Chapter 4~ Old friends

Rebecca quickly removed her hand and backed up.

"You're not Jules."

"Not technically, no.", the voice replied.

Rebecca sighed and this time let the smirk through.

"And what, pray tell, is that supposed to mean." ,she asked, sounding as exasperated as felt.

"It means... that, well, that we're friends."

"Friends?", Rebecca replied.

"Old friends. What about you? Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to save Jules. He was kidnapped you know."

"Oh, I know, believe me, I know. But still, what's your interest in Jules?"

"He's a good friend of my cousin and I."

"Well, any friend of Jules' is a friend of mine. I'd say I was pleased to meet you miss," he said looking at their surroundings, "but..." he let the sentence trail off.

"Please, call me Rebecca."

"Rebecca, what a lovely name. You can call me Marius."

"So Marius, how exactly do you know Jules?"

"I should ask you the same question"

"If you did, I'd assume you were avoiding it."

"And if I was?"

***

Phileas Fogg woke up that morning in a most unusual state. He was confused. He sensed that something was wrong, or more specifically, that something was missing. As he dressed for the day, he realized what it was. He didn't smell his breakfast.

"Passepartout!", he called out, just a little miffed. Passepartout knew that when he was going out on a complicated and possibly fatal rescue mission, he needed a good nutritious breakfast. He walked out onto the deck of the Aurora to find Passepartout looking nervously around the landscape.

"Passepartout you idiot! What in God's name are you doing? Where's my breakfast!?"

" Passepartout is very sorry sir, but he couldn't be making breakfast this morning. I wokes up and went to the kitchen to start cooking you oddlings of food when I noticed Miss. Rebecca was gone."

"Gone, what do you mean gone?"

"Gone"

"Confound it Passepartout make sense!"

"I is thinking that Miss Rebecca went of into the night to go after"

"Verne.", interrupted Fogg. "Dammit! That women is going to be the death of me!"

***

Claret grumbled softly and turned over, trying to get back to sleep. As she did so, she was surprised to feel a warmth next to her. She opened sleepy eyes and found her self nose to nose with Jules Verne. She sat up with a yelp, and blushed scarlet.

This movement caused Jules to awaken as well.

"Claret? What's the matter?", he asked through a yawn.

"Me, why nothing Jules", she said, trying to regain her composure.

"Are you sure?", he said, sounding much more awake than he did previously.

"Yes.", she stated having now returned to her usual coloring, "except..."

"Except what?"

"Except...what now?"

"That", he said, "is a very good question."

"Well?", she asked expectantly.

"Let's go over what we do know."

"Which is what? That we are all captured and locked up?"

"Wait, you said all."

"Yes, Jules I did, what of it?"

"That implies that there are more than two of us locked up."

"Of course it does Jules, three is more than two. Are YOU alright?"

"I am fine, but who else is here, I don't see anyone else."

"Jules", she laughed, "that's because Marius is in a different cell."

"Marius is here? Why didn't you tell me."

"Why, I assumed you knew? You haven't seen him?"

"No."

"Well, does this help solve our problem?"

"No", he admitted, "but it might help. The Count must have found out about the two of you."

"You know a count."

"Yes, but believe me, it's not a good thing."

"What makes you think that he's behind this?"

"Those guards, they are definatly members of the League of Darkness."

"Whoa, the League of Darkness? Are you sure your alright, didn't hit your head or anything?"

Jules just sighed and told her all about his adventures.

"Wow, Jules", she said, "you could write a book."

Jules gave her one of his trademark gorgeous smiles and said, "You say that like it'd get published."

***

Authors note: I know, i know, don't hurt me. These chapters take forever to come out and keep getting worse and worse. Sorry. I know this chapter is painful to read, but these things had to happen and I couldn't think of a better way to do it.