***

The next morning, the sun rose bright and the sky was without a cloud. Dylan convinced the Duke to let her visit her mother's grave in town before she returned to the academy. Few people were out in the streets, but several vendors and merchants had already opened their shops.

"Looking for flowers, little miss?" one of the merchants asked.

Dylan stopped to smell the flowers at the booth. Their beautiful petals were like silk, their scent strong and fragrant.

"What's this one?" she asked, pointing to a purple flower.

"Bellflowers," the merchant explained, "they represent everlasting love and gratitude."

She smiled up at him sweetly. "I'll take one bouquet please."

'These are perfect for you, mom.'

"Come again!" he said, gratefully accepting the coins from Jessie.

Dylan breathed in the fresh morning air, clutching the bouquet close to her chest. The quiet walk through the village was relaxing, something she hadn't felt in a long time. The Duke sent several guards with her, but they followed from a distance, giving her more than enough room to breathe.

She turned and lifted a hand to shade her eyes from the sun. The familiar sight of the hill in the distance made her feel strange.

"Will you be long, milady?" asked Mina.

"I'm not sure," she replied, shaking her head. "I'll come down when I'm ready."

She climbed the hill alone, clutching onto the bouquet. Atop the hill, leaning against a tree, was a tall man puffing a cigar. It was the same man, she was sure of it.

"Lord Whittle," she called out to him.

"Well, isn't this something?" said the old man, smiling. "It's not everyday that my business partners ask to meet outside of the office, Jonas Ferguson."

"I have my reasons," she said with a sigh. "If you'll please excuse me for a moment."

She knelt beside her mother's cross to place the flowers. She remained beside the grave for a while, silently praying, then rose and turned.

Whittle was smoking, and coughing with each puff. "Here," he said in between coughs, "sign here and then we're in business."

"All the conditions are included in this contract, right?" she asked, reading over the document he had handed her.

He nodded, his gaze strolling over her face absently. "I get to make and sell your invention in exchange for paying you inventor royalties," he explained, rolling his cigar with his fingers. "I won't share your designs with anyone nor will I talk about your identity."

Dylan nodded her approval. "Very well, it looks good. Do you have something I can sign with?"

"Do I?" he said with a slight smile, pulling out a prototype of Dylan's invention. "Go on, give it a try."

The pen glided effortlessly across the paper.

"Amazing," she muttered, turning it over in her hands. "This will sell well."

"Well, a product is only as good as its inventor," he chuckled, slipping the contract into his coat pocket. "If you have any more ideas, you bring them to me first, kid."

Dylan nodded absentmindedly. In the future, her connection with Whittle would come in handy. Not only did she just acquire a way of making money to use when she runs away, but she also made a business ally.

He frowned down at her. "You must have your reasons for hiding your identity and asking me to meet here," he said, quietly. "If you need help, you can always come by my business."

"Thank you, but now isn't the time. I'll come to you when the time is right."

A small cloud of smoke left his lips as he smiled. "Then I'll write to you, Mr. Ferguson."

'Now that I have a source of income, I can start building my power little by little.'

***

"You're back, milady!"

"Yes," Dylan said as one of the knights helped her down the bottom of the hill.

The streets which were previously quiet, were now littered with curious townspeople and armoured men. Some sort of ... soldiers, maybe?

"What's going on?" she asked, eyeing the unfamiliar crest on their capes.

"Ah," Mina said, massaging her forehead. "It appears that the knights are searching for someone. They said... what did they say?"

Jessie sighed. "Do not worry about it, milady," she assured her. "They seem to be searching for someone."

"Alright," Dylan said, adjusting her bonnet. "Shall we get some pastries from a nearby bakery?"

The bakery Dylan wanted to visit had an extensive tea and coffee list and a large selection of pastries, such as bagels, muffins and croissants. When Dylan was a child, she used to walk by the bakery windows and admire the desserts on display.

Her mother could never afford anything aside from what was necessary to survive, so she never had the chance to taste their stuff. Since she became a Duke's daughter, she often frequented the bakery and bought enough for both her and her mother.

"Lady Dylan!" the owner of the bakery exclaimed with a smile. "You're back!"

"Hello," she greeted elegantly, "are those apple fritters I saw in the display case?"

"Yes! Would milady like some?"

Dylan nodded and waved towards Jessie, who immediately proceeded towards the register to order.

"Jessie, get some snacks for the knights," she said. Dylan paused, obviously struck by another thought. "Order something to leave on my mother's grave as well."

Jessie bowed and left to order.

"Shall we sit?" asked Mina, glancing at the tables.

"Yes, I—"

Bump! Dylan staggered and landed hard on her backside.

'How come I'm always bumping into to someone?'

"I'm so sorry," a man apologized, helping her up from the floor. "I wasn't looking."

"It's alright," she said, glancing up at who she had collided with.

Dylan flinched visibly and took a step back. She felt the hair rising on the back of her neck. The man's face was clean shaven, but his dark curly hair was thick and unruly. His round eyes were sky blue—just like her mothers. From his hair to his eyes, he looked remarkably similar to her mother.

"What the fuck?" she cursed aloud, eyeing the unfamiliar crest on his cape.

The young gentleman was surprised. "My apologies, milady," he said with a panicked expression. "I didn't see you."

'No. What kinda...'

The tears in her eyes came without warning. Wiping them with her hand, she failed to suppress a sob. "What..." she cried, breathing heavily. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

Furious and freaked out, she strode out the front door before she could explain what had just happened. There was no way she was seeing things right... because that man looked identical to her mother.

"Milady! Where are you going?" shouted Mina.

She lied. Her mother lied. She lied and she believed her. Her mother had told her they had no one else in the world but one another. Dylan's mother had no siblings, no father, no mother... no one. Dylan couldn't understand how even after dying, her mother could still break her heart.

Under her sobs, the sound of her heart breaking again was perhaps the loudest type of silence she had ever experienced. Dylan desperately wanted to believe that at least one side of her family was normal, but once again, it was all pretend.



AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Whoever guesses what's going on here correctly gets a link to a google drive that contains chapters. You'll get to read them before they're released!