Hello, lovely peoples! I am back with the next chapter! It is a longer one than normal, and it is exciting-ish. I hope that you enjoy! (If there are any questions, then please ask them!)
Charlotte was in the storage room, taking inventory of what they had, and what they needed for ingredients. She hummed a small tune, occasionally scribbling down ingredient names and brands. She wasn't aware of her surroundings, so when a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders, she jumped.
"Did I shock you, Chaton?" Charlotte relaxed, hearing the French accented voice. She turned in his arms, and lightly hit his chest, looking up at his face.
"Yes, you did." She glowered up at him, and he smiled down to her with closed eyes. Charlotte noticed that and leaned up, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. Pierre blushed and looked at Charlotte, who had a smirk on her face.
"Did I shock you, Love?" Pierre blushed more, and stuttered trying to get out a proper sentence and failing. Charlotte chuckled and pressed a kiss to Pierre's cheek, then turned back to her previous task. Pierre followed behind her as she went on recording down everything on her clipboard. When she was done with the task, she turned to Pierre, who had been looking over the different kinds of flour they had in stock.
"You are awfully quiet today, Dear. Is something wrong?" Charlotte looked worriedly up at Pierre, who blinked and looked down on her. He tried to smile, but he looked sadder than anything.
"Just feeling' lonely, I guess. We haven't gone out for months and I miss it just being the two of us." Pierre looked down at his feet, and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Charlotte looked at him, blinking a couple of times.
"Well, how about this Friday, we get out of here early and put on some nice clothes, then go to that nice Italian restaurant on Tomato Road. We'll make Marylyn stay with Bree for the night and spend some time to ourselves. How about it?" Charlotte had hugged Pierre, pushing the top of her head under his chin. Her voice was whispery, and made Pierre blush madly. Charlotte pulled away from the hug, with a light giggle.
Pierre nodded in response to her earlier question, and followed her as she left the storage room. Charlotte went up to the front desk, leaving the clipboard by Bree for her to look over. Charlotte stood at the front counter and looked over the dining area. Olivia was talking with Marci, both on their break. Olivia's face was tinted pink, as Marci laughed at something she said. Charlotte smiled, it seemed like the start of a small relationship. Charlotte looked to her right, and saw Marylyn staring off into space, obviously bored. Emil was nowhere to be seen in the café, and Charlotte was pretty sure it was about the family he complained about every time he came in. She turned to the door when the bell above it jingled, and almost froze. The Mayor had just come into the café.
Charlotte looked to Bree and then to Pierre, both also frozen with tight jaws and hard eyes. Charlotte smiled, but she was sure that it looked pained and unnatural. She kept the smile on her face and walked up to the Mayor's table, her hands folded in front of her politely.
"Hello, Mayor Barsley. How may we help you this fine morning?" Charlotte stood across from Mayor Barsley, and he smiled at her. He motioned for her to take a seat, and she did. They were silent for a few moments, the only noise in the café being the piano and the general noise of dining.
"How are you Miss King? You aren't too busy I hope." Mayor Barsley, looked around the café a little, like he was taking in the mood of the café.
"I am doing well, and I am not as busy as I would be on any other day." Charlotte crossed her ankles, putting one foot over the other and resting her clasped hands on the table.
"That is good. Miss King, you have heard that the parliament is having a dinner party, correct?" Mayor Barsley looked over Charlotte as she nodded her head slowly. She was trying to think of reasons why he would be asking her about it.
"Well, I would like to invite you and one other to it tonight. Do you accept, the invitation?" Charlotte sat in her chair, frozen. She blinked slowly, and nodded.
"I would love to go to something this big, Sir. I hope I'm not being rude by asking this, but why are you inviting me? Aren't I just some small store owner that is insignificant to the town?" Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows, the green eyes swirling with confusion.
Mayor Barsley chuckled, "Well Dear Charlotte-Rose, your café is what our small town is known for. When we get visitors, they immediately come here. I was hoping you would come to the party to help us congratulate everyone that got promotions or are getting private awards." Mayor Barsley smiled at Charlotte, and the blond female tilted her head.
"Awards? Awards for what?" Charlotte was naturally curious and hoped to get a straight answer from the Mayor. He just chuckled and smiled.
"Well you will see at the party. There's one other thing." The Mayor leaned forward, and Charlotte did the same. The mayor whispered in Charlotte's ear, "This is not public yet, but there will be a public awards ceremony for those who help in the community and need to be recognized. You are the first person to get this information, don't tell anyone."
Charlotte nodded, and sat back. "Alright. I'll come, you said I could bring one other with me, correct?"
The mayor nodded and pulled out two slips of paper, handing them to Charlotte. She took them and stuck them in the pocket of her apron. "If that is all, I must get back to work. I hope you have a lovely day, Mayor."
"I understand, Miss King. Though, I would love some peppermint tea." Mayor Barsley had picked up a drink menu, then looked at the blond.
"Peppermint tea, right away, Mayor Barsley. Anything else?" Charlotte stood, turning to the male. He looked over to the bakery, and nodded slightly. "Yes, an apple turnover, please."
