Berwick

AN: So, who's ready for a two second Kurtis? I am. And who's ready for Mr Mason DeComble and his Jordy butler to make an appearance?

Disclaimer: Right, I just spent over £50 on a JOINT cost birthday present for my friend, leaving me with 52p. I somehow think that that's not enough to buy or own Tomb Raider, Lara Croft, Zip, Alistair Fletcher or Kurtis Trent (yep, teenage hottie alert!)

Lara trugged down the stairs, carrying a duffel bag in one hand with her backpack and in the other a suitcase. She dropped the suitcase to the ground and it flopped open, showing only one pair of jeans, a pair of shorts and two tank-tops. "Is that all your taking, Lara?" Alistair asked, standing in front of her. As a reply, Lara dumped her duffel bag and backpack into his hands, walking back up to the top of the stairs, revealing a second case. She walked back down the stairs, unzipping the case and spilling the contents out onto the floor with a sly smile. Looking down, Alistair could see endless amounts of firearm. Pistols, uzi's, grenades, rifles and shotguns. "You always did like your guns."

"They take up half of my luggage." she smiled before kneeling down to place the guns into the case. She emptied the cartridges and took her guns a part, placing them on top of her clothes in the suitcase. She stood back up. The only thing left to do was to find out where she was actually going. As if reading her mind, Zip appeared at the doorway to the kitchen, holding an earpiece and mic. "Wallace cottage, Berwick. The train will practically drop you off at it's doorstep." he smiled, handing her the equipment. "Thank-you."

"Please tell me about all the artefact's there, Lara. I've never been but apparently they are supposed to really be something."

"I'll try my best Alistair. But that's if I'm not forced to kill this guy for the good of mankind." she joked. She began walking towards the door, grabbing her car keys on the table before saying her goodbyes and leaving the house, completely oblivious of what she was getting herself into.

Lara stood at the train station, waiting for her train to Berwick to arrive at the station. The weather was back to it's old ways; rain. The only thing saving Lara from being drenched from head to foot was the paper that she was holding over her head, the platform not having any roofing. She heard the clunking of the bottom of the train connect with the tracks and looked up to see it pulling up for her to board.

Looking around, she saw she was the only person boarding at this stop. Which, actually didn't surprise her. It was half past five in the morning. She hadn't been able to get to sleep the night before. Knowing that she would be forced back into the life of assisting a Lux Veritatis brought so many memories back; good and bad. Good about seeing Kurtis again, being allowed to tell him how she truly felt. Bad being the pain it brought with it.

The doors opened and she put the newspaper in her backpack, getting onto the train. It was mostly empty, just a few people here and there, presumably on their way to work. She came to a seat, put her suitcase in the slot above it and then sat down, sighing and relaxing back into the chair. She turned and faced forward as she heard mumbling from in front of her and turned to see a young girl muttering under her breath. As she passed her, the girl smiled weakly at Lara. Lara would've normally taken this as a sign of aggression, but seeing as she was a young teenage girl up in the early hours of the morning, she couldn't blame her for moaning. Wait a second, Lara turned around as the girl passed her, but by the time she had twisted to answer her questions, the girl was gone. Lara turned back around. She could've sworn she recognised that girl from somewhere, but she couldn't put a finger on it. She turned back to look outside of the window.

"Ma'am?" Lara heard a voice ask.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

Lara turned around to look at the owner of the voice. "What?" she asked irritated.

"May I have your ticket please?"

Lara dug deep in the pocket of her denim jacket, and pulled a small rectangle piece of paper out, handing it to the woman. She punched a hole in it and then handed it back to her. "Thank-you."

Lara watched as the woman passed to the next rider, her eyes barley being able to stay open, she was that tired. She needed to get to Berwick quick if she was going to stay awake at all. But what she wanted to do was to crawl into her warm bed and fall asleep instantly. "Excuse me?" she saw a man sit down opposite her.

"Yes?" she sat up properly, not wanting to look too much of a mess in front of someone.

"If you don't mind me asking, are you Lady Lara Croft?"

"Why?" she asked warily.

"Oh, nothing. I'm just a big fan of yours."

"That's nice to know." she looked out of the window before turning back to face him, "I take it I'm going to have to answer your questions in order for you to stop harassing me."

"Well, I was wondering what you would make of an artefact I've heard about recently."

"Carry on."

"The Bamburgh Shield?" Lara shifted in her seat, "What do you make of it?"

"Nothing interesting, just a shield to me." she lied.

"Oh. Is it true that it's located in Bamburgh castle?"

"I'm not sure. Sorry I couldn't help."

"Oh, no. Don't worry. You were more help than you would imagine." his voice seemed to become lower as he stood up and walked down the carriage, another man joining behind him. Lara watched them walk away, curious of how this man might have known she knew something about the Shield. "She's lying. I want answers." he said to the other man as he pulled the door open and exited into the carriage he came from.

Lara rested her head against the head rest of the seat. Maybe she could have a little sleep.

"Miss? Miss." Lara felt herself being shook awake and opened her eyes slowly to see the woman who had taken her ticket looming over her.

Lara yawned, "Yes?"

"This is the stop for Berwick." she nodded outside the window which showed a sign saying that she was only about ten minuets from her destination.

"Thank-you." she stood up and collected her luggage, getting off the train just before it left the platform. She looked around her, noticing she wasn't that far away from a holiday park and right next to a high street. She scanned over the shops, searching for a small cafe she could get a cup of coffee or a small sandwich to fuel her energy. She had skipped breakfast that morning, meaning she had went almost twelve hours without anything to eat or drink. There wasn't anything apart from numerous fish and chip shops, along with a Chinese takeaway and a McDonald's. It looked like she would have to wait.

