Hello darlings.. Here is the next chapter. Enoy.
Thank you, Delilah. You are wonderful beta! Luv u.
Cruella De Vil stood there trying to get past this British little bitch. She needed to talk to Miranda, but this little red head stood there and told her she can go piss some where else. That the Queen of Fashion wasn't taking any visitors. Especially her! The fire in those eyes made Cruella think twice about her actions. She took her cigarettes and was about to light one up when the red head snatched it out of her hand and crushed it.
"You bloody well know, you can not smoke in here!" Oh, this one has spunk! Cruella felt her inner voice spoke to her and reach out to the younger red head.
"Is that so, my dear?" She gave the red head her crazy smile which usually made people run for the safety, but it didn't do a thing for the red head. She just stared her hard straight in the eye.
"What is your name?"
"Emily Charlton and you better remember that one."
"Oh, my dear. I will." With a smile she spun around and left the Runway office. On her way down she felt something inside of her wake. What a spunky little red head! Her inner self yelled with satisfied laughter. When she got out of the elevator she called her private detective.
"Sam, I want to know everything about Emily Charlton." She hung up and went back to her mansion. She had met her match and she wouldn't let that go. No no. Curella wanted to know Emily. Why had she been to see Miranda? Oh, yes. She really wanted to know if the old bird was really leaving Runway for Andy.
Miranda had heard the fight outside her office and she smirked. Emily really had grown up under her wings and she really will be something else. She will make Emily be the best she can for Nigel to use. She will be the new Nigel.
"Emily." Her low voice said.
"Yes, Miranda." The red head woman stood in front of her.
"How is my new second assistant doing?"
"Quite well, Miranda. She still have things to learn but they can be learned on the run." Emily was standing there like a good solder.
"Good. She is new you. Starting now." Startled Emily froze and her face was filled with horror. "And you report to Nigel to be new Nigel." Emily's mouth opened in shock. The red head didn't have any words to say. She turned stunned to leave, but before she got out. "And Emily, make me proud. That's all." Miranda smiled to the red head and finally Emily smiled to her after she had collected her thoughts. "I will do my best, Miranda." With those words the red head left her office to inform the second assistant to be the first. She heard the woman say: "If you screw this up, it's on me. So DO NOT SCREW UP!"
"Sheila." She called next and the dark blond walked in face full of wonder. "You need to find a second assistant to replace you. Tomorrow I wont be in at all. After the photo shoot which Andrea has arranged for me I want to have dinner ready at my home for two. And don't bother with the book tonight. Give it to Nigel to look over. Coffee in five minutes. That's all." She turned her back to the woman and studied the world outside. She was really quitting Runway and she really could smile honestly about it.
When she was about to go home the small man known as Irving came in to meet her.
"Well well, Miranda. You really are leaving." He smiled like he had won.
"Yes and you will be too. For good." Miranda gave the man her own smile which told him to be careful which the man really didn't know never to do.
"Miranda, you know as well as I. I will always be here." The man was about to leave.
"Irving, don't be so sure what I know. I may know more than you would like me to know." With those words she stole the elevator which Irving was about to take. With puzzled look on his face he let the doors slide close. In a few days the man would know what hit him and now he knew who had hit him. She laughed and she scared every person in the lobby when the doors opened and she just laughed for her own enjoyment.
When she got home, she heard her lovely girls laughing in their kitchen. Her Andrea was there with them, but the fourth voice was surprise to her. She had a hard time to get used to hear her own mother's voice in her townhouse. It had been along time she had heard it at all and now it seemed to be there all the time. Miranda was jealous, it seemed the older woman was always there with her family and she wasn't. There was something wrong with this picture, Miranda should be there and not her. But her jealousy was gone when her arms were filled by her children and after that there was Andrea filling them and kissing her jealousy away. Forgotten was her jealousy for now, dinner was wonderful like always and she could taste her mothers cooking in it too. Miranda hadn't noticed until now that she had missed it. Her mother was a wonderful cook and some of that talent had luckily come off to her too.
