Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the characters
"Gold?" Crystal walked down the hall as she called his name, worried about him since he hadn't returned yet and it had been almost an hour. It shouldn't have taken him so long to get whatever he needed from the carriage. It worried her more that he didn't call back to her since it was in his nature to do so, and rather loudly she would say.
She came to Platina's study and raised a brow at the partly closed door. Platina would either have it fully opened or closed completely, her nature not to leave something half done as such. She slowly opened the door, not wanting to startle anyone that was inside. She spotted Gold sitting at Platina's desk and she wondered why he was even in her in Platina's study.
He jerked hard when she placed her hand on his shoulder and she winced when he reacted without thinking, grabbing her arm rather roughly. When he saw her fearful eyes, he let go of her immediately and began to rub her arm to sooth the pain he ruefully caused. "I'm sorry. I thought you were someone else."
"What is it?" She asked him but he only brought the ring up to her in answer. Confused, she rolled the simple engagement ring around her fingers. She felt the engraving inside and stiffened when she read the words. "If this is your mother… where did you find this?"
"On your sister's desk," He answered and she realized that he was dazed. She took his arm, knowing that there were limited places to sit in Platina's study. He followed her easily to the closest room, which she didn't realize was her own as she pushed him to sit. She went to pour him a glass of water and sat beside him, worried at the confused glaze in his eyes.
"Why would your sister have my mother's ring?" Gold asked and looked at the simple ring still resting in Crystal's hand. "I don't know if it's even hers… the butler gave me the ring my father gave my mother and I left it in my room back in Jhoto."
"Then who gave her this?" She asked more to herself than to anyone else. Gold wasn't a common name and she wondered how her sister came to hold the ring. "But this might be what you're looking for. It was answers you wanted, didn't you? Let's go and find Platina so we can ask her, she must know."
She was about to stand when Gold placed his hand over hers. "You always know what to say. Thank you, I was glad that I had the chance to meet you, my dancing water nymph."
He brushed his lips over her fingers and she couldn't help but feel like this was a goodbye. Then she realized that their parting was coming faster than she first thought. She had never given thought to their parting but found herself saddened at that thought since they had spent so much time together. But she shouldn't be feeling this way, she knew from the beginning that they would part way after she finished helping him.
What could persuade him to stay by her side? Why did she want him to?
"Down Sneasel," Lyra giggled as the little cat jumped from Silver's shoulder to the printing press but when she tried to catch him, the black cat only waved his tail and jumped away. Silver heard something crash and sighed. He had to remember to put a bell on that cat. Sneasel was surprisingly active around Lyra but Silver couldn't bring himself to separate the two from the laughter in her voice.
He had decided to teach her how to use the printing press since he knew that he had to publish another book soon and he couldn't do that now that he lost his sight. He frowned at the many questions he had about Lyra now. He couldn't help but feel that there was more about her. He felt her hand in his as she asked him, "So what do I do?"
Silver gently squeezed her small fingers and worried when the image of her cutting herself came to mind, "I'll hire someone from the bookstore to work the press. This is much too dangerous for you. You can easily lose a finger with this thing and I merely hired you to help me with work."
"Helping with the printing press would be helping you with your work," Lyra pointed out to him, confused about why he suddenly changed his mind. She had been excited about learning something new and wanted to make her own personal copies for her family to enjoy. "Why won't you teach me?"
"The hours shall be long," he tried to discourage but he knew from her snort that he said the wrong thing. "I only brought this thing because I wanted to cut cost and it wasn't much work for me anyways. I should just send the manuscripts to press shops to save time."
"Please?" Lyra tried to imitate Blue's large pleading eyes she used whenever she wanted something from her brother but she realized that Silver couldn't see her and would think her silly for using such a forward voice and stepped back. "You promised you would teach me."
Silver could hear the disappointment in her voice and realized that it hurt him to hear it just as it must've hurt her that he was going back on his word. "I will teach you on the condition that you will be careful and only print whatever you want for yourself, and not for my work. That shall be for the press shop to do. Now there is a draw of letter blocks."
He heard her opened several draws as he ran his hand over the familiar wood. He had repeated the process so many times before that he didn't need his eyes but it still hurt him that he wasn't able to see the variation of brown of the wood. When he felt her return to his side, he shook away any regrets so not to bother her, who will no doubt only feel pity for her.
"There should be a frame here where you can place the letters called a coffin. I want you to take it our carefully." He heard the telling click and when she said that she had placed it on the table, he lowered the lever gently. "Now take the wooden letters and placed them in the frame. Their letter is labeled on the back so that should help."
