Revamped!

[I know some of you have been wondering where I got the French translations from. I did them myself because I speak French (not 100% fluent but I'm also a French major) but some phrases or conjugations I've never used before were from WordReference or Google Translate.] [2020: That was my first-year French. Now I'm in third-year uni and thank the stars I fixed it.]

A Study in Scarlet: Part Ten

Paris, France, The European Federation

Émilie has been hugging Scarlet ever since they stepped into the airport and Scarlet has been holding her as well. They just unexpectedly reconnected for the first time in a decade and now, it had to be cut short. While the two girls embraced in one another, Wolf had to carry his and Scarlet's bag but he had to check them both in. He would've loved to stay in France for a few more days, but if his trip went any longer, his mom would've killed him. And now that his mom knows the truth of where he is, she'll definitely kill him.

"You better stay in touch with me," Émilie tells Scarlet.

"Je promis," Scarlet responds.

"And you'd better not break up with him."

Émilie winks in Wolf's direction. He's busy handling their passports to notice. Scarlet cringes a little at Émilie's comment before grinning to herself the longer she looks at Wolf.

"Je promis pas," Scarlet says before getting nudged by Émilie, "but I have a feeling he wouldn't let me."

"Next time you come back, please bring him."

"In your dreams."

"That's where he'll be." Émilie giggles to herself as Scarlet rolls her eyes.

Goodbyes seldom feel real which is why they're always so hard. That's why Scarlet always avoids them by running away. She doesn't know how to miss people who are still right in front of her.

-o-

Commonwealth, The Earthen Union

Hours later at Commonwealth's airport, everyone sits in anticipation for Scarlet and Wolf to arrive. Their plane had no delays and was expected to come on time but it's still nerve-wracking for them. What if something happened last minute? What if they decided to skip out on the flight and just live in France forever? Anything could happen while they wait like sitting ducks.

"Are they here yet?" Thorne asks like an annoying child stuck in the backseat of a road trip.

Nobody answers because that would start a conversation they don't want to be in.

"I'm glad I have you guys because you're all good for me," Cress says out-of-the-blue. "I'm getting better at interfacing with real-life humans on a near-daily basis."

It's probably the slim possibility of Scarlet and Wolf not coming back that prompted her to say that.

"That's sad," Cinder says bluntly.

Cress narrows her eyes at her as Cinder smiles with a small shrug. Kai has to pull Cinder to the side and let her know that she shouldn't say stuff like that. Lucky for Cress, she didn't take it that seriously and knows that it's sad. Also, Winter hugs her from behind.

"That's beautiful," Winter tells her.

"I see them!" Thorne says. "Mom and Dad are home!"

Thorne points excitedly, jumping up and down before sprinting over in their direction. They look over and see Scarlet and Wolf coming in, hand-in-hand. They smile out of pure joy when they see them, even when Thorne jumps into their arms. Wolf gags at Thorne's affection and pries Thorne off of him to go see the others but Scarlet goes through with the hug which surprises everyone, especially Thorne.

"Wow, something bad must have happened in France if you came back hugging me," Thorne says to Scarlet.

"I learned that I don't hate you the most," Scarlet replies.

Thorne starts to weep because that was probably the nicest thing that Scarlet has ever said to him. That quote will forever be in his mind. Scarlet heads over to the others for their hellos as well, each of them getting their hug of some sorts.

"Hey, Wolf," Kai says.

"Yeah?" Wolf responds.

"Run."

Wolf is thrown off for a bit before he hears some angry Hebrew in the background. He turns around and sees his pissed-off mother making her way over. How did she know that he was here? Mother's instinct, he would assume. Or Kai had to tell her. Wolf stands there sheepishly as his mother charges towards him like a raging bull. His friends and even Scarlet have backed away to give him all the room he needs to handle this.

"France?" His mom yells at him. "You seriously went to France?"

"Oui…" Wolf responds in the worst French accent possible. Scarlet bites down on her lips, trying not to laugh because his mom is so not having this.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?"

Wolf nods. Then, he turns around and grabs Scarlet's arm. "Ma, meet Scarlet."

Wolf's mom puts her hands on her hips as she looks at Scarlet from head-to-toe. Her eyes are narrowed as if she was focused on studying her. Despite Scarlet being a bit taller than his mom, she still felt intimidated. This was the worst time ever to be meeting her boyfriend's mom. She definitely hates her but Scarlet can see where Wolf gets his strikingly green eyes from. Then again, Wolf got a glance at her father during his criminal court trial so, theoretically, this was a better situation.

"So, you're the girl that my boy left the country for?" Maha asks her.

"Nope!" Scarlet exclaims sarcastically. "Never met him in my life. He followed me around like a lost puppy until I agreed to hold his hand and take him home."

Wolf facepalms as Scarlet smirks at his mom and their friends are holding back their laughter this time. Scarlet links her arm with Wolf's with one arm and uses the other to extend her hand outwards towards his mom who skeptically shakes it lightly.

"I like her," Maha says to him. "She's pretty and funny. I don't know what she sees in you considering that you run away. Clearly, you have separation issues."

"Oh, I'm the one who runs away?" Wolf exclaims sarcastically. "Ma, you should hear Scarlet's story -"

"Don't go screaming in public, Ze'ev, people are staring."

Wolf narrows his eyes at his mom mostly because nobody was staring at them. "Ma, let's continue this conversation at home."

He kisses the side of Scarlet's head before waving goodbye to his friends. This might be the last time he ever sees them. They wave back as Wolf and his mom walk out, still arguing with one another about who-knows-what. Scarlet turns back around to her friends excitedly as she bends down to unzip the smallest pocket of her suitcase. She pulls out a small plastic back and holds it out for them.

"Have some souvenirs!" Scarlet exclaims at them.

She laughs as they start tearing through the bag.

-o-

Scarlet opens the front door and hears her Grandmère call her name. She responds, happy that she timed this right. By her calculations, her Grandmère just came home so she'll never know she went to France. She could play off that she just came back from school or work, and her Grandmère will never know. Scarlet walks down the hallway, heading to her room but stops abruptly when her Grandmère comes out of the storage room. Scarlet assumed she was in the kitchen.

Her Grandmère looks at Scarlet and her suitcase alternatively. She connects the two pieces in her head and frowns at Scarlet, waiting for an explanation.

"I got subpoenaed the day you left," Scarlet explains. "Dad ended up going to trial and they wanted me to testify."

Grandmère blinks in shock. "Wow … how is your father?"

Scarlet shrugs. "Still trying to play the victim card."

She scoffs. "Typical of him. So, what did the jury say?"

Scarlet shrugs again. "Émilie will tell me when she finds out. I've been told all the possible results and from what I said and the evidence they have, the best option he can get is just the least bad."

"D'accord, Scarlet…" She takes a deep breath. "How are you feeling about this?"

Scarlet smiles a little. "Better now."

[As for now, take a guess on who the next arc will be named after!]