SABRINA & SMILE: {SABRINA'S MANSION}

[Wolfy]

The sun was just raising over the trees to shine through the windows of the stable as Sabrina finished sweeping the stable hallway. The walls had been scrubbed and all of the stalls scoured, and the last thing to do was finish the floor in the hallway. Sabrina seemed to enjoy her time spent in the stable as Dally enjoyed Sabrina being around. Her step-mother seemed to get worse and worse as time went on, which she had feared would happen the whole time.

As she finished, she smiled and admired all of her hard work. The stable had been restored to its original beauty. “Okay, Dally,” said Sabrina as she walked over to her beloved horse. “I’m going to take a nap, and afterwards, I’ll take you for a run, okay?” The horse tossed her head and Sabrina lovingly scratched her muzzle. “Okay, see you.”

She started toward the mansion up the hill from the stable with a content look on her face. As long as she stayed out of sight, she would have a very relaxing day at home. However, as she stepped inside the big double doors, she saw that wasn’t to be. Her step-mom had a long piece of paper in her hand. Upon closer examination, she saw that it was a list of chores and things to do before that night, when her parents were going to have a party.

The first item on the list was to scrub down every inch of the new nursery that was formerly her own room. That took quite a bit of time all in itself, and that was only the first item of her list. She still had to scrub the front staircases, mop the foyer, and clean out the filters in the fountain that was out in the front driveway. It was already about noon before she got to the first staircase.

Muttering the whole time, she scrubbed each step carefully so as to avoid any form of altercation with anyone. She felt so used and taken advantage of, she wondered what would happen if she suddenly vanished. Would they even care?

[Rad]

Here was the uptown district, quiet and tranquil as always, disturbed by neither the cacophony of a gun fight nor the chilling scent of blood. All in all, it was a picturesque scene of wide expansive lawns before ornate mansions; an ever-changing yet virtually identical reflection on the cab’s grimy window. Damn! Weren’t these upper class folk ever tired with such uniform neatness?

Rolling down the grimy window to sample the fresh air, Smile sighed as he leaned out the window and deftly picked a crimson rose with a gloved hand. Adding this stolen piece of property to his legitimately bought bouquet he smirked, evidently unable to be amused without some act of mischief. He wasn’t used to doing things ‘the proper way’ but well…he was intelligent enough to understand that turning up at the Matthews’ property in an unmarked white van would be a mistake.

Shortly, the vehicle pulled up outside his destination and with an air of seriousness he stepped out into the sunshine. After having paid the driver, Smile watched as the cab pulled away, disappearing around a bend and out of sight. Then, moving a hand through his slicked back hair, the Mafioso strolled through the gate as if he owned the place.

On this fine occasion, the criminal was dressed to please. In fact, he was almost dressed as a gentleman in shining white attire so different from his usual intimidating black wear. Unfortunately, that tell-tale blood stain on his white pant-leg spoiled things a bit. Still, how would he have known that the Bossman would assign him on an impromptu killing spree just moments before he had wanted to make a surprise visit here?

Ah well! It wasn’t like Sabrina didn’t know the kind of organization he was involved with.

At the thought of his love interest, the Mafioso smiled; a benevolent thing that was so dissimilar from his equally genuine but malevolent grimace. However, as he perceived the figure diligently scrubbing away at the front staircase that smile was instantly cleaned from his place. Frowning, Smile approached the girl, making sure he was seeing right before saying, “Geez…a change o’ scenery an’ yet yer be more like Cinderella than ever. Dere anythin’ I can help yer with?”

OoC:// It feels SO GOOD to RP this character again~

[Wolfy]

Being so angry and frustrated, Sabrina didn’t even notice Smile coming inside until she heard him speak from behind her. She jumped in surprise, spilling her bucket of water all the way down the stairs. It clanged down each step, which invited an angry yell from her stepmother in the kitchen, “Watch it, Sabrina! And get back to work!” Sighing, Sabrina called back, “I’m working, I’m working!”

Looking back up at Smile, she put on a happy look to make it seem like she wasn’t upset. “I missed you, Smile!” she said honestly. Abandoning the task at hand, she got up and walked over to him, though she smelled heavily of cleaning solution and sweat. “What brings you here?”

As she wondered what could have possibly brought him out, her mind returned to her previous thoughts. Would they even care if I just vanished? It was brilliant timing, quite honestly, for Smile to show up just as she was thinking that. Surely he would agree to kidnap her again? And then she would be reassured that they actually do care. Hopefully, anyway.

