Chapter Three: Ridley's vow

Ridley noticed the change in the school's atmosphere when she returned Monday morning to school. She noticed the aura of the school become darker, almost lifeless in her opinion. She noticed some students act like nothing was wrong but some eyed her with worry as if she would explain what was going on in this school when she herself had no idea.

She ventured out into the school's main courtyard and took a seat on one of the many benches put through out the schoolyard as she began to realize the day without Jack had started. Ridley tilted her head back to the sky and saw some commercial airplanes go by when she overheard some rather loud voices from around the building. Normally Ridley wouldn't care but perked up when she heard Jack's name mentioned.

Ridley peered one eye and found the twins, Elena and Adina discussing Jack's fate. They would usually drift out of the conversation by saying some meaningless drabble about other boys but somehow went back to Jack and started up all over again. Ridley seemed to tune out the useless info and sharpen her hearing at Jack's name.

"...Must suck for Jack, you know? Being set up like that." Elena said sadly and Ridley frowned at this, set up? Adina didn't seem to care too much but agreed to it as well.

"I wonder why they let out Cross when he was clearly the instigator of this fight. Jack's probably there suffering in that jail cell, waiting for the army to tell him to get up and join in their suicide squads fighting those beasts of guilds." Elena seemed to be stuck on something and Ridley smiled, it was clear that Adina was the smarter twin and kept talking until Elena asked.

"Um..Adina?" She asked with a blank look to her sister, Adina stopped herself and with a knowing sigh she waited for the question.

"What does instigator mean?" Elena asked as if she was a student and her sister was the teacher. Adina sighed and grumbled about 'stupid twins' and so forth.

"I think you should have been born second, instead of first...anyway, instigator means..." Ridley then again tuned out until Jack's name was mentioned once again.

"...oh, well ok then...hey Adina?" Adina stopped again for the next question.

"Is it true that General Stone got Jack out?" Adina nodded and Ridley let out a silent gasp at Jack's relieved fate. Perhaps he was coming back? Ridley could only hope...

"Yeah, but he wasn't able to spring him out of serving in the army though...poor Jack." Ridley seemed to think that Adina was harboring feelings for Jack but brushed it off as jealousy and continued to listen in.

"He is serving as a rifleman in Ganz Rothschild's squad–"Elena was cut off by Adina's snort of laughter.

"Ganz Rothschild! Isn't he that dunderheaded janitor from our last school?" Adina said with a laughing sound and finished with a grin. Elena didn't seem happy about this though.

"Hey! Uncle Ganz is a good captain, don't make fun of him!" Elena defended her 'Uncle' Ganz as Adina seemed to quiet down a little bit.

"Just because he was kind to you doesn't mean he isn't a dunderhead. Though I am happy for him though, becoming an army captain, but still..." Adina trailed off worried for the clumsy, but lovable fat man. Elena sighed and completely switched the topic to 'Uncle' Ganz again and never mentioned Jack again.

Ridley pulled back and started to piece together what the twins said. According to them, Jack was set up but by who? Also he was set free by General Dynas Stone, a member of the army that often visits the Silverlake Estate. Jack also seems to a grunt under Ganz Rothschild's command and the commander seems to be a bit...inexperienced to say the least.

But who could do such a thing? Jack was pretty much lovable when he wasn't being the object of lust among the girls. Though it seems that her dad wasn't so upbeat whenever Ridley mentions her boyfriend...

Ridley let out an audible gasp, her father! He always was happy to see her daughter but seemed to be put out or annoyed whenever Jack came over for dinner or when picking her up for a date...

'So my father did this? But why? What could he hold against him...?' Ridley asked these silent questions all day in her head but as to keep from being monotone in her thoughts, she changed some words or thought deeper motives to being so.

Later that evening, Ridley sat in her room writing a letter General Stone when Jasne, her father and prime suspect in Ridley's mind knocked on the door and smiled a triumphant smile at her like if he did something that merited some praise from her.

