Chapter 19
Meryl sighed as she placed eight sheets of paper in a file. She's somehow managed to write all the reports, and although reports aren't that hard to write, writing about Vash was getting harder nowadays.
Meryl remembered the first impressions of Vash, and they were not good. She called him a goofball, idiot, womanizer, and every other horrible name she could think of. She pretended not to care about him, yet when he was in utmost danger, it was always Meryl who worried the most.
She shrugged slightly as she picked up her white cape from the coat hanger. The room seemed awfully quiet today, for some reason. It was a nice change, she had to admit, as traveling with Milly, Wolfwood, and Vash was not exactly a silent trip.
"I'm going to go put the file in the post, so you three get ready for the carnival!" Meryl called out as she put her cape on, leaving the room. Whether the three heard her, she really didn't know. Wolfwood was busy looking for the lighter Vash had made him drop under the bed, Milly was trying out seven different flavors of pudding, and Vash was in the bathroom singing in Italian.
The city of October was already dark after seven. Unlike the previous cities she had visited, there were no people outside, and the only trace of light was from the inn and the saloon. It was creepy, like the time in Jeneorarock. Meryl had a hard time finding the post as it was dark, but she finally managed to find it.
After putting the file in the post, Meryl sensed that someone was following her, like yesterday. Looking around for the yellow eyes, she scanned the area around him, yet no yellow eyes appeared before her. Her heart thumped faster, and her gray eyes moved quickly in search of the unwanted presence. Meryl's white boots made a loud tapping noise as she hurried back to the inn, both hands firmly holding a derringer.
'Jake...he's here...h-he's...he's probably coming to the carnival...'
*~*~*~*~
Keja laughed as he spied on Meryl, who looked pale as a ghost.
'Well well Meryl...the day after tomorrow is our special day, remember?'
He laughed in the air as his whole figure blended in the dark shadows of the alley. Although his form gone, the cruel laugh which escaped from his mouth continued to laugh in the dark alley.
*~*~*~*~
Hurrying up to their room, Meryl was relieved to see all Milly, and was much more relieved when she told her that Wolfwood and Vash were in the saloon. As she was about to sit down, relax, and have a cup of tea, Milly tugged her arm and grinned.
"Meryl, you need to get ready! It's ten minutes until the carnival starts, and you always say that the early bird catches the worm!" Milly said happily as she went over to her suitcase and pulled out a blue dress from it.
Meryl raised an eyebrow as she glanced over at the dress. "Milly, it's pretty cold out there..." she said as she went over to her pink suitcase to pick out her clothes.
"Oh don't worry Meryl! Middle Big Sister said that you should always look your best while going out!" Milly grinned as she went into the bathroom to change.
Meryl was surprised that Milly was so nice to her after what she had said to her about the work. And Milly even came to rescue her after Jake held her captive in the laboratory. Milly managed to bear through Meryl's temper and mood swings. No one ever managed to do that, not even Jake. Meryl felt saddened by the thought that she'd never done Milly well except for pushing her around and yelling at her.
Or actually, she'd never done any well to Vash or Wolfwood. Her quality times with Vash usually ended up in fights, and she did have a lot of arguments with Wolfwood about having lung cancer and second hand smoking.
'Do I really deserve them as friends?'
Meryl was so deep in thought that she didn't realize Milly was calling out her name.
"Meryl? Umm...Meryl? Meryl?" Milly tapped on her shoulder as Meryl shook her head, coming back.
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry Milly. What did you say?" Meryl looked up at her tall partner who was wearing a blue dress that matched the color of her eyes.
"Oh Meryl, how do I look? I mean, I wouldn't want to look ugly for Mr. Wolfwood..." Milly sounded exactly like a teenager pondering about fashion. Meryl laughed as she walked towards the bathroom.
"You look great Milly. I'm sure Mr. Wolfwood would love you." Reassuring her friend, she walked into the bathroom and changed into a plain white dress with a plain white cardigan. It was simple, yet it suited Meryl well.
