Tangled Hearts

Upon hearing Lara's story, everything about her suddenly made sense. It was going to take work, but at that point Rhett knew he couldn't drop her without her feeling like she was as wonderful a person as Rhett thought she was. And he really, truly did. The alcohol knocked her out soon after she curled up on the couch, and had it not been for the dog, Rhett probably would've curled up there with her. Out of fear of getting a scar to match Sotheby, he stayed in an armchair nearby, nodding off a few hours later.

Rhett woke up early the next morning with terrible pain in his neck, shoulders, and back from the small armchair. Lara was still sound asleep, but the moment Rhett moved, Baby woke up and lifted his head. Rhett watched the dog and moved slowly, but Baby didn't seem to be in attack mode. He trotted up beside Rhett as he got up and cracked his back and neck, sitting there and staring up at him.

“Breakfast, right?” Rhett whispered to Baby. “That's what normal people do in the morning.”

He glanced back at Lara, figuring she would be out for another hour at least. That was enough time to cook something. At least she'd have something pleasant to wake up to, since Rhett wasn't sure his face would do the trick. Baby followed him into the kitchen, where he found one of Lara's cookbooks lying on the countertop. He flipped through it, wrinkling his nose at the difficult recipes. Finally, he found the simplest recipe for eggs that there was.

“Does Lara like eggs?” Rhett asked Baby.

Baby just stared up at him, waiting expectantly.

“Eggs it is,” Rhett concluded.

It took him a while to even find eggs and seasoning, trying his best not to make a mess of the kitchen on the way. Every time he dropped or spilled something, Baby would come lap it up. He nearly tripped over the dog a few times, and successfully tripped and fell with a hard thud twice. Down with him came three eggs, which made the floor slippery and caused Rhett to slip and hit the floor again. He groaned and curled up on the floor while Baby barked and ran in circles around him. It was almost like he was laughing and making fun of Rhett.

Eventually, the noise woke Lara up, and she shuffled into the kitchen with a confused look on her tired, hungover face. She looked from Baby, to Rhett on the floor, to the mess the two had made in her kitchen. The alcohol had definitely taken its toll, and she looked green, though somewhat relieved when she saw Rhett.

“I had a dream that you stayed with me last night,” she said quietly. “I guess it was true.”

“I wanted to make you breakfast so you feel better,” Rhett told her, trying to get off the floor but slipping again and hitting his head on the edge of the counter he was using to support himself. “I'm not a good cook. At all.”

Lara remained expressionless, kneeling down next to him and gently touching the spot on his head that he'd hit.

“Are you alright?” she asked softly.

“I'm fine,” he sighed. “Are you?”

“I don't know,” she admitted. “I felt terrible. But you're here. Why did you stay?”

“You keep acting like I don't care about you,” he said. “I do, okay? Even though I'm annoying. So you're going to have to suck it up and deal with me.”

“You really care,” she repeated, almost in disbelief.

“Of course I do,” he shrugged. “I don't even eat breakfast. And I tried to make you eggs. That's a big deal.”

“Okay,” she said, as if she didn't know what else to say.

“You know, Lara,” Rhett said slowly, “Even if I don't flaunt it, I do have some authority around here. If anyone is bothering you…”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don't need you to do anything like that. But… Thank you.”

“I can leave if you want,” Rhett told her. “I was kidding about the ‘suck it up’ thing. If you're annoyed, I can go.”

“Don't even move a muscle,” she ordered.

She crawled over and curled up against his side, leaning them both back against the counter and burying her face into his shoulder. He put an arm around her and held her close, kissing the top of her head. They stayed like that for a little while, until Rhett realized they were still sitting in a puddle of egg yolk.

“Maybe we should go somewhere softer and cleaner-”

“Don't move a muscle,” she repeated.

“Okay, yes ma'am. Sorry.”

Rhett wasn't sure how long they'd stayed curled up on the floor like that, but eventually Lara was the one to get up and hold out a hand to him to help him back up.

“I'm hungry, but I'm not going to let you try and cook again,” she told him. “We’ll just get pastries from the bakery.”

“Can I change my shirt, first?” Rhett frowned.

“What difference would that make?” she asked. “You still look like a mess.”

“That's true,” he shrugged. “Bakery it is.”

He gave her a chance to fix the dark circles under her eyes and hide the signs of her hangover. They got a couple pastries to eat before taking a walk, since Rhett insisted that Lara needed some fresh air. She wanted to retreat back into her cave, but he wasn't going to let her do that to herself. Not this time.

