"U-Um, how is your eye feeling?" I hesitantly ask, nervously trailing behind the large man. He's ... a few inches taller than me. I'm not used to seeing that. I mindlessly stare at his broad back, jolting as he glances over his shoulder. His eye isn't very swollen anymore but it sure has a large purple and black bruise all around his eye. I nervously gulp, unable to look away from his violet eyes as he waves me forward.
"Don't walk behind me, walk next to me." He says, moving over on the road a little bit.
"Y-Yes sir," I politely say, trying my best not to offend him any further. Ouch~ that eye looks really bad. I think he should have iced it more before we left.
"Don't call me sir, it makes me feel old." He says, not at all sounding mean or biting. He just sounds ... numb. Oh gosh he's definitely holding it against me that I punched his eye.
"S-Sorry." I apologize, again trying not to make him mad.
"And stop apologizing to me. It's getting on my nerves." He says with little indication of getting mad about it other than the words itself.
"You're telling me to do an awful lot of things." I say out loud before covering my mouth, face flushing with embarrassment. Why would I say that out loud?! He pauses in stride, glancing over to me with an unreadable expression before it pulls into a grin.
"That's more like it." He approvingly chuckles. My face remains a bit red from his rolling laughter, making my heart skip a beat from the sound of it. Ah~ that deep, throaty laugh is nice to listen to.
"R-Right. I just don't want you t-to be holding hard feelings about it." I nervously say, feeling like I need to hear it from him to be completely sure about it.
"Hard feelings?" He asks, looking over to me with honest confusion.
"Y-Yes. You don't, er, dislike me for hurting you?" I hesitantly ask, almost afraid for the answer he'll give me.
"Ha. Not at all. I'm more impressed you were able to knock me flat on my a**." He flashes me a toothy grin, laughing more at what happened than being mad at it. At first he didn't believe that I had actually knocked him out and thought that Gray pulled some sort of dirty cheap shot.
Well, it was a cheap shot in definition but it was from me and not Gray. Until I sheepishly admitted it he stared dumbly at me before his entire face lit up a deep red of embarrassment. Ah~ I feel bad for him. I understand that, for guys, losing to a girl is the worst thing to happen due to all the back lash from friends poking fun at them. Apparently it's not 'manly' to get beat by a girl. I know all about that from my five older brothers and, being the only female, was the emotional support for them all.
"D*** brats aren't at their posts again." Elliot huffs, sounding annoyed as we approach tall metal wired gates with the doors wide open. I stay quiet and take a look around, impressed with all of the gorgeous rose bushes everywhere. It's so beautiful in here.
"It's beautiful in here." I compliment, unable to keep myself from opening gawking at the gardens.
"I see the young lady is admiring my gardens. Are you familiar with gardening?" A familiar voice suavely says. My eyes widen as I spin around, spying Jeffery in a white suit like get up and a tall black top hat. H-How did my brother get here?! Jett is obediently standing by his side, his stumpy tail wagging but obediently remains by his master's side. "Oh dear, have I stunned the young lady to silence-,"
"Jeffery, thank goodness you're alright!" I cry, wrapping my arms around him and yanking him into a hug, "I'm so glad you see you here! What happened?" He stiffens up a little bit, a little put off by the hug as I let him pull back a little bit. My hands cup his jaws, making him look up to me as I search his green eyes. His ... eyes are different. They are the same color and all but they look more defensive and harsh, not glowing and kind.
"H-Hey, Avery, that's my boss." Elliot says, obviously a little alienated by my sudden
"B-Boss?" I ask, letting go of his face. The brother look alike gently takes my right hand, pulling it towards his mouth and kissed the back of it.
"My name is Blood Dupre, young lady. It's a pleasure to meet such an enthusiastic lady." He smiles, letting me slide my hand from his grasp. B-Blood? I stare at him in confusion before down to Jett. Jett would never follow anyone else around besides my brother. I have trouble myself trying to walk him every now and then.
"U-Um, so-sorry. You look just like my older b-brother." I stutter, face flushing in embarrassment. I-It's shocking how much he looks like him. A-And his cologne and, though it sounds weird, his smell is the same. That must be why Jett is following him around. I nervously crouch down, trying to distract myself by petting Jett and making sure he's alright. He pulls his head out of the way, his training of not letting strangers touch him still intact.
