A Professor’s Wedding Proposition and Deathly Implications

[Bobbie]

The journey to the castle was not very long, though limiting themselves to ground travel did increase the amount of time that was needed to reach their destination. This also meant that the two lovers, the Professor, and his large dog all remained in each other’s company for well over an hour, and it was anything but pleasant.

The air between them felt tense as Danielle tried her best to steer Beast slightly away from Rosalina to avoid the two getting too close, all the while offering some casual conversation and some flattery to her lover in order to keep the girl’s attention on her and not on her newfound human subject of dislike: The Professor. It was exhausting and terribly frustrating as she knew that Rosalina had the tendency to act childishly and the ginger exercised this behaviour perfectly while they travelled with snark remarks and complaining, but the short-tempered treasure huntress somehow succeeded at remaining calm for most of it, and all credit went to none other than Beast. Seated upon the malamute’s back for the entire duration, Danielle simply couldn’t be angry for very long as a single stroke of the creature’s fur was enough to fill her with content.

Finally, they would reach the castle, where the two guards who had originally been there on guard stood once more. Immediately, they both stepped forward, each with their armour worn properly and not as talkative as they were earlier. Other than their difference in height, it would be difficult to tell them apart. That is until one of them spoke.

“Miss Rosalina, welcome back,” the more serious of the two spoke while Rosalina hurried over to the gate to meet them, eager to get away from Beast and Gabriel. The other who had previously been far more relaxed the last time he met Gabriel remained silent as he seemed not dare speak after the telling-off he received from his partner on duty for allowing Rosalina to be carried away by a stranger. The guard then looked at Gabriel with a nod.

“Professor Moon, we meet-” he began his greeting, only to spot the massive dog that came into view next, with none other than Danielle riding it, some fancy chest in her grasp! Speechless, he fumbled for words as he continued, "we... meet again... big dog."

Danielle had never actually met these guards in person before, though she had spotted them from afar. Now that she thought about it, this was actually the first time she’d ever had to interact with any of the guards at the castle, as in the past she would usually sneak in, Rosalina would sneak out, or they simply wouldn’t be present. That was all before her father got involved. As she eyed their armour, she wondered why there was this increase in security, and so heavily suited.

Then her attention drifted onto the castle. It never really seized to amaze her, it was truly an amazing structure of a building. A subtle smile came to her face as she wondered what her friend would think of it - as a history professor, surely he must appreciate the historic value of such architecture… and all the vaults that it holds within.

“You must be… Danny?” the guard said, hoping for some form of introduction to this awkward and unusual meeting. Everybody seemed to be in such a foul mood and he also faced a struggle of his own. He seemed to hesitate before stating her name, clear confusion in his tone as he couldn’t quite determine if he was speaking to a woman a man. If this were a man, he certainly had some soft features to his face, but if it were a woman, she certainly lacked some feminine ones to her body! And her dress style…

“Yes, this is Danny, my fiancé, and Professor Moon who you’ve already met. This fluffy joy that my fiancé is seated upon is Beast.” Rosalina spoke, dispelling some of the confusion that the guard felt, only to replace it with a focus far more interesting than Danielle’s gender - the massive malamute before them. However, the sarcastic tone that Rosalina’s words were uttered in suggested something less than wonder, and more like resigned annoyance or perhaps outright spite. “We need to speak to my father, as Professor Moon has a very kind proposition to make regarding our wedding.”

“I thought dogs weren’t allowed into the castle…” the other guard plucked up the courage to whisper while Rosalina was rambling on about how the Professor couldn’t resist offering his support of such honest love, only to warrant himself an elbow jab from his fellow guard.

“Send a pigeon to let Sir Olivier Lawrence Fernandez Dior that he has visitors,” he addressed his companion, then turned back to the arrival group. “Very well, please come with me and I shall escort you through the halls.” Turning on his heel, rigid in all the unnecessary armour he wore, he grabbed a lever and pulled it down as a bridge began its descent over the moat some distance away from the gate. “Do not touch anything and hold onto your belongings as we cross the bridge to ensure that nothing is lost - what falls into the water stays into the water until it is eaten by crocodiles.” From there, their escort took his first steps toward the bridge.

Danielle had very little to say. She knew that Rosalina’s father was pompous and flaunted his wealth, though the crocodiles were new to her. While Rosalina went ahead to follow the guard first, placing herself in the most important position at the head of the group, Danielle gently petted Beast.

“Don’t look into the water, Beast, just keep walking straight across the bridge and everything will be fine.”

