Sarah Scott
Time grows short for everyone to prepare. Henry was lost in London chasing his vendetta against the cursed music boxes, so that left only the Frye twins and Scott twins. Sarah entered the train with Evie while Olivia prepared their gown and suits. One does not enter the Queen's ball without looking at the part.
"Jacob, come here. News has reached us about Starrick," Evie says through the train. Jacob soon emerged with a sandwich in his hand and a mug of some kind of liquid. Well, Sarah is a bit disappointed in the fact that Olivia has still much work ahead to get Jacob in shape.
"Evie? And...?" Jacob mutters but seems unsure as to which sister it is. With a roll of her eyes Sarah motions for him to follow the map of London.
"Sarah, come Jacob. Our final opponent has made his move. One that he will regret. Starrick will appear at the ball in Buckingham Palace. He plans to eliminate the head of state and church. Seize the Piece of Eden and take control over the British Empire," Sarah starts to explain, turning to the Frye twins holding up two invitation cards. "Lucky for us, the Queen saw it fit to invite me and my sister to the ball. To add to our luck, we can take a plus one. But we can't have any weapons on us."
"I can fix that. Abberline will be able to smuggle it in for us. Besides, he will be motivated to spot this plot because of his sense of duty," Jacob says while putting his lunch on a table.
"Thought as much, Olivia will acquire the clothing. Make sure you are on time, Jacob. It will not be extravagant probably but it will do," Sarah continues, pointing to the Palace of the queen. "Buckingham Palace will be where he strikes. That means he will have his people there too. The only way he will feel secure is by having armed Templars around him. So, the Royal Guard will be compromised. Make sure Abberline knows."
"Will do. By the way, I heard something very touching from Olivia. You saved orphans from oppression and one girl has touched your hearts so deeply that she was adopted," Jacob begins to say with a smile plastered on his face, and a hand on his chest. Evie was about to say or more likely argue with Jacob, but Sarah chimes in first.
"It is your niece, so best not act like this in front of her. Or I will make sure Olivia will grind it in your memory till it haunts you in your dreams."
"Jeez, you sound just like her..." Jacob mumbles as he shifts uncomfortably in his spot.
"Make sure not to upset or hurt my daughter, Jacob. I- she really is a charmer- Anyway, don't do anything you'll regret!" Evie scolds Jacob. The accused held his hands up in surrender as he tries to get away from the two hardened and murderous gazes.
"I will don't worry! I gotta go!" He says and jumps back into the bustling city with his rope launcher. These speedy exits must be a defence mechanism.
"An irritating man, but we best get back to the mansion as well. We need our weapons hidden in our dresses," Sarah states as she walks to the exit with Evie in tow.
"Uhm, how? I have seen the dresses before and hardly any spot could work. It is either inaccessible or too obvious. Sarah smirks a bit as she glances at Evie. "You think this is my first ball? I have done it before and will do so again. At least for the hidden blade, it will work. The rest... will be difficult. But enough to kill a man that lives on borrowed time."
—
"You look handsome, Jacob dear," Olivia says as she looks him over, a soft smile on her lips. Sarah has to admit, Jacob looks very good in a costume. Which surprised her utterly. He should wear some cleaner and well-made clothing more often. Not the rags he usually wears.
"Thank you, Olivia. You look absolutely stunning, as always," Jacob says while placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. It makes Olivia smile and blushes softly. Sarah is at least impressed by his manners, for now.
"You are definitely more beautiful, Evie. The dress fits you perfectly," Sarah says as she turns to Evie who was very impressed by Jacob. As her gaze goes to Sarah, Evie barely had the time to see Sarah leaning in to capture her lips. "Thank you, dear," Evie says as she smiles while kissing the blond.
"Can't I come to the ball?" Jenifer asks as she stood behind the four adults next to Clara. Even Clara was not very happy she had to stay behind. She wanted to get into the action as well, but she was not ready by far. Even so, Sarah would definitely like to bring them to a ball at one point. The ringing of a soft small bell comes from the outside, announcing that the carriage had arrived.