"Jett, sitz." I order. The doberman wavers on his feet for a moment before obediently sitting down, head low as I gently pet his head with a smile. "Bravy, Jett, bravy."
"I see you know how to command the dog. I've been trying to figure out his commands since he continues to follow me around." Blood chuckles, a small glint in his eye as he watches me pet the dog.
"O-Oh, sorry about that." I apologize, nervously looking over the dog's uncovered face, "did you take off his muzzle?"
"I did not. When he found me he was not wearing one." He says.
"He must have slipped out of it then." I conclude, wrapping an arm around his neck so his head was resting on my shoulder. A faint growl rumbles in his chest as I open a small bag on the side of his harness, pulling out an extra leash. Jett tries to pull back, knowing exactly what I'm going to do but my arm holds firm.
"Blieb ... ," I trail off in a reprimanding way, pulling back as I loop the handle around his snout. Until I can buy a new one this will have to do.
"I'm impressed young lady. He seldom let any of the servants or maid touch him let along bound him." Blood chuckles, seeming amused with the dog's obedience to me.
"That's because he knows Jeffery will punish him if he hurts me." And because I know all of the same commands and say them with confidence - most of the time. He whines and pulls back before I hold his snout still, wrapping the leash around his jaw and tying it off before hooking it to his collar.
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for taking care of him." I say, standing up with the leash before turning to leave. I should probably leave as soon as I can. I don't want to get on the Mafia's b-bad side.
"You're not planning to leave are you?" Blood asks, catching my hand. I stiffen, turning back around towards him a little faster than I meant. My arm holds back, nearly unleashing a punch right to the man's kisser. Y-Yeah, that wouldn't be good nope not at all. My focus shifts slightly, seeing Elliot tense up a little bit from my quick movement.
"O-Oh, I, um," I start, trying to nervously think of an excuse as to why I can't stay.
"Stay for a tea party. I wish to get to know the young lady some more." He earnestly smiles.
"A-Alright I can stay. Thank you." I weakly smile. I-It won't be that bad. Besides, I need to thank them somehow for taking care of Jett.
"Excellent. Come this way, the tea party is already starting." He smiles as he walks ahead of Elliot, pausing for a moment before smiling in his direction. "Well don't leave the young lady waiting, Elliot. Escort her."
"Y-Yes Blood." Elliot says, his ears tall and erect as he hops over to me. He holds out his arm as I stare at it, trying to figure out what to do. Escort ... as in, what people do when they go to prom or something? I've never got the chance to do that because I was so tall it was awkward for the boy to hold my arm. I hesitate before gently wrapping my arm around his, a blush slapping over my cheek from the near perfect fit we made. Ah~ I-I really like this. We are close in height b-but he's still just so much bigger than I arm. And by gosh, I don't want to sound strange but I could hold his arm all day.
"Avery?" Elliot asks, snapping me back to attention.
"O-O-Oh, sorry, you, uh, you just have a really nice arm," I smile before mentally throwing myself off a cliff. That's so weird, why would I say that?!
"Ha ha, not as good as yours." He jokes, jutting a thumb towards his eye. A guilty shiver crawls down my arm as I weakly smile back. Without thinking I reach up, trailing my finger on the bottom rim of the black eye.
"Sorry about that." I softly say as he shrugs it off with a smile.
"That's alright."
"I sense there is an interesting story behind that black eye, Elliot. Do tell." Blood smiles as he guides us through the gardens with a few servants behind and in front of us.
"Ha! It was the strangest thing, Blood. After she agreed to come I took her hand so we could get out of there faster and started arguing with that incubus's aide. And then, before I could turn around, she had already punched me right out!" He grins, looking extremely impressed by my embarrassing feat. Blood pauses in his stride, blinking in surprise as he looks back to me before back to Elliot. After a moment he snickers, casting his eye over the dog.
"It seems I need to get a new number two if the second in command of the Mafia continues to be bested by a woman." Blood chuckles, struggling his hardest not to burst into laughter right then and there. Elliot's face transforms from a smile to a look of horror.
"B-Blood-?!" He cries, sounding shocked at what he said, "b-but it's true! She's got a real rocket for an arm!"