And what could possibly go wrong when convincing a mobster to kidnap you? She thought she was so brilliant that she couldn’t help but grin. “Hey, Smile,” she said softly, so as not to draw attention to them from her stepmom. “I need to ask you something.” She took his arm and pulled him out to the front porch. “What would it take for you to kidnap me again? Just once?”

It was definitely an odd request. Especially since she fought so much last time. So she quickly explained what was happening within her family in hopes that he would understand what she was asking of him. Looking at him hopefully, she waited for his answer.

OOC: Haha, I bet! I love Smile!

[Rad]

“What would it take for you to kidnap me again? Just once?”

Well here was an oddity that the mobster, conditioned for all types of situations, did not expect. His eyes glazed over, the left corner of his mouth twitching ever so slightly, not sure if he were being made the victim of some nonsensical joke. Yet, from that expression on his beloved’s face he could tell that she was quite serious, in fact, it sounded like there was some attention-seeking plot to accompany this proposed misadventure. Aha, there certainly was more to this innocent child than what could be seen with the eyes.

Tossing aside the bouquet of roses, Smile spread out his arms as if in an inviting embrace, opened his mouth enthusiastically, and then promptly shut it again. Of course, he had to remember, no vivacious exclamations of joy that might expose this game before it even began. He had to keep a lid on things…at least until they were safely out of earshot. Thus, cupping both hands over his mouth, Smile leaned forwards until he was almost kissing Sabrina’s ear, and whispered, “It would be my pleasure, fair Cinderella. I thought you would never ask.”

Then, with an exaggerated flourish he swept Sabrina off her feet, carrying her delicately in his arms as with a burst of energy he made his escape from the estate. Oh what a way to commence a date! The criminal was ecstatic, exuberant; all forms of happiness flew into his heart. Did he suppose…did he dare think…that this plan of hers also stemmed from some subconscious desire to be with him? Sure, his advances had always been rejected, numerous times and on a regular basis, yet what was there to stop him hoping that one day Sabrina’s heart would clean out a space just for him?

Nevertheless, for all his joyful energy, human strength has a limit and does exhaust itself eventually. It was thus that at last Smile was forced to gently set his ‘captive’ back down to the picturesque pebbled path. Nonetheless, glancing back, he noted with a surge of satisfaction that the Matthews’ estate was by now no longer in view. Marvelous!

Spinning around, Smile fixed Sabrina with a cheeky grin and wink, pretending to reprimand her as he said, “Well, well, well! Who would have guessed that the elegant and pure Sabrina would devise a ploy such as this? Oh how you made me doubt my hearing and vision. Ta be honest I’m really quite surprised!”

OoC:// Replying to this at 2:40am because I can! *dies from sleep deprivation*

[Wolfy]

Sabrina giggled and wrapped her arms around the back of Smile’s neck. “Thank you, Smile,” she said. “I owe you one!” She rested her head against the front of his shoulder. Why not make it enjoyable for him, too? She didn’t want to just use the poor man – he was too sweet and innocent. (Especially for a mobster.)

She didn’t fuss about being carried, though she was starting to doubt herself a little. Was she sending the wrong signals? He knew this was just to get her parents’ attention, right? It was too late, though – she couldn’t ask him to let her go now. She’d be fine, anyway.

When he set her down, she looked up at him seriously. “Okay, we have to figure it out first, though,” she said seriously. “If we play this wrong, you could get arrested, you know. Neither of us want that to happen.” She hated having to be serious with him and dampening his mood like that.

“And, also, what happens if your partners catch on to me, what if they think this is real?” she asked. “They weren’t thrilled with me last time, you know.” She wanted to still give him some hope, so added, “But if we get this figured out, I’m looking forward to getting to know you better…”

[Rad]

“But if we get this figured out, I’m looking forward to getting to know you better…”

Yea, he had paid attention to the rest of Sabrina’s words as well but…that utterance simply threw him off on a tangent didn’t it? What space that had once been occupied with a formation of some devious plan was now simply filled with flowers, dinner, a romantic walk on the beach…oh yes he just could not concentrate any more.

“Oh, fear not dear princess. From that earlier mistake I learnt that people of your class do not mix well with my people. In fact you people usually end up dead in the most horrific ways imaginable. However, this poses the question of how to get our ride.” Surveying the scene with a contemplative expression on his face, Smile soon spotted an American Saddlebred grazing calmly in a fenced of paddock.

