"I told you, boy, give her some space!"

The woman's shrill voice woke me from my slumber and pulled me from Madeline who was haunting my dreams yet again.

"There, see? I told you."

Disoriented, I looked up into the face of a plump English woman, complete with puffy red cheeks and frizzy red curls.

Kael's face came into view next. He must have been standing just to the side of my peripheral vision. The woman went on as he knelt down next to me.

"You just have to let these things take time. Probably just hit her head, poor darling. Nothing to worry yourself about."

"I told you what happened. She can't handle blood," Kael called to her over his shoulder impatiently.

"Where are we?" I croaked, looking around at the strange surroundings. We looked to be in someone's lounge. A floral loveseat and chair, matching the sofa I was currently on were opposite me. Several crooked paintings hung on peeling, striped wallpaper in pink and cream. The majority of the art were portraits of children or landscapes, nothing expensive or noteworthy. The lighting was dim at best with just one energy saving lamp lighting the whole room.

"It's ok. We're safe."

He reached up, gently brushing my hair from my face.

"I tell you, if you don't stop crowding her, she's just going to black out again!" The woman was calling from some distant point in the room, "We women need air!" She was back in my sight again, redder than before. She carried a teapot in one hand, a few cups in the other. "This will fix you up dearie," she smiled and I noted several missing teeth. "You'll have to sit up though," she prompted.

"Ok."

I rubbed my face and pushed myself to a seated position on the couch. Kael kept his position kneeling by the couch and watched me. I looked down at him and was struck by the concern I saw in his face.

"I can't believe I fainted again. I'm so sorry."

"Don't," he whispered before turning to help the woman pour the tea, taking a seat beside me when he was finished. Once I had a few sips of tea in me, I noted that the woman was staring at me over her cup from her seat on the colorful floral chair.

Continuing her unguarded stare, she asked, "What did you say your name was, dearie?"

"Agatha!" Kael interrupted as I opened my mouth, "I told you to leave it alone!"

"Fine!"

She smashed her china cup onto the saucer. Surprisingly, it remained intact despite her use of force.

"But this is why I disowned you! Complete nonsense, boy!"

She stood up and brushed out past us, allotting a fair share of dirty looks at us both as she passed.

Eyes wide, I turned to Kael and blurted, "What on earth?"

He rubbed his face and responded tiredly, "She's very emotional. Don't worry. She has amazing recovery time."

As if on cue she returned, taking her seat with a cool glance in our direction. "No one has a right to stop me from finishing my tea," she pointed out as she adjusted her plump self in the seat.

"Absolutely," Kael agreed, glancing at me.

I said nothing. I was trying not to find too much amusement at the expense of this woman, Agatha. I sipped my tea, noting a couple small bandages on my right arm and leg. I guessed the injuries were no more than grazes, but I was afraid to open my mouth. Kael apparently didn't want Agatha to know anything about me, not even my name.

The woman continued to stare, literally biting her tongue it seemed to keep from asking me anything. I wished Kael was more of a conversationalist. He seemed to know this woman, but made no attempt to break the awkward silence. If she left again, I would ask my fill of questions. Not wishing to get Agatha in more trouble; however, I kept quiet, waiting for an opportunity to arise.

Agatha finished her tea, setting the cup and saucer back onto an off balance coffee table. She asked shortly, "You finished?" I nodded, handing her my china.

"Do you need to stay the night?"

She directed this question at Kael, not me; but I answered.

"No we should really be getting back."

To Garrett. I wanted to add, but didn't. Agatha nodded absently as she left the room with the dishes.

Kael whispered, "We need to stay. I'll explain later." He slid closer to me.

"What about Garrett?" I asked. I knew I asked this question too often, but he really was the last thing Kael worried about, so I felt the need to bring him up.

His voice remained low, "I don't know. There's a handsome reward posted for you. We can't go back right now."

"A reward? Is that what Higgins and Gideon were talking about?" I asked, horrified.

He nodded, dropping his head in his hands, "The harder I try to take care of you, the worse our situation gets. I swear Harper..." his voice faded.

Take care of me? I felt strangely touched.

I laid a hand hesitantly on his back in emotional support. I said, "I'd already be dead right now if it weren't for you and you know it." He sat up so I let my hand drop. I was not sure what else to say. His brow was furrowed in concern and small creases left a trace of where his fingers had pressed against his face.