"Yes, yes I'm sure she does." Blood teases with a collected smile, walking into a clearing where a large table and chairs were set up. Two were already taken up by two young boys who were squabbling over a pastry before they look up at us.
"It's about time you got here!" One complains as the other snags the strawberry pastry and downs it in one go.
"Yeah! We've been waiting fore~ver!" The other says with a victorious grin and mouth full of food.
"Hey, that was mine!" He shouts, angrily smacking his twin across the chest and makes him gag on the food he was choking down.
"You snooze, you lose!" The other grins as he tries to defend himself through his laughter, pushing the other one back and knocks him against the table. Blood sighs and ignores the boys bantering, going ahead and taking his seat at the head of the table.
"Hey, knock it off you brats!" Elliot harshly growls, letting go of my arm and rounding the table to the misbehaving boys. I giggle under my breath, enjoying the fighting. They remind me of my two older youngest brothers when they fight at the table and then the oldest, Jeffery, has to be the one to separate them.
"Stupid chicken rabbit!"
"Yeah, you're not a part of this. Butt out cheek face!" They continue to shout insults and struggle to hit each other while defending themselves against Elliot. His eyes narrow as the grabs them both by the back of the shirt, ripping them out of their seats before sitting them back down.
"That's enough out of the both of you. We have a guest." He huffs, gesturing over me. I stiffen slightly as they look over to me, clearly still mad about being reprimanded before their faces fall blank. I nervously gulp, my fingers tightening around the leash.
"U-U-Um, hello, my name is-,"
"A giraffe!" One shouts, pointing to me. W-What?! Giraffe?! My face deepens in color from the startlingly original name calling. I've never been called a giraffe before.
"Wow, you're so tall!" The other says as they hop out of their seats and head towards me with excited grins. Jett looses a low growl of warning before I tug on the leash.
"Fuss." I order. Almost immediately the dog leaves my side, slipping his leash out of my fingers. O-Oh! I watch as he walks up to Blood, circling him once before lying down beside his chair. Oh, right, he looks just like Jeffery so he's going to go to him and not me.
"Big sis, how tall are you?" One asks as he jumps up and hugs my arm, looking up to me with sparkling eyes.
"So cool! You're like a giant!" They buzz excitedly, pulling me towards their seats.
"We want big sis to come sit with us!" They excitedly cry, already sitting me down before I can say anything to protest. I-I was actually hoping to sit next to Elliot. He's kind and I wanted to talk to him a little more. But, this is alright. They look like cute kids.
"Ha. You two look like shrimp compared to her." Elliot teases, eager to get back at the twins for acting immature earlier.
"Better to be shorter in stature than weaker, wouldn't you say?" Blood says before taking a sip of his tea.
"Weaker?"
"Did chicken rabbit get beat up by big sis giraffe?"
"Ha ha! What a loser! Did you get the black eye from her too?!" They laugh, pointing right at Elliot's whose cheeks brightened in color before glaring at them. And~ here comes the mocking. I feel bad for him.
"U-Um, it was an accident, really. I-I caught him f-from behind and-," I start, trying to clear it up for them before they start laughing harder.
"Chicken rabbit got beat by a gir~l~!" They loudly shout, wanting the whole world to hear about it.
"Hey- shut up you brats!" Elliot growls, looking like he wanted to jump across the table and throttle the both of them. I calmly sip some of the tea with a smile, enjoying their bantering. Cute~ I've missed this, that's for sure.
"Ha ha! Chicken rabbit got beat by a girl!"
"I did not!" He growls back.
"Avery." Blood's voice calls through the commotion. I look up, watching as he pats the spot next to him. Oh, he wants me to sit next to him? I stand up, surprisingly going unnoticed by the bickering trio, and walk around the table to the spot beside Blood. A servant pulls the chair out for me and lets me sit down before pushing it back in. Hee, I've never been treated like this before. It's ... nice.
"I apologize for my subordinates. They can often get unruly with each other." He sighs, taking another sip of tea.
"Oh, no I prefer it. It reminds me of dinner time with my brothers." I chuckle, also taking a sip of the tea that was in front of me.
"So you have siblings. How many?" He asks, curious.
"I have five older brothers. I'm the baby girl in it all." I breathe out a smile, lightly laughing at the thought.
