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𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬
•••
"AMELIA, THIS ISN'T A MATTER TO DISCUSS," he hissed, a cold look in his eyes that made her jaw clench. He was so close to her she could smell his foul breath, and almost feel the glare he held on her face. His face was as blank as stone to any mere outsider, but she, being his daughter with many years of knowledge, could tell his true emotions. He was furious.Red in the face with his eyes narrowed and teeth clenched together in the slightest form of restraint, but she could tell. Amelia turned her chin up in disgust, scoffed, and whipped around on her heel, storming away from his office.
•••
BY THE TIME NIGHT FALL WAS UPON THE THREE, Tewksbury had managed to gather reasonably good tasting mushrooms and plants together. The girls worked on making a fire, and sat down tired, roasting some food to eat. Amelia resided beside the boy, an awkward gap between them. Not too close, but not too far away. The girls were pleasantly surprised at the taste of mushrooms, and Viscount seemed to be amused that they doubted him in the first place, and proud of his efforts. He could tell he was making good progress on his plan to make Amelia see the good in him. Royal blood didn't make him an idiot. Well, Amelia still felt otherwise.
"I've been thinking," Enola began, making Amelia grin and mutter under her breath, "never a good thing," to which Tewksbury snorted and covered it up with a cough. Enola reached over and wacked her over the head jokingly. They were beginning to enjoy the small mishap of the train accident. Without the coincidence, they wouldn't be having as much fun as they were. Viscount wasn't as bad as they originally thought, and even Enola was warming up slowly, much to Amelia's surprise.
"You need to disguise yourself a little," Enola finished, making Amelia smirk, giving the said boy a glance. Tewksbury looked between the scheming girls with worry and confusion, making them giggle.
"How do you feel about your hair?" Enola asked calmly to which the royal boy shrugged, "never cared for it," His response made the girls exchange an excited look. Enola picked up a stray knife from by the fire, then a rock to sharpen it, which Viscount found interesting and started questioning her. Amelia stood from her comfortable spot, moving to add more wood to the fire and some other tedious tasks, like setting the mushrooms up for the fire. She noticed his eyes following her every now and then.
"Why have you run? From home, I mean." This question caught them off guard. Amelia didn't really run from her home. She was never forced to stay, so she often took the liberty of adventuring whenever she could, meeting new people and trying new things. She thought of the world as much more than what the others did. She didn't want to be tied down to a house, cooking and cleaning all day while watching children. She would not become her Mother.
Of course her adventures lead her to the Holmes'. Enola's mother caught Amelia climbing a tree in their property, and scared her so bad she fell out of the tree. After a much needed introduction, the two grew to like each other. Perhaps it was Amelia's courageous personality that made Eudoria so content. She could tell the girl was different. She was like Enola. Eudoria understood Amelia like no one else had ever before.
"I didn't want to go to Miss Harrison's Finishing School for Ladies." Amelia flinched at the name, remembering all the empty but terrifying threats from her parents to send her.
"And of course, how could I leave my 'Melia behind? She's always ready for anything," the said girl looked up, rolling her eyes at Enola's nickname for her. She couldn't help but smile at the words though. It was basically code that for whatever reason one must run, or one has got into trouble, the other must be there. To abandon your friend would be to abandon your family.
"Why have you?" Amelia asked Tewksbury curiously, as she had gathered that perhaps his family was the safest thing he had. Well, just from the encounter with the killer that just happened to happen after he left his family. Someone wanted him dead, so why would he choose to be alone?
Enola began cutting his long hair as he explained that while adventuring and collecting mushrooms in the forest, a tree branch fell above him and just about crushed him, but he got out of the way in time. "A-and I realized..." he trailed off, making the girls look at him, one in confusion and one in curiosity.
"What?" Amelia tilted her head, momentarily pausing from gathering sticks for the fire, hanging off his every word. Tewksbury seemed almost embarrassed as he looked between them sheepishly, "you'll laugh at me,"
"I wont."
"Depends."
Tewksbury shot Amelia such a look that she snorted unattractively, making her face turn bright red. Viscount smirked at her embarrassment, and Enola smiled at her best friend, glancing in between the two in wonder. The moment was quick to settle back down, though as the grin on his face vanished, and the fire crackling became louder than just background noise.
"My life seemed to flash before me. I was just about to take my seat in the house of lords. I had these ideas, about how we might progress the estate." His mood dimmed as he spoke, and Amelia frowned slightly, "but my family were set on me joining the army and then going across sea, just like my uncle."
"And I realized I was scared, scared that I would hate every second of the rest of my life." His words made both girls see there was more to him then he showed. He had many layers. How could Amelia judge him if she was in the exact same place?
"Why would I laugh at that?" The Holmes girl questioned quietly, a look of sympathy and knowing on her face. Tewksbury however, still doubted himself and his reasonings.
"Don't I sound pathetic?" Amelia shook her head furiously, catching their attention. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she added some wood to the fire and joined them once more. A moment of hesitation passed through her before she reached out and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"If anything, I think of you as courageous for doing what so many people are scared to, including myself." A silence took ahold of them, as they looked in each other's eyes, Viscount seeming to search for any hint of a lie. But Amelia was only telling the truth. Despite being quite a bold person, she didn't have the bravery to leave her home. No matter how much she wanted to. He held a hint of a smile, a heartfelt smile.
"Why were they going to send you to the finishing school?" He asked after a long silence, turning back to Enola. She didn't say anything, her eyes darting to Amelia, who shook her head the slightest. Enola looked back to the boy, her eyes saying it all. With a heavy sigh, she changed the topic. The girls would love to have told him, especially after him revealing such a meaningful thing to them, but the risks were too high.
"In the morning we'll have to move fast. The bowler hat man will be hot on your tail—"
"Where's your destination? I'm going to-" he began, but was cut off by the girls.
"London." They said together, making him chuckle. Amelia crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that he was heading there himself. She didn't know why she suddenly didn't want to leave without him, but over the course of the day, she had actually enjoyed the conversations and the mini adventures. Plus, she couldn't deny he was cute.
"Well, then, shall we, um, stick together?" He smiled, glancing between the girls. Amelia couldn't help her excitement and nodded.
