Evie examined the young man that was behind the bar beside Rose. He was tall, well fit, he had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, and it looked like he was beginning to grow a five o'clock shadow. She noticed his style appeared to be similar to Jacobs when they were teens, which left her feeling a bit uneasy. The older lass was beginning to worry a bit, wondering if he could possibly be Jacob's unknown son. When she saw he had Jacob's old necklace that Evie thought he let go of or lost, that made her suddenly freeze. Stress fell upon her to where she tried to find the words to bring up a serious topic in a casual way.
"Um... my apologies for asking, but who happens to be this handsomely young lad standing beside you, Ms. Moore?" Evie spoke as calmly as she could, trying not to expose her feel of discomfort.
"Hm? Oh! U-um... this happens to be my son Samuel." Rose cackled faintly, appearing uncomfortable as she answered, "Samuel, meet Dame Evie Frye. The one I told you stories about."
"Hm? Oh, you're Sir Jacob's sister, correct?" The young man grinned, looking joyful to finally meet someone he was looking forward to seeing.
The word, sister, made her feel a small twinge, but she forced a smile with a nod, "You are correct, young man."
How the devil do I ask this young man such an out of the blue, serious question without sounding awkward? Evie asked herself, Well... here goes nothing...
"I'm quite sorry to ask you such questions out of the blue, but... How old are you, young man?" She asked with a grin, Please don't say eighteen... She prayed, suddenly feeling as though it was dejavu when she asked him that.
"Eighteen. Why do you ask, Ms. Frye?" He cocked his head to the side, confused.
Damn it all to hell! Why did my dream end up with something this true?! Evie inwardly screamed, palming herself in the face mentally.
"Oh, j-just curious. One last question... Where's your father?" She felt punched in the gut right after asking such an oddly earnest question.
Jacob sounded like he was about to choke on his drink when hearing Evie ask that. "Evie, why are you asking such a question like that to a lad you just met?!" Jacob whispered, a bit befuddled.
"I'm just inquisitive about this young lad, alright?!" Evie whispered in turn, awaiting impatiently for an answer.
"He... Last I heard, he passed not long after my birth. Or so my mother has informed me." He responded, looking afflictive, "But with Jacob's last visit, he has been the greatest father figure I've ever had. So... if anything, he feels like a father to me."
Jacob beamed graciously at the young lad, holding up his drink towards him.
Right when Evie heard that, she felt like she just got the wind knocked out of her. "Hold on a moment..." She came back to her senses right after hearing last visit. "Jacob... what does this young lad mean by last visit?"
Jacob was so close to spitting out his drink, "Um... l-let's go to the train and I'll inform you there, sweet sister." He cackled with uneasiness.
"One moment, one last question." She held up her hand towards Jacob, her index finger in the air, looking away from the older lad, "Ms. Moore, may I ask a personal question? In private, please?"
"O-Oh! O-Of course, Ms. Frye." She compelled a simper with a meagerly distressful laugh. She put effort into keeping herself composed when she followed Evie to the far corner of her bar, as far away as they could be so Jacob nor Samuel could hear. "What is it you need to ask of me?" She tried her best to sound calm and collected.
"Please tell me he is not Jacob's son!" Evie got straight to the point, gritting her teeth, disorganized on how to take it all in.
"Oh, no. His father is named Samuel." Rose smiled gingerly, succeeding on her distortion, "That's why his name is Samuel. I named him after his father." She added unnecessary information.
Evie was skeptical of her lie, but it was instantly set aside when she wanted to learn more of what was said earlier about Jacob's last visit.
"Time to head home, brother dearest!" Evie tugged on Jacob's collar, leading him to drop his glass, pulling him back, practically dragging him back to the train.
"W-Wait! Darling sister! I have to meet Abberline in--" All it took was Evie's glare to make him heal and follow her orders. "I'm so sorry, Rose! I'll pay you back for that glass!" Jacob yelled out to her, hiding his look of fear by an unwillingly tittered as he waved a good bye. "Please give mercy on me, love..." He whimpered, glancing up at Evie, afraid to release himself by her strong grasp.
"May God have mercy on that poor man's soul..." Sarah walked out from the back room, watching Jacob be pulled out of the bar.
"Indeed..." Rose let out a mild laugh.
The train was near so she continued to haul him away with a huff, not giving a hint of exhaustion when tugging him.
"E-Evie, you can let me go... I would gladly walk right along side--?!" He choked, when she yanked his collar as though it was a warning, "Alright, darling... alright." Which was then followed by a growl, showing him a sign that he just needed to keep his mouth shut the whole way through.
"Ms. Frye!" Agnus said with a grin, "I neva expected to see ye back here."
