#Azalea Willowbirch

[neakco]

TNA - Ch. 3

Ch. 2

This is the last chapter I will be posting online unless there is any interest in it. I love constructive criticism. I probably should have mentioned this earlier but my computer is broken and everything was typed up on my phone.

Chapter 3

Briar and Azalea entered the Godfrey Enterprises Lobby fifteen minutes before their meeting with Theodore and looked around.

"This place sure has a lot of gold and marble." Briar muttered quietly in Russian.

"You would think this was some cash grab of a casino or hotel." Azalea responded in Urdu.

Approaching the reception Azalea continued to speak in Urdu. "We would like to rent a suite please."

Briar had to turn away so he wouldn't laugh and the poor receptionist's expression.

"I am sorry, but would you be able to repeat that in English?"

Azalea kept her face remarkably straight. "Apologies. We have a meeting with the COO."

The man sighed in relief that she spoke English, "May I please get your names?"

Azalea answered since Briar had barely managed to stop silently laughing. "Briar and Azalea Willowbirch."

The man typed their names into the system before his face paled and his hands began to shake. He slowly looked up at them with false cheerfulness, "I am terribly sorry but you are both banned from the building and I must ask you to leave."

"No worries. Do you mind if we stay just inside the doors as I call our ride?" Azalea smiled brightly but Briar caught the glint of steel in her eyes.

The receptionist visibly relaxed, "Please go ahead."

Briar switched into combining multiple languages once they were close enough to the door, "You would think we were the worst of murderers. So what is our plan?"

"I am going to call our ride." She answered as she pulled out her phone. She then switched over to English for the conversation. "No, I promise we are not running late. In the lobby actually. Apparently we are banned entrance."

Briar heard the sigh.

"We were graciously allowed to stay here while calling for a ride. Though we are now being glanced at suspiciously."

Briar heard a ding and looked towards the opening elevator doors. He grinned as he watched Theo step out and hang up his phone.

"Ms. Willowbirch, I am happy to see you made it. Please grant me a moment to resolve this issue before we head up to my office." He then walked up behind reception and looked over the screen.

Azalea just grinned as she put away her own phone.

"Some ride you called us." Briar smirked.

"I think an elevator ride is still technically a ride, no?" She laughed as the strolled towards the desk.

They were close enough now to hear Theo's quiet conversation with the receptionist.

"You are new so please don't worry about it. Just now you know to check next time."

"Yes sir. Sorry sir."

Theo joined them near the elevator and swiped his badge to call it.

Once the door closed Theo relaxed,

"Apparently you two are highly dangerous and top security is to be called at any sign of you being uncooperative."

"Your father?" Briar asked.

"Just be thankful for the board ruling that he isn't allowed to make any company decisions after an event." The elevator began to slow and Theo again stood straighter, "Follow me and try not to stop."

The twins shared a look but followed silently. They quickly understood as various strong perfumes assailed their senses. A fast look around showed them multiple women wearing heavy masks of makeup and all positioning themselves within Theo's sights. Some seemed enthusiastic in their attempts to garner attention while others seemed like they would rather be doing anything else.

They were almost at their apparent destination when a women physically blocked their path to the door.

"Coffee for your meeting." She fluttered her very long and clearly false lashes.

Azalea blinked slowly, while others wore masks of makeup this women's face appeared to be sculpted of it. She switched to a mix of French and Spanish, "Brother, did we enter a horror cinematic?"

Theo accepted the tray of drinks and ushered them through the door before closing it hastily. "Sadly not a horror, just my life." He then stopped Briar from grabbing one of the drinks. "That women likes to lace things with aphrodisiacs."

Rob laughed from his seat on a side couch near the desk. "Is that the one that tried to feed you bright blue Viagra cookies and claimed they were blueberry?"

Theo sighed wearily as he collapsed in his chair, "That is the one. She just needs one more instance of time fraud and I can finally fire her."

The twins shared a look of concern before taking seats in front of the desk.

"Why can't you just fire her for harassment?" Briar asked with a suppressed shudder.

Rob answered from the couch, "Father's policy, Theo can't fire anyone that father directly hired unless they have 3 non-HR infractions of the same type."

"That isn't fair!" Azalea looked furious and was slipping into an unrecognizable accent, "How did the board allow that?"

"Father has the same restrictions on anyone I hire." Theo passed over a folder, "But you are here to talk business, not hear my problems. I managed to locate your parents arrival to Lattuck after I received your message last night with the date and time your parents initially boarded their train."

Azalea and Briar carefully studied the images as Rob stood up and pointed one out.

