"Are you ready?", Charles asked, amusement written all over his face. She took a few deep breaths, taking in her current environment. She was standing on top of the mountain, well at least part of it, she thought to herself, the ski's attached to the matching boots. She could see the rest of the mountains in front of her, the snow glowing under the ray of sunshine, giving it the magical touch it needed.
She still hadn't got used to the beautiful landscape of Switzerland, even going as far as to stand on the balcony, which was attached to the room she and Charles were staying at, for more than an hour. When the mini-van had dropped them off, she saw that they weren't staying at some hotel or resort. They were actually staying at a big chalet, which was just for them. It was like she was in that Chalet Girl movie, only she wouldn't have to work. She was a guest in that house.
She shook off the thoughts of last night and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. She looked at Charles, who was looking really confident on his ski's. "I'm shittin' myself", she said. This morning she had a private skiing lesson for two hours from one of those skiing schools close to the slopes and now it was the time to show what she had actually learned.
"You'll be alright, Dawes", he said. "I promised I'd learn you how to ski, so that's what I'm going to do."
"You don't mind?", she asked.
"I promised, didn't I?", he said, before gesturing for her to come down. They were currently standing at the beginning of the beginners slope. "Now, let's go."
She breathed in one more time before moving her ski's down the mountain. Slowly she started to move, while she saw Charles in the corner of her eyes, following her in the same pace she currently going. She was going faster and faster and quite soon she didn't have control over the ski's anymore. She tried to turn her ski's, but apparently they had a mind of their own, doing exactly the opposite of that; it only made her go faster.
"Charles!", she yelled, the fear slowly creeping up on her, like it was hidden in the dark shadows behind the street corner of one of the roads in London during night. How the bleedin' hell was she going to slow down? She couldn't just hit the brake like she would do on her bike.
"Put the ski's horizontal. It slows you down!"
"I don't know what the fuck that means!" Fear was taking control over her, since she still her speed was accelerating. She had to do something, so she did the only thing she could think off. She let herself fall down on the snow, making her stop from moving down the mountain.
She expected to be falling on some soft snow, instead she felt a pair of ski's stinging into her back, causing pain to shot thought her body. Apparently Charles was closer than she originally thought and she couldn't stop herself from landing completely on top of him. "Sorry", she said, apologetic but also cheeky at the same time. They must have looked absolutely ridiculous.
She looked at him, making eye contact with the man who was supposed to teach her how to ski. Oh, what a joke! She couldn't ski, nor would she ever be as good as the rest of those damned skiers. It's hardly fair they get to be that good, when she falls flat on her back every time she tried. Must have driven that instructor crazy, she thought back to the lessons.
She chuckled, which turned into audible laughter. "I suck at skiing", she said, shaking her head while she tried to untangle herself from him. "It's even worse than me drivin'."
"I agree", he simply said, like he was mocking her. Oh, he was definitely taking the piss out of her right now.
"Oi", she said, throwing a bit of snow into his face. "You're supposed to be a gent and tell me that I ain't that bad."
His eyebrows temporarily shot up to his hairline, before returning to the position where they belonged. "You drive like shit, Dawes", he said, also throwing a bit of snow into her direction. "My poor beamer found that out the hard way."
"It was only a small scratch", she defended herself, while demonstrating with her finger how tiny that scratch was exactly. "Very, very tiny." When she came back from her second tour, turning up at his parent's house to surprise, he taught her how to drive. It turned out to be a massive disaster, even going as far as she hit another car with the outside mirror.
He simply laughed, making another attempt to get her of off him, when they heard a familiar voice behind them. A few moments later Nathalie stopped next to them, while letting her skiing goggles rest on her forehead. "I don't want to sound like a know-it-all", she said, cheeky smile present on her face. "But you usually ski standing up straight. Not sliding down the slopes together."
She frowned, while continuing to mock their current state. "But if you find that romantic, please… Carry on."
