A/N - MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!! Here's a little present for everyone! Sorry it's not more expensive but i'm out of money! Enjoy!
Chapter 17
"What is the meaning of this?" Aaron hissed throwing Leopold into his room and slamming the door closed behind the two of them. Leopold remembered the room being a lot larger when she had been in there before, but suddenly it felt as if every inch were taken up with Aaron in the room. The joking grin he had on his face downstairs had disappeared and now there was only a scowl. Leopold caught herself before she slammed into the chair as the force of Aaron's shove sent her tumbling into the room. Regaining her posture she smoothed out her skirt before turning with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring through her half open eyes.
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" she hissed looking around the room for a safe exit if Aaron should blow up. Knowing he was a thief and not really knowing if he had an anger problem or not Leopold wanted to keep all her escape routes open and never let him back her into any corners. "Why didn't you tell me Aaron!" she raised her voice even more hoping somebody would "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"It's none of their business!" Aaron replied pointing a finger in her direction as his eyes blazed with anger.
"Of course your past is their business!" she replied angrily
"Why?" he replied "Why is it their business? I haven't once asked you where you came from and neither has anyone else! It doesn't matter where I use to come from or who I use to be!"
"It does matter because you did come from there and that's who you are! You can't just change the fact that you are a--"
"Keep your voice down!" Aaron hissed. Leopold narrowed her eyes more but lowered her voice as he had asked her to.
"It doesn't change the fact that you are a noble. It's in your blood and always will be! There's nothing you can do about it but go back to your family and live with it!"
"Never!" Aaron hissed in her face and looking at her as if she were dirt upon his shoe.
"Why not?" Leopold croaked while fighting the urge to slap him.
"Because that was a phase in my life that I'm over and do not wish to return to!"
"Aaron this is ridiculous! We're never going to get anywhere if you keep arguing with everything I say!"
"Then maybe you should stop saying them and keep out of my life!"
"I would if I could but certain people are the ones who keep popping up wherever I go!"
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"It means that certain someone who looks just like you, in fact identical to you, is staying at the palace right now and I'm sure they'd love to see their long lost brother!"
Aaron stopped pacing the room in front of her and seemed to turn to stone. Goosebumps appeared on his arms and he crossed them stubbornly over his chest, refusing to look at her and instead staring out of the window. As it was open a breeze gently flew inside making Leopold shiver under her cloak which wasn't always the warmest during Midwinter. The breeze lifted Aaron's gorgeous hair away from his face and for a moment Leopold thought she saw the young noble he still was. No matter where he ran to or what profession he choose, Aaron was always going to be a noble and no amount of running could change that. Now only if she could convince him of this.
"Please," she whispered taking a few steps towards him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Aaron, please just come and talk to him. He misses you--"
"Stop!" Aaron replied softer yet harsh as he pulled away from Leopold. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Obviously it was going to take more than that to convince him of seeing his brother.
"Aaron if you just listen to reason." she stepped towards him again and grabbed onto his sleeve. "At least consider seeing him."
"Why is it so important for you that I see my brother? What's in it for you?"
"Some people don't do things to be paid. Some of us do them because we feel sorry for others and want to help them."
"So now you pity my family and me!" Aaron said finally turning towards her and pointing towards his chest while looking at her as if she were a lunatic.
"I don't pity y--"
"Save the bullshit for some one who cares Leopold! I'm tired of your 'happy-go-lucky-I-want-to-help-the-less-fortunate' act. Sorry babe but it doesn't work like that!"
Taking a deep breath and fighting back tears Leopold decided to try one last time to be reasonable with Aaron. "What happened to you that was so terrible you can't go back to your old life or even speak to your own brother!"
"The past is behind me and I'll be dammed before I live that way again!"
"What way? You mean the way I live? You don't like the way I live because I have wealth and can actually provide for myself? Is that why you don't want to be recognized as a noble?"
"You have no idea what providing for yourself means! All you do is sit in your mansion all day sewing and knitting things that will never have any real value in life whilst your servants and those who live in your town work like dogs in order to pay for that's night dinner so their family doesn't starve! You've probably never done a days work in your life and you never will because that's the way you were brought up, spoiled rotten!"
"Who are you to disagree with the way I live when you yourself came from the same background!"
"I would have been Duke of Cliff's Creek had I not left, and thank Mithros I did before I ended up like another annoying, spoiled, selfish, weak noble. I believe society has enough people like that as it is." he finished looking her up and down with disgust written all over his face.
Leopold knew he was talking of her. If only he knew. If only he knew how lucky he was to have a family that loves and misses him. If only he knew how nice it would be to be able to go home to the same family every night and not have to worry about pleasing relatives so they'll take you in. If only he knew how lucky he was to have a brother that was obviously looking for him and sisters that cared. If only he knew…but he didn't know about her past. He only knew things that he had experience and that was enough to condemn her of the way she lives, the way he use to live.
With tears in her eyes and threatening to spill out she looked Aaron square in the face. Willing her self not to let him see how much he hurt her just then. "If that's the way you see it. This is goodbye forever thief. I hope you rot in jail, the only home that will welcome you with open arms and hang you for leaving." with that said the first tear started to fall from her face and she pushed past him before opening the door and leaving without even bothering to shut it. She made her way blindly down the stairs and through the inn, ignoring the shouts from Jeff where he sat with his friends, obviously cheating them out of their money as he was still mostly sober and the other two were positively drunk with laughter. Leopold yanked open the inn door and ran out into the dark, cold streets of Corus, not even stopping to see where she was going. It was because of this that she didn't see the man emerge from the alley and place a cloth over her mouth and nose.The last thing she saw were the stars before she blackened out.