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Guard: #128b3b

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #1

Despite walking to the castle not so long before, Gabriel rather followed the people who actually knew the island, instead of trying to lead the way himself. Initially grumpy because of his own mistake, the Professor quickly realized that there was nothing he could do about it and that the best course of action right now was to go with the current and see where it takes him. Because of that his stern expression slowly disappeared and was replaced by his usual kind smile.

As they arrived at the castle, Gabriel greeted the familiar guards with a simple nod, opening his mouth to introduce Beast by name, but he was interrupted by Rosalina who took it upon herself to introduce everyone, adding many details about the reason for their visit.

Luckily for the guards, the Professor didn´t hear the whispers about dogs being banned from the castle as the notorious dog lover had a very strong opinion about people who mistreated any canines. However, Beast did, looking at Danielle all worried with a silent

“Awoo?”

Alarmed by the sudden change in her behaviour, Gabriel turned to her.

“Did something happen?”

He asked, scratching the oversized fluffy ball behind one of her ears.

“Woof, woof, woof…”

She complained, just as the guard warned them about the crocodiles in the water moat.

“Oh, did they smell you funny? Well, don´t worry, against you they are just slightly oversized lizards.”

He gave her an encouraging smile, following the guards inside.

“Pigeons instead of Den Den Mushi, crocodiles…someone is very old fashioned…”

Lost in his thoughts, Gabriel didn´t even notice as his malamute turned her head to Danielle with a curious look on her large face.

“Crooocooodileeee…caaaan I huuuuunt?”

She asked silently, obviously interested in something she considered to be a new challenge to her.

[Bobbie]

Seated on Beast’s back as they began their journey over the bridge, Danielle never stopped petting Beast, both to comfort the large doggo and to keep herself steady while the ornately decorated chest lay on Beast’s back, trapped securely between Danielle’s elbows. As she was asked such a crucial question about hunting, the rider was very quick with her reply after what happened the last time such an opportunity presented itself.

“No, Beast. No hunt.” She replied, speaking softly so nobody else would hear her talking to an animal that supposedly did not speak, least of all, Rosalina. However, one glance ahead in the ginger’s direction and it was instantly clear that she was far too engrossed in whatever story she was telling the guards as she seemed to rather walk with them than with her fiancé. Danielle didn’t mind, as this made things very easy - she didn’t need to try and keep Beast away from Rosalina, nor did she have to worry about keeping her lover’s mood up to prevent the terrible sulk that recently plagued her features.

Once they crossed the bridge, Danielle couldn’t help looking back. Crocodiles did not particularly frighten her, as long as she was out of their reach, but she wondered if there were other predators around the castle used to keep it guarded.

“Good girl,” She uttered encouraging praise to Beast as she faced forward again, petting her once more and they soon reached the gate.

“…delicious dumplings too! The last banquet had no strawberry filled ones - why is that?”

Danielle caught a little snippet of the conversation between Rosalina and the guards and a smile came to her face. She was pleased to hear that her Rosalina was so happy with the lunch that they shared. So much so that she was already speaking so highly of Hariyama’s cooking! As they rounded a corner ahead of them within the castle's walls, however, Rosalina’s voice would become muffled and Danielle would lose track of the conversation again, gently prompting Beast to follow them up a wide spiral staircase.

“…the crew! All sorts of people! Danny and I will be sailing the seas once we’re married as well, so…”

Rosalina’s words would echo through the upward spiral of stairs. Perhaps it was because of this echo that they were sometimes difficult to make out clearly as once she and the guards were out of view, their conversation would always become muffled. Oddly enough, Danielle never heard the guards utter a word, not a single one… perhaps this stairwell was specifically designed to mess with the acoustics and limit eavesdroppers and infiltrators.

There were so many steps that Danielle felt guilty about having the Professor and Beast come so far, indicated by the guilty look on her face as she glanced at Gabriel. “I don't think it should be much further…” she suggested, though she was really quite unsure - yet although she did none of the walking, even she found this tedious and thought to herself, we must have been climbing these damned stairs for at least ten minutes, how much further could there be?

Finally, they reached the top. “I’d love to do something with those curtains, but is it really worth it? I don’t think so, I will be leaving soon anyway, and I don't want to put so much time and effort into something that will be discarded once I'm gone.” Rosalina stood beside the two guards, who kept their visors lowered. While this did an excellent job at hiding the bored expressions on their faces beneath them, the head of one of the guards appeared to be drooped forward in sheer apathy and complete lack of interest while Rosalina was looking away, until the other of the pair cleared his throat and he raised his head sharply. The three of them stood a few steps away from the top step, in front of a large heavy door. The corridor stretched on, but there was no other door as decorated as this one.