Charlotte nodded and hurried back to the kitchen, giving Marylyn the pastry order on her way by. Charlotte took her time making the tea, adding a teaspoon of sugar to the drink like she normally would. She brought the tray to Marylyn, who put a plate with the pastry on it beside the tea. Charlotte turned back towards the Mayor's table and saw that he was talking with Olivia, most likely asking her to play the piano at the party that night. Charlotte stood at the counter for another couple of minutes, and Marylyn took notice of the elder's strange behaviour.
"You must not like the Mayor that much, do you?" Marylyn leaned forward, looking up at the blonde with her violet eyes. Charlotte looked down at Marylyn, then looked back at the Mayor, squinting slightly.
"Well, no it's not that. It's something else. Whenever I look at him, he flickers, as if he was using some form of glamour, or magic to hide himself. I know it sounds crazy to you but, I think he might be something other than a human. Or I need to get my eyes checked." Charlotte blinked a couple of times, and Marylyn looked at the Mayor. She squinted and indeed saw a slight flicker of his form.
"I see it too. It doesn't look like anything, but it is like a blurry image, right?" Marylyn tilted her head, trying to figure it out. Charlotte sighed, then turned to Marylyn.
"Well, I need to go deliver this before it gets too cold. I will talk more about it later." Charlotte didn't wait for an answer and walked up to the table with a light smile on her face. The two at the table looked to her when she approached.
"Sorry for the wait, the turnover had taken a little longer to heat up then we had thought. I hope I am not interrupting anything." Charlotte set the teapot and cup on the table along with the plate. She smiled and bowed slightly.
"No, no. You are not interrupting. I was asking Olivia if she wanted to play the piano for the party, since our other one cancelled on us last minute." The brunette male looked up at the Norwegian female, who was nodding in response to his earlier question. "Of course, I will, and you said I could bring one other person along with me, correct."
Mayor Barsley nodded, and Charlotte then turned to Olivia. "Well, enjoy your tea, Mayor. Olivia, can you come with me for a moment."
Charlotte brought Olivia into her small office. Charlotte sat on the cluttered desk, and Olivia sat in the computer chair by the desk. The two were silent for a few moments, then Charlotte started to speak. "You can see it too. Can't you?"
"You mean the flickering? It gives me a headache, and makes me feel crazy." Olivia sank down in the chair, closing her eyes. Charlotte hummed in response to Olivia's words.
"I keep thinking about the letter, and the contents that Rosellina read out to us. There is something bigger than we had originally thought, going on here. Though, there was one line that I have been thinking of recently. The one about those chests, didn't it specify what the three of them looked like?" Charlotte looked up in thought, as if the bland ceiling would give her the answer.
"Yeah, it was a metal one, a pirate's chest, and one made of dark wood. You know, I have a metal chest that survived the fire. Do you think it could be one of the few in the letter?" Olivia looked at Charlotte, who was still staring at the ceiling.
"I have a chest in my spare room that looks like a pirate's treasure chest. Doesn't Violet have one made of dark wood?" Charlotte looked at Olivia who had closed her eyes in thought. Olivia then nodded, she remembered seeing the chest when they had went to visit their Romanian friend a few months ago for a winter vacation.
"We should get the others together and discuss this more, and we should include everyone. This seems like something more serious than we first thought. Do you want me to call Violet? I could ask her to be here by this weekend, or earlier." Olivia spun on the chair, even though their discussion was an important one. Charlotte nodded, then grabbed a slip of paper and a pen. She scribbled down something on the paper and handed it to Olivia.
"Here. This is my sister's phone number. If you could text her for me after you call Violet, that would be great. Tell her about our problem, and that we think it may help them as well. I want to see if she can come and help. hopefully." Charlotte ran her hand through her hair, pulling some of it out of the braid that she kept it in. Olivia nodded, looking over the number and quick note that Charlotte gave her.
"Are you going to that dinner thing tonight?" Olivia looked up at Charlotte, curiosity in her eyes. Charlotte looked at her, and nodded.
"I'm going and making Pierre go with me. You?"
"I'm going to go and ask Deniela if she wants to go with me, we don't talk much anymore. Even if we think of each other like sisters, we don't speak with each other like we used to. Katrina is going as well, and she is bringing Bea. Now that I think about it, I need to get someone to watch Isla while I'm gone." Olivia looked up thinking of someone to ask. Charlotte looked at her with confusion.
"Isn't Isla fourteen? Why does she need to be watched?" Olivia looked at Charlotte, and gave her a light smile.
"Yeah, but whenever she is left alone in our living space something bad happens. It's odd, she says that she sees lights in the mirror, and sometimes she sees them when it's dark. I think it is a spiritual thing, and even I see them sometimes." Olivia tried to explain the situation, but it turned into rambling about spirits and faeries. Charlotte nodded and followed along with Olivia for a while, but they were interrupted with a knock on the door. Charlotte went and opened the door, one of the workers stood there. He was shaking, as Charlotte looked over him. He was obviously new.
"M-miss King, Monsiour Boivin wants to see you in the kitchen." He looked so frightened, probably thinking that she would get mad at him. The boy had a French accent, something Charlotte liked in her employees. She liked hearing the many accents, and different languages spoken through out the café.
