Of Kith and Kin - Chapter One
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Teaser: It all started when a gutsy young nurse met an elderly patient: an eccentric old
millionaire with a cantankerous temper. A story about family, social class and an unlikely
but ardent love. Rating....about PG to PG-13...nothing serious, just a few instances of
adult language....^^;
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Hey, this is Thalia, your favorite muse of comedy:)...Anyways, by popular demand, I wrote
a long, multi-chapter work on Ami and Zoisite (Well, fine, I am working on it, have not
FINISHED writing it yet...). Anyways, here's to my fans, I love you guys!!! Hope you like
this work!! As usual, all disclaimers apply, and you can e-mail me with comments and any
other words you wish to impart upon me at smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com. I hope to hear from
you!!! Okay, that's it, I think. Happy reading!!
~Luv alwayz,
Thalia:)
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"Good morning, Ami." Darien Chiba, one of the infirmary's physicians, greeted the
slim, capable young nurse as she walked into the infirmary. "We have a special patient for
you today."
"Good morning to you, too, Darien. Who is this patient?" Ami Mizuno asked. She was
alone in the world, but because of a steely will and brilliant mind, she was, at the age
of 24, one of the most intelligent and capable nurses on the clinic's staff.
Darien smiled ruefully. "He is a sharp old man named Sard Greenleaf. Already drove
away Milli and Francine. He has had a stroke and is in physical therapy to recover the use
of his right hand, and his cardio-pulmonary system is rather weak. He should have another
year or two if he is lucky, but no more. He needs a live-in nurse. He is very wealthy, but
rather cantankerous, Milli was in tears when he drove her away, he had berated her so. So
best of luck."
"I will keep that in mind." Ami replied. Adjusting her nurse's cap, she strode in
the room purposefully.
The patient was lying on the bed, reading a newspaper. The moment he heard Ami's
entrance, he threw down the paper down with his left hand and glared at her with narrowed
albeit brilliant green eyes.
"Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want with me?" He growled.
What an attitude! Ami forced a smile on her face. "My name is Ami Mizuno and I am
the unfortunate third attempt at being your live-in nurse, Mr. Greenleaf."
"Unfortunate, eh? Are you any good? Are you a servile, thin-skinned baby like the
other pitiful excuses for nurses that are on your staff?"
"They are not incompetent, SIR" Ami was a bit nettled at his automatic insulting
tone towards her and her coworkers, "they are simply unused to dealing with patients like
yourself."
To her surprise, her tart reply did not earn disapproval or further insults from
him, but a pleased chuckle. "Good, you have spunk and a will of your own, lass. As unusual
as it sounds, I am actually starting to like you."
At that moment, the door opened to reveal a tall, wily-looking man with flame-red
hair and cold, calculating eyes, with a woman on his arm that Ami detested on sight, a
feeling that she felt pretty sure was reciprocated. The woman was not unbeautiful, but her
face held a look of intolerance and snobbery, and her entire air was one of vainglory and
the consciousness of her social status. She did not look at all to be trusted, gowned in
glaring lime-green satin, her head crowned with perfectly coiffed chestnut curls. Sard
Greenleaf's expression of amusement immediately faded into stony displeasure. "Rubeus,
Carnelian, what do you want now?"
"We just wanted to see how you were faring, father." The man addressed as Rubeus
said in a placating tone.
"I won't be dead for a time yet, sorry to disappoint you." Sard Greenleaf snapped.
Meanwhile, Carnelian had been occupied in looking Ami up and down, her nose high,
her mouth pinched, as if in close proximity with something malodorous. Ami stared right
back at the insolent woman, starting to understand why Sard Greenleaf was so grouchy.
The said gentleman was at the moment looking at Rubeus with disgust. Rubeus had a
forced smile on his face. After a few moments of silent reflection, Ami realized exactly
what was going on. Rubeus and Carnelian were, respectively, the son and daughter-in-law of
Sard Greenleaf, there to try to butter him up in his final days, before he wrote his final
will and testament.
As Rubeus talked on about the weather and the news and whatnot, with Carnelian
throwing in hints once in a while, Sard Greenleaf sat in his bed, not even looking at the
two of them. Finally, Carnelian asked her father-in-law when he would be let out of the
infirmary.
