"What took?" Jula asked as Jae came into the kitchen.
"Men..." Jae replied curtly.
"Ok... Um, yeah, I'm finished cleaning, so I'm going to find out where my room is and I'll meet you upstairs when you're done."
Jae nodded and began her part of the cleanup, while Jula left the kitchen and stepped out into the hall.
"Well well, if it isn't the nicer one of the two Barrington sisters.."
Jula whirled around.
"Eewww! What are you, and what happened to your face?" she asked Gen. O'Hara in disgust.
The general pursed his lips into a thin line, inhaling and exhaling in an attempt to keep himself calm.
"I had a bit of an incident with your sister."
Jula smirked.
"What, did she clobber your perfectly powder-white face? 'Cause if she did, that's pretty sad considering she's only like five foot two and you're a lot taller than that. Not to mention, you're a soldier... a pansy of a soldier, but a soldier just the same."
Gen. O'Hara went red in the face.
"Ohhh, you look so cute when your face gets all red!" Jula exclaimed in a mocking babyish voice.
O'Hara looked at her in confusion.
"Stupid. I was joking. But you do look absolutely hilarious."
"Hilarious?"
"You know, funny, amusing..."
"Oh, so that's what you think? That my red face is funny, amusing?" O'Hara practically yelled.
"Dude, you don't have to get so uptight about it. God.."
"Well I will get uptight about it, so you'd best cease your childish behavior!"
"Or what?" asked Jula, putting her hands on her hips.
"Do you really want to know?" the general asked, backing Jula up against a wall and standing less than an inch away from her.
Jula rolled her eyes.
"Dream on and let me go."
"No, I don't think so. You two have give me enough trouble."
"Yeah, well if you don't let me go, I'll give you more."
"Oh, and how is that?"
"Like this." a female voice said from behind the general.
Gen. O'Hara turned to see Lady Tavington standing behind him, glaring while Col. Tavington stood next to her, placing a hand protectively on her shoulder as he gave the general an icy stare.
Slowly, the general backed away from Jula who gave him an impish smile.
"Get out of here, O'Hara, before I make mincemeat out of you!" Col. Tavington threatened in a low deadly voice.
"Have it your way.." replied the general before slinking away down the hall.
"Are you alright?" the colonel asked Jula.
"I'm fine."
Lady Tavington sighed in relief.
"Stay away from him." she said. "You and your sister both, stay away from him."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You may go now." Victoria told Jae, who was still cleaning dishes down in the kitchen.
"I don't want to."
"Alright, suit yourself."
Jae stayed in the kitchen, taking her frustration out in her cleaning until nearly everyone had gone. Then she left and went upstairs.
"Hey, we got our rooms." Jula said, meeting Jae outside the Tavingtons' quarters. "They're right next to the colonel's."
"Figures. He wants to keep an eye on us."
"So? Personally, I'm kind of glad he's been put in charge of us."
"As much as I don't want to admit it, I have to agree." replied Jae with a sigh. "He's a complete jerk, but there is something to be said about having him around when there are idiot perverts like O'Hara skulking about. I mean, I can fend for myself if I need to, you know that; we both can, but people like O'Hara still kind of freak me out sometimes."
"Well duh, he's a perv, and people like him are known for being creepy." said Jula.
Jae nodded.
"So, do you want to show me the rooms?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Alright, come on."
Jula led Jae into the room to the right of Col. Tavington's quarters.
"Here's your room."
Jae followed her sister into a large room, furnished with a desk, two armchairs and on the far left wall, a large four-poster with crimson curtains and creamy white sheets.
"Wow, it looks just like his, minus the fact that his looks like it's been lived in for a while. Not messy of course, just lived in."
"Yeah, I know. Mine looks almost the same except for the fact that my bed is on the opposite wall, and the curtains are emerald instead of blood-red." Jula replied.
"Whatever; my room at home didn't even look this nice."
"Neither is mine. God, it's only a little obvious that this place is run by the aristocracy.."
Jae laughed.
"No wonder Col. Tavington is so freakish about keeping things in order."
"You're telling me."
"Jae, Jula.."
The girls turned and saw Lady Tavington standing at the entrance to Jae's room holding her son.
"Would you mind watching Braden for a bit? William has raids tonight, and I'm going to the washroom to bathe."
"Sure." Jula replied.
"Thank you." Lady Tavington replied, handing Braden to her. "I should be no more than fifteen minutes."
"Alright."
With that, Lady Tavington left the two girls alone with Braden.
"So, little dude, what do you want to do?" Jula asked.
Braden stared at her and then suddenly burst out crying and screaming.
"It's okay, your mom won't be gone very long." Jula said, rocking him back and forth in an attempt to calm him, but he continued to scream.
"God!" cried Jae, covering her ears.
Someone press the mute button on the kid!
Braden continued to scream and cry for another ten minutes until there was a sudden sound like that of passing gas; then he calmed down and even started to laugh.
"Oh man! He reeks!" Jae said holding her nose.
"That's because he just let one!" replied Jula, trying to hold Braden away from her. "You take him."
"Uh, no, not until he's done smellin' like rotten eggs!"
"Fine..."
"Dude, Jula, just set him down on the floor."
Jula nodded, setting a smiling and laughing Braden down on the floor, who began crawling toward Jae's bed.
Jae followed Braden to the bed, where he grabbed at the frame in an attempt to stand up.
"Hey Jula, look over here." Jae whispered to her sister.
Braden pulled himself up to a standing position. Then looking back at the girls, he tried to let go, but fell down.
"Oh.. I sort of hope he's tried this before, because it would be a shame for his mom and dad to miss it."
"I think he has. In fact, I just remember that Lady Tavington told me while you were still cleaning that he's been doing it for the past month, but he still can't manage to stand without anything; she says that though he'll probably be an early walker like his dad, he still prefers to crawl."
Jae nodded.
Suddenly Braden screamed as he tried to climb up on the bed frame to get on top of the mattress.
"Hey buddy, don't hurt yourself now." said Jula playfully, picking Braden up and setting him on the bed.
Braden stared at her with icy eyes.
"Ok, sorry if I'm injuring your pride by helping you... Man, you're just like your dad."
Braden smiled.
"Then again, maybe not..."
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exactly fifteen minutes later, Lady Tavington came to collect her son.
"Hi." Jula greeted her at the door. "Come in and take a look at Jae and Braden."
Lady Tavington gave Jula a curious smile and stepped into the room.
Jae was lying on the four-poster sleeping, propped up on some pillows with Braden sleeping on top of her, his head nestled in her neck.
"Charming.." Lady Tavington whispered with a soft laugh.
Jula walked over to her sister and shook her softly.
"Jae. Jae wake up."
"Mmmm?" Jae muttered sleepily.
"Buddy boy has to go."
"Oh.. okay..."
Carefully, without waking him, Jae handed Braden to his mother.
"Thank you again for watching him."
"You're welcome." replied Jula.
"We don't mind." Jae added.
"Good night, you two; Jae, here is the key to your room; your sister already has hers."
"Cool, thanks." Replied Jae. "See you in the morning, bright and early."
Lady Tavington groaned in mock exasperation and then chuckled.
"Of course. I shall see you then."