"Alright, Mister Lex. Please, call me Charlotte." She smiled at him and he smiled back, though it was wobbly. Lex bowed and left back to his station. Charlotte turned to Olivia, who had stood.
"You should get to the kitchen and I will get going back to my beautiful piano, and the lonely Vivian." Olivia waved to Charlotte as she slipped by and went to the piano, where Vivian was singing a capella. The café cheered when Olivia arrived, and Charlotte smiled as she went to the back, glad that Olivia was liked widely by the audience.
When Charlotte first asked Olivia to play the piano in her café, she was worried that the young teen would be disliked. Olivia had needed the job, she dropped out of school to help with paying for their small space, and their food. Olivia wanted the best for her little sister, and hoped that she wouldn't drop out of school. Olivia had been around fifteen at the time, and now here she was playing for the very audience that had been stunned that first time she played, two years later. Charlotte was glad that she could do something for her younger friend.
Charlotte looked around the kitchen, and soon spotted Pierre standing near the back. She walked up to him, curious as to what he wanted.
"Pierre? Is there something you need?" Charlotte laid a hand on Pierre's shoulder trying to find what was wrong in his crystal-blue eyes. He looked down to her for a second, before his eyes went back to the wall.
"Look at the wall. Do you see it?" Pierre spoke quietly, trying not to get attention put on them. Charlotte looked at the wall, it was different from the rest of the café. The café was supposed to be painted white and light green, but this wall had wallpaper, in a grey and dirty green colour.
"Has this wall been always like this?" Charlotte walked forward to touch the wall and when her fingers touched the paper, she was pulled into what was like a memory.
It was a rainy day, a girl about seventeen or eighteen was rushing through the stormy weather, trying to get to the doors of the café. She got to the doors, unlocked them, and shut them behind her, locking them tight again. The girl removed her hood, revealing her blonde hair. It was obvious that this girl was Charlotte, and she rushed to the back kitchen, muttering about something.
"He got them, I need to try and find a way to connect. The back-storage room has everything that we found, I just need to hide it better. Put up wallpaper, but I have no time." The past Charlotte had done a poor job of putting up the wall paper, but no one would notice. She was about to grab a book from the office shelf when the front door was busted open. Past Charlotte whirled around, and the image faded.
Charlotte blinked as she was pulled back into the real world. Pulling her hand away, she looked at the wallpaper, it was starting to peel off in some places. Pierre was behind her holding onto her shoulder, trying to speak with her.
"Are you okay, Chaton? What happened." Pierre turned Charlotte to face him. He was still speaking softly and none of the chefs could hear them. Charlotte turned her hazy green eyes to Pierre, and gave him a soft smile.
"I'm alright now. I will tell you about it when we get home alright? I have papers to sign. Oh, and by the way, we are going to a dinner party tonight. You can't say no, because I already said yes." Charlotte walked back to her office and lightly closed the door behind her.
(Olivia's Point of View)
Olivia sat at the piano, her phone in her hand as she waited for Vivian to get back from her short washroom break. Olivia blinked as she had a sudden idea. 'I wonder if Emil could watch Isla for me tonight. I'll do it now, because Vivian takes forever to finish in the bathroom.'
Olivia opened the text app, and looked through her contacts, quickly finding her Icelandic friend's number.
O: Hey, can you do something for me?
Olivia waited for an answer, and was glad when he texted her back only a few seconds later.
E: What? Aren't you supposed to be playing the piano?
O: Yea, but Vivian is taking a break, and I don't need this favour until tonight.
E: Fine. What do you want?
O: I need you and you family to watch Isla tonight for me. I have a last-minute thing, and everyone is going except her.
E: Can't she take care of herself?
O: Last time I left her alone she fell down a flight of stairs and broke her arm. She is prone to accidents when she is alone. Please?
E: I need to ask Lukas and Tino first.
O: Alright, I will be here.
Olivia waited for at least a full minute before getting an answer back, and had less than a minute to get back to playing.
E: We will watch your sister tonight. Tino was over excited and Lukas didn't really care.
O: Thankyouthankyouthankyou. I will make this up to you, but I must get back to work now. B-bye Emil.
Olivia put away her phone and was ready to play just as Vivian got back. She smiled as she played, and let the music take her away. She wasn't worried anymore and could finally relax. Her sister was going to be in safe hands for the night.
Chaton-Kitten
Alright, so a thing about the last names. I had originally thought of not doing last names, and that is why they weren't mentioned until now, but I figured, that they needed to have some form of recognition for I.D's and that kind of government stuff. Charlotte's last name is King, and Pierre' is Boivin. I looked up last names for all the characters that are developed and they will be popping up. The names all have some form of meaning, such as Boivin, it is a combination of the words Boi (Drink) and Vin (Wine). I thought it would fit Pierre, and his origins. If you have any suggestions for any other characters I would love to hear them.
Oh, and one more thing. Which characters do you want to come in next? I was thinking Canada and America, but if you have any suggestions I would love to know!
Have a wonderful Day/Night and I'll see you next time!