Since school is starting for me once again, I can't update as soon as I want to. But, I'm trying to find spare time since I'm getting busier, and I have to study a lot of heavy medical books! xO
-drops of jelly
Standard Disclaimer Applies
THREE
"Thank you so much for taking good care of me here." Miles bowed politely.
"Oh, please feel free to come back anytime! Mother, Alyssa and I will welcome you with open arms." Eduard smiled, putting an arm around Franziska's shoulders.
"Thank you. I will." He tried to keep a certain tone from seeping out into his speech.
"Miles... Do you have to go?" Joy was all teary-eyed. The sweet old lady became fond of the young man.
"Yes, I have to settle a few things back at the guest house, and I have some work to do as well." He smiled sadly. The old woman was really nice after all. Gone are the few days of milk, ginger and butter cookies or shortcake snacks in the afternoon.
"Come back... alright, Miles Edgeworth?" Franziska stammered.
Edgeworth smiled.
"You're making good progress, Franziska." He noticed that she began to call him by full name once again.
Miles placed his leather bag into the trunk of his black sports car, and he drove off shortly after.
-English Guesthouse, Stockbridge, Hampshire-
April 2 9:20 AM
"She still can't remember anything?" Adrian Andrews was on the brink of tears... From Edgeworth's point of view on the webcam messenger.
"No, apparently not. I thought her case was only a selective amnesia, but she appears to have forgotten everything, and only bits of her memory surface during rare times." Miles sighed.
"Oh, that's terrible! Did you try hitting her head?" Adrian smiled slightly.
"I don't think that will do her any good. Maya and Pearl had the same idea when I couldn't remember this one person." (Reference to Miles Edgeworth Case Files)
"Hmmm... OH! I have just the idea." Adrian smiled brightly as if her new-found idea might work.
"What is it?"
"Make. Her. Hold. That." Adrian grinned.
"WHAT?! You mean that?!" his face turned blue.
"Yes. That." She giggled.
"No....!... Wait. It really might work." He crossed his arms, and tapped his index finger on one of his arms.
"Come on! It's as easy as counting one to three!" Adrian was getting ecstatic.
"Oh... That's easier said than done! Letting her get a hold of that is like suicide!" Edgeworth stammered.
"You just have to introduce that to her slowly. You don't need to suddenly shock her." Adrian laughed.
"... You think it'll really work?" he glared straight at screen as if he was going to destroy it with his eyes.
"Of course! She'll remember the feeling holding it. You'll make progress! The heart or mind may not always remember, but the body will!!" she smiled.
"Maybe it is worth a try." Miles was thinking about it carefully.
It was one of those life-or-death decisions for him.
"Okay."
"Yes! Now go! GO! Make her remember WHO she really IS, and WHAT she is HERE for!" Adrian cheered, crossing her fingers.
That didn't sound so good to him after all.
Miles Edgeworth learned that no matter how risky his next few tasks were going to be,
It was all for her.
Off he went this time, to the village square...
To purchase a brand new leather whip.
O-o-O-o-O
He shuddered at the memory of her whip-wielding skills.
Who the hell taught her that anyway?
Yes, he often pretended to feel no pain every time she butt-whips him for standing her up over a dinner since he was busy working overtime, and also every time when she needs an outlet of her frustration.
He pitied himself, turning himself into her slave or something... Or her whip-doll.
But I guess thanks to that, he got used to her slashes. The problem was Wright.
He did pity the man, but in a deep dark, little corner of his heart,
He couldn't help but laugh at him mockingly.
"You have good taste in picking the perfect whip, sir!" the old man who attended to the store complimented him.
"...Thank you." How do you judge a whip and say it's perfect? He thought.
"Say, I don't see you around here often. Are you a tourist, sir?" the old guy asked.
"I came to look for someone."
"Ahh. I guess you've found her eh?" the old man packaged the whip in wrapping paper.
"How do you know she's a woman?"
"Oh, the whip you picked sir, was specially made to be wielded by a woman." He smirked.
"... Oh." He blushed. Another question, how do you tell which whips are made for women?
"Don't worry, I know you're straight son." He joked, laughing.
"It's for her." He tried to laugh along, despite his being cross.
"Odd gift though. Normally men like you would give the usual, like flowers, or chocolates, or stuffed bears." He handed Edgeworth the package.