"Hello, Ridley dear! How is my fine daughter doing?" He asked sweetly but his eyes shown anything but. Deciding to play this game, Ridley answered with a cheerful, but slightly suspicious hello.

"Ridley, would you come downstairs for a moment, your boyfriend will simply love to see you!" Jasne said happily while Ridley looked confused, Jack was in prison or in the army by now. Wasn't he?

Following the game Jasne played, Ridley began to doubt her suspicions about her father. Perhaps it was a joke between them? If it was, then Jack was so going to get it! Ridley thought furiously but was pleased at the budding friendship between the two. Of course, her doubtful suspicions returned to full blast when she Cross where Jack would be and her father looking pleased with himself as if he discovered the cure to Algandars.

Ridley then put two and two together and gasped. IT was true! But now wasn't the time, she had to confront her father right now!

"Where's Jack? I thought my BOYFRIEND was here, not this drugged up reject." Ridley said with a harsh tone but either her father didn't mind or her father didn't even listen as he continued to talk with Cross while was peering at her in an disturbing way. Ridley was shocked to see her father paying no heed as if he hardly cared that Cross was probably mentally undressing his one and only daughter from this...man.

"Now Cross, my boy. I would like to discuss our family's future when Ridley is old enough to be wed to yourself..." Jasne's voice trailed off to the den which Cross happily followed as the two chatted away as Ridley was left in shock and disgust at her father's actions.

'How DARE he! He knows that Jack is my boyfriend! He...he doesn't care at all.' Ridley thought sadly at her father's rapidly declining respect for herself and vice versa at him as she left crying for her room. Her tears wouldn't stop coming as she had been foolish to believe anything that would at least attempt a relationship between her father and her boyfriend.

"Haha! The plan has gone well, I presume?" A voice interrupted her tears and self pity thoughts as she stopped crying and listened from upstairs the conversation that made it's way back to the foyer of the estate.

"Yes lord Jasne, my parents believe that we were only separated because of the jail time and have continued their plans on making a wedding between me and Ridley." Cross' voice. Ridley gasped in shock at the revelation and anger at her father's knowledge of it. She could hear her father chuckle in victory.

"Well, as long as they don't find out about your "Separation" from Ridley and yourself as we shred any evidence saying otherwise." Jasne's voice was practically unveiling their plans unsuspecting to Ridley's eavesdropping self. Ridley let a stray thought fly by as it seemed that she was particularly good at this sort of thing before shaking it off and hearing no more of this vile plan.

Ridley deleted the letter she was sending to General Stone and wrote up an entirely different new one. Explaining about her bastard of a father's plan to marry off her to Cross and somewhat 'uniting' the Silverlake and the Ward families. Due to you being the reader and I the author, we get to see the letter seconds before it was sent.

General Dynas:

You must not tell anyone about this, but I am running away to find Jack. It seemed that he was intentionally framed for his crime and I want to bring him home from prison or from the army or wherever he is! If you can stop that, then please release him, and try to knock some sense into my father, as he seems delusional. If not, then don't say anything about my whereabouts as you truly wouldn't know.

I'll come back, with Jack in tow,

Ridley.

And with that, ladies and gentlemen is the letter she sent to Dynas as she escaped through the night from her window on the second floor, searching for Jack from the last known position, the North gate police station...only one question flooded her mind.

"Where's Jack?"

After the spoken question, she began a hasty vow to find Jack and cut off ties between her father and that creep Cross and perhaps run away with Jack...perhaps she was pushing it at marriage but hey, a girl could dream right?

It was early morning when Jasne saw Ridley's room devoid of her and the window opened wide. Jasne then quickly assumed that she had run away and called for the police that were in his pay to look for his precious daughter. Stunned and enraged at her daughter's unusual brash move, he began to realize that Jack was somehow responsible and made sure to attempt a gap between him and Ridley...

Meanwhile, Jack was busy training under Ganz's aloof but stern eye as he began his basics in combat training...

Thank you for the...limited reviews! Next we see part two of Ridley's vow, entitled "Jack's new day"! I hope to see an improvement from limited to a little more!