Stuffing the necessities in her purse, Meryl impatiently waited on the bed as Milly counted the cups of pudding she ate today.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen! Meryl, I ate nineteen cups today! Even middle big brother only ate seventeen cups of pudding a day." Milly chirped happily as Meryl impatiently tapped her foot onto the ground.
"I swear, when I get my hands on those two, they'll suffer so much..." Meryl was about to continue when Vash and Wolfwood entered the room, huffing and puffing.
"Sorry girls, we had some emergency at the saloon. Are you ladies ready to go?" Wolfwood grinned as Milly took hold of his arm. Meryl, on the other hand, eyed Vash as she put her hands on her hips.
"Mr. Wolfwood and Vash...did you break anything?" Meryl asked, making both Wolfwood and Vash laugh nervously.
"Uhh...Meryl? I uhh...brought you some napkins!" Vash laughed as he gave Meryl a few crumpled napkins. Meryl snatched it out of his hand as she continued to glare at him.
"Vash...I know you broke something. Now spit it out." Meryl said in a low voice, making Vash go on his knees and cry.
"Meryl, I didn't mean to do it!" he cried out as Wolfwood shook his head in dismay.
"Well you see, Wolfwood and I were drinking and then I accidentally dropped my glass which made the waitress trip and spill the drinks and then the customers got into a fight and then the whole saloon was in a mess and the owner of the saloon blamed me for wrecking the whole place! Oh Maman ont la pitié sur un pauvre homme bel comme moi!" Vash said this very fast, and after he finished he looked anxiously at Meryl, who was looking at him.
"Well...I'll go to the saloon tomorrow to file out the reports. Vash, you're lucky I'm not bashing you up right now, you know." Meryl sighed as she left for the door. Taking one more look at Vash, she walked briskly out of the door, Wolfwood and Milly following her. Vash was surprised that she was actually putting her work after leisure, and the look she gave him before she left. He thought he saw something about her eyes that he never knew. But then, his eyes were filled with tears so he couldn't really see her eyes clearly.
Following them, he closed the door, listening to the last creak of the door closing. Looking around the corridors cautiously, he left the inn to find Meryl, Wolfwood, and Milly standing impatiently for him.
"Hey Vash, didn't know you were vain." Wolfwood snickered as he walked to the carnival with his arm around a blushing Milly's shoulder. Meryl laughed somewhat shakily as she walked ahead of them, her white shoes making a loud tapping noise. For some reason, every part of her body was tense, and her legs weren't working like they should be. Her heart pounded loudly as she looked around the area around her in search of Jake.
Vash took notice of Meryl's behavior and ran up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Meryl flinched, and turned over to see whose hand it was, relaxing when she saw it was Vash's.
"Oh...hi Vash." Meryl murmured as Vash walked next to her.
"A certain insurance girl I know doesn't seem very happy." Vash remarked teasingly. Meryl apparently didn't find the remark very funny, as she punched Vash in the arm.
"Well, a certain womanizer I know is in pain right now." Meryl said sarcastically as she walked ahead of him, leaving him in pain.
"Geez Vash, what did you do to the little girl?" Wolfwood asked as he helped Vash up.
Vash just shrugged as he walked towards the carnival.
*~*~*~*~
The four of them were having a great time at the carnival. Wolfwood won a huge bear for Milly at the game where you throw baseballs at a stack of cans, Milly won the contest for eating the most pudding ("I ate twenty cups of pudding this time, Meryl!"), Vash won two boxes of donuts after eating twenty donuts in a minute, and Meryl laughed many laughs that no one had ever heard.
It was the first time she ever laughed in a long, long time.
After Wolfwood won ten stuffed animals for Milly, the four decided to go on the rides. Milly and Wolfwood were set on going on the roller coasters, but Meryl stopped them since she had a vague thought that Milly and Vash would throw-up their stomach's contents while going on the ride.
"How 'bout we go on the ferris wheel?" Vash suggested as Milly grinned happily.
"Sure Mr. Vash!" All but three were ready to go.
Meryl stopped, looking terrified at the ferris wheel. Vash and Wolfwood raised an eyebrow as they motioned for Meryl to come with them.
