Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters
Blue blew out a frustrated breath and stood as calmly as she could when she only wanted to reach across the table and chock the man sitting across from her. Why was Green at this garden party? He reached across the table and held her hand, stopping her from leaving. She blushed, knowing that such contact wasn't proper in their high station.
"Stay Lady Blue," He said softly but she pulled her hand away. She refused to hand control to this man and turned, knowing that he would follow her. She smiled to herself when she heard him curse and stand sharply. She kept five steps ahead of him and moved to a more secluded area of the garden.
She held her hand clasped behind her as she turned to him, giving him a smile. "I don't believe we have been properly introduced, Green Oak. May it be fate that has brought you here to me?"
"You seem to know more about me than you let on," Green snarled in reply knowing that their conversation had been little more than shouting. There was something in her coy smile that tugged at his heart when he knew that it was false and shook himself, he can't lose his head to her. "How much do you know about me?"
Blue tilted her head to the side, as if to foreign stupidity. "I know nothing more about you than that you're the grandson of Professor Oak. You have invested in various things which make me believe that you are still confused on what you plan to do. Though you had made a name for yourself among the ton, and respected for your wealth. I believe that your insistence to make yourself relevant in society since your father left you and your mother. Your-"
"That's enough," Green snapped. "You have made your point. But you cannot-"
"I cannot go through society as I wish?" She challenged. "Why are you here? White told you to watch over me but that is limited to the theater. You do not control my life and you never will! This may be foreign to you, but ladies do have minds and we are able to do things on our own."
"I mean no disrespect," she snorted at his calm response but he went on. "But this is more than you. I'm watching over you every minute of your day so that no one shall follow you from your home to the theater and finding your true identity. I also want to discuss an arrangement for when a play is complete."
"I'm sorry if I doubt these arrangements are needed but I am more than capable of taking care of myself. I have been masquerading as Aqua for months now and can take care of myself. No one will know about this and your investment is safe."
"I found out," Green pointed out and she crossed her arms. "I'm sure you can take care of yourself but we must take precaution. Think of White and her dreams for the theater, you wouldn't want to be the reason she had to give it up."
"And what would you suggest?" She asked slowly.
"You are to become my mistress." Green said simply and when Blue would've slapped him across his face, he grabbed her wrist to pull her closer. "In name only. This way I can be closer to Aqua without anyone questioning my presence. It will also discourage any other man from making you their mistress. After each performance, I shall take you to a town house where you can change and return home."
He released her and she took several steps back, trying to distance herself from his intense eyes. She couldn't agree to his offer, even if it was only an act. She couldn't be anyone's whore, she would work her way to stardom with her talent, not through men! Surely he didn't think that she would agree so readily with her pride.
She couldn't answer him when she heard people run past her, screaming about a gunshot. Her thoughts raced to Ruby and she left Green without a second thought. It was silly to think but her first instinct was to protect Ruby, who was a grown man that knew how to protect himself. But trouble always seemed to find their family and she would blame herself if anything were to happen to him.
"Ruby!" She called and worried more when he didn't call back. She made her way to the field, pulling her skirt improperly high so she could run faster. She spotted Ruby's red waistcoat easily and her eyes trailed to the man he was fighting. She saw red and cursed that she didn't have a gun with her. She ran forward anyways and tackled the man just as the balloon took flight.
A lead ball stunned her as it flew past her ear. It would've taken her life if Green hadn't pulled her away from the man and pulled her into his strength, pointing at the man with his own gun. Blue struggled in his grip though, making his aim askew, as she desperately tried to reach the balloon despite it being too high for her reach, the rope just slipping through her fingers.
"That bastard!" Blue screamed later when Green had forced her home. The thief had already escaped and a crowd was gathering which would only question her likeness to Aqua. It was hard to pull her away, her only thought was to follow the balloon despite it being too fast for her. He told her there was nothing she could do and that only sparked her rage.
"Be calm sister," Platina said in an even voice. "We needn't worry, Ruby has traveled the world and can take care of himself. He will find his way home without our help. And I'm sure that the authorities will find this art thief and bring him to justice."
"Art thief?" Yellow almost dropped her sketch pad. She had been standing at the door when they began talking. Could this be the same man that stole from her painting? Her hold on her sketchpad tightened at the thought that the bastard had hurt her brother. She turned away from the scene and went to the two people she knew would help her despite her condition.