"She's... quite different, sir." He blushed in embarrassment again.
"Oh, that's what they all say. Little troopers like you falling in love... Back in my day, the women were always glowing, giving us flowers before we head off to war. Oh such beauties." The old man sighed happily.
"It must have been a wonderful time." He politely said.
"Yes, indeed. Treasure that fair lady, even if the London Bridge falls down!" he tried to crack up a joke.
"Yes... I will. Thank you."
"I'm Philippe Green. You can call me Phil. You can come talk to me if you have any concerns! I rarely get customers these days and it does get kind of boring."
"Miles Edgeworth, you can call me... Um, Miles." He shook Phil's hand.
O-o-O-o-O
Wait... She's not my lover. Miles forgot to deny that in front of Phil.
He drove over to Joy's Flower Shop. He found Franziska and Eduard attending to some customers.
Franziska was still wearing that red cap and apron and white sneakers, and tied her hair.
"Oh honey, that bouquet was the best! My son was able to capture that girl's heart! He's got a girlfriend now!" a woman was complimenting Franziska.
"You're welcome, Mrs. Nottingfield!" she smiled happily.
"I knew you'd do a great job arranging the flowers!" Ed laughed, bringing in a new basket of tulips.
"Bah, I knew if you did the arranging, my son would be rejected after all!" Ms. Nottingfield teased Ed.
"Ah, don't be so harsh, Mrs. Nottingfield!" Eduard blushed.
"When will the two of you get together anyway? I know it's only been more or less a week, but you two look so compatible!" the lady said.
"Mrs. Nottingfield, you're making me blush." Eduard giggled.
Edgeworth felt a little annoyed watching the scene.
I'd better just go. I'll see her next time. He sulked.
"Miles Edgeworth!" Franziska raised her cap and waived to him.
"Haha, what are you doing hiding behind a wall like that, you rascal?" Ed laughed and waved to him as well.
"I was on my way back." He lied.
"Oh, silly. You must have forgotten something." Eduard smiled.
"You go attend to him, Poppy. I'll manage the shop for a bit." Eduard pat Franziska's back.
Franziska hopped over the counter and glided over to Miles.
"So, what did you leave?" she smirked.
"... Come with me for a while." He pulled her wrist.
"Hey!" Franziska tried to pull away.
"Eduard, let me borrow her for a second!" he called over to the other man.
"Alright, just bring her back before closing time!" Ed called back.
Miles pulled her into his car. He seated her on the passenger seat.
As Miles briefly walked to the driver's seat, Franziska's expression changed for a bit.
She felt as if she had ridden on this car before... This distinct scent... It was comforting, and it reminded her of someone she depended on... Like a security blanket.
"Where are we going?" she asked as soon as he got in and closed the door.
"A walk in the park. You know any parks around here?"
"There's a good park on the street after this. Why?"
He said nothing and simply drove according to her directions.
The whole time, she couldn't help but stare at him.
"Something wrong?"
"No. I just noticed... That you're quite handsome up close." She muttered, but he still heard it.
He blushed.
"We're here." He pulled over.
"What's this?" he handed her a bag.
"Your clothes. You liked wearing these outfits in particular."
"Oh, bloody hell! It has a... what do you call them? Ruffly thing! Just like yours!" she was about to burst into laughter.
"It's called a cravat, Franziska... I mean, Alyssa." He purposely blinked his eyes as her.
"So… am I supposed to put these on?" she raised an eyebrow.
"You don't have to put them on right now. Bring them home, they are your clothes."
"Thank you…" she wasn't sure what expression to show him.
"But that's not why we're here. I brought you here for another reason."
"And that is…?"
"This is for you." He handed her the package, neatly wrapped in pastel-coloured paper.
She took it and opened it carefully, meticulously, not to tear the wrapping paper.
"This is…" she uncoiled the brand new whip.
"It's a whip."
"I know that! But… Why are you giving me this?" she seemed to be not getting the point.
He was about to hit her directly, when her reflexes made her swiftly swing her whip and wrap its edge around his advancing arm.
She caught his arm successfully and securely.
"Good job." He sighed in relief.
"What the… How did I do that?!" she gasped.
"Before you lost your memories, things like these were your favourite toys. You whipped anyone who made you angry."
"I… did?" she looked as if she was about to drop the whip into the nearest lake.