Ami cut in, "Mr. Greenleaf will be let out in a week. Then, I will go to stay at
his home as his live-in nurse."
"Oh? And how do we know that you are qualified?" Carnelian scoffed, again looking
at Ami's plain white uniform up and down.
Ami straightened up to her full height. "I graduated from Cambridge four years ago
and have a master's degree in nursing, and one in biomedical technology. I am the deputy
head nurse of this infirmary. I am very experienced in this field AND," Ami looked up and
down Carnelian's sartorial finery as pointedly as the other had looked at her uniform, "I
am frugal, capable and VERY used to hard work."
"But father, are you sure that this little common girl will be able to take good
care of you? We can move back to Aquamyste to take care of you." Rubeus ventured.
"NEVER!!!" The vehemence of Sard Greenleaf's voice shocked Ami. "Aquamyste is no
longer your home, and it will never be again! You abdicated that chance when you and that
bitch of a wife you have ruined Zoi's good name and turned him against me with your lies!
You gave up Aquamyste forever when your heinous slanders caused Cordelia to die from her
broken heart! Now, take that termagant and get the hell out of here!!"
Rubeus and Carnelian cowed under Sard Greenleaf's ferocious glare, and went out of
the room in a hurry. Sard Greenleaf sunk back onto his bed. Reflexively, Ami got up, took
his blood pressure and handed him a glass of water.
The old man calmed down and looked at Ami in gratitude. "Thank you."
"Oh, no, sir, I am only doing what I should be doing, as your nurse."
"No, I mean for not letting them two get to you. I like your spirit, lassie. You
should have been my daughter. I like children like you: smart, aboveboard, kind-hearted,
unafraid, and most of all, real. But" the old man's green eyes misted over, "that is but
wishful thinking now. He has left me forever."
"Who?" Ami was usually not one to pry. but she felt a twinge of sympathy for the
patient: rich, successful yet so lonely.
"Zoi. My son. My only real son."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
For the next few days, Ami devoted all her time to attending Sard Greenleaf. The
day before he was to leave the infirmary, Sard Greenleaf told her his story.
"I am the son and heir of a very wealthy man named Obsidian Greenleaf. My life had
always been one of luxury. As a young child, I was very happy. I had a sister named Ivy, a
sweet, genteel child who unfortunately died in childbirth later. But besides that, I had a
very kind governess named Mrs. Violet Taylor. Her daughter Cordelia was my best friend, a
bright, sensitive girl 3 years younger than I. So, Cordelia and I grew up in each other's
company. When I was 21, when my father died and I had inherited Aquamyste, she had already
grown from a laughing girl to a fair, gentle beauty with hair like golden silk and eyes
like turquoise pools. She was clever, idealistic and kind, and it was almost inevitable
that we had fallen madly and desperately in love.
However, it was not to be. I was betrothed from birth to a well-born lady named
Beryl Hayley. She was beautiful physically, though not half so much so as Cordelia. But
in her character are certain traits that mar her son Rubeus: snobbery, envy and deceit.
Well, so I married Beryl, against my will. Rubeus was born a year later. For his
sake, I put up with his mother for 7 more years, each day the ache in my heart for my love
grew more intense. But when the boy showed signs that he would be just like his mother in
his adulthood, for she had spoiled him shamefully, I could not tolerate it any longer. I
divorced Beryl and married Cordelia, who had secretly been my mistress. When we married,
she was 3 months pregnant with my child, and half a year later, she gave birth to a son,
whom we named Zoisite.
Zoisite had his mother's sensitivity, idealism, and her dark golden hair. He had
my passion, intelligence and spirit, and my eyes. A handsomer, kinder lad I had never seen
before, or since. And he was brilliant! Started playing chess at age 3, writing poetry at
age 15. I can't even tell you how I loved him...although you remind me of him in several
aspects: your intelligence, your candour, your strength and kindness...but I digress. My
son Rubeus, who was by nature conniving and untrustworthy, hated Zoisite, because Zoisite
was so much better in everything than he was, and because I loved him so much. He married
a woman just like him, and together, they hatched up a horrible plot: they set my son up
and with the aid of a sleeping draught and an impressionable young girl whom they bribed,
they just about ruined him. They had the girl accuse him of assaulting her while drunk.
