Disclaimer: GrimGrave does not own Soul Calibur or the characters; they are property of Namco. Nor does he make any profit out of this.

"Talking"

´Thinking´

A Rose Amongst Lilies

Chapter 2 - The Valentine Brothel

The bright sun rose over England, signalling the coming of morning that would mark a new day for the people to move on with their lives. A new day full of each and everyone's usual habits and routines.

But for citizen of London, this day would be far from her usual routines, nor would it grant her the relaxation she had longed for since leaving England in the first place. It was bad enough that Ivy Valentine had not been getting any rest from the night before; nightmares had haunted her frequently, sending her back to an awakening state, and she could've sworn that at one point she was even being watched. Which was fully possible after all.

Ivy ran her fingers through her now messier hair as she sighed deeply in irritation. Her Asian suitors of the female gender had during her travels prevented her to fully rest for God knows how long; and now they were her guests. The noblewoman shook her head and got out of bed; she needed to take a bath and wash her hair, so she at least could cleanse herself of the fatigue. She dared not to try and sleep now, when the others surely would be awake as well, and her servants wouldn't be able to fend them off from entering her chamber.

"Good grief…" She said to herself. "If this keeps up, it will be the death of me… Honestly, why on Earth would they even follow me this far? You would think that one would stop when they find out their object of affection is across the sea…"

The silvery haired woman carefully trotted down the hall, nearing the stairs. On the way, she gave three separate doors a light knock before walking downstairs to the bathroom. Once there, Ivy simply waited until the sound of footsteps reached her ears until she was certain that her servants stood behind her. She turned around and faced them, giving them a tired smile as she pointed at the bathtub.

"Prepare the bathing water if you would be so kind… And get started on the breakfast as well." The servants simply nodded with a simultaneous "Yes Milady!" and hurried along to get the preparations done while Ivy sat on a nearby chair and waited. She stared at nothing in particular, letting her eyes wander around aimlessly as she thought about her situation over and over.

´This wont work. Its absolutely ridiculous and absurd! I cannot allow them to actually live here, can I? I must drive them away, there's got to be a solution! But how would I be able to… They are evidently persistent… And if worst comes to worst, they ARE good fighters, and that's a problem. Unless I sneak poison into their food! … Better not do that. I might have been called heartless and cold at times, but I don't murder people on a whim! But on the other hand, I really need to get rid of them. They will turn my lovely home into a battlefield with their ridiculous jealousy! By God I loathe them!´

"E-excuse me Milady…"

"Hm?" Ivy responded. She eyed Anne with a quizzically look. "What is it Anne?"

"Your bath is ready, Milady. I also took the liberty to bring you a fresh set of new clothes for today." Anne smiled shyly at her Mistress as she held the neatly folded clothes before her to show. Ivy simply chuckled in response before adding. "Well done Anne. Good job, put them there by that chair, and fetch me a towel. Oh, and most importantly Anne, when you leave, make absolutely sure that none besides you, Katherine and Margaret enters this room." The look in her eyes told Anne that her mistress was deadly serious. "The last thing I need right now is for those horn-dogs to disturb me and rob me of my daily cleansing as well."

"At once Milady!" The servant left shortly afterwards, closing the door behind her and left her mistress alone in her bath. Ivy slowly felt her muscles relax from her brief tension and sighed contently, staring up at the ceiling while thinking over the situation repeatedly. Each time she did, no answers seemed to come - It was nothing but a blank piece of paper to her.

Deciding to let it go for now, Ivy returned to relax in the warm water, trying to think of more positive things instead, for example that she was home again; she had a proper bed to sleep in with comfortable sheets and pillow, she had her servants to care for her and so on. No need to worry about poisonous bugs and serpents or exotic diseases, just her good old mansion to provide everything she ever needed. It was like her own paradisiacal rose garden.

But naturally, where there are flowers, there are bees; bees that may sting you if you are not careful. In Ivy's case, instead of stinging her, the bees wanted to mate with her for the plain reason that they claimed to love her. Love her, as a man loves a woman. And it was that thought alone that caused the noblewoman to feel sick; while it was true that same-sex relationships wasn't uncommon for royalty that wanted additional bed-warmers, it wasn't Ivy's thing. She wasn't exactly looking for men either, but if she ever wanted to "settle down" sometime, it would naturally be with a man she told herself.