Getting to know her mother was quite easy after they had apologised each other. It was like then when she had been a child and talked to her mother about everything and her mother to her. Miranda did try to ask about her father but her mother didn't like to talk about him, but she did tell her that the old bastard cheated on her more than once and she had wanted out so many times but he hadn't let her go. Miranda did understand her mother's actions but her fathers death was still a mystery to her, but when she did study her mother while she talked about the man. She did notice some changes in the older woman, a hint of hiding something about it, but Miranda let it be for now. Maybe someday, her mother would tell her the truth and she wouldn't judge her. Miranda had never really known her father and it sounded like it was better for her not to know. She had her share of cheating men so she knew what her mother talked about.
The dinner had been nice. Her whole family together sharing their day with all of them. It was something special to wait for. It didn't matter what kind of a day you had, but when you did get home you forgot everything after you had shared it with your family. It was something Miranda wanted to continue with her family which she did share with her family agreeing to it. The girls cleaned up their left overs while the adults went to the entertainment room to sit and enjoy the rest of their wine. They changed some formalities like they always did about work. Then her mother got serious. "I have been thinking of retiring myself."
Andrea seemed to know what she was talking about, but Miranda didn't.
"What on earth do you mean? You haven't been working since father died."
"Oh, I have been." She gestured for Andrea to tell.
"You see, your mother is quite a magnificent person." Miranda rolled her eyes to that. "Do you remember when I asked you about the Red Queen?" Miranda barely remembered that one but she did nod. "Your mother is the Red Queen." It took a second or two to Miranda understand what her lover had just told her. "The Red Queen is my mother?"
"Yes." Andrea confirmed.
"And you knew?"
"I...well. Not then when I asked you about her, but after I asked Piper to look in to it.. there was too many things which clicked on her."
"Miranda, your fiancee is quite good what she does. When we did meet for the first time she had all figured out by then and she was armed better than I was and she did have better deal than I did."
"Deal?"
"Nothing to worry about any more, it is over now, but I am getting old and Andrea here did show me it was time for me to quit." Her mother sipped her wine. "And I have offered to Andrea continue my job with all of my contacts and resources to use."
"And I told her yes if you are my partner in crime." Andrea smiled her wicked smile. She already knew she would love to do what her mother did. She may even be better than the original Red Queen.
"I need to think about this." She told her mother.
"Yes, that would be very good idea." Her mother stood up. "Well, it is getting late and I need to head home. We will talk more later on." She kissed Andrea and Miranda for good night. The twins were already running down to meet her and say their good nights.
Andy lay in their bed and played her day over. It had been busy for the most part because everything needed to be perfect for Miranda. Tomorrow the photo shoot would take it's place and when she got home to find Katharina with the twins cooking nice meal for them to enjoy she knew something was up with the red queen. They had sat down for a while before their dinner was ready to enjoy. The girls had gone to play Wii while they sipped their wine.
"Andrea, I need to talk to you about something."
"Okay." Andy waited.
"I am getting old." Yet again Andy tried to tell otherwise. "Andrea, you showed me that I am getting old yourself. You showed me that this game of mine is getting too difficult for me to play." That did shut her up. "I want you to continue to be the Red Queen with all the resources and contacts to do so." Andy had been stunned. It had taken at least two minutes for her to say anything. "Me?"
"Yes, you have what it will take to be the Red Queen." Katharina had been studying her. That's why she had been here so often.
"Only if Miranda will be my partner in crime."
"Crime? Do you really think my job is crime and if you do, what makes you think that Miranda would like to be apart of that life?" Andy had smiled knowingly.
"I know. You should have seen her when she was giving Stephen's punishment. She was natural."
"Hmm. Perhaps she may be a good addition."
Addition my ass, Andy thought. She will rock the house until it is burned down and after that, dance on it! She woke from her thoughts when Miranda growled on her side and lay her head on Andy's shoulder.
"I can't believe my mother is the Red Queen."
"I can." She kissed Miranda's forehead. "After knowing you it is quite easy to believe her to be the Red Queen."
"Well, when you put it like that." Miranda smiled. "Should we do this?"
"Only if you're in it with me." Truthfully Andy wanted it more than anything. She wanted to be the Red Queen.
"Alright."
"Really? You want us to be the Red Queen?" Andy rolled the older woman under her.
"Yes, really." With those words Andy kissed her fiancee with all of her passion.
Did you think I forgot Cruella?
Well, I didn't. You may feed my muse... ;)