Waiting at the side of the road, she called for a taxi that was just passing by. She got in after putting her case in the boot of the car. "Wallace cottage please." At her request, the driver began to head in the direction of the house.

"You're the second one today, Miss. Just dropped one man off at that place. Family reunion?"

"Nope."

"Party?"

"Nope."

"What is it then?"

"Nope." she replied, apparently not listening.

"If you say so."

"Yep." she had been listening the entire time. She just didn't want to get into a conversation with the taxi driver.

The rain pattered down on the ground as Lara got out of the cab, pulling a ten pound note out of her pocket and handing it to the man after collecting her luggage from the boot of the car. In front of her was a mansion. Compared to Croft Manor, this place looked like a palace. The fountains in the front garden with rose bushes and flower lots made it look even more grand. She walked up to the front gates, which opened easily as she pushed, obviously not being locked.

She walked along the garden path, staring down at the puddles of water on the gravel and the mud that had collected on her boots. She approached the large oak doors and knocked twice, waiting for a reply. Cottage, my ass, she thought as the door opened slightly, revealing an elderly man in a smart suit. "Yes?" he asked with the same Jordy accent as the man on the phone.

"It's Lara Croft. I believe Mr DeComble is expecting me." she hugged her arms as the rain soaked her jacket.

"Oh, do come in, Miss Croft." he opened the door fully, leading Lara into the house after closing the door behind her.

Lara looked around as she walked threw the entrance hall, amazed by what she was seeing. On either side of the hall were two staircases, leading to another hall on the second level. Pictures hung on the walls, of various artists, mostly what Lara assumed were remakes of the real things. Bookcases surrounded most of the space on the walls, filled with volumes of old, dusty books. In the centre of the hall, there was a small seating area with little more than a couch and a coffee table.

A man entered from a second room, greeting the butler before turning to Lara. "Miss Croft. I must say it's a pleasure to meet you." he held his hand out and Lara took it, shaking it thoroughly. The man had dark brown hair and velvet green eyes. He was well built and smartly dressed. Even for someone who was dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. If she hadn't had other things on her mind, Lara would have suggested him of being attractive. "Nice to meet you too."

"I'm glad." he smiled before gesturing to the couch. "Shall we get down to business?"

"That's why I'm here." she sighed as she sat down opposite him.

"Would you care for a cup of tea?"

"I could die for one, thank-you." she said as he took a hold of one cup, pouring brown liquid into it and handing it to her.

"I bet you're wondering why you're here." he sank back into his own seat.

"The thought had crossed my mind." she said after taking a sip of her tea. The hot liquid burned her throat and she took some comfort in the taste of the tea.

"I need your assistance on a trip to Bamburgh Castle. I am searching for an artefact my ancestors were unlucky enough to have taken away from them."

"I would be happy to help, but that's still not enough information for me."

"I've heard of your expertise and think you would be perfect for the job. It's not your average tourism or excavation, this is important. More important than many people could imagine."

"Is that what we need guns for?" she guessed.

"The people we are fighting against, Miss Croft, are not people to be messed with. As I'm sure you know. And I don't think that will protect you much." he nodded towards the small pistol she had hidden on the inside of her jacket.

"As I'm sure you know, I know better than to go anywhere with less than one gun." she lifted her suitcase up, shaking it, the metal of the guns clanking together, making it obvious she had brought more than one gun. "You mentioned something else. About the Lux Veritatis?"

"Yes. I am Lux, if that was what you were asking." Lara was slightly surprised at how open he was at being a physic, even to a stranger. "This task – getting the sword and shield- is more of a duty to me. Something that has been placed on my shoulders from my fathers death. It is more important to me than raiding is to you."

"Raiding?"

"Well, some people say archaeologist, others say raider. Especially one eager source..."

"If you ask me, I'm the female version of Indiana Jones." she chuckled. "But what I meant is, what has this got to do with the Lux Veritatis? I thought they were all deceased, apart from one survivor of the war. I don't understand how this could be so important..."

"Believe me, Miss Croft. It is very important. You have heard of the Cabal, yes? They're still around. And after the same as me, except not for the same reason."

"The Cabal's still about? Does that mean? About," she stuttered.

"Karel. I'm afraid so. He's alive and well. And wanting the sword and shield. I had to learn the hard way." he turned his arm over, revealing a large burn on the underside of his arm, stopping just after his elbow. "And he won't stop until he gets what he wants. You should be careful, Lady Croft."

"And what are you planning on doing with the artefact's? You can't keep them away from Karel. He's obviously proved he's not one to be messed with. And please, call me Lara."

"OK, Lara. I'm glad to have your support. Are you OK? You seem to have a lot on your mind."

"I've been through a lot." She hated him for asking the question. As soon as he asked it, she immediately thought of Kurtis. "How do you know so much about me? I'd never heard of you before and you seem to know everything about me."

"Well, as you may know, I'm not the only Lux Veritatis. There will be another two joining us on our journey."

"Other two?" she asked. But her answer seemed to be answered by a voice from behind them.

"Lara?" she heard a man with an American accent ask. The voice brought butterfly's to her stomach. Made her feel warm inside, yet somewhat angry. She stood up and turned around to face the owner of the voice to see the face of the man that she had – no, still, loved.

"Kurtis." Lara breathed.

AN: There's your two seconds of Kurtis! I hope you enjoyed them.

I realise my chapters have been a little bit short for the first few updates, but that will change round from now on. These were the difficult chapters if you believe me. I know how I'm going to set the other ones out , but it was just thinking of how to write Lara just staying still. And that's quite hard, seen as she's always on the move.

So, is there going to be fluff at first sight? (see what I did there? No? Oh well) Tune in on Thursday to find out!