We Will Not Go!

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Rosalie just stared, trying not to make a disgusted face (and likely failing) as Edward tried to clean the bird poop from his head. In the end, he'd mostly just smeared it around. When Britta grabbed her hand, Rosalie simply scooped the girl up, holding her on her hip. But her mortified face hadn't left Edward.

"Something needs to be done about those children!"

She was regaining her calm a little - a little - but it hadn't changed her mind on that front. Such badly behaved children surely needed to be punished!

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Edward sighed again.
"I agree." And he gave Rosalie and Britta apologetic looks.
"Would you mind watching after Britta? First thing is first, I think the bird poop needs more thoroughly er.. removed."

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"Yes, of course!" Rosalie responded, still looking just absolutely mortified. Bird poop! And it had nearly taken her head off! (Forget the fact that it was the size of a pigeon).

She bounced Britta a bit, trying to look composed, and said to the girl, "Us good children will find something nice to do indoors in the nursery, where it's safe and clean."

But Britta was still clapping at the sky, "Come back, Greg'ry!"

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Edward's eyes brightened.
"Ah, yes, that you two are!" Edward encouraged. "And indoors... right. It should be a lot safer."
But he found himself loosing his cravat because well...
Indoors there were actually more animals!

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((The rest of the animals should still be contained to their rooms. :D))

Rosalie couldn't help but frown. Why wasn't Edward going to beat the living daylights out of those children?! Or at least having a servant do it. No, he was too soft, she decided. Of course that was one of the things she liked about him. It'd make him much easier to manage once he was her husband! But now she'd have to urge him along.

"Come along, Britta. Let's go find some of your dolls," she said to the little girl and began to head inside. She only paused to look back at Edward and say, "I hope you can deal firmly with those children. What a way to behave! Someone could have been really hurt!"

And with that, Rosalie and Britta made their exit.

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Edward disappeared to his room, where he used a simple wash basin to clean out his hair. Naturally, it couldn't be an easy task, and he ended up needing to change into another shirt. And though he knew he was leaving Lady Parks waiting, he also knew he had to deal with the children.

However, he was a host, and made a quick return to Rosalie and Britta to announce his intentions to deal with the children, while his hair was still damp and slicked back into a tail.

At the sight of her father, Britta put her hands out and made grabby motions towards him as her face brightened.

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Riley was dying of anticipation. Edward was going to be so mad at them. If the Highheart lord was ever going to be friends with the young Gray again, he certainly wasn't now. What was taking so long?

"See?" Lily said, reading her brother's thoughts. "I bet he's not even going to come 'yell' at us. You're worrying for nothing." What she didn't say was that the reason he probably wasn't going to come yell at them - in addition to him never being negative no matter what! - was that they probably weren't that important to him now. Not when he had a lady he was courting here! She frowned though, looking at Riley. Waiting, it seemed, was worse for him than actually being told off. "Come on," she finally said, "let's go back to the room. Gregory's stretched his wings. Let's go keep everyone else company."

Riley nodded, still looking thoroughly miserable, and called the bird back to him. Lily felt her stomach clench looking at him. She didn't quite feel the same way - she'd never really felt like Edward really wanted to befriend them - but she understood what Riley was feeling. Ignored by even his 'friend' Lord Draven. Their mother wanted to send them away. Their godfather agreed. No one, it seemed, actually wanted the Gray children around.

Despite the fact that they were at an age when it would normally be embarrassing, Lily put her arm around Riley as they trooped back to their allotted room.


Below, in the nursery, Rosalie looked surprised to see Edward so soon. She made sure she looked pleasantly surprised, though. "That was fast!" she said, smiling warmly at him. "You look much better, I have to say. I assume it was straight to bed with no dinner? Though I have to say, I wouldn't mind hearing an apology."

It never occurred to Rosalie that Edward hadn't actually talked to the children yet!

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Edward was caught off guard by her statement, and was quick to correct her.
"Er... No, actually," he went on, clearing his throat. "I wanted to make sure you were alright before I paid the children a visit."

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Now it was Rosalie's turn to be caught off guard. He hadn't spoken to them yet? Was he ever going to? Was he just going to let these children get away with nearly killing her?!