Ivy sighed. There was no telling what her life would be like now. With four unwanted female suitors now living with her, each as jealous and fighting-capable as the next, the British noblewoman knew that her life would be forever changed. For the bad or the good.

"I just wish they would understand that I want nothing to do with them and just leave… They call it love, but looks a lot more like they want to claim ownership of me like I was a trophy. Bloody Hell…"

She kept staring at the white ceiling. Still no answers.

"There has to be some way to drive them off…"

There was a knock on the door, followed shortly by an inaudible concerned voice. It seemed to be replied by an equally inaudible voice, but Ivy paid it no mind, thinking it was one of her servants. "Come in."

"Thank you! See that, your mistress didn't have any problem letting me in!" Said the overly chirpy voice; Ivy could feel her tension and fear hit return to her as fast as a lightning as she heard the voice, turning her head to, for the better or worse, confirm exactly who had just entered her bathroom, for it surely wasn't one of her servants.

Surely, Anne was at the door with an expression that was nothing but apologetic and worried, for walking towards Ivy was Talim, smiling widely as usual without a care in the world. "Good morning Ivy-sinta~ Room for one more by any chance~?"

"Get out!" Ivy yelled in anger, quickly covering her body with her arms and legs to hide her body. "You have no right to be here! Get OUT!" Her eyes shifted to the still fidgeting servant. "Anne! My clothes, NOW!" Ivy knew that she couldn't ask her maids to chase the suitors away; they didn't have any experience in fighting at all, they were just regular maids.

"Oh don't be so high-strung. I'll get your clothes for you!" Talim happily skipped over to the neatly folded clothes with Anne quickly running past her in order to get to them first; Talim resorted to sprint as well, beating the maid to it and snatched the clothes away. "See? A lot quicker if you'd let me do the honour.. So, Ivy-sinta, if you would be so kind and allow me…"

"Dodaecheige museun il-iya?!" A second voice, a lot higher in volume, shouted from the other end of the room. Everyone but Ivy turned around to see just who it was; near the now wide-open door stood the Korean beauty Seung-Mina, seething with anger. "What do you think you are doing with Ivy-yeon-in ´s clothes you brat?!"

"I was about to help her get dressed." Talim plainly replied. "Until you so rudely interrupted us; you don't have any right to be here!" The Filipino girl winked at Ivy with glee, but it was mocking for the noblewoman to hear Talim repeat her words. None of them should be in here after all. "None of you are welcome in here when I'm having a bath! Now get out both of you!"

"Nonsense yeon-in! Give me one minute and I'll get rid of that Filipino harlot for you!"

Talim giggled hysterically at the Korean. "I'd like to see you try! I happened to be here first so if anyone is going to leave, it will be you!"

Their loud, obnoxious, verbal catfight was irritating to say the least; while Talim had basically thrown Ivy's clothes aside in order to perform random gestures towards her rival, the noblewoman's irritation grew stronger. Luckily, her servant had quickly picked them up and used the suitor's catfight as a diversion in order to dry off, and fully clothe her mistress without them noticing. In a fit of anger, Ivy stormed off to her dining room in order to get some breakfast and hopefully, some peace and quiet.

A foolish dream she admitted, but desperation knows no boundaries.

:::::

"Here you go Milady, your breakfast." Margaret said politely, presenting the plate of a proper English breakfast for the lady of the house. Ivy smiled, albeit weakly, and nodded in gratitude. "Thank you Margaret. I highly appreciate yours and the others´ efforts."

With a smile of her own, Margaret bowed and walked away. Ivy slowly began to eat her meal, still thinking about how her life had suddenly changed. Luckily the bathroom was far enough for her to not hear the catfight going on, meaning that for the moment, there was silence. Only the faint sound of Ivy chewing on the food could be heard while she thought to herself.

´Isn't this just bloody perfect. The day is still young and I have already been disturbed severely! If that is any indication, I wont be able to take a bath in private anymore… And God knows what they will try for the rest of the day! Wherever I go, they seem to follow… Damnation!´

A silent sigh escaped her lips.

