Dark Tides

Emily had gone missing for the next two days. To Percy, at least. He'd check in on her after he was done working, only to find that her room was dark and there was no sign of movement inside. He didn't start to worry until the second night, when even throwing pebbles didn't catch her attention. Clearly, she wasn't there. Or she was avoiding him. He feared that, too. He constantly raked his brain to go back and see if he'd done something to insult her in some way, though he couldn't think of anything. It couldn't have been his shabby lifestyle. No matter what Percy thought, he knew that Emily was far above judging him based on the money his family has.

The third night, he was relieved to find the room window light again. She was much slower in doing so, but Emily came out when she heard the pebbles on her window. She peeked out cautiously, like she was nervous about who she'd see, but sighed in relief when she was that it was just Percy and gestured for him to climb up. He frowned at the odd reaction, quietly climbing up. Normally, Emily looked far more lively. He had only become slightly more graceful in climbing over the balcony railing, still stumbling slightly.

"Where have you been?" he asked as Emily helped steady him.

"I've been here, where I've always been," she shrugged, turning to sit in a chair.

Percy followed her, but he didn't sit. He eyed her suspiciously, standing over her as she tried not to look at him. Or rather, hide her face, he realized. He reached over to tilt her chin up and turn her head, frowning when he saw the marks on the side of her face. She seemed sad and embarrassed about them too, and obviously, that's what she'd been trying to hide.

"Who hit you?" Percy asked.

"No one, I fell," Emily lied. "I fell and my face hit the corner of the bed."

"Who hit you?" Percy asked once more, this time locking eyes with Emily so she couldn't turn away.

"No one," she argued.

"I think I know what it looks like when a man hits a woman," Percy told her, kneeling down on the floor in front of her chair. "Who was it?"

Emily looked down at her feet, just shrugging weakly.

"It was Harrington, wasn't it?" Percy asked, feeling the anger bubble up inside him. "He wasn't happy when he woke up, so he came after you. That's why you've been hiding, isn't it?"

"I haven't been hiding," she said. "My room is just far away from everyone else. I just wanted to be a little closer to my father, that's all."

"In case he comes for you again," Percy concluded.

Emily said nothing, but her sad eyes answered for her. Percy had a long streak of staying out of fights, or anything of the sort, since the moment he stepped off the Silver Spirit. It had been incredibly difficult, since all of his problems had been solved with mild to heavy violence before, but he wasn't sure he could stay that meek and quiet any longer. He wasn't a particularly gentle person, after all.

Emily frowned as he stood up, running a hand through his hair as he thought for a moment. He wasn't going to stay quiet this time. He glanced over at Emily, looking at the mark on her face again. He didn't want her to stay quiet, either. If he knew anything about her, he was sure that she was no delicate flower. Not anymore.

"I'll be back in an hour or so," he told her. "Wear something you can move in, and be ready to come down when I return."

Emily followed Percy as he climbed back over the balcony.

"It's being handled, Percy," she said quickly. "What are you going to do?"

"Handled?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "By handled, you mean someone is going to have a very stern discussion with him, wag their finger at him at the most severe. That's probably the worst punishment he's ever gotten. The problem there? He'll forget what he did wrong. No, we're doing this my way. You do remember what I said about law and order in The Smokes?"

"That he'll wish the real authorities were the ones punishing him," she recalled, seeming nervous although she wore a faint smile. "But Percy, we're not in The Smokes."

"I'm sure they'll understand if I bend a few rules," he said. "Be ready in an hour. I'll be back."

Emily nodded, running off to change while Percy made a quick stop at home. He first went to collect Luke, finding him outside the tavern with a scantily dressed woman hanging off of him, giggling her head off at whatever he was saying. He seemed annoyed about being interrupted, until Percy told him what was going on and what they were going to do about it. Much to the woman's disappointment, he dropped her on the spot, grinning.

"My sincerest apologies," he told her, kissing her cheek. "I would have loved to continue this, but I'm afraid I can't keep up with all the women who need me these days. Farewell, Serena."

"Mikaela," the woman corrected, frowning.

"Right," Luke nodded, saluting her before following Percy away.

"Who's Serena, then?" he asked, once they were out of earshot.

"I don't know, but I'd like to find out," he smirked.

They stopped in one more spot, where they spent a lot of time as children. Since then, everything they wanted to keep secret had been hidden there. It was little toys when they were younger, but the items hidden in the box under the ground became a little less legal as they grew older.

"Is it still there?" Percy asked, watching over Luke's shoulder as he dug down into the dirt with a broken piece of wood they found laying around.

"Shouldn't you be the one doing the digging?" he huffed. "It's your job after all. And your fair lover."

"She's not my lover," Percy said.

"Oh, she's not?" Luke said, raising an eyebrow in interest as he pulled the box out of the ground.

"Off-limits, Luke," Percy warned.

"Just as I thought," Luke chuckled.

He opened the box to show that everything was still there, just as they left it before Percy went to join the crew of the Spirit. He pointed to one small little pouch in particular, and Luke frowned.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure."

"I would have gone with something a little more... Permanent."

"Luke, I thought you knew me," Percy frowned. "You really thought I'd be finished after tonight? No, this is just a polite hello."

"There is the friend I've missed so dearly," Luke grinned, carefully picking up the pouch so none of its contents spilled on him.