They even made her appear like it happened, if you get my meaning. I was so shocked and
dismayed by the story that I, fool, believed it! I hit Zoi, and said many harsh, hurtful,
cruel things to him. I declared to him that I did not want a son like him, that he was a
disappointment and a disgrace just like Rubeus! I drove him away!! Poor Cordelia tried to
dissuade me, but I was so mad, so hurt that the son I loved so much could have done such a
thing, that I said many things to her as well, words that still ring in my ears with their
injustice and cruelty. She, heartbroken, took a fatal overdose of sleeping pills a few
days afterwards. When Zoisite heard of his mother's death, he screamed that I had killed
her, and that he would never return. That was 5 years ago, when he was but 21. He has kept
his word, he has not returned since.
A week after that, a young lady showed up at my door. A pale little thing by the
name of Birdy. She told me, quite distraught and upset, that her sister, Avery Blackmoon,
had shot herself a few days ago. Imagine my surprise: Avery Blackmoon was the girl who had
accused my boy of assaulting her. I told her to come in, and she asked to see Zoi. I told
her that he was out. She looked stricken, and told me, crying, that her sister's suicide
note to her included something involving him. I told her, frankly, that I did not know if
I would ever see him again. She cried even harder, and kept on apologizing. I was baffled,
and she left. Then, I opened the note. The words! They are burned into my memory.
'Dear Birdy, I am sorry. I know that to you, mum and papa, sorry won't be enough,
but I just cannot live any more. I hope that you have a good life, that you will be happy
and healthy and a much better person than I have been. I hope that you will go to Heaven
when the time comes. I myself will burn forever in Hell for my crimes. Birdy, I need to
tell you something, and I need for you to do something for me. You, sweet sister, have
never failed me before, but I really cannot, CANNOT have you fail this. A few weeks ago, a
couple, a rich couple named Rubeus and Carnelian Greenleaf commissioned me to do a heinous
thing. After paying me an extensive sum of money, they had me accuse an innocent man named
Zoisite Greenleaf, the half-brother of Rubeus Greenleaf, of assaulting me while drunk. I
did as they told, and everyone believed me. I masqueraded as a maid in the hotel he stayed
in, and I went to his room. I slipped a sleeping draught into the man's drink, bruised
myself, and spilt wine all over his room and person. Then, I started to scream and cry,
like they who employed me told me to. The constables came and...well, I do not even know
if that man I accused is still alive...I still remember his words to me when they led him
off: 'Who are you, and what have I done to make you hate me?' How could I live with myself
after that? I used the money that I had received for my services to buy a gun to end my
miserable life, to go to Hell as I so richly deserve. Please, sister, forgive me, both for
leaving you thus and for being such a wicked creature. And please, you must do something
for me. Find Zoisite Greenleaf and tell him the whole story. Tell him that I am sorry, and
that I wish that someday in his life, he will be avenged for his pain and blessed with a
divine happiness to assuage the hurt that I have caused. You will be back home from the
bakery soon, I have not much time left. Farewell, do not fail me, and God bless you.'
I drove Rubeus and Carnelian away. My solicitor suggested that I turn them in, but
I did not care any more. I had lost everything, EVERYTHING! My wife, my son, everybody I
loved! Lass, you do not know how it feels, this emptiness. Yes, indeed, I was rich. With
the millions I had earned from the stock market and my inheritance, I was respected. But I
have no one."
Ami felt tears in her eyes at the story. She wished more than anything that she
could help him, but she could not. She stayed with Sard Greenleaf until he fell into a
fitful sleep, then she walked out of his room....straight into a solid body.
Startled, she looked up. It was a man, wearing a pair of dark glasses even though
it was night. She started to apologize to him, thinking that perhaps he was blind, when he
grabbed her hand and pulled her into a quiet corner. He took off his sunglasses, and Ami's
mouth fell open when she saw his face. She gasped with recognition: the face to break many
hearts, for Zanth Winters, one of the two singers in the hot new duo "Fire and Ice", was
blessed with devilishly handsome looks, like his fellow singer Jay Summers. But whatever
was he doing here, and what did he want with her?