´What if they grow hostile and actually attack me? Its not like I can defend myself from all of them at the same time… If worst comes to worst, I may actually have to kill them. That shouldn't be a problem; they are unwanted guests after all!´

"You seem troubled Ivy-chan." The voice was calm, but serious. Ivy didn't bother yet again to check who it was; she simply stopped eating and sighed in irritation. "Bloody perfect. As if it wasn't bad enough that my morning bath was ruined, are you and Xianghua going to ruin my breakfast now?"

"Its only me here." Taki said, stepping up to her love-interest's side. "And I certainly wont ruin your breakfast. Is it a crime for me to simply ask what's on your mind, over breakfast?"

"It's a crime that you stalked me back to my home and then invaded it. Along with three of your friends." Ivy said, glaring at the ninja that was peacefully staring back at her. "They certainly aren't my friends."

"I can hardly tell any difference, you all want the same thing."

"I have a lot more of a appeal than them." Taki winked at Ivy. "Besides, I want to remember that you were coming onto me back then."

"It was my first time drinking sake." Ivy replied with a monotone voice. "And drunkenness tends to make you do stupid things. I'm lucky that nothing actually happened! Also, you are standing way to close; remove yourself."

The ninja hesitantly stepped back a few steps, still looking intensively into Ivy's eyes with a smug mirth; it was a sense of perverted pride that was hidden underneath the surface of a calm exterior, one which Ivy did know about. Taki walked over the chair closest to her object of affection and sat down, still looking at her. "Unlike the others, I am not impatient, Ivy-chan. I can wait for you to eventually come around, and when you do, I will be there for you."

Ivy shuddered. "I really hope not. If I ever take an interest in women, and any of you four even, Hell has surely frozen over."

"That's a bit harsh àirén. Surely, the others deserve it, but why would you deny having a Chinese beauty by your side?" Said Xianghua, who walked to the opposite side of Ivy, equally smirking as Taki had been. "Forget about the Japanese dog and her tramp-outfit; what you would want is a woman with class, who knows how to behave. I want to remember that you enjoyed my company quite well back in China~"

"Before you decided to try and smother me with your homosexuality." Ivy sighed yet again, pinching the bridge of her nose. Now that Xianghua had arrived, it was only a matter of time before her breakfast would be ruined as well. In a sense of dry, sarcastic humour, Ivy mentally counted the seconds before either of them would fly off the handle and another catfight would ensue. ´Three, two, one…´

"Keep your filthy remarks to yourself, Chinese whore!" Taki yelled out. "A woman with class? Besides Ivy-chan, I don't see anyone else around! Your rather short skirt leaves little to imagination, skank!"

"Watch your tongue ninja! Just look at your so-called clothing; its just another layer of skin! I can even see your nipples!"

And there it went. With an half-eaten breakfast left on her plate, Ivy got up and walked out of the room, trying to ignore the Asian women arguing with limited name-calling. The thoughts of either kill them all with food-poisoning or simply lock herself inside her room seemed more tempting the more she thought about it. After all, so far her day had started with a ruined bath AND a ruined breakfast; how on Earth would she be able to go through the rest of the day, knowing that her stalkers would simply follow her, try to swoon her, argue with each other and force her somewhere else, and then repeat the process. So with little choice, Ivy went back to her room, telling Katherine on the way to bring her a cup of tea.

::::::

With a hot cup of tea on the nightstand and a good book in her hand, Ivy could once again feel her muscles relax in the comfort of her bed. It had been nearly an hour since anyone had disturbed her, aside from her servants, and she silently prayed that it would last forever. It was to be considered a miracle that she even got a full hour to herself without the Asians, but she couldn't help but wonder what they were doing the whole time; did they actually behave and leave her alone, or were they still busy arguing?

Ivy didn't know. And she honestly didn't care. She only wanted to be alone with her book and her tea, enjoying the peaceful silence that accompanied her. Until there was a knock on the door.

She ignored it; if it was her servants, they would've let her know. Another knock. Still no reply, from either her or whoever it was that knocked. Third time, still no reply.