Charles displayed his polite smile, well that's what she called it when he was trying to be all serious and that, while he said: "Well, since you're here", he said, slightly pushing Molly of off him and extending his hand to Nathalie. "Give us a hand."
"Massive cockwombles", Nathalie muttered, while she helped them both to their feet. She shook off the snow that was still attached to them, before Nathalie started to ski down again.
"Shall we give it another go, Dawes?", he asked.
She turned to him, putting on the ridiculous looking goggles on again. "Why the fuck not, Boss…", she said before moving down the slopes, closely followed by Charles.
The darkness that the evening brought with them surrounded the chalet family James was currently staying at. They had finished their dinner and were relaxing in the living room, the flames of open fireplace dancing around in their little space, giving the room perfect glow.
Their adventure on the slopes this afternoon turned out better than she expected. After a few falls down on the backside she started to get the hang of skiing, even once managing to get down the slopes without falling. A great achievement, she thought.
"Seriously, Nat", she heard Edward say. "What could possibly lead to a suspension?" She must have dozed off or had been in such deep thought that she hadn't noticed the change in conversation.
"Edward", Charles said, the underlying warning evident in his voice. She was leaning back on the couch, her head slightly against Charles' shoulder. In the corner of her eyes she saw that Charles' mother Olivia had a worried look on her face, before looking at the one that was being accused; Nathalie. The brunette was still sitting in one of the comfortable chairs, her face tense, not showing any emotion.
"I mean", Edward continued, not listening to the warning that was given him. "You only translate the things that are being said. How could you ever screw something like that up?"
"You don't know anything", she snapped. In moments like these she was happy that she didn't have to hide her job from her family. She wasn't allowed to say what she actually did on tour, but at least she could tell them she was a medic. She didn't have to lie about that.
Edward chuckled while he shook his head in disbelieve, like his previous words didn't mean anything at all. "Well, it has you written all over it, Nathalie."
"And what exactly are you trying to say, eh?", Nathalie said, slightly leaning forward, giving her older brother her full attention. The stony look that she had displayed on her face, was gone. Her face showed the first cracks of anger.
"Nothing."
"Maybe you need to learn how to shut up for once in your life", she said, pointing her finger at him when she said the word you.
"What do-…"
She interrupted her brother, her voice raised in anger. "No, for once don't respond. Don't have your fucking political answer at the ready. You need to shut up when you don't know the details."
"Children, please", Olivia tried to smooth thing over, but the attempt was in vain.
"Just forget it, mum", she said, standing up from the chair she had been occupying and making her way towards the front door.
"Well done, Eddy", Charles said sighting. Edward threw his hands in the air, like he was showing that he didn't do anything wrong. But it was far from that. It must have been hard for Nathalie, thinking that she could lose her job like that. She didn't know what to do without the army. Without the army she would have never found the happiness that was currently present in her life. She would turn out exactly like her mum, a house full of children and a stupid, lazy man as her husband.
She stood up. "I'm gonna go after her", she said to Charles, who simply nodded. She took the few steps forward, before opening the front door. Shivers were running down her spine when the cold of the night hit her face, then her entire body. Small clouds formed in front of her face every time she breathed out, like she was smoking a bloody cigarette.
She noticed that Nathalie had taken a seat on one of the wooden benches, positioned against the wooden walls of the chalet. She walked towards her, silently taking a seat next to her sister in law. "You alright?"
Nathalie sniffled, like she had been crying. "Yeah, alright." The brunette turned her head, the traces the tears left behind visible in the small light provided by the moon. "He doesn't know what he's saying. Sometimes these things hurt, you know?"
She nodded. She could, sort off, understand. When she had told her parents she was going to join the army, she wasn't getting the support she had hoped for. Of course, she didn't expect her parents to be jumping for joy, but still… A little support would come a long way. "Sorry", she simply said.
"Not your fault."