"Well, it's time to go. And Clara, Jen, we will bring you along next time. Or why not organize one of our own?" Sarah says, kissing both girls on the forehead.
"We can?! Oh, Clara! Come, we should think it through! Who to invite, what kind of food..." Jenifer starts to excitedly say as she drags Clara with her. A sigh leaves Clara as she obediently follows. Jenifer sure has a lot of energy within her. Olivia smiles as she sees Clara following the other girl. Probably because another person of your age can only do some good. It may even be that Clara will be home more often.
"Alright, time to safe London, England, and probably the world. For now at least," Sarah says as she walks to the carriage arms linked with Evie.
—
The carriage was pushing forward at a steady pace. Olivia and Jacob sitting on one side while Evie and Sarah sit on the other. It was a pleasant surprise as they got off. What also makes Sarah happy is how she behaves around Jacob. It makes her feel relieved to see Olivia with more to live for.
Considering the dark times she had, it is good to see her moving on. However, she promised to whatever rules over this earth, she will murder Jacob if he does anything wrong and hurt her. He will find no shelter, no help. Only vengeance in the cruelest form.
"Halt," a voice says. The palace sprawling in front of them and now a Royal Guard stops them. Probably for their invitation. Sarah leans a bit to the left to see just what she thought.
"Invitation, please," the man says while holding his hand out. Jacob hands two invitations out and soon enough they were standing in front of the residence of the queen.
If ever doubted that the palace would be anything but a marvel of architecture and wealth, you would be very wrong. At a glance over the interior and one can see the highest quality of furniture, painting with such skill and detail, walls that sparkle, and rugs that come from all corners of the world. One could easily see that Britain controls the world, or at least has wealth not many nations have.
"The Queen certainly has more money than us..." Olivia murmurs as she admires the building and decor of the ball.
"How wealthy are you sisters, if you don't mind me asking," Jacob asks them. "Very wealthy. We are the proud ladies of a plot of land that lies in the north of England, have multiple thriving businesses across London, and are looking into moving to some other sectors. Although, we must say that we are quite content with what we have now," Olivia answers the man holding her arm.
"Goodness gracious me..." Jacob mutters with shock.
"Yes, dear, you won't have to starve while you live with us," Olivia chuckles, "Jacob and I will find Abberline and deal with the Templar guards. You two find the vault?"
"Will do, sister dear. Good luck," Sarah says while waving as they walk away. "Shall we?" Evie nods and they start to walk toward the water.
"How do you even have time for me, Clara, or Jenifer? It seems you would be overwhelmed with work, Sarah," Evie says.
"We have many people in our employ, Evie. If we had to do everything ourselves, we would not be able to grow our enterprise so large. The hardest part was finding staff for a while. Starrick really tried hard to push us out of London," Sarah explains.
As both women walk through the ball, it becomes more lively. Music fills the garden, many people make their way to the dance floor, and it is clear that the most wealthy, influential, and high-ranking people in society are present. Starrick has not been seen by either Evie or Sarah, but they are certain he is somewhere. After all, Evie has the key he needs to open the vault.
"I see-" Evie starts to say before a rather enthusiastic and excited person came walking toward them.
"Lady Scott! How wonderful that you could make it here!"
Sarah sighs very softly. One thing she hasn't missed about these public events is the strange wife of the Prime Minister. Naive, too enthusiastic about the strangest things, and somehow manages to get into trouble without even realising it. And an infuriating person to socialise with.
"Miss Disraeli, a pleasure to see you once again," Sarah says with a strained smile before leaning to Evie, "Get going, she is a nightmare," Sarah says for only Evie to hear. Evie chuckles a bit before detaching herself and pushing onward.
"Come! I have someone I am simply dying for you to meet," she says as ushered Sarah to follow.
