Last time on "Home" our reluctant couple went out for a long romantic tomas ride together but instead of love patter, poor Vash get's let in on a conspiracy instead (not what he had been hoping for). Then the bounty hunters showed up and ruined whatever ambiance they'd managed to scrape together, but what's this? Vash wasn't the one they were after? And finally, we left our hero on his butt in the dust after just having heard a dewey-eyed confession of love, or well, maybe it was more like she just let him have it. Either way, he'll take it!
Milly looked up from her floppy-back romance novel (involving a pretty young office worker and the ruggedly handsome outlaw who saved her from a hostage situation on a sandsteamer) when Meryl knocked and swiftly entered the room that the two of them were sharing. She looked... unnerved. Meryl almost never looked unnerved. Milly found out why she was out of sorts a moment later.
"I went nuts on him!" she gasped out. Milly's heart leapt. Finally! It was about gosh durned time too!
"That's wonderful Meryl!" Milly enthused. "What did he say?"
"I don't know, I didn't stick around long enough to find out," she said, looking chagrined.
Oh sempai, Milly thought, internally shaking her head. She could be so very competent and collected in almost every single aspect of the rest of her life but when it came to matters of the heart she was "completely out to sea" as Milly's mother would say (the phrase stuck around despite the fact that no-one in this or the previous generation had ever seen a sea). Milly was getting the feeling that Meryl simply didn't know what to do with her emotions, most people cut their teeth on their family relationships but Milly had seen Meryl's family and very much doubted she could look there for support.
"Well, that just means that he'll have time to think about how he'll frame his reply then," Milly comforted her friend.
"This is such a bad idea," Meryl moaned. "I mean, falling in love with your assignment-- oh god, I just said love didn't I?" She looked utterly horrified. Milly had to fight hard to maintain a straight face.
"Yes you did," Milly assured her. "And you know what? It's not the end of the world."
Meryl frowned and started drawing water for a bath to wash the dust off after the mornings travel. One tell about Meryl's background and breeding was that she was always impeccably neat, and very cleanly.
"It could be the end of my job though," Meryl pointed out. "I mean, how unprofessional can you get? Falling for the person you're supposed to be running surveillance on isn't what a top-notch field agent does."
"Now you're just making obstacles," Milly said. "It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, it doesn't even matter what Mister Bernardelli thinks, all that matters is what you and Mister Vash feel about it."
"You say that but-- well, I doubt he feels the same way I do," Meryl said. "I go out of my way to be as bitchy as possible to as many people as possible, who in their right minds would want to get close to that? It'd be like hugging a cactus!"
"Mister Vash is a glutton for punishment sometimes," Milly joked softly. "I don't think he really minds your thorns."
"It just makes no sense," Meryl said.
It didn't even take a woman as secretly observant as Milly to figure out that Meryl liked to keep people at arms length with her scary temper and her strict, rigidly formal bearing. She did go out of her way to have that intimidating icy wall of professionalism about her, but Milly had seen long ago that it had been formed by Meryl as a way to protect herself.
"There there, Ma'am," Milly said, patting her shoulder. Before she could add on to that there came an abrupt knock at the door.
"Who is it?" Meryl called out, her voice just barely on the edge of a tremor.
"Kelsie the maid, Miss," said a voice on the other side of the door that was not anywhere close to being the meek submissive tone of many of the house servants. Instead it sounded, brisk, peremptory and full of impatience.
"The Missus sent me up to ready you for tea."
"Erhg," Meryl muttered in an undertone to Milly, rolling her eyes at the door. "It's my step-mother's Ladies Maid. I despise that woman and the feeling is mutual, you should see the way she likes to tie a corset."
"I am already dressed," Meryl replied, meeting tone for tone, her spine unconsciously straightening. "And I don't recall being scheduled for tea this afternoon."
"Maybe you should go Sempai," Milly felt obliged to advise. It was after all, only tea, and it was family. "Just to be polite."
"You're probably right," Meryl grumbled. "And tea gowns don't generally have corsets. Alright, I''ll go."