"It's bad. From what I overheard, someone has posted a reward for you, and Gideon's furious that you aren't dead already. Higgins is to take care of you directly. Last night, before Higgins attacked you, Gideon told him that he doesn't want to risk meeting you, making an emotional attachment more of a complication," Kael whispered, trying to keep the other occupant in the home from overhearing.

Gideon's reasoning seemed suspect, but I didn't voice my doubts. Instead I asked, "And you? Is he angry that you didn't do it already?"

"Very. I'll have a lot of damage control to do when this is over."

He leaned back on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a moment before continuing, "If we stay here tonight, we can try to sneak back and get Garrett in the morning although that will probably go about as well as our little outing tonight."

I watched him out of the corner of my eye and leaned my elbows on my knees. "I can't believe Gideon was right there." And you let him go to rescue me, I thought. "Again, why are you protecting me?" I prompted quietly.

"Harper," he leaned forward so his face was parallel with mine and said, "I'm not going to kill you so stop asking."

My eyes locked with his. I couldn't look away. I had to understand. As much as he could scare me, somehow I knew he wouldn't hurt me. The fact I was so confident in this matter was odd considering what this man had shown himself to be capable of. So I couldn't help but question him. "Why not?" I exclaimed, "It doesn't make sense, Kael! This is what you do for a living. It made sense when you were following orders. It doesn't make sense now."

His eyes stared deeply into mine. Although I couldn't interpret the emotion there, I sensed he was hiding something from me. In Kael's mind, the answer to my question was something I wouldn't like or couldn't handle.

"Here we are sweetheart!"

Agatha returned, oblivious to the palpable tension in the room.

"I didn't have much, but there's some scones and cream," she said as she laid out the display on the coffee table, "some fruit. Alright then?"

"Thank you so much for your trouble, ma'am." Feeling guilty for her having waited on me, I gave her a smile.

"No trouble at all!" She smiled back.

"So how do you two know each other?"

I knew I had already pushed Kael enough for one night, but I couldn't help myself. I didn't look in his direction, but I could sense that my question was not welcome.

"I'm his auntie of course! He didn't tell you that?" Agatha seemed delighted to finally be talking more freely and rambled, "Oh, I suppose he couldn't have, as you were unconscious. He wouldn't have anyway. He has ridiculous secrets he has to keep from everyone."

"Ah, that's a shame."

"Stop it both of you," Kael said and abruptly stood, picked up my plate, and started down the hallway.

"Hey! Where are you going with that?" I jumped up to follow. I was just starting to feel human with a few bites of a pastry.

He led me back to one of the bedrooms where he pushed the door open with his foot and set the food on the bed.

"You can finish in here. I'll be in the living room if you need me."

He headed toward the door then turned back and said firmly, "Not telling her anything is the only way to protect her. Alright Harper?"

He wasn't in the mood for any argument. I nodded, having already taken a mouthful of fruit. He exited the room, closing the door behind him. I heard Agatha carrying on in the living room for a few more minutes. Likely, she had more complaints about how he wasn't letting us talk and wouldn't tell her anything. Finally, silence settled over the house. I finished my meal and sat on the floor, my back against the bed when a soft tap sounded.

I hoped Kael had come back. After some introspection, I felt slightly guilty for pushing him tonight after he was already so stressed. I shouldn't care what his motives were as long as he was motivated not to hurt me. There were times I truly questioned my own sanity.

"Come in," I called out.

The door opened and Agatha stood there with a mischievous grin on her chubby red face.

She chirped, "All finished?"

"Yes, thank you."

I moved to stand up but stopped when she protested. To my surprise, she came over and sat beside me on the floor with her back against the side of the bed.

"Got him to fall asleep on the couch. Bless his heart, he's exhausted. But now we can talk!"

She was like a schoolgirl on the first day of summer break, her face lit up with the promise of a good conversation with me. I remembered what Kael had said about protecting her. I must say nothing that could compromise her, or compromise him for that matter. Perhaps the best approach was to explore what she knew first.

"So did you help raise Kael when his family died?" I prompted and delved right in as I knew she wanted to.