Chapter 17
"What is the meaning of this?" Aaron hissed throwing Leopold into his room and slamming the door closed behind the two of them. Leopold remembered the room being a lot larger when she had been in there before, but suddenly it felt as if every inch were taken up with Aaron in the room. The joking grin he had on his face downstairs had disappeared and now there was only a scowl. Leopold caught herself before she slammed into the chair as the force of Aaron's shove sent her tumbling into the room. Regaining her posture she smoothed out her skirt before turning with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring through her half open eyes.
"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" she hissed looking around the room for a safe exit if Aaron should blow up. Knowing he was a thief and not really knowing if he had an anger problem or not Leopold wanted to keep all her escape routes open and never let him back her into any corners. "Why didn't you tell me Aaron!" she raised her voice even more hoping somebody would "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"It's none of their business!" Aaron replied pointing a finger in her direction as his eyes blazed with anger.
"Of course your past is their business!" she replied angrily
"Why?" he replied "Why is it their business? I haven't once asked you where you came from and neither has anyone else! It doesn't matter where I use to come from or who I use to be!"
"It does matter because you did come from there and that's who you are! You can't just change the fact that you are a--"
"Keep your voice down!" Aaron hissed. Leopold narrowed her eyes more but lowered her voice as he had asked her to.
"It doesn't change the fact that you are a noble. It's in your blood and always will be! There's nothing you can do about it but go back to your family and live with it!"
"Never!" Aaron hissed in her face and looking at her as if she were dirt upon his shoe.
"Why not?" Leopold croaked while fighting the urge to slap him.
"Because that was a phase in my life that I'm over and do not wish to return to!"
"Aaron this is ridiculous! We're never going to get anywhere if you keep arguing with everything I say!"
"Then maybe you should stop saying them and keep out of my life!"
"I would if I could but certain people are the ones who keep popping up wherever I go!"
"What is that suppose to mean?"
"It means that certain someone who looks just like you, in fact identical to you, is staying at the palace right now and I'm sure they'd love to see their long lost brother!"
Aaron stopped pacing the room in front of her and seemed to turn to stone. Goosebumps appeared on his arms and he crossed them stubbornly over his chest, refusing to look at her and instead staring out of the window. As it was open a breeze gently flew inside making Leopold shiver under her cloak which wasn't always the warmest during Midwinter. The breeze lifted Aaron's gorgeous hair away from his face and for a moment Leopold thought she saw the young noble he still was. No matter where he ran to or what profession he choose, Aaron was always going to be a noble and no amount of running could change that. Now only if she could convince him of this.
"Please," she whispered taking a few steps towards him and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Aaron, please just come and talk to him. He misses you--"
"Stop!" Aaron replied softer yet harsh as he pulled away from Leopold. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Obviously it was going to take more than that to convince him of seeing his brother.
"Aaron if you just listen to reason." she stepped towards him again and grabbed onto his sleeve. "At least consider seeing him."
"Why is it so important for you that I see my brother? What's in it for you?"
"Some people don't do things to be paid. Some of us do them because we feel sorry for others and want to help them."
"So now you pity my family and me!" Aaron said finally turning towards her and pointing towards his chest while looking at her as if she were a lunatic.
"I don't pity y--"
"Save the bullshit for some one who cares Leopold! I'm tired of your 'happy-go-lucky-I-want-to-help-the-less-fortunate' act. Sorry babe but it doesn't work like that!"
Taking a deep breath and fighting back tears Leopold decided to try one last time to be reasonable with Aaron. "What happened to you that was so terrible you can't go back to your old life or even speak to your own brother!"
"The past is behind me and I'll be dammed before I live that way again!"
"What way? You mean the way I live? You don't like the way I live because I have wealth and can actually provide for myself? Is that why you don't want to be recognized as a noble?"
"You have no idea what providing for yourself means! All you do is sit in your mansion all day sewing and knitting things that will never have any real value in life whilst your servants and those who live in your town work like dogs in order to pay for that's night dinner so their family doesn't starve! You've probably never done a days work in your life and you never will because that's the way you were brought up, spoiled rotten!"
"Who are you to disagree with the way I live when you yourself came from the same background!"
"I would have been Duke of Cliff's Creek had I not left, and thank Mithros I did before I ended up like another annoying, spoiled, selfish, weak noble. I believe society has enough people like that as it is." he finished looking her up and down with disgust written all over his face.
Leopold knew he was talking of her. If only he knew. If only he knew how lucky he was to have a family that loves and misses him. If only he knew how nice it would be to be able to go home to the same family every night and not have to worry about pleasing relatives so they'll take you in. If only he knew how lucky he was to have a brother that was obviously looking for him and sisters that cared. If only he knew…but he didn't know about her past. He only knew things that he had experience and that was enough to condemn her of the way she lives, the way he use to live.
With tears in her eyes and threatening to spill out she looked Aaron square in the face. Willing her self not to let him see how much he hurt her just then. "If that's the way you see it. This is goodbye forever thief. I hope you rot in jail, the only home that will welcome you with open arms and hang you for leaving." with that said the first tear started to fall from her face and she pushed past him before opening the door and leaving without even bothering to shut it. She made her way blindly down the stairs and through the inn, ignoring the shouts from Jeff where he sat with his friends, obviously cheating them out of their money as he was still mostly sober and the other two were positively drunk with laughter. Leopold yanked open the inn door and ran out into the dark, cold streets of Corus, not even stopping to see where she was going. It was because of this that she didn't see the man emerge from the alley and place a cloth over her mouth and nose.The last thing she saw were the stars before she blackened out.