"How interesting. And they often say the youngest is the most selfish of the family but I'm not sensing much of that from you." He smiles.
"Um, thank you?" I sheepishly smile, unsure if that was a compliment or not.
"I'm interested in the brother who you claim to be my double. Tell me about him." He orders more so than asks, taking a bite out of a blueberry crumpet.
"Well, he is a police officer of the K9 unit." I start out, thinking about things to tell him about.
"And tell me more about that aspect of him. K9 as in dog, yes?"
"Yes. Instead of another person he has a trained dog for a companion. His first one was Jaiden who is resting at Clover Tower now, and Jett is his most recent." I say, looking over the tired dog. He looks like he hasn't slept a wink. "But Jett was forced to retire early."
"And why is that?" He asks, watching Elliot continue to argue with the twins.
"He was injured on the job by a bullet wound to the foreleg. He still has a limp there because it's healing." I explain, glancing over Jett's glossy coat. "He still acts like a police dog because of that."
"I see. That is interesting to know." He smiles. "Though it troubles me to think there is another me out there somewhere in your world."
"Is it? You both may look alike but your personalities are different. Oh, I have a picture of my brothers." I say, pulling out my wallet and taking out a recent picture taken of my family, excluding our parents. He takes the photo and looks at it, his eyes glued to the man in the back with a police uniform on and Jett and Jaiden to either side of him.
"Interesting ... and what was it you commanded the dog earlier?" He asks, setting the picture back in my hands.
"Oh. I hold him blieb, which means to stay." Jett's head tilts my way hearing the command but not needing to do anything about it since he was already still.
"I see ... and what are his other commands? I'm interested in knowing them." He smiles.
"W-Why do you want to know them?"
"Well, I figured if 'Jett' is going to be following me around during your time here in Wonderland I might as well learn how to properly use him." Blood smiles as my blood runs cold. U-Use him? For mafia work?!
"I-I'm sorry, but Jett isn't suited to be a working police dog anymore. H-He still has an injury." I say, trying to talk him out of it. I-I need to leave with Jett as soon as I can. I can't let him do mafia work. That's the exact opposite of police work!
"Injuries heal." Blood simply answers, taking a sip of his tea.
"I-I'm sorry, but I decline." I politely say, nervously gulping as I carefully watch for his next move. I don't want to teach him the commands because I have a feeling Jett will listen to Blood over me.
"I'm sorry to hear that." He says, setting his tea cup down before standing up. "I'm afraid I have to excuse myself for now. I have some paperwork to finish." He starts to walk off with Jett following beside him before I can reach out and grab his leash. No, bad Jett don't follow him!
"M-M-May I have my dog back?" I stutter, listening to the sudden dead silence of the table. O-Oh dear ...
"Well, if he chooses to follow me, who am I to deny him of that?" He cheekily responds with a smile. My heart drops to the pit of my stomach as Elliot suddenly stands up, banging into the table a little bit as he looks to Blood in shock.
"B-But Blood, why keep that dog when you have me?" Elliot asks, startled by his decision. I look over to Elliot's expression, spying the not so well covered up hurt in his eyes.
"That is my final stance, Elliot. Show Miss Avery to her room. It will be nice having her stay for a bit."
"Yes, Blood." Elliot pouts, his ears flopping down.
"W-Wait, stay?" I stammer, suddenly feeling very uneasy. The way he says it doesn't make it sound like I have much of a choice at all.
"Yes. I wish to keep a close eye on you for the time being so, if you will, cooperate and everything will run smoothly." He smiles. T-Threat! I smell a threat in that! "Is that a problem?" He asks in a tone that reeks of if-you-try-to-leave-you-will-not-make-it-out-the-front-gate kind of voice. My cheeks start to flush with fright, trapped as to what I can do in this situation. H-How do I react?!
...
"N-No, that's not a problem." I agree, my eyes on the table. Oh goodness I'm gonna die~!
"Excellent. I look forward to your company, Miss Avery."
Poor Avery I almost feel bad for her lol. Voting is still going on but keep in mind that the final decision is mine alone and as to who I feel will suit Avery the best and encourage her to be herself. 10 REVIEWS for the next chapter~ ALSO is ANYONE else having trouble posting new chapters to stories, of any sorts?