"Uh...you know what? I...I'll stay here and watch you go on it or something..." Meryl said weakly as she started to walk away. Vash caught her arm, pulling her over to him.
"Hey, the fearless insurance girl's backing down from a challenge?" Vash asked almost teasingly as Meryl tried to grasp her arm away from Vash.
"I'm afraid of heights." Replied Meryl as she tried unsuccessfully tried to free her hand.
"Come on Meryl! I don't want to be stuck in a ride with Wolfwood and Milly making out! Please?" Vash pleaded with puppy-dog eyes that Meryl couldn't resist, and she finally consented.
Meryl continued to look down as she followed Vash to the ferris wheel. The main reason she didn't want to go on the ferris wheel was because of Jake. Swept into a wave of nostalgia, Meryl remembered the times they had spent together on the ferris wheel, sharing their first kiss, talking over events that happened in school, talking about life in general, and all sorts of memories.
Anyway, why were these weird thoughts about Jake running through her head? Nothing gets better of Meryl Stryfe, doesn't it? Or do the strongest walls crumble at times?
Meryl didn't know.
*~*~*~*~
Sure enough, Wolfwood and Milly were cuddling within each other's arms. Vash was sweatdropping as he looked at them, and Meryl was looking out the window, a far-away look in her eyes.
Meryl kept on staring out the window for half the ride. The ferris wheel was boring, with no conversation between the four of them except some sweet talk between Wolfwood and Milly.
Meryl was frightened when she saw a man with brown hair. He kept on staring at her car for a long time, and Meryl didn't find that very comfortable. A small voice in her head told her to be careful and think over her suspicions, and her suspicions were that the man staring at the car was Jake. Sure, there were tons of men with brown hair in the carnival, but Meryl gasped when she saw something golden sparkle in his coat.
She tugged onto Vash's red coat with fearful eyes.
"Vash...Jake...he's...over there..."
Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay! I had a case of writer's block, and so my writing didn't go too smoothly. And school's going to start in two days, so I might not be updating for quite a while.
Cheers!
Meryl sighed as she placed eight sheets of paper in a file. She's somehow managed to write all the reports, and although reports aren't that hard to write, writing about Vash was getting harder nowadays.
Meryl remembered the first impressions of Vash, and they were not good. She called him a goofball, idiot, womanizer, and every other horrible name she could think of. She pretended not to care about him, yet when he was in utmost danger, it was always Meryl who worried the most.
She shrugged slightly as she picked up her white cape from the coat hanger. The room seemed awfully quiet today, for some reason. It was a nice change, she had to admit, as traveling with Milly, Wolfwood, and Vash was not exactly a silent trip.
"I'm going to go put the file in the post, so you three get ready for the carnival!" Meryl called out as she put her cape on, leaving the room. Whether the three heard her, she really didn't know. Wolfwood was busy looking for the lighter Vash had made him drop under the bed, Milly was trying out seven different flavors of pudding, and Vash was in the bathroom singing in Italian.
The city of October was already dark after seven. Unlike the previous cities she had visited, there were no people outside, and the only trace of light was from the inn and the saloon. It was creepy, like the time in Jeneorarock. Meryl had a hard time finding the post as it was dark, but she finally managed to find it.
After putting the file in the post, Meryl sensed that someone was following her, like yesterday. Looking around for the yellow eyes, she scanned the area around him, yet no yellow eyes appeared before her. Her heart thumped faster, and her gray eyes moved quickly in search of the unwanted presence. Meryl's white boots made a loud tapping noise as she hurried back to the inn, both hands firmly holding a derringer.
'Jake...he's here...h-he's...he's probably coming to the carnival...'
*~*~*~*~
Keja laughed as he spied on Meryl, who looked pale as a ghost.
'Well well Meryl...the day after tomorrow is our special day, remember?'
He laughed in the air as his whole figure blended in the dark shadows of the alley. Although his form gone, the cruel laugh which escaped from his mouth continued to laugh in the dark alley.