Lyra took a page from a short story she drew up quickly and was careful not to misplace any of the words. She laughed when Sneasel jumped onto the table and began to paw at the letters. "Sneasel has adjusted to us rather nicely, don't you think Silver? I am so glad that you rescued him."
"If memory serves me, it was you that saved him," Silver said and reached out his hand to the black blur he could only guess was Sneasel. He smiled sadly to himself when he felt him rub himself against his hand. "I couldn't do anything to save him."
"I wouldn't have been able to find him without you," Lyra encouraged him but his frown did not turn.
She told him that she was finished and he took the frame carefully, worried that she might drop it on her toes because of its weight. He stopped at the printing press and asked her gently, "Can you help me put it back in the printing press?"
He felt her small hands over his as she gently led his hands. She moved so that her back was against his chest and he couldn't help but inhale her sweet scent, something so familiar to a flower. He wondered if she spent much time at the estate garden like that woman had. In his musing, he didn't realize that she placed the frame back already.
She turned and realized that she was so close to his chest that she merely needed to raise to her toes to kiss him. She pressed her hand to her lips. Where had that thought come from? She wanted to repay him but found that she was trapped in love she could not name like her heroines. "What now?"
Silver thought her voice sounded a little breathless but didn't comment on it. "Cut some paper first before you start the actual pressing and press them aside for later. Now place one on the wooden area."
Lyra blushed when she felt him take her hand so that she was nested against his body. She could feel his breath move the hair on top her head as he explained the steps and he led her hands. Once they were finished, he pressed his hand against her temple. "Are you sick? You're warmer than usual."
"I'm alright," She laughed shakily, not wanting him to realize the reason for her blush. She didn't know if he believed her, for he only shrugged and stepped away from her. She smiled at the first page of her story and set it aside. "Do you want anything to eat? I want to work more on my own personal project."
"You're Viking?" He asked and she froze at his words. He could feel her questioning gaze and went on, "The story you had been reading to me, it was written by you, wasn't it? Blue told me that you enjoy writing so it wasn't hard for me to realize who its author is."
"But you told me that you didn't enjoy gothic written by female writers," Lyra said after a moment remembering all the praises and criticism he had given her after reading a chapter to him. "We're you just saying all those things because Blue didn't want you to hurt my feelings?"
"You should know me well enough to know that is not the case. I think your work beautiful, if not a little romanticised as that era often is but I can feel you love in pain in your writing. It's not something I would read but I know that others would enjoy it and you are more writer than I know other men to be. You do not need to use scandals to bring interest to your work."
Lyra was silent, knowing that his bitter words were directed towards herself, even if he didn't know that it was so. Silver noticed her lapse into silence and cupped her face, "Is something wrong?"
"It's nothing, just thinking of a book your words reminded me of." She hated that she could lie so easily now, especially to him, someone she both respected and liked. She wanted to go on but found herself stuttering over her words again. "I-I- never mind."
"Will you ever tell me how you came to this habit of stuttering?" Silver sighed when she started to stutter since he knew that her silence would follow. He found himself taking a strand of her hair and gently followed its path to her shoulder. "What colour is your hair? I've been envisioning you with dark hair but it might not be respectful to you if I'm envisioning you as someone else."
At that moment, Lyra wished that she was anyone else but couldn't help but answer him, "brown, just brown hair. I already told you that I was nothing special."
"Why do you think such of yourself?" He asked. "Blue obviously likes you so there must be a reason for that. You're sweet and must be impossibly patient to spend any expanded amount of time with me. You are also passionate, be it naively so. If it means anything, I like you much more than I so others."
I don't know how much longer you will think so much of me, she thought silently to herself.
"Dia, have you seen Pearl's letter?" She asked him over her shoulder as she went through the kitchen for the letter. She was sure that she had placed it on the table when she spoke with Lyra but after they finished their conversation, it was missing. She moved from under the table and saw that Dia was nervously making tea.
Did Dia have something to do with the missing letter? She shook herself at the thought, how could she doubt him for even more than a moment? He was kind to her and she was fond of him after the time he spent just merely being by her side, giving her moments of laughter. He hesitated before gesturing to the tea tray and she found the letter beneath the tea cups.
"Thank you Dia," She smiled softly at him. She noticed that there was something sad in his eyes so went to stand before him. He had brought her so much joy in his time at the estate and she found herself staring into his clear blue eyes longer than was proper. She lowered her lashes, to shield herself from any feelings. She loved Pearl, but it was hard reminding herself of that at times when she saw so much in him that she wished for herself. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah," He took her hand and lowered it to her side. "I wish so many things were different. That I was different."