“That’s all very interesting, Miss Rosalina. We’ve arrived at your father’s study.” Turning toward Gabriel, Beast, and Danielle, he gestured toward the large heavy door behind him for them to enter. A hand on a large door handle each, the pair of guards pushed the doors open and stepped aside in rehearsed fashion as they both straightened like statues.

Within the room was a bright red carpeted floor with golden seams and handsewn patterns. The walls were lined with tapestries and bookshelves in alternating fashion, candles freshly replaced within shiny glass holders on the chandeliers, and a large desk was positioned at the far end of the room before a fireplace. Filling the gap between the door and the desk, was a set of velvet sofas that surrounded a large coffee table that held several delicate bottles of a variety of drinks and some polished cases, some of which were open to reveal expensive chocolates.

Outside on Beast’s back, Danielle felt extremely nervous as she stared in through the now open door. She had never been allowed to enter this room before, and only now truly realised the ridiculous amount of wealth Rosalina’s family owned… inevitably, her fear crept in. Whatever the Professor can offer, it isn't going to be enough...

“Daddy!” With a spring in her step, the girl skipped inside to greet her father.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Guard: #128b3b

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #2

Beast made a face worth of a teenage girl that was told she cannot do something but quickly forgot about being offended as they entered the castle itself.

“Woof, woo woo woof!”

She barked happily, wagging her tail from side to side as in her little world being allowed to enter was surely a sign that Rosalina was starting to love her.

Meanwhile, Gabriel followed the guards and their charge toward her father´s study, pitying the two men who were forced to listen to Rosalina´s endless chatter without a single break.

The guard led them into a tower and its exceptionally long staircase that made it hard for the massive dog to walk on. Or perhaps would have if a good third of her size wasn´t just fluff, that allowed her to float in as if she was made from water. The sheer cuteness of that act made Gabriel smile, later extending it toward Danielle in an encouraging manner when she noticed her apologetic look as neither he nor Beast were bothered by something as simple as a long staircase.

And then they finally arrived, the guards opened the doors revealing a snobby study together with its owner, Rosalina´s dad.

At that moment two things happened. First, the ginger rushed to her father like a small girl whose dad returned from a long day at work, and second, Beast perked her eyes and sniffed, making Gabriel alert. He didn´t have to search for long to find a cause for her behavior as at the table there was a large cat with white puffy hair and a short snout that looked at the colossal dog with a mix of disbelief and terror.

“Beast don’t!”

The Professor´s voice cracked through the study, freezing the large malamute mid-stride as she already sprang forward to chase the feline.

“Woof!”

She showed her teeth in a guilty smile, before backing a few steps back, making Gabriel shake his head in silent resignation.

“Ehm, my sincere apology for such an entrance. My name is Professor Moon, a mentor of Danny. From what I heard I understand that you wish for proof that my protegee will be able to provide material security for your daughter before agreeing to their wedding, so I came to offer you a such proof.”

While picking his words with great care to avoid Danielle´s real name or gender, Gabriel greeted the lord with a friendly smile in an attempt to improve the already damaged first impression.

[Bobbie]

Beast’s sudden halt nearly caused Danielle to fall right off her back, the jolt sending her body forward to crash into the back of the dog’s head. Once the massive malamute took some steps back, her rider sighed and stroked her fur some more in an attempt to keep her calm.

Also reacting quickly, Rosalina’s father instinctively moved one hand to hold his own pet back as well - or, rather, to act as a barrier between the dog and cat. The older man picked up the creature, he gently prompted it into its own basket, out of harm’s way, then turned to his guests.

“Leave it alone, Beast…” she muttered, quietly, before she brought both legs onto one side of Beast’s body and then slid down to stand on her own feet. Gabriel had already started talking and she wasn’t in the habit of interrupting him. It would be best if she first heard what his plan was anyway, considering the offer of such a generous donation came from him.

It would be a lie if his proclaimed protegee said she wasn’t worried about what he might say, but, currently, more significant concerns were of the other man in this exchange.

As Rosalina stepped aside, Danielle gave her a gentle smile, then all of her attention was on her father once more.

Olivier was an older man, though his body contradicted the number of years he’s been on this earth. While his hair was streaked with grey, he appeared to be in very fit condition with broad shoulders and a relatively spry demeanor. His facial features revealed decades of a stern command and rigid mentality, though whether this was restricted to being within the household or not, Danielle didn't know. In spite of this, however, it was crystal clear that his daughter was the glistening jewel in his life that could soften the man.

“Professor Moon,” he finally spoke after politely waiting for Gabriel to finish his introduction. “I see, but, I’m sure you understand that the goal behind this exercise was not to summon an aid to provide such funding…” His frown unwavering, he looked directly at Danielle, who did her utmost not to flinch or show any signs of weakness. All she could do was merely stand there and reciprocate his frown, but didn’t dare speak.