"Cameras lost 'em there at Bismark St. Tried to get the cab transcripts but they only uselessly keep those for two months."

"This is more than enough, thank you both greatly." Briar stated as he pulled up a map on his phone and started to marking locations.

Azalea looked at the brothers with a little suspicion, "How did you get this all done in one night?"

Rob grinned, "I stayed up a little late but Theo here came to work at 3 am."

Briar stopped what he was doing and both twins glared slightly at the brothers.

"Trust me you two, it was work on this or spend more time at Godfrey Mansion. We both jumped on the excuse to leave."

"The more I learn about Mr. Godfrey the more I contemplate trace less poisons." Azalea muttered into Briar's shoulder.

"Wait until we locate our own parents before you cause other people's to disappear. I refuse to finish this without you."

Theo chose to ignore the comments, "I am sorry we couldn't find anything more."

Briar laughed, "Are you kidding? We are used to following tattered wisps of month old gossip. This is a great lead."

Rob sat back on the couch, "So why didn't you two just hire a detective? Surely you can afford it."

"There are more than a few reasons but two main ones." Azalea started.

"The first is that our grandfather taught us it is wrong to spend our money for purely selfish reasons. For everything we spend we match it with a doubled donation to charities when we can. It is surprising a lot cheaper to travel and accommodate ourselves compared to hiring a detective." Briar stated.

"And the second is that there were no detectives that took our 16 year old selves seriously enough. Those that did try to humour us were very untrustworthy." Azalea finished.

Rob nodded but before he could respond there was a knock on the door and Roisin entered.

"I know I came in early today Mr. Sapphirus, but I gathered the employee pay statements for you."

"Thank you Ms. Ballantyne. If you wish you can compare them to the time statements online and look for inconsistencies, or you can choose to help the admin staff with their tasks."

Her eyes widened in fright, "I shall work on the comparisons." She smiled briefly at Briar before leaving to return to her tasks.

Rob looked at the door confused, "Shouldn't she be in here working with you?"

"Yes but that requires a desk, and even though I have the space for it I was informed that I am not allowed to move the secretary's desk she is now using in here." Theo let out a growl of frustration, "She apparently has her own desk arriving later today and under no instance shall I bring that one in because it will soon be in use again."

"I may not be an expert, but why does the news of help make you look like you would welcome death?" Azalea asked as Briar began packing away the photos in a small bag.

"Because Father is just going to hire another useless secretary." He sighed.

Rob chose to elaborate for her, "Father got the stupid idea in his head that if he hires enough women that eventually one will seduce Theo here."

Briar looked up rapidly, "What? Why?"

"A few reasons; he wants Theo to work less and figures if he is distracted then he can probably slip some more selfish policies in. He also wants Theo to provide an heir to our family legacy. I don't like women so I am useless to him."

"But adoption is a thing. He adopted both of you." Azalea looked offended.

"True, but he can't have kids. Plus i am sure he adopted Theo because I was such a disappointment.  He would probably disown me if the media wouldn't have a field day."

Theo was face down on the desk and mumbled out, "I just wish father could understand that the restrictions he has placed on those women in their contracts causes me more work instead of less. I spend hours after everyone else has left just doing their jobs." Theo lifted his head to look at Rob, "and I don't care what Father says, you are the best older brother I could ask for."

Rob started to jokingly tear up, "Awww, you are adorable little bro, I love you too."

Azalea looked thoughtful and spoke without thinking, "Why do you not just hire your own secretary?"

She jumped as Theo suddenly leapt up and grabbed her hands, "Please say you want a job!"

Azalea looked towards her giggling twin then back towards Theo's hope-filled eyes. "I wasn't, but I have never been a secretary before. What would the job entail?"

Theo let go of her hands and sat back down to start typing, "You are the perfect fit. I saw first hand that you are skilled at data entry, You have told me before that you helped with your family’s own company when you could, you can be polite to the point that you could probably insult someone and they would thank you. Plus I feel I can trust you not to gossip about company secrets." He grinned as he handed her the contract he just printed off. "And the best part is that hiring you would annoy my father and he can't do anything about it."

Azalea looked up from the paperwork, "Administrative Assistant / Bodyguard?"

"Brilliant right?" Theo grinned, "You would be in charge of the entire Administrations Department, thus granting you access to the whole company’s files. Then by doubling as my bodyguard I get to take you to all my off-site meetings with high-end clients and contacts."

"You are granting me opportunities to find my parents while assisting you?" She looked a little stunned.

"Yes and if you look here," Theo came to her side of the desk to point some things out.