She made her way to the stables where she found Wally, their groom tending to the horses while he also watched Tansy playing with the new litter of kittens in the back of the cell. Tansy was never far from Wally side and she thought the world of him because despite his asthma, he did what he could for the Berlitz family that took him in.
Yellow looked at the calling card Red had given her before gently knocked on the stall and the two looked up. "I have a favour to ask of you. I want to go into town but cannot possibly go alone and I cannot connect the carriage to the horses alone. I need your help to get to London and if my sisters ask, please tell them that I am merely painting somewhere."
"Who are you meeting?" Wally asked, knowing that she did not travel much. He was curious about who she was meeting since she knew so little people and never fought against her sisters. Though he could read the determination in her eyes, and knew this was important to her but he needed to know what kind of danger she was running into.
"I wish to meet with the man that will buy my paintings," Yellow said shakily and hoped that he would believe her. "Please help me and my dream."
As she had hoped, Tansy's good natured heart believed her. "We must help her Wally! This is her passion and it would not be too much trouble. There are doctors in London so if she has an attack, she would be taken care of. It would not take too long, right Yellow?"
Yellow nodded frantically and Wally looked between the two women. He sighed, knowing that he would help her. He knew what it was like to have love ones suppress him where he couldn't even fight it since he knew it came from a warm place. He wordlessly took a horse from a stall and gesture her toward the carriage. It was answer enough for Yellow and she beamed so bright.
Wally tied to horses to the carriage and held out his hand to help Yellow onto the carriage. He turned back and held out a hand to Tansy, "Do you wish to come as well. I know that you haven't been outside this estate much."
Tansy eagerly took his hand but when she would've entered the carriage, he placed her hands on her waist and lifted her onto the box seat. He gave her a warm smile as he harnessed the horses, looking out of the stable before guiding the horses out. He saw Blue and waved to her, "I'm taking Tansy for an outing."
Blue nodded and Yellow felt a stab of guilt that she was deceiving her sister.
"There is a woman at the door for you," Red looked up from his work when his butler knocked on his office. He smiled to himself thinking that it was the woman from the party and threw a blanket over the painting. He leaned back, pulling out his pocket watch and stared at the blood he had noticed earlier. "I had already sent her to the waiting room… she had your calling card sir."
"I gave it to her," Red told the man and went down to the waiting room. He stood at the door, watching her rigid back as she shakily took the cup of tea a maid placed in front of her. She stood, obviously nervous as she walked to a portrait hanging above his fireplace and ran her hand over the signature at the corner. She tilted her head to the side and he wondered what she was thinking.
"That's my father," Red said softly and she turned sharply. The fear in her eyes made him wonder about her more. He didn't want her to be afraid since he knew that she was under the disillusion that the painting was hers when it belonged to his mother. She gave him a questioning look and he gestured for her to sit next to him.
"You shot my brother!" She said quickly, taking a step back from him. Red's hand froze on his tea cup, leaning back he gave her a prying look but all he could see was hatred in her eyes. He tightened his hand on the cup but she went on. "My brother was there at the garden party where you shot him and sent him away in a balloon!"
"And how do you know that this was me?" Red challenged. He knew full well that he didn't go to a garden party that week, he was much too preoccupied with his current mission for him to go out to society as much as he would like. Was she a part of the robberies?
"My sister told me that he was stealing a painting and I know only one art thief," She pointed out and her eyes challenged him to argue. She had already voiced her opinion of him enough and knew the saying anymore would only have him dismiss her more than he had already. "I am here as you wish, now you must find my brother or I shall tell the authority of your theft!"
"I cannot help you even if I want to," Red pointed out. He tried to keep himself calm but his thoughts raced when she told him about the art thief. Could it be the same person he was after? Could he trust her? He had to see how much she knew. "I was not at this garden party and it's not illegal to take back what is mine."
"Stop!" She ordered. "I shall say this one last time: I painted that painting. We sold all the paintings in my father's possession years ago. All that is left are the ones I made which I made after my parents passed away. Tell my why you think that they belong to you."
Red ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He couldn't see her lying and pulled out a ledger from a desk pushed off to the side and locked. He threw the book onto the table in front of her and began to explain the story he didn't even told his best friend. He couldn't have many people know about his actions and risk his life before he could complete his task.
"When I came of age, I left for the new world. I wanted a few years of adventure before I returned and took my title. In those few years, my life was taken from me…" He sat on the coach and she went to sit next to him so she could watch his eyes. "My parents were murdered while I was overseas and stole every last heirloom they owned.