All the while, Rosalina busied herself by sitting on the large sofa, that was a decorative piece as much as it was furniture.

“But we can discuss this,” Olivier gestured to the two single armchairs as he turned back to Gabriel, then followed Rosalina's lead to the grand sofa to sit beside his daughter himself. “Please, have a seat. As I’m sure my daughter’s suitor has already informed you, my name is Sir Olivier, and, as you can also see for yourself, I have very high standards for my very precious girl.” Rosalina smiled, beaming at how important this made her feel.

Anxiously, Danielle moved to one of the two seats, forcing her leg to move with as little fuss as possible while she clutched the wooden chest tightly. She wished she had never brought it with her. It was only at this moment that she realised how trivial such a small token would probably appear to such a wealthy man. Worst of all, as she carried it in her arms, she could feel something knocking around within it as she suspected that it may have been damaged and a piece of the lock came loose.

“So tell me, how do you intend to offer such proof, Professor Moon?”

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #3

Beast snorted in a mix of disappointment and disgust over the feline, but didn´t dare to chase her across the room. Not after her dad told her not to. That gave Gabriel enough time and space to focus on negotiation with Rosalina´s father.

To be fair, the Professor didn´t have any plan and so his brain ran into overdrive, putting one together from the things Olivier told him.

“Thank you.”

He nodded in appreciation, taking a chair across the table from to the master of the house.

Basically from what he understood offering a single payment wouldn´t be enough as the goal of this task wasn´t money acquisition but rather proving that Danielle will be able to spoil his daughter at least as much as him. And while it made things a bit more complicating it also opened an amazing opportunity for him that would allow him to secure future voyages and visits from Danielle! All he had to do was play it right.

“Well, I am not sure if you know it, but I am currently running a promotion company that focus on Martial Arts. We are doing everything from public matches between various schools and warriors, through training private fighting forces to history research about them. Few weeks ago, Danny accepted a job from me and made enough of impression to deserve a promotion among our top management.”

Gabriel smiled, proud at himself how good he became in dancing around her actual gender.

“That position is connected with many benefits including very generous salary. And because I am very confident in Danny´s abilities I decided to pay whatever money is required for the wedding with your daughter as a…sign on bonus.”

There was no hint of any ulterior motives in his voice or on his face. Just a gentle, kind smile as the Professor reached for his cheque book.

[Bobbie]

Danielle stared at Gabriel in sheer disbelief for a moment, quite shocked to see what a good liar he had become! So much so that some part of her began to question whether it was actually a lie or something that he was genuinely planning on doing at some point - throwing some honest statements into the mix always made lying easier.

She then offered a little smile and turned her head to look at Olivier once more, gauging his reaction to it all. He seemed to be buying into what the Professor was saying for the most part, but she found that the man was quite difficult to read. Just in case, she threw in a nod here and there to go along with everything that her companion, her supposed boss, was saying.

Olivier’s eyes revealed nothing. Sitting with one leg crossed over the other, one arm on the back of the sofa while the other rested on his knee, he watched Gabriel while the man spoke. Occasionally, without shifting his position, his gaze would drift away to look at Danielle, then back to Professor Moon, but not once did his lips even flinch into a hint of a smile nor a frown. Even as Gabriel was finished and began to reach for his cheque book, the older man said nothing. Finally, he brought his leg down and raised the other to shift his position by swapping them.

“I would be very interested in reading some of the research conducted. Perhaps there might even be a spot on the shelves in my library…”

The treasure huntress let out a soft sigh, having been holding her breath for most of that time as the air felt so dense between them. He seemed so taken with Gabriel’s story that it brought a smile to her face. It seemed that things were going incredibly smoothly, more so than she could have ever guessed that they would.

“Very well. I am sure you understand, Professor Moon, I only want the best for my girl. A wedding that will be suitable for her - and Danny - would be no less than…” as Olivier was about to name a price, Rosalina suddenly rose from her seat.

Like Danielle, the ginger was ecstatic! However, she did a terrible job of containing herself, unlike the former. She was finally to be married to the special one-and-only that she had been dreaming of all her life, and nothing could suppress her excitement.

“Daddy, thank you, thank you, thank you!” First she kissed his cheek, then she skipped over to the chair Danielle was in, kissing her cheek as well, before hugging her tightly with a squeal of a giggle. Finally, she released the blonde and took the ornate chest.

