Creatures of Value

Chapter 3, Time

Guides had existed longer than recorded history had. That was basically the one solid thing that everyone knew about them. Each guide in general varied as much as the person it was a part of, and sometimes even more, so not much more than that could be determined. Sure, there were theories about these guides: that they were shards of the soul, guardian angels, a person's subconscious, their inner demon, a person's ancestors. There were even more theories on why they existed, how they lived and fulfilled their purpose, and whether or not they were a magical or scientific phenomenon. Just about everything about guides was hotly contested other than one thing: they were very real.

Arthur and Francis were confronted with that very quickly after their original delusions had been dispelled. The twins had not been alone this entire time, but with their guides. That was why Matthew was not so afraid without his bear and how Alfred had gotten into a locked door. Admittedly, it was still frustrating. The twins' guides had to be quite weary to not be willing to show themselves after all that had happened. It was especially bothersome with Alfred because his guide was already manifesting itself in the physical world. It had to if it unlocked the doors. That means it was coming into its powers so its fear should be decreasing if anything. What was more is that the more the older brothers inquired about the respective guides it became clear how different the cases were.

Florence, affectionately dubbed "Flori," was Matthew's guide. She had yet to manifest properly in the physical world. Instead she spoke inside Matthew's head and sometimes appeared in place of his reflection, though not often. She was apparently far shier than Matthew, not even trusting him very much and keeping her contact with anyone to a minimum. Part of why he had abandoned his bear was to convince her to try and be braver, like himself. The act had gotten him some results, but she did not yet fully trust him, much less strangers. Alfred only knew because Matthew had come to his younger brother for suggestions. Surprisingly enough, being an example of bravery had been Alfred's idea—Well, Alfred's and Nikki's.

Her actual name was Nikkita but "Nikki" worked just as well. She had actually appeared before Florence, and not just that winter day years ago. What is more, she was a part of the physical world when she appeared as well. Alfred described her as showing up as a solid black cat with amethyst eyes. He would see her from time to time, just watching, playing, or hunting. It was only after other people had seen her that he knew the cat with purple eyes was real and he became infatuated. In fact, he had been very tempted to try to catch her and ask to keep her as a pet, but something restrained him. It was only one day, a while ago Alfred knew even if he had no exact date, that he came face to face with this cat and heard her voice. At that moment he knew it was the little girl "Nikki" he had met years ago. It simply snowballed from there, especially with the appearance of Florence. Though there was one more thing about Nikki that especially divided the two cases.

"She only comes out when she wants to. Even I cannot make her." Alfred had said.

That meant this Nikki was choosing not to meet them. The argument could be made that Florence would as well, if she could actually manifest, but her especially timid nature was a viable excuse. Simply because Nikki did not want to did not hold the same weight. It worried them both that Alfred's guide could have a distrustful nature of people. That was good to an extent, but the last thing they wanted was for Alfred to start turning on people, much less themselves. They already expected hellish teenage years with the twins, so they did not need the guides making them worse. What was more is that they no longer had their own guides to try cope with the arrival of their siblings. Guides typically had a way of communicating with one another that was far more effective than another person speaking to someone's guide and simply not having a guide meant they were out of touch with what it was like. Why did their guides have to show themselves so early, early enough that it was abnormal even? It made things far more difficult than they had to be. If Arthur and Francis just had a little more time they could have at least had a chance at allowing Blair and Estelle to wake up first. There was no such chance now.

That fact weighed heavily on the two that entire day, but something rather interesting happened in the wake of that. They avoided each other, but not the twins. Both of them paid special attention to each boy that day, even going out of their ways to communicate a little with their guides. They tried to be as tender and nonthreatening as they could with Florence. On the other hand, they were not quite sure what to do with Nikki. They each settled on a slightly different approach. Arthur tried to hold a conversation with her through Alfred, which was a little different than what they had both done with Florence. With her they had spoken, looking at Matthew, addressing Florence. With Nikki, Alfred had to act almost as a translator, sending messages from one side to the other. Arthur did not get very much out of his method, though neither did Francis. Instead, he treated Nikki as one would a child's imaginary friend. He acted as though she was a very physical being in the room with him and Alfred, speaking to her and asking her to move different objects. It admittedly reminded Alfred of this ghost show he had watched when his brothers were not around.

It was only at the end of the day that the two dared to confront one another, while the twins were scuttling about trying to prepare for bed. At first it did not seem like it was going to be at all awkward like they had been expecting. They shared their methods and results easily, commenting every now and then what a shame it was about Florence's timidity. However, the awkwardness started to set in when they got to the topic of Nikki.

"Just what are we going to do about her, mon lapin?" Francis asked with a sigh.