It was like a light bulb had sparked in his head and with a smirk the mobster leapt over the low-lying fence with a shout of “Wait here, princess! I’m off ta catch us a ride!” What ensued was a series of agitated whinnying, running away, chasing after, horsing around, and finally the jump that landed the mobster on the stallion’s back. After that there were a few half-hearted attempts of throwing the ride before the beast at last succumbed and jumped the fence to land beside Sabrina.

Holding out his hand as an offer to hoist Sabrina up, Smile said, “To shenanigans!”

[Wolfy]

Laughing, Sabrina watched the man chase the poor horse for what seemed to be an eternity. What he'd said about the good-doing enemies of the Mafia dying horrible deaths was lost by the distraction. She waited with her arms folded on the top post of the fence and her head resting on them. Often, she would call out things like, "Watch out, Smile!" When the horse looked like he'd had enough.

But in the end, Smile won out and brought the horse over to her. Grinning, she pulled herself up onto its back behind Smile. "You know that I have a horse, right?" she asked teasingly. "We could have gone back and got her..." Laughing, she nudged him in the back playfully. "But, I am glad that I got to see your gentle and calm way with horses," she added in a sarcastic, yet kind way.

Looking back at the now-empty paddock behind them, she wondered what the owner of the horse will think. Also, how were they going to ride a house downtown? Someone would see them and the jig would be up.

"No," she said in a whisper to herself. She was way too nervous. She realized she needed to calm down, or it was going to be a miserable couple of days for the both of them. So, putting on a smile, she raised her arm like a soldier charging into battle she shouted, "To shenanigans!" Nudging the horse on the top of its rear, she persuaded it to walk at a pretty nice clip, but not too fast that Smile couldn't handle it.

[Rad]

“Your horse? Well I suppose that child was kind enough to leave you a parting gift then?” Smile laughed, making a presumption based on what little he knew of the relationship between the Veritas and the Matthews. What had Sabrina disclosed that time they had been trapped within that rusting crate? Something about owing the young heir a great deal; or some other gratuitous praise like that. Oh was there some inkling of jealousy tickling at his heart? He sure wondered how Sabrina would describe him to a curious inquirer. Hopefully something equally positive or at least not negative…

"To shenanigans!"

“Your wish is my command!” Smile responded, losing his train of thought and kicking the equine rather too forcefully with his boot in an attempt to motivate the beast forwards. To tell the truth. Smile was completely foreign to bareback riding; in fact he wasn’t at all familiar with horse-riding to begin with. He was simply improvising on what he thought he had seen other people do and so far things were progressing along well enough. Of course, it could just be that the horses kept by the social elites were trained to recognize even the strangest of signals and behave well no matter what was done to them.

At any rate, it was only with a rather irate neigh that the stolen horse complied, shaking its head as if thinking ‘what a novice’ as it began galloping along the pebbled terrain. Sadly enough, this presented another problem for the Mafioso. This form of travel certainly wasn’t what he was used to and if there was such a thing as being horse-sick then he certainly was getting it!

Fortunately enough, a rather ostentatious inscription upon a nearby iron gate gave him provided him with an altogether far better alternative. Somehow making the horse stop in its gallop (it was probably tired by now anyway) Smile dismounted and (not without a sigh of relief) gestured towards the grand gate. “Hey Sabrina, wanna go with me as I steal – I mean ‘borrow’ our next ride? I’m sure your friend won’t mind. Besides, I can drive far better than I can ride.”

It hadn’t been on purpose yet their aimless meandering had led them quite conveniently to the southern gate of the Veritas estate. This unplanned ‘kidnapping’ was actually turning out quite smoothly.

OoC:// My excuse is that my reply sucks because I'm ill...

[Wolfy]

Sabrina held onto Smile tightly. Does he even know what he’s doing? she thought. She held on tighter when the horse tossed its head and started galloping away. She looked positively petrified. Since she was usually so good with horses, she was so unused to having them run out of control. “Smile, what are you doing?” she asked. “Do you know how to handle horses?”

She, too, was glad when they reached the gate. She dismounted quickly and stepped away from the angry horse. It whinnied at them, then turned and ran off. She looked up to what Smile was talking about and noticed the Veritas mansion behind the gate. “I don’t know…” she said skeptically.