“Look what Danny brought, just for me! Isn’t it pretty? It should be some kind of memorabilia of this very day, the day my Danny and I are officially getting married! I can’t wait to store all our wedding photos in here!” Just as she often does, Rosalina completely stole the floor. Danielle didn’t mind as it gave her a chance to breathe and calm down, glancing at Gabriel while Olivier allowed his daughter all the time that she wanted to gush over the wedding, her future life as a married woman, all the cats she will be taking care of, and the beautifully designed box in her hand.

With a rare emotional look in her eye, Danielle began to mouth ‘thank you’ to the Professor, but didn’t make it through the two simple words as a loud click suddenly was heard.

The box was opened… and a terrible stench that could only be made worse by the dreadful silence that filled the air.

Next came an ear-piercing shriek from none other than Rosalina that could be heard all around the castle. As the chest was dropped to the carpet, a decaying hand rolled out of it.

In an instant, Olivier also rose to his feet and Rosalina was pulled behind him in a fatherly gesture. In his eyes was nothing but rage, directed at both Danielle and Gabriel.

“What is the meaning of this!? Explain yourselves!”

Danielle was mortified and looked like she could be sick any moment, her eye wide and fixed on the severed hand.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #4

At first the Professor expected that man like Olivier would be more interested in the opportunity to expand his power and fighting strength of his personal troop, but to his surprise he was more interested in Gabriel´s collection of books!”

“Maybe there is still some hope for this family.”

The Professor muttered for himself as he nodded.

“Perhaps, while I have only limited number of books with me right now my library back at Toroa possess several rare tomes I collected on my voyages, some of which are the only of its kind. Perhaps when I´ll get back home I could arrange translation of few for you. After all, with Danny being as close to me as my own child we´ll be almost a family after this marriage.”

Gabriel decided to use the fact that neither he, nor Danielle looked their age, at least in his eyes, with the Professor being routinely mistaken for someone a whole decade and older than he really was.

Keeping his good mood as Rosalina´s dad was about to name the price for which he was willing to give his daughter´s hand to Danny, Gabriel turned his head around as Rosalina jumped on her feet, too excited to control her emotions anymore.

“Really, what she can only see in you…”

Puzzled the Professor muttered for himself, watching that childish creature, only for his smile to darken a bit when the lock suddenly released itself revealing the rather unpleasant content of the box.

“That´s a hand…”

Said the Professor dumbfounded as the whole absurdity of the situation he found himself in took him aback.

Unfortunately, there was no time to think about a good explanation as Olivier looked angrier with every second and Danielle froze completely.

“I mean…”

The kind-hearted smile returned quickly to his face.

“We found the box during our last excavations…”

He tried his best to come up with believable story as quickly as possible, but contrary to Danielle´s expectation he didn´t improve much as a liar as he was daydreaming rather than lying to Olivier before.

“and…ehm, the lock was jammed so neither of us managed to get inside…still I am pretty surprised that the hand is in such good condition considering the box being nearly three hundred years old.”

The Professor laughed nervously.

“Anyway, this is entirely my fault, so I hope you won’t hold this little incident against Danny.”

While still smiling a hidden edge suddenly appeared in his voice, almost as if he was warning that older man against such action.

[Bobbie]

The drastic shift in Olivier’s manner became painfully evident in the glare that he shot at the Professor who proceeded to state the obvious.

“It is indeed a hand,” he replied, in as calm a voice he could manage, though the man was seething. “I do not care what condition it is in, I want that disgusting thing removed from my sight!” His voice now shook with anger, no longer calm, and Danielle swore that she could feel it rattle her bones as the treasure huntress was devastated, her entire world crumbling around her as she too rose from her chair. The look on his face and the trembling rage in his voice was enough confirmation that her chances of ever acquiring his approval to marry Rosalina were not only reduced, but destroyed.

Lost in her own world, she could barely process the words that were coming from Gabriel’s mouth although her subconscious heard them somewhere in the background.

“You…” his attention was thankfully mostly on Gabriel as Danielle wasn’t sure if she could handle the situation if Olivier’s yelling was directed at her. She couldn’t look away from the hand and she couldn’t say a word. All she wanted to do was turn and leave this dreadful man’s presence, take her Rosie with her onto Beast's back, and never return. The panic she felt within her was unlike anything she had ever felt before.

“You claim to be Danny’s advocate! A sponsor, a patron, ready to fund the wedding, but this is what you bring into my home!?” The livid man growled at Gabriel, before glancing at Danielle - her body rigid and perfectly still which only seemed to infuriate the man further.

“I don’t care who of you two is at fault! Consider your offer rejected. I will not allow my daughter to be in the hands of such… such… barbarians!”

“We didn’t know what was in the box…” Danielle finally raised her gaze to meet his as she found the courage to speak, but she was immediately met with an evil glare from the furious man who took a step toward her, baring his teeth.