"Go away!" Ivy finally yelled. It definitely was one of her stalkers, and its not like she could feign to not be here; they would look around for her regardless. In her mind, it would be better to keep putting up a valiant defence and tell them off until it finally got through their thick skulls.

"Oh! Ivy yeon-in!" Said the voice from behind the door. "I'm lucky I found you! I'm coming in!"

"Please -!" Ivy began, but Seung-Mina simply walked inside, closing the door behind her quickly. "-…don't."

"I'm certainly lucky, no one else is here. I wish to talk to you, if I may?"

"If I say "no", will you leave me alone?"

"Not at all."

"Then what choice do I have…" Ivy sighed, trying to keep on reading her book. The Korean jumped onto the bed with a giggle, sitting right in front of the Englishwoman. "So.. What are you reading?"

Ivy eyed the Korean up and down suspiciously. "Something you wouldn't understand."

"Like what?"

"Literature."

Seung-Mina stifled a laughter. "Proves how little you know about me yeon-in~ I myself enjoy reading literature. For example, I've read the work of the famous Yeo Ok-"

"Who or what is Yeo Ok?" Ivy interrupted, somewhat interested in where Seung-Mina was going with this. The Korean giggled and continued. "She was Koreas first poetess, and her work is highly regarded. She wrote the poem Gonghuin. It means "A Medley for the Harp"."

"Is that right…" Ivy said, still surprised that Seung-Mina was into literature; true enough, she hardly knew much about her suitors, but she hadn't thought that at least one of them were knowledgeable about other things other than bedside-manners. It was a weird, but genuinely pleasant surprise which managed to bring a small smile to her lips. Having small-talk with Seung-Mina had proved to be something she could even look forward to.

"Its portrayal of love and dignity amongst the poor is what's making it very popular.. They can relate to it because of the truth it is telling… And the pain and loneliness of the woman who has lost her love…" She glanced over at Ivy, suddenly smiling slyly. "…is very similar to me. Wont you help me ease this pain, yeon-in~"

"Get out!" Ivy yelled. She felt like she was repeating this sentence too much for her own good, but she knew that Seung-Mina was on the prowl once again. "Here I thought I could actually talk to at least one of you in a normal fashion! Damnation, just get out of my room you brat!"

"Oh Ivy yeon-in~" The brunette said in a husky voice as she crawled up to Ivy. "We can continue to talk if you want… I am very good with oral traditions~!" Seung-Mina swiftly crawled over the British noblewoman, trapping her between the wall and herself. "Oi, get off me you brat!"

She giggled, her face looming dangerously close to Ivy's, who could feel Seung-Mina's breath against her skin. Her lips was flawless and petite, her breath was unusually fresh, and she smelled of Korean flowers. For just a split second, Ivy wondered how her lips would've taste like.

But as quickly the thought had occurred, it vanished when Ivy felt her arms being pinned against the wall with the Korean smirking at her victoriously; she had let her guard down like a novice warrior, and it both shamed and angered her greatly, for it would cost her dearly.

"Seung-Mina, I will give you five seconds to let me go before I'll thrash you severely." Ivy said with a venomous tone. Seung-Mina simply giggled in response, clutching Ivy's wrists tighter. "Not until I've shown you the wonders of a womanly touch… OUGH!" Seung-Mina grunted as she suddenly was flying off the bed, landing on the floor with a mighty slam. While she squirmed and tried to get up, Ivy quickly looked to the other side of the bed; Taki, with an annoyed expression directed at the Korean had climbed onto the bed and seemingly kicked Ivy's assailant off her. "Deoleoun gae ! Where did you come from?!"

Taki simply pointed with her thumb behind her. "Window." Her expression grew sour. "Bitchi."

"Speak for yourself Taki! How dare you interrupt my and Ivy's lovely rendezvous?!"

"What's this I hear about a rendezvous?!" Yelled a third voice, earning everyone's attention to the door that was clumsily opened, revealing Xianghua ready to storm in. "Ivy àirén, are you alright?!" Her glare shifted between Taki and Seung-Mina. "What are you two doing here, disturbing Ivy àirén!"

´Oh no, here it comes…´ Ivy thought, waiting for the inevitable verbal fight.