Rob took the opportunity to tap Briar on the shoulder, "While Petal is getting an offer I have one for you."

Briar looked at Rob curiously, "What kind?"

He pulled out a business card, "I own and run Umbra Security. I am need of an eye in the sky. Someone I can trust to run cameras and comms for me and my crew."

"I feel special, but you only met me last night. Why trust me?"

Rob pulled Briar over to the couch and sat him down. "I didn't last night, thought you were pulling a long game. So I did a bit of digging and found your family over in Germany. Your story checked out. The main reason though is that the job will give you access to all the public cams in town and some private ones when we got a special job. A handful of cash won't be enough to bribe you to look away and potentially lose that access."

Briar looked carefully at Rob's face, "Do you seriously not have anyone on cameras already? I refuse to put anyone out of a job just for a golden egg."

Rob took a moment to puzzle out Briar's meaning. "Just another reason you are trustworthy. Now normally I run 'em but sometimes I need to watch my crew around higher paying jobs. Last night could 'ave been avoided if I had an eye. Sometimes I get my man on cams but he is a twig and couldn't win a fight with a kitten." Rob's look grew more serious. "It is rare but sometimes thugs go after the cams. I know that I won't have to worry about anyone getting the drop on you."

"I will take the job on two conditions." Briar held up a finger, "I refuse to use a gun." He held up a second, "I am allowed to upgrade or change the room's security and equipment to suit me."

"What kind of changes?"

"Currently I am only thinking adding a pin pad and hand scanner combo that only looks like it will unlock the door." Briar grinned, "I will probably think of more things once I see the space."

"A red herring." Rob muttered before exclaiming, "I approve." He then held out his hand to shake, "All I ask is that you don't install anything deadly."

Briar shook, "You have a deal Mr. Umbra."

"Excellent, I can start you with Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Tonight can be the first shift if you want."

"Sounds good to me, where am I going?"

"It's a little hard to find, so tell me your address and I will swing by before 1900 to lead ya."

"Tranquil Estate." Briar laughed as Rob's eyes widened, "I know I know, my grandfather has the good taste not to name his properties after himself."

Rob laughed with him, "At least one business tycoon in the world does."

Briar looked over to see Azalea trying to fit a large bundle of papers into her bag.

Theo spotted his questioning look and explained, "Welcome package. It has everything she needs in order to annoy my father by following all the rules to a tee. It also includes her own badge so she doesn't need me to call the elevator."

Azalea stood up after succeeding in making everything fit. "If that is everything then I believe I shall go prepare for the battle to make your tower more bearable princess."

"Just don't stab any of the guards, they are prisoners too." Theo spoke through barely restrained laughter.

"No promises." Azalea waved, "See you tomorrow Theo."

Rob left first followed by Azalea and Briar. The latter leaned on his twin and whispered in Italian, " Grandfather would approve."

She chose not to respond verbally and instead shoved him off and went to wait for the elevator with Rob.

Briar chose that brief moment to greet Roisin and see if she would be free that Thursday.

Azalea waved him over when the doors opened and he rushed over with a large grin.

Azalea shook her head, "Come on Romeo, straighten your head back on, we have work to do."

And that is it. This honestly started as a maribat fanfic with Briar as Adrien and  Azalea as Marinette. Rob was Jason and Theodore was Tim. Since I made it into an original I changed a lot of personalities and background characters. All because I wanted to twist the fake dating idea completely. Somehow it turned into a commentary on stereotypes and how it is okay to just be how you are. This covers gender stereotypes and relationship stereotypes. My favourite chapters I have written so far are chapter 7 because I have never written anything like it before and chapters 11 to 14 because they are the serious ones that made me decide to turn this into an original. So again, if you want to see more let me know, if I don’t hear anything you will just have to wait the ten plus years it takes me to get this published.

[neakco]

TNA - Ch. 2

Ch.1 Ch.3

Warning for mild violence near the end.

Chapter 2

Azalea watched Julian be escorted out and smiled to herself, Theodore Sapphirus was going to be a great friend. Her eyes widened slightly and she turned to her brother and spoke in a mesh of French and Italian, "Briar, what do friends do with each other?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." He replied in his own mix of languages as he maneuvered them towards the back of the room. "Talk about common interests maybe. I mean people that like cards play card games together, maybe you participate in activities you both enjoy."

Azalea looked thoughtful, "Do you think he would enjoy robotics or programming?"

"I think you should ask him that. You have known him longer." Briar leaned against a wall to observe the room.

"I know he likes puzzles and mind teasers. Mostly we discussed other people and our observations of them." She grinned, "Maybe people watching is a good friend activity."