She frowned. Tonight, of course, was supposed to be the night! But as important as that was, Rosalie knew it was just as important that any future husband not take her for granted! Oh, she needed Lord Draven more than he needed her. She knew that. But did he? It was important that he think he needed her even more - and that he couldn't just assume she was here for the taking no matter what the circumstances were. And really, who would expect a lady to just turn a blind eye to some devil children - some other woman's children - trying to take her head off?

It was ridiculous!

"Lord Draven," she finally asked, speaking carefully, "perhaps it's better if I arrange another visit. It seems that you very much have your hands full at the moment." And her tone made it clear: she was offering to leave; she was not necessarily offering to come back. And once the story got around - no one would blame her!

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"Oh, but I would never consider it! Lady Parks, please, you have taken the time to travel and I saw how happy you were to come for this visit. I do apologize for my distractions, but I'll speak with the children to let them know I am already engaged for the evening and that they need to stay in the East Wing with Britta." He nodded down to his daughter before scooping her up and kissing her cheek.
"They adore her anyway, and it'll give us some quiet time to chat."

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[[Spice, if Edward does not leave and finally go talk to those kids after this, I will personally transport myself into the imaginary world of SotE and punch him in the face! DX]]

Rosalie pursed her lips as if in consideration. Sending the clear signal that she was thinking about whether or not she should leave, even if she knew she would stay. But she couldn’t let him be too sure of that!

“Well,” she finally said tersely, “I would hate to not spend more time with you, Lord Draven. But I hope you will treat those children with the discipline they clearly need!” Rosalie still didn’t understand what they were even doing there in the first place.


And the children were beginning to wonder the same thing. For by the time Edward made it to the East Wing, he’d find them with their bags packed (not that they’d ever really been so unpacked) and animals more-or-less wrangled. Coming here, it seemed, was a mistake.

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Edward gave a nod.
"But of course. The children... are having a difficult time, though I do fear their mother might be having it worse. So please, do excuse me, and excuse them. I will speak with them and thoroughly explain to them the wrongness of what they have done this afternoon. I shan't be long, I promise."
And he gave Lady Parks a stiff bow before taking his leave.


And he was glad to be away from her. Though one weight on his shoulders was replaced with another. He wasn't very fond of or even well practiced on the ways of disciplining children. Even with Britta, she always won in a temper tantrum (whcih did not bode well for him in the future!)

Either way, he knew it was his responsibility, and it would be a disgrace to their mother were he not to intervene on her behalf. Though if they thought this little fiasco could so easily be waved off, they had another thing coming. But by the time he got to their room and saw their bags packed- he halted before stepping inside.

"What is going on here?"
Never mind the lecture he had been so vehemently reciting and rewording over and over again inside his head.
"Do you honestly expect to simply run away again? Riley.. Lily.. I expected more from you. Though after what you both did earlier with your bird.... Do you really think this course of action is any more acceptable?"

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Riley blanched at Edward's sudden appearance in the room they'd been granted, the room they were just about to vacate! But Lily looked only defiant. And while her brother's eyes dropped quickly to his feet in a look of miserable guilt, Lily looked Edward right in the eye.

"We're not 'running away,'" she answered curtly. She held back a snide comment of 'we don't live here, so we can't run away.' For Riley's benefit, not for Edward's, she resolved to at least be polite. Ish. "We didn't realize we were intruding on you and your visitor, Lord Draven, so we're going to the town to take a room at the inn."

She said this all with a matter-of-fact confidence that was meant to communicate that Lily and Riley were in charge of their own affairs. And that Edward, who was in no way related to them and who could hardly even still be called a 'family friend' as far as she was concerned, had no say in the matter. Though she wasn't entirely sure if she was pulling it off. But Lily seemed, at least, committed to the act. And in fact it spared Edward from much harsher words that she would have had for him if she weren't trying to be Grown Up and Responsible.

"But I'm sorry if the bird upset you. Or your visitor." There was a bit of vinegar in that last word that Lily hadn't been able to keep out. She was, beneath the calm exterior she was trying to project, furious with Edward. Not for courting another lady, of course, but for upsetting her brother. "We just thought Britta would enjoy it. She always liked Gregory." And how could Edward argue with that? The little girl had, by all accounts, been delighted by the kestrel. "But if you excuse us and let us get on our way, we won't cause you any more incident."