A flash of realization struck her: this must be Zoisite Greenleaf! Yes, indeed,
just as Sard Greenleaf had described him. Tall, lean, blond, handsome, with viridian eyes
that both delved others' psyches and mirrored his own soul. He spoke, and though his voice
was much less harsh and raspy than his father's, the tone was the same, "So you are the
nurse who is taking care of Sard Greenleaf. How is he?" No pleasantries, straight to the
point.
"Physically, he is about as well as we can possibly make him. He has about a year
left to live. However, in other aspects, I cannot say that he is well."
"What do you mean?" The young man's eyes grew sharp with concern, and he grabbed Ami
by both shoulders.
"Let us see, where should I start? He has nothing left. His wife is dead, and his
beloved son has sworn never to see him again. Day after day, to add insult to injury, the
two malefactors who caused it all visit him and infuriate him. Anything else?"
He gasped, and suddenly, he shook her and asked urgently, "What are you saying?
How much do you know?"
"One, that you are Zoisite Greenleaf. Two, that you were only falsely accused of an
act of violence you did not commit. Three, that you are estranged from your father because
of said incident. Four, that you believe you hate him for killing your mum and banishing
you. Five, that the girl who accused you committed suicide a few days later because of her
guilty conscience. Six, that she was bribed to accuse you of it by Rubeus and Carnelian
Greenleaf. Seven, that your father heartily regrets sending you away and wishes vainly
that you would return. And finally, that you love him as much as he loves you." Ami calmly
ticked off each piece of information on her fingers.
"I love him?! When he killed my mother?! Are you daft?" He said bitterly.
"No." Ami said sternly and matter-of-factly. "YOU are. You are lying to yourself.
You know that had you been in your father's position, considering the circumstances, you
would have done the same, that the shock of your favorite son supposedly doing something
so horrible would have made you act the same way. You regret your vow never to see him
again, but your abominable pride keeps you from returning to him to bring SOME semblance
of joy and comfort in his final days. You did love him. Otherwise, you would not have been
so hurt by what he has done to you. And you still love him. Otherwise, you would not be
here, Zanth Winters, without any bodyguards, at the risk of being swamped by paparazzi and
attacked by fans, asking me how he fares. You DO love him, and you DO care about him. If
I, someone who has never met you before, know this, then you should know it as well and
not deny your own feelings. Think about it." she shrugged off his hands and stalked off,
looking over her shoulder once, challenging him with her eyes to refute her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Unbeknowest to either Ami or Sard Greenleaf, Zoisite left the hospital in a state
of confusion, hailed a cab to the nearest coffeeshop, and sat there brooding. That "talk",
if it could be called so, with that nurse, Ami Mizuno, jangled up his nerves more than he
cared to admit.
The girl, no woman, no, girl...he could not really decide which, was perplexing in
herself. A slim, delicate, almost waifish-looking thing, with pale, alabaster skin, who
looked like the wind could blow her away. Yet, that smooth, confident, ambitious gait, the
snapping fortitude in her beautiful sapphire eyes....eyes he could drown in, limpid orbs
that matched her short, silky lapis hair...she had an unearthly beauty, a beauty that was
both mesmerizing and delicate, with a fey, bewitching quality remniscent of mermaids and
nixies. But despite her docile, meek appearance and obvious empathy, she was no weakling.
Her words had struck a chord in him. She had suggested something that no one else had ever
tried to tell him, and staunchly maintained it despite his protests. She thought that he,
Zoisite Greenleaf, still loved his father!
"What a ridiculous notion!" He said to himself, more to silence that niggling
little voice inside his head that maintained the truth of Ami's words, than anything else.
He did not love his father. He did not care, he DID NOT!! If Sard Greenleaf was in pain,
incapacitated, lonesome and forlorn, it was his own damned fault. He, Zoisite, did not
care about it. If Sard Greenleaf died, he, Zoisite, would not be sad. NO, not at all!! He
would be relieved and happy and glad and thankful and -----Zoisite clenched his eyes shut
and slumped in surrender-----devastated.
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Okay, there it is! Chapter one!! How do you like it? More to come ASAP!! Do e-mail me with
your comments at smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com. This is my first truly LONG work, so I want as
much feedback as possible!!!
Stay tuned for more in a week or two!!
