Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I really have no excuses besides I love to sleep and the usual stuff. Hope you enjoy it. I know it's a little shorter than usual, but the chapter ended so…. Yeah. Finally, we are gonna start getting into the good stuff and out of the tons of exposition!
Comments:
Imasurvivor21: Ha! Don't worry, I am completely lazy too, probably worse actually. Thank you so much! I'm new to this, so the positive reviews are really motivating. Please let me know if you want me to write anything shorter (one shot, 5 + 1 series, etc) for you along the same lines (genderbent). The practice could do me some good and I'd be more than happy to do it for you. Thank you again!
Merendinoemiliano: Thank you for all the support, it does mean something. I'm sorry you had a rough time too, and if you ever need someone to talk to or to write a stupid fluff piece to cheer you up, I'm here. As for the description of Carla, I said that she looked like their mom. Keep in mind, their mom in this is the genderbent version of Julius, so yes, Carla is African American and has Julius/Julia's hair, not blonde. I don't see where I made that mistake, but if I did please let me know. I would never intentionally white wash a character like that. Thank you again!
Chapter 4 Part 2
Amos sipped her tea and regarded me with the same displeased look that my grandparents gave me everytime I dyed my hair a different color.. That wasn't fair, I thought. I didn't look that bad, considering what we'd been through.
Then she looked at Carla and grunted. "Terrible timing," she muttered. "But there's no other way. They'll both have to come with me."
"Excuse me?" I exclaimed. "Hello? Stranger danger not ringing a bell for anyone else? I'm not going anywhere with some crazy woman who can't even eat a biscuit without getting crumbs all over her face.!"
She flushed, wiping at her face before shaking her head and fixing me with a hard stare.. "I'm no stranger, Sam," he said. "Don't you remember?"
It was creepy hearing her talk to me in such a familiar, even fond, way. I felt I should know her. I looked at Carla, but she seemed just as mystified as I was. It comforted me a little that at least I was not the only one who seemed to be affected by this weird amnesia thing.
"No, Amos," Gran said, trembling. "You can't take Samuel. We had an agreement."
"Yes, we did. Until, Julia broke that agreement tonight," Amos interrupted. "You know you can't care for Samuel anymore— not after what's happened. How long is it before the inspector comes back? What if they were to be discovered? Their only chance is to come with me."
'Discovered' I mouthed at Carla, but she shrugged back.
"Why should we go anywhere with you?" Carla asked. "You almost got in a fight with Mom!"
Amos looked at the workbag in Carla's lap. "I see you kept your mother's bag. Smart girl. You'll need it. As for getting into fights, Julia and I did that quite a lot. You should be familiar with the strains of having a sibling who is... different than you." With that she glanced at me, and gave a small smile. She was teasing me. "Not that that's always a bad thing. And, if you didn't notice, Carla, I was attempting to stop her from doing something rash. If she'd listened to me, you would have had no need to ever meet me."
I had no idea what she was on about, but Gramps apparently understood. "You and your superstitions!" he said. "I told you we don't believe in that hocus pocus nonsense."
Amos quirked an eyebrow and pointed to the back patio. Through the glass doors, the city lights danced across the Thames. It was quite a nice view at night, when you couldn't notice how run-down some of the buildings were.
"Superstition, is it?" Amos asked. "So you found a place on the east side of the river for the cheap rent, I suppose?."
Gramps turned even redder. "That was Randy's idea. Insisted that it would protect us. But he was wrong about many things, wasn't he? He trusted Julia and you, for one!"
Amos looked unfazed. She stretched her arms, and I caught of breath of what must have been her perfume. It smelled interesting—like old-timey spices, copal and amber, like the incense shops in Covent Garden. She finished her tea and looked straight at Gran.
"Mrs. Faust, you know what's begun. The police are the least of your worries." Gran swallowed. "You...you changed that inspector's mind. You made her deport Samuel."
"It was that or see the children arrested," Amos said.
"Hold up," I said. "You changed Inspector Williams's mind? Like what, a Jedi- mind trick? These are not the children you're looking for? Did you bribe her or something?"
Amos shrugged. "It's not permanent. In fact, as I had mentioned before, we should get to New York in the next hour or so before Inspector Williams begins to wonder why she let you go."
Carla laughed incredulously and gave a slight role of the eye. "You can't get to New York from London in a hour. Not even the fastest plane—"
"No," Amos agreed. "Not a plane."
She turned back to Gran as if everything had been settled. "Mrs. Faust, Carla and Samuel have only one safe option. You know that. They'll come to the mansion in Brooklyn. I can protect them there."
