Deepest apologise for the last chapter, it was weak and was nothing but an excuse of plot. I sincerely hope this one flare better in term of writing. Forgive me

Zineb. You're the first one to spot my Miyazaki reference in the title. Yes, he inspired me, but no, this is not a crossover so Naomi aint Sheeta. I would never dare to temper with Miya sama's magic. No offence to people who create Skins

Disclaimer: Don't own skins, please go sue someone else

…

…

After "What's wrong with Cook" was solved, "What's wrong with Naomi" came up. We were delighted to see them walking towards the café, hand in hand like a fucking couple-not that I complained, she did more than just helped him. To be honest, the whole 'Fred shagged my mum' business was deplorable. Poor Cook, if we hadn't intervened this year, sooner or later he would have gone completely mental. All of us-excluding Fred-agreed to gather at Uncle Keith's around six, to accompany him home. Katie and Panda even took him out to buy presents beforehand. Sounded ok right? Well, it would be if Naoms weren't so damn strange. When she first came back her face was as pale as ghost; then I watched her emotion shifted from fearful, to… alarmingly serious. Before my girl was nothing but reluctant, now she jumped on board with such hard-core attitude, as if we were going to fight a war. Must like Cook more than I thought she did.

Effy stole her family's car and drove us to our remote destination. Apparently Cook's mom was a famous artist named Ruth Byatt, whom Effy knew of. Ruth was great…in the beginning of her career, then it all turned to shit because of personal trauma, or so I was told. It must suck for Pad, surrounded by Mum's bedmates on his birthday, locked in a room while adults had promiscuous fun. Fortunately it made his party a lot easier to crash, for everyone would be too stoned to notice our un-posh little group of teenagers

"This place hasn't changed" JJ commented when we arrived "Dad said I shouldn't mingle here without Cook's presence, even though the upper echelons value virgins, Asperger was treated with polite disregard" Upper echelon huh? My feet wobbled as Katie pushed me out of the car. Fucking Hell! This…mansion was intimidating. Humongous sandstone structure, large French windows, and an odd sense of unobtainable grace lurked in its atmosphere. I looked around 'Oh sweet Lord! How many gardeners do they hire?' What I saw was a mini jungle, lit up by beautiful pedestal lanterns and illuminated cobbles paths. It felt stupid; we put so much effort in getting Patrick some gifts-my eyes trailed to the bags which Pandora and JJ was holding- surely the boy must have everything money could buy

Apart from love, of course

"Mediocre" Effy said, clearly unimpressed

"Mediocre?" Thomas exclaimed, "My whole village could live here" Ain't that true. I turned to Naomi, searched for an awe struck face that resembled my own, only to find her eyeing Panda, full of guilt and shame, as if she knew something she should not.

"Front door's probably open" Cook guided us through. It wasn't locked like he said, but one glance at the interior made me think that they didn't trouble themselves because there was nothing worth stealing. For such sumptuous outward masquerade, the indoor was disappointedly bare. Both sides of its reception hall led to additional rooms, which had just few pieces of scattered furniture, and its decorative art works were akin to something taken from playboy catalogue. Sleepy music as well as hideous universal noise of fucking were mixed up to one unpleasant sound. A child lives here? Someone please call social services! Anyway, this wasn't time to remark on stuff, "where's Patrick's room?" My girl took hold of Cook's hand-an action which made Katie frown, she wasn't used to Naoms being all supportive. 'Strange' I mused 'They're like brother and sister'

"First floor" He mumbled, we followed him upstairs, albeit clumsily. What a mess! Didn't these folks have maids? I manoeuvred through a sea of cigarette butts and broken glasses. This was no place to rear a child. We were about to make a turn when dozens of people suddenly poured out from the end of the corridor, most of them either were half naked or wore minimal clothing. I winced, artists and critics of what? Porn movies? Poor Cook, no wonder why he was afraid to ask for help. Whoever his mom was I hoped we skipped the pleasantries

"James?" This drunken voice belonged to an orange hair woman, whose make up was as aesthetic as the Joker in Hollywood's Batman film. "What are you doing here? Ungrateful little twerp" Charming! My heart broke for our dear friend. He stayed dead quiet, had no comeback, just stood there like a small, vulnerable kid; what a contrast to the wild monster we knew! His Mom, his Dad, Fed, Effy… Cook sure had a trend for loving people who were too fucked up to love him back

