Here is another chapter for you all. I cannot wait for the summer to finally start so I can get back to working and writing more of my stories. I'm in the home stretch now! I hope you enjoy this chapter

DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Adventures of Tintin

"You say he was looking for the girl?"

Tintin sat on Haddock's front porch, looking over his notes after having explained everything to the captain. Haddock leaned against the door, looking forlornly at an empty bottle in his hand. Tintin had taken it upon himself to instruct Haddock's butler to keep all spirits and alcohol away from Marlinspike Hall and by jolly he was stepping up to the plate. He had emptied all stored bottles out and filled them with mineral water unbeknownst to the captain. None to say that Haddock was outraged when he found out, but Tintin reminded him of his oath and he had reluctantly calmed down. He was now sipping bitterly at the minimally flavoured water as Tintin explained his findings to him. Much to Tintin's delight and assurance, Haddock was on board with his idea of saving their voyage for the next year, promising to put in as much as he could with the added time.

Tintin nodded his head.

"That's what Mrs. Finch said. Of course she wouldn't give him any answer, being private information and all, plus the safety of a young women, but she couldn't get an answer from him as to why he wanted to know. It's all a great mystery you see,"

Haddock smiled as he took another swig of water. Tintin's eyes had not been this bright, nor his face this full of excitement in some time. This was where Tintin's heart lay. In the mystery and adventure of life. Tintin had been lost for quite some time and Haddock knew that he was to blame for the boy working himself to death. He knew that Tintin needed this extra time to remind himself before their greatest adventure set sail. He looked up a the sky, the clouds tasting of rain on the way.

"Aye it is. I'm sure you'll solve it all in good time. Should you warn the girl?"

Tintin looked up at the captain.

"I hadn't thought of that Haddock. You have a good point, I should do that,"

Haddock looked curiously at Tintin.

"So you've met this girl.. this.. this…?"

"Aurora. Her name is Aurora Stanton. Yes, I met her. This morning actually. I… ran into her," Tintin looked down at his notes once again. Haddock lifted his eyebrow.

"Ran into her? What do you mean by that lad?"

Tintin looked up with a slight blush.

"I ran her over, rushing downstairs to talk to Mrs. Finch about the mystery man,"

Haddock burst out laughing, slapping his knees, as Tintin scribbled invisible notes on his pad, scowling angrily.

"It was an accident,"

Haddock wiped a tear out of his eye.

"Ah, aren't you the romantic type Tintin, eh? Sweeping a girl off her feet at first glance? Ah you crack me up,"

Tintin erased his doodle and looked up, a sarcastic frown on his lips.

"I didn't see her. I apologized and we introduced ourselves. She had heard it was me who fixing up her flat and was quite impressed with it. And for your information, I do not have a romantic interest in Aurora!"

Captain Haddock raised his hands out before him, mock fear crossing his face.

"Oh dear, Tintin, I did not mean to offend you. Of course you've not a speck of interest in this young girl living above you,"

Tintin rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky, seeing the clouds getting darker and stood up stretching.

"Well I better get home before it gets too dark. I'll be up early tomorrow looking for a job next to journalism. I'll mention to Aurora to look out for any suspicious characters,"

Haddock winked at playfully.

"Aye, you warn her good young Tintin,"

Tintin waved him off as he walked down porch and back on the street.

"Goodbye Haddock, enjoy your minerals!"

Haddock waved him off angrily, suddenly as dark as the clouds

"Aye, you good for nothing sun of a gun, wasting good fine spirits and replacing it with this water with rocks in it. Get on with yourself!"

Haddock ambled back indoors to the sound of Tintin's youthful laughter floating down the lane.

Tintin decided to let Snowy stay in his flat while he talked to Aurora. Normally he never went anywhere without him, but he wanted only to mention the mystery man and say goodnight and he decided that it would be easier to do without Snowy as a distraction. He somehow felt it should be just him and Aurora.