'Don't let it be someone as weird and strange as you...' Sarah thought to herself.
"Queen Victoria..." Sarah mutters under her breath, shocked and surprised that Miss Disraeli brought her to the queen. For once, the crazy women did something that shocked Sarah.
"Your Majesty, may I present Lady Sarah Scott," Miss Disraeli says as she bows to the Queen.
"Lady Scott, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I heard you are responsible for many of the delicacies at the ball tonight," the Queen says as she smiles politely at Sarah.
"It was my utmost pleasure, Your Majesty. However, I cannot take credit for the baking. I have many talented people in my employ," Sarah says with a curtsy.
"Indeed, you have Lady Scott. I recommend the cake that I ordered. It is particularly good. Enjoy the ball," the Queen says before turning around to talk to some of the other guests.
For once she actually met the queen. Sarah has seen her from afar, but never this close or even talked to her. 'Mother would have been proud of me,' Sarah thought to herself.
"Miss Disraeli, thank you for the opportunity, but I have to go. Enjoy the ball," Sarah says before hurriedly trying to find Evie or Starrick. To her surprise, she saw them dancing with each other. Evie clearly was most displeased with it, but Starrick smugly looked at her. Probably because he thinks he has the upper hand. How wrong he is.
Sarah moves through the crowd to the waterside. It will cut off his route to the vault and she will have a good view of the duo. Hidden between the people, Sarah waits until something happens. The dance came to an end which made Sarah more alert.
Evie kicked Starrick in his private part, which amused Sarah very much, but Starrick wasn't affected for long. He fiddles with an item and through the distraction caused by Evie, he sprints away in the direction of the vault.
"Starrick, the ball is on the other side of the garden," Sarah says as she moves in front of the man.
"Sarah Scott. You have spoiled my plans the most. You and that sister caused me everything. But all of that will be fixed," he says as his fist are raised in the air ready to strike.
"Attacking a lady? I can see why you failed. Darling, if you would," Sarah says as a blade soon found its way into the back of Starrick.
"My pleasure, Sarah dear," Evie says before letting Starrick slump down on the ground. Bleeding out.
"We should get going," Jacob says as she joins Evie and Sarah with Olivia just next to him. "Yes, you exit through the normal way. Evie and I will see what this artefact is. It caused this much trouble, I would like to see it," Sarah answers.
"I would too, make sure to make it seem normal and inform the guards. And tell them that Sarah and I will go to a different place after this. It will make us look less responsible," Evie adds. Without wasting another second, the group splits in two. One goes back to the party while Evie and Sarah go to the vault.
The vault was starting to fall into the category of ruin. Or at least was housed in an already existing ruin that goes underground. With the help of the key, both women made their way deeper inside. Judging from the building, it was not made by the precursors. Sarah would have thought it would contain more of the silver or golden metal. And be very glowy. It was a trademark almost; pulsing golden veins across the metal and a light show.
At the end of the underground area stand a silver metal block. On top of it, slotted into it another box that could be described as a suitcase. The silver block has dull lines going through which can also be seen on the suitcase itself. This has to be it. Around the box is a half circle with a display of several carved scenes. Sarah is unsure as to what it represents, but the place resembles an old church.
"I would have expected it to be something grander," Evie says as she walks towards it with increasing curiosity, "Even so, this is so exciting!"
Evie's hands move to the box and open it. It revealed a cloth of sparkling gold with silver linings going through it. Sarah feels a dull pulse coming. Each pulse scans her and travels throughout her body as if it links to her very body. Odd yet pleasant and strangely familiar.
"It is beautiful, isn't Sarah?" Evie asks as she studies the object.
"It is. Do you feel it pulsing with energy?" Sarah asks as she steps next to her. Evie shakes her head as she cocks her head to Sarah. "You do feel something coming from it?" Evie asks.