"I spent the next few years looking for the man that murdered my parents. I came close too and that is the closest I got," He gestured to the ledger. "I found his home but he escaped. I learned that he had sold every heirloom he stole from my family. I may never find the man but at least I can take back what my parents worked so hard to build. I've visited every house in that ledger and stole back what he had stolen from me. I've never been caught until now."
Yellow wordlessly took the ledger from the table until she came to the entry with her family name. Her heart went out to this man that no doubt blamed himself. "So the man that stole that painting at the garden party could very well be the man that murdered your parents."
Red's grip on his cup tightened as she went over every item that was stolen and went on, "Jewelry, paintings, you cannot go about in the dark stealing what you think is yours. I presume that this portrait was made by your mother as was the other paintings stolen."
He nodded and she laughed softly, "You have no eye for art sir. Your mother must've been left handed from her stroke pattern which is a signature enough for her. This thief has also let quite a detailed description of each artifact so I don't see how you could not identify them for yourself."
Red rubbed his chin before saying, "Then you are to help me."
"You cannot think that I will steal from these people!" She gestured to the ledger. "I have morals and will not bring myself to hurt others as you have done to me. I do not see how I will be able to help you because my sisters watch over me very carefully."
"Then I shall have to steal you away in the night," He gave her a smile, wanting her to help him. He remembered Green telling her about a certain Berlitz sister, "I shall return your painting if you do this for me. I shall also pay off whatever debt your father holds if you help me collect what is rightfully mine. Do we have a deal?"
Yellow stared at his outstretched hand and thought back to Ruby. If she was able to do this, they would not have to worry and she would prove that she could take care of herself to her sisters. "I am sorry I hear about your parents and shall help you out of the kindness of my heart but there are some conditions. For every artifact you steal, you have to leave the amount of pounds they paid this man for it. Know that they are innocent and bought the heirlooms fairly without the knowledge that they were stolen."
"I think we have reached an agreement," He took her hand and was shocked at how tiny it was. He began to wonder if it was right to bring her into his world when she was obviously dangerous even if he needed her to identify the heirlooms.
Lyra stood in front of the Silver's door for a good ten minute, contemplating if she should enter. This was the man that she turned blind and who most likely hated her! Blue had told her to lie about who she was but she couldn't do so. Blue also told her that he needed her but she didn't understand what that meant. She thought to Ruby and how much her family was struggling.
She took in a deep breath and entered the building with the key her sister had given her. She called out in a small voice that she knew was much too quiet for anyone to hear so ventured something louder, "Hello? Lady Blue had sent me. Mr. McAlister?"
"Damnit!" She heard someone cursed and she ran up the steps to find Silver standing in the middle of his room with glass scattered around him.
"Don't move," Lyra said quickly and ran to his kitchen for a cloth to place the broken glass inside. She ran back to the room when after she found one thrown carelessly on the table. She let out a frustrated breath when she found him trying to gather the glass. "Stop! You're going to hurt yourself."
She slapped his hand, glad that he hadn't cut himself trying to find the glass pieces. She looked around the large room and saw that it was empty save for a few furniture. She placed the biggest pieces of glass into the cloth before taking the broom and sweeping the remaining pieces. She looked over her shoulder to see Silver sitting on his bed, and her grip on the glass tightened a little too much.
She dropped the glass into the pile at the pain of the glass cutting her. She frowned at the cut before someone grabbed her shoulder roughly. Silver was beside her and ripped a piece of his shirt to hand it to her. "Give me your hand. Damn clumsy girl, I was better off just doing it myself."
"Thank you," She placed her hand in his and she was surprised at how gently he was with her. He grumbled as his fingers moved over her palm though. Her breathe caught when she realized how close he was to her and turned away when he was finished, taking the cloth of glass. Among the glass was a picture frame and her curiosity perked. "I'll throw the glass away. You sit there until I return."
There was something familiar about her voice but he couldn't place it anywhere. Had Blue brought her to the theater one day and he not notice? He cursed Blue for bringing the woman to his home and cursed himself for allowing him to do so. The girl obviously couldn't take care of herself so how could she help him? He was better off adjusting to this new handicap alone anyways. He heard her return but didn't turn to her.
Lyra looked from Silver to the picture frame she took from the ground. He must've been looking at it when she came in and dropped it. He looked so young in the picture with Blue beside them. He wasn't smiling then and he wasn't now making her wonder if he ever had. She gently placed it on the bedside table before sitting next to the man.