"Someone need to keep Pad company on his birthday, so you don't have to" Thank God for Elizabeth Stonem. She had on such sweet angelic face that you would never notice the crude sarcasm unless you knew her well enough to read the twinkle shone in her eyes. My sister followed suit-not many knew this, but Katie could fake being adorable like an expert- "I hope we're not intruding, Ms Byatt"

"Knock yourself out!" The old hag said absentmindedly "Move" We were pushed and shoved by her stoned, drunken entourage. Such a cliché! She hadn't seen her son for... what? Three years? And yet... I expected at least some hassle, but none came, meaning the situation was direr than I thought. This might sound crazy, but if she had yelled or kicked him in the nuts, at least we would have known that she cared, cared enough to be pissed or got angry. Feeling invisible at home was one of the worst treatments a child could get. Cook probably fooled himself into thinking that he was loved, so he could gain enough the courage to raise his little bro, until she fucked Fred and shattered this last illusion. I sighed, turned to Naoms for some sympathetic responds, only to get perplexed by the relief look flashed through her face. What's this? She let out a breath I didn't know she had been holding, then squeezed Cook's hand tighter and said "Come on, Patrick needs you"

He turned around and eyed each of us sceptically, searching for judgemental reaction 'Awww, whatever family you have, we love you still' "You're strong Cook" I encouraged him

"Like a monster" Katie grabbed my arm and pulled me close "Gotta protect your sibling yeah?"

Panda chimed in "I would totally dote on my bro, if I ever got one, since mum has this thing with men because grandpop kicked her out of the hou…" She caught Naomi's glare "Ummm… Je suis desole. Too much info, right. Stupid mouth. We're here for you Cook"

"We are" All of us confirmed

I knew he was touched, though he said nothing. The boy paused for a minute, then turned back with his trademark Cheshire cat grin. Before, this façade had made me groan, but now I understood, he led a harsh life, where over-the-top defend mechanism would be needed. In a way, it was strangely reassuring to have our monster back. "Let's go fucking mental! In moderation yeah? Our little guy is eight, you know what I mean?" He laughed, then ran towards his bother's room and slammed his fist on the door as soon as he reached the target "Patrick. Look who's here mate"

A small boy sprang out and jumped into his arms almost immediately "COOK" He squealed, "You came. You got my mail. I knew you would" Something churned inside me as I witnessed such display of affection. 'They are brothers alright' Light brown hair, light blue eyes, loved wearing suspenders. Genetic worked in mysterious way. James Fitch had no common with us in term of look-or personality for that matter- while Eff and Patrick were splitting images of their older bros. "You brought friends?" The boy asked

"And presents. The more the merrier. You remember JJ don't you Pad, No? Aww. You used to call him Harry Potter cuz of his tricks. Panda here wanna show you some twister moves. Thomas' super duper nice yeah? From Congo, he can teach you French, sounds real posh" He bragged about us with pride "Them twins are sweethearts, Katie and Emily" He whispered something about Eff in Pad's ears, made him giggle, to which Effy just smirked and winked "Then there's Naomikins. She knows Kung Fu"

Patrick's face lit up "Like Jackie Chan?"

"Aikido isn't Kung Fu" My girl said "Just for self-defence"

"Cool" He jumped down from his brother's arms and invited us in "Charlie bought tons of presents. Though some of the guidelines are in Japanese. He said it would help my language skill. No fun. Games you can't play"

"Japanese is whizzing wicked, loads of alphabets. Learning can be torturous ain't it Nao chan? So far I can only remember thirty seven types of Kimono" Panda said as we went in. Heck, it was huge, even his bed was unnecessarily gigantic for a kid. Heaps of toys as well as paper wraps stacked up like mountains. Naomi groaned, at long last, a gesture I could understand. My girl wasn't keen on modern toys, fortunately she wasn't someone who forced ideas down your throat. "I remember" Patrick gasped, "Jonah Jeremiah, you're the dragon, with flame and everything" He ran to JJ "We saved the princess on my birthday. Nearly burned the lawn right bruv?" He frowned "Where's Freddie?"

Oh fuck!