"Come in," Milly called out to the maid. The door opened and a formidable looking she-dragon of a woman in her late forties entered the door. Stiff-backed and correct, she wore matronly propriety the way others wore scarves. She took one look at the both of them and gave a single soft sniff, but that was enough to let it be known what her opinion was.
"If you'll just hop into the bath," she said as her first words upon entering. "I'll have your clothes laid out for you."
"A bath is always good after a ride," Meryl allowed, as if bestowing a grudging favor. "Milly, will you come to tea with us? The cook makes excellent scones."
"Sure Sempai, I'd be happy to," Milly said, recognizing a subtle cry for help, or at least company so she wouldn't be alone, when she heard one.
"I'll send down to the laundry for something in your size," the she-dragon replied with another of those sniffs. The lady walked over to a heretofore unnoticed box on top of a sat-feed radio and pushed a button on it then spoke into it ordering up two maids with an iron and a dress in Milly's size, preferably blue if they could find it. Then she went about with brisk efficiency pulling out a satin tea gown in pale indigo (that color somewhere between blue and violet) with a white bloused underskirt, stockings, shoes and gloves.
The two maids appeared at the door a moment later readying the skirts laid out and brought with after they'd set up thier ironing board and iron. One of the maids actually knocked on the bathroom door while the other was ironing and the dragon lady was setting out accoutrments for hair styling and asked if Meryl needed someone to wash her hair.
"Sit over there in that chair Miss Tompson," the Ladies maid instructed. "I'll have Shally do your hair."
"Um, okay," she agreed, not really wanting to find out what would happen if she told this formidable woman no.
Shally was an unassuming girl of average height in her mid-twenties, she shared a conspiratorial wink with Milly and made a face at the older woman's back when she wasn't looking. So, the superior servant wasn't well beloved with the under staff, not surprising. Milly contented herself with the gentle tugs on her scalp from Shally beginning to work on her hair.
"It's so thick," she commented, carefully working the brush through it. "It must be murder to take care of in the desert."
"It's not so bad," Milly said. "I'm used to it like this."
Shally proceeded to pull the top half back into an elaborate clip of a beautiful butterfly made in brilliant sparkling colors made of swarovski crystals. The rest of her hair she left down as Milly preferred, curling the ends. She then pulled out two long bangs on either side of her face, and promptly began to curl them into ringlets to frame at her face and hang in front of her ears. As she began to start applying make-up the door to the bathroom opened.
Meryl emerged a few minutes later wrapped in a dressing robe and one of the other servant girls started in on her hair, it wasn't long so there wasn't a whole lot to be done with it, they seemed to be feathering it on top and styling to sides in a wave with her bangs off to one side and the back styled to look like it was in an old fashioned twist secured by an elaborade hair comb that was in reality clipped into the shorter hair in the back.
The tea gowns they were dressed in (Milly hadn't had someone else dress her since she'd been a small child!) were long, thin elegant affairs of pastel silk and ribbons. There were, thankfully, no corsets, the tea gowns were of an empire cut, with a sash that gathered the torso just below the bust with enormous bows in back, slim, flowing skirt was left to fall from the sash. Milly's dress had an off-the-shoulder neckline that showed a little (but not too much) cleavage and small puffs at the upper arms which only went to the elbow and cut off. Meryl's was a little different, being a squared off U with short loose sleeves that gathered at the tops of her shoulders and fell in folds to her elbows.
Once they were finished the upper servant dismissed the rest of the maids and gave the two of them a thorough once over from every angle before pronouncing herself satisfied that they were fit to be seen in company.
When they emerged downstair and were presented for tea by the parlor maid they found that most of the guests were already seated and being served. There was the bride-to-be of course, and the mother of the bride, as well as a host of what were probably bridesmaids and frieds of the bride (likely the entire female portion of the graduating class of Mellisandra's finishing school) but Milly was surprised and taken aback to be greeted with a face they recognized.
"Why Miss Marianne!" Milly exclaimed upon seeing her. "I didn't know you were invited too! What an amazing coincidence."
Milly didn't miss the way the pretty Federal Marshals eyes widened, not just in surprise but also a little dismay.
