"You hit her?" Fran said, her eyes growing wide.

     "I didn't hit. I slapped. It's different," Bethany told her.

     The girls were in Bethany's room, discussing what had happened earlier that day. Bethany felt incredibly guilty for losing her temper and also incredibly embarrassed for acting so childishly towards Gwen's threats.

      "I should have just kept walking!" she groaned, burying her face in a fuzzy pillow. "Now Uncle Dean and Liam both think I'm an immature monster who can't control herself!"

      "Do you want to know something?" Fran asked, braiding her long black hair.

      "What?"

      "They're probably right."

      Bethany grabbed a pillow and knocked it against Fran's head. Fran exaggerated the blow and toppled over on to the floor in a cry of pain, saying, "When beggars die, there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes!"

       "Wait, so are you the beggar or the prince?" Bethany asked.

       Fran opened one eye and then closed it again, sticking her tongue out.

       "Do you see the heavens blazing?" she asked.

       Bethany looked up at the cream colored ceiling and came to  an enlightened conclusion.

       "I'm afraid you are the most common of the common my dear sister. For the heavens have not shown forth their blazing colors! You will forever remain a beggar...And a live one at that," she said, pulling Fran's braid.

        Fran turned over onto her stomach and got up, pacing back in forth in the room.

        "I think you're going to have to call Mom and tell her what happened before Aunt Laura finds out. Do you think Liam will tell her?" she asked, going back to their original topic.

        "I don't know. He's like an Indian. I can never tell what he's thinking," Bethany answered, looking up at the ceiling.

        Every time she thought back to what happened she wanted to punch herself. It was all so ridiculous! Alright, so the slap was justifiable, but going after her in the parking lot was uncalled for and Bethany knew it. It was just that nothing like that had ever happened back on the farm. People respected each other and never threatened to get even. Bethany's first impulse was to teach Gwen a lesson, but she knew now that that was not the way to do it. Sure Gwen was an idiotic, spoiled, pampered, mollycoddled little peacock who was use to getting her way, but starting a fight would only provoke her even more. Not that Bethany had started it in the first place, but she was the one to make physical contact.

      "Ugh!!! I feel like an idiot!" she groaned.

      Fran sat down on the bed and sighed, pulling at a loose thread on her blue shirt.

      "If it's any consolation, I don't think Mom and Dad are going to murder you in your sleep."

      Bethany gave Fran a sideways glance and rolled her eyes, falling flat on the bed once more.

      "Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," she said sarcastically, her voice muffled in the blankets.

                             That night was dark and cloudy, hiding the moon from sight. In the bushes surrounding the mansion the three pairs of eyes glowed, watching the shadows in the second story window dancing about. They had been their all day, one pair East, one West, and one South, waiting, watching, staying as still as statues like they were told to.

     Quiet footsteps approached from the East, carefully stepping on the soft turf as to not warn anyone of their presence. The figure was cloaked in darkness, a silhouette moving along swiftly and silently through the trees. They had found out who the knew visitors were and now was their chance. The long anticipated moment had arrived, and they were prepared.

     The figure came up to the first dog, whispering a command in its ear. The animal stood still for a moment then turned, following it's master through the trees to the South side of the wood where another dog was standing patiently, watching the house. The intruder knelt down but just before he whispered the command, the front door of the mansion swung open, spilling a long stream of light all the way across the lawn to the trees. The figure held still, both dogs freezing in their positions. A girl walked out of the house with a phone, sitting down the front step and the person was able to hear what she said.

     "Hey, Mom? This is Bethany...Yeah we're all good...It was alright. The others slept most of the way...Well actually I wanted to tell you something-" she got up and walked around the house, disappearing on the East side into the garden.

     The intruder let a sigh of relief and whispered a command to the dog, getting up and slinking over to the edge of the trees. Looking in all directions for anyone who might be looking they slipped across the road to the other side, disappearing into the trees once more. Still looking around the figure failed to see a tree root protruding out of the ground and their foot caught on it and they fell with a loud 'thud'. The figure froze and looked over to where the girl was pacing in the garden, still talking on the phone, and let out a long breath of relief. Quietly getting up they carefully tiptoed over to the West side of the property, crouching down by the last dog and whispering the command. Finally finished, the intruder stole around the back way, going over to the East side and pushing aside the ivy that covered a whole in the wall, ordering the dogs to go first. Then, taking one last glance at the girl on the phone, they joined the animals on the other side, rushing down the hill where a vehicle was parked. The dogs all filed in along with the stranger and the four of drove off, into the night.

                          "Alright, I will...Bye," Bethany finished, pressing the end button on the phone.

     She sighed and looked around at the lovely garden. There were flowers of every variety and every color, trees with their long branches stretching out over the winding paths, and several stone benches, one placed next to a pond where Bethany had seen a frog and some fish. It was a nice place to be in the cool night air. Wandering over to a weeping willow she sat down, running her hands through her long chocolaty hair. It had been an eventful day. Dinner was an amazing pork roast that the cook Mandy had made, but the whole time Bethany felt as though Aunt Laura would bring up the store incident. Liam never said whether or not he told her and it had been torturing Bethany all day. Eventually she had asked to use the phone and called home, talking it over with her mother. Mrs. Goode said she would talk to Aunt Laura the next day, much to Bethany's relief.

     Suddenly, she heard a twig snap and she jumped up with a slight squeal, looking around for the source of the noise. Over at the other end of the path she could see a crouched silhouette making a snipping sound and a crackle, like a dry leaf would make when you step on it.