Running away was one thing. Stealing from Memini was another. “I don’t want to get in trouble,” she told him. “And Memini has been so good to me and my family. It would be ungrateful to steal a car from him at this point. ” She held two of the bars in her hands as she looked at the familiar mansion. “How far do we have to go? Can we walk?”

She thought she might hear voices from the courtyard and ducked to the side. “Smile, really, if we get in trouble, then you’ll get arrested, and I’ll be sent home.” She glanced through the gate again. It wasn’t too far to the circular driveway where cars were waiting. “Smile, what do you think?” she asked softly.

[Rad]

“Don’t worry, Sabrina! You’re forgetting that I’m an expert!” Chuckling at Sabrina’s indecision, Smile deftly dismantled the pitiable lock upon the gate. Tossing the piece of metal aside, he noted with some amusement the elaborately carved design. In his opinion it seemed this lock played more the role of some redundant decoration than that of a good lock. Was all security this lax in the rich district? He would bet his life that a pauper would guard a penny with more ferocity than these rich folk guarded their entire fortunes! Was money really so easy to come by when one was the crème de la crème?

Well perhaps it was or perhaps it wasn’t but such materialistic thoughts were certainly a far cry from the current ponderings of the estate’s young heir. Oh yes, in this world there were matters far more depressing than worries concerning money and as the young Memini paced aimlessly about the grounds he felt more abandoned than ever! Sabrina…that woman hadn’t even bothered to call him since her abrupt departure! Sure, she might be busy refurnishing, redecorating and fixing up her own place but that was no excuse! Furthermore, that butler! Adrasteia had hardly talked with him at all except to voice some typical servant trash like ‘young master, your tea is ready’ or ‘don’t forget your scheduled appointment with Mr whatshisname at some-such-time’. There was no longer any sense of intimacy between them. Hadn’t been since that incident at Kratos’ party and now that blasted excuse of a ‘best friend’ had even gone off on some errand without telling him (not that they were communicating much these days).

Muttering something vulgar in his displeasure, Memini lodged a firm kick at the tire of an ebony Cadillac parked close to the southern entrance. It was then that he noticed the unlocked doors and dangling key still plugged into the ignition. Well how about that? Adrasteia must have changed his mind at the last minute and taken the other vehicle instead. On a whim, Memini flung open the rear passenger door, seating himself comfortably in the back as he slammed close the door. Then, with a disgruntled groan he lay down, hiding himself in that warm furry blanket he always kept there for those exceptionally long car journeys. In this comfortable position sleep found him easily enough and soon he was snoozing away quite peacefully.

However, it was at this moment that Smile made his appearance beside the Cadillac, hastily scribbling something onto a piece of paper before flinging it away in the form of a paper airplane. Then, opening the front passenger door he ushered Sabrina inside before getting into the driver’s seat himself.

“So, where to?” Smile asked Sabrina, a wide grin plastered on his face.

[Wolfy]

Sabrina went back and swung the gate closed. She didn’t want to leave the Veritas estate open to anyone who would discover the gate open, but Smile had done a real number on that lock; it was far beyond repair now. But she was confident that Adrasteia kept good care of the grounds and would notice it days before any delinquents stumbled across the compromise in the mansion’s security.

She smiled and followed Smile to the Cadillac. She’d ridden in this car only once before, quite awhile ago. She remembered Memini, the driver, and herself getting stuck in a blizzard with no heating and no way to get home. As she stroked the shiny exterior of the car, she remembered how scared they’d been. Eventually, however, when they didn’t return home, came to look for them and saved them just as they were sure they would die a horrible death.

She hopped inside and glanced at Smile. “Well, Smile,” she said with a grin. “I am your hostage. So that’s really up to you.” She looked quickly into the backseat, thinking she’d heard something . But instead, it was just a bunched up blanket. She couldn’t help but smile – because of their little incident, someone must have put it there to prevent further problems.

“So, Smile, what will it be?” she asked, pulling her attention away from the blanket and back to the situation at hand. “We could go somewhere interesting – like that abandoned quay from before – maybe somewhere with something fun to do? Or we could get something to eat? Then again, in such a nice car, we could just drive around?” She shrugged. “It’s completely up to you.”

Little did she know that her best friend was lying in the backseat, about to be kidnapped with her. The question of how Smile would react to a stowaway was far from her mind. What would he do about Memini being in the car with them?