“Silence!” Olivier’s roar may have been predictable, yet the blonde flinched nonetheless. Instinctively and unintentionally, her body shifted and she not only took a step backward, but also in Gabriel’s direction to get closer to him while she lowered her head and stared at the floor again. She didn’t dare make another sound, but a hard swallow and the muscles in her face revealed a heavy tension in her jaw and brow. Subtle twitches that could easily go unnoticed would indicate that she was trying very hard to prevent her lip from quivering, her jaw clenched in a show of toughness that she was used to putting on most of the time.

Thankfully, one step was all he made in Danielle’s direction, although it was out of no act of kindness but rather he was too repulsed by the former contents of the box that were now spilled onto his carpet to move closer to reach her. “How can you expect me to trust you people with my daughter after this? How do I know that this… this violence isn’t a frequent occurrence? How do I know you didn't put it in there yourselves!?”

All the while, the poor traumatised Rosalina remained silently watching from behind her father, until now.

“Daddy… I trust Danny with my life, I’m sure it wouldn't have been given to me if they knew what was in it...” peering out from behind Olivier, she glanced at her beloved, in a very poor attempt to come to Danielle’s rescue. Perhaps it was not intentional, but the gesture did have an effect on Danielle as her shoulders moved ever so slightly to broaden with more confidence, though not by much.

“As The Professor said, the lock couldn't be opened... it was jammed, none of us managed to get it open and we have no idea who it... belonged to.” The effort that Danielle put into keeping her voice from shaking was immense, and she only looked at Olivier and Rosalina for a fleeting moment before turning to the familiar and comforting face of Gabriel, panic in her own. “Right?”

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #5

The situation escalated rather quickly, but Gabriel couldn´t say he was really unhappy with it. Actually it was the opposite. From the very beginning he regrated the fact he offered to support this wedding and now it seemed it will fall apart without anyone being able to blame him for it, which looked like the best course of events possible. Yes, the fact that Danielle will be heartbroken was tearing his own heart in two but he and the whole crew would be there for her and who knows perhaps she would find interest in Namkhai and decided to stay with them forever!

Suddenly his day dreaming was interrupted by Olivier´s angry voice that demanded a removal of that severed hand from his floor. Curious about that objects origin, Gabriel took a handkerchief from his pocket and reached forward to grab that thing.

“Interesting…”

He muttered seemingly oblivious to the severity of the situation around him as he got lost in his own little world again.

“This thing doesn´t look that old…weeks, month at best…”

He continued with his assessment, completely missing that part where Rosalina´s dad officially rejected his offer, only to freeze, when he yelled at Danielle directly.

That man yelled at his puppy and frightened her enough for her to seek a protection from him. He dared to yell at her! He terrified her! He was threat to her!

Slowly, very slowly his kind smile faded, being replaced by a stern mask of cold, murderous rage that seemingly darkened even the room they were standing in.

Beast, being sensitive to these changes of mood of her master whined and lied down, covering her eyes with her front paw so she wouldn´t see what was about to happen.

When he raised from his chair, the Professor was beyond furious, so when Danielle looked at him it was as watching a completely different person.

“Did you just raise your voice at my puppy?”

He asked and the question contained everything from accusation through judgment, to a sentence which was death.

Not waiting for his answer, Gabriel stepped forward the fingers on his right hand pressed together to form a spear hand, the instrument of Olivier´s execution.

[Bobbie]

As Gabriel intervened, two very different reactions were elicited from Olivier and Danielle. First, Olivier was terribly confused, as his gaze went to Beast for a moment, then to Danielle and finally back on Gabriel. As his confusion began to transition to fear, he realised how genuinely angry The Professor was, not because he had yelled at his dog, but because he yelled at Danielle.

Danielle on the other hand was equally annoyed as she was grateful. While she was glad that he stepped in, she was also quite embarrassed to be called his puppy in public and, worse than that, before Rosalina and her father!

As she then noticed Beast’s behaviour, she realised what was happening, and she looked at Gabriel’s hand.

“What on earth are you on about? And here I thought you were a respectable figure!” Olivier replied, but before Gabriel could utter a response, his protegee grabbed his arm and gave it a squeeze while watching him with a stern frown.