And Lily could only hope that he would. She wasn't sure how long she could keep this up!

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Edward sighed and closed the door behind him, effectively blocking their attempted exit. And he took a moment to draw in a long breath.
"Forgive me if I find it hard to believe your intentions, but if that were true you'd have no reason to want to take your leave now. Also, forgive my presumptions but if you were upset over the idea of not sharing dinner at the table I can assure you my guest is a lovely, sweet woman who adores children." And here he paused to give a smile. "Why, if you don't believe me, just ask Britta."

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"That's not why we're leaving," Lily responded quickly, forgetting her 'polite and mature' tone for a moment. Is that really what he thought? That they were leaving because of the bird? As though Edward would have been actually mad at them? Realizing that her scowl was not the image she was trying to project, Lily recomposed herself, forcing her tone of voice to be more neutral. "Lord Draven, I'm sure your guest is perfectly lovely," Lily lied; she didn't believe that for a moment. "And we hardly want to intrude on your... visit."

Lily glanced over to Riley, who was still looking at his feet, miserable. He was the one who'd wanted to leave. Not really because of the bird. He knew it was silly, but he did not want to stay here knowing that Edward was entertaining a young woman who'd come on her own. It felt like too much confirmation of why the Highheart lord must have lost interest in him. Because he'd never been interested in Riley. And in the middle of their whole ordeal, when everyone else wanted to send them to Serendipity, it felt like the last person he thought he could count on also didn't really need him around.

It'd be better if it was just him and Lily. Then they could figure out what to do together. It seemed like they were the only ones who wanted each other around, anyway.

Lily looked from Riley back out the window. The sun was starting to dip behind the tree tops. "Really, we should be on our way before it gets too late to travel. And I'm sure you have a special dinner planned for your guest."

"Please, Lord Draven," Riley finally spoke up, though his eyes stayed firmly on the floor, and his voice was a little thick, "we just want to get out of the way. We're really sorry."


[[I know it seems like they're being dramatic, but remember they're 10 and 13. THOSE ARE DRAMATIC YEARS!!! DDD:]]

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Edward took in all that they said, and slowly drew in a breath before exhaling and looked at each one of them.
"Riley..." He touched his shoulder, then looked to Lily. "Lily.... You must know you are always welcome here. If anything, I'd like to believe our families are very close." The sincerity in his voice, his features were genuine, but then again, Edward was never a man to like. In fact, he was down right bad at it.

"The last thing I would want is for the pair of you to simply leave, feeling unwanted from my home. My feelings are quite the opposite, and if you were to just come, stay for dinner, we can discuss all of this and see what's really bothering you. My visitor will understand."
Especially since it seemed she received children so well.

"But you have to realize you'll need to apologize to her," his tone remained soft, however, despite him bringing up their duty. "Accident or not, you have caused my guest distress, and if there is anything I can not tolerate, it is someone unhappy. But please, I see you both more like my children than simple guests. Why would you think you're int he way or not welcome? Surely you can not think I'd abandon you over formalities with my guest?"

Rules were rules, but Edward was still Edward.

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Lily started at Edward in angry disbelief at his words. She had to bite back a, 'We are not your children!' And maybe a comment about how that hadn't stopped him from basically abandoning her brother for all those months they hadn't heard from him. But she managed to choke back all those words. Instead she looked to Riley. She would still rather leave, but if he wanted to stay, she would.

Riley, for his part, was trying hard not to shrug off Edwards hand. That, he knew, would be very rude. And Lily was rude enough for both of them. Though in truth he shared some of his sisters thoughts. He still didn't look at Edward, instead looking outside. It was a mistake to come here, but out there it was getting dark...

"We'll stay tonight, since you're being so kind to us, Lord Draven," he finally declared, not sounding one bit happy about it. "But we should probably leave in the morning."

Inwardly, Lily sighed. Rats. "Alright," she said, dropping her bags, "I'll go apologize." She at least wanted to save Riley from that. So with one look to her brother, she pushed past Edward to go find his lady, leaving the man and boy alone.

...

Lily made her way through the halls first to the sitting room, as she hadn't actually asked where the lady was, then the tea room, before finally trying Britta's room. But she stopped just outside, caught off guard by the sweet sounding crooning from within. But while the voice were sweet, the words were not.

