"Don't worry," Ezekiel said. I love you to and I don't want to get married in a hole in the ground. I'd prefer something more official."

He could tell that his attempts at comforting her were actually working. He was smiling and he could tell that Maria was hiding a laugh behind her hand as she watched the two couples talking to each other.

"Yes, official," she confirmed. "With lots of pink and white, and blue of course."
Giggling slightly, she held to Ezekiel's arm, and squeezed it.
His voice in itself, was reassuring. And maybe things back in town wouldn't be so bad..? Besides, they were already almost there! It was only what, a matter of yards now?
She was more than ready, to be sleeping in a bed, that was big enough for the two of them.
Or knowing Ezekiel, just her.

"Pink?" he asked in a bit of an annoyed tone. "Just an accent alright. I can understand white for your dress and pink for bridesmaids but not overly pink."
He looked like he'd just been hit by a truck but he still laughed and hugged her slightly. he was teasing her for the most part when the carriage past the first few lines of houses.
"It's the outskirts," Lizzie scream before jumping onto Sebastian's back.
He was okay with it and seemed to have been ready since he easily carried her forward so she could see the town from a bit of a higher view.

Laughing also at Ezekiel's words, Verona nodded. "But you told me I could wear whatever color I wanted," she chimed at him. "And if I choose pink.. You'll just have to deal with it."
Verona was only kidding though. She wouldn't wear a pink wedding dress, no way! Maybe a white dress, with pink lacing on it? Something elegant for sure.

When Lizzie pointed out the outskirts of town, Verona flew from the cart, her dress flying up slightly.
"Oops," she said simply, a slight blush visible.
And seconds later, she was walking next to Sebastian and Lizzie, winking slightly.
"Umm-hmm," she said.

"Pink trim is fine but not fully pink," he teased. "Or else you might make it look tacky and people will ask if you're actually getting married to me."
He kissed her on the cheek gently.

When she had jumped off he looked perplexed and helped his sister down. They would be taking the carriage through the streets so that the goods would not have to be carried by hand. Ezekiel ran to catch up with them and when he did he could tell that Sebastian and Lizzie were both very happy at the moment.

Verona laughed a bit, and took Ezekiel's hand into her own, "You read my mind."
He seemed to be doing quite a lot of that lately.
And then, there is was. Home..
"Ezekiel," she screamed in delight. "We're home! We're finally home!"

She even jumped on Ezekiel, and clung to him for dear life. "I can't believe it we're home!"
She was far too excited. But now they were so close, she could see the grand fountain, and Aldous' store.
And there were people, out and about, stopping just to stare at them all. There were whispers, and smiles now, as Ezekiel and Verona, now walked hand in hand.
This was it, the moment of judgment..

Lizzie had gotten down by her fathers orders and was walking in a more professional manner but it was obvious she was watching Sebastian. Ezekiel was just excited for some reason as he continued to hold Verona's hand. He wanted to greet Mayhen for a moment but then remembered what he had done. He'd get power if the people accepted him which meant that he could easily lift the issues from Mayhen's shoulders so he'd be seen as an innocent man.

It was when a little girl, probably the age of five, approached him that was the true test. She took his other hand in her own and then smiled because she wasn't harmed at all.

"Sir Ezekiel," the child said. "Who is the strange that walks with your sister. He doesn't look familiar."

"Oh that's my long lost cousin Sebastian," he said with a grin.

There was an uproar that could be heard and a few people looked utterly shocked that he was back. They had barely known him as a child but he'd done some good things despite his arrogant nature.

(Timing switch!)


And then, she turned slightly.. There he was. Verona had all together, stopped walking. Her hand, had escaped Ezekiel's grip with ease. The look on her face, matched Mayhen's in every way.
Jaw dropped, eyes fully open, a hint of pain to the glance.

She was frozen solid, right in the middle of the street, and masses that were beginning to form.
A lonely tear began to drift down her face now.. Her best friend, had killed a man. That was all she could think about..


(I have my plans for Mayhen and Veronica. :3)

Taking a step towards Ezekiel, Verona finally lost the eye contact with Mayhen, and began to walk with Ezekiel again.
Right now, was not the time that she was hoping to see Mayhen. She wanted to be able to give him a piece of her mind.. And all this seemed to do, was cause her pain, more than anything.

Grabbing onto Ezekiel's arm, Verona began to walk with him again, as people cheered, and hollered to see them.
Or mostly, it was due to the fact that the ravenous Ezekiel Singston, wasn't as much of a monster as people thought he was.

Maria had ran forth to get Mayhen. She still liked him for some reason and Veronica didn't move when she saw this. It wouldn't be worth it to follow if Maria liked him. When Maria had caught up to him she grabbed his arm gently. "Come with me," she yelled as she attempted to get his attention. "I want you to meet my cousin!"

Smiling a bit now, Verona could at least look happy, and that was what she intended to do. The little girl walking with the two, was in Verona's opinion, the cutest thin she'd ever seen.

She was astounded to see so many people excited about them coming back like this. Maybe it was because she'd figured that everyone was thinking the worst after what Winston had said.
What she didn't know however, was that Maria and Veronica, were damage control for the situation.
And it appeared as though that had helped quite a bit.

"Veronica's brother," Maria snapped. She turned then, feeling flushed with embarrassment and began to make her way through the crowd. A few of the people noted her distress but did nothing. Some knew what Maria had done but others just saw her as the whimsical love seeking Singston daughter.

Still keeping the plastered smile on her face, Verona looked back towards Aldous' store. There was Mayhen, wandering around, and then Maria, trying to get him to go with her.
"May-maybe we should."
She stopped walking, and looked up at Ezekiel. Though she didn't want to be anywhere near Mayhen, she wanted to make sure that Ezekiel's cousin was fine.
"Can I go by myself?" She asked him. "I'll hurry, and be careful, I promise."

