change in Evie's breathing that signaled that she had finally fallen asleep. She turned ever so slightly and pressed a soft kiss into Evie's hair. As Pearl closed her eyes, she whispered something into the stillness of the room.
"I will take care of her for you, Lucy. I promise you."