Enjoy!
Lavi woke the next morning from the most refreshing night of sleep she had ever had. All around her the sun was brighter, the pillows softer and even the air seemed fresher blowing in through the open window. The autumn air came in crisp and cool against her skin, the sweetest temptation making Lavi want to go back out and re-join Manor life in her own small way.
The sun reflected glaringly off the top of a bright white head below her first floor window, blinking into the light Lavi spotted Allen walking alongside a rather ragged looking Tyki she realised with a jolt. The older man's dark hair was out of its usual combed back pony forming messy waves that cascaded around his face. His attire was markedly different too, gone was the smart fashionable three piece suit exchanged for shabby slacks and a fitted workman's shirt that had seen better days. The arrogant saunter that appeared to be second nature for Tyki was the only giveaway of his identity.
Lavi leaned out of the window to watch the pair as they talked animatedly. Tyki reached out to ruffle Allen's hair, annoying the boy who smacked the offending hand away, the interaction bringing a bubble of laughter to Lavi's throat. Perhaps Tyki heard her chuckle, or he felt the heat of her gaze between his shoulders that he turned around and caught her looking. Startled Lavi quickly tried to squeeze back into the room, failing as the back of her head connected painfully with the bottom of the window frame.
"Yo!" Tyki waved a hand up at her, even from this distance Lavi could make out the cheeky grin. Next to him Allen stared up at her, mouth hanging open too wide to be polite.
"Er… Hello." She replied weakly and ducked away more carefully this time.
Stupid Tyki, Lavi thought as she rubbed her throbbing head and set about making herself presentable for the day. The pit of Lavi's stomach did a little flip when she reminded herself to ask Tyki about his odd outfit when she met him later. Her pink cheeked reflection looked back at her accusingly.
So she was a little bit excited about the meeting, maybe looking forward to it even. What of it? It was not as if there was anything else more interesting going on in her life at the moment.
The anticipatory twinges stayed with her all day and as lunch time rolled around the feeling in Lavi's stomach had intensified into a twisting cramp. A number of different scenarios chased one after the other across her mind, each more terrifying than the last. What there was no one there when she got to the roof? What if she was too early, or too late?
What if Sheril found out that she was meeting Tyki illicitly? Lavi had been lucky the night before that Sheril had not returned to her room, she supposed she had Tyki and his little note to thank for the brief reprieve she was enjoying.
Then it hit her. The most devastating realisation of all…
"Excuse me but," Lavi looked up at the maid who had brought up her lunch tray. "Do you know how to get up to the roof?"
The maid, surprised at having been asked a direct question by the mysterious red haired woman, did not immediately answer. Lavi hung her head at the lack of response, why had she said she knew her way around the large Manor. At the time she naively assumed she just had to climb any stair case leading up, but thinking back on her limited knowledge of the expansive building getting to the roof could not be that easy.
"The roof?" The maid tongued her cheek tasting the question. "I can take you up there if you like Miss."
"Really?"
"Yes really." The appreciation must have rolled off the excited red head, softening the maid who couldn't help but smile at her earnestness. Lavi's spirits soared and she jumped to her feet causing the maid to giggle. The maid, remembering herself straightened out her apron and tried to sound stern. "It's my afternoon off, so make sure you finish up eating quickly. I'll be back in an hour to take you up."
Heat flushed her face at her over enthused reaction and the motherly command from a maid who looked no more than a year or two older than herself. Lavi sat down and began picking at her plate. The maid waited a moment longer to ensure that everything was satisfactory with the meal. Light footed, the strawberry blonde stepped Lavi to leave.
You're a lot nicer than the other maids you know, what's your name? I'm Lovely." Lavi pulled a face; it really did sound ridiculous to say that out loud. The maid caught the look and giggled again sounding as delicate as glass wind-chimes. There was a comforting air about the woman that put Lavi completely at ease.
"Amelia, Miss Lovely." The maid performed a small curtsey, "But Melia is fine with me."
"Melia?" Lavi racked through the organised files of her memory searching for the significance of the name. The corners of her mouth pulled apart into a wide knowing grin. "Ooooh... No wonder you're so nice, you're not one of Livia's girls."
"I'd rather swallow a thousand needles than be one of hers!" Melia pulled a sour face; the name itself brought a horrible taste to her mouth.
"So tell me, what's Cross like? I've only seen him once and," Lavi shivered, recalling the encounter. "Let's just say he didn't leave the best of impressions."
Honestly, where was the appeal in a chain smoking, womanising know-it-all, who got kicks out of proving to everyone that he was always a step ahead? At least Tyki doesn't like to throw her lack of knowledge of Manor goings on in her face. Amazingly Tyki had actually proved to be of a quite a patient and perspicacious nature. He had understood from the beginning, of her role in the Manor and was sensitive in his approach, even somehow creating moments of freedom away from Sheril.
