Turnabout Across The Oceans

Chapter 2: Proposal

"Justice Bellanova?"

The raven haired woman returned his surprised question with a smile. "Hello, Mr. Edgeworth." He rose. "Please, have a seat." He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk. Silena sat down and took out a brown envelope. It was clear that it had been opened. "I assume you have received one of these?" She inquired. "Yes. You did, as well?" He replied. "Correct." She confirmed. She inhaled. "Mr. Edgeworth, to say that I am extremely worried about Edmund would be an understatement. And, to say that I think you are the only one who can help him now would also be an understatement." Gregory was taken aback by her words. She really did hold him in high regard.

"I am aware, however, that this request is one that you may find difficult to accept. I most certainly would not want you to leave Miles alone for so long. It is also risky for you to take him to a place where a murderer is on the lose. " Her eyes were gentle, her tone soft, clearly worried about the young boy. The way she spoke, one would think she was talking about her own son.

Gregory felt his heart swell with warmth at her understanding and concern. "Precisely, Justice Bellanova. As much as I wish to help Mr. Vale, I cannot endanger my son." She nodded. "With that in mind, I have a proposal for you."

Once more, Gregory was taken aback. "A proposal?" He echoed. "Yes. You see," She inhaled, "I was born in Serinico. Our family has- an estate, there." She hesitated, not meeting his eyes, her hand fidgeting with the pendant on her neck. 

Gregory's eyes softened. He had heard about this.  Just was she was famed for being a stern, sharp, get-to-the-point-now judge, Silena was famed for being a reserved woman who couldn't bring herself to reveal much about herself. But the rumours had done that for her.

Apparently, her family was quite rich, but that had not protected them from tragedy. The year they moved to Los Angeles, Silena's mother had passed away in an accident. Her father became a cripple. She had a 2 year old sister to look after. Silena had to become the head of the family at the mere age of 12. Modesty, trauma and lots of other factors made it hard for her to speak her mind in regards to her family. Or anything else, for that matter. Except in court, as a judge.

"Go on." He assured her. She took a deep breath. "We- Reyna and I- haven't seen our home in years. Apparently, it's falling apart. So, this year, she and I decided to go back to Serinico to- well, figure things out." She managed to look up at him. "Edmund's letter arrived near the same time. I knew you would have some trouble accepting his request, so I thought I'd help. I was thinking, you could come with us."

"WH- WHAT?" Raymond clapped his hands on his mouth. "Sorry. Sorry. Please, go on." He muttered. Silena turned to Raymond and smiled reassuringly. "It's alright. I know this is unexpected."

She turned to Gregory again. "I was thinking that while you focused on the case, I could look after Miles, if we did go. But that depends on whether he and you accept. I'm not sure how comfortable Miles would be with that."

Gregory felt his heart soar with joy. The fact that she took his son's choice in the matter so seriously made him respect and admire her a thousand times more. Rarely do adults take children's opinion seriously. Not her. She respected his son. And that really, truly touched him.

Would Miles be alright with this? Gregory got the feeling that Miles wouldn't want to hold him back from doing his job. Still, though. Would he be comfortable with spending time with a complete stranger?

Complete stranger?

No, they had met once.

-FLASHBACK-

An autumn afternoon. Gregory stepped out of his office in a hurry. "I hope to surprise him. Hopefully, I'm not too late." He walked briskly, in order to reach his son's school in time.

To his surprise, he saw Miles walking with Scarlett, his friend and... "Justice Bellanova?" He murmured in disbelief. The three of the seemed to be perfectly at ease, talking and laughing. 

Miles suddenly turned and saw him. "Father?" He seemed surprised. He smiled and went over to his son. "Well, I thought I'd pick you up from school today, but looks like someone already did that for me." He smiled at the little blonde girl and Silena. "Hello, Scarlett, Justice Bellanova." "Hello, Mr. Edgeworth! Nice to see you again!"She cheerily replied. "Good to see you. I trust you've been well, Mr. Edgeworth?" Silena asked warmly. "Yes, I have been. Thank you for picking up my son from school." She smiled. "He was talking to Scarlett with such enthusiasm, I couldn't bring myself to separate the two."  "But now you'll have to." Scarlett pointed out. "It's okay though, we'll see each other tomorrow." Scarlett finished. "We will." Miles said. "See you tomorrow, Miles!" Scarlett said. "See you." Miles smiled. They waved each other goodbye and both of them started to walk home.

Gregory looked at his son. He looked thoughtful. "Something on your mind?" He asked gently. "It's just, Ms. Bellanova." He said. "What about her?" Gregory inquired. "Well, most people say she's really stern and harsh. They also call her a stoic. But she wasn't like that with Scarlett and me. She was lot... Nicer. More open. And really warm." Gregory smiled. "She is stern and harsh when she needs to be. But that doesn't mean she's always like that." Miles nodded. "That's true. She's really... warm." He looked up at his father. "Has she been the judge for some of the cases you've defended in, father?" He asked. "Yes. Quite a few times, actually." His eyes brightened. "Could you tell me about it? Please, father?" He smiled at his son's eagerness. "Of course."

-FLASHBACK END- 

"Mr. Edgeworth?" Silena said. He blinked. "Pardon me. I got lost in thought." He looked at her. "I get the feeling he'll be alright with it. Still, I'll ask him. But, more or less, consider it a yes." She nodded. "Very well." They both rose. Silena blinked. "Oh! Before I forget." She turned to Raymond. "Reyna asked me to give this to you." She pulled out another envelope, this was white. Raymond tripped on his heels as his stepped forward, blushing profusely. "Thank you. Tell her- I said hi." He managed. Both Silena and Gregory observed his reaction keenly and exchanged glances. "I'll walk you to the door." He said. Silena accepted it with a nod of the head.

He lead her to the door, but she hesitated. "Would you mind if Raymond started dating someone?" She suddenly said. "As long as it doesn't distract him from his work, I don't mind. If anything, I approve. Reyna's a fine girl." He replied. Silena smiled. "Good, because considering the way things are going, they will, soon." 

A brief pause.

"Goodbye, Mr. Edgeworth. And do tell me what Miles says." Silena said. "Goodbye, Justice Bellanova. And I will."