"Ivy yeon-in and I were just about to have a lovely moment for ourselves when this ninja-dog and you came and interrupted us!" Seung-Mina yelled. Taki simply scuffed and returned the icy glares that was seemingly thrown around between the trio. "I was saving Ivy-chan from your clutches, to be accurate! As if my beloved Ivy would be swooned by your advances that are nothing but that of a rapist?"

"Rapist?! Oh that's rich, coming from someone who doesn't even respect her privacy by peeping on her due to your so-called ninja-skills!" Seung-Mina retorted. "Pervert voyeur!"

While the three Asian women screamed and argued at the top of their lungs, Ivy had departed the room and for the third time that day, escaped from raging suitors. Her day was proved to be a miserable one, fuelling her fear that it would be like this every single day. She feared that if it became true, she would loose it; lack of sleep, loud stalking suitors and no private space or time would eventually lead to her either loosing her sanity or die of a heart-attack.

Having successfully sneaked out of her room and down the stairs, Ivy decided to try one last time to get some peace and quiet in her now chaotic life; she headed to her garden.

It was a neatly trimmed garden with a beautiful sculpture right in the centre. Surrounding the garden was delicate roses and a small pond that decorated itself with lilies. A few oak-trees gave the garden a few means of shade for the summery days, but what Ivy sought was the stone bench. From it, she could get a good look of the garden with the pond, roses and at least one tree in one sight, and it calmed her down. All she heard was the birds chirping, the wind occasionally blowing past her, and the faint sound of horseshoes hitting the stone-cobbled road. She took a deep breath. Then another. And a third. It was as if her stress and fatigue was cleansed from her body with each breath, and it gave her a peace of mind.

A peace that was slowly torn apart as the sound of footsteps came closer until it stopped, and a hand was gently put on her shoulder.

"Needed some time alone huh?" The Filipino said, smiling warmly at Ivy. The noblewoman sighed in annoyance. "The purpose of having some time alone is that you are alone. No one else is with you. And now you arrived." Talim giggled; she removed her hand and took a seat next to Ivy on the stone bench. "I suppose. But I promise, I wont bother you. You're enjoying the silence out here, right? In that regard, we are similar. Back home, I used to spend hours, just listening to the wind."

"Oh God…" Ivy said dryly. "Look, Seung-Mina tried that trick earlier; feigning sharing a similar interest and in the next second trying to violate me, so just stop it. I rather be left alone so I can-"

"I am not like the Korean." Talim giggled again, giving Ivy a friendly pat on the back. "Give me a chance, please. We'll just sit here and listen to the silence of nature."

The British woman eyed the girl suspiciously. She wanted to believe her, but she knew that this would not end well, one way or another. "I know by experience now that if one of you shows up, the others are bound to follow. And they'll start yelling and name-calling and God knows what.."

"Perhaps. But if I leave you alone, someone else will show up instead. Someone who doesn't share your way of attaining peace." The Filipino said, looking into Ivy's eyes with a soft determination; Ivy felt herself give up. She knew that Talim was right, and closed her eyes. The silence of nature came back, and surprisingly, the minutes ticked away without anything happening.

She glanced over at the young girl next to her, who as well sat with closed eyes and did nothing. So they continued to sit around, only listening to the natural sounds that was around them. Ivy glanced over at the girl; still nothing. She didn't want to let her guard down, but she felt somewhat happy that Talim didn't assault her or tried anything else.

Ivy had lost track of time, but she was sure that they had been sitting there for almost twenty minutes now. Twenty minutes of quiet, and peace. As she was about to open her eyes, she felt a pair of hands cupping her cheeks lovingly out of nowhere; her eyes shot open, only to see Talim standing, soon straddling before her with a playful smile on her lips.

´What?! When did she-?! How-?!´

"Forgive me Ivy-sinta… But I think I deserve a reward for behaving so extraordinary well~"

The girl, the youngest of the suitors, pressed her small lips against Ivy's before the noblewoman could react or comprehend what would happen. When she finally could, she was left frozen in shock over Talim´s boldness as she kept kissing her directly on the lips while straddling her lap; she wouldn't think of it for a while, but the Filipino's lips tasted of something sweet. The kisses weren't fully open ones, but close enough to be considered rather adult like for someone of Talim´s age, fuelling Ivy's shock.

