Hey all! Here's chapter five! R and R!

Cheers!

With a spirit heavier than a ship's anchor, Amelia leaned her head against the bus window. Her breath coloured it. Normally she would have drawn pictures and rude words in the condensation, but her eyes hardly registered the stuff. They were still heavy with tears.

A bump on the road caused her to sit up straight. She was nearly home.

Ivan had dropped her off at the bus stop after making sure she was not going to erupt into a fit of tears again. The entire situation had drained so much from Amelia that she just wished to crawl under the covers. The Russian had given her a couple more tissues before they parted. He had said, 'I shall do what I can', before he drove away.

Amelia was counting on that. She smiled for the first time since beginning to cry and made herself a promise to be stronger.

Her stop came. She got off and walked to her house.

Amelia was brushing Lily when Colin came into the barn. The young horse whinnied at the stranger and her owner gave a frosty look that she quickly readjusted to a neutral one. The brush in her hand was gripped tighter.

'Hey, Amelia,' he said. Colin was in a suit – a suit for that company. 'How are you today?'

The idle question raised a flare of anger inside her. The flame licked her heart; it was almost painful. 'What do you want, Colin? Shouldn't you be working?'

The questions had come out rougher than was intended. Nevertheless, Colin didn't so much as flinch.

'I just want to know how you're getting on. I'm sure it's not easy for you.' He looked to Lily and gave the animal a small smile.

'…'

Colin's eyes lowered when he tried to look at Amelia. He placed his hands inside his suit pockets, tense.

'Why did you come here?'

'What do you suspect happened to my brother? What have you found out, eh?' Colin's words snapped through the air.

Amelia's heart was struck with a jolt of pain. 'What? W-What would I know about this?'

'You know what I mean.' His whisper was a deadly sound around the big barn they stood in. He made to say more, but Amelia's mother called from the outside.

'Colin, dear! You in there?' She walked through the door with a smile on her face. She beamed even greater when she saw Amelia and Colin. 'Oh! Good! You found her!'

'Yes, ma'am.' Colin turned a smile on. He looked to Amelia, eyes holding silent words. 'Glad I caught you, Amelia. I'll see you around.'

Amelia's heart sank so low she thought it had left her body altogether. Arthur's brother knew about Ivan? He knew that she was searching for Arthur? As Colin walked out and his footsteps faded, tears threatened. Some maelstrom began to form within her being. Teeth began to grind her organs. Her throat swelled with terrible hotness.

'Honey, you Ok?'

Amelia felt her phone shift in her jacket pocket and immediately thought of one person she should contact.

'Uh, yeah… Yeah I'm fine. He was just talking about, you know, Arthur and stuff, and I got a little emotional.' She looked to the straw-covered floor of the barn. It seemed so far away.

'Oh, sweetie.'

Texting was so informal, and although it was usually something Amelia strived in – informality – she did not like telling Ivan things through this medium. Her thumb pressed the buttons with a little shake.

Hey! I have so much gossip for you! Wanna meet up when you're free?

Amelia hated pretending, but it had to be done. There was a segment of her that just wanted to run from her home.

In typical prompt fashion, Ivan replied, So soon? We only just met up! It must be good!

Amelia held the phone to her forehead as though trying to telepathically communicate with Ivan. She admitted it to herself; to find Arthur, Ivan was the only person in the world she could talk to.

It's totally cool! Meet you tomorrow?

Sounds good! :)

Amelia shed a few tears as she got ready for bed. She thought of Colin's words, those dangerous words. How much was he aware of Ivan? Did he see the Russian at all and suspect? Did he know that Ivan was an investigator? There was too much for the young girl to cope with. Her world began to swirl and she grabbed either side of the sink, fearing she would throw up.

Her sleep was not filled with peace.

They did not meet in the café, rather a little diner at the edge of the city. Ivan was sitting in silence towards the back, gloved hands and something new on his person – a light purple scarf. When the young American sat down opposite him, she saw how perfectly it complimented his eyes.

'Hey,' she said quietly.

Not looking at her, Ivan replied, 'No shouting?'

She did not answer, only looking at the menu and choosing what flavour of pie she wanted. They all looked so good. She gave the waitress her order.

The Russian let a silence linger in the air for a few moments before he broke it. 'So, what do you want to speak about?'

'Colin,' Amelia said. At the sounding of his name, a little shiver told her to look discretely around for him. She did so, but saw nothing other than customers eating and laughing among themselves. The fan overhead whirled and emitted a quiet whoosh sound. Its shadows travelled over their heads.

'Oh? That's funny.' Ivan muttered.

'What?'

He looked to her, his eyes heavy with something. 'What is it you want to say, child?'

With a stutter, she composed her voice. 'I think he knows… something…'

Ivan smirked. 'Yes, indeed.'

Amelia twitched.

'I discovered shortly after dropping you off at the bus stop yesterday. I went back to track those men, and I realised I was being watched. By whom… I am not completely sure, but I have a feeling...' Ivan rested his chin on his hand as the waitress served Amelia her slice of blueberry pie with a glass of milk. 'Hm… Not good.'

'Not good?! Of course it's not good!' Amelia took a large forkful of pie in her mouth and continued to speak, crumbs being spewed over the table. 'What the hell are we gonna do if Colin's on to us?!'

'Child…' Ivan sighed. He looked a tone angry. 'Calm… And do you not possess any manners?'

Amelia swallowed and slurped from her glass.

'Dude…! What do we do?!'

'I want to be sure of who's watching me. But I have little doubt in my mind.'

'I'll help you!'

'…'

His expression said enough, and with it, he got up and strode to the exit, leaving money to cover the food before he did. Amelia quickly scooped the pie into her mouth and sped after him. She grabbed his arm, feeling the muscles through his coat. They were tense.

