Storm and Silence (FANFIC)

7. Something I Never Did.

"What?" My eyes flew open. He stared at me, as if I had spoken a foreign language. No! Bah, he'd heard me! I needed to practice talking quietly... I realised then that his iron grip on me had loosened and all he could do was continue to stare at me, mouth slightly open. "Y-you're getting married to him?!" I nodded, a tad bit frightened. "How? How has he found you? Did I not tell you to stay away from him!?" So he had. I closed my eyes and I vaguely remembered the day he asked me to stay far away from His Lordship. He asked me to swear to it, and I did. Whilst crossing my fingers behind my back.

Well it looks like the lie I'd said was indeed a lie. That was unfortunate.

"How did he find you?!"

"I-I don't know. I was at a b-ball and he was there too and then..." I trailed off remembering that fateful day a year ago. "At every moment that he found me and wasted his and my time with me, he would always ask how I knew you. I had a benefit from your disappearance. The day that I was at the ball, he refused to leave my side. He tried to get information out of me about you but I always refused. And then... The worst happened." I let out a shaky breath and wondered why I felt so emotional.

"I want you to stay away from him. Do you understand?" He moved his hands to my shoulders and rested them forcefully. I gulped.

"I can't. I can't stay away from him, not when this is going to happen. That man could show up at my doorstep at any given moment, and I might not be the one to open the door to let him in. You know what that bastard is like. He always finds his ways and gets what he wants." I had been talking about him and I as a horrible pair, but something flashed in Mr. Ambrose's eyes and I remembered. I bit my lip and berated myself for what I said. "I-I'm sorry.. I should not have said something like that." I mumbled feeling weak in the knees. Why oh why did his dreamy eyes have to glare at me intensely in such a manner? Things like that should be banned around here!

Mr. Ambrose didn't respond to me, yet continued to stare at me. Didn't he know that staring was considered as rude and ungentlemanly? "Did you or did you not swear to me to stay away from him?" He asked quietly.

"You're not even going to ack-"

"Did you or did you not!?" He exerted some force onto my shoulders, but it wasn't a lot.

"I did! I did darn you, I did!" His eyes flashed with anger that otherwise would have never shown on his precious face.

"Then why did you not do as I asked?"

"I c-couldn't! H-he found m-me somehow and as m-much as I tried to get away f-from him, he just w-wouldn't allow it!"

"And that young fellow, the other night, wasn't there either?"

"W-what young fellow?" I racked my brains and wondered who he was talking about. And then I remembered. "You mean Edmund? Oh, no he wasn't invited to that particular ball." I hung my head, and looked at the floor.

"And there was no one else in the vicinity to save you?" I shook my head. His hands moved down from my shoulders and he squeezed my arms instead. I felt a sharp jab in my side, and I gasped and muttered an unladylike word. He immediately let go of me in surprise, and I pulled out a fan that had been hidden in the folds of my dress. Huh. I wonder how it'd never fallen out. And then.. Silence. Just a simple, brooding and slightly angry silence. What was he thinking? Would I ever find out, if he keeps his mouth shut like that?

"You are so very lucky that you are in front of me, alive and unharmed." He said finally. I looked up in surprise, fan held tightly in my palm. "Do you know what he could have done to you? He could have done terrible things to you, but since you were in a well crowded area, he did not. Had you been alone with him, things would have gone... Differently. It is almost like a miracle that you are still here. Had he gotten his hands on a fragile person like you..." He trailed off and looked away, arms crossed in front of his chest. I stared at him blankly, and then realized what he had said.

"Excuse me!?" He turned back to me, slightly surprised. "Fragile person? Like me!? Do you even know who you are talking to?" And then I did the very thing I had not ever been able to do two years ago. I bashed him with my parasol. Oh no, not parasol. My fan.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! What are y-"

"No! Did you hear me!? I am not fragile! I am not a weak little lady who needs someone to help me out in any circumstance!" I continued bashing him with the fan, a broken like word following each hit. "I am a strong independent woman and I don't need men to treat me like a damsel in distress!" He cowered away from me and landed in his chair and I still hit his head, ranting. That is, until he grabbed my fan-held hand, stopping me halfway through my rage. Surprise took over me, as he stood holding my wrist far above me and he swiftly put an arm around my waist, holding me diagonally. My own hand found itself on his back. Or shoulder. Or something of that sort. I felt like I was about to fall, but he held onto me and I to him. Why am I not cringing away in horror again?

"No more." was all he said as his sea green eyes bored into my brown ones.

For a long while, we stayed like that. Neither of us spoke, nor moved, nor broke the stare. And then I realized that we were getting closer and closer, as if we were magnets attracting each other. Because the next thing I knew was that I felt his breath on my face. He finally broke the silence.

"It is you.. Lilly... Isn't it?" he said it so quietly I almost didn't catch it. Almost.

"Yes. It's me. I'm still alive. I'm still a suffragist. And I still hate you for letting me escape and you not following suit." And suddenly, he yanked my wrist towards him and I fell forward, letting out a yelp of surprise. But I had fallen against the wall of granite hardness and sighed just a tiny little bit. It felt so wonderfully familiar and pleasant. My face was buried into his chest, and his arm around my waist tightened. My own arm that had been on his shoulder fell down to his torso, and it stayed there. I heard him whisper something and caught only one word.

Alive.

____________________________________________________________________________________

AWWWWWWEEE THEY'RE SO ADORABLEEEEEEE HASVDJANDJWNJSJSJDKSKCJSJIWJDUEHWIQOXNJWIDJDBXOQLAKDJ.

:3

HAVE ANY OF YALL READ THE TEASER YET!?!?! ISN'T IT JUST. ;DDDDDD ???? XD

sorry if this chapter sucks, y'all know I can't write well under pressure -tries to do a Rikkard Ambrose cold stare at y'all and the school- -fails-

WELP. I'm now wondering what the bloody hell I should do with this fanfiction. Because it is at a point where it could stop and never be continued and I'd pull a Roald Dahl and leave y'all hanging.

Or I could continue this ish.

Idk. Leave comments? maybe?

No?

Ok.

;-;

ANYBELLS, I WOULD REALLY LIKE IF YOU WOULD CHECK OUT ONE OTHER STORY BY YOURS TRULY (that's me, hi) CALLED MAID DISGRACE. IT'S SET IN THE 1800s AND IM PRACTICING MY WRITING SKILLS OF THE 1800s! SO FAR, IM DOING OKAY. (:

SHOUTOUT TO: @little__ifrit (is that your user???) @tiesandspies (^) AND ANYBODY ELSE WITH SAS FANFICS. (:

AND SHOUTOUT TO ERRYONE COMMENTING. YALL MAKE ME SMILE, EVEN WHEN MY DAY SUCKS. ((:

So keep commenting! Vote if you want! and I will...

See you later!