A nerve twitched in Lavi's temple. Tyki still possessed two out of three of the Cross qualities… She had yet to see him without a cigarette, ignited or not and he had propositioned and groped her willingly enough.
Men.
In the end Melia stayed with Lavi through lunch and the two women discussed the less fine points of the men in the Manor and men in general. The maid was quite taken with Cross, but Lavi could see she was no fool. Melia held no illusions that Cross would settle, for the time being she was happy for the distraction he provided.
Lavi reflected on the parallels with her own afternoon plans as the two now made their way to the roof in companionable silence, for now she too was happy for the distraction.
The route was full of twists and turns, up two flights of stairs and down another, but still Lavi counted steps and recorded it all perfectly in her mind. Soon they arrived at the bottom of a narrow staircase, both a little out of breath from the countless stairs they had already climbed. Lavi said goodbye to Melia and ascended the steps.
What she found on the other side of the heavy wooden door made her jaw drop in amazement.
The entire roof space of the Kamelot Manor was devoted to garden. Potted hedges lined the outer wall bordering an intricately tiled floor. The roof top garden was in full bloom, flowers of every shape, size and colour spilled over their pots. The wash of brilliant colours was quite something to behold. Brightly coloured Gerberas, carnations of every hue, white gardenias, purple snapdragons and bundles of hydrangea and baby's breath excited her senses of sight and smell.
She crossed the roof and leaned against a sturdy railing that was entwined in a vine of white star shaped blooms. The scent wafting up was a heady mixture of sweet vanilla with warm notes of wood. Lavi took the fragrance deep into her lungs.
Up here she almost felt sequestered from the rest of the household, the stunning views and height stimulating all her senses. The wind brought the sea to her nose and keen eyes picked out the tracks and roads to the port town that lay at the feet of the Kamelot Estate. Further away, beyond the town Lavi could not see it, but she knew that was where her own home waited for her.
Footsteps clipped lightly on the ground behind her, slowly coming to a halt. Lavi half expected to feel arms wind around her waist as she felt him come to a stop behind her.
"A stunning view isn't it?" Tyki's voice fluttered into her ear.
Tense muscles relaxed and Lavi turned to face Tyki, trusting the rail to support her weight and arms crossed Lavi leaned back, ready with a witty barb. The sight of him stopped her short, the words melting away still inside her throat. Although Tyki had stopped so close he was not looking at her instead looking out over the land. The wind tussled his now shorter black waves around his face, a dark moving sea within in set golden orbs. Lavi followed his gaze to the town below, a vague curve to the line of his mouth that could have been mistaken for a smile. Tyki cut a fine figure standing there; there was something like a solitary romance in his appreciation of view.
It would have been so natural to reach out to the man now, if only share some of his easy aura. Lavi felt a blush spread across her cheeks and kicked herself mentally as Tyki chose that moment to look down at her, eyes widening slightly as if only now he realised the small distance between them. Coughing awkwardly, he deftly side stepped avoiding eye contact and leaned against the rail.
"Were you able to make it up here alright?" Tyki said. "The passageways in the Manor can be quite tricky if you're not used to them."
"I had a little help," Lavi had no idea why she suddenly felt nervous. Taking a deep breath Lavi jumped into the murky waters of conversation with Tyki Mikk. "I had no idea a place like this existed. Thank you for bringing me up here."
For once Lavi did not hold back for wearing her emotions plainly, the garden was a hidden wonder. The main grounds were stunning on their own, the gardening team working hard all year round to maintain the picturesque beauty. Here up on the rood, this private pleasure garden was breath taking.
"So you like it?" Tyki sounded a little more than relieved that Lavi was enjoying the roof garden. Could it be that he too had felt some anxiety about meeting? Lavi quickly brushed the thought aside, meeting her up here was no different to any of those trysts of his that she had heard about.
"I love it!" Lavi beamed, masking the return of the sinking feeling in her stomach. She stroked one of the blooms, soft to the touch and silky beneath her fingers. "This is sweet autumn clematis; my favourite. We have a vine like this at home, except ours covers almost the entire back wall." A dark cloud settled over her bright smile. "We had a vine like this."
From the side Lavi surreptitiously examined him as he openly watched her now. As the wind died down Tyki's hair had settled into a coal black mess bordering his features, making him look younger and contrasted with his impeccable clothing. Even his eyes looked expensive, as if moulded out of precious metal. Lavi was tempted to ask about his peasants clothing, but decided against it. That was his business after all.
