All was quiet in the Ledore household as Henry and Angela went about their morning routine. Often the two would have some idle conversation as they prepared for the business of the day, but today, Angela noticed that Henry was acting… Well, a bit odd. He had been staring at the same part of the newspaper for fifteen minutes with unfocused eyes that suggested that he wasn't really paying attention to what he was seeing, and his cup of tea had grown cold without even a sip taken from it.
"Henry?" She broke the silence hesitantly.
The man blinked and looked up at her. "Yes, Angela?"
Angela was surprised to see distress and pain in his eyes. "What's wrong?" she probed gently.
For a long moment, there was only silence, and then… "What if he doesn't come back?" he suddenly implored.
"What?" Angela was surprised by this question. There wasn't any need to ask who "he" was, of course; that could only be one Randall Ascot. What shocked her was that Henry had asked the question at all.
"We've been looking for him for seventeen years, and we haven't found him… There's no way he could've made it out without anyone finding out, and he couldn't have survived for this long in the ruins… What if Master Randall really is dead?" Henry, usually so strong and confident, sounded like he was on the verge of tears. He and Randall had been very close as children, much closer than master and servant would usually be. In fact, they were like brothers. It wouldn't have been surprising if Henry had been destroyed by grief after Randall's tragic accident, but instead he had refused to mourn. Rather, he had been convinced that Randall had somehow survived and would come back, determined to wait for until he did.
To say Angela was concerned would be an understatement. Henry was the one who had given her hope after that day, the one who kept her going when she despaired that Randall may never come back. For him to lose hope now… There was only one thing she could do.
"No. He will come back," she asserted. "You've been searching for seventeen years. If he was dead, you would've found his body, so he can't be dead. He must've escaped and been unable to find his way back to us." In truth, she wasn't entirely convinced that what she was saying was the truth, but she hoped Henry couldn't tell. "So if we can't find him, we need to wait until he comes back to us! If you're giving up, I'll just wait on my own." She put her hands on her hips, though she was all but holding her breath as she waited for his answer. She prayed that he wouldn't call her bluff. She knew she couldn't continue waiting without Henry by her side, but what would Randall think if they gave up on him?
An uncomfortable silence stretched out for what seemed to be an hour, before a hint of a smile touched Henry's lips and he commented, "I can see why Master Randall loves you." Present tense. Good. He wasn't acting like he thought Randall was dead anymore. "You're right. We must continue to wait for him."
It would be a while longer before Randall returned, but these two would remain in anticipation until it happened, each encouraging the other when support was needed, working to continue building the City of Miracles, Monte d'Or, until its rightful owner could claim it. After all, Randall had been a very important part of their lives. Didn't he deserve to have them there waiting for him when he returned?
A/N: Finally writing again now that it's spring break! Not that I don't still have a dozen other things I really should be doing instead, but procrastinating by writing an idea I had this morning (actually afternoon) when I woke up is much more fun, si? Although I really should work on that book report, and those drawings, and those history terms… Because I'm definitely not doing any of that on my birthday on Saturday. Ugh. But I intend to post at least one more fic this week, whether it ends up being today or Friday or sometime in-between, so keep an eye out for that!
*whispers* Hey guys… Reviews make great birthday presents. So please review if you enjoyed this!