"You don't have to use it. Just keep it with you. It's a memento, to remember your old self by."
"Alright…" she was a little hesitant.
"Do you want to remember who you are?" his eyes looked sad.
"Yes… and No." she shook her head.
"You're a little scared to look back, aren't you?"
"Yes." She nodded, her light pearl blue eyes looked clearer than ever.
They sat on the edge of a fountain, next to each other.
"Long ago God was going to destroy two cities which warred against each other. But God promised to save the few inhabitants who were innocent and had done nothing wrong. When the angels who were sent to destroy the lands arrived at the entrance of one city, a man received them and welcomed them into his house. The man gave the angels food and bed, and even drove away the disturbing people who flocked over to his house. The angels told the man to run from the city with his wife and two daughters. When the man and his family were running away from the crumbling city, they were told by the angel never to stop or look back, or they would be swept away with the disaster."
Franziska listened intently, while looking at him.
"Unfortunately, his wife looked back while running, then she instantly turned into a pillar of salt."
"What happened to the man and his daughters after?" she asked.
"I have forgotten… sorry. It was a story my father told me long ago."
"Oh." She looked at the lovely garden in front of them.
"Maybe that's why I'm afraid to know who I really am. I might turn into salt too." She reflected on his words.
"Afraid of looking back…"
"It's alright to run away sometimes… but there will come as time that we'll have to take courage and face our problems. It's not necessarily looking back, but it's accepting everything in our past, so we can move forward to the future." He spoke from experience.
He 'chose' death at one point, but he pulled through his problems in the end.
"Then… I'll do it. I'll remember my old self… With your help." She smiled, with a new expression on her face, which he recognized- determination.
"I'll help you." He pat her shoulder.
"But… I don't want to just remember myself." She said.
"Of course. You'll remember your family, your friends…" he said.
"And I'll remember who you are. How I can ever forget someone like you?" she smiled and stretched her sore arms.
He nodded, and couldn't help the light pink blush escape onto his cheeks.
"Okay. Let's start with the basics: Your real name is Franziska von Karma. You're a prodigy attorney who became a prosecutor at the age of thirteen. That was around the same time when I got my badge too when I was twenty. Your father is the famous Manfred von Karma. Your mother died when you were young, and your elder sister is now married and has a daughter."
"So… I'm German? And a lawyer?!" she smiled.
"Yes, a lawyer just like me, and you're pretty good in fact."
"So, how did we meet? And why are you the one chasing after me? I still have family, right?"
"Umm… Your father also had passed away around nine years ago." He had a painful look in his eyes, remembering that dreadful court trial.
"How?..."
"He… was executed for a horrible crime. He killed someone." It was hard for Miles to tell her.
"He… killed a person? Why?" her voice shook, as if she knew she didn't want to hear the answer because she might have already known it.
"That person destroyed his pride… And almost destroyed his perfect guilty victories record."
"So… that man he killed, was a lawyer too?" she continued to ask.
"Yes." So many questions, but he didn't want to avoid answering them any longer.
"What was… his name?"
"Why do you ask? Do you want revenge for taking away your father?"
"No… It's not that. Of course I would feel bitter towards the death of my papa… But… I'd like to apologize to the victim's relatives too…" her eyes were generating tears against her will.
"I'm sure that his relatives are fine… Maybe you don't need to apologize." He turned away. He felt a lump in his throat. God did he miss his father too, especially because the victim was his father.
"How would you know?" she asked.
"Oh… Don't worry about that anymore. You wanted to ask how we met right? I'll tell you." He tried to smile a little.
She smiled back and began to listen once again.
"Your father decided to adopt me and teach me to be a lawyer."
"Adopt you? What happened to your parents?"
"They… passed away when I was young."
"I'm… sorry." Her face was full of mixed emotion.
"So, your father brought me into the house, and I met you there. We technically grew up together, since your father trained us both. We studied mostly the same things, scolded as often, and rarely praised too. But we took care of each other."
She smiled.
"You even call me little brother, even if I am seven years elder than you."
"Hah, maybe you are kind of like a little brother. …Always chasing me around calling me by name." she laughed.
"Ha-ha, very funny Franziska… I mean…"
"No. Don't stop calling me Franziska." She had one of her 'Franziska smiles', the one that's not too serious, and not too bright either.
"Alright, I won't. I'll keep calling you that." He smiled.