The Filipino kept kissing for nearly two minutes before withdrawing. She licked her lips in an attempt to savour the taste of the Englishwoman before giving her a last peck on the lips and got off her lap. Her smile was playfully coy. "I don't know about you, but at least my first kiss was with my love. I liked it~"

"Nani ga jigoku ka?! Anata baishunpu!" Talim quickly looked behind Ivy, only to see the seething ninja marching towards her with clenched fists. "You did not just do what I thought you did! You… You..!"

"Looks like the ninja wasn't fast enough this time." Talim chirped, still wearing her coy expression. "Don't be such a sore loser, lumang bruha."

"… did you just call me an old hag?"

"Give the ninja a medal, she understood when she was insulted." Talim giggled, sarcastically clapping her hands to further mock Taki. The ninja glared at the girl angrily until she noticed Ivy returning from her shock. "Ivy-chan! Please forgive me! If only I had arrived sooner, your beautiful lips wouldn't been defiled by this.. This harlot child!"

"She certainly didn't protest when I showed her my affection~" Talim grinned playfully at the ninja. "Jealous much?"

"Tch! Why you-!" She quickly shifted her gaze to Ivy. "Ivy-chan, allow me to cleanse you of the blight!" It was with these words that brought Ivy back from her shock; she knew dreadfully what Taki was implying, but before she could move even a sinew, Taki had already straddled her as well, locking their lips together and forcing the noblewoman to another state of frozen shock. She was just barely aware of Taki´s lips massaging against her own while a wet tongue coiled around inside her mouth. The ninja's kiss was a lot more powerful and shattering than Talim´s, but both had appalled her with dread and disgust; with every tongue-movement Taki made, Ivy felt her anger and disgust grew stronger. She was a noble, known throughout England, and a girl equal in status to that of a peasant, and a ninja, also with a social status lower than hers had now advanced on her like she was a prostitute.

They acted like prostitutes! Prostitutes arguing over a customer, trying to sell themselves to gain what they wanted in their profession.

Taki finally stopped kissing her, and like Talim had did before, she smiled playfully while caressing Ivy's face. The Filipino on the other hand were pouting at the scene before her. "At least I got the first kiss…"

"Tch, and look how that turned out. You made my poor Ivy-chan suffer with your blighted lips! At least I could save her from losing her mind over-"

Taki didn't get to finish her sentence as she was thrown to the ground. Ivy, in a state of chaotic emotions, quickly got up and ran back to her mansion on swift feet. Talim and Taki tried to catch up, but Ivy had already gotten halfway through her mansion by the time they reached the door.

The Valentine mistress ran up the stairs, fuming, past her now scared servants who understood little of what had happened. She ran down the hallway with the intent to reach her room when Xianghua and Seung-Mina met her halfway, still bickering. "Oh! Ivy yeon-in! There you are, I was just wondering where you disappeared to! Shall we continue where we left off earlier?"

"Don't listen to her Ivy àirén, how about-" The noblewoman ran past them, leaving them clueless to her behaviour. Nevertheless, they followed her until she slammed the door in front of them, locking it.

Ignoring their attempt to open the door, as well as their knocking and shouting, Ivy dragged her nearby furniture to block the door too; in her state of shame, disgust and anger, she proceeded to block off the window as well, going as far as dragging and pushing her wardrobe in front of the window. She felt her strength leave her as she pushed it the last few centimetres, and fell to her knees. Her voice was dry, her breathing became heavy, and her emotions came crashing down upon her.

"WHAT IN THE HELLISH NAME IS THIS!? A BROTHEL?!"

With the last of her strength, she dragged herself up to her bed, collapsed, and let out a piercing scream, muffled only by her pillow. The day that had already become so disastrous was far from over.


Looks like there is trouble on the horizon.

So, I really hope you enjoyed the update on A Rose Amongst Lilies, and perhaps left a lovely little review to let me know what you thought.

Until next time, take care! And if I dont get another story/update up before January 1st, then HAPPY NEW YEAR!

- GrimGrave