Nervously, he walked up the stairs level to his flat and turned the corner at the top, standing now directly in front of the door. He shifted on his feet. He didn't understand his feelings. Why was it so hard jus to have civil conversation with Aurora? He wanted to warn her for her safety, what was so hard about that? He looked at his watch, needing something to do. Was it too late to talk to her? Would she already be in bed? Tintin shook his head. It was only 8, he was being ridiculous.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped up and knocked on the door. For a moment nothing happened and Tintin's heart sank. She had gone to bed and now he was going to disturb her. Rubbing his hands together, he debated whether or not to knock again or just leave and talk to her in the morning. Before he could come to a decision, a soft scratching at the door caught his ear. This was followed by a gentle voice and the opening of the door.

A small furry blur passed through the crack and the door flew open.

"Hey, come back here!"

Tintin ducked just in time to catch the little creature up in his hand, hardly having to bend. He stood back up brought the little ball of fur up to his eyes. It was a small kitten, reddish brown with distinct markings on the head. The little cat growled pathetically at him, dangling in Tintin's arms, he laughed as it pummelled the air between them. Still smiling, Tintin looked up to see Aurora leaning against the doorway smiling.

"He likes you. Not as much as he loves escaping," She stepped forward as she spoke and Tintin handed her the kitten. Aurora nuzzled the kitten's head gently before beckoning Tintin inside.

"Better come in, I don't want him escaping again," Tintin nodded silently as he followed her, thankful now that he had left Snowy downstairs.

"What's his name?" Tintin asked as he closed the door. The little flat glowed warmly by the oil lamps on the wall. Boxes lay scattered across the floor, a clear sign that Aurora was still unpacking.

"His name is Russel. And he doesn't seem to like being cooped up here," She nuzzled her nose to her kittens before setting him down; he scampered away behind some boxes. Aurora shook her head before turning to Tintin, who was looking at her. She smiled and beckoned him to sit down. Looking around, Tintin saw some chairs close to the window with a little table. He smiled, just like his own flat. Sitting down, he waited as Aurora moved a few boxes away from around them and sat down.

"Did you want anything? Tea? Coffee? I may have something from dinner still," She made as if to rise, but Tintin stood up quickly, bumping his head on a small light fixture hanging from the ceiling. Aurora sat back down again as Tintin moved down slowly, rubbing his head. He smiled sheepishly.

"I'm fine, really. I only wanted to talk to you for a moment,"

Aurora nodded and leaned forward on her elbows, Tintin in turn leaned back, uncomfortable being so close together at the table. He cleared his throat.

"I uh, just wanted to mention that someone was in here looking for you today. A dark skinned man, long nose and dark eyes. Mrs. Finch said he had quite a thick accent. I wanted for you to watch out for him. We aren't sure what he as looking for, but Mrs. Finch sent him away without any information. That isn't to say he may still be looking around though. So please be careful and if you see anything suspicious, please let me now and I'll look into it,"

Aurora leaned back in her chair, seeming disappointed.

"Oh, I see,"

Tintin was confused. Shouldn't she be worried? From his experience, women usually worried about things such as this. Aurora was all alone here with no friends other than Tintin and she had only met him today.

"I wanted to tell you to be careful. I don't know who this man is. He could very well be dangerous,"

Aurora nodded, looking out the window as if she was uninterested on this apparent threat to her privacy.

"Yes, I'm sure he could be. I'll be on my guard. Thank you Tintin,"

He nodded, looking curiously at her. She still seemed too calm. Had she already been told about this man? Did she already know him? Questions swirled around in his mind as his journalist mind worked over the problem. He was about to ask why she seemed so disinterested when she looked around once more and stood up.

"Well, I appreciate you coming by Tintin, but I should be getting back to unpacking, I'm liable to trip and twist and ankle if I don't get this mess cleaned,"

Tintin stood up with her, too polite to protest. He walked with her to the door and smiled awkwardly.

"Goodnight Aurora, sorry for taking up your time,"

Aurora smiled at him from the doorway.