"You've got a mansion?" Carla questioned. She looked at me for some explanation, but this whole situation was like something out of a telly show. Mysterious stranger with a mansion. Missing mother. What was this, the first act of Annie?
"In Brooklyn." Amos gave her an amused smile. "It belongs in the family. You'll be safe there."
"But our mom—"
"Is beyond your help for now," Amos said sadly. "I'm sorry, Carla. I know you must be worried sick about your mother and my sudden appearance isn't helping any. I'll explain everything later, but, above all, Julia would want you to be safe. For that, we must move quickly. I'm afraid I'm all you've got."
That was a bit harsh, I thought. Carla was doing a good job at holding it together, but Mum was all she had ever known. Carla glanced at Gran and Gramps searching for some note of dissent to Amos' plan. Then she nodded glumly. She knew that they didn't want him around. He'd always reminded them of our Mum. And yes, it was a stupid reason not to take in your granddaughter, but there you are. But hell if I were going without out a fight.
"Well, Carla can do what she wants," I said. "But I live here. And I'm not going off with some stranger, right Gran?"
I looked at her for support, but she was staring at the lace doilies on the table as if they were suddenly quite interesting. "Gramps, surely..." But he wouldn't meet my eyes either. He turned to Amos.
"You can get them out of the country? Safely?"
"Hang on!" I protested. Amos stood and wiped the crumbs off her jacket. She walked to the patio doors and stared out at the river. Honestly, was there such need for dramatics from her when I was the one about to be deported?
"The police will be back soon. Tell them anything you like. They won't find us." Well, that sounded ominous.
"You're going to kidnap us?" I stood, stunned.
I looked at Carla. "Do you believe this?" Carla shouldered the workbag. Then she stood like she was ready to go. She had a look of sad determination etched on her face.
"Samuel, just calm down. It's not a kidnapping if your grandparents consented. Don't make things more difficult than they already are." she sighed, before turning to Amos.
"How exactly do you plan to get to New York in the hour?" she asked. "You said, not a plane, but there's nothing faster."
"That's partially true," Amos agreed. She put her finger to the window and traced something in the condensation— another bloody hieroglyph. It had four parts; a hand, what looked like kids blocks, and...
"A boat," I said—then realized I'd translated aloud, which I wasn't supposed to be able to do. Amos peered at me over the top of her round glasses. "Yes, but how did you—"
"I mean that last bit looks like a boat," I blurted out. "But that can't be what you mean. That's ridiculous."
"Look!" Carla cried. I pressed in next to her at the patio doors. Down at the quayside, a boat was docked. But not a regular boat, mind you. It was an Egyptian reed boat, with two torches burning in the front (a major fire hazard), and a big rudder in the back. A figure in a black trench coat and hat—possibly Amos's—stood at the tiller. I'll admit, for once, I was at a loss for words. Shocking, I know.
"We're going in that?" Carter asked with a mix of disbelief and awe.
"It's faster than it looks. We'd better get started," Amos replied. Alright, magically appearing boats are where I drew the line. I whirled back to my grandmother.
"Gran, please!" She shook her head and brushed a tear from her cheek. She wrapped me in a tight hug, rubbing the back of my head.
"It's for the best, my dear. You should take Cupcake."
"Ah, yes," Amos said. "We can't forget the cat."
She turned towards the stairs and snapped her fingers. As if on cue, Cupcake raced down in a leopard-spotted streak and leaped into my arms. I barely managed to catch him I was so shocked. He never does that.
"Who are you?" I asked Amos. It was clear I was running out of options, but I at least wanted answers. "We can't just go off with some stranger."
"I'm not a stranger." Amos smiled at me. "I'm family."
And suddenly I remembered her face smiling down at me, singing, "Happy birthday, Samuel." A memory so distant, I'd almost forgotten.
"Aunt Amos?" I asked hazily.
"That's right, Samuel," he said. "I'm Julias's sister. Now come along. We have a long way to go."
Wow, that only took forever! I'm sorry. Motivation blah blah excuses blah blah you probably notice this pattern by now. Hope you enjoyed! I know it's shorter than usual, but it was the end of the chapter so I wanted to end this upload there. Next one should be up sometime soon (within next two weeks at most). If I can get it up earlier, I will.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions and any requests for other writing. I really enjoy getting the creative juices flowing and working on something different. My favorite type is Hurt/Comfort, but I'm more than able to do something else (and from another series) if you want. PM me or leave a comment if you want.
Anyway, thank you guys for all the support.
Until next time,
Cat