The air around him was dark, a look on the man's face that she vaguely recalled seeing once before at Mr Gatling’s mansion, but she had never been close enough to experience it for herself. She hoped she wouldn’t have to as she focussed on her frustration at being called his puppy rather than how dire the situation of her love affairs currently was. Indeed it was much easier to deal with things when she was angry at him for something, oddly enough…

“We will prove to you that we had nothing to do with that hand.” Danielle put forward a proposition of her own to Rosalina's father with newfound bravery and courage in her voice, fuelled by nothing but her angst. “We will return in three days with the identity of the man - or woman - that the hand belonged to, and you will be free to carry out as many investigations of the discovered identity as you’d like to confirm it, Sir Olivier. If you are still not satisfied and are convinced that we had something to do with the crimes surrounding the event of this severed limb, then turn us in to the police. Perhaps they will have less trouble uncovering the truth that you might refuse to see.”

Olivier now stared at Danielle, quite shocked by her boldness and completely missing the tremor in her voice that was undeniably still present while she spoke.

“Very well. You have 72 hours… you deliver just a second late and you will find your face and name on bounty posters all over the East Blue Islands, do you understand me?”

Rosalina smiled, satisfied with the outcome as she wore a proud look on her face as if she had something to do with how positively things ended. She was flattered to see her Danny go to such lengths for her, her lover’s undying devotion to her stroked her ego to an alarming degree as her sense of self-importance only grew further with each trauma Danielle endured for her sake.

Danielle glanced at her fiancée with only a hint of annoyance on her features at the fact that the ginger was of no help throughout all of this. Nodding to the man, she then turned to Gabriel, releasing his arm. “Are we all in agreement of the terms?”

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #6

Olivier´s insults and attempts to reason with Gabriel missed their mark completely, as in this state the Professor was driven by single minded focus on elimination of whatever he recognized as a threat for his puppy.

Another step and he got into the proper range, now all he had to do was lunge forward and…he paused as someone grabbed his arm. Turning his head around, he noticed Danielle with a mix of gratefulness, annoyance and embarrassment written all over her face.

“Hmmmm?”

As if by some strange magic the stern expression he had reserved for Rosalina´s dad melted away, making a room for kind, encouraging smile.

He wanted to comfort her and tell her that everything will be alright, but to his surprise, the young treasure huntress was faster, addressing Olivier with her proposition.

“Hmmmmm, interesting…did I understand the situation wrong?”

The Professor muttered for himself as he witnessed the sudden strength and calmness that reflected in Danielle´s voice.

“Maybe she wasn´t in any real danger after all, but than again, that man yelled at her…should I kill him, or no?”

Well she wouldn´t probably grab his hand if she wanted him dead, so perhaps he could do an exception this time…

However just as he was getting ready to let it go Olivier did another mistake, including Danielle in his threat just a moment before the treasure huntress released his arm.

“Phantom Step”

Right after her fingers released their grip, the Professor disappeared from the sight of an untrained eyes, reappearing few steps away right in front of Rosalina´s dad. One of his hands shooting forward, grabbing that man´s neck before slamming him with force against wall, why the other pressed a single finger against his chest with enough force for him to realise how little he was away from being pierced by the Professor´s most lethal weapon.

“If you think I will just stand here, listening how you are threatening my puppy than you are sorely mistaken.”

He growled angrily.

“So, remember this, if I´ll see just a single wanted poster with Danny´s face or name on it, I´ll hunt you down and not just you. I´ll go after your family, your friends, pets even your f*eaking goldfish and will make sure that there won’t be a single person with a good memory of you remining. Do we understand each other?”

That wasn´t an empty thread and Gabriel made sure that this little fact will be properly understood.

[Bobbie]

Just as she thought things were finally being smoothed out and she could breathe again, all chaos broke loose in this elaborate study they were in, all standing in the firelight that burned from somewhere behind Olivier.

In a fraction of a second, Gabriel was suddenly gone from her sight the very moment she released his arm. A gust of wind blew past her as he moved faster than she could even process and Danielle was left standing there in shock, staring at an empty space before her.

Then a loud crashing sound came from her left as she went cold. He's going to kill him…

Olivier had been slammed into the wall so hard that ornaments upon the fireplace mantle rattled, a vase falling onto the floor. While the carpet prevented it from shattering, the heavy material did crack as it made a loud thud. Following this, another scuffle could be heard as Rosalina fell on her rear, knocked over by Gabriel’s quick movement past her to reach her father. As the girl screamed, she scrambled to her feet, crying for her father to be left unharmed and for Danny to do something.

The man himself was not expecting such a sharp strike as the wind was knocked out of his aged lungs, leaving him wheezing. The pressure he felt in his chest made his heart race and he raised both hands to grab Gabriel’s, using all his strength to prevent the Professor's finger from pressing any further in fear of his own heart exploding there and then.

“Fine…” he hissed at the Gabriel through his teeth, struggling to manage his breathing especially as he spoke and with the added pressure to his chest and throat. “We understand each other. You want to take a bullet for that stray, then so be it. All of my spite will rain like thunder on you, Professor Moon. Mark my words, you will regret this!”