~Thalia
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Teaser: It all started when a gutsy young nurse met an elderly patient: an eccentric old
millionaire with a cantankerous temper. A story about family, social class and an unlikely
but ardent love. Rating....about PG to PG-13...nothing serious, just a few instances of
adult language....^^;
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hey, this is Thalia, your favorite muse of comedy:)...Anyways, by popular demand, I wrote
a long, multi-chapter work on Ami and Zoisite (Well, fine, I am working on it, have not
FINISHED writing it yet...). Anyways, here's to my fans, I love you guys!!! Hope you like
this work!! As usual, all disclaimers apply, and you can e-mail me with comments and any
other words you wish to impart upon me at smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com. I hope to hear from
you!!! Okay, that's it, I think. Happy reading!!
~Luv alwayz,
Thalia:)
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"Good morning, Ami." Darien Chiba, one of the infirmary's physicians, greeted the
slim, capable young nurse as she walked into the infirmary. "We have a special patient for
you today."
"Good morning to you, too, Darien. Who is this patient?" Ami Mizuno asked. She was
alone in the world, but because of a steely will and brilliant mind, she was, at the age
of 24, one of the most intelligent and capable nurses on the clinic's staff.
Darien smiled ruefully. "He is a sharp old man named Sard Greenleaf. Already drove
away Milli and Francine. He has had a stroke and is in physical therapy to recover the use
of his right hand, and his cardio-pulmonary system is rather weak. He should have another
year or two if he is lucky, but no more. He needs a live-in nurse. He is very wealthy, but
rather cantankerous, Milli was in tears when he drove her away, he had berated her so. So
best of luck."
"I will keep that in mind." Ami replied. Adjusting her nurse's cap, she strode in
the room purposefully.
The patient was lying on the bed, reading a newspaper. The moment he heard Ami's
entrance, he threw down the paper down with his left hand and glared at her with narrowed
albeit brilliant green eyes.
"Who the hell are you and what the hell do you want with me?" He growled.
What an attitude! Ami forced a smile on her face. "My name is Ami Mizuno and I am
the unfortunate third attempt at being your live-in nurse, Mr. Greenleaf."
"Unfortunate, eh? Are you any good? Are you a servile, thin-skinned baby like the
other pitiful excuses for nurses that are on your staff?"
"They are not incompetent, SIR" Ami was a bit nettled at his automatic insulting
tone towards her and her coworkers, "they are simply unused to dealing with patients like
yourself."
To her surprise, her tart reply did not earn disapproval or further insults from
him, but a pleased chuckle. "Good, you have spunk and a will of your own, lass. As unusual
as it sounds, I am actually starting to like you."
At that moment, the door opened to reveal a tall, wily-looking man with flame-red
hair and cold, calculating eyes, with a woman on his arm that Ami detested on sight, a
feeling that she felt pretty sure was reciprocated. The woman was not unbeautiful, but her
face held a look of intolerance and snobbery, and her entire air was one of vainglory and
the consciousness of her social status. She did not look at all to be trusted, gowned in
glaring lime-green satin, her head crowned with perfectly coiffed chestnut curls. Sard
Greenleaf's expression of amusement immediately faded into stony displeasure. "Rubeus,
Carnelian, what do you want now?"
"We just wanted to see how you were faring, father." The man addressed as Rubeus
said in a placating tone.
"I won't be dead for a time yet, sorry to disappoint you." Sard Greenleaf snapped.
Meanwhile, Carnelian had been occupied in looking Ami up and down, her nose high,
her mouth pinched, as if in close proximity with something malodorous. Ami stared right
back at the insolent woman, starting to understand why Sard Greenleaf was so grouchy.
The said gentleman was at the moment looking at Rubeus with disgust. Rubeus had a
forced smile on his face. After a few moments of silent reflection, Ami realized exactly
what was going on. Rubeus and Carnelian were, respectively, the son and daughter-in-law of
Sard Greenleaf, there to try to butter him up in his final days, before he wrote his final
will and testament.
As Rubeus talked on about the weather and the news and whatnot, with Carnelian
throwing in hints once in a while, Sard Greenleaf sat in his bed, not even looking at the
two of them. Finally, Carnelian asked her father-in-law when he would be let out of the
infirmary.