[Rad]

{OoC: To avoid a presumably tedious car journey I have skipped over time by a few hours. Please also excuse some deliberate historical inaccuracies.}

It was already past noon by the time Adrasteia returned to the Veritas estate, his arms loaded with bags of groceries and dry-cleaning, an utterly spent expression on his face. For a small boy, Memini somehow managed to go through more clothes than a capricious maiden and it was this habit in addition to his demands for excessive cleanliness that had made a trip to the drycleaners an almost daily routine. However, there was an upside to this exceedingly tedious task, at least whilst he, Adrasteia, was away the other servants would be dumped the unpleasant duty of tending to Memini’s every wish and whim.

However, it seemed fate was intent on stealing even this small comfort from him today for as he ascended the steps and swung open those front doors (not without difficulty) the sight that met his eyes was…

“Hahaha, checkmate! Who says women are no good at chess?”

“Well it sure took you a while even with me going easy on you.”

“Lies!”

The sight was so astonishing it temporarily made Adrasteia forfeit the use of his arms; allowing the bags to drop to the floor with a plop. A quaint game of chess during work hours was simply unheard of! Under normal circumstances this time of day entailed numerous shouted demands, complaining, whining and (on the part of the servants) much dashing about! There certainly was no time for personal leisure unless…unless they had tied up the little brat and stuffed him into a closet!

“Oh, welcome back Adrasteia! Brilliant prank; clever in the sense that it was so obvious.” The chauffeur chuckled, perched smugly on the rim of the indoor fountain despite his defeat at the hands of a woman. He held a paper airplane in hand, flourishing it about as he waved back at the confused butler.

“Certainly it was MOST considerate of you. Giving us some time off.” The maid agreed; nodding her head in approval as she promptly flicked her opponent’s King-piece into the fountain.

“Ah, it seems we are not being understood.” The chauffeur sighed, somewhat resigned as he watched the fall of his King. “Well, we’re talking about this note you left us, Adrasteia.” With that as his sole elaboration he sent the paper plane gliding gracefully through the air and into Adrasteia’s outstretched hands where it was swiftly unfolded.

The contents, of course, read: This is a ransom note. Lol~ ^_^ (OoC: Of course, the intended subject had been the purloined vehicle yet how was Smile to know that the estate’s cheeky little heir had accidently gotten himself swept into the mix?)

As he perused the note, a frightening expression strayed onto the butler’s face (yes he was very much pissed off) and through clenched teeth he practically growled, “That chink did this! It’s obvious because he used Asian eyes!” (The alleged ‘Asian eyes’: ^_^)

As Adrasteia dashed out the door, the note scrunched up in his hand, the chauffeur chuckled (not quite aware of the situation at all) and said, “Well well, I never would have guessed.”

(OoC: Next post can be about wherever Smile and company ended up at.)

[Wolfy]

It was a long trip, but when they finally made it downtown, it was worth it. When Smile stopped the car, they found themselves parked on the most picturesque beach she'd ever seen. Through the open car window, she could hear some children playing, but the sound was coming from behind a rock outcropping that blocked them from view. She guessed that this was right next to a public beach, but because of the natural rock barrier, it went unnoticed to the many beachgoers.

And unlike the public beach, this coast was pristine and unsoiled with trash. The sand was a golden yellow, and the water was crystal blue. The sun skipped across it just so, and it shone brightly. "Wow, Smile!" she exclaimed. "This is gorgeous!" She hopped out of the car and ran down the shore, hopping on one foot part of the way to take her shoes off.

She waded into the water with a smile on her face. The smooth sand didn't cut her feet, and the water was cool without being cold. Considering that she was expecting another experience like the abandoned quay, she was pleasantly surprised.

That whole car ride, she hadn't noticed her best friend still stowing away in the backseat. She had been far too preoccupied, thinking of how her time with Smile would end. She was confident that her father would send someone after her - he was probably already worried.

In reality, Sabrina's father hadn't even noticed her absence. Her step-mother had, but that was only because the cleaning hadn't been completed, and there was a bucket of dirty water spilled all over the marble floors. Furious, she'd finished the task herself, but had sworn that when Sabrina returned from gallivanting off with Memini, which she assumed was most likely the case, she would give her a huge tirade and make her life miserable in whatever ways she could for the next week. Little did she know it, but Sabrina's plan was failing miserably.