Rosalina reached Gabriel at this moment, tugging at his arm in a futile attempt to protect her father. It was ironically Danielle who inserted herself between the two men and put herself in harm's way, forcing her shoulder in first to get in Gabriel’s way, then she pushed his chest to try and separate them.

“Professor, stop this! This isn’t the answer!” She yelled over Rosalina’s wailing, perhaps the panic and fear of what signature move could come next if this was allowed to continue or the deep desire to make the ginger’s shrieks stop lending her voice more volume than it would usually possess. This, however, did nothing to mask a crack in her voice as she pleaded.

“Please, you’re going to make things worse…” She now lowered her voice which had regained its previous tremor and grew raspier. Her throat tightening, her brow arched with a mix of emotions that the stressed lover was clearly trying very hard to stifle.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #7

Listening to Olivier´s threats, Gabriel tilted his head slightly to the side, before squeezing his neck a bit harder to silent him for the moment.

“Are you sure it´s smart to threaten me right now?”

He asked. There was not a single hint of mockery in his voice, or any other emotion for the matter besides a pure unfiltered blood lust. The Professor wanted to kill that man with every fibre of his being and the only reason he didn´t do it yet was that faint memory of Danielle staying his hand.

A second later, he noticed a mane of ginger hair moving in his direction a second before Rosalina grabbed his arm, trying to push his finger away from her dad. He fulfilled her wish, slapping her with the back of his hand across that annoying face without holding back.

Forming a spear hand, he wanted to stab Olivier but as he was focused on his daughter Danielle moved between the two of them basically shielding him with her own body.

“Why are you protecting him? He threatened you…”

He asked in confusion as his mind struggled to understand why his puppy would go into such length to protect someone who wanted to hurt her just a moment ago.

“Fine, but only because it´s you…”

Releasing Olivier´s neck, Gabriel stepped back, still murdering that man with his gaze.

“You owe her your life, better to remember that.”

The Professor growled, before turning around, heading towards the doors.

“We should probably go, 72 hours isn´t much and the time is already running.”

He muttered, his voice slowly returning back to it´s usual tone.

Realising that it´s already over, Beast raised her paws from her eyes looking around woofing at Danielle to offer her ride away from that weird place.

[Bobbie]

Olivier’s wheezing turned into strained gasps as only a very thin stream of oxygen could get through to his lungs with the added pressure of Gabriel’s grip. Speaking was impossible and breathing was almost the same. All of his attention was now on trying his best to stay conscious, tensing his neck muscles as much as he could in an attempt to prevent his aggressor from crushing his windpipe completely.

As Gabriel removed his other hand from his chest, the man’s own hands fell, momentarily, before one rose to the immediately forming bruise. Above his own strained breaths, Rosalina’s scream could be heard, but he was unable to do anything more than simply look at her.

Rosalina was struck with enough force for her head to whip to the side and the girl fell back with a sharp inhale. Bringing one hand up to her cheek, her eyes immediately filled with tears and gentle sobs came next.

Olivier saw this, but couldn’t do anything. Danielle also saw this, but chose to look away and do nothing. Of course, she would deny this if ever asked, but a part of her wanted to do that herself, angry at her fiancée for doing very little to come to her defence while she was clearly struggling to face her father. Gabriel was right, the man threatened her, but he did more than that. Everything about their relationship was undermined and Danielle's own value to be worthy of his daughter was questioned and challenged in the worst way.

Completely ignoring Rosalina, her eyes were fixed on Gabriel, hoping that this would be enough to bring him back to his senses and out of whatever this blind rage was before it was too late.

“Because I love her…” the blonde uttered quietly in response to his question, thankful that her method seemed to work in de-escalating the conflict between the two oldest men in the room, but with a hint of regret that she felt the way she did toward the ginger. Once Olivier was released, she moved out of the way again to avoid his sputtering as the man leant forward in pain and relief, the cold air burning as it quickly filling his lungs.

Watching Gabriel storm out of the room, she only offered a passing glance at her weeping love, who rushed to her father’s side while Danielle picked up the chest, and the hand that must have fallen out of the Professor's pocket during their conflict. Luckily, it was still wrapped in his handkerchief, as she didn't particularly want to touch the thing.

With a frown as heavy as her heart, the lovesick woman made her way to Beast and carefully climbed onto her back again. “Come on, Beast, let’s get out of here…” her voice was barely more than a whisper as she pet the fluffy animal with one hand, the other holding the box.

---

Danielle: #fffd17
Rosalina: #ffaaff
Sir Olivier: #b9a3ff