Revamped!

[A big thanks to all the people who have voted in the poll so far!

Also, for those of you who like The Avengers, I just published a sort prequel for Endgame so go check that out if you like.]

A Study in Scarlet: Part Two

Commonwealth, The Earthen Union

Cinder, Wolf, and Cress enter The Rampion, still in their school uniforms. They were one half of the Locating Scarlet Expedition Squad (as Thorne called it and Winter seconded so that made it official). The three of them enter The Rampion and look around the main dining area and the part of the dining service they can see. Even if Scarlet was working, she wouldn't be in the kitchen since she isn't the cook. At first, they split up and walk around the general dining area, checking everywhere they had access to, including the bathroom (both bathrooms since Scarlet is the type who would hide in the boys' bathroom).

Cinder goes to the front where a server is.

"Can I get you anything?" He asks her.

"Is Scarlet Benoit here?" Cinder asks.

He shakes his head. "She's supposed to be but hasn't shown up or called."

"Do you know where she is?"

"No."

Cinder nods. "Anyways, can I get a cheeseburger to go?"

Cinder turns around and sees Wolf glaring at her and Cress grinning. She shrugs, dropping some cash on the counter before approaching them. In her defence, searching for Scarlet made her hungry even if it's only been a few minutes.

"She's not here," Cinder tells them. "And like school, she didn't call in either."

Wolf sighs, running a hand through his hair. He turns around and looks outside, wondering what they should do next. He checks his phone for any updates or better yet, a message from Scarlet. There's nothing from either end which frightens him. How could she have left so suddenly?

"I think we should get out of here," Cress suggests, "at least when Cinder gets her cheeseburger."

"And go where?" Wolf asks louder than he should have. People in the restaurant look over but he doesn't care.

"How fast can you drive to Scarlet's house?"

"Fast enough not to get a speeding ticket."

Cinder hesitantly tosses him her car keys. "Fine. But drive my car safely because it's a nice car."

-o-

Meanwhile, Winter, Thorne, and Kai arrive at Scarlet's house. They see her car in the driveway so that gave them a bit of hope that she was just staying at home the whole time. But, after knocking on her door, ringing the doorbell, and even screaming her name, there are no answers. They're lucky that Scarlet's grandma's house is in the farmlands on the edge of the city because that means her neighbours are far away so the screaming won't bother them. But the empty space means that Scarlet's name echoes throughout the area. So they could still be heard.

So, the three of them resort to peeking through all the windows they could. Some only showed an empty house and others were closed with curtains. Again, they're thankful for Scarlet's far neighbours because they look like creeps to a stranger's eye. If her neighbours saw them, they'd get arrested.

"I have an idea," Thorne says.

He climbs the fence to jump over and instead of making a superhero landing, he falls right into the tomato garden on the other side. Winter follows in pursuit but instead of looking like a fool, she lands on solid ground. She kept hold of her uniform skirt the whole time and didn't squish any tomatoes in the process. Thorne wishes he had such grace, believing that was a Lunar trait before remembering that Wolf and Cinder were Lunars as well and disregarding that theory. Those two wish that they were graceful. Cress is graceful, though. As she helps Thorne up, Kai just reaches his arm over the gate and unlocks it, letting himself in.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Thorne asks, brushing tomato chunks and dirt off of his uniform.

"It's funnier that way," Kai responds.

Thorne throws some tomato chunks at Kai as Winter saunters over to the backside of the house. She continues to peek and knock around in hopes of finding Scarlet, but there's still nothing. She sighs.

"I don't think she's here either," Winter mutters.

Then, all their heads turn when they hear another car pull up. They run out through the gate and think that it's Scarlet coming home, but then think it might be the cops so they lay low. Then, they realize that it's only the other half of their Locating Scarlet Expedition Squad. They share the same expressions of finding nothing about Scarlet. It was time to think of a new plan but they didn't even have a foundation to create one.

"We could hear you yelling Scarlet's name from the edge of the city," Cress says to them.

"I doubt Scarlet heard it…" Kai replies.

-o-

Paris, France, The European Federation

Scarlet exits the cab, paying the driver and giving her thanks. As he drives off, she parks her suitcase by her side and takes off her sunglasses and her hood. Her body is still shaking as she looks at the familiar Parisian house she used to go to all the time as a child. Her only hope is that like the exterior, it didn't change one bit on the inside. She takes a breath to calm down her nerves as she wheels her suitcase up the cobblestone pathway. When she makes it to the front door, she rings the doorbell and waits.

Although it only took a few moments, it felt like she waited for a year. Scarlet almost ran off, changing her plans but the door already opened. On the other side of the door is a girl from her past. Like her, she has grown up and is staring at her but with wide caramel eyes instead of plain brown ones. Her honey curls have never changed except for the fact that they've been tamed more to wrap around her round face.

Scarlet is relieved yet anxious and grateful to see her.

"Âllo, Émilie," Scarlet says softly.

Émilie Monfort. Scarlet's childhood friend from France. They haven't spoken in a decade for several reasons since she ran away but somehow, Émilie was the one who sent Scarlet the text message about the letter and the news article about her father. Even if they have drifted due to circumstances, they were always loyal to one another. At least, by once-in-a-lifetime and drastic emergency electronic communication. Up close, it was like being in an updated flashback.

Émilie freezes, studying Scarlet from head-to-toe almost to verify that it's here although she knows that it is. "Corrigez-moi si je me trompe, mais est-ce que je vois un fantôme ?"

Scarlet whines a little. "S'il vous plaît, Émilie, parlez en anglais. Juste un peu."

"D'accord…" Émilie remains a bit hesitant. "So, when were you going to tell me you were running away? You know, the day you left I stopped by your placed but when I asked your father if you could come out to play, he told me that you were already outside. I didn't know what he meant but then you stopped showing up to class. Eventually, my parents found out from our other classmates that you ran away. Nobody could blame you, though. A goodbye would've been nice."

Scarlet groans a little, not in the mood to deal with this now because she knows that Émilie is referring to what happened a decade ago. "Tu m'as envoyé un texto and I don't know how you got my number or email but -"

Scarlet can't find it in her to explain herself. She knows that emotions only make her stronger but she can't help herself for feeling so weak. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing after starting that sentence. She cries her heart out and Émilie immediately goes to hug her as tight as she could.

"Oh, Scarlet, pardonnez-moi pour mes questions. Je m'attendais pas à vous voir. Allons-y, je préparerai une chambre pour toi et ensuite nous parlerons quand t'es prête."

"Oh, stars…" Scarlet mutters. "I'm so glad you still live here. I was given a hotel room but I didn't want to go and I thought you'd still be here so it was worth a shot."