"Why would you wish that?" She asked him, shocked that he would want to change any aspect of himself. "I have told you many times before but I seem that I must repeat myself, you are a good man, kind and giving. Now I don't want to hear you saying such about yourself again, okay?"
"If only you knew," He muttered to himself, feeling guilt over the letter in her hand. The moment she took it, he wanted to take the words he written back but they were in her hands now.
"Do you want sugar in your tea?" Green asked when he placed the tray of tea in front of her. He rarely had guest at his townhouse. Blue had been to his house before but that was only after stage performance where she would change back to Blue before returning home. He didn't know what always drew him to the pictures of him as a child though, for she would take a moment to study the portrait.
"Your sister is beautiful," She commented. Her next words made him chock on his tea though, "You should really replace your locks. The last time I was here, I broke one of them when I was picking the lock, I think."
"You broke into my house?" He stared at her in shock and she laughed at his bewildered face, though it didn't reach her eyes. He didn't want to think about what she might've found about him while he wasn't home. Was that the reason she always seemed to know more about him than he knew her? He had thought that some things were misplaced but didn't think much of it.
"Force of habit, I fear. To be honest, I was worried about the theater and wanted to make sure your intention was truly about investing in it. I didn't take anything, you needn't worry about that, I just looked through some of your files. It's rather impressive that you were able to inquire so much wealth at such a young age."
"My sister needed the money when she first made a family with her husband, Bill." Green shrugged. "I'm not going to have her dependent on that scientist, even if I know that Bill loves her. If something happens to him, I want her to be able to take of herself and her daughter."
"Ignorance is bliss," She said in a soft voice before going to the window and studying the people outside, looking to see if anyone was watching the house. After a moment, she drew the heavy drapes closed so no one could see them. He wanted to question her words but she drew the letter from her pocket, bringing the subject back to the issue at hand.
He sat next to her as she tore the envelope open and read the letter as she did. He frowned at the backhanded insults made towards her character as he promised wealth in exchange for her assistance in taking the theater from White. He felt anger rose in him from the words but he only saw a cold acceptance in Blue's own ocean eyes.
"I shall meet him." She said simply, referring to the letter's passage about how he also wanted to speak with her. "I'm sure that you will want to come as well and I hate to say it, but I want you there as well. I would usually have Silver come with me but… I know that society says that I'm not safe walking these streets without a man unless I'm a…"
"Why are you so calm?" Green asked a little more loudly than he wanted to. She stood so she didn't have to face him.
"To be called a whore?" Blue laughed bitterly. "I heard worst when I was a child. Lyra would go on about the beauty of words but I've heard so many, they don't affect me anymore. If I spend even a moment of time hating myself for doing something I love, then they will win. Acting is what brings me happiness, if I am seen as… I know what you all think of me. You smile and clap while I'm on stage but I am nothing but an object for entertainment to you. Every passion has its fault but I cannot change what I do."
"I never thought that of you," Green screamed back but she rolled her eyes. He took her arm and turned her to face him. "I don't know what to think of you!"
"You thought that I was money hungry to turn on my friend the first time you met me," She pointed out. "If I let those words hurt, I would've grown to be like you. Hating myself and always trying to be more than those words. 'A bastard that will never have his father love' isn't that what they called you? Well you proved them wrong, now you have more riches than even you father. But what else do you have?"
"You shall not bring my father into this discussion!" He let her go and turned back to the portraits on the fireplace.
"When you are working on your investment, I see a bitter man." She started and he wished that she would just leave the subject of his father. "You don't wish to make money. I've read your papers on science, that is what you are happy doing but you are here! Those words aren't you Green, and you are letting them stop you from knowing who you are."
"I will take you to the pub he wishes to meet you at," He changed the subject abruptly and moved to slam the door as he left, throwing over his shoulder. "Lock the door when you leave, I'm sure you know how. I need to check on my investments down at the docks."
The mail coach kept a rhythmic pace as it drove her and Ruby closer to the estate except for the lone jolt that shook Sapphire into awareness and held onto the closest solid thing, which turned out to be Ruby. Luckily he was sleeping too deeply for her movement to wake him.
She righted herself and realized that the heaviness on her shoulder was Ruby's cloak and that she had been sleeping on his shoulder, her drool leaving a little spot on his shoulder. She knew that it would most likely anger him and went to wipe it with the napkin she found in the cloak pocket. He studied his face in sleep as she did so and admitted to herself that he was rather handsome when he wasn't scowling at her.