"NIPPLE CRIPPLE" Cook roared and snatched his little boy, threw him on the bed "Nipple cripple nipple cripple" Patrick laughed as his brother poked at said sensitive area "Wanna give me a hand?" Cook grinned. Panda and JJ dropped their bags and immediately jumped on board, while Katie grabbed a pillow and smacked it on my face Oiiiiiiii "Gear up wanker" She turned to Effy and made the brunette her next victim, soon enough all of us engaged in either tickle fest or pillow fight, or both. I had never seen Naomi laughed so hard, never seen Effy this cheerful. I pulled my girl down and we ended up rolling on the floor, giggling as our friends busy battled each other like mad cow on steroid. To say Naomi was gorgeous would be an understatement. If she let her hair grow, if she put on some decent dresses … wait a minute. Hair. I knew my girl wasn't blonde, she had natural light brown colour.

A bit like Cook

A Lot like Cook,…

"Alright guys! Present time" Naomi climbed back onto Patrick's bed, and untangled him from the cocoon of sheet which he got stuck in during our combat. "Yayy… Presents. More presents" He smiled brightly. Those brothers were so charming, I watched as Naomi scooped Pad up in her arms. Weird. With the right hair colour them three would look like relatives. 'Urghh, just your imagination Em' I helped JJ gather the gifts and gave them to Cook.

"Happy Birthday bruv" Oh bloody hell! The way he said it, broke my heart

"Wicked" Patrick tore through the papers with glee "When I'm sixteen, I can do things that mom does, and won't be given toys no more"

"Who said that?" Cook scoffed

"Mother did. Adults don't do toys, have to manage the house. I need to help you" Pad replied innocently "You'll come back after University right? You're the eldest. This place is yours" Naomi and Cook went stiff at those words. WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER? GOD! "Cool! Monopoly, I never got to play. Can we play?"

"Sure bruv, but open the rest yeah?"

Patrick grinned and attacked his next gift, delighted to see twister mat emerged from the wrapper. Pandapop would have fun with this one. He opened the last box, which had a cute stuffed beagle inside "Wow. Thanks Cook"

"It's from everyone kiddo"

"Should I name him?" Pad looked at us for ideas

"You can either go classic, like 'Spot' or 'Plato'" JJ offered "or go bit nuts like those celebrities and name him Zarathustra. Statistically most kids choose names from the TV programs they watch. My teddy bear is Captain Spock"

"Funny name for a bear"

"Sho" Cook said, almost to himself

"What?" Naoms panicked, She sure was jumpy today. Everything could set her off, for no apparent reason. Yes, she recoiled when people poked at her past, but no one was poking. And if danger lurked around, why would she come here? Made no sense

"There's this girl. Distant relative" Cook continued "Forgot who she was. Had this dog named Sho something. Can't remember. Thought it was original like. Unique, you know?"

"Sho" Panda mused "Sounds like Japanese. Whizzer name isn't it. Don't think it's for dogs though. Or it might. Sho means soaring, usually… Or justice. Do dogs go with justice Thomo?"

"In my village dogs go with hunting"

"Super!" Patrick jumped up and down on his bed "Sho, Sho, Sho. Soaring. Look how I soar" He smiled at his brother "Can we play? I always want to play Monopoly" Poor Kid! I supposed he never had a chance at broad games since they usually required more than one participant. Cook said his bro didn't have any friends at school, and with a mom like that, who needed playmates?

"I'll go get some food, and drinks." My girl proposed. "Have any cake? It is your birthday"

"Charlie bought one" Pad shrugged "He took care of the food, and bought me lots of toys. Mom said he excelled in housekeeping, because he's queer. I wait until I'm REALLY hungry to eat the cake, the WHOLE cake. Cook can do that, it's so cool" He beamed "Charlie always scowls me when he cleans the kitchen. 'Mister Patrick, a nice young man like you can not be inclined towards such impecunious behaviour'. What is impecunious?"

"Poor" Naomi smiled. "How about we share the cake this time? That way Charlie won't scowl you"

"Will bruv and I get bigger pieces?"

"Of course. Let's party yeah!" At first I thought she was being considerate, until she nudged Panda "Help? Can't bring all of that up here on my own"-It sounded a bit weird, like she was pleading. And the look she gave, I knew that look. The 'I need you' look; she did that to me whenever she wanted some private snogging. Though with Panda, I had no clue what she would need her for. If it was just to carry trays, why not one of the boys? Was this about their 'secret', so to speak? 'Do not pry, Em, do not pry' I forced myself to focus on our board game as they disappeared from the room "So, Who's with who?"

