"Aleksander," Dr. Barlow noted calmly as the young prince entered her office at the London Zoo. "How very good to see you again. Do have a seat. I just need to finish this report and I will be right with you."
Alek sat awkwardly in the leather chair facing the boffin's desk. He glanced around the rather large office with its posh furnishings. The bookshelves were filled to bursting, and Tazza slumbered soundly in the corner of the room. Dr. Barlow's perspicacious loris was sitting contently on the boffin's desk, looking curiously at Alek, as if trying to place him. Alek had last seen the beastie back in 1916, when he had left the Leviathan at the news of his great uncle's death.
"Alek!" the loris deduced, then giggled. Alek grinned and reached forward to scratch its head. It made a purring noise at the contact.
Dr. Barlow glanced up from her paper. "Where is Bovril?" she asked slightly concerned.
"I left it at the hotel. It seemed rather content with the bowl of strawberries that the staff brought up this morning," he answered. "Plus it may prove easier to conduct my business here today without Bovril."
Dr. Barlow sat her pen down on the desk and raised an eyebrow at him. "Am I correct in assuming that you have not come here today for the soul purpose of seeing me?"
Alek blushed, embarrassed. "I do apologize ma'am. Although getting to see you is, in fact, an added bonus. I'm afraid my business here is more for selfish reasons."
"Oh," she said giving him a knowing smile.
"I am aware that you have been keeping a correspondence with Volger since we left the Leviathan," he stated simply.
"Indeed we have."
"A few days ago, Volger hinted that you also knew the whereabouts of a certain former midshipman."
"Are you referring to Mr. Newkirk?" the boffin asked innocently.
Alek cleared his throat. "No, and I'm certain that you know exactly who I am talking about."
Dr. Barlow leaned back in her chair slightly. "I might know of Miss Sharp's current location. But I must ask, what exactly are your intentions when you do find her? I happen to know for a fact that the two of you have not been keeping a correspondence since you left the Leviathan."
"We had thought it easier not to," Alek replied, then continued soberly, "especially because, at the time, we had thought that I would be Emperor."
"I am sorry to hear about the split of your country," Dr. Barlow said sympathetically. "You should not blame yourself. You did everything you could."
"I am aware of that," he nodded, then quickly dropped the subject. "Once it was clear that I was not meant to be Emperor, I began trying to locate Deryn." Alek suddenly sat up straighter in his chair and gave Dr. Barlow a serious look. "I plan on finding her and marrying her, the sooner the better."
The boffin raised both eyebrows at this statement, and then abruptly stood. Alek quickly rose from his chair, per protocol in the presence of a lady. She crossed the room to where Tazza had just awoken and attached a leash around his neck.
"Far be it from me to stop true love," she said, with just a hint of sarcasm. She turned to Alek and smiled at him. "Take a walk with me, Alek. We have much to discuss." She handed the leash to the young man. "You can walk Tazza. It will be just like old times."
OOO
"A few weeks after you left the Leviathan, Miss Sharp's secret was, most unfortunately, discovered," Dr. Barlow began as they strolled along the walkways through the zoo. Despite having grown a bit since his time on the airship, Alek was still being unceremoniously dragged along by Tazza.
"Tazza, do stop that at once," the boffin scolded the thylacine then continued her story. "It was that Mr. Hirst who finally realized there was something not quite right about Mr. Sharp and alerted the captain immediately.
"Naturally, I fought tooth and nail to keep Miss Sharp on the ship, considering that she was the best midshipman anyone had every seen. But by that time, I'm afraid, the captain was quite done with trying to please me and insisted that both Miss Sharp and I depart from the ship once we reached London." Alek stared in shock at Dr. Barlow. He couldn't believe the captain would do such a senseless thing to someone so important.
She seemed to read his thoughts. "You can rest assured Alek, that Hobbes is no longer serving as Captain of the Leviathan. I think I heard that he is currently stationed in Siberia on one of smaller, older air beasts." She winked at him.
"Upon our arrival here in London, I offered to take Miss Sharp in so I could act as a sort of mentor to her. Her mother was, of course, thrilled with the prospect, especially since I planned on helping Miss Sharp become a proper young lady." She sighed heavily, but Alek dared not ask how that went. "She studied as my assistant while attending the University of London and graduated just a few months ago, highest in her class."
Dr. Barlow and Alek walked silently for a few moments. The prince was trying to process what the boffin had just told him. Deryn, it seemed, had done well with her life. "Wait," Alek finally spoke, realizing something. "Does this mean that she is…" he allowed his voice to trail off.
"A boffin? Yes," Dr. Barlow answered. "One of the best in fact."
"And where is she now?" Alek asked hesitantly.
Dr. Barlow smiled at him. They suddenly turned a corner to find themselves in a large open area of the zoo. Alek gasped at what he saw before him. An air beast was tethered to the ground. It was a bit smaller than he remembered the Leviathan being and looked much different. The ship itself was long and slender, the membrane a metallic blue and sporting a large sail-like fin on the topside. The front of the airship ended in a lengthy and pointed bill, almost resembling a sword.
"Dr. Sharp is currently up there," Dr. Barlow said, nodding toward the air beast, "conducting an inspection."
Alek gaped for a second before remembering himself. "What exactly is it, ma'am?"
"It's an Atlantic Sailfish, the fastest known sea creature. It was designed to handle a smaller crew, but will travel much quicker than the other air beasts. It was actually designed by Dr. Sharp herself while she was still attending university." Dr. Barlow practically glowed with pride.
"God's wounds," Alek breathed. It was almost too much to take in. The air beast was extremely impressive and left him astounded, but the fact that Deryn was only a few yards away from him made his stomach flutter and his heart speed up.
"Come, Alek. I think Dr. Sharp could use a distraction just about now." The boffin strolled on ahead, with Alek dragging Tazza along behind her. Many of the other boffins standing about tipped their hats in acknowledgement of Dr. Barlow, who in turn nodded back. As they neared the ship, she ordered a young assistant to bring her a message lizard.
The assistant caught up as they reached the air beast. Dr. Barlow held the small beastie delicately in her hands and spoke her message. "Dr. Sharp, your presence is required at the bow side of the ship. There is a man here to see you. End message." She sat the message lizard on one of the ropes keeping the airship anchored to the ground and together they watched it scamper topside.
"You were a bit vague Dr. Barlow," Alek casually observed.
"That was for your convenience, Alek," she answered. "I can't speak for Dr. Sharp, but I imagine if she knew it was you she might have a few choice words prepared. This way you have the upper hand."
Not five minutes later the message lizard returned. Alek waited in breathless anticipation to finally hear Deryn's voice again.
"Oi, it's not that bloke from Oxford again is it?" Alek almost choked. There was a heavy sigh from the lizard and then, "let me finish this inspection and then I'll be down in half a squick." The lizard closed its mouth then scurried away.
"I thought you said you were going to teach her to be a proper lady," Alek said.
Dr. Barlow gave an exasperated sigh. "There are some things Aleksander, that even I cannot accomplish." The boffin rolled her eyes. "She's just lucky that she's a brilliant boffin."
Alek stifled a laugh and received an annoyed look from Dr. Barlow. She suddenly pulled a watch from her jacket pocket and looked at.
"Unfortunately, Alek, I do have another engagement in ten minutes. I'm sure you can handle Dr. Sharp just fine on your own," she smiled and took the leash from his hand. "Come Tazza. Good luck Alek." She turned and walked purposefully from the airfield.
A/N: What's this, another one? Holy crikey! So no worries, this is a two parter, although I really should get started on the second part. And I do believe this is my longest so far. Maybe. Anyway, hope you like!