"Oh... wow!" she said a little stiffly rising to greet the two of them. Milly could see worry being hidden behind her eyes. "Fancy meeting the two of you here..."
Meryl's head cocked to one side as she appraised the other woman and said
"It's been some time, but I'm certainly glad we could get that little matter about the home owners insurance you bought from the company smoothed over." Milly was about to protest that Marianne hadn't bought any insurance from them but Meryl nudged her surreptitiously in the leg and Millie caught on.
"Yes, I sure am!" Marianne said, seizing on it with thinly disguised relief.
"Why Meryl, I wasn't aware you knew Miss Aura-Cayzen," the step-mother said from the seating arrangement made to accommodate a crowd for tea. "Her grandfather is in charge of the federal Marshals, you know," she continued. "And Grandfather Arthur is old friends with him."
"One of those odd coincidences," Meryl said. "I take it you're here on behalf of your family. for the wedding then?"
"Oh, yes, just me representing the family," Marianne said brightly. "Nothing else more interesting than that, just a girl doing her family duty..."
"Uh-huh," Meryl said, politely not buying it. She appeared to be willing to play along though and said only
"Welcome to the vineyards, i hope your stay is enjoyable. Please let me know if there is any way I can be of assistance to you. I'd be happy to show you around if you'd like."
"Thank-you, you're very kind."
Milly could see right away that Miss Marianne wasn't here just for cake and tea, she could also tell by subtle cues from her partner that Meryl was betting she had and ulterior motive as well. However, her senior partner seemed to be willing to let the Federal Marshal do what investigating she wished to do undercover and was providing her with an out and a way to maintain her cover story.
They sat down to tea and the discussion of the minutae of the wedding commenced unabated. Milly noted with some amusement that after ten minutes Meryl was already starting to grow impatient with the topic. A practical woman to the core, Meryl didn't seem the type to take delight in lengthy comparisons of one cut or fit suiting lace better than chiffon or whether satin was an appropriate material to wear to a fall wedding.
"So," Mariane said, catching on to Meryls thinly disguised boredom with the topic (to be honest, the young federal Agent didn't seem to be overly thrilled with it either).
"Are you still traveling with Mister Ace Gunman?"
Meryl blinked at the sudden change in topic, and brought herself around to figuring out what Marriane was hinting at.
"Oh! Ah... yes," she replied.
"Then I take it you haven't found Vash the Stampede" Marianne added, sipping her tea delicately.
"...um..." Meryl stalled.
"And that's good," Marianne said without missing a beat. "Because if you had, i'd be forced to arrest him."
"Well we wouldn't want that," Meryl said, at last grasping at what the Agent was getting at. "Besdies, I doubt there actually is a real Vash the Stampede anyway. It's probably like the Dread Pirate Roberts in that old story..."
Marianne looked blankly back at her.
"You know, the one about the girl who's lover dies so she gets married off to a prince and then kidnapped by these three goons who want to start a war between two countries and-- You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
"Nary a clue," Marianne assured her.
"Oh, well, you should read it," Meryl said with an air o being accustomed to having this happen. "It's really funny. The original was actually a satire in its day."
"Is that so," Marianne said politely. The conversation petered out after that.
"...and then there's the bachelorette party," her sister Mellisandra was going on. The topic had turned to the agenda for the next few days. "That'll be the night after the formal dinner, but before the actual wedding."
"Bachelorette party?" Meryl said, looking dismayed. The wide-eyed, tomas-in-the-headlights look was a new one on her.
"Yes," Mellisandra said, turning to talk to her step-sister for the first time all day. "The saloon down in Sandeville has agreed to host it. Dylan and the boys have already cleared reservations at the cabaret for that evening, so we have the place to ourselves!"
"My dear, you know I shall never approve of those things," her mother said uprightly.
"What? Men get to do them, there's no reason why I shouldn't get to have one last night of fun before settling down to be married," Mellisandra argued. "Fair is fair."
"But men are.. well it's just different that's all. Ladies are not supposed to go wild and act in a manner unbecoming of their station."