Briar stiffened suddenly and Azalea's gaze followed his to see a petite women wearing a soft pink gown cowering away from a man in a stiff suit cornering her against a wall.

She sighed, "Go save her. I will be fine here."

She watched him go play the hero with a fond grin. Hopefully he doesn't hurt Stiff Suit.

She jumped and her hand twitched towards a weapon as a voice spoke beside her. "Awful nice of you to let your man go save her."

Azalea analyzed the taller man quickly. While he was wearing an expensive suit his vest appeared to be heavy duty and possibly bullet proof. The man's suit was also too loose to be fashionable, he probably carried weapons. His eyes were sharp and observant so she let her eyes linger on his vest as she asked, "Expecting trouble?"

His posture relaxed a bit, Azalea guessed that he had deemed that she wasn't a threat to him. "Am I expecting trouble in Lattuck? Always." He bowed extravagantly, "Robert Umbra at your service Miss..."

"Azalea Willowbirch. To what do I owe the honor?"

Robert gestured towards where Briar was now obviously flirting with the petite women he rescued. "Was planning to intervene but my job was done for me. It seemed to me that keeping a pretty petal like you company while your man flirts was the least I could do."

Azalea had to stifle her laugh, "My brother is quite free to flirt if he wishes. Though I feel I must tell you that I am nothing as delicate as a petal Mr. Umbra."

"Never said you were delicate Petal. In fact I know of some fairly deadly petals." He smiled companionably. "Now please call me Rob, or Robert. I am no one near important enough to be addressed so formally."

Azalea seemingly relaxed against the wall in order to keep an eye on her new companion while still being able to survey the venue. "So how did someone as unimportant as you say not only get into this event but also afford a suit of that quality?"

Robert looked at her a little quizzically but smiled, "Boring story, my adoptive family is really high end. My father is hoping that I will grow out of my enjoyment and grunt work though if he keeps having me attend these things." His smile turned a little more dangerous, "Since I answered your question Petal you want to tell me how security at the gate didn't find your weapons?"

Azalea grinned, she enjoyed these types of conversations. It was one of her favourite games to play, figuring out how much to tell him without giving away everything. "I am quite impressed that you could tell Robert, I am guessing it was the twitch when you first approached that gave me away." At the look he gave her she smiled and continued, "Knives made to look like ribs. I use them to hide the bullet proofing in my dress. They are not the most effective but you yourself said that this is Lattuck."

Robert's eyes filled with wonder. "Seriously Petal? Can I get the name of your tailor? I need one of these if only to bet my guys at work that I can kick their asses while wearing a dress."

Azalea couldn't stifle her laugh this time and she earned some glares from some young women lurking nearby. "I do not see why not." She opened the smallest ever pocket near the top of her skirts and pulled out a business card, "It will not be inexpensive."

"The money shouldn't be a problem. Thanks Petal." He looked to the nearby lurkers before stepping from the wall and bowing exaggeratedly. "Care to dance?"

She frowned, "but we were having such a nice conversation."

"Nothing romantic Petal, you aren't my type." He grinned and held out a hand, "Honestly my boyfriend is out of town right now and those ladies are starting to look like they want to eat me."

Smiling she accepted his hand, "Looks like I get to rescue all the strong lads from tedium this evening."

Robert started to lead in her in a complex waltz, "So Petal, how well can you use those weird knives of yours?"

"Well enough to keep me alive. Possibly enough to work as a bodyguard if I chose. I have survived some fairly hostile places." She smiled as she allowed him to twirl her.

He started to ask her about different weapons and fighting techniques that they both knew as they danced. It wasn't hard for her to see he was passionate about it even if he did like guns more than knives.

The song was just coming to an end when Azalea saw a hand tap on Robert's shoulder. "May I cut in?"

Robert turned to look and revealed Theodore, "That is up to Petal here little brother."

Azalea smiled up at Theodore, "He is my friend Robert. I would be happy to share a dance with him."

Robert bowed and gracefully passed her over, "Then I shall go introduce myself to your brother and the lovely flower he rescued."

Taking Theodore's hand she grinned, "Got tired of talking business with board members?"

He flushed lightly as he pulled her in close to dance, "A little, mostly I wanted to spend more time with you. I vastly enjoy your company over theirs."

She laughed lightly as she watched her brother pull both Robert and the girl to dance with him. Seeing her brother reminded her of a question she had, "So what do you do in your spare time for fun?"