"You just wait, you ugly little duck, once I marry your daddy, you're going straight to the boarding school for bad little girls," Rosalie cooed. Lily stayed silent just long enough to peak in unseen. Rosalie was brushing Britta's hair, but clearly too hard. And when the toddler started to cry to say so, the woman whacked her on the backside with the brush. "Good girls don't cry!"

"Hey!" Lily shouted angrily, storming into the room and glaring fiercely at the woman. Rosalie's eyes instantly snapped up, widening at the sight of the devil-haired girl. They both understood what Rosalie was: caught.

At the sight of Lily, Britta tottered over to the girl, and Lily immediately picked her up. "I was bad," Britta told Lily mournfully.

Britta, she thought, inherited too much of her father's sweet trustingness, because though she was happy to see Lily, she didn't seem to understand that she should not like this woman. Instead, she just wanted all the more to get the woman to like her.

Lily didn't take her eyes off Rosalie. And Rosalie did the same. Both understood Lily caught her in the middle of something bad. And the girl and woman stared at each other in a silent standoff.

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Edward had not expected Lily to be so prompt in her response,a nd he was left gaping in her wake as he looked to the now empty hall and back to Riley.

"Er.. we can discuss more of this after dinner. Come, let us be after your sister."
He didn't think it was wise to leave her alone, especially with his guest! He wasn't sure either would appreciate that after the fiasco. Though he hated to admit it, he indeed needed to be a mediator, perhaps even for his own sake. He didn't want any more ruffles, and he felt terrible that his guest had to suffer so. Women were so fair.

But then he thought back to Lady Gray, who was fair in her own way, but was someone he saw with the strength and regality of a tiger. Perhaps it was the way she dealt with her children, who were uniquely hers. And though they might offend some in the ways they acted, Edward was merely charmed, adn even doubly so that Britta was so taken by them as well.

He had, in fact, missed them all terribly in their time apart but-

His thoughts were cut off abruptly as he nearly stumbled intot he room. The door was open and he took a step back, cleared his throat and gave a light knock on the door's frame.

"It is I, Edward. I came to see how you were both fairing."
And hopefully there were no more fires to put out!

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Riley set down his own bags, quickly let out the animals from Lily's suitcase, then followed glumly after Edward. He just really wanted this day to be over so they could leave. Riley peeked into the room from behind Edward, chewing on his lip in worry that Lily was about to cause another scene.

But instead, when the 'men' appeared, Rosalie turned instantaneously charming. She smiled warmly at Edward, beaming. "We're fairing just fine! Edward, I can't believe you didn't tell me how charming these children are!"

Lily's mouth opened, and she just stared.

"This beautiful young girl just gave me a very heart-felt apology, and I think we understand each other perfectly now, don't we?"

Oh, Lily understood. This was an exchange. Rosalie wasn't going to say that she hadn't apologized in exchange for Lily saying nothing about what she'd seen. But Lily hadn't even gotten the chance to apologize! Still, if she said something right now, Edward would never believe her and she knew it. Closing her mouth, she gave Rosalie a look that Edward thankfully wouldn't see, standing behind her in the doorway. "Yes," she answered, "perfectly."

She knew girls like Rosalie. She could see it right away. At thirteen, the girls who would be like Rosalie were already starting out. And Lily hated all of them.

Rosalie stood up, smiling prettily and clearing her throat. "You are going to introduce us, aren't you, Edward?"

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Edward's surprised look turned into relief, which quickly blossomed into a smile.
"That's a relief. And I'm glad you both seem to be so friendly. It will make things easier at dinner, since we will all be dining together!" Edward informed, all smiles as usual.

"And where are my manners, allow me to introduce these two children to you. Rosalie, the young gentleman at my side is Lord Riley Gray, youngest son to the Late Lord Gray and his wife, Lady Dahlia Gray, who is a great, personal friend of mine and Britta's. And this.." he went on, drawing in a breath and gesturing towards Lily. "Is her daughter, Lily Gray. The two have come out for a.. er.. visit."

He decided it would be best not to go into details. There was enough chaos as is and well, things were finally smoothing over, and he simply beamed at Rosalie-
that was, until Britta started crying.