Ami cut in, "Mr. Greenleaf will be let out in a week. Then, I will go to stay at
his home as his live-in nurse."
"Oh? And how do we know that you are qualified?" Carnelian scoffed, again looking
at Ami's plain white uniform up and down.
Ami straightened up to her full height. "I graduated from Cambridge four years ago
and have a master's degree in nursing, and one in biomedical technology. I am the deputy
head nurse of this infirmary. I am very experienced in this field AND," Ami looked up and
down Carnelian's sartorial finery as pointedly as the other had looked at her uniform, "I
am frugal, capable and VERY used to hard work."
"But father, are you sure that this little common girl will be able to take good
care of you? We can move back to Aquamyste to take care of you." Rubeus ventured.
"NEVER!!!" The vehemence of Sard Greenleaf's voice shocked Ami. "Aquamyste is no
longer your home, and it will never be again! You abdicated that chance when you and that
bitch of a wife you have ruined Zoi's good name and turned him against me with your lies!
You gave up Aquamyste forever when your heinous slanders caused Cordelia to die from her
broken heart! Now, take that termagant and get the hell out of here!!"
Rubeus and Carnelian cowed under Sard Greenleaf's ferocious glare, and went out of
the room in a hurry. Sard Greenleaf sunk back onto his bed. Reflexively, Ami got up, took
his blood pressure and handed him a glass of water.
The old man calmed down and looked at Ami in gratitude. "Thank you."
"Oh, no, sir, I am only doing what I should be doing, as your nurse."
"No, I mean for not letting them two get to you. I like your spirit, lassie. You
should have been my daughter. I like children like you: smart, aboveboard, kind-hearted,
unafraid, and most of all, real. But" the old man's green eyes misted over, "that is but
wishful thinking now. He has left me forever."
"Who?" Ami was usually not one to pry. but she felt a twinge of sympathy for the
patient: rich, successful yet so lonely.
"Zoi. My son. My only real son."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
For the next few days, Ami devoted all her time to attending Sard Greenleaf. The
day before he was to leave the infirmary, Sard Greenleaf told her his story.
"I am the son and heir of a very wealthy man named Obsidian Greenleaf. My life had
always been one of luxury. As a young child, I was very happy. I had a sister named Ivy, a
sweet, genteel child who unfortunately died in childbirth later. But besides that, I had a
very kind governess named Mrs. Violet Taylor. Her daughter Cordelia was my best friend, a
bright, sensitive girl 3 years younger than I. So, Cordelia and I grew up in each other's
company. When I was 21, when my father died and I had inherited Aquamyste, she had already
grown from a laughing girl to a fair, gentle beauty with hair like golden silk and eyes
like turquoise pools. She was clever, idealistic and kind, and it was almost inevitable
that we had fallen madly and desperately in love.
However, it was not to be. I was betrothed from birth to a well-born lady named
Beryl Hayley. She was beautiful physically, though not half so much so as Cordelia. But
in her character are certain traits that mar her son Rubeus: snobbery, envy and deceit.
Well, so I married Beryl, against my will. Rubeus was born a year later. For his
sake, I put up with his mother for 7 more years, each day the ache in my heart for my love
grew more intense. But when the boy showed signs that he would be just like his mother in
his adulthood, for she had spoiled him shamefully, I could not tolerate it any longer. I
divorced Beryl and married Cordelia, who had secretly been my mistress. When we married,
she was 3 months pregnant with my child, and half a year later, she gave birth to a son,
whom we named Zoisite.
Zoisite had his mother's sensitivity, idealism, and her dark golden hair. He had
my passion, intelligence and spirit, and my eyes. A handsomer, kinder lad I had never seen
before, or since. And he was brilliant! Started playing chess at age 3, writing poetry at
age 15. I can't even tell you how I loved him...although you remind me of him in several
aspects: your intelligence, your candour, your strength and kindness...but I digress. My
son Rubeus, who was by nature conniving and untrustworthy, hated Zoisite, because Zoisite
was so much better in everything than he was, and because I loved him so much. He married
a woman just like him, and together, they hatched up a horrible plot: they set my son up
and with the aid of a sleeping draught and an impressionable young girl whom they bribed,
they just about ruined him. They had the girl accuse him of assaulting her while drunk.