He didn't seem to realize that they were slowly dancing closer together as he thought about her question. "In the free time I do manage to find I like to solve puzzles as I think I have mentioned to you before. Though sometimes my friends take me clubbing. It isn’t really something I do for fun though."

"Why not?" Azalea was confused, she loved dancing, "You seem to be enjoying dancing right now."

"I don't like dancing with strangers. It is uncomfortable having people in my space."

Her face fell slightly, "Oh, is this bothering you? We can stop if you wish, i don't want to make you uncomfortable."

Theodore tightened his grip on her waist to keep her from moving away, "You're not a stranger to me Azalea, we have known each other for months now. You're my friend and I trust you enough to know you won't kill me in front of this many witnesses."

"I like you too much to kill you," Azalea laughed as she leaned in and rested her head against him, "Next time your friends drag you out invite me along, I can dance with you so you don't have to worry about strangers."

Theodore's face was slowly getting redder but Azalea didn't notice.

She continued, "You could always just dance by yourself too. That is what I usually do when I go out."

Theodore did his best to collect himself, "That could be fun, I think I would enjoy that."

"I will give you my number after a few more songs."

The moment they were done dancing Azalea grabbed his hand and skillfully led them around people until they reached the refreshments and both of their brothers.

"Briar I need my phone please."

He threw it at her and she caught it without batting an eye. She opened up her contacts and handed it over to Theodore.

As he entered his contact information Briar took the time to introduce his new friend.

"Azalea this is Roisin Ballantyne. Roisin this is my twin Azalea and her friend Theodore."

Azalea carefully lifted her skirt in a graceful curtsy, "It is a pleasure Ms. Ballantyne."

Briar smiled, "Roisin is interning under Godfrey Enterprises COO to better learn how to help out at her father's company back in France."

Azalea noticed her brother's use of the women's first name but decided to address that later and instead smiled at Roisin. "That is quite an impressive position, how long is the internship?"

"It is only for a few months while my father is here for business." Roisin smiled sweetly, "What is it you are in town for Azalea? Briar only mentioned that it had to do with your family business."

As she accepted her phone back from Theodore she glanced discreetly at her brother who shrugged. "It is just some minor things in need if clearing up. We had hoped they would have been resolved quickly but I believe we may be here for some months still."

"Oh that is such a shame." Roisin looked at her own phone as it vibrated. "I do have to go now, but it was lovely meeting you. Au revoir " She waved and then gave Briar a kiss on the cheek before disappearing through the crowd.

Azalea looked at her brother with narrowed eyes before hissing in Greek, "Family business?"

"I had to tell her something." He returned in a mix of Greek and Russian. "I didn't want to lie to her. She is sweet and I asked her to be my girlfriend."

Azalea started to mutter to herself in a mix of Spanish, Italian and Greek about her brother's stupid romantic tendencies.

Theodore cleared his throat, "Do you always mutter about romance in a plethora of languages?"

"Oh I'm sorry, I temporarily forgot it wasn't just my brother and I "

Theo handed her a glass of punch, "I didn't realize how many languages you both know."

Briar took a sip from his own drink, "We learned French and English to help with Grandfather's business. The rest we picked up as we traveled. In some places we had to learn quite fast and it almost gets easier the more languages you know."

"It almost takes more effort to stick to one language now. Thankfully English was the 3rd language we learned so it is a bit easier." Azalea added.

Rob suddenly paled and quickly shoved a tiny earpiece into Theodore's hands which caused the twins to realize he had been wearing one the whole time that they hadn't noticed.

"Some trouble near the front doors, could be nothing but I'm going to check it out." He pulled out a gun and Azalea smiled to herself, she knew he had weapons on him.

Before he ran he looked back at Azalea and Briar, "Stick together and stay safe. Theo can hear me and I know you two can defend yourselves." He didn't wait for an answer as ran to the front.

"How worried should we be?" Azalea asked Theodore as Briar vanished into a shadowed alcove.

"Rob likely has things handled." Theo maneuvered them to the wall side of the refreshment table. "The staff here are trained for situations as well." He lightly gestured towards some of the staff in the distance. "They are slowly evacuating guests through side passages in a way that doesn't incite panic. Since we are near the back of the hall we will be some of the last to be evacuated."

Azalea nodded but also made sure that her knives wouldn't get stuck on any folds in the fabric. "You really don't seem concerned."

Theodore smiled, "That is because I am not. Someone desperate always tries to crash these larger events."

Only them and seven other guests were left in the hall when a voice rang out near them, "Looks like our distraction out front paid off boys." The man pointed a gun at them, "We seem to have ourselves a Godfrey heir."