"You're with me" My sister commanded. 'Like you let me team with someone else'. JJ quickly sat next to Thomas, Cook was with Patrick, that meant Eff…

Huh?

Her eyes were glued at the door. I had never seen Effy this… determined and… worry. 'That's strange. Even for her standard' Sure, she was weird, her actions were unpredictable at best, but she didn't care, didn't pry for the sake of it. Unless it had something to do with those she valued, like Cook, for example; then Eff would take matters into her own hands and try to solve things. But Cook seemed fine now, to be honest it was Naomi who…

Naomi

Did Effy notice? Oh for fuck sake! She's Elizabeth Stonem, of course she did. "Where's your state of the art bathroom Cook?" The brunette asked casually "In desperate need for a wee". Thomas' eyes went ultra huge when he heard "Fifth door on the left"- this must be foreign to him, such wealth- Effy nodded and sauntered out like a spy on special call. Unacceptable, plain unacceptable. Who gave her permit to dig into Naomi's past? 'Need a wee' Bollocks! I knew she went looking for my girl, whom I spent weeks, WEEKS, to open up, WEEKS to support without asking for anything in return. Now she finally promised to spill the truth. No one had permission…. 'Since when you become possessive, Fitch?' Naomi did act strange this evening though. May be it wasn't about her secret. May be it wasn't

"Oh no! Stupid income tax" Katie grumbled "Em, where's the money?" I looked at her, but my heart was elsewhere. Whatever Effy had planning, I wouldn't let her do it alone. Naoms was mine, she was my girlfriend, I swore to protect her. If she stuck in some sort of trouble, I couldn't just sit here and play Monopoly while Elizabeth Fucking Stonem played detective.

"Take the money" I shoved piles of paper in Katie's hands "Nature's call" Lame excuse, never had that Stonem finesse to pull off a lie. My feet dashed out of Pad's room before she could spot something strange. Ok… Where were they? I grabbed my mobile. Heck. These large walls made the signal went funky. This mansion reminded me of Castle House Museum, outside it was one typical square block, inside it was a maze. Should start with the kitchen. Hang on. 'Where's the kitchen?' Naomi didn't even ask, was she here before? Did she know the place? What the fuck!

I ran downstairs, logically kitchen was on ground floor. There was this long passage behind the reception hall, must be it. The light was pretty dim though, I observed. Creepy. Where were Ruth's naked entourage? I walked into the bleak darkness, so many doors here, like a hotel. Which one…

"Marvellous. Just marvellous" A man suddenly appeared from nowhere, scared the shit out of me "Touch it! Feel it" He caressed what seemed like a picture of…emmm… boobs. Another two came, they all looked ragged, delusional and inebriate. "Sweet girl" they tried to grab me "Come! Such art! Spread the love. Spread the love yes? It fades… away" Somebody "HELP!" I howled, just to hear my voice died within these thick stones. "Sod. Off. Wankers" I stomped on their feet, made them scream in pain "Here's. Your. Fucking. Love" Luckily they were too enervate to put up a fight "NAOMI, PANDA, YOU GUYS AROUND?" No answers, that meant they weren't here, so I raced upstairs as fast as I could. Jesus Chirst! Did Cook ever consider that Freddie might be raped? Used your son's birthday as an excuse to get fucked up was one thing; this… whatever this was, should be reported to the NSPCC

I was about to reach the top when I caught a tall silhouette moving towards east corridor. Effy. She kept opening one room after another, but did not come in. I followed her footsteps, "Eff, wait" she turned around, smirked when she saw me "You fucked her then?"

"What?"

"Why else are you here? Notice, didn't you? How strange she is" She continued checking out the rooms. "You can't read people the way I do, Fitch. And Naomi's pretty much impalpable, unless you know her well enough to tell the difference. Am I wrong?"

"No, it's just…" I scratched my head, embarrassed "We're together, but not…. Sex. I mean, not yet" Oh, fuck it, this wasn't about me "You think she's in trouble? It's weird, I had a feeling that she knows this place"

"For her kind, this is nothing, she could tell the structure as soon as she saw it" Kind? What kind? "Bingo" Effy's face lit up like Christmas tree as another door flew open. Oh My God. Inside stored rows after rows of shelves, but it wasn't a library, for no books could be found. Instead, portfolios and photographs stacked up sky high. "Hello, Pretty little pictures"

"So, you aren't here for Naoms? I thought you were concern" I asked. She ignored me and checked the date on each shelve "When did Naomi move to Bristol?"