They quietly buried the box again before going back to Emily's home, finding her waiting for them outside, looking eager yet incredibly nervous. She had changed, like Percy told her to, into something much lighter. Pants and one of her brother's shirts, Percy assumed. At least, he hoped it was her brother's shirt. She didn't seem the type to sleep around. She jumped when she spotted them, hurrying over.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. "Oh, and hello there, Luke."

"Evening, m'lady," Luke said, removing his hat and giving her a deep bow, like she was a queen.

It made her giggle softy, and Percy was just glad to see her smiling again.

"You'll see," Percy told her.

"You haven't seen Percy until you've seen him out for blood," Luke said.

"Out for blood?"

Percy didn't bother clarifying for her, just taking her hand so she'd come with him and Luke as they snuck their way to the massive Harrington residence. Percy got into the back garden through the servants entrance, and the three of them carefully crept towards the stairs leading up the the rooms on the second story, quietly slinking along the shadows until they made it to the balcony window of Gregory Harrington's bedroom.

"I hear you like learning new things, doll face," Luke said, kneeling in front of the door handle. "Watch and learn. This is a trick that will come in handy more than once."

Emily leaned over and watched as Luke bent a lock pick with his teeth, then proceeded to pick the lock to the door. It took him only a minute, having done it so much, while Percy staged on the look out. The door unlocked with a soft click, and Percy lightly pressed his finger to his lips to signal Emily to be silent as a corpse as they entered the room.

Gregory was fast asleep, snoring and sprawled out on his bed. He hadn't even stirred as the three of them quietly came in. Luke pointed to him, and Percy nodded, watching as Luke reached for the pouch at his side with a wicked grin. He put on a glove and sprinkled a generous amount of it all over Gregory and over his bedsheets. Percy did the same, though he slowly opened the drawers to sprinkle it all over Gregory's fine clothes. Emily watched them in fascination, holding her hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.

Luke closed up what remained in the pouch, standing over Gregory with an extremely unimpressed look on his face. He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and flipped it open pensively. Percy shook his head sternly at him, and both Luke and Emily pouted.

"His face was carved by angels," Luke whispered. "I see three angels here tonight, and several spots on his face that we missed."

"No, Luke, not tonight," Percy whispered back.

"Not tonight?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow at Percy.

He rolled his eyes and gestured for them both to follow him out before they woke Gregory up, which would surely end in humiliation for Emily and execution for Luke and Percy.

"Wait," Emily whispered, "I didn't get to do anything to him."

"You did this with us, you put the dust in his shoes."

"But it wasn't personal," she argued. "It was your idea, not mine."

"Make it quick," Percy sighed.

Luke offered her the switchblade, but she politely declined as Percy glared at him. She thought for a moment, then lit up with an idea. She quietly snooped around in his drawers until she found what she was looking for. She fished out several bottles of what looked like hair product, and went over to Gregory's drawer of pants, emptying the contents of the bottles into it and leaving the empty bottles on the floor.

She nodded to Percy confidently as they snuck back out, carefully closing and locking the door behind them so Gregory wouldn't be disturbed until he woke up the next morning. They all froze suddenly when they heard voices come from near them, by the stairs they needed to use to get back down. Before anyone could think of another plan, Luke leapt right over, jumping off the edge of the balcony. He landed with a bit of a thud, but the grass beneath him broke his landing enough so he didn't get hurt. Percy followed after him, though he climbed down a little more carefully, rather than throw himself off the ledge. They both looked up to find Emily nervously looking down, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Jump," Percy whispered, waving her down.

"It's too high," she said, shaking her head.

"It's not that high, I'll catch you," he promised, glancing over as the voices got nearer.

She seemed reluctant, but did as he said, jumping down and landing right in Percy's waiting arms. She let out a sort of nervous and relieved laugh when he caught her, speechless as he put her down.

"Are you doing alright?" he asked.

"Is that a joke? I've never felt more alive," she grinned.

"She's one of us," Luke chuckled, though he silenced himself as soon as they heard the voices again, a bit nearer this time.

Percy looked around, reluctantly nudging Emily towards Luke.

"Get her home. Don't let her be seen, understand? I'll lead them the other way."

"You'll get caught," Emily frowned.

"I never get caught. I'd have been hanged by now if I did," he reassured her. "Go, Luke."

Luke nodded, putting an arm around Emily and leading her away. It wasn't a suggestive gesture, so much as one to obscure her from anyone's vision. If anyone did catch them sneaking away, Luke would have been seen first, which wouldn't have made a difference since no one in the area would have recognized him. Percy waited until they were gone before going through the garden, listening for the voices.

"I could have sworn I heard people here," a man's voice said.

Percy rustled the leaves purposefully to catch their attention, then threw a rock in the other direction to make it seem like he'd gone another way. When they went to investigate, Percy broke into a full sprint away, towards The Smokes and the alleys within. He lost them far before he even got there, but made sure to twist and turn for a little while until he was sure. When he got back home, Luke was already there, a lopsided grin on his face.

"I was beginning to think you got caught."

"I never do," Percy repeated. "Did you get Emily home safely?"

"Indeed I did," he nodded. "She was buzzing all the way there. I fear we may have created an aspiring felon."

"Buzzing," Percy said, chuckling. "She does that. She's like a hummingbird."

"A hummingbird, indeed."