20. The Terrifying Reality

What the hell?! Where was the ship!? Where are all the workers? Where's the- I heard something. It was a loudish clanking noise, coming from my right. I whirled over to the noise, feet pounding on the ground. If he happened to leave me behind in this place..!

I kept running and the clanking noise grew louder and louder as I ran closer and closer. I will give him a piece of my mind if he has left! I'll wait for him to come back and then pounce on him like- I skidded to a halt. Now as I was about a kilometre away from the canal, I heard more things other than clanking.

Shouting. Shouting of agony maybe? I wasn't too sure. Maybe it was shouting of triumph. Something... Exciting. There was another loud shout and many cries following it. And I knew then that they were not cries of happiness.

Curious as to what in the world was going on, I walked towards the shouts and clanking. But I didn't walk as fast as I had been. No, rather I sauntered over to it. I finally reached the canal and looked below. What I saw was even more terrifying than the first time.

Whips were being cracked. Left and right, whenever a labourer collapsed or worked slowly, a whip was cracked near them. I couldn't believe it. I had never seen anything like this. I didn't know it even happened. I saw a labourer collapse and another worker was trying to help him up. Crack! Both labourers jumped and the one who'd fallen slowly got up. I heard a shout from the man who cracked the whip and the two labourers nodded before getting back to work.

This is what he allowed? This was his method to make sure that the labourers didn't collapse anymore? And he didn't care for the health of his labourers, not even in the slightest. I couldn't believe that I was working for such a disgusting man! This was unbelievable! First the oppression of females and now this! What more does he have up his sleeve!?

Quickly, I searched the canal for any sign of him. Surely he'd be visible in the midst of these men. But I didn't see him. I looked up and out towards the sea. His ship, the Empire, had not left at all. I'd merely been on the wrong side of the canal. Or at least very far away from it.

If his ship isn't gone.. I thought. And he isn't in the canal.. Then he is most probably inside the ship! Feeling that it was the only option for it, I started to make my way around the canal. It was long, but not long enough to not be able to walk around it. When I made it to the other side, I started walking a little faster than I had been. My mind was now reeling with it all, the visions of those poor labourers being whipped when they didn't exactly do as told. I reached the edge of the water and stopped. Where was the dock? Had there really been a dock? I checked the other side of the ship. All I saw was water. I gritted my teeth. Surely this wasn't his way to avoid me? Bah, who am I kidding. It probably was! Clever bastard.

It seemed to me that I was going to have to wait for him to get off the ship - if he really was on it. Fine then. If he wanted me to wait, then I will. And when he comes back, I'll give him a piece of my mind.

Half an hour passed, and I was nowhere near giving up on waiting, when he finally arrived. He was on the top deck looking out at the canal, face unfathomable at this distance. I stood up slowly, making sure that I didn't catch his attention and cautiously walked towards the ship, my eyes never leaving his face. When I reached the ship and I was still staring directly at him, I finally spoke.

"I see that your method of making sure workers don't collapse is... Effective sir." He looked down almost immediately as I spoke.

"Mr. Linton! Where have you been? I had been looking all over for you!" I let out a snort. Hah! Looking for me my ass! He would have never bothered with wasting his time by looking for me! He didn't even have a sense of time as of now! His watch was with me! "Get up on the ship at once!" I rolled my eyes before asking how on earth I should.

"There's water everywhere and the ladder is nowhere in sight!" I exclaimed. Oh when I get my hands on him for it all! Mr. Ambrose ended up throwing down a rope and I wanted nothing more to do than to simply scale the ship itself, go over to him and slap the living daylights out of him! But I restrained the urge, grabbed the rope and began climbing. By the time I reached the top of the ship, I was slightly out breath. I tried hiding that and succeeded.

"Where have you been?"

"Away from you."

"I noticed. Come along we have important matters to discuss." He turned on his heel and left. Oh yes. Important matters indeed. I thought viciously, before following him inside the ship.

* * *

I let him do his discussion matters first. I paid half attention to everything, my mind still replaying the things that I'd seen.

"Mr. Linton!" I jumped and looked at him.