"I did. I did," she said emphatically. Obviously, she took pride in the fact. "When his mum died, I took great care of him. His father was very busy with things, so I did what I could. Kael was just a baby then." She frowned, "That Gideon Harper fellow was the problem. After my brother's death, I was slowly phased out! Like an old cart horse or something. As if all my love for him meant nothing at all! Boarding school? Really? I was furious." She moved the dish back and forth on the carpet between us.

"I can understand," I said, hoping that was enough of a prompt for her to continue. It was.

"He was like a son to me! And as soon as his father died, Gideon stole him from me. Sure, he let him visit now and then initially. But the older he got, the less I saw of him. The whole thing smelled off, I'm telling you right now, missy. Something's not right there." She shook a stubby index finger at the imaginary man. "When he was old enough, Kael would write me from boarding school, but if Harper found out about it? He would be furious. Finally, he graduated and I thought, at last, he'll remember his old Auntie. I'll see him more than once or twice a year. But did he visit? Nope. Went right into bed with them and cut me off completely. Told me we couldn't be in contact anymore; it wasn't safe. Garbage. I was going to leave him everything." She indicated the expanse of the dilapidated cottage. Apparently, she hadn't seen Harper Manor. She continued, "But he would have none of it. He wanted his secrets. So that was it. I cut ties with him as well. When he showed up with you tonight, I about lost my mind." I saw a tear fall onto the woman's lap. She looked away, no doubt hoping that I hadn't seen it, and said quietly. "I loved that boy like my own child." Without pausing she asked, "Now are you two together?"

I blinked at the sudden change of topic.

"Uh, you mean romantically? No, we're um..."

I searched for the appropriate title. Was he my bodyguard? Our relationship was much too complicated to try to explain. Even though it was not technically true I offered, "Friends sort of." She eyed me suspiciously. Afraid she would ask something I didn't want to answer, I pushed her back to her own story, "So why would Mr. Harper steal your nephew from you? Seems rather cruel."

"Cruel? He's a snake in the grass if you ask me. He had a daughter that died when she was only a few days old or something. One of his torrid love affairs I'd guess. How that entitles him to Kael is beyond me. Apparently, his father thought it was a good idea though. Left him in his charge when he died!"

"Really? How odd. When you had cared for him since he was born."

Odd indeed. So I was dead was I? I thought to myself.

"The whole thing smells off to me," the woman said conspiratorially and leaned in toward me, "wouldn't surprise me if they were doing something illegal over there."

"What?!"

"They hide and lie so much. Why not? Two and two do not equal four in this story and that's all I'm saying. That Gideon Harper has a whole lot of mess twisted up around my nephew, and Kael doesn't even know it."

Her hand shook as she played with my plate, pushing it back and forth in small semi circles. The discussion had worked her up into quite a rage, but toying with the plate calmed her somewhat. She asked me quizzically, "So how do you fit into all this? You don't seem to know anything, do you?"

"I know less than you I think." I slumped against the bed. The more layers I seemed to peel off this ordeal, the more layers seemed to appear. How did she suspect illegal activity? I wondered if she knew more than she was offering. Who had told her I had died? The whole conversation made me feel worse about my situation. Additionally, there was the persistent dread of the reward for my capture or murder. I let her finish her last circle with the dish before I asked, "I would like to get some sleep now, if that's ok."

"Of course. You've had a rough day."

She hesitated and glanced up at me.

"What is it?" I asked, laying a hand on her arm.

"I don't want anything to happen to him." A tear rolled down a chubby cheek. "As much as he infuriates me, seeing him after all this time..." She wiped at her face, smiling weakly.

"Look at me. What an emotional mess, you must think I am." She grasped my hand, holding it tightly and whispered, "I know he's protecting you for some reason; I can tell. But would you do something for me?"

"Of course." Tears filled my own eyes. The woman's pain was palpable through her touch.

"Promise me you'll look out for him as well. You may be the only one left in this world who would. Promise me."

Her eyes looked deep into my soul. I could see the similarities between this woman and Kael. Hazel and just as penetrating, her eyes pinned me to the carpet and begged my complete attention.

"I promise."

"All right then. You have a good night."

She stood with my plate and, wiping her face with her sleeve, left the room.

*****

Agatha's been through quite an ordeal hasn't she? What do you think of Kael's auntie? Thanks for your thoughts and votes lovelies!

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