Leaning up, she popped a kiss on Ezekiel's cheek, and left him. She pushed her way through the crowds, and past Mayhen, up to Aldous' store front. There through the glass, she could see Veronica.
She wouldn't go in yet; she was crying. Poor Veronica.. Something that Mayhen had done no doubt, since he was still calling her name.
Verona was only thankful that he hadn't seen her so close yet.

Ezekiel merely nodded and picked up the girl at that point. If Mayhen attempted to injure or kill him at that point he would put the small girl in sever jeopardy and the entire crowd would go against him. Sebastian realized this and motioned for Lizzie’s father to step up with him. The man did and he relaxed, being able to focus on keeping Lizzie safe.

Lizzie had been watching how Mayhen was looking for Veronica. She stepped forward to him, a few people in the crowd became perplexed and even Sebastian became perplexed. She pulled on his arm gently and pointed at Aldous store.

“If you really want to find Veronica than go into the store,” she said. “I think I saw her go in there.” She stepped away after that and ran back to Sebastian. If he watched at this point he would come to realized that if anyone would be with Sebastian it was Lizzie and only Lizzie due to the fact that they got long so well.


:cool:

Verona sort of stared in awe, of Veronica's odd behavior. She felt now, that maybe entering the store, was not such a bright idea. Veronica seemed all over the place, and Verona wasn't especially good with things of the sort. Okay, she was. She was just afraid.

And when Mayhen suddenly appeared beside her, slipping through the door, she knew better.
She immediately backed away, and ran off to Ezekiel. And when she found him, she practically ran into him.
"Okay, well.. Mayhen is taking care of it.."

Hopefully, that was what he was doing. But Verona was sure he would be anyway.. He was fairly soft towards women when he was completely drunk. Which now, he wasn't.
Alcohol didn't stick well in his system.

Lizzie and Sebastian were watching Verona at the time to be sure that Mayhen didn't do anything to her. When he simply entered the store they both seemed to relax but Sebastian was still concerned about his sister. He would change if he got depressed so he was desperately trying to convert the emotion into something else.

(I have nothing for Verona. XD)

Ezekiel was looking for Verona at that point and seemed a bit lost. He had put down the girl by that point, who had run to her mother. His search seemed almost futile at first but then he saw her.

"Verona," he called. "We need to get to my mother!"

Nodding slightly, Verona had to agree. With all of the fuss about town, Eric was liable to try something else.. Something drastic, who knew.
Eric was a wild card, just waiting to pop out of the deck.

"Yeah," she told him, bumping into him slightly. "We need to find her soon."

A few of the people that were by them seemed to be almost escorting them to where they wanted to go. One of them was an underground supporter of Ezekiel while the other three just tagged along. The supporter slowly approached Ezekiel though.


"We'll be escorting you and the lady throughout town till we can get the issue with Eric sorted out," he explained with a solute.

Smiling, Verona nodded. She didn't mind the escort through the mobs. There was no doubt that she hadn't expected this many people to be so excited.
Not even half of this number, but oh well. They were back home now, and that was all that mattered.

Ezekiel just smiled as they continued walking.
He had a gut feeling that his brother would show up soon and make an accusation.
When he came out of the crowd to meet them face to face he was not shocked.

"Look!" Eric said. "The kidnapper is fooling you all, come Verona or he may hurt you."

It was as if everyone just stopped talking. In fact, that was what had happened.
Verona was of course, automatically pissed off.
Her nostrils flared as he spoke to her.. How dare he even do such a things.

"You liar! " She retorted. "I went with him by my own good will, and I love him!"

A few gasps escaped the crowd. Yes, she loved him big deal. But to them, it must have been. They looked at the two now, with a new glistening to their eyes; they understood.
But Eric was...

Eric looked stunned when Veronica stepped forward and Sebastian came next to her. He looked horrified for the most part. When Veronica reached him she back handed him so hard she hurt her own hand.

"You got my brother lost so he'd be out of the way because he knew exactly what was going on. You're nothing but a liar and a cheater and all you want his the fortune you little stuck up bastard," she growled, but sounded more like a cat growl than a canine.

Eric looked even more frightened than he had been before because he could tell that if nothing happened to stop this he would get killed by Veronica. The uncomfortableness of the situation would drive her up the wall. He was very glad when Sebastian took her hand gently and squeezed it so she would take a breather.

"Ladies and gentleman," Sebastian said in a loud and clear voice. "As the cousin of Ezekiel and the sister of Veronica I would like to tell you a story. You see there was once a time when the Singston kids were very young, between the ages of five and ten I think, that dear Sebastian was lost. Now after twenty long years I've returned from the perils. Now who made me disappear.... it was Eric and it was Eric who planned for the killing of my uncle and it is Eric who planned the lunch meeting so that Ezekiel would be overly excited... he planned it all."

There were gasps throughout the speech and it was obvious that the crown could easily turn on him. Eric had went towards Ezekiel since he knew he could get support from him. He was almost begging as he knelt there.

"Have pity on me fair brother, have pity," he begged. "I have tried to fit in but this thing... it just separates me from you and Maria."

Ezekiel did not move at first though he seemed to intend to move. He moved forward slightly and brought his brother up. He would forgive him but he would also have people constantly watching Eric. He just needed a girl to distract him, someone lovely and innocent that was not already taken.

"Brother," Ezekiel said placing a hand on his shoulder. "You've made many mistakes and it is my duty, and honor, as your brother, to forgive you for all your actions."