"Ms. Macbean." Evie put on a kindly expression as she walked passed Agnus.
Evie's smile soon faded once she looked away and was out of Ms. Macbean's sight, heading to her old room. The older twin practically threw the younger one ahead of her. Jacob squirmed away from her, acting like a scared cat. The old lad felt pathetic. He wondered to himself on when the hell he let Evie take lead over him. The younger twin found it quite attractive, yes, but at this moment. He found it deplorable. Within a matter of seconds the door was shut and locked. Once Jacob heard those sounds with full force, he froze, preparing himself for the worst.
"Jacob. Ethan. Frye!" Evie grumbled, "When the hell did you start returning here?" She marched up to him, "I thought we promised we would never return to our past! What made you hide this from me?!"
Jacob jolted by each stomp, forcing him to scoot himself back into a wall. He gradually stood up when he sensed she was finished. The younger twin held up his hands, preparing to surrender as he haltingly built up his courage to speak.
"W-Well... the last time I was here was in the autumn of 1888." He lied, wanting to tell more, but felt if he did, he'd get into an even bigger dilemma. "I-I was given a letter from Abberline. He informed me of this murderer known as Jack the Ripper and pleaded for my return to assist him on solving the case." Jacob stated, having recollections of the real truth. I'll just tell her later when everything is solved and settled down... He thought to himself.
Why didn't I get one then...? Evie thought to herself.
1874
Spring
Jacob climbed his way up to the top of The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. When he reached the very top of it, he sat down and rested, looking out at the citizens hustling and bustling. It was nothing really new to Jacob. Or so he viewed it. A sigh escaped his lips as he lied back down, closing his eyes.
It hasn't even been a year yet and Jacob already started getting tired of Florence, Italy. He will admit he loved it, but only because it made Evie happy and he was able to fight right by her side again. Though, Jacob also couldn't complain about the new techniques he learned from Marcello, which he thought sadly enough, but it didn't feel as great as it did in London. He missed his gang. He missed the action. And oddly and sadly enough, he missed Rose. The young man knew it was wrong, but he corrected himself, saying he misses her presence. Her company seemed to be positive and friendly and every day felt new to him. She felt like a best friend to him which he missed. Jacob exhaled deeply, looking up at the sky, thinking of moments he spent with her and his gang in London. He shut his eyes as more sighs continued to escape his lips.
"Mr. Frye! Hold on a moment! Don't forget your jacket!" Rose yelled out, catching up to him, "Good luck on the fight."
"Thanks, Ms. Moore." He smirked, grabbing his jacket.
"Here, some medicine if you ever get injured." Rose laughed, feeling doubt that he'd ever get hit.
"I will say, I wouldn't have any complaints, as long as I get healed by you." He chuckled, "Though from that smile I see there, you believe I won't get hit, don't you?" The young man gave a sly grin.
"Oh, how you can read me like a book." She beamed, breathing out a small laugh.
Jacob sighed, "Oh, how I wish you could come and see me fight." He mumbled, looking down.
"What did you say, Mr. Frye?" Rose cocked her head to the side, getting closer to hear him better.
"Oh! N-Nothing to worry about!" Jacob let out an awkward chortle, "I'll see you when I'm done!" He rushed out, What the bloody hell is wrong with me? The young man thought to himself.
Jacob wondered to himself on why that moment appeared in his mind when it was just a small little wish of good luck to a small fight. The young man opened his eyes again and suddenly had the urge to reach out. A small smile ran across his face as he recalled the addresses. Once those addresses entered his mind, he bolted home from roof to roof just so he can reach out to his friends that are hopefully still in London.
Evie rested in her comfortable chair in the living room, reading up on some of the information Marcello left her so she could study on the areas in Florence, Italy. Jacob obviously chose to just roam around, confidently believing he would not get lost (which he obviously did get lost most of the time there so far), while as for Evie, she had the sense to look at the map, to try to remember every place by heart.
The older twin heard a door open, assuming it was Jacob, making her rest her book on the arm of her chair and stand up to greet Jacob when he entered the house. "Welcome back, Jacob." Evie spoke with a grin. When she looked up at him, seeing a gentle smile on his face, she felt it was finally time to confess something to Jacob. "I have some great news to tell you." She walked up to him, looking cheerful as ever.
The younger twin was about to head to their bedroom to get a pen and paper, hoping to find an envelope as well, "Hm? Oh, what is it, Darling?" But he stopped in his tracks, curious on what it could possibly be.
Evie grabbed hold of Jacob's hand, exposing a soft smile as she placed it on her stomach. Jacob was dumbfounded at first, but once he had the memory of when she did this before was when she told him she was pregnant.