They even made her appear like it happened, if you get my meaning. I was so shocked and
dismayed by the story that I, fool, believed it! I hit Zoi, and said many harsh, hurtful,
cruel things to him. I declared to him that I did not want a son like him, that he was a
disappointment and a disgrace just like Rubeus! I drove him away!! Poor Cordelia tried to
dissuade me, but I was so mad, so hurt that the son I loved so much could have done such a
thing, that I said many things to her as well, words that still ring in my ears with their
injustice and cruelty. She, heartbroken, took a fatal overdose of sleeping pills a few
days afterwards. When Zoisite heard of his mother's death, he screamed that I had killed
her, and that he would never return. That was 5 years ago, when he was but 21. He has kept
his word, he has not returned since.
A week after that, a young lady showed up at my door. A pale little thing by the
name of Birdy. She told me, quite distraught and upset, that her sister, Avery Blackmoon,
had shot herself a few days ago. Imagine my surprise: Avery Blackmoon was the girl who had
accused my boy of assaulting her. I told her to come in, and she asked to see Zoi. I told
her that he was out. She looked stricken, and told me, crying, that her sister's suicide
note to her included something involving him. I told her, frankly, that I did not know if
I would ever see him again. She cried even harder, and kept on apologizing. I was baffled,
and she left. Then, I opened the note. The words! They are burned into my memory.
'Dear Birdy, I am sorry. I know that to you, mum and papa, sorry won't be enough,
but I just cannot live any more. I hope that you have a good life, that you will be happy
and healthy and a much better person than I have been. I hope that you will go to Heaven
when the time comes. I myself will burn forever in Hell for my crimes. Birdy, I need to
tell you something, and I need for you to do something for me. You, sweet sister, have
never failed me before, but I really cannot, CANNOT have you fail this. A few weeks ago, a
couple, a rich couple named Rubeus and Carnelian Greenleaf commissioned me to do a heinous
thing. After paying me an extensive sum of money, they had me accuse an innocent man named
Zoisite Greenleaf, the half-brother of Rubeus Greenleaf, of assaulting me while drunk. I
did as they told, and everyone believed me. I masqueraded as a maid in the hotel he stayed
in, and I went to his room. I slipped a sleeping draught into the man's drink, bruised
myself, and spilt wine all over his room and person. Then, I started to scream and cry,
like they who employed me told me to. The constables came and...well, I do not even know
if that man I accused is still alive...I still remember his words to me when they led him
off: 'Who are you, and what have I done to make you hate me?' How could I live with myself
after that? I used the money that I had received for my services to buy a gun to end my
miserable life, to go to Hell as I so richly deserve. Please, sister, forgive me, both for
leaving you thus and for being such a wicked creature. And please, you must do something
for me. Find Zoisite Greenleaf and tell him the whole story. Tell him that I am sorry, and
that I wish that someday in his life, he will be avenged for his pain and blessed with a
divine happiness to assuage the hurt that I have caused. You will be back home from the
bakery soon, I have not much time left. Farewell, do not fail me, and God bless you.'
I drove Rubeus and Carnelian away. My solicitor suggested that I turn them in, but
I did not care any more. I had lost everything, EVERYTHING! My wife, my son, everybody I
loved! Lass, you do not know how it feels, this emptiness. Yes, indeed, I was rich. With
the millions I had earned from the stock market and my inheritance, I was respected. But I
have no one."
Ami felt tears in her eyes at the story. She wished more than anything that she
could help him, but she could not. She stayed with Sard Greenleaf until he fell into a
fitful sleep, then she walked out of his room....straight into a solid body.
Startled, she looked up. It was a man, wearing a pair of dark glasses even though
it was night. She started to apologize to him, thinking that perhaps he was blind, when he
grabbed her hand and pulled her into a quiet corner. He took off his sunglasses, and Ami's
mouth fell open when she saw his face. She gasped with recognition: the face to break many
hearts, for Zanth Winters, one of the two singers in the hot new duo "Fire and Ice", was
blessed with devilishly handsome looks, like his fellow singer Jay Summers. But whatever
was he doing here, and what did he want with her?