Azalea scanned the room and saw 2 other men with guns rounding up everyone else in the room. She made sure not to look towards her brother's hiding spot and slowly walked around the table with Theodore. Seemed like they were hostages.

Apparently the man pointing his gun at them was in charge since the other two thugs forced their hostages to group up with them.

The men tossed ropes at the hostages and made them help tie each other's hands.

Theodore leaned in as he was forced to tie her hands, "Rob is on it. Don't worry."

Azalea just hummed in response as they were then all forced to sit on the ground. She did so with her skirts laying at weird angles.

"Now that everyone is all nice and comfy how abouts you tell us where the auction items are being held." The man in charge sneered at Theodore.

"I can try and guess but I really don't know." Theodore made himself look meek and scared but sitting so close to him it was easy for Azalea to tell he wasn't.

The thug aimed his revolver towards Theodore's face. "Let’s try this again." The man slowly growled out every word. "Where is the loot?"

"I don't know." Theodore sat straight, he really didn't think these guys would shoot him.

"Wrong answer."

Azalea launched herself into the bullet's trajectory. It hit her in the side with the crack of bones and the force left her winded enough that she didn't react as man lifted her up.

He was furious with her. "You blocked my shot!"

Her voice was breathy and barely a whisper, "Better me." Internally she swore, who knew that bullets at close range hit so hard.

The thug threw her at the goon farthest from the wall, "Dispose of the whore before she starts to bleed out."

Theodore sat in shock. Azalea just sacrificed her life to save his. Why? He thought that the man was talking to him but he couldn't register any of the words. The most amazing women he had ever met just sacrificed herself, for him, he had only just started getting to know her.

A sharp whistle broke through his shock and he blinked slowly as the goon closest to them suddenly collapsed to reveal a grinning Briar. Goon two collapsed almost instantly after as Azalea's foot hit him hard in the face.

Theodore felt like he watched in slow motion as the main thug turned to shoot at Briar only to drop the gun as a weirdly shaped ivory knife embedded itself in his hand. Theo blinked again and Briar was suddenly right in front of him and knocking the man out with the hilt of a large dagger.

Azalea was then kneeling in front of Theodore and snapping her fingers. "You okay?"

He looked around and saw Briar untying the other hostages. "Yes I'm..." he paused. "Am I alright!? Az you just took a bullet for me! Are you alright?"

She laughed and used another thin and oddly curved blade to slice through his restraints. "There will probably be a bit of bruising and one of my knives broke, but I am mostly uninjured."

As soon as Theo's hands were free he reached up to feel where the bullet had impacted her and ended up finding a flattened bullet. "How?"

She grinned as she helped him stand, "This is Lattuck, I just dressed appropriately."

Briar approached, "If you are done flirting can you inform Rob that we have three unconscious and restrained men near the refreshment table."

Theo blushed a deep red and Azalea could hear laughter coming from the earpiece. "I think he heard you brother."

When Robert finally managed to find his way to them he wasn't sure if he should believe his eyes. Petal was showing a pale older man how to disarm a mugger as two others sat nearby watching intently, Thorn appeared to be talking down three panicked people, one of which was a large man that looked like he could snap even him in half, and his younger brother appeared to be tolerating some women falsely wailing like a banshee. His brother also kept sneaking glances at Petal, it was nice to see him with a crush for once.

Rob then looked around again and spotted three men all tied with sturdy rope, one also appeared to have extensive bandages wrapped around one of his hands. On the refreshment table next to them he also spotted three guns, all had been unloaded and slightly dismantled.

"Is everyone here okay?"

There were a couple yeses and a few nods.

Petal actually walked up to him and gestured towards her twin. "Those three appear to be in shock and probably need a qualified person to take a look." She then pointed and the man with a bandaged hand. "He also needs to be looked at. I may have embedded a knife in his hand when he tried to shoot and I didn't think it wise to leave the knife with him. I did what i could to bind the wound with pressure though."

Rob motioned for some of the security officers to take control then looked back at her. "Where did you find bandages?"

He watched as Petal smirked then reached down to one of the folds in her skirts, it came apart with the sound of magnets as it opened to reveal a compartment holding medical supplies and.....wait

"Is that what it looks like?"

"Depends what you think it looks like." Azalea grinned as she unstrapped the sword and handed it him.

Her held it gingerly as he examined it, "Petal, this is Japanese steel."

Briar laughed as he and Theo came over. "If you think that is impressive you should see some of the others we have back at home."

"Rob give Az back the sword, I can see Father headed this way." Theo whispered out harshly as he stood straighter and stepped slightly in front of Azalea.

