//Bree//
It took a moment for Bree to place the feeling which swept through her at Marcus Malberry's response to her answer. It was a mixture of emotions, all churned up into a solid ball which rolled heavily around her innards. There was a healthy dollop of self-loathing in there; plenty of disappointment, and a hearty measure of regret. Somewhere, in Bree's mind, she'd made the mistake of believing in fairy tales. Just for a moment, you understand, but that moment was enough. Somehow, she'd let herself believe that her knight in shining armour would know exactly what she needed, and fix everything for her by magic.
The real world didn't work that way, though. Malberry couldn't have known what she couldn't bring herself to ask, and so he did exactly what she'd told him to.
And, even though he'd done exactly as ordered, Bree was devastated.
She hid her face behind her usual, carefully-cultivated mask. Nothing more would slip through. She was relieved to be getting away from the Wren. An adventure would do her a world of good. It would distract her, and take her away from foolish notions about friendship and togetherness. She'd be reminded of what was really important, and where her priorities truly lay. Malberry had done everything right. He'd done the correct thing. Bree didn't have to like something for it to be right.
She'd learnt that very early on in her life. Even if she hadn't necessarily agreed with it.
Nonetheless, as thoroughly as she'd managed to convince herself, she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She picked up her suitcase again, and gave a curt not.
"That's fair." A team posed no real problem for her. She'd been avoiding teams her entire life. It would be a simple matter to give them the slip if they got too cumbersome. And if it made Malberry feel more secure about things, then so much the better. Bree knew that she didn't really need a team, and in situations where she did, they wouldn't be much use anyway.
"I'll be in touch."
She didn't quite call it after Malberry. She wasn't even sure that he had heard. She waited a while, to be sure that he'd left, before she took off down the halls.
On her own.
//Ty//
"Knights?"
Ty had been staring after his mother, missing her already. Despite appearances, Ty was neither stupid nor a child. He acted innocently and impulsively, but he was not ignorant. His father had made a point of telling Ty, at length, about Ty's ancestral history. Ty had been very young at the time, and hadn't really paid much attention, but enough had sunk in. Enough that, almost without thinking, he muttered, running his fingers through his hair,
"They're the Knights of Fate. Fate's the god there. Or one of them. The main one. The one to do with the Family, at least. She's sent them to bring my mother back, to stand trial."
Ty wished that he didn't know what that meant.
Ty stopped speaking then. He didn't want to speak. His face, usually bright and sunny and boyish, was contemplative and very sad. When Jessica spoke, he'd not registered that she hadn't been listening.
"Good idea," he muttered in response.
Nothing was further from his mind than pear guns at that moment.
Footsteps sounded in the corridor, and Bree burst into the room. She walked in talking, demanding, ordering, but Ty wasn't listening. He crossed the room in three massive strides and gathered his little sister into his arms. Bree was astonished, not to mention horrified, at the impromptu bear hug. She wriggled fiercely until she was released. However, Ty was holding her shoulders, and forced her to look at him.
"We're going to be okay. You know that, right? We've been without her before, and we can do it again. Just the two of us. Like old times. Right?"
Bree nearly wept in that moment, but held herself together long enough to tell her brother, in a strangled voice, what she intended to do.
Needless to say, Ty was entirely unimpressed.
A tremendous row followed. The siblings wheedled, threatened, yelled, stomped, hit, gesticulated and otherwise neared hysterics. The fight was remarkable, and the outcome was uncertain, but eventually, Bree won. She inevitably did. Sullenly, Ty handed his sister his most durable and advanced communication software, with three other types just in case. He looked mutinous.
"I cannot believe that you'd abandon me like this..." he rumbled, not playing at fury.
Bree, in a complete lapse of character, hugged her brother.
"I'm not leaving you," she promised.
"Not for very long. You'll talk to me every day, and I'll be back before you know it. Somebody needs to keep an eye on things around here."
Ty did not look convinced.
Bree smiled sadly, and touched his arm.
"I have to do it, Ty. Don't get into trouble, alright? I can't have your back for a little while. I'll miss you."
And, with that, she turned, grabbed a set of keys from the hook near the door, and left.
Ty watched her go with an expression bordering on despair.
"I'll miss you too," he muttered. Then, out loud, to Jessica, with a wry smile,
"Why do girls have to be so persuasive?"
//Bree//
And so, an hour later, Bree found herself on a road between the rolling fields and undulating hills of the Western Cape. She had a map beside her, and glanced at it frequently. Her first stop was infuriatingly close. She wondered, resentfully, just why her mother had never have time to make the two-hour drive to the vineyard just outside Stellenbosch. It wasn't far at all, and a very influential man held his head of operations there.
She looked up, and despite everything, a fierce little smile began to form on her lips.
Bree did so love an adventure.