"Yes sir?"

"I will not tolerate you zoning off as I discuss important matters with you! Do you understand?" I gritted my teeth and nodded. Just a little while more.. Unless I can ask about it now. Surely what he was talking about wasn't nearly as important? I kept thinking about it and then found that I needn't have to wait anymore. He stopped. "You can leave now." He said and ignored me. But I wasn't going to leave without at least acknowledging the beautiful scenery outside.

"Sir? May I ask you something?"

"You already have. Now stop wasting my time and leave." I snorted.

"How do you have any sense of time, when you don't even have this?" I pulled out his watch and saw him look up and try to snatch the watch away from me. But I was quicker. "Oh no you don't."

"Give me back my watch Mr. Linton."

"No."

"Mr. Linton I order you to hand me back my watch!" He tried grabbing it again but I dangled it away from his reach.

"I will not give you back your watch until you answer my questions!" He glared at me and I glared right back. "Nor am I going to leave." I added and proceeded to wait. It wasn't long though. Mr. Ambrose retracted his arm away from me and busied himself again with his work.

"Hurry up and ask."

"Thank you. First off, what the hell is up with your method for making sure workers don't collapse anymore?"

"Watch your language Mr. Linton. And it is not my method. It is Mr. Collingway's method. That was one of the options he had set out."

"And you were fine with it? You were fine with your labourers getting hurt and scarred for the rest of their lives? What would you have done, had there been any kids, or worse, females?"

"Don't talk rubbish. First off there wouldn't be any fe- children or their mothers there at all. They can't work. They aren't as strong as men." I clenched my fists. Not now Lilly. Don't knock him out. You have more questions to be answered. I unclenched my fists just a little bit.

"Fine. Fine then. Don't care about the welfare of your workers." I said, standing up. I didn't really have anymore questions. I thought I did but I didn't. I started to leave the room and was out the door, and neared the stairs when he called me back.

"I have answered your questions. Am I not supposed to have my watch back?"

"Nope! I lied." I said and dashed up the stairs, letting out one single cackle. I heard a cry from somewhere below but I ignored it and kept running towards my room. By the time I reached it and looked behind me, no one was in sight. I slipped inside my room and shut the door as quietly as possible. I let out a sigh of relief. I'll give him back the watch when I've finished looking at it. Most particularly at the crest.

I bolted the door and pulled out the watch. I turned around and began walking towards my bed when I crashed into something hard. "Ah! Wh-!" I looked up to see Mr. Ambrose standing there, arms crossed over his chest, face impassive yet eyes gleaming. "How did you. I thought. But you'd been." I took a deep breath. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with me, Mr. Linton. Rather, there might be with you."

"There's nothing wrong with me, you crazy man! You're just.. Just... Insane, that's all!"

"My watch." He said holding out a hand.

"No." I said and turned to leave the room but he was quicker.

"I want my watch back. Now!"

"At least won't you let me tell you how I got it?"

"I don't care how you got it. I want it back!" And right then there was a loud cry and many more shouts following it. I turned and ran towards the window, opening it and looking out - but seeing nothing. Slowly, I went back inside and shut the window carefully. "How can you be so cruel?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"I? Cruel? What on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about them!" I shrieked, point at the widow. "You're hurting them, leaving them scarred!"

"And why should you care?"

"Why should I not? There are probably women out there in London, getting abused at this very moment! Probably in the same way!"

"No man would ever dare to touch his betrothed in an abusive manner."

"Not in public, no! You didn't hear what that Lieutenant wanted to do to me!" I shuddered remembering that day. "And it probably might happen to me soon!" I waved my left hand in front of him. "It's simply so cruel."

"Cruel or not, this is reality. Not everything is a fairy tale where everyone is happy and prosperous."

"I never said that everything should be a fairy tale!"

"Well you are certainly treating it like one!"

I opened my mouth to retaliate, but he cut me off.

"Wake up, Mr. Linton." He said, knocking on my head. "You've been living the life of the gentry, where everything is simply just roses and daisies everywhere, with balls and parties and and bedtime stories." He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me towards my bed.

