Yay! I'm finally getting back to this story! Sorry for taking so long, Aqua, darling, I know you love this story!
Enjoy!
Jerome tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword as he waited for his father to answer the door to his study. The rays of the setting sun shone through the stained glass window in the wide hallway and cast colorful pictures on the walls. He moved to sit down on one of the chairs in the hall, but decided against it, unable to stay still for a minute. He turned around, released the sword, dragged a hand through his hair slowly, and paced down the hallway in the opposite direction.
When the thick wooden door swung open, Jerome whipped around to speak to John. "Father—"
"I'm sorry, son, I can't talk right now." He said hurriedly, stepping around him.
"But you said you'd answer my question."
"I know, but I'm late for a very important meeting. I'll speak with you later."
Jerome sighed heavily, meeting his wife's eyes when she rounded the corner after her father-in-law. She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
He kissed her hair rubbed the palm of his hand over her back, hugging her tightly. "Yeah, I was going to ask him about Eddie's parents. Again."
Mara nodded, squeezing his waist gently and pulling away a little so she could see his face. "Late for a meeting?"
"Apparently." He shrugged, brushing her dark hair over her shoulder. He removed her arms from his waist and took her hands in his, and then wrapping an arm around her, he kissed her lips.
"You get distracted so easily, J." She laughed lightly, winding her arms around his neck when she nearly lost her footing as he backed her toward the wall.
He was about to retort but stopped suddenly, the door to John's study creaking open when Mara bumped it. He looked down at her knowingly and entwined their fingers, pulling her into the room. "He left it unlocked." He chuckled, hurrying to his father's desk.
Mara bit her lip, scratching her eyebrow. "Where do we start?"
"Well, we have to find anything we can on Eddie's parents. Anything that we don't already know." The blond plucked one of the record books off the shelf behind the desk and leafed through it blindly. "We know that they passed away when Eddie was a kid in a boating accident…"
"The morgue records," Mara proposed.
Jerome snapped his fingers and grinned at her. "Perks of having a brilliant woman as your wife." He said, pecking her lips quickly, rushing by her to find the records.
"J, they're right here." She told him, motioning to the desk.
Jerome cast a glance over his shoulder before he dropped his head in slight aggravation. "He left this out for us."
"Probably." Mara nodded.
"He could at least give us a challenge." He huffed.
"Oh, hush," she giggled.
"Okay, they'd be under Sweet," he murmured, flipping to the section under S. His eyes skimmed over the writing and he stopped, tapping the paper with his finger. "There's only one name listed under Sweet. Lily. His mother or sister."
"Right, he might have blocked out the memory of a sister after the accident." Mara said.
"This means that the other two Sweets were never found."
"Or they never died."
Jerome rubbed the back of his neck. "They could still be out there. The possibility of them being in the kingdom still is pretty low, but the possibility of them being alive is enough to keep us hopeful."
"Let's tell Eddie—"
Jerome caught her arm in his hand and he shook his head. "We don't want to get his hopes up too high. They could be gone. If we told him and never found them, it could hurt him."
Mara took a deep breath and nodded silently in understanding. "What do you want to do then?"
Eddie pushed the kitchen doors open and marched up to the table in the middle of the room. He sat across from Patricia. She looked up at him briefly and then returned her attention to peeling potatoes.
"Are you ready for our date?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
Patricia shrugged a shoulder, picking up another potato and carefully slicing a small knife into the skin. "I guess so."
"Alright, it'll be in the clearing in the woods, so no one will see us or have a chance of interrupting us." He told her, leaning his elbows on the table.
"Which clearing? I know of three."
Eddie blinked and took a deep breath. "Uh, the one with the fallen tree."
"That marks out one."
He rolled his eyes. "We passed it when we went riding."
She nodded, meeting his eyes for a moment. "Okay."
"Meet me in the stables after sunset and we'll ride out there together."
"Whatever," she sighed.
Eddie smirked, casting a glance around the room before standing up and stepping in front of her. He grabbed her shoulders and lifted her off the bench, gripping her wrist to point the knife away from him, and kissed her cheek. "See you tonight."
The auburn haired woman glared after him as he left the room, and when the doors shut behind him, she continued with her chore.
Patricia groaned softly, pulling on her hand a little as Mara was leading her down the hallway to the library.
"Patricia, don't be nervous. I think it'd be best if you and Amber met properly and sorted this whole thing out. She doesn't want to marry Eddie any more than you want her to."
Patricia rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly when Mara let go of her. She held up a finger silently to instruct her to wait a moment and then walked off. Patricia briefly considered to run out of the room, but Mara was too nice to run away from. Amber on the other hand…she didn't really want to meet her.
When Amber skipped up to her, blonde hair swaying behind her, she nearly scoffed, but she kept her face neutral.
"Hi, Patricia, it's so nice you! The woman that made Eddie Miller cry." She said dramatically.
On the other hand…
Patricia smirked in amusement and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too, Princess."
"Call me Amber." She smiled brightly, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Eddie told me that you're going on a date tonight?"
Patricia made a face and waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah. The Weasel thinks he's romantic."
"Let's knock him off his feet then! I've got this dress that would look amazing on you!" She grabbed Patricia's wrist, paying no attention to her protests, and motioned for Mara to follow. "He's going to be on his knees when he sees you!"
Again, I'm sorry it's been ages! -_- I suck, I know. Let's hope I can get back into the swing of this story!
Also, go vote on the poll on my profile! :D
"Now our lives have changed, I wish that I could heal. Time has taken love, a darker side revealed. For every lie begins with what we used to feel. Blaming myself, tied to these chains, living in pain. All of your tears, everything's gone, is it too late? Walk away..." -Walk Away, Black Veil Brides
-Rachel