     "Ahem. Hello?" Bethany called, clearing her throat.

     The silhouette stood up and she saw the now very familiar flat cap. For some strange reason she felt relieved, as though she had been expecting some sort of intruder or kidnapper.

     "Hi," Liam answered quietly, tipping his hat and going back to the trimming.

     Bethany got out from under the tree and brushed her skirt off (Aunt Laura insisted that you dress formally for dinner) and walked barefoot onto the path. Liam looked over at her feet and chuckled a little, shaking his head.

     "What?" Bethany asked, thinking it was something she had done.

     "Nothing...Do you even own shoes?"

     "As a matter of fact I do! I wore them to the store today," Bethany replied.

     "Oh! I beg your pardon. My mistake."

     He continued to snip at the plants with great accuracy, always cutting off just the right amount. Looking over each plant carefully he made sure not to leave any dead petals or flowers. Bethany watched with interest, both hands behind her back. She had always liked gardens but was never able to keep anything alive. 

     It was very calm and peaceful, even if it was rather dark. Bethany felt as though she were in a medieval book, walking in the royal gardens that surrounded the palace. Then she remembered what had been troubling her all day, unfortunately. Every minute Bethany tried to forget it, but she could not.

     "Liam," she said, sitting criss-cross on the path.

     "Mhm?"

     "I uh...I've been meaning to ask you something...Well not exactly. I wasn't going to ask you at all as a matter of fact. To be honest it never even crossed my mind until-"

     "Bethany," Liam cut her off, leaning back on his knees.

     "What were you going to ask me?"

     "Oh...Uh...Did you uh...Um..."

     "Did I tell your Aunt?"

     Bethany nodded slowly, looking down at her hands and clearing her throat.

     "That's really been troubling you, hasn't it?" Liam asked, laughing a little.

     "Oh Liam I feel like an idiot! All day I couldn't shake this massive feeling of guilt and I still have it. I don't know what to do!"

     Liam pushed his hat back and turned around, sitting down on the path. He was a little surprised to see that it was bothering her so much. The way she acted that morning he thought she always got in fights. Now it was pretty obvious that she never had, or very rarely did.

     "Have you told anyone?" he asked.

     "I told Fran when I got home and I also called Mom a few minutes ago."

     "Well, what did they say?"

     "They both said the same thing," Bethany answered, pulling on some grass that had grown in between two stones.

     "Which was?"

     "They said that I should have turned the other cheek, but they also did not blame me for my actions," Bethany sighed.

     "Then what are you so worried about? Gosh, I thought you just liked to get into fist fights."

     Bethany laughed at that, but her moment of joy did not last very long. No matter how much everyone justified her actions she still felt an overpowering weight of guilt.

     "I think I just need to go to confession," she breathed.

     Liam looked over at her curiously and turned around, going back to the plants.

     "I didn't know you were Catholic," he said, going at the roots of a weed.

     "Yup, we're Catholic. You didn't think we were Mormon did you? All nine of us?...What are you? Do you believe in God?" Bethany asked, happy to get her mind off of things.

     "Well I'm Irish aren't I?"

     "Wait...Are you telling me you're Catholic as well?"

     Liam leaned back and threw the defeated weed into a nearby bucket, going back at another one that had escaped his vision earlier.

     "Well done Sherlock."

     Bethany smiled and threw her hands in the air, shrugging her shoulders.

     "Well if that don't beat all? What a coincidence."

     "Not much of one...Alright, I'm done for tonight," Liam said, getting up and grabbing the bucket of weeds.

     Bethany got up as well and grabbed the clippers, walking down the path with him to the old shed at the other end of the garden.

     "Why were you out here weeding so late anyhow?" she asked as Liam put the tools away.

     "Well I wasn't able to do it this morning and this afternoon was too hot."

     "Oh. I guess I didn't notice. I spent most of my time inside today, after we got back."

     "You would," Liam said, closing the door and locking it.

     "What's that suppose to mean? It's just such a big house and there was so much to explore. I haven't even gotten to the towers yet."

     Liam shook his head and thrust his hands into his pockets, heading back down the path.

     "That's the trouble with your kind of people. You don't know how to enjoy the beauty of nature," he said quietly.

     "My kind of people? It may have escaped your memory but I was born and raised on a farm," Bethany protested.

     Liam stopped walking and gave her a sidelong glance, continuing back down the path.

     "Well then maybe you're just prejudice," he said.

     "Prejudice? I-"

     "Shh!" Liam cut her off.

     He was looking off into the trees, his rusty eyes searching carefully.

     "What is it?" Bethany whispered, the cloudy skies suddenly seeming more ominous.

     Liam kept searching the woods for some sign of movement and he listened to, but there was no other sound but the soft rustling of the leaves.

     "Nothing. Probably just a wild animal, but you might want to get back inside. It's getting late."

     He walked her back to the house, his eyes constantly darting from one patch of trees to the next. Bethany wondered what was wrong but knew he would not tell her, so she convinced herself it really was just wild animals.

     "Thanks Liam, and goodnight," she said, waving goodbye before going into the mansion.

     Liam gave a little head nod and wandered back down the path towards his house, checking to see if he still had his pocket knife with him.

-Well, well, well, mysterious is it not? Hopefully anyway. I hope you enjoyed my attempts at being suspenseful in a small way and if you care to vote, I would not mind that either XD Thank you =D - Anna