"I haven't the slightest clue, but I do know that we have to be careful. Alfred is quite fond of her—And stop calling me weird things in that language of yours!" Arthur huffed, leaning back in his seat at the kitchen table.

"Do you think she simply does not trust us, or that she does not have the power right now to manifest?" Francis continued.

"Frog, have you paid attention at all?" Arthur snapped, "Not only has she manifested, affected objects, and been doing this for a long time, but she even has taken human form. There is no way that she could not appear if she wanted to."

Francis rolled his blue eyes at this, "I know it is unlikely, but do you really want to believe that the guide that will determine what Alfred will become is suspicious of us?"

"Of course not, but it is not logical to think otherwise. We cannot know anything without speaking to them, and we have no ways of connecting except through the lads themselves, not without Blair and Estelle."

"So the problem is really with us."

Arthur narrowed his eyes on the man in front of him that clearly did not see all the implications of the statement he just made.

"What does that mean?" he growled lowly.

"Exactly that. This is our problem. Until we fix what happened with Blair and Estelle there is no way we will be getting anywhere with the twins."

Arthur felt like a deer in the headlights when the spotlight was suddenly thrust on him and Francis. Their problem? They had been scrambling around and worried for days because the twins had a problem, even taken a day off work to solve it, and now it was suddenly something wrong with them? Even if that was true, and it probably was, what exactly were they supposed to do to fix it? Going to a specialist simply was not an option. They needed every bit of money from their jobs that they got, missing any work, let alone spending such an amount, was unthinkable. Then self-help had clearly failed them long ago. Guides were not supposed to go dormant like that, so how were a couple kids supposed to fix that? It was all they were really. Even if they had jobs they were still in high school. In fact, they had to fight tooth and nail to be in the situation they were in now. Their biological families had tried to reclaim them and the plan had been to separate the twins. Arthur and Francis, as much as they hated each other then and still did, did not have the heart to let that happen. Their guides had fallen asleep well before their resolve had paid off.

"Can we even fix it, Francis?" Arthur questioned tentatively, gripping his own arm tightly, "I mean, we do not even know what we did wrong."

"We do not know until we try, mon cher." he soothed softly before turning his head to the hallway, "Are you two ready for bed?"

Matthew nodded right away, but the older two noticed a petulant pout on the youngest boy's face. Arthur immediately moved to solve a problem he knew he could fix.

"What is the matter, Alfred?" he probed after scooping the boy up into his arms, "Could you not find a book you want me to read?"

The boy shook his head fiercely, but said nothing on the matter. Instead, he chose to bury his face into Arthur's shirt. By this time Matthew had made his way into Francis's arms and Arthur was beginning to notice the boy's gaze stayed on Alfred the entire time.

"What is the matter, Matthew?" he prompted, hoping for the best, "Do you know what is wrong with Alfred?"

He was really hoping that the lying from earlier was a special case and not a new trend of his. This was supposed to be a problem that he could actually solve.

"I said I was sorry…" the older twin mumbled, so softly that even Francis almost did not hear him.

"'Sorry?'" Arthur repeated, now looking down at Alfred, "Why is he sorry, lad?"

Arthur caught a wild flash in Alfred's sky blue eyes the moment he looked up.

"Because you are all mad at Nikki now since she won't show up."

"I said I was sorry!" Matthew cried again.

"Wait, wait. Who told you that, Alfred?" Arthur pushed, trying to regain control of the situation.

It had bugged him last night that the twins knew that they had wanted to ask them a question and now this, too? Clearly one of their guides had to be active in listening or at least insightful, and Arthur had every reason to believe it was Nikki.

"Just because it was Nikki does not mean anything and you know it, Artie!" Alfred wailed in frustration, "Especially if it is true."

"Well it isn't." Arthur hissed, "Yes, we wanted to see her, but we are not mad!"

"Mad and upset are the same thing!"

Francis could see the conversation starting to spiral out of proportion and stepped in.

"What does this have to do with Matthew?"

Francis's interference startled the warring two into complete silence. That only left Matthew.

"The reason Nikki is not showing up is that she promised not to until Flori did. It was part of the deal of her trying to be brave." Matthew explained.

"Nikki is a really good person, Artie!" Alfred assured, "Even if she does not do what everyone wants. I am sure you will meet her someday soon, so don't assume she is going to be bad now."

By the end of Alfred's little speech Arthur's grip had tightened on him. Maybe he had gotten too riled up earlier, they both had. All was not lost, at least not yet. The guides were here and had to be dealt with, but maybe, just maybe, the older brothers could be ready by the time they started appearing full force.

"So which story tonight then, Alfred?"

"Make something up. I told Nikki you were a really good story-teller so do your best."

"And I told Flori you make the best cookies Francis."

Okay, they needed all the time they could get.

"No pressure at all." they sighed.

"Ah, they're in sync again, Mattie!"