"No problem at all Tintin, thank you for your warning. I'll be seeing you. Have a goodnight now," She waved a little as she closed the door and Tintin heard it lock. He sighed as he stood staring at the door. Well… what had he expected? For her to jump into his arms and beg for his protection from anything that stirred? He had noticed from the moment he had met her she was quite an independent spirit, someone who could take care of herself. Perhaps she had been offended he thought she needed his protection. He frowned, that's not how girls usually were. Aurora was definitely no normal girl. Although, Tintin had to admit, he as glad she was not.

Aurora sighed heavily as she sat back down at her little table, looking left out the window. With her chin in her hand, she squeezed her eye shut.

This is was home all over again.

Poor delicate little Aurora, she must be kept safe. She's only a girl, she can't possibly take care of herself. No of course not, there are too many things that could happen to someone so fragile.

Aurora pounded her fist on the table, startling Russel, who had been rubbing up against the wooden legs. He looked up at her curiously, but she merely continued to stare out the window.

"Why does everyone see me as a delicate little girl?"

Her father had always treated her as if she would break if put under too much stress. She had never been allowed to play with her three older brothers. If they had gone out riding, she could along, but only if her governess came with her and even then she could not go any faster then a mild trot. If her brothers went down to the river to fish, she would be allowed to come if she had someone to hold an umbrella for her from the sun so she would not overheat or burn. She had never been allowed to play sports with her brothers, merely getting to watch from a distance, a shield of defence around her incase a stray football or soccer ball came to close. God forbid she could try and catch it herself! Aurora sighed. It was sickening! She was not made of porcelain. Again and again she had tried to reason with her father, as to being able to do things for herself. But he would never hear her. He would only look at her from over his newspaper.

"No, Aurora, how many times must I tell you? You are a women and you must be taken care of. The world is a dangerous place and I will not see you hurt,"

Aurora would roll her eyes, bite back a angry reply and leave. Her father never understood her need to get out from underneath the glass case he'd put her in. Her desperate need to explore, take risks, feel the wind in her hair and see the world for herself without the haze of a shield in front of her. She hated the boundaries he'd set up for her and that was why, when she'd turned 18, she had decided to leave her family.

Her father had been firmly against the idea at first, telling her once again how dangerous the world was. But Aurora was of age now and she had made her choice. Finally, she had taken her stand against her father.

"I know father! The world is dangerous, but it does not become any less dangerous by putting me in a cage. I have become the dangerous one! I can not take another day of being treated like I am glass. I am leaving this house, I'm going to Belgium, I will live in an apartment and I will see the world for myself! If I get hurt, I will have only myself to blame. But you can't protect me forever!"

Her father had not taken to her statement well. At first he had forbid her leaving his house. She had protested, but he was firm and would not allow her leave. But her mother, her only real friend in the world, came to her rescue. After reasoning a few days with him, she finally softened him, explaining that Aurora's brothers had all had the chance to move out and on their own and Aurora had that right as well. Although it was uncouth; young girls only left their homes after being married, her mother understood her desire and with resentful blessing from her father, Aurora had been given a small portion of her intended wedding money and had left without delay.

The freedom she experienced that first time out the gates of her house without a servant or her governess was so blissful that Aurora had not been able to contain a shout of joy. Her journey had been full of delights and even the slightly frustrating search for a place to life had been completely incredible. No one told her which house to pick, no one warned her of the dangers of living in a building full of men, she was her own person and she could take care of herself.

And now here she was, thrown right back into the same old behaviour. Tintin believed she needed protecting and Aurora was stuck once again. She rolled her eyes as she looked down at her cat.

"Do I look like I can't take care of myself?"

There had been many times when she had snuck out on her own to explore the woods that surrounded their property. She had met many wild and dangerous things and nothing had ever happened to her. Sitting up straighter, Aurora smiled to herself. If she could deal with the dangerous of a forest, she could certainly escape any creepy character following her. Besides, what would they do? Capture her?

Aurora had to admit, after all the captivity she'd endured through her childhood, being kidnapped would be nothing short of a true adventure!

Hope you guys like this one, please let me know in the reviews. I would love to hear your opinions