Geez. Talk about changing subject. "Fuck if I know, she was in middle school with us. We were twelve" Effy nodded and walked to the far end. "Look Eff, Naomi said she would tell me the truth. If she's in trouble now, I need to support her; but if it's about her past, then what's done is done. I don't want to pry. She or Panda…" My speech was cut off as one particular picture caught my attention. It was framed and placed on the wall like some sort of prize. 'Those two boy, Princes William and Harry' I had seen this before, on countless postcards. Royal portraits were often stiff with unnatural air - after all, those people didn't live in the same world as us. But this picture, it had life. William was about six, Harry was four, and they both looked mucked up from holding a newborn lamb on soft golden hay. It was so endearing-not because they appeared 'normal'- they were simply children, and that by itself had enough magic

"Ruth's finest work" Effy spoke while flipping through a portfolio "She was good, emphasis on was"

"She took this?"

"Hard to believe isn't it? Didn't know Cook was her son. He doesn't smell the same way, or act the same way. Too much blood from his father side, I guess" Smell? Blood? What is he? A vampire? Effy kept checking those portfolio like she had checked the rooms previously "Ruth is some Lord's granddaughter, didn't inherit his estate, but she got connection. Enough to make her name by photographing aristocrats. The woman is gifted, to be fair, her early portraits are one of a kind"

"You mean" I gasped "Cook has noble blood?"

"Yeah well, it does things to you. High infancy death rate, unstable mentality… Look at Ruth, she went downhill after her husband left. Normal folks would just move on" Effy snickered "Too much inbreeding through the centur…" Her eyes widen in shock, she no longer flipped through the pages, but stared at… whatever she found, face white as ghost. "What is it?" I had never seen Effy speechless before

She closed the portfolio, put it back, and pulled me into her arms. 'Woaaaaaaa' Since when she became… affectionate? "I'm sorry" She whispered in my ears "What?" I freaked. But she refused to let go "There's nothing I can do". Eff released me from her embrace. 'Cryptic much?' She couldn't meet my eyes, just shook her head guiltily, and walked out of the room.

"What was that?" I stood there, dumbfounded, talking to myself. Eff wasn't here to pry, I had a hunch that she was trying to help Naoms, but this theory seemed strange now. How could flipping through pictures help? Not to mention… Oh My God 'There's nothing I can do' Did she…

I grabbed the portfolio which she had just put back moments ago. Portraits after portraits of Lords, Barons, Marquess… greeted me in various poses. My heart hammered down with each page. I kept flipping until my eyes fell upon one particular photo.

The background was breathtaking, as it should. I knew this place. Everyone knew this place, this castle. It was constructed on the highest hill of Derbyshire, thick fogs swirled around it almost throughout the year due to crappy English climate. Vast woodland, as well as large chunk of earth, was swallowed by these curtains of mist; and the castle appeared as if it was built on air, floating to the sky with heavenly grace. No matter who you were-let it be rich or poor, man or woman, artists or critics, such wondrous sight would dazzle you speechless. This glorious achievement of nature and architect was named "The Ascending Palace", which belonged to-If memory served me well-The Duke and Duchess of Harlington, whose treasures could rival that of the reigning Queen. But Ruth specialised in portrait, and this was a portrait of one little girl. She sat solemnly in the foreground of green field, a tri-colour hunting dog rested its head on her lap. They looked quite tranquil amidst the intense wind-which gathered up her long brown hair as it swept through. The palace soared brilliantly behind her back, almost like pure magic. There was something familiar about this girl, the way she shone under the sun, the way her blue eyes glowed. I trailed down and read the printed text

Naomi Josepha Harlington

The Future Heir

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Disclaimer:

Peak District (or Derbyshire) is home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Anything that's related to the Cavendish family is pure coincident, this is fiction guys. My utmost respect to the (late) Andrew and Deborah Cavendish (nee Deborah Mitford) for making Chatsworth what it is today. The Harlington title is something I made up, as well as Ascending Palace, They don't exist.

Some of you know that I'm leaving England, so about update, I don't know, I'll try to keep writing as regularly as I could. Hope to have your support, as always.