"Princess BB" James, Elisabeth, Beatrice Braddock, and Laura Holding on tight to her Daddy's hand, Beatrice glanced between him and the wide gates their car was pulling through. "Daddy?" she whispered, her eyes wide. James adjusted his top hat as he sat forward pointing to the grand estate that loomed ahead of them as they came up the drive. "Your kingdom, Princess." "Kingdom?" the little girl brightened, her blue eyes shining. "If it's mine, doesn't that make me a queen or an empress or something? Not just a princess? Daddy, does that make you the King?" "That my darling sprite makes me Lord of the manor, which is much better then being King." As the car pulled up to the house James pulled his daughter into his lap so she could see the impressive house. "Kings are rather dull and have the most dreadful ears." "And you've got stately ears, Daddy," Beatrice said firmly, snuggling against her father. Her head suddenly tilted and the little blond haired seven year old peered intently at nothing. "Do I have stately ears? Or do princesses have dreadful ears too?" James stepped out of the car once the drive had opened the door, his daughter still in his arms, he tossed her up a bit then caught her and cuddled her. "Princesses have princess ears, absolutely perfect." Cuddling him back, she grinned, her arms around his neck and clinging tight. "So we're living here now? Is this where you're bringing Mummy back?" "This is your home, Princess." James told her as he charged towards the front door. Laura had heard the car before it had reached the gates but thought nothing of it until she smelled that strange tangy scent. She's smelled it in the house before and it made the hairs on her arms stand up. She was standing at the top of the stairs as Hastings answered the door. The elderly man blinked. "Lord Braddock." "And your home and Mummy's home." Beatrice snuggled against her father. "Coz Mummy's coming back. You're going to make her all alright. Right, Daddy? No more being dead." "Hastings ol' chap!" James called out as he entered the house, choosing to ignore his daughter's questions. "Good to be home, now be a good chap and fetch the lady of the house. Oh dear beloved sister where for art thou!" Her dark purple eyes were swirling at the report of her sister-in-law's death on her desk but at her brother's voice from downstairs, Betsy rolled her eyes and sauntered out as if she had no grief at all. "Now, now, brother-mine, you know better than to misquote poor old Will so badly. Mother and Father would be having a fit." ~~I'm so sorry, James, let me know if there's anything I can do. She was a very good woman~~ James smiled at his younger and only sister. "There are several things you can do my dearest Elisabeth." He set Beatrice down, flicked a finger and caused the beastly woman watching them to fall from her preach on the landing. "First, ask your darling Canada wildcat to stop watching me. It makes me nervous." ~~I miss her, I am capable of that you know.~~ "Second, say hello to your niece." ~~You're capable of so much more, James~~ Betsy placed a gentle hand on her brother's cheek then nodded, putting on a bright smile for the little girl. "Well now, who's this little princess?" "My name's Beatrice Elisabeth Abigail Braddock," the girl chimed. "And you're my Auntie Betsy. You've met me before but I was just a baby so I don't remember it." Laura had managed to land softly despite the suddenness of her fall. She didn't like James, but she kept the snarl off her face. The top hat and black boxer short clad man smiled sincerely at his sister before plastering on a more James' like grin. "You see, I knew you two would hit it off. This is going to work perfectly." "Work?" Betsy asked, her eyes narrowing and her eyebrows raising. "Daddy?" Beatrice said nervously. "Where you going?" Plopping down into the floor, crossing his legs under him, James looked up at his daughter's worried looking face. "Things to do, places to be, realities to string alone, Princess, you know how it goes." "Bringing Mummy home?" she asked hopefully. "Your going to like living with your Aunt Besty." James told her. "Daddy... You are bringing her back, aren't you?" she insisted. ~~Don't lie to her James, don't promise to bring her mother back if you only think you can do it~~ "Well now, it seems we have a new princess to take care of, Laura," Betsy said as cheerfully as she could. "So it seems." Grunted the younger woman watching. James was a fool if he thought the girl was really so stupid. James got his feet and bowed deeply. "I am but your humble servant my Princess BB." He took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. "Daddy loves you, baby." "I love you too, Daddy," she said softly, clinging to him. In a tiny whisper, she asked once more, "Is Mummy coming back?" "I don't know." James whispered back, a tremor of emotion in his voice. He stepped back after kissing his daughter's blonde curls. And then pulled at thin air. "Be good to each other my darling girls." He then slipped through the opening he had made and was gone. Betsy smiled at the girl, expecting tears or tantrums or wailing but what she got was a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her from a tilted head. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted,. "You have purple hair, did you know?" the girl said matter-of-factly. "I did," Betsy replied evenly. Beatrice's head tilted the other way. "And purple eyes, did you know?" "Yes..." "And you look like Mrs Chang from down in the village at the Chinese take-away, did you know?" "Well, yes..." "Were you illi... ille..." Beatrice screwed up her eyes, squinting... "Illegitamate? Did Grandmama have an accident with Mr. Chang?" She couldn't help it, she really tried to hold it back, but Laura cracked up. Betsy's cheeks were a deep crimson as she glared briefly at Laura. "No, Beatrice, I was not illegitamate." "Then how come you look like Mrs Chang from the Chinese take-away in the village?" the girl asked. "Because..." Betsy sighed as she crouched down to the girl's level. "Because it's a very long story that I'll tell you when you're older." Beatrice hated it when adults said things like that. It was as if she wasn't bright enough to understand now and both her Daddy and Mummy told her she was the brightest girl in the whole world. Instead of getting into it though, she turned her attention to the other woman. "Are you Auntie Betsy's personal serving girl?" she asked Laura. "Well that's a new one." Laura snorted as she moved closer to Elisabeth. "No, I'm not." "Are you her..." Beatrice bit her lip, trying to formulate the adult terminology for something she had no clue what it actually meant, "working girl?" Betsy coughed, her eyes bulging a little. "Well I..." she coughed. Laura blinked. Of course the girl would have no way of knowing her past, but it still stung an awful lot. "No." She answered. "You're getting mad at me," the girl informed Laura simply. It was just a statement and held no emotion either way. Her head tilted to the side again. "Do you get angry a lot?" "Yes. It's genetic." The woman replied with a toned down ferial smile. "Ge-ne-tic... Is that like when Mary Spalding's brother John came out all chocolate coloured when both her parents are white and her Daddy got mad? Mary Spalding said it was because of his jeans." The girl frowned. "But I didn't know babies wore them." Laura snorted again. She was starting to like this kid. "Yeah, something like that." Deciding that it was more than time to end the conversation, Betsy clapped her hands together and smiled. "How about we find you a room, princess, then get some dinner?" "I don't eat vegetables," Beatrice informed her aunt. "Or grapes. Or lemons. Or apples. Or anything even remotely green." "The frogs in the pound will be relieved." Laura replied as she watched Elisabeth starting up the stairs. She smiled a soft smile admiring what she was seeing. "EW!" Beatrice wrinkled her nose. "Frogs? Yuck!" Laura raised a brow which made her look like Logan. "That's properly what they say when they seen humans." "Why would they? I'm beautiful, my Daddy says so," the girl said firmly. "For a human," Laura replied as she shoved her hands in her pockets and headed up the stairs herself, "not for a frog." "I don't want to be beautiful for a frog," Beatrice said with a laugh, giggling up. "That's just silly. Auntie Betsy, she's being silly." "Is that true, Laura?" Betsy said as she paused and turned to stare in mock horror at Laura. "My God, are you being silly? Is that even possible? Quick, someone call a doctor, I think