"I've thought about it and," Lavi breathed out slowly. "You don't have to tell me about the letter. What happens inside or outside the Manor for that matter, it's not my business. But thank you for offering to tell me. It's not a nice feeling to be left in the dark not being told anything." Now that she had started Lavi found it difficult to stop and the words tumbled out of her; the roiling sensation in her stomach churning more violently. "There aren't many people I can talk to in the Manor. Road is too young and besides she hates me for a reason I don't think she even knows why. She just knows that I don't belong here. And Lady Kamelot is good to me but, how can I even look her in the face when we both know what I'm here for."
Tyki listened without saying a word, unsure what he could possibly say as she confirmed her position in the house.
"We're friends now right Tyki? Friends don't put conditions on each other for information so let's just talk instead. Up here is a good enough setting for that no?"
"It's good enough," Tyki frowned at the surroundings. "I would still prefer a candle lit dinner."
Lavi giggled, "Ask me again later, I might just take you up on the offer."
As they talked Lavi felt her stomach settle, it was easier to speak with Tyki now, without worrying about being caught by Sheril, the fallout for her disobedience was going to fall without a doubt, and she had nothing to lose from further association. Tyki himself was quite charming when she gave him the chance to be. He was funny and intelligent, making Lavi laugh easily as he told her about the basics of the society folk, which lords and ladies annoyed him, which to avoid and which ones to butter up.
The topic soon turned to the family business, a shipping company that Tyki did not participate in openly, but in the background at the behest of the Millennium Earl.
"Who is that?" The title sounded familiar as if she had heard it before.
"How can I explain this," Tyki juggled the facts in his mind trying to order them to create the best picture. "The Kamelots are a lower branch of the Noah family tree. He, the Earl is like the unofficial patriarch of our families and more than that he runs most of the businesses in this part of the country, most of the higher ups look to him for advice. So we're family, but we're also employees in the bigger scheme."
"How did he get to be so powerful?" Lavi was in awe of the power wielded by this one man. And where do you fit in Lord Mikk? Again Lavi bit back a question.
"How does anyone get anything is this world, Lovely?" A wry smile on his face, he rubbed his forefingers and thumb together in the universal gesture of wealth. "He bought it. The Earl somehow managed to make a killing on his first meagre 1,000 acres of vineyard and farmland."
"And now he runs Dark Order Shipping Co. from the background?" Lavi confirmed. "With you?"
"Well, not with me, I'm not that important. I just do the leg work, making sure everything runs smoothly, no one fiddling books. That sort of thing." Tyki gave her a side long glance, "And that's how I got my hands on that letter I gave Sheril yesterday."
Lavi perked up, she had not expected him to speak about the letter. Tyki cocked an eyebrow causing Lavi to blush, "So you are still interested?"
"It was a letter from the captain of our flagship, The Ark. Sheril got his maths wrong about the arrival date of some very precious cargo, and not only that said cargo is about to run into some trouble in Italy."
"What is the cargo?" Lavi leaned in conspiratorially. "Where from?"
Tyki sighed heavily, "The ship is coming back from the very Far East, Japan – "The Chained Land", its cargo the last few members of a Samurai family and," Tyki pulled a disgusted face. "My wife-to-be."
Lavi could not help it; she burst into a fit of laughter. The thought of Tyki Mikk marrying was hilarious. The woman from the chained land was going to put some chains of her own on the rogue bachelor.
"I'm sorry, but that is too funny!" Clutching her sides Lavi tried to control herself. The dark expression he wore only brought about another round of eye watering laughter.
"When you are quite finished," Tyki said rolling his eyes at the mad red head, who tried and failed to assure him that she was quite done as a huge grin remained plastered across her face.
"Oh cheer up, it's just a wedding." She waved a hand at him dismissively and continued in a more serious tone. "Aren't you more concerned what will happen to these people if they're discovered? I thought the Japanese were not allowed to leave, what if they are discovered? Isn't there a rule about not being allowed to leave their homeland?"
"This is a plan the Earl set into motion years ago they will be fine, Sheril will deal with it accordingly. A bit of smooth talking will get you everywhere. But it could be a bit rocky certain upright members of society aren't too happy with Noah success you see." Tyki grinned at Lavi, "I believe thanks are in order. Giving my dear brother that letter means that Lord Kamelot will be going away on business for undisclosed length of time soon, and you will be finding yourself with more than a little of free time."
Lavi did not dare to believe it. "How can you be so sure?"
"Trust me, it won't be now or even tomorrow, but soon Sheril will announce that he has a very important business trip to Italy. I know because I'd planned to go myself." Tyki looked uncertain for a moment. Only a moment.
"Why can't you still go?" Logically speaking Sheril did have a household to run.
"The reason," Tyki put a cigarette to his lips and proceeded to pat down his pockets in search of a lighter or match. "I don't want to go."