"W-Wait... are you telling me..." His eyes widened, a grin running across his face, barely able to finish his sentence, leading Evie to finish it for him.
"I'm pregnant!" She responded with a grin from ear to ear.
Jacob instantly picked her up with a huge smile on his face, spinning around with her in his arms, filled with a feeling of joy and excitement. He set her down and showered her with kisses before getting on his knees. The young man looked up at Evie with the same huge smile before wrapping his arms around her waist and placing a soft kiss on her stomach. He rested his forehead on her stomach as he placed his hands alongside it. He was overwhelmed with happiness that he just couldn't let go. At that moment he knew he could wait to send a letter later. The main topic on his mind now was Evie's pregnancy.
Present Time...
Jacob was about to let out a small chuckle and a soft smile, but he knew if he did, that would lead him to spilling out more of what he hid from her. Jacob looked over at Evie, a small grin still appearing.
"Why are you smiling?" Evie questioned, thinking of what else there was he was obviously hiding.
"I'm sorry, love." He laughed, a feel of awkwardness filling the air, "I was sent a letter four years ago, giving me information about this notorious serial killer known as, Jack the Ripper."
"Okay... and why exactly are you smiling about this so-called, Jack the Ripper?" Evie asked, curious to know more.
"Ah, yes. Sorry, sorry, love..." He gave an uncomfortable simper, trying to figure out what to say, "Well, I'm smiling because, it reminds me that Rose and I were able to defeat him." Once he heard himself say that out loud, he knew he shouldn't have added Rose to that sentence.
Jacob looked at Evie, already feeling the air become heavy. Right when he saw her eyes go dark, a growl escaping, her hands turned into tight fists, it was at this moment he knew... he fucked up.
"Now, Evie... If you're thinking what I think you're thinking then please do not let your emotions take over like last time." He held up his hands, motioning her to calm down and take a breather as he slid down into the corner like a scared child, "Nothing happened between her and I, alright? It was all platonic, and Abberline was beside us, too. Trust me."
"Why should I trust you after finding out you've lied to me the past four years?!" Evie shouted, letting her emotions get to her, which Jacob knew was very unlike her.
"It was a secret not a lie, Evie!" Jacob bit back by sudden habit, "You of all people should know the difference since you read more than I do!" He stated, feeling like an idiot for pointing out something he knew would cause him a death sentence, "And I'm sorry, Evie. Truly I am, but honestly... do you blame me?"
Evie fell silent, some bitterness still brewing inside her as she stopped to think. "Jacob... I miss this place as much as you do, but you know this city will not accept this kind of relationship we have. Everyone here practically knows us. How do you think they would react if they find out the guardians that took care of London are siblings who are in love with each other?" The older twin brought up, a feeling of sadness stirring in with her slight bitterness, "Do you honestly think they'd accept what we have? Do you think they would accept what we've created? How do you think Cecily would feel if she found out the truth?" Evie looked down, exhaling deeply. "Even you, yourself said it was disgraceful and frowned upon..."
I most certainly do not want you nor I to live a life of secrecy." He looked at her sternly, "And I know you don't either." He growled.
Evie kept her head down, not wanting to cause anymore trouble, but her mouth would not stay shut, "I would do anything just to raise this child with you..." She continued to speak low.
"You want our child to be a bastard child?" Jacob asked right after, "Just think of the end results if we go down that path, Evie. Who knows how others would think if they realize we're twins. Who knows how our child will look if you choose to keep it. Who knows how our life will turn out! What is going on right at this moment is disgraceful and frowned upon, Evie! I don't want either of us to suffer through any of this! Let alone have this child we created live a stressful life!"
Jacob felt as though he was struck in the chest after being pointed out on what he said in the past. The memory felt somewhat like a PTSD moment to him. He wasn't proud of himself when he remembered that, but he really had no choice in the matter. The younger twin knew what he said back then was true. He could sense that there would be consequences not just for them, but for Cecily as well. And that's something they both didn't want to happen.
"F-Fair point..." Jacob looked down with a grumble, trying to lift the heavy weight that was pushing him down, "I just... I want to return here..." He looked back up at Evie, "But... I don't want to put any stress on neither you, nor especially our daughter." He huffed out, closing his eyes, "Is there any possible way we could..."
"Jacob... our possibilities of being accepted here as a family are slim." Evie said weakly, "On my spare times I tried to figure out a way for us to return, but there were no possible ways."
"But what if we find a way for... I know Rose and the Rooks would accept us--"
"What about the others though?" Evie added.
"We would just have to convince them." Jacob responded.