It was late that night and she was glad that the other passengers were asleep as well so that no one noticed her actions. She went to check their bags under their seat to make sure that nothing was missing before pulling the large constellation book from her bag. The mail coach was small but she was able to move to the window to look out.
She found her parent's star easily and bid them goodnight before resting her head on the window, just watching the stars above. She didn't hear one of the passenger come beside her before she spoke. "That is a lovely man you have found. I can only hope that my granddaughter will find someone so handsome."
"Handsome he might be but he's vain," Sapphire turned her nose at the thought of her spending any more time with that man. "He has the charm of a serpent, sayin' that my stars are nothing more than tools. Every time I begin to think that he's kind, he says something that angers me! He is not mine and I know that he is not the man meant for me."
"Young love is truly blissful," The older woman laughed despite Sapphire's words. "But I must ask you why you are wearing such trousers? It is not becoming of a lady like you. If you have no dresses for yourself, I am all the more willing to lend you one of my own though you the not have the bosom to fill it."
"I for one think that she's beautiful in trousers," Ruby's lazy drawl reached them as he took the place of the woman and ushered her away. "I made them after all."
"Oh male pride," Sapphire rolled her eyes when he was defending his design rather than herself. She returned her gaze to her eternal stars and muttered how constantly changing her emotion to this man was. Ruby didn't say anything and stare at the sky instead, as if it would tell him what she found so interesting in them. "I'm sorry for waking ya."
"I was already awake." He told her and she blushed, remembering how close her face was to is when she was wiping the drool from his shoulder. She expected him to yell at her for ruining the silk of his shirt but he didn't make a comment.
"Why did you leave?" She asked though she knew the last time she asked the same question, they came to use the slings of words. "You didn't seem to be one of adventure and by your behaviour now, I wouldn't think that you would want to leave your sisters for even more than a moment."
"It was more my father than my sisters," His voice was filled with regrets. "He didn't enjoy my views on designing, saying that as the next viscount I should be more focus on the estate than making silly dresses. I just needed to prove him wrong, that I could make something so beautiful that he would accept me passion. But I couldn't find any inspiration in a place I knew all my life so I went to find inspiration with something more beautiful than what I could find at Berlitz estate."
"Ya saw clothes as art but he saw them as mere attire," Sapphire pointed out and he frowned at the parallel she made between his comment to her and his father's words. "I still think that the stars as the most beautiful sight. Ya must be blind."
Ruby knew that he could never change her vision of the stars but he could tell that she was changing his. He looked back at the sky, its simple velvet ink sparkled with specks of lights was beautiful in a simple way. He couldn't admit that she was right but he wouldn't say that she was wrong either.
"How can you tell them apart?" He asked her and she tilted her head to him as if he were dwarfed for asking her such a question.
"You see that star?" She pointed to the North Star that anyone could identify with the slightest knowledge of stargazing. He came behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder so he could follow her finger easier. "That's the North Star and we can easily follow it to other stars."
"What about that star?" he asked her.
"Spica? That's the brightest star of the Virgo constellation, the beauty I think Poppa called it." Ruby watched her face as she connected the dots for him and told him how to find the constellation using the big dipper. She finished and said rather wistfully, "I was born under that star."
Then it must be a very special star, he thought to himself. "Is there any way we can capture a star?"
"Why would ya do that? Ya canna steal a star, they belong in the sky. Ya shouldna that them from their happy home and deny anyone else of seeing their beauty." She made a face at him. With that, she went back to her seat and pulled his cloak closer around her to sleep. He looked from her to the star and wondered why the thought of gifting her with the star came from.
Crystal sat up in her bed when she heard something crash and screaming. She threw off her covers when she realized that it was Gold and ran down to the room he was resting in before they went back to Jhoto. She found the door unlocked and rushed in, fearful that he was being attacked. Winypon was quick on her heel, sensing her fear.
"Gold!" She found him in the midst of a nightmare, tossing in bed. Crystal quickly went to his side and tried to grab at his hands to stop him from hurting himself or her. When he started to calm, she held him against herself as she did when her sister had nightmares when they were younger. She felt him hold her back but it wasn't painful, what shocked her was when she felt his tears.
His breathing returned to normal and he silently pulled away from her. His cold rejection hurt her as he turned his back to her. "Please leave."
"What was your nightmare about?" She asked him as if he hadn't spoken. She wasn't going to let him hide from her or his demons that she knew he could easily defeat with the light of his smile. She placed her hand on his shoulder and she heard him mumble something about rats.
When she was about to press him further, there was another crash and Gold jumped to his feet feeling a dark presence around them.
Thought I forgot about Franticshipping :P I've just been having trouble writing them.