"But it's alright if men do the same," Meryl cut in, irritated. "That's what is known as a double standard. Let the girl have her fun, lord knows the grooms side will likely be out all night drinking themselves sick, debauching with women of negotiable virtue and generally making asses of themselves. If Mellie wants to do the same, minus the women perhaps, then that's her business."
A number of the other women were regarding Meryl with look akin to the stare one might have if ones dog suddenly stood on its hindlegs and started reciting string theory.
"Just don't expect me to carry her inebriated carcass home afterward," Meryl added. "I get enough of that just doing my job."
"You have a job where you carry drunkards home in the middle of the night?" Mellisandra leapt on it.
"Just one," Meryl said shortly. "And that isn't the point. I never thought I'd ever actually say this, but I agree with Step Mother, Mel. Not on that whole lady-like double standard non-sense of course, but I believe it unwise for you to go out and get inebriated in the company of strange men who get paid to take their clothes off. You don't know them and they can't be trusted. They could take advantage of you, not to mention the fact that you're wasting your money throwing it down some guys pants, where is your dignity?"
Millie blinked, it looked like Meryl had decided to haul out her Big Sis pants and go into lecture mode.
"It's not like I'm going to be alone, all the other bridesmaids will be there too," Mellisandra argued sullenly. She smiled up at Meryl. "I'll have you there to make sure things don't get too out of hand, how's that?"
"I'm not going," Meryl said shortly. "If you're going to make a fool of yourself don't expect to drag me along with you."
"You're a bridesmaid," Mellisandra pointed out. "It's mandatory."
"I was conscripted against my will," Meryl muttered.
"And that reminds me, Meryl," the stepmother cut in. "You have your final fitting today in an hour so don't be late. Plus there's the wedding dinner later on tonight."
"That's tonight?" Meryl said. "I didn't see it posted on the agenda."
"You were looking at the old copy," Mellisandra said. "We had to move it up because the regimen will be leaving town in a day, and the officers are making up a large portion of the guest list."
"The staff must be going crazy right now," Meryl muttered. A full six course formal dinner plus preparations for the ball held afterward crammed together in the space of a few hours? It was a logistical nightmare.
"We have things in hand," her mother replied, her tone however suggested that Meryl's assertion was closer to the truth.
"I guess I'll have to give it a miss," Meryl said with mock regret. "No ball gown. Oh dear." She didn't sound terribly unhappy about it, rather the reverse being true.
"It's already been taken care of," her step mother assured her with poisonous sweetness. "The seamstress we visited yesterday was able to put a rush on it and it should be ready in time for tonight. You will be there."
Meryl wasn't able to supress a disappointed slump.
Vash peered carefully around the corner, recon was crucial to a successful mission after all. The hallway was clear but for one figure, unfortunately the entrance to his objective had a guard posted.
I hope my source was accurate, he thought to himself. But the source of his information hadn't known that he'd overheard their conversation involving the reluctant sister of the bride and her unasked-for appointment with the seamstress for a final fitting. They'd said it was supposed to take place at this time, and he was sure the room number was right.
He peeked around the corner again, assessing the quality of the guard they had posted; after a long assessing look he decided not to risk it. They seemed to have found the single lone she-dragon in this hive and set her to guarding the House's greatest treasure. Vash was a brave knight, but contrary to popular opinion, he wasn't stupid.
Looks like I'll have to find a rope and hit the rooftops, he grumbled to himself. He paused to reconsider however; aside of having a she-dragon guarding the door, the princess usually had her eerily perceptive "handmaiden" along with her and Vash didn't know if Millie would fall for his excuse of patrolling the roof for spooks a second time.
"Ah! There you are, boy!" an elderly, but still hale and healthy voice called from the other end of the hallway. Vash shot to immediate guilty attention and tried not to look like he was doing exactly what he was doing.
"I was just looking for the bathroom!" Vash said, trying not to sound panicked.
"Wrong hallway, down the one on your left boy," the old man rumbled, eying him searchingly. Vash put on his best disarming sheepish face and scratched the back of his head.
"Oh yeah, thanks," he laughed nervously. "I get so lost in this place y'know?"
"I was wondering if i could ask you a favor," the man continued, coming to the matter that had apparently led him to seek Vash out in the first place.