"But how would Cecily react if she found out the truth? Hm? The one even you don't want to expose to our own daughter." Evie bit the inside of her cheek, "Who knows what would happened? Who knows how she would react? She looks up to us, and if she ever found out about the truth of us. If she ever found out we're not just her parents, but also her uncle and aunt, how do you think she would feel about this? A secret we've kept from her for so long." The older twin let out a painful laugh, shaking her head.
Jacob felt as though he was at a standstill at that point. There was a fifty-fifty chance of acceptance not just from the city, but also their daughter. And the fear of losing their daughter not just from danger, but also from loss of trust. That's something that would just devastate them to where they knew it was something that would be unfixable. They didn't want that. They didn't want that at all.
At that point, their sadness made them set aside the story Jacob hid about Jack the Ripper, saving it for another time.
Jacob let out a deep sigh, "I'm going back to the bar." He said emotionlessly, dragging his feet to the end of the train, "I need a drink to calm these damn nerves..." A groan escaped as he walked past Evie.
Evie wanted to follow behind him, but after that conversation, she knew they both needed some time apart to think this over. She felt it would be best to think this over together, but her mind thought what difference would it make? The older twin knew nothing good nor bad would come out of it, so she stayed behind and fell back into her chair pondering on if there is a small chance of being able to return here.
The older woman tried to think things over, but her mind was so foggy to where she couldn't think straight. Evie walked into Jacob's room, hoping to see any type of alcohol to drink away her feel of sorrows, and seeing as to how luck was on her side, she did. She grabbed a glass that was lying on his desk and grabbed the bottle of rum that was at the top of the shelf. The train did a slight turn, leading her to fall back onto Jacob's bed.
"Ow..." She groaned, rubbing the back of her head that ended up making the wall hit her head.
Evie sat up with a sigh escaping. She looked up at the bottle of rum that was set at the top of the bookshelves she still couldn't believe was in Jacobs room. The older woman growled after remembering what Jacob said not long ago about she should know the difference, but she let it go with a groan as she rolled her eyes, standing up to attempt a second round on grabbing the bottle.
"A-Almost... got it..." She grunted, finally at the point of being on her tippy toes, "A-Almost!" She looked at the bottle, longing to relax herself with the bottle of rum, torturing her by practically pointing out at the failure of grabbing it. "Damn it all to hell..." She dropped her head on the shelf, resting it there, trying to build up the strength to try again. By surprise, after hitting her head on the shelf, it ended up making the bottle to tumble over, hitting the back of her head. "What the hell?!" She screeched, feeling luck was nowhere near her.
The older twin rolled her eyes, resigning on releasing her anger by trying to level herself. She grabbed the bottle and fell onto Jacob's bed, pouring herself a glass. She exhaled deeply, holding up the glass for a cheer that had no purpose before she took a gulp of it. Evie felt the burning sensation slide down her throat, making her close her eyes tightly, breathing out a woo before pouring herself a second glass. This time she took it slow. Her mind was slowly at ease after every sip. She looked at the rum swirling it in her glass, lost in deep thought.
What the hell do we have to do...? She thought. I feel there's a small chance of acceptance with our allies, but what about the citizens? Hell... what about Cecily? Would she ever forgive us? Will she be shocked? Disappointed? Sickened? Damn it all to hell... Another sigh escaped before taking another sip.
Hours passed by to where Evie fell in and out of sleep, the thankfully empty glass slipping out of her hands. As she finally fell into a deep slumber, her mind ended up boggling to where she had a dream turn into a nightmare.
"No... Cecily, please..." Evie whined.
"Evie?" Jacob finally returned, stumbling his way into his room, "Hm?" He noticed his eldest sister was lying on his bed again, reminding him of the times she was lying on his bed in the past, sleeping peacefully. Or so he assumed. "Evie?" Jacob noticed the same sorrowful look she had back when they were kids. "Evie..." A tiny chuckle left his lips as he lied beside her. "I'm here, Evie..." He caressed her hair gently, "And I always will be." Jacob kissed her forehead, "And so will Cecily. I just know it." A soft smile appeared on her face, making him copy her as then he, too, began to drift in and out of sleep, soon falling in deep to slumber along with her.
As time passed, Jacob was awoken by a rattling noise, assuming it was caused by the train, but the noise continued, suddenly making a crashing sound, startling him out of bed, falling to the floor.
"Ugh... bloody hell..." Jacob groaned, followed by a yawn, slowly standing up with a feel of annoyance, "Who the bloody hell could be here at this hour?" He questioned himself.
Jacob looked over at the clock, showing it was three in the morning before heading to the next car over. He peeked through the window before entering. The younger twin walked into the car and looked around, still trying to wake up. He didn't see anyone in the room, not until he turned around which led him to jolt, leading him to finally wake up.
"Hm? Oh... what are you doing here?" He asked, rubbing his sleepy eyes.