"Shit, I would have thought he was long gone after all this." Rob handed back the sword before turning around and helping Theo block Azalea from sight so she could successfully re hide the weapon.

Both men seemed to become cold and emotionless as they greeted their father.

"Boys." The man was taller then them and mildly intimidating, he had a look that said he got whatever he wanted when he wants it.

"Father." They answered in unison.

"I trust everything has been handled."

"Yes sir." They again spoke at the same time.

The man then looked sharply towards Briar. "Who is this?"

Theodore stepped to the side to reveal Azalea. "Briar and Azalea Willowbirch father. They saved my life."

"So they are dangerous."

"No they..." Theodore trailed off at his father's glare.

"Clean up and post the items online. I expect you both back at home tonight."

"Yes father." Both men lowered their heads as the man walked swiftly away.

"Is he always so pleasant?" Briar asked with a smirk once the man himself was out of sight.

"No, usually he is worse." Rob grinned in return.

"To be fair we can be dangerous when cornered." Azalea laughed.

"So what needs to be done anyways" Briar asked. "We can help."

Rob pulled a checklist out of an inner pocket and showed it to Briar. "Mostly just making sure all the guests and staff are accounted for."

"Sounds easy enough. Theo, can you pass me your earpiece? It will be faster if we split up." As soon as he had the small communicator he headed through the staff door into the kitchens.

Rob shrugged and headed off through a different door.

"Guess that leaves me helping you." Azalea grinned, "Just point me towards a computer and tell me what I need to enter."

"You already helped me a lot tonight Az. You really don't need to help more." Theo argued slightly while walking towards the hall they had talked in earlier.

She followed behind skipping, "Do you expect me to do nothing while waiting for my brother?"

"Of course I don't."

"Ah, so I am to make my way home alone?" Her grin behind his back was filled with mischief.

"What? No. I..." he turned to look at her, "You are teasing me."

"Just a bit." She laughed. She then tilted her head in curiosity as Theo opened what was obviously a storage closet.

He grinned at her expression and took out his phone, "Welcome to the storage room." He then dramatically pushed a button on his phone and the back wall started to move.

"You sly fox." Her eyes were wide, "this is so neat."

Theo only grinned as he closed the door behind them and walked over to a desk.

He offered the chair to her as he leaned down and logged into the auction site. That done he grabbed a camera out of a drawer. "The starting auction prices are all listed in this section of the site, all we have to do is activate the links and make sure they all have photos."

"Easy enough." Azalea's fingers began to fly over the keys, "That weird ugly statue to your right needs some photos."

Theodore couldn't help but think that for once this chore could be fun.

[neakco]

Truths of the New Atypical

This is an original wip that I started, The base plot is of two twins that are searching for their parents. The background plot is that it is okay to be who you are no matter what that may entail. I plan to post the first 3 chapters, if people enjoy it I may post more.

Ch. 2

Azalea looked around and adjusted her hair before taking Briar's arm.

"For the record I would like to state that I am not comfortable being your date to this." He whispered quietly in Italian.

She smiled to the crowds they passed as they entered the large hall before answering in the same language. "You are not my date you are my escort. It isn’t like I could turn down the invite. We are so close; this event could hand us the key."

Briar sighed, "How did you even get an invite to the Godfrey charity ball? We have only been in this godforsaken crime ridden American city for 3 months."

Azalea took in the beautiful decor. "I don't know. I am positive all my charitable donations were anonymous." She suddenly stiffened as she heard someone approach from behind them.

"There you are Azalea. I have been looking everywhere for you my flower."

Briar cursed quietly in Arabic before they turned around with polite masks in place.

Azalea's glare slipped out briefly, "Mr. Booth, I do not recall giving you permission to address me so familiarly."

The man was unfazed and tried to reach for her hand. "I told you to call me Julian."

She swiftly placed her free hand on Briar's arm. "Mr. Booth, this is Briar. He is the other half of my soul and my escort this evening."

Julian glared at Briar's proximity to Azalea, "You don't look like all that much to me."

Before either could retaliate a fourth voice broke into the conversation. "Ms. Willowbirch, I am glad to see you made it." The new man then turned to Julian Booth, "I really hate to interrupt but I have some business to discuss with Ms. Willowbirch and her escort this evening."

Azalea smiled brightly at the man as he led them towards a side hallway. "It is good to see you Mr. Sapphirus."

"It is always a pleasure Ms. Willowbirch." He opened a door and waited for it to close behind them all before offering his hand to Briar. "Theodore Sapphirus, I first met Ms. Willowbirch at a charity event 3 months back and subsequently at many since."

