Larkspur [COMPLETE]

The Duke's Date

Short after Eileen joined the team, she was swept up in her first caper. Turns out Carmen had been pretending to be a thief known as The Duchess that stole paintings to keep it from being stolen by Cleo. Almost as soon as Ivy and Zack found out Eileen had a connection to the woman, they demanded a story.

"Bast used to visit all the time when mom was pregnant with Tom, she was always so happy to see me, bringing me things like pure gold kittens when I had absolutely no idea how much they really cost." The redheads oohed softly, blue eyes wide with wonder. Carmen rolled her eyes, expertly masking her interest.

"And then...?!" Zack almost shouted, Eileen was positively beaming. "She. Was. Awesome. I used to go to her reclusive mansions all the time. She taught me how to fool the devil himself, too bad I never had an opportunity to use those skills, I was too young to attend her parties." It was at that instant when there was a knock at the apartment door, Carmen and Ivy were already hidden by the time Zack grabbed the handle, rabbits could not have moved quicker. But Eileen was hesitant, something told her to stay in view. When she saw who was at the door, her heart skipped a joyful beat.

The dark blue suit, the pout to those plump lips, she recognized that man anywhere. She stood with both hands behind her back, wearing a simple t-shirt and denim shorts by standing like a queen, a smiling playing across her lips.

"Hello, Dash." The man in blue looked up, jaw dropping and blue eyes going wide. Without a word, he zoomed past Zack and swept the girl in his arms, the both of them were soon laughing joyfully.

"Elly!" He exclaimed, placing her on the ground and tapping her nose. "You haven't changed a bit." "Neither have you, Mr. Gaydar." He rolled his eyes. "You play dress-up with a six-year-old just once and she'll never forget it." He glanced at Zack, disapproval rising to his face. "Is he your boyfriend?" An idea so stupid it might work popped into her head, she walked to Zack's side and lopped her arm within Zack.

"Why Dashy, don't tell me you haven't heard of The Duke of Vermeer." She didn't show it but she was winging it.

He arched a skeptical brow. "And where's that?" Zack was quick to catch on. "Boston." She resisted the urge to slap herself then him, in that order.

"And..." Both boys looked back to her, "we insist you take us to meet Bast for the exchange of the painting." Her grip tightened on his arm. "It's all or nothing Dashy." A smile tugged at his lips. "Then I'll be looking forward to seeing both of you." Though his gaze remained on Eileen. There was a pause before he turned and went to the door, stopping in the doorway to glance over his shoulder, chuckling faintly.

"How can a girl as adorable as you exist?" Her face went red as he walked out, the door swinging shut behind him. It wasn't until his footsteps faded away when Carmen and Ivy came out of hiding, the former not as surprised as the latter.

"Let me guess; you two have a history." The red in Elly's cheeks began fading. "We met through Cleo, you could almost say he was my babysitter." Her eyes went back the door, there was a pause before Ivy spoke.

"Did you guys...?" Eileen whipped back around. "God no! He was at least seven years older than me!" Carmen smirked. "That didn't stop you from going with Maelstrom." Eileen smiled. "I was four when I met Dashy." The smirk vanished in an instant.

"Are you sure you want to go with my bro to this meeting?" Asked Ivy, Eileen beamed. "Of course." She wove her arm within Zack's. "Everyone knows you look better with a lady on your arm." "Cleo will recognize you for sure." Said Carmen, a mischievous gleam came to Eileen's eyes.

"That's what I'm counting on."

~

Evening came and Zack found himself being primed and preened into the duke he was going to be, and Eileen was revisiting the lessons of etiquette she had learned so long ago, thoughts drifting back to the way life used to be with her godmother.

Despite her polished exterior, Eileen knew for a fact Cleo was a magnificent woman who loved art, expensive parties, and (as surprising as it sounds) children, hence her role in Eileen's life. She was like a wild teenage girl in a refined woman's body.

Before V.I.L.E, she used to visit every two months like clockwork, she never admitted it but she loved Eileen dearly and hated the idea of her ever being in pain. For a time she was the only one (other than Eileen's brother and mother) who cared that much about her, until Dash came into the picture.

The two met one day when Eileen was running through the halls alone and accidentally knocked over and broke a vase. Frightened by the idea it was priceless and she'd be in the worst kind of trouble, four-year-old Eileen flopped to the floor and began to cry. Slightly annoyed by the sound, Dash came out to tell her to be quiet. But even then her alluring aura was in full effect and he took one look at her large, glossy eyes and his anger vanished.

He gently comforted her, drying her tears and telling her it was okay, the vase had been a clever fake used for thefts, a mere sixteenth worth compared to the real thing. It took a full ten minutes of gentle words and rather awkward pats on the back for her to finally calm down and ask him his name.

"Dash Habar." She hugged him tightly around the waist. "Thanks Dashy!" If anyone else had called him that he would've been childishly furious, that time it wasn't such a bad thing.

Eileen smiled as the memory faded; she knew long before going to V.I.L.E that Dash was off-limits, he was like the older sibling she never knew she needed. She couldn't see him as potential romantic material even if she wanted to.

"Elly, how's it going in there?" Yelled Carmen. "Uncomfortable! I forgot how much I hate mermaid dresses!" Carmen laughed. "I'm sure you look great, bring it out to the viewing area." Eileen paused to suck in a nervous breath before exiting the bedroom. Carmen's eyes went wide, Ivy's jaw hit the floor, eyes like saucers. Slightly confused, Zack turned around, and instantly became a deer in the headlights.

The belly dancer like style they were so used to seeing Eileen in was gone, now an elegant refined young woman stood in the doorway, wearing a red mermaid dress with a v-neck that clung to her, highlighting every curve and line of her body, a pearl necklace sat so neatly around her neck, low black heels on her small sweet feet, and face practically glowing in the moonlight as she applied red matte to her lips while checking it in her compact mirror. Satisfied, she closed it and looked at them all, particularly Zack, to whom she smiled warmly.

"Good evening Duke," she said in an even, cultured voice, "you look positively marvelous." The poor boy's face went red in an instant.