All Too Well

♚ Chapter Eighteen ♚

"Why are we here again?" I whispered to Snake and Freckles as we stood in the ballroom. All of us were dressed up nicely, Freckles and I in a green dress and Snake in a suit.

"The Young Master is here for a dinner party," Black explained as he passed by me.

"Yeah, I understand...but why are we all here?" I muttered, gesturing to Mey-Rin, Baldory, Finny Freckles, Snake and I. "We really don't need to be here."

Black ignored my question and walked pass me. I sighed and shifted uncomfortably in my heels. "These shoes are killing me," I said to Freckles and Snake.

"You think you're the only one suffering?" Freckles whispered back as she lifted her dress up, revealing her heels as well.

Snake smirked and closed his eyes, a smug look on his face. Freckles and I glared at him, "Don't start!"

We all stared at each other before bursting out into laughter. The lights began to flicker and we stopped our laughter, looking up at the chandelier above us. Suddenly, the lights went out and the gasps of the guests filled the room. Freckles, Snake and I were immediately on guard, Freckles and I drawing our dagger and pistol from our secret pocket in our dress while some of Snake's snakes poked their heads out of the collar of his suit, hissing.

The lights flickered back on and the guests remained silent before mingling again, thinking it may of been a short fuse that caused the lights to go out momentarily. Snake grabbed our shoulders. "'Smile has gone missing! His scent is gone!" ...Wilde says," Snake told us.

"...So?" Freckles blinked clearly looking uninterested.

"'And not only Smile, a few other guests as well! ...Bronte adds," Snake continued.

"Well, what do we do?" I asked.

"Let Black and the other servants know?" Freckles suggested.

"I'll talk to Baldory, Mey-Rin,and Finny, you two track down Black," I said and the two nodded. We took off, trying to track down the others.

I spotted the trio and dashed up to them. "Smile has gone missing!" I gasped.

"Who?" They asked, tipping their heads to the side, clearly confused.

"The Young Master!" I spat, almost choking on my words. It nearly disgusted me just to speak those words. "He and several other guests have gone missing since the blackout!"

Upon hearing those words, Mey-Rin, Baldory, and Finny began to panic. "Calm down!" I cried. "We obviously should go looking for them! The kidnappers couldn't have gone far yet! We need to get to the rooftop, now!"

Nodding in agreement, the four of us quietly snuck out of the ballroom and into one of the bedroom's of the host's manor. I opened the door and propped open the window, leaning out and looking up. I held my wristlet and shot a wire up, tugging it to make sure it was secure. I snagged Mey-Rin and held her by the waist and I ran up the wall and onto the rooftop, dropping her off there. I did the same for Finny and then Baldory.

By the time I had delivered Baldory, Freckles, Snake and Black had joined all of us and we kept a lookout on the rooftop. We spotted a dark carriage to camouflage with the night riding away. A snake hissed. "'There! One of the guests in there! ...Emily cries," Snake translated.

"I got this," Mey-Rin spoke but not in her usual screeching voice. It sounded much more colder, more serious. She had a rifle in hand, which I had not noticed she was carrying earlier and was aiming at the carriage. She pulled the trigger and fired, a bullet heading straight to the carriage. The wheel shattered, collapsing the carriage and the horses neighed and ran away. Finny jumped from the rooftop and approached the carriage as a few people came out of there. Seeing Finny, the kidnappers pulled out some handguns but Finny sprinted right up to them and punched their lights out, knocking them out immediately. Finny opened the carriage door and helped one of the kidnapped guest out.

Freckles, Snake and I watched the two them in awe. Being such bumbling servants who can't even do anything correctly, it was quite the shock seeing them take down the enemy with ease. "That's only one of them..." Freckles muttered.

"The rest must of fanned out already, taking the Young Master with them," Sebastian added. "We need to split up."

"Mey-Rin and I'll will hold down the fort here on the roof, in case they try to leave with any more of the guests," Baldory said.

"Freckles, Snake and Violet, split up and go on ahead," Sebastian instructed us. "They couldn't have gone far."

We nodded as I leapt off the rooftop, Snake and Freckles holding onto my waist as I landed gracefully. We sprinted ahead, splitting up as instructed.

Running, I spotted a runaway carriage and copying what I saw Mey-Rin do to the wheel, I pulled my pistol and shot a few times at one of the wheel, breaking it off. The carriage fell and the horses freak out as they ran in all directions, dragging the carriage around on the cobbled streets.

I ran over to the fallen carriage, seeing the driver was collapsed on the ground, a smear of blood leading from where the carriage fell. I opened the door to the carriage and one of the kidnappers leapt out, dagger out. I jumped back quickly and fired my pistol. The attacker gurgled as blood poured from their throat and they collapsed. The other one inside covered in the corner, nearly crying. "Please don't kill me!" They pleaded.

I glared as I held my pistol out at them, keeping them within death's grasp as I glanced over and saw one of the kidnapped guests. A fair maiden had her hands bound with ropes at the wrist and a gag in her mouth. Her eyes were wide open, seeing me and she wept. "I'm here to help...so I can't say the same for the bloke..." I comforted as I glared at at he kidnapper, as he leaned in more into his seat.

I undid her ropes and pulled her gag out of her mouth. She gasped and began sobbing as I helped her out, grabbing her ropes and grabbing the kidnapper and pulling him onto the ground, kneeing on his back as I bound his hands behind his back before digging the pistol into the back of his head. "If you dare try to run I won't hesitate putting a bullet through your head," I threatened.

I turned my attention to the kidnapped guest, still weeping. "I'll take you and this kidnapper back to the manor, we'll be safer there," I said.

She nodded as we began our walk ahead to the manor. Once we reached the manner, Scotland Yard was already there, taking in the captured kidnappers and speaking to some of the guests. The lass saw a man talking to an officer and ran over to him, screaming his name. Hearing her voice, the lad turned around and held his arms out, taking her into his arms.

I dragged the kidnapper to the officer, throwing him down in front of the officer. "Here is another one," I told them.

Taking his bounded hands, the officer escorted him elsewhere. I turned only to be met in the arms of Snake and Freckles. "Thank goodness you're back!" Freckles breathed a sigh of relief.

"'You're one of the last to come back. We all got worried!' ...Oscar sighed with relief," Snake added.

"I'm alright," I comforted holding them tight to me. I glanced upwards to see Smile looking directly at me. I glanced back down and returning my attention to my best friends."I'm alright..."