*~*~*~*~
Hurrying up to their room, Meryl was relieved to see all Milly, and was much more relieved when she told her that Wolfwood and Vash were in the saloon. As she was about to sit down, relax, and have a cup of tea, Milly tugged her arm and grinned.
"Meryl, you need to get ready! It's ten minutes until the carnival starts, and you always say that the early bird catches the worm!" Milly said happily as she went over to her suitcase and pulled out a blue dress from it.
Meryl raised an eyebrow as she glanced over at the dress. "Milly, it's pretty cold out there..." she said as she went over to her pink suitcase to pick out her clothes.
"Oh don't worry Meryl! Middle Big Sister said that you should always look your best while going out!" Milly grinned as she went into the bathroom to change.
Meryl was surprised that Milly was so nice to her after what she had said to her about the work. And Milly even came to rescue her after Jake held her captive in the laboratory. Milly managed to bear through Meryl's temper and mood swings. No one ever managed to do that, not even Jake. Meryl felt saddened by the thought that she'd never done Milly well except for pushing her around and yelling at her.
Or actually, she'd never done any well to Vash or Wolfwood. Her quality times with Vash usually ended up in fights, and she did have a lot of arguments with Wolfwood about having lung cancer and second hand smoking.
'Do I really deserve them as friends?'
Meryl was so deep in thought that she didn't realize Milly was calling out her name.
"Meryl? Umm...Meryl? Meryl?" Milly tapped on her shoulder as Meryl shook her head, coming back.
"Oh yeah, I'm sorry Milly. What did you say?" Meryl looked up at her tall partner who was wearing a blue dress that matched the color of her eyes.
"Oh Meryl, how do I look? I mean, I wouldn't want to look ugly for Mr. Wolfwood..." Milly sounded exactly like a teenager pondering about fashion. Meryl laughed as she walked towards the bathroom.
"You look great Milly. I'm sure Mr. Wolfwood would love you." Reassuring her friend, she walked into the bathroom and changed into a plain white dress with a plain white cardigan. It was simple, yet it suited Meryl well.
Stuffing the necessities in her purse, Meryl impatiently waited on the bed as Milly counted the cups of pudding she ate today.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, and nineteen! Meryl, I ate nineteen cups today! Even middle big brother only ate seventeen cups of pudding a day." Milly chirped happily as Meryl impatiently tapped her foot onto the ground.
"I swear, when I get my hands on those two, they'll suffer so much..." Meryl was about to continue when Vash and Wolfwood entered the room, huffing and puffing.
"Sorry girls, we had some emergency at the saloon. Are you ladies ready to go?" Wolfwood grinned as Milly took hold of his arm. Meryl, on the other hand, eyed Vash as she put her hands on her hips.
"Mr. Wolfwood and Vash...did you break anything?" Meryl asked, making both Wolfwood and Vash laugh nervously.
"Uhh...Meryl? I uhh...brought you some napkins!" Vash laughed as he gave Meryl a few crumpled napkins. Meryl snatched it out of his hand as she continued to glare at him.
"Vash...I know you broke something. Now spit it out." Meryl said in a low voice, making Vash go on his knees and cry.
"Meryl, I didn't mean to do it!" he cried out as Wolfwood shook his head in dismay.
"Well you see, Wolfwood and I were drinking and then I accidentally dropped my glass which made the waitress trip and spill the drinks and then the customers got into a fight and then the whole saloon was in a mess and the owner of the saloon blamed me for wrecking the whole place! Oh Maman ont la pitié sur un pauvre homme bel comme moi!" Vash said this very fast, and after he finished he looked anxiously at Meryl, who was looking at him.
"Well...I'll go to the saloon tomorrow to file out the reports. Vash, you're lucky I'm not bashing you up right now, you know." Meryl sighed as she left for the door. Taking one more look at Vash, she walked briskly out of the door, Wolfwood and Milly following her. Vash was surprised that she was actually putting her work after leisure, and the look she gave him before she left. He thought he saw something about her eyes that he never knew. But then, his eyes were filled with tears so he couldn't really see her eyes clearly.
Following them, he closed the door, listening to the last creak of the door closing. Looking around the corridors cautiously, he left the inn to find Meryl, Wolfwood, and Milly standing impatiently for him.
