Heir here! I must say, Mr. R (DataAndrd) did a fantastic job on his chapter 2! Now it's my turn!
CHAPTER THREE
"Can I please order your catch of the day?" Lilly asked as politely as possible as she tried to restrain her growling stomach.
The waiter looked at his notes and nodded. She had been the last to order. Smiling, he moved off to the kitchen and soon returned with their drinks.
Jackson took his drink and smelt it. "Feeling a little adventurous today?" Miley asked, seeing him sip the drink completely new to all of them. It was a local specialty. Kinnie, they called it. Jackson smiled and set it down. "Chilled bitter orange with herbs. Nice."
Miley looked at the others. While Jackson was savoring his drink, Oliver was staring mindlessly out of the windows with the same expression he usually got in a boring class. Lilly, on the other hand, was looking around at the people. "Hey, Miles. How'd we get stuck in such a cool, fancy place?"
"Because of Hannah?" Miley looked around the room as well. They were all the type a person would normally classify as snobs. Very rich snobs. "I find it hard to believe myself."
"Do you think they'll let your friend in?" Lilly asked, referring to the girl they had met earlier that day, Vicky.
"Knowing her, she'd probably find a way in even if they kicked her out," Miley chuckled, remembering the time at the golf course in San Diego, when Vicky had been pushed out of the course by her obnoxious cousins and scaled the wall to get back into her game.
Fifteen minutes later, two waiters approached them, each holding a tray of food. "Risotta marinara?"
"That would be me," Oliver held his hand up and the waiter deposited the food in front of him. He was about to start eating when a glare from Miley told him otherwise. In this country, they wait for everyone to have their food before they eat.
"Roast beef?" Robbie Ray raised his hand and he was given the food.
"Chicken a la grill?" Jackson raised his hand this time.
"Seafarer salad?" Miley took the plate, sniffing the food. It still smelt of the salty air around the Grand Harbor.
"And catch of the day." A rather pinkish-orange fish was given to Lilly. "This is a local fish called a lampuka. Very good with soup." He tipped his head and smiled. "Buon appetito."
Lilly sniffed her fish and took a bite, smiling. "Looks like me and this fish should have met way long ago!"
Miley laughed at her friend's inability to resist food. She looked at her friend's stomach. No matter how much she ate, Lilly never seemed to gain weight. Miley shook her head before her eyes veered upwards. No way was she going to go that far!
Dessert was as good as the plate that came before it. They served prickly pears and a sort of ice-cream, semi-freddo, which Jackson translated to almost-frozen. As they finished eating, Robbie Ray left the table to make some calls as Hannah's manager, and the four friends were left on their own.
"So, what are we going to do about those earrings? Return them to their rightful owners or not?" Jackson asked in a low whisper, finished off his fifth prickly pear.
"Or we could ask your fiend, Miley. She could tell us about these de Piros, right?" Miley nodded, though she was not so sure about this. Vicky was a teenager like them, and as far as teenagers go, they don't really like History.
"Let's go up to our room and discuss it. Might be a lot better that way. Safe from eavesdroppers." Jackson rose, everyone following suit. As they exited the restaurant, a man nearby took a quick snapshot of the four and saved it on his mobile.
As the four vacationers exited the restaurant, Miley heard a rather familiar voice talking to the receptionist on duty.
"I'm sorry, but we can't let you in."
"Oh come on! Do you even know who I am?!" Miley smiled as she watched her friend argue. "My father's friend owns this place! He knows me!"
"And who is your father?" the receptionist asked, clearly not amused.
Vicky smirked before, crossing her arms. "Vincent Zammit."
The receptionist flushed a deep red and mumbled an apology. Laughing, Miley went forward. "You didn't have to scare the wits of that girl!" she told her friend, hugging her.
Vicky smiled and hugged back. "Hey, my dad really is Vincent Zammit!"
After releasing the hug, Miley collected her suite key and they entered the elevator to the sixth floor, room 618.
"So, these are my friends and brother: Lilly, Oliver, and Jackson. Guys, this is Vicky." They shook hands and then sat on the sofa in the suite.
Deciding to speak, Lilly faced their new friend. "We were wondering if you could help us out with some stuff about the de Piros."
Everyone was half expecting her to laugh at them or shrug a no, but instead, she smiled and lay back. "Old Nicholas de Piro, eh? Luckily for you you're talking to the biggest history freak in my school."
"You actually like History?!" the boys asked, astounded.
"Huns, my father's a historian. Like it or not, I got no choice." Vicky crossed her legs and faced Lilly. "What's the problem?"
"…So we were wondering if you would tell us what's going on here." Miley concluded a few minutes later, having told her friend the whole story.
Vicky nodded and got up. "Tell you what. I'll send over a friend of mine tomorrow to pick you guys up and bring you to my other friend's family bookshop. I'll explain everything there. It seems like a better idea." She looked at the watch and sighed. "And on that note, I'd better be going. I have to study for my GCSEs next week or Dad'll kill me…again! It's like I've got nine lives!" Waving, she exited.
"Has she got any friends, you think?" Jackson asked, smiling to himself.
Smirking, Miley turned to her brother and swatted his shoulder. "Seriously, Jackson, Maltese girls are a lot smarter than they seem!"
Maximilian looked at the photo as everyone crowded around him to see. "Yes, Ugo. Good job. Just the girl." He handed him back the picture of the four children at the Queen Victoria and crossed his legs. "Did you catch any names?"
"Lilly for the blonde, Miley for the brunette. And the boys were Oliver and Jackson. Two of her friends sounded foreign, like something from Texas." Ugo fidgeted around with his fingers as his boss' face clouded over in thought. He had started working with Maximilian a year ago, after he had learnt about his wishes to bring back 'what was rightfully his'. He was a local of Malta, and knew most of the things that happened. He could easily inform his boss.
"I see…well then, this is falling perfectly into plan. Now, tell me, did you see anyone - anyone at all - communicate with them?"
"This one girl I saw later on. I took a picture of her too." He showed him a picture of a brown haired girl with them. "I've seen her from around here before. She works at the Agenda Bookshop in Republic Street. She's also very knowledgeable about History. I've seen her giving directions to tourists loads of times."
"I see…" Maximilian sighed and rose. "Let's get back to our room now, shall we, Melita?" He held out a slender hand to his girlfriend. She, smiling, took it and let him lead her away to a cabbie outside. Giving him directions, they sat in the comfortable leather seat, watching the buildings speed by. "How are you so sure this plan of yours will work?" she asked him, placing a hand on his chest and looking up at the sky as light turned to darkness and the first stars started to appear.
Maximilian remained silent for a while. She looked up at his face as he smiled. "I have a feeling that we will come across some obstacles. But no matter, we will succeed. For my ancestor's sake." The cabbie stopped and they emerged into the dark street before their rented room. Behind them lay the Grand Harbor, ships of every size and type anchored there. The water front was busy, alive, as people rushed back and forth to restaurants, night clubs, shops.
"We will succeed." He entered the building and looked into his room, under his bed, to make sure that his most prized possession was there. The Sword of la Vallette glinted in the semi-darkness. "And I will have my revenge."