Things were just starting to get peaceful, with Lara holding onto Rhett’s arm like she'd fall if she let go. That is, until someone from behind shoved Rhett and caught him off guard. He instinctively let go of Lara and pushed her away so she wouldn't fall with him. How many times was he going to hit the ground today? He groaned and turned around to see who'd shoved him, finding none other than his old rival staring back at him, flanked by two of his goonies. Rolf Bentham’s hulking figure cast a shadow over Rhett, but he could see the ex-Jalecian soldier’s face all too clearly. He was a violent man, and it showed. And he didn't like being bothered.

“What's your problem?” Lara snapped at him, trying to shove Rolf back, but barely even bumping the massive man.

“This doesn't concern you,” he said, not even looking at her.

When she went to hit him again, one of Rolf’s men grabbed her and held her back. Suddenly, Rhett regretted the decision to leave Baby at home.

“What do you want, Bentham?” Rhett said, getting up. “A simple hello would have gotten my attention, too.”

“Don't play dumb,” Rolf growled. “You gave up my name to Silva, and now half my boys are in prison.”

“What is it with everyone thinking I sold them out?” Rhett sighed. “It wasn't me.”

“You're the dirtiest liar out there,” Rolf told him, slamming a note into Rhett's chest.

To the underworld’s ugliest Jalecian scum-

Let the games begin.

At the bottom was Rhett's signature, perfectly written. The note was remarkably close to Rhett's handwriting, and he figured only he would know that he wasn't the one who wrote it.

“Not to mention I caught your boys Sean and Clay lurking around my place,” he added. “They're lucky I let them off with a warning.”

“I know it looks bad,” Rhett said calmly. “And I know you hate me. And you have no reason to trust me, after I was such a pain in your rear end all those years ago. But I was a dumb kid back then. A dumb kid who made a dumb life decision. I don't do that stuff anymore. You have to believe that I'm not the one doing this. Someone is pretending to be me and is turning everyone against each other to distract from what they're doing.”

“Kind of like what you used to do?” Rolf pointed out.

“I know,” Rhett grimaced. “This looks just like what I did. It looks really bad. But it's not me.”

“What about last night, when you gave Hugo Laurent that big shipment of leeches poison?”

“He was with me last night,” Lara piped up, yanking her arm out of the man’s grip. “And at the Elbian royal family's summer estate, before that. If you need someone to prove his alibi, you can take that up with King Hamilton.”

Everyone went silent, and Rolf backed off a couple steps.

“Watch your back, Howard,” Rolf warned. “I'm not the only one who got that note. And I'm not just talking about the underground, either.”

Rhett watched him as he walked away, grabbing Lara's hand and tugging her away from them, somewhat behind him.

“Good to see you again, Rolf,” he called out.

Rolf just smirked and turned, tossing Rhett something thin and shiny. He caught it, frowning when he realized it was a Lumina’s circlet.

“Found some bum with that,” Rolf said. “I don't like you, but I respect those girls. I know you'll get it back to its owner.”

And with that, he was gone. Rhett stared at the circlet in his hand for a moment, then cursed under his breath. Whoever was framing him must have thrown the Lumina under the bus, too.

“I have to go,” he said quickly. “I'll come by again later.”

“Why didn't you tell me you were being framed for crimes?” she asked.

“It's complicated,” he sighed.

“I'm coming with you,” she said firmly. “If you're in trouble, you're not going to be alone.”

“I'm not in trouble,” he said calmly. “And Baby is at home alone.”

“Don't fight me on this, Rhett,” she argued.

“Fine,” he grumbled. “Come on, then.”

He hurried off to the abbey where all the girls were, surprised when they all tried to shoo him out immediately. The circlet had been Naia’s, and she looked pretty shaken up herself. She barely cared about the important headpiece. She placed a hand on the sides of Rhett’s face, pulling him down to her eye level and looking him straight in the eyes.

“We know you're innocent, Rhett,” she said softly. “We know you've done nothing. But we can't protect you this time. You have to leave.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Naia, sneak him out the window!” Anya called suddenly, clearly afraid. “Now! Right now!”

However, the armed men that entered were too fast for anyone to even process the warning first. From the look on the captain’s face, Rhett knew that it must have been Theodore Silva himself. And he looked very, very pleased.

“Rhett Howard,” he said. “So we finally meet.”

“Hi,” Rhett replied weakly.

Silva held up a piece of official-looking paper, handing it to Katia. She turned pale when she read it. Silva held his head up high, smiling wide.

“Mr. Howard, I have been waiting a long, long time for this moment.”