"It does feel like it", she confessed. "I mean, you would never be here if it weren't for me."
"It's not your fault, Molly", Nathalie answered, her voice soft in the rustle of the wind. "You never forced me to make that choice. I made it, fully aware of the consequences."
"But I-" Molly sputtered.
Nathalie held up her hand, interrupting her. "No", she said strongly, putting both her hands on either of Molly's shoulders while looking her in the eye. "Don't feel guilty. I won't let you. It's not your fault, any of it. Alright?"
"Yeah."
"Good", she said with a small smile on her face. She let go of Molly's shoulders and continued: "Now, be a dear and get me some scotch. Been dying for a drink ever since my stupid brother opened his mouth."
"Yes, ma'am." She stood up and saluted her sister in law, who simply laughed at her mocking. Not a few moments later Molly came back with two glasses and the bottle of scotch, quickly pouring both of them a drink. They toasted, the touching of the glasses made a familiar noise, before downing the first shot.
They quickly filled the glasses again, when they heard the front door crack. With a soft bang the door closed behind Edward, who was now standing in the cold. Nathalie didn't say anything, simply downed another amount of the amber coloured liquor.
"What are you doing?", he asked. He noticed the bottle and added: "Right, should have figured that one out."
Nathalie simply ignored her brother, downing yet another shot of whiskey. "You're setting a very good example, Nathalie", he continued when his sister didn't respond. She couldn't quite describe the look on his face, but it looked a lot like he was judging her, like he was better than her. "Getting drunk on a family holiday. Excellent."
"Just fuck off, Eddy. Go and be interesting somewhere else."
"Don't use that kind of language around here", he said shocked, like he never heard anyone curse before. "The children might here you."
"Right, nothing can get in the away of your political career", Nathalie said sarcastically. "Well, I'm not a puppet who's gonna dance to your tune."
"There is no reasoning with you when you're in this state. I'm going back in. We'll talk tomorrow."
Edward made his way back inside while Nathalie muttered under her breath: "Un –fucking- likely."
She poured them another shot of whiskey, only this time she took a few sips of it instead of downing it. Molly also took a sip from the scotch, feeling the alcoholic liquid gliding down her throat. "Has it always been like this?", Molly asked after a few moments of silence, complete silence. Not the silence she experienced in London, when there was always the noise of traffic and other people disturbing your thoughts.
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Must've been hard."
Nathalie shrugged her shoulders. "I guess", she said. "Luckily I had Charles, still have. That makes the things a lot easier."
"And now you have me too", Molly said, before bursting into laughter, finding her joke very funny.
"Lovely", Nathalie answered sarcastically.
"Shut up."
Silence came between them again, reigned the atmosphere between them. The light side of the conversation disappeared into the dark corners, into the unknown of the shadows, while being replaced by the seriousness of the earlier conversation.
"Edward and I never got along", she admitted. "I mean… I drink, I smoke, I curse like a fucking trooper and my body's covered in tattoo's. Not exactly what a politician wants for a sister."
"We all have family we ain't ever wishin' we had", she said, understanding dominated the tone of her voice. She did understand what it was like to feel ashamed for the family she got. She wasn't always proud to admit who her dad really was, especially not when she had to talk in front of those recruits during one of the selection rounds.
"Well, I refuse to change so he can get ahead in his career. I'd be lying if I did." She paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "Exactly why I find politicians such hypocrites."
Molly chuckled. "And yet you work for the government."
"Clever one, Dawesy", Nathalie said, shaking her head while a smile appeared on her face.
Another big thank you for the one who have reviewed the last chapter. I am glad you are enjoying this and it would be very lovely if everyone would review this chapter. It would be very nice to hear what you think about this story.
So, I have one more chapter for this and then the epilogue. Then, unfortunately, this story will come to an end.
Hope you have enjoyed this, and a review would be very, very nice :) So, please, push that little button underneath the story and review away!