Disclaimer: I do not own 39 Clues. Thanks to my amazing betas RageRunsStill and RabidNinjaKitty.
June 13, 2011
686 words
Fiske and Grace sat in the chalet, sipping cups of hot chocolate. Looking out the window, they could see the delicate white flakes of powder lazily drift down from fluffy clouds. The steamy mugs of creamy goodness warmed their hands. Besides the voices of the two siblings, there was no noise except for the high whistling of the wind.
"So," Fiske said, finishing his explanation, "Half the Cahill cousins have been after me. They think I know something. It's just too much."
"I understand, Fiske," Grace said quietly. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"I was afraid you'd react like Beatrice," Fiske said.
She raised her eyebrows. "Did you really? What did she say?" she asked, leaning in to hear his words.
Her twenty-one-year-old brother grimaced. "She yelled at me," he admitted. "Accusing me of being like 'all those other Cahills',"
Grace rolled her eyes. "As if she hadn't done the same thing," she scoffed. "I'm sorry Beatrice is giving you grief about quitting college," she told the young man whom she considered her son.
"It doesn't matter," Fiske shrugged. He'd known that Beatrice had despised him from the moment he was born. "Thanks for bringing me here," he added.
Grace nodded and murmured "Mmm," before turning to stare out the window. Her eyes held a distant look to them, as if she was reminiscing over old memories. It stayed quiet for a long time, Fiske not wanting to disturb her.
"It's been so long since I was here," she said suddenly, breaking the silence that had descended. "Last time was over twenty years ago, you know that?" she asked him. Fiske shook his head. "Beatrice was raising such a fuss about how she didn't want to come. And less than a year later, Father was gone. I haven't been here since." And then she resumed her staring out the window. Fiske felt awkward just sitting there, not knowing what to say. After a few minutes, Grace got up and gave him a tight smile.
"Sorry about that. I know you didn't want to hear all of that. I promised you a trip to Europe, not a long session of me babbling. Do you want to go skiing?" He nodded eagerly.
A few hours later, they came in, laughing and out of breath.
"You've gotten better," Grace nodded in approval.
Setting his ski boots down, he asked, "So how are your husband and daughter?"
"They're doing great. Hope sometimes asks for you. She calls Beatrice 'scary'," Grace snorted.
"So true," Fiske grinned.
"But I wanted to talk to you about more serious things," she said. "You know the Vespers are becoming restless. The other branches don't trust us."
"You need me here," Fiske finished.
"No, I don't," Grace disagreed. "I would prefer you to stay, but the others won't let up. So I'm telling you something very important. You need to get lost."
"What?" her little brother exclaimed.
"No," she shushed him. "Listen. As long as you stay with me, you'll be a target. The others will try to control you. So you must get lost. You must lose yourself so completely that they will never find you."
"You're letting me go?" he asked, bewildered.
"I know you'll be there when I need it," Grace said. "Fiske, you're like my son. Don't forget that I love you. And when I need you I'll find you."
"How will you find someone who was never lost to begin with?" he demanded.
Grace swallowed heavily. "I'll find a way. And here's one more thing." Reaching into her coat pocket she pulled out a small sheet of paper. "Here, you'll need this."
"What is it?"
"Ten digits. Here's the key. It's for a Swiss bank account," she explained.
"Thank you." It was all he could say.
Finally, they reached the end of their trip. At the airport, Grace suddenly found her eyes filling with tears.
"I guess this is good-bye, then," she said sadly.
"When you call, I'll be there" he promised. And then she left. Years later, when she contacted him again, he left. It was a last good-bye.