"Oh, sure," Vash said, relaxing a little since "Artie" had apparently bought his story. "Ask away."
"A couple of the young officers had to leave a little early for their next posting so there's a few holes in the guest list. Claire's a little beside herself at the gaps in the table so I was wondering if you and your brother would be so kind as to fill the spaces."
"I, uh, I can't answer for Knives but I'd be happy to uh, help out," Vash said.
Free food, and Short Girl in a ball gown! he thought ecstatically. Could this trip get any better?
"Good, good, I knew I could count on you. You seem like such an upstanding, gentlemanly young man," he paused a beat and continued with a sharp gaze. "...Who wouldn't even think about trying to peek in on my grandaughter while she's getting fitted for her dresses."
"No sir!" he snapped even straighter. "Wouldn't dream of it! Heh heh heh...hahahahaha..." then he started laughing nervously but unfortunately it came out as the really high-pitched nervous one, and the old man shook his head and continued on his way.
Damn, now I know where Short Girl gets it from, Vash thought ruefully to himself.
He might as well just head back to his quarters and stay with his brother until the evening, lord knew he didn't want to get conscripted into some wedding related thing like hanging doilies or whatever. Those bridesmaids were a little scary, with their high-pitched squealy voices and their giggling and cries of "oh that's adorable!" There was only so much a reasonable man could be expected to take. No, sometimes his brother's unsociable behavior was just what the situation called for.
He was passing down one of the plain utilitarian servants halls on his way to the suite he shared with his brother when he caught the sound of two voices speaking in tones not meant to be overheard. Instinct prompted him to freeze and listen, his life had been saved on many occasions simply by his being aware of others around him acting in a stealthy manner.
"And he wants it done out of sight, no witnesses?" one voice said. It wasn't a particularly deep voice, but it did have a hard edge to it that Vash immediately mistrusted.
"Quietly," another voice confirmed. Mediocre with a soft quality to it and the accent of arrogance.
"Quietly costs extra, from all I hear she's a loud woman and the place will be crawling with soldiers, why not wait a few days, the wedding will be over with then and all the regimen will be gone. She investigates disasters for a living so it should be easy to pick her off without arousing suspicion."
"The master says she's got a Sword of Damocles on him, proof that his practices and the programs him and his heir to be intend to put into place are less than beneficial to the sands around them. She's threatened to take the proof to the marshals and let them tear apart the operation in three days time, we need her eliminated before then."
Vash closed his eyes and cursed inwardly. He didn't know whether to bless her foresight or curse her strait-forwardness. But she couldn't have known, not really, how ruthless the men she was dealing with could get. With all of the guests in the house for the wedding there were people coming and going at all hours and no-one would notice an extra body in the area. A poison slipped surreptitiously into her tea, a dart shot at her from hiding, a knife hidden in the shadows... many and varied forms of death could be arranged in secret for a price. this guy probably wasn't the only assassin being contacted if those roughnecks form earlier this morning were anything to judge by. No there was probably a posting on the grey lists, the lists of unofficial bounties and assassin marks for the private sector available for an exorbitant rate, by one interested party if not both of them.
This is a nightmare! he thought in dismay. This place is crawling with armed personel, not the least of which work directly for one of the men trying to kill her. Vash would have wondered why the groom wouldn't have ordered some of his own muscle to "take care of her" if the answer hadn't been glaringly obvious; if public suspicion fell on one of his employees, Mori-Korin stood a chance of being ousted from the wedding if not the will.
"It's done," the steely voiced one said.
Like hell, Vash thought protectively. It was usually his style to wait until danger came to him and then do something about it, but he was in the mood right then to tear a page form the book of Meryl, and run some preventative measures. He walked right around the corner and nearly into the two of them with his best innocent country-boy look. He smiled stupidly at them and exclaimed
"Hey there fellas! I was just looking for the bathroom, you wouldn't happen to have seen it anywhere around here would you have?"
The two men, one of them a man dressed in the livery of one of th House upper servants, perhaps even the master's Valet, and the other a man dressed in non-descript business suit with a concealed weapon of the handgun variety from what Vash could make out of the outline in his shirt exchanged along glance with each other as if to ask "do you think he heard?"