"Hey Vash, didn't know you were vain." Wolfwood snickered as he walked to the carnival with his arm around a blushing Milly's shoulder. Meryl laughed somewhat shakily as she walked ahead of them, her white shoes making a loud tapping noise. For some reason, every part of her body was tense, and her legs weren't working like they should be. Her heart pounded loudly as she looked around the area around her in search of Jake.
Vash took notice of Meryl's behavior and ran up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder. Meryl flinched, and turned over to see whose hand it was, relaxing when she saw it was Vash's.
"Oh...hi Vash." Meryl murmured as Vash walked next to her.
"A certain insurance girl I know doesn't seem very happy." Vash remarked teasingly. Meryl apparently didn't find the remark very funny, as she punched Vash in the arm.
"Well, a certain womanizer I know is in pain right now." Meryl said sarcastically as she walked ahead of him, leaving him in pain.
"Geez Vash, what did you do to the little girl?" Wolfwood asked as he helped Vash up.
Vash just shrugged as he walked towards the carnival.
*~*~*~*~
The four of them were having a great time at the carnival. Wolfwood won a huge bear for Milly at the game where you throw baseballs at a stack of cans, Milly won the contest for eating the most pudding ("I ate twenty cups of pudding this time, Meryl!"), Vash won two boxes of donuts after eating twenty donuts in a minute, and Meryl laughed many laughs that no one had ever heard.
It was the first time she ever laughed in a long, long time.
After Wolfwood won ten stuffed animals for Milly, the four decided to go on the rides. Milly and Wolfwood were set on going on the roller coasters, but Meryl stopped them since she had a vague thought that Milly and Vash would throw-up their stomach's contents while going on the ride.
"How 'bout we go on the ferris wheel?" Vash suggested as Milly grinned happily.
"Sure Mr. Vash!" All but three were ready to go.
Meryl stopped, looking terrified at the ferris wheel. Vash and Wolfwood raised an eyebrow as they motioned for Meryl to come with them.
"Uh...you know what? I...I'll stay here and watch you go on it or something..." Meryl said weakly as she started to walk away. Vash caught her arm, pulling her over to him.
"Hey, the fearless insurance girl's backing down from a challenge?" Vash asked almost teasingly as Meryl tried to grasp her arm away from Vash.
"I'm afraid of heights." Replied Meryl as she tried unsuccessfully tried to free her hand.
"Come on Meryl! I don't want to be stuck in a ride with Wolfwood and Milly making out! Please?" Vash pleaded with puppy-dog eyes that Meryl couldn't resist, and she finally consented.
Meryl continued to look down as she followed Vash to the ferris wheel. The main reason she didn't want to go on the ferris wheel was because of Jake. Swept into a wave of nostalgia, Meryl remembered the times they had spent together on the ferris wheel, sharing their first kiss, talking over events that happened in school, talking about life in general, and all sorts of memories.
Anyway, why were these weird thoughts about Jake running through her head? Nothing gets better of Meryl Stryfe, doesn't it? Or do the strongest walls crumble at times?
Meryl didn't know.
*~*~*~*~
Sure enough, Wolfwood and Milly were cuddling within each other's arms. Vash was sweatdropping as he looked at them, and Meryl was looking out the window, a far-away look in her eyes.
Meryl kept on staring out the window for half the ride. The ferris wheel was boring, with no conversation between the four of them except some sweet talk between Wolfwood and Milly.
Meryl was frightened when she saw a man with brown hair. He kept on staring at her car for a long time, and Meryl didn't find that very comfortable. A small voice in her head told her to be careful and think over her suspicions, and her suspicions were that the man staring at the car was Jake. Sure, there were tons of men with brown hair in the carnival, but Meryl gasped when she saw something golden sparkle in his coat.
She tugged onto Vash's red coat with fearful eyes.
"Vash...Jake...he's...over there..."
Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay! I had a case of writer's block, and so my writing didn't go too smoothly. And school's going to start in two days, so I might not be updating for quite a while.
Cheers!