"I do... Familiar yet not. It's odd as if it is in the back of my mind but somehow locked away. I don't know what it is," Sarah says touching the fabric with her fingers. It flares alive, bright yellow light coming from the cloth. Each beam slowly coalesced together focusing on Sarah one for one.
"Number associated with body 3478. Returned to standard setting. Minor errors were found in the program. Estimated time for repair: 1 minute and 24 seconds," an electronic and distant voice says.
"What's this, you have been here before?" Evie asks Sarah who was staring intently at the cloth with wide eyes.
"I... I guess? I don't remember..." Sarah says in a soft and contemplative tone as she tries to wrack her brain. She can't remember anything regarding the cloth. Let alone being brought here. Was it her mother? Or father that never showed up in her life?
"Only one way to find out," Evie says as she took the shroud out. "Put it on Sarah, let it fix you."
"I don't know if I even want to know, Evie... What if it is best to leave it in the dark? Not everything should be known," Sarah says in a shaky voice as she thought of some possibilities.
"I agree with the sentiment, but not this time. You should know, Sarah. If something in the past happened, you must know. It is only fair, right?"
Sarah sighs and nods. Her head is a bit lower so Evie can put it on. As soon as it touched Sarah it began to increase in brightness, and a glow of gold and silver light traveled through the body. The vision of Sarah suddenly switching to places long ago.
~ Italy, Monteriggioni~
"You okay?" Sarah hears Kassandra ask. A grunt leaves Sarah as she hoists herself back up. This place is slowly falling apart. Ezio either hid his blade to make it difficult or time did its thing.
"Yeah, this place is falling apart. How about you two?"
"Fine, we're enjoying you falling in deep and dirty holes," Olivia laughs as leans against a grey cobblestone wall. Kassandra only smiles in amusement.
"Why haven't you been here before Kassandra? Weren't you supposed to be old as time itself?" Sarah asks while climbing back up.
"The world is large and I am only one person, Sarah. I have seen much and experienced even more. My time is also nearing. This is my last journey," Kassandra says, "Besides, I didn't fall into the hole. My years at least prepared me to evade these traps."
"Ha ha," Sarah says with a grunt as she finally got back up and out of the hole.
"You know, Sarah, Olivia. I have a strong feeling your father was more important than you know."
"Why? We never met him. What would make him so important?" Olivia asked as they pushed through the cobwebbed tunnels under Monteriggioni.
"Perhaps not. Just be careful."
~ England, London ~
Blurry scenes drift across Sarah's vision. Flashes of green, sometimes blue, and then it was mostly white and grey. The meaning of these weird and strange things can't be grasped by Sarah as she lets out another small laboured cough. A warm sensation comes from her chest suddenly.
"Hold on, my loves. Do it for me," a voice says. It makes Sarah feel safe. A voice that makes her calm.
"The cure is further on, Helena. I can't stay any longer. There's nothing more I can do for you," a distant voice says. It gives a sense of security, but not the same effect as the other voice. Sarah likes the other softer voice.
"Severe program error detected. Repairing..."
—
"Sarah? Sarah, can you hear me?" Evie asked as she waves her hand in front of her face. Sarah blinks a moment as she looked at her hands before at a concerned Evie.
"Yes... I am fine. Uhm, let's get going alright?"
"Sarah... We should trust each other fully at this point. Our coming marriage, Jenifer... This is no time to pull out the 'I am fine' card. Tell me what happened," Evie says as she slowly removes the shroud, putting it back and locking it. Probably out of caution before it does anything else to her Sarah.
"I don't know, honestly. It seems something with my father. Aside from that, I don't know. My sister and I were sick? Mother and father brought us here to be healed. I don't know anything else..." Sarah says with a sigh, her eyes closed as she massaged them.
"I guess you are right. Sometimes the past isn't worth digging up. You know at least your mother cared deeply for you, and your father. Come, it is time for us to go home."
Sarah smiles with a nod. "Yes, let's go home."