'Let go of me, child.'

Words burst from her mouth. 'I'm not going home until I find Arthur! Ivan! I won't!'

The Russian kept moving for his car. The stones below Amelia's feet poked the soles of her shoes, tapping her feet somewhat painfully. Her hands grasped his sleeve. She would not let go for all the servings of pie in the world.

Nevertheless, Ivan made that very demand several times. When they got to his car, he turned round to her. They were out of sight of staff and customers. He looked to her with deadly eyes, perhaps throwing horrible things at her.

'You know, I am not even sure why I'm helping you anymore. You are a silly child!' Ivan said angrily.

This got to Amelia slightly. '… But you will help me… I'm paying you, after all.'

'That's not – I haven't even been paid, yet…!'

'You said you didn't want – '

'Ok! Ok…! Fine…'

'Fine what?'

Ivan rubbed his temples with his gloved fingers. His platinum blonde hair captured the small light of the day. Amelia leaned against his car and looked to the pebble-covered ground. She kicked some of the little stones away from her.

Ivan moved and Amelia moved with him. He got into his car and she got into the passenger seat.

'Stupid American.'

They talked about Colin's disclosure for a while, and although Amelia admitted the revelation was not as clear as crystal, Ivan was almost completely convinced that the Englishman was aware of the current 'situation' as such. Ivan had previously said he was being watched (it had only been a silhouette the Russian had spotted), but he did not believe it was Colin doing the watching. He pressed with something else – that Colin had done to same thing Amelia had and hired a private detective.

'But… why would he…?'

'It is a theory, child.' Ivan insisted. 'But what about this? You have the wrong end of the stick about Colin in the first place. What I mean is… Did he really kidnap Arthur like you believe?'

Amelia remained in a half-stunned silence for a while. She turned her attention to the outside world. A little bird glided past and nestled in a tree laden with emerging fruit.

'Amelia.'

She looked to him. Her heart fell. It had been doing that too much recently. 'What?'

'What do you think of that?'

Then Amelia laughed. She covered her face with her hands and laughed and laughed. The car filled with the noise. Ivan only looked at her and waited for a finish.

The young girl finally let her laughter die out. The car was silent again.

'Oh God… Heh heh…' Amelia chuckled, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. She scratched her head, knowing how crazy she must have seemed. Her laughter was fuelled by a completely hopeless feeling. She had cried enough.

Ivan seemed unfazed. He began to speak. 'I did some checking, and I do believe I know who Colin might have hired.'

'W-What? Are… you serious? But why would he…? I mean…'

'Amelia, I think you're wrong about Colin. There's something else to this. You say Colin wasn't completely clear?'

'Well, I didn't hear everything because my mom showed up.' Amelia sighed heavily. 'Uh… I just don't understand anything anymore.'

'Well, that hardly surprises me…' Ivan muttered. He grinned as Amelia scowled at him. 'But anyway, as I said, I believe Colin hired a private detective, too, and unfortunately… The one he has hired...'

Ivan's face withdrew into a terrified state. His eyes drooped and his mouth tensed. Amelia saw his hands shake slightly as he gripped the steering wheel.

'Dude…?' She leaned over to examine Ivan more closely. Such fear… It was not something she had ever seen or began to imagine from him. This Russian was surely made of steel. 'Ivan…?'

'Uh!' He snapped his gaze to Amelia, his purple eyes wide and his eyebrows knitted together. 'What?'

Amelia jolted back. 'Dude! What was that?! You scared of this guy Colin hired or what?'

'It's not what you call a 'guy'… But I feel that we must go and see her to get some answers.' Ivan turned the engine on and backed the car out of the space.

Amelia put her seatbelt on. 'A girl? That's so cool! Are we going to see her now?'

Ivan made a noise in his throat before answering, 'Yes. Hopefully she is where I think she is.'

Ivan brought her to a bar called the 'Red Hog.'

It was afternoon, which was why Amelia was so surprised that the bar was full of people. Young, but beyond their teens. A quiet group who played snooker or darts. Some were gathered on sofas around a widescreen television with a sport on.

Ivan nodded to a staff member in a familiar but not friendly manner. Amelia looked around in wonder, and it was only when Ivan grabbed her arm that she realised she had wandered from him slightly.

'Stay close to me,' he said in a near hushed voice. He held her sleeve loosely. 'Don't wander off.'

They reached a more secluded portion of the building. At the bar there was nobody, only a lone figure sitting, appearing to nurse a drink of some kind. It was a girl. As soon as she came into view, Ivan slowed and Amelia heard his gulp. She looked up to him, saw his fear, and gripped his sleeve in her best attempt at comfort. He breathed in and out deeply.

The girl had long hair a similar colour to Ivan's, perhaps a tad lighter. Upon her head was a white bow. The dress she wore was a dark purple in colour. Apart from her slender figure, Amelia could not make out anything more until the girl turned around like an animal sensing a predator.

Her eyes were a harsh dark blue. Her expression, though containing a smile, was one which held coldness.

'Big brother,' she greeted in a deep Russian accent. 'It's been so long… Too long…!'

Amelia's heart leapt.

Big… brother?!

Ivan tensed beside the young American. 'Hello, Natalia.'

There's chapter five! Hope you enjoyed.

If there's anything you feel I am not covering enough in the story – perhaps you want to know more about something, or I could progress something better, etc etc. – feel free to PM me or leave a review about it. I do my best, but I understand there may be things you want me to do better.

Anyway! Thanks for reading and I'll get chapter six up as soon as I can!

I uploaded a little doodle on deviantart based on this story (check out Doodle-3). Ah ha!