"I've returned. Blue said that there are some chores you wish for me to do now that you're… I'm truly sorry for you." She said quickly and looked at her hands, not knowing is she could look him in the eye. "Thank you for employing me even if it was mostly Blue's doing. I cook well so if you're hungry I can start dinner right now. What would you like?"
"I'm not hungry," He turned away from her. "I don't see why you're sorry; you weren't the one that pushed me. I don't need much, just stay out of the way while I work. There's a pile of manuscript there and I want you to read them to me."
"But it's almost noon, you must have something." She argued but he only waved away her worries. "You don't seem to have much food so we'll have to go out for dinner at the pub. Then tomorrow we'll go out to buy more things so I can make you something to eat as well."
"I hired you to read to me and watch over this house, you don't need to pity me." Silver said quickly. He didn't want to go out into society and embarrass himself. No doubt he would cause a scene where he knocked over everything in his path. "I have a friend that will bring me dinner tonight and I'll give you some coin to buy anything you want tomorrow. Just read the damn manuscript."
Lyra sighed and took one randomly from the pile and sat next to him. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him and wanted to help him, she was the one to cause this pain in him. He couldn't hide in his room forever and she vowed to help him adjust to this turn of events. With that thought in mind, she began to read to him.
Crystal parted the curtains of the carriage and stared at Gold's back. He was singing in a language that she couldn't understand and turned to her with a smile. They had barely spoken on the way to his estate but he didn't seem bother by the awkward silence that surrounded her. Nothing seemed to bother the man and wonder how he could be so calm.
"Come out," He held out a hand to her. The window was big enough for her to climb through but she was hesitant to do so because of the danger. He took her hand though and kissed it softly making her blushed harder and pull away from him. He knew it was because she wasn't used to closeness with others and he always wondered why high society was so afraid of each other.
"It must be uncomfortable back there, just sit next to me and talk. Tell me how I must bow to my elders or lift my pinky while I eat dainty little-"
"I think you have made your point," She frowned and turned to glare at him. It was uncomfortable to do so the whole trip so took his hand, if only to humour him for a moment. His hold was strong and helped her onto the box seat. "You don't think much of high society. Why have you come back when you obvious don't want to do so?"
Gold was silent for a moment before he told her honestly, "I wondered about the people who could leave me behind. I guess we're going to get the answers soon since we're home almost there. I'll show you around the estate, which is a good thing that came out of this, if anything. It's beautiful. Hold on, I'm going to take a shorter route."
Crystal's breath was taken away when they suddenly went off the trail and she held onto his arm but he only laughed, placing an arm around her to stop her from falling. He maneuvered the coach through the field knowing that there wasn't any boundary around the property and into the back of the estate. To his surprise, Crystal took the reins from him and pulled the horses to a stop.
"Are you of sound mind?" She yelled but he only gave her a sheepish smile. "You could've gotten us killed and you haven't been to this estate long so you might not know your way as much as you think. This path is dangerous for a carriage to take and you shouldn't strain the horses."
She climbed down from the carriage and went to the horses, running her hand over their neck, not noticing the grooms come out to them. Gold went to untie the horses and frowned when the grooms went to take over the task from him, though it did lighten his heart to see Crystal working so closely with the horses since he had a soft spot for animals.
"Let me show you into the mansion." Gold held out her arm to her as the groom took the horse away. She took it and he leaned down to whisper, "Thank you again for helping me find what happened to my mother."
Platina took out the letter that she had found in her office on the night of the ball. She wondered how it came to there but was glad to have found it. She held it closer to her heart after reading her knight's words glad that he was there for her though she still wondered how it came to her. She placed it aside and took out her family's ledger.
She didn't look up when there was a knock at the door and opened slowly. Dia walked in slowly and placed a tray on the table beside her. "You must be tired going over your text for so long, and I remember that you like tea with honey. What are you going over?"
"My family's books," She answered. "Since Ruby and Crystal are gone, there's no one to watch over the estate, even in their care it has turned to a state of despair. I want to be useful so have decided that I am going to save this estate. I have been going over everything and I think that we can apply some eastern techniques to the mills."
"That's great," Dia smiled even as she was so serious. "I know that you wanted to help Ruby and your knowledge can help this estate be what it once was. I mean… your sisters told me that it was so."
Platina was silent for a moment as she leaned back. She turned her gilded eyes to him, frowning. "Please, do not lie to me. I know very well that my sisters do not know my concerns and I also know who you truly are. I now realize it after speaking with you."
Tansy belonges to Silvia (Silvermoonstone23) Review if you liked.