He continued to tell her about how she grew up, her experiences as she studied and took bar and had her first case… He told her everything he knew about her.
To his surprise, he knew so much about her, felt like a stalker.
O-o-O-o-O
"As promised, you are back before dinner time." He had promptly brought her back to the flower shop's doorstep, twenty minutes right before the appointed dinner time that was strictly observed.
"Have dinner with us!" Franziska offered.
"I can't today. I have work to finish up."
"Aren't you supposed to be taking a vacation?"
"I brought homework."
"You're such a diligent, goody-goody two shoes." She poked his cheek while grinning at him.
Don't grin at me like that… he felt a little disturbed, like never before. He felt like he was going to go crazy that moment.
"You should go back in now. Joy and Eduard might be worried about you." He stammered.
"Yes sir." She laughed.
She stepped out of his car and walked towards the front door, not looking back.
Miles heard Joy's cheerful voice singing happily as Franziska stepped in.
He drove away, back to his lonely English Guesthouse.
O-o-O-o-O
*ding* *elevator doors close*
"Papa, what's going on? I'm scared."
"Miles, it's just a little earthquake, it'll go away in a while."
*black out*
"Ah, it's so dark!"
"Now, calm down son. Let's wait for help."
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"
"Calm down! We'll run out of oxygen if you keep screaming like that!"
"Stop breathing MY air then! STOP!"
"NO! Don't hurt my papa!"
*gunshot*
"AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!"
Franziska woke up from her nightmare, sweating, crying upon hearing that bone-chilling scream.
She was in a complete emotional mess, she felt anguish that night. She couldn't stand it any longer and took her coat. She rode her bike around town, searching for him. She felt the cold wind ripping through her neck until she stopped where she spotted his car.
"So, this was the English Guesthouse he was staying in? And the lights are on…" she didn't care. She had to see him.
She hopped off her bike and walked towards the door.
After a deep breath, she rang the doorbell.
Not long after, Miles stood up from his desk to check who's at the door at this hour. It was 12:30 AM.
He opened the door to find Franziska standing there with a confused, anguished look on her face.
"Franziska…" upon saying her name, she leaned over to him and embraced him tightly and began to sob silently.
"There there… It'll be alright now." He wasn't sure what was happening, but he didn't have plans to leave her alone, crying like that.
O-o-O-o-O
"It was you… wasn't it?" she curled up in her thick, flanelle blanket.
"Me? What?" he glanced at her, putting down the book he was reading, sitting next to her, then handing her a cup of hot milk.
"The boy… in my dream." She sounded really down.
"How was the boy like?" he asked.
"He threw a pistol at that security guard, or court bailiff or something… He was scared for his father's life." She hugged her knees.
"Hnn…" he sighed.
"And that horrible scream…" she was about to shed some tears.
"It was me. I was that boy." He told her the truth while pulling her into a hug… not to comfort her, but to comfort himself.
"Then it was really you…" the tears poured down her cheeks.
"It was really you… Your dad died because of my papa… How can I face you?" she buried her face in his crisp, white polo.
"And your dad died because of me… and that doesn't even make it even." He comforted her.
"It's… not your fault…" she said slowly.
"And it's not your fault either. I've always known that." He gently, yet sadly smiled at her while brushing off a tear on her cheek with his thumb.
They looked into each other's eyes for quite a while.
Miles' heart was pounding madly on his chest, and he felt warm all over, and began to feel very nervous, as she was curled up in his arms.
He felt that he was on his limits, and wanted very much to pull away, but couldn't bring himself to.
"Maybe… This is why you decided to be the one to come after me." She said in a quite-like tone.
"I really didn't understand it, but I had to see you… alive, happy."
They shared a warm, tender and comforting kiss.
As the slowly pulled away, he gently cradled her little figure in his arms and held her close, as if she was the most precious thing in the world.
She leaned on him and closed her eyes. She felt safest in his arms, and wanted to be there for a while.
I don't… understand… Why did I just kiss her? How did that happen? When did these feelings exist? Why am I not feeling any regret to what I have done? And why am I so happy that she received me?
Miles had so many questions in his head. The list went on and on.
But then one thing was certain to him…
He's been in love with her for a long, long time.
O-o-O-o-O
OOOH! I can't wait to write the next one!
I'd love it if you'd drop a review. Thank you!
-drops of jelly