A flash of realization struck her: this must be Zoisite Greenleaf! Yes, indeed,
just as Sard Greenleaf had described him. Tall, lean, blond, handsome, with viridian eyes
that both delved others' psyches and mirrored his own soul. He spoke, and though his voice
was much less harsh and raspy than his father's, the tone was the same, "So you are the
nurse who is taking care of Sard Greenleaf. How is he?" No pleasantries, straight to the
point.
"Physically, he is about as well as we can possibly make him. He has about a year
left to live. However, in other aspects, I cannot say that he is well."
"What do you mean?" The young man's eyes grew sharp with concern, and he grabbed Ami
by both shoulders.
"Let us see, where should I start? He has nothing left. His wife is dead, and his
beloved son has sworn never to see him again. Day after day, to add insult to injury, the
two malefactors who caused it all visit him and infuriate him. Anything else?"
He gasped, and suddenly, he shook her and asked urgently, "What are you saying?
How much do you know?"
"One, that you are Zoisite Greenleaf. Two, that you were only falsely accused of an
act of violence you did not commit. Three, that you are estranged from your father because
of said incident. Four, that you believe you hate him for killing your mum and banishing
you. Five, that the girl who accused you committed suicide a few days later because of her
guilty conscience. Six, that she was bribed to accuse you of it by Rubeus and Carnelian
Greenleaf. Seven, that your father heartily regrets sending you away and wishes vainly
that you would return. And finally, that you love him as much as he loves you." Ami calmly
ticked off each piece of information on her fingers.
"I love him?! When he killed my mother?! Are you daft?" He said bitterly.
"No." Ami said sternly and matter-of-factly. "YOU are. You are lying to yourself.
You know that had you been in your father's position, considering the circumstances, you
would have done the same, that the shock of your favorite son supposedly doing something
so horrible would have made you act the same way. You regret your vow never to see him
again, but your abominable pride keeps you from returning to him to bring SOME semblance
of joy and comfort in his final days. You did love him. Otherwise, you would not have been
so hurt by what he has done to you. And you still love him. Otherwise, you would not be
here, Zanth Winters, without any bodyguards, at the risk of being swamped by paparazzi and
attacked by fans, asking me how he fares. You DO love him, and you DO care about him. If
I, someone who has never met you before, know this, then you should know it as well and
not deny your own feelings. Think about it." she shrugged off his hands and stalked off,
looking over her shoulder once, challenging him with her eyes to refute her.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Unbeknowest to either Ami or Sard Greenleaf, Zoisite left the hospital in a state
of confusion, hailed a cab to the nearest coffeeshop, and sat there brooding. That "talk",
if it could be called so, with that nurse, Ami Mizuno, jangled up his nerves more than he
cared to admit.
The girl, no woman, no, girl...he could not really decide which, was perplexing in
herself. A slim, delicate, almost waifish-looking thing, with pale, alabaster skin, who
looked like the wind could blow her away. Yet, that smooth, confident, ambitious gait, the
snapping fortitude in her beautiful sapphire eyes....eyes he could drown in, limpid orbs
that matched her short, silky lapis hair...she had an unearthly beauty, a beauty that was
both mesmerizing and delicate, with a fey, bewitching quality remniscent of mermaids and
nixies. But despite her docile, meek appearance and obvious empathy, she was no weakling.
Her words had struck a chord in him. She had suggested something that no one else had ever
tried to tell him, and staunchly maintained it despite his protests. She thought that he,
Zoisite Greenleaf, still loved his father!
"What a ridiculous notion!" He said to himself, more to silence that niggling
little voice inside his head that maintained the truth of Ami's words, than anything else.
He did not love his father. He did not care, he DID NOT!! If Sard Greenleaf was in pain,
incapacitated, lonesome and forlorn, it was his own damned fault. He, Zoisite, did not
care about it. If Sard Greenleaf died, he, Zoisite, would not be sad. NO, not at all!! He
would be relieved and happy and glad and thankful and -----Zoisite clenched his eyes shut
and slumped in surrender-----devastated.
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Okay, there it is! Chapter one!! How do you like it? More to come ASAP!! Do e-mail me with
your comments at smart_sweetlady@yahoo.com. This is my first truly LONG work, so I want as
much feedback as possible!!!
Stay tuned for more in a week or two!!
~Thalia