"I didn't mean to interrupt your evil plot or anything," he confirmed waving a hand dismissively at the both of them, still smiling. "Go ahead and finish up your little contract. Mum's the word, I promise."
As one they both turned on him. The butler was reaching into the vest of his livery and pulling out throwing knives like he knew what to do with them, the assassin was echoing the move on the right and they were both looking like getting rid of Vash was going to be taken care of before they moved on to their real target.
What kinda man is her father that he's got a professional assassin for a butler?! Vash wondered in dismay as he turned to run. A knife thunked into the wall beside him as he dodged round a corner. The assassin was screwing on a silencer to the end of his gun, feeling that one bullet ought to do it, clearly allowing his temporary partner to run his prey into the ground and then take the shot when Vash was tired enough to make a mistake.
Taking stock; don't have a gun, don't have cover, can't get near the main rooms or they'll fire on the crowd and--
-Honestly brother, I cannot leave you be for a second,- Knives voice came deep in his mind, laced with annoyance and boredom. The two pursuants froze in place their muscles locked.
-Are you doing that?- Vash asked, already knowing the answer.
-It's not harming them, nor is it allowing them to harm others, therefore it falls neatly outside of the geas you have placed upon me dear brother,- Knives replied.
Vash felt the flash of annoyance Knives had at his powers and choices being hemmed in by the geas that Vash had placed on Knives while he was still recovering and unaware. Knives was not allowed to kill another human, or by inaction allow another human to come to harm, but he could defend himself and his friends as long as that rule was not violated.
-Well thanks!- Vash thought brightly, perhaps having his brother around wasn't so bad after all!
-I heard that,- Knives grumbled. -I will erase their memories now. It would be inconveinient for us if they knew that there was anything out of the ordinary about you. I will even be generous and erase their memories of this meeting so that your smaller Human Servant is not pestered with their attempts on her life.-
-Knives! Don't erase their memories!- Vash immediately protested.
-Hm, for once you may have the more sensible course of action brother,- Knives said approvingly. -If I prevent these two from thier assassination attempts, then likely the servant will simply find another that we do not know of.-
-Well that too, but what I meant was that it was wrong to fool around with peoples minds like that,- Vash clarified.
The snorting sound that Knives made in return was all it took to show his opinion on Vash's assertion, as well as the old difference of opinion between them regarding what constituted a moral action. Vash sensed the mental twisting a reweaving that Knives executed with practiced finesse on their minds and took himself off to another place so that he was not within the area when they regained control of their senses.
Well, Short Girl's in trouble, he thought. Her father wants her dead, and so does the ex, and they have the money to hire guys to make that happen. This place is probably already crawling with people who want to kill her, or if it isn't it soon will be.
He should tell her about the plans against her life, she and Milly both deserved to know.And if they knew about the threat they could probably be convinced to clear the area, wedding or no wedding. Meryl wasn't a coward, the fact that she'd stuck by his side this long was a testament to that, but she had a fine sense of when the collateral damages would be far more costly than the fight itself. She usually chose to back off and take a different route; to pick her battles as the saying went. Vash reversed course and set out to the room Millie shared with Meryl, with any luck they'd both be there (with even better luck, Meryl would be changing again!) but even if they weren't he could leave a message with Millie for the two of them to keep an eye out.
And even if she can't leave tonight, I'll at least be there to keep an eye on things, Vash consoled himself.
& & & &
& & & &
A.N. Well, it looks like it's been a long time since I last posted anything. Now that I am studies free for a little while, I thought I'd take the time to post up the latest chapter of this baby. I'm always a little surprised by how well received this story is, because for me, this one's only sort of a fun time waster until I get around to perfecting the fic I really want to write. The other one is coming along well by the way if anyone's curious, I was thinking about posting a preveiw to it at the bottom of this fic, give me a shout out if anyone's interested.
P.S. If anyone can tell me what all of the chapter titles in this fic including the main title have in common, they will win a free fic of any genre dedicated them in which they get to call the key subject. Contest closes on May 28th. Good luck!