"Bedti-!"

"This is the harsh, cruel world you signed up for, two years ago. I have given you plenty of opportunities to resign and go back to your normal life, but you resisted. You wanted adventure, fun, excitement. Well you got that, but at a price."

"A p-price? Whatever do you...?"

"Your life. That is the price. You are risking it, every moment that you spend with me."

"And you are not?" I retorted, a little breathless.

"I have been living a life like this for years! It is absolutely nothing to me now!" He said in a dangerous voice.

"Oh, so you're saying that your life is worthless?"

"I never..!"

"No, no. That is what your saying!" I tried wrenching myself out of his grip. "You are saying that my life is more precious than yours! You are saying that my life is more worth saving than yours! Well I'll tell you something, Mr. Rikkard Ambrose." I finally freed myself from his grip and grabbed his shoulders. "Your life is much more important than mine! And I will do anything to save it from any harm!"

Silence. My hands remained on his shoulders, brown eyes locked with beautiful sea green ones, breaths steady. Except my heart was racing as if it were running from a demon. Or an angry Mr. Ambrose. Whichever.

Another cry rang out. I cringed, and removed my hands, cut off eyesight. "If only this were to not happen at all."

"Did you not hear what I just told you, Mr. Linton?" He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down onto the bed, since a wall would mean trying to lift me up and I didn't want that at all. He leaned in and I could feel his breath fan my face. My, this position was so uncomfortable! "This is reality. This is the terrifying reality you signed up for, unknowingly, two years ago. Either you take it, or you leave it. Your choice." And with that he got up, snatching his watch in the process, unbolting the door and slamming it shut behind him. His footsteps quieted away until I heard nothing. I let out a shaky breath and rolled over, curling up into a ball.

I realised then that he had not said anything to my assurance to save his life, were there to be any trouble popping up.

What had I been thinking!?

____________________________________________________________________________________

Yes! Ha ha! Another new chapter out! I knew I'd get that brainwave somehow! xD

"Lilly basically just confessed to Rikkard and they should've kissed and gotten married

SO WHY THE HELL HAVEN'T THEY!?"

Well my flawloers, this is my fanfic. Not yours. I'm the author and I can either make them fall in love or not.

Uh. Sort of.

Okay, no probably not a lot. .-.

But speaking of authors, I...

What was I gonna say?

Stop. Wait a minute.

OH YEAH. XD

Right, speaking of authors, I have finished this chapter at a moment where I could stop writing this and forever end it, basically pull a Roald Dahl.

OR

I can continue it in the midst of school and multiple after school activities I have. Additionally, I plan on spending one hour everyday, from 10:00 pm PST to 11:00 pm PST, writing either a full chapter, or part of a chapter. But of course, if I want that to happen, I'm going to have to make sure I finish all my homework and all that other nonsense.

What do you guys think?

I know I shouldn't have written this chapter, but if you did read my authors note left on chapter 19, the previous chapter, then you'll remember that I said that if I get a random brainwave over the weekend, I'll write chapter 20 and publish.

And so I have!

Yes, yes, school is important, but so is my happiness. And school does not always make me happy. Writing always does. (:

So my dear flawloers, I guess I shall determine my fate over the next few days! I have already quit unnecessary and time wasting clubs I might have joined, one was this lame drama club that was simply unprofessionally out of control (it was run by an eighth grader who knew nothing of how to lead a club) and that was all I believe.

(Hate to be rude about that one ^ but it's true. Besides, it's better to be honest than to lie, is it not?)

And well. I guess that's all the news so far! I will try and finish that extra class ASAP so I can have possible double updates on this fanfiction, IF I plan on continuing it.

I wonder how many of you are disappointed with the amount of action Lilly and Rikkard get in ITEOTS. but hey, she has her paycheck now! :D

everything is better with money.

Please, as per usual, leave me comments! COMMENTS COMMENTS COMMENTS, ALL KINDS OF COMMENTS, ANY COMMENTS. RUDE ONES, NICE ONES, RANTY ONES ETC. :DD

I'LL...

See you later! Hopefully soon! xP