The sight of the stick caused a twinge of annoyance, hanging there limply between his lips it served to complete the air of careless rebellion that clung to him. In one swift movement Lavi plucked the cigarette from Tyki's mouth and left Tyki at the bench.
Lavi hoped he was right about this, hope filled her chest as she leaned over the clematis rail. The view was clear in all directions, sparkling blue sea on one side spanning the coast and leading out to the large port town that lay just out of the reach of Kamelot land. Beyond that, though invisible to her eyes, Lavi knew her own home, with its own clematis wall was waiting for her. As prisons go this one was not too bad when Sheril would be removed from the picture. Lavi need only wait until Jiji was well enough to travel home again. The contract would be met.
Fabric brushed against fabric as Tyki came to rest against the rail beside her. His presence felt warm, and like a firefly Lavi was drawn to it, unconsciously moving closer to the man absently twirling the white stick in her hand.
"The old man in the infirmary was the one who brokered the deal with the Japanese thirteen years ago." Lavi was unsurprised at the news of Jiji's connection to the Kamelots; Sheril had first approached her using concern for the old man as his disguise and she had always been wary of how the two had been acquainted, a one-time business associate they had said. It made sense now, Jiji had even taught her the language, so he must have learnt it first hand in the Far East.
If that little revelation had shocked Lavi, the next one froze her to her very core.
"It was his daughter, Lillia who created this garden." The air became thicker, making it harder to breathe. Tyki did not seem to notice her distress, his own voice quieter now, his eyes glazed over as if unseeing of the scenery before him. "I was fifteen at the time and quite the troublemaker; she tried to fix that, always scolding me as if I were her son too. "Don't spend so much time drinking in town! Make friends your own and status too! Be the words worth reading!" God she annoyed me." He remembered fondly.
"What happened to her?" Lavi asked in a small voice, although she already knew the answer.
"There was a fire." Lavi peered up Tyki, his mouth a grim line. Gold eyes dimmed to pale hazel. "Bookman arrived two weeks later. He took the boy and left and now they're back and I don't know why. That's all I can tell you Lovely, I don't know any more than that."
The cigarette slipped out of Lavi's hand, faling over the side of the Manor. Tyki looked down concerned by the tinge of blue green to her skin. "It's getting colder up here, we should head back down."
Lavi meekly allowed him to lead her down, thankful that he had mistaken her sudden sickness for vertigo.
Later that night she sat up in bed watching the shadows dance across the carpet as she replayed the conversation over and over in her mind. How easy it had been to talk with Tyki, conversation flowed without a hitch even in spite of the way her insides fluttered. And then there were questions he answered for her even after she had taken back her request. The idea of a wife sailing forth from an exotic land was laughable out on the roof, but now the same idea caused an ache somewhere inside her.
Lavi pushed the conflicted feelings aside for now, touching the marked skin around her eye, new significance becoming clearer. Thirteen years ago both Jiji and her mother were in this Manor, working for the Kamelots. Thirteen years ago, that would have made her five. He took the boy and left.Surely Tyki was talking about her, a girl at five years of age was not too much different from a boy of the same age she thought to account for the mistaken memory.
Lavi could not recall ever having been here before. All she could think of now was how she had made a fool of herself, cringing at the pathetic display she made, turning faint because of a story that may or may not be true. She had to speak to Jiiji...
The bed sheets rustled as Sheril sat up too; he grabbed her chin in one hand and pressed the index finger of his other hand between her brows. "Keep frowning like that and you'll end with wrinkles."
"Go back to your own bed if you're done." She hissed, slapping his hands away.
"Who said I was done?" Sheril said, latching his lip onto her neck. "You spent the whole day with my brother. Didn't you think of how jealous that would make me?"
Mechanically Lavi wrapped her arms around Sheril steadying herself as the weight of him forced her back down sinking into the pillows. Not for a moment had she entertained the hope that Sheril would not know about the meeting, mentally preparing herself this moment now. Unexpectedly, Sheril had taken it with good humour; assuring her that he had faith his "good girl" knew how to protect her modesty.
Lavi let Sheril continue his ministrations, silently rubbing circles into his back and sides the way she knew he wanted her too. Golden eyes loomed over her as Sheril dove forwards to take her mouth. For an insane moment she imagined a different set of golden eyes, molten and smouldering to be looking back at her. The body above her transforming, shoulders broader and firmer to the point of hardness.
"Don't be fooled by him Lovely. He may act like a gentleman, but somewhere not so deep down Tyki is just like me." Sheril told her callously.
Struck by the strength of her illusion Lavi could nothing but attempt to catch her breath. Slowly she was beginning to understand why Sheril's touch left her so cold when simply being near his brother left her glowing.