He shook the offered hand, "Briar Willowbirch, Azalea's twin."

Azalea laughed softly, "Introducing yourself like that defeats the purpose of being my fake date brother."

He just grinned in response, "I agreed to keep annoyances away, not to lie."

"I promise not to tell." Theodore smiled and gestured to some comfortable looking seats. "I am really happy you came tonight, seeing you has given me a welcome reprieve from talking to tedious businessmen."

Azalea laughed and adjusted her dress very carefully as she sat. "I won't complain, I have always enjoyed your company at other events."

Briar leaned forward in his seat, "Just what is it you do, Mr. Sapphirus, to be hounded by businessmen on top of attending multitudes of charity events?"

Theodore looked surprised, "You don't know? That is surprisingly refreshing." He relaxed slightly, "I am COO of Godfrey Enterprises. Though admittedly my adoptive father rarely shows for work so I find myself doing the job of the CEO as well."

"That explains how I got the invite." Azalea smiled warmly.

"You donated a total of 500 million dollars without taking any credit Ms. Willowbirch. The least I could do was send you an invite."

"Please call me Azalea, after three months we know each other well enough."

"Only if you return the favour and call me Theodore." He smiled with a hint of a challenge.

"All friends." Briar grinned before turning to Azalea and speaking in Arabic, "Think he could be our key?"

Her eyes lit up, "Theodore, would we be able to set up a meeting with you at the earliest convenience?"

He pulled out a phone, "It looks like tomorrow morning is free. May I ask what business you need to discuss?"

It is Briar that answers, "Godfrey Security runs the surveillance in and out of the city. Four months back a rich couple took a train into Lattuck and vanished." He leaned back and ran a hand through his hair. "We have been tracking them for near ten years now but in the last three months we have found no new leads."

Theodore looked them over suspiciously, "Why do you think I can help? And if I can, why should I?"

Azalea sighed and pulled a photo out of Briar's wallet then handed it to Theodore. "They are our parents. They stole a large chunk of money from our grandfather's company. All we need to know is the direction they went after arriving. We are willing to pay for the help. We don't expect this help for free."

Theodore looked shocked, "Ten years? You two are around my age."

"We graduated really early" Briar shrugged, "Plus our parents have been traveling all over the world, no one government has jurisdiction or care to find them and Grandfather is too old. It had to be us."

"You can keep the picture if it will help."  

Azalea smiled bright even though her hands were tightly clenched. The twins hadn't once in their hunt ever trusted anyone to help them. Or at least not trusted anyone as a true ally that knew the actual story.

"I can't make any promises, but I will see what I can find. It is possible that my brother, Robert, will be able to help more. I can have him meet with us tomorrow unless you have objections to that." Theodore frowned slightly as he tucked the photo into his own wallet. This was Lattuck, he knew the odds.

Azalea was beaming now, "Thank you so much Theodore, you have no idea how much this means to us."

Briar grinned, "Don't look so grim, our parents obviously chose to come to Lattuck." His look turned slightly solemn, "Even finding them dead would be a blessing at this point. We honestly just want to have a stable and stationary life again."

Azalea's own grin turned slightly chaotic, "The things we have done for survival would cause most at this event to faint."

"Yet you think I won't?" Theo raised one eyebrow.

The twins laughed and spoke in unison, "You are 26 and CEO in all but name."

Briar continued, "You are intelligent and likely review all the security."

"This is Lattuck, you will have seen things just as bad as we have." Azalea finished.

Theo nodded, "That is a very fair assessment. So is 7am a good time for you tomorrow?"

They had just started to discuss hobbies and Briar was describing his flower gardens when there was a knock on the door and a staff member entered. "I am sorry to disturb you Mr. Sapphirus but several members of the board are looking for you."

Theodore reluctantly stood, "This was pleasant while it lasted. Feel free to stay here a little longer, and I hope to talk to you both again later tonight."

"I would be happy to save you again." Azalea laughed as she stood to curtsy slightly.

As Theodore left, he saw the man from before lurking near the hall entrance. The man was telling off a member of the staff.

"I told you before that I am just waiting for my girlfriend. As soon as she is done, I will stop loitering."

Theo sighed and stopped to turn to the man escorting him, "I believe I can find my own way if you could do me the favour of getting security to escort that man over there out. He has been harassing one of our female guests with his delusions. Feel free to tell him his ticket will be refunded if he leaves quietly."

The man escorting him smiled and bowed quietly before leaving.

Theodore smiled as he heard the man try to argue with security behind him, hopefully that would help improve the twins' night.