3. Locked Up and Lazy

I continued doing this for a week. And then she hounded on me.

"It's been months since you've been appearing and disappearing! Where have you been going off to, young lady!?" She yelled one Wednesday morning, just as I was leaving. I gulped and faced my predator.

"It actually hasn't been months since I've been appearing and disappearing from this house. In reality it-"

"Where have you been off to Lillian?" she repeated viciously and I swallowed. Never had I ever been afraid of her! Why should I be? I knew that I shouldn't push her either. But she just didn't, or rather wouldn't understand...

"I err... I've been places."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Er.. No." Stupid! What have you said!? Aunt Brank's eyes widened and she put her hands on her hips.

"What do you mean no? I order you to tell me!" I cringed a little at that but she mistook it as me being afraid of her. Ha!

"No, means no. I don't want to tell you where I've been." I said, drawing myself to my full height and meeting her eye. There was a pause. And then she pointed upstairs.

"Room. Now!" My mouth dropped open. No! She can't! Blast, what have I done!?

"W-what!? You can't lock me in there!"

"I can, and I will! Now get in there!" Grudgingly and whilst grumbling unladylike curses under my breath, I stomped upstairs, Aunt Brank in my wake. She pushed me into my room and then slammed the door shut. A few seconds later I heard the clicking of the lock and sighed.

"How long?" I croaked.

"I'll see." And with that she left. I collapsed onto the floor, my legs unable to take my weight. What have I done? I was supposed to be out there, helping the men look for my employer! I could only pray that she'd decided to keep me in my room for a day or two.

How wrong I was.

* * *

One week.

One entire week she kept me in my room. I was still fed. Oh yes, I was. But with each passing day, I gave my dearest aunt a death stare. If only looks could kill, she'd be dead by now. But sadly that wasn't possible and my aunt was still alive.

I tried getting out through the window, but she had managed to bolt that too. All I could do was rage internally and stare at the ceiling. How can she do this to me!? Admittedly, I didn't tell her the truth, but how could I? And she didn't even acknowledge my distress the night I came back. She thought it was all just an act.

"Ugh! I've just about had it with that woman! Curse you!" I said shaking my fist at the door. I let my hand drop at my side. It was no use. As much as I wanted to be out of this damned house, I wasn't allowed. Not yet.

Suddenly, I heard a little jingling of keys and then a click. Footsteps receded away soon afterwards and I heard nothing. Is this it? Am I free again? I thought, slowly getting up. I walked to the door and grabbed onto the doorknob and turned it slowly. The door opened. Yes! I stepped out onto the threshold and breathed a huge sigh of relief. I wondered what time it was. I turned back towards my room and looked out the window. Judging from what I could barely see from where I stood, it was well into the afternoon. I turned away from my room and stood at the top of the stairs.

Now what? I was finally free of my little prison, but I hadn't really thought of what to do. I thought about it now, and decided to go back to those water guards and ask if they'd found him. I went down the stairs as quietly as I could and reached the front door. I opened it and winced when it creaked. Opening it even more, I managed to slip through and close it behind me. I let out a breath I didn't know I held, and set off towards my destination.

* * *

"You what?!"

The flimsy sailor looked up at me nervously then. All traces of cockiness vanished.

"Um.. Well as I said, we stopped looking for him about a week ago."

Smack!

I grabbed him by the collar and somehow lifted him up. I started shaking him while yelling my head off.

"I had expected better from you! How dare you give up on finding the man! I want you to go gather your men and search for him! Do you understand!?" I stopped shaking the sailor and resorted to glaring at him instead.

"But.. Miss we cannot..."

"I said do you understand?"

"Yes Miss!" with that I dropped the sailor and he landed with a yelp. As I dusted off my hands a door opened and I turned to find the captain of the search.

"What's going on in here?"

"You and your men have an unfinished job to do! I want you to see you get back to it!" I said, trying to make my tone as orderly and as firm as possible.

"What...? Oh. You're that crazy young lady who won't stop pestering us about the man overboard." He had the gall to roll his eyes!? At me! I narrowed my own.

"Yes. That is I. And I want to know why you have stopped your searches. I wish to know immediately!"

"Simple. Your man who has fallen off of that ship was not found." His words hit me. Hard. Straight in the guts. My heart clenched and I stumbled.

"A-are you sure?" I asked, my voice up half an octave.

"Absolutely positive. Your description of him was sound and was of help. But he was not found. Now, if you'll excuse me I have more important business to attend to." The emphasis on important naturally would've made me slap him, but instead my mind was trying to grasp a sentence he had said.

He was not found. He was not found.

No. It wasn't right! He had to be.. He had to be alive and out there! He just had to!

My feet carried me out of the office and into the London street. The sun was starting to set now but I did not heed it.

He was not found.

Blast! My blasted eyes are welling up with blasted tears just because that blasted man was dead!

The selfless brat! Oh how I would kill to see him again! Just one more time. Hear another order thrown at me. See him glare at me silently. Have his hard body pressed up against...

No! Bah, what am I thinking!? I started chiding myself, and then stopped halfway. It was no use. All of it was just wishful thinking. None of it would ever happen again.

I will never hear from him again.

I will never see him again.

I will never stare into those mysteriously gorgeous sea green eyes and try not to drown in them in the process ever again.

Some part of me tugged - towards the office I had left. It wanted to still search the salty waters for my employer. But there was no point. He was gone.

I gave up.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Trying not to tear up now omh.

Alright. I am going to use this author's note as an apology and the bearer of sad news.

I am apologizing because in the comments, you are all asking when I am going to update next, and I usually reply with 'Don't worry, the next chapter will be out later today, or tomorrow!' And then you all find out that that is false and I did nothing more than lie to you.

I am sorry for being so disrespectful to you all, lying about when the next chapter will be updated. None of you deserve to be lied to.

Even during winter break, I am utterly busy, tending to my family's, friend's and my own needs first before going after you all.

Like Ronald Weasley so rightly said to Harry in the Philosophers Stone: "She needs to sort out her priorities." And even though it was directed to Hermione, it's fits the situation for me now. I need to sort out my priorities.

And now, onto the sad news: School is back in session. My grades came out recently, and neither my parents nor I was pleased about them. So I have told myself to refrain from using both the laptop and serviceless phone so much, and instead actually do what is asked of me by my teachers.

So, I will try to somewhat follow Sir Rob's footsteps in updating weekly. Probably every Tuesday evening. At around seven o' clock. But, I might get lucky and finish my homework beforehand and continue my random updates. I don't know.

My New Years resolution is to keep updating this fanfiction and to boost my grades up to something aesthetic. And I will try my best to refrain from lying to you all ever again.

All that aside, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Credit given to: @josipamik ! THANKS FOR THE IDEA FOR THIS CHAPTER! cx

As always, remember to comment! (:

See you later!