All That Glitters

Tannyhill Manor

John B left the hospital two hours later after the nurses ran a series of tests to assure his injuries weren't too severe. JJ wanted to go with him but Ward had mentioned that he was going to help John B get situated at Tannyhill Manor. JJ figured it was better he not intervene. He left after he laid a sopping wet lick to John B's face.

The ride back to Tannyhill was uneventful. Ward barely said a word in the car. John B felt the same suffocation he'd felt back at the boneyard. He tried to initiate conversation a few times but it fell flat everytime. He noticed Ward kept taking quick glances at JJ's ring. That notion left his mouth dry.

"Welcome home, John B. Tannyhill Manor is my humble abode. I hope one day you can feel the same." Ward's words were said with a sweet rhythm. John B couldn't help but feel awkward about it though. Since Ward had fired him before and it wasn't exactly customary on the island to invite Pogues to sleep under the same roof as those from Figure Eight, John B was trying his best to just breathe through this abrupt transition to living like a Kook with Kooks.

"I really appreciate you doing this, Mr. Cameron."

"Oh please. Call me Ward. And it's my pleasure. I've felt a bit of responsibility towards your well being since your father disappeared."

"That's really—"

"This'll be good for both of us. I'm sure of it. Now, breakfast is probably out already so let's get you situated so we can start this day, yeah?" Ward tapped his leg and got out of the car. He helped John B carry all of his things inside and up to the guest room Ward said he could have. Sarah met them at the door.

John B couldn't help but smile as she followed them to his new room.

Inside the Manor it was a wash of sea green and white. Bronze ornaments decorated all the meaningless tables that sat around the parlor. It combined the feeling of old and rustic with splashes of the house on the beach. Although the decorations definitely gave John B an odd feeling. Even if he could tell they were bronze and definitely not gold.

Inside his room it was more of the same. More mellowed out but still on theme for the rest of the Manor. Seeing it like this made him wonder what Sarah's bedroom looked like. Did her room follow the same colour palette or did she customize it to her liking? His face flushed hot for a moment as he set his things down.

"Not too shabby, huh?" Sarah said as she left his doorway.

"Not too shabby at all." John B flicked his hat right onto the bed and plopped his backpack onto the seat that sat at the end of his bed.

"And my room is just upstairs, in case you were wondering."

John B without a second thought hopped up onto the bed and did some sort of half somersault to end up sitting up facing Sarah.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. No, I'm good. I got it." He smiled sheepishly.

"But I have to warn you..."

"Uh-oh."

"I sleepwalk." She giggled. "So if I show up in your room in the middle of the night—"

"You just want me to roll with it?" They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment before closing the space between them.

" Sarah Elizabeth Cameron! " Ward called out from the hallway in a warning tone. "You've already broken the first rule? What's the first rule? Stay out of each other's rooms." He glared playfully at John B when he said it. "Alright, seriously. Picture that," he pointed to the doorway, "—as a boundary. This is like a minefield. Yes, sir?"

"Yes, sir." Sarah chuckled to herself.

"John B, yes, sir?"

John B stuttered, "Uh—yeah, yes, sir."

"Good. Okay, so there's food downstairs when you're ready. Wheezie has already claimed the first plate. I'd hurry up and get down there before it's all gone." He placed John B's last bag near the doorway and then promptly headed downstairs.

"Would you like to accompany me to breakfast, Vlad?" Sarah held out her hand.

"Oh, Valerie. I would be most delighted." They both chuckled. "Okay, but seriously, you're giving me a tour of this place."

"Slow your horses, Sancho. I hate working on an empty stomach."

The moment John B caught sight of the table was also the moment he realized just how insane it was that Ward had taken him in. At the Chateau he had two maybe three boxes of cereal. And a box of pancake mix that he wasn't ever going to touch. But here, the table was full. Decked out with fresh fruit that he had no doubt Heyward probably delivered here within the past day. An assortment of pancakes. Some with blueberries. His stomach growled at the scent of it all. When he glanced over at Sarah, her eyes were grazing each item for a second before she grabbed a plate and took what she wanted. He did the same, just not as quickly.

He could've, if he wanted to, stacked his plate with pancakes thicker than he'd ever seen before.

But that felt stupidly foreign.

He spent the next twenty minutes scarfing down enough to keep him full for a week. It tugged at his heart. Seeing the contrast between this and what he normally would've done at the Chateau.

Sarah cleaned up hers and John B's plate and gracefully took his hand. Whispering to Ward that she was taking him on a tour of the Manor. He smiled but John B could see a slight twinge of panic line the corner of his eyes. Or at least what he thought was panic. Could've been surprise.

She dragged him through the Manor. Giggling with facts about how it was built. Facts she was relaying from what her father had told her in the past. Seeing her so excited to share this with him set his cheeks ablaze.

They came to one of the study's. Sarah claimed it was Ward's main study.

"He was always into island lore and stuff. When he bought the Manor, I think it kickstarted his history buff phase. I don't think he ever got out of it. Like you know how some old guys have revolutionary war models and just a metric shit-ton of books? That's my dad with the island." She pulled out a bunch of papers and objects from underneath his desk. "These are the parcel maps. And I think this is the original Manor key."

John B felt like he got the wind knocked out of him.

"Manor key? You're telling me this belongs to your father?" He spoke in a hushed tone. Trying to mask the shock that just shook his soul.

There it was. With its purple ribbon and slightly scuffed surface. Made entirely of gold.

It was the key.