Author's note: Sorry for the shorter chapter, but a larger chapter should be coming tomorrow or the next day. Music for this chapter (and might influence the next slightly) was 3 Doors down- When I'm Gone.
It should be simple enough; I mean it's just his office not a well-protected fort. Weiss told herself this for the hundredth time, the words still providing no comfort. The two of them waited patiently down in the cellar. Her father had asked a guest around and had sent the two away, not wanting them to be present for the meeting. Weiss was used to this, but Ruby was tapping her foot impatiently. "Ruby, stop that it's annoying"
"Sorry I'm just nervous, when are we going into the office?"
"Soon, just wait a moment; father will go into his library soon and then we have to be quick. Once you have the letter you should go to Blake's, hide there for a while,"
"Why am I hiding?"
"My father will know it's gone, he keeps a very tight handle on these things. If he knows you have it he will come after it, if it's as important as it seems to be."
"What about you, won't he be angry?"
"You can count on it, but I will be fine, we need to have a talk anyway. He's quite a hard man to get a meeting with, unless you make him mad." Ruby put a comforting hand on her shoulder, she just sighed.
They heard the tell-tale sound of footsteps, passing over the cellar. Weiss nodded to Ruby and they both crept out. The halls were well lit, and a few of the staff hurried around, fulfilling her father's requests. The two managed to creep through the manor quietly, dodging and hiding from rushing servants with various plates of food or drink. Keeping to the shadows they managed to make it to her father's office quickly. Ruby tried the handle, the door was locked shut. Weiss pushed her aside, retrieving her lock picks, "Where did you learn to do that?"
"I'm an Assassin, there are a lot of times where a locked door stands in the way of a target. Ask Blake about it." Ruby nodded, looking back to check for anyone approaching. Weiss had a lot of practice breaking into her father's office; there were often secrets he kept that she had tried to uncover. While she had never been quite successful in uncovering these secrets it did mean she was well and truly used to picking this particular lock.
A soft click signalled Weiss' success. The two carefully opened the door, sliding inside the dark office. Rays of moonlight shone through the panelled window that dominated the wall of the office. The two set about quickly searching through the mass of papers and documents that littered her father's desk. Bills, invitations to parties, newspaper clippings all lay on the desk, yet the letter was nowhere to be found. "Dam, I told you my father is good at hiding these things. He must have a secret chest, maybe his desk has a hidden panel," Weiss whispered to herself more than Ruby while her hands traced the desk, looking for a hidden switch.
Ruby searched through the papers again while Weiss searched for a hidden compartment on the desk. She could see Weiss getting increasingly frustrated; trying to muffle her grunts of irritations as she went over the desk with her hands again. Ruby focused, closing her eyes, trying to see like she had on the night of the attack. Ruby furrowed her brow for a second, then she opened her eyes. The world blurred slightly, waving shadows outlining the world. She looked down at Weiss, her figure glowing blue. She scanned the room, looking for a soft golden glow. One of the shelves that housed several heavy tomes, held a particular book that glowed with a soft golden light. Ruby left the table and crossed the room, pulling the book from the bookshelf. Behind the tome sat a switch, similar to the one her mother had hidden down in their basement. She activated the switch, a resounding click sounding in the room. Weiss looked up at Ruby, "what did you do?" Ruby blinked the colour coming rushing back into her vision. "Um I found a switch," Weiss crossed the room and examined the switch, "that must have activated something, but what?" Ruby focused again, the world turning to shadows once more. The golden glow was easy to find now, the centre of the carpet now glowed. "Lift the carpet, there' something under there."
Weiss watched as Ruby blinked, startled suddenly before moving over to the carpet. Lifting it revealed a trapdoor, now unlocked. Ruby smiled at her victory, opening the trapdoor and jumping down. "Ruby wait!" Weiss shouting as loud as she dared. She followed the younger girl down, making sure to put everything back in place before heading down. The trapdoor lead to a small room, similar to the study upstairs, however instead of a comforting office, it appeared as more of a war room. Ruby had the letter in her hand, reading over its content quickly, Weiss moving behind her to read over her shoulder. The letter had no written message; instead it appeared to be trade manifest, a series of tables and numbers describing the many goods that the Lie family were shipping in to London.
"There is nothing here, nothing that tells me what my mother was talking about."
"Maybe that's why father refused to give it up, he hadn't decoded it yet."
"Decoded. You mean there is a message in this somewhere?"
"Well obviously, something only your mother would have known, or maybe a cypher of some description is needed. Whatever it is it's probably been the reason my father has grown more frustrated recently, your mother must have hidden her message well."
"So how do we decode it, any ideas, I'm kinda new at this still," Ruby's anxiousness and inexperience showing once again. Weiss sighed, the hint of a smile on her face. "Ruby, this is something you have to do; I didn't know your mother. Now we should get you out of here before my father returns, if he finds you have broken into his private sanctum, I don't want to imagine what he will do."
"What about you, what happens when he discovers that you broke in?"
"I…I don't know Ruby. But I can buy you time to decode it, and I can try and get more information out of my father. Something big is happening and he has something to do with it. Now let's go." She turned to leave, and in doing so hear the loud click of the lock from above her. The two shared a panicked look, "get behind the desk Ruby, hide until we are gone then get out of here."
"W-wait Weiss." Weiss pushed her down behind the desk hiding down with her. She heard the sound of two voices as the trapdoor opened above them. Two sets of footsteps making their way down.
"We must move faster, if we don't the Templars are sure to pounce on it. That or those traitors will try and usurp me, either way we don't have time to go about this the proper legal way." The voice was recognisably her fathers,
"Reginald, I understand but I can't go through every ship I don't have the time or the resources. People are getting restless; I need a more specific target." This voice was unrecognizable to Weiss, yet it was a deep commanding voice. "That's why I brought you down here; I have a list of ships from the Lie family, one of them is sure to have it. I intercepted a trade manifest, some kind of coded letter, but I haven't been able to decode it, hopefully you have better luck." She heard her father scramble through the papers on the desk, "It's here somewhere, I will send it through to you tonight. When you find it, just remember our deal, I get it first then once I have my family back you can use it to do whatever it is you have planned. Don't cross me Ironwood, I have had enough of my allies betraying me of late."
"Have no fear I will keep my word." With that she heard the grating of stone and metal, followed by more footsteps. "this leads to the sewers, take the right turn and you will end up near St Pauls, the other route goes down to the docks. So remember take the right turn."
"Don't worry about me Reginald, I think I can remember to turn right." Silence encapsulated the room. Weiss peaked over the desk, her father stood in the middle of the room, his back to the tunnel that had opened up. Weiss turned to Ruby, pointing her to the tunnel. Then she sprung up from the desk, moving to her father's left, keeping his gaze away from the tunnel. "Weiss, what are you doing down here! How long have you been listening!" His rage building with each word.
"Father what's this about traitors, what's going on?" Her father struck her,
"Insolent child, you dare to spy on me, and then make demands! Have I taught you nothing!?" His voice was filled with anger, his face red and his hands trembling. Weiss looked to Ruby, her face painted with shock, her hand in position to draw her sword. Weiss shook her head, flickling her eyes to the now closing exit. Ruby mouthed something, something she couldn't make out through tears as her father slapped her again. "Look at me child! Where is the letter, did that bitch of Summer's take it! Where is she!"
"L-long g-gone, you won't find her!" Weiss screamed at her father, her anger now fighting with her fear. He raised his hand to strike her a third time, but stopped himself, slowly calming down. "Weiss, I'm very disappointed, I have given you much, I have trained you and protected you. All I sought was your trust in me; you must believe I'm doing everything to help you, and to help our family. But you have broken that trust, you have betrayed me. Just as Summer did, just as Chao Lie did, just as your little friend did. I'm sorry, but I must find that letter, and if I have to kill Ms Rose in order to do so, I will. You are hereby restricted to the cellar until further notice." The cold calm in his voice disturbed Weiss more than his rage ever could.
Her father dragged her away, she tried to fight, but his grip was like iron. She cried as she was taken away. Guards surrounded her room; her door was locked from the outside, there were no windows for escape. I could kill him. The thought crossed her mind more than once as she sat in that room, thinking of escape. She knew she wouldn't be able to do it, he was her father, as much as she wanted to, needed to, she was not that much of a monster. Her father knew her too well, knew his home too well, she searched and searched but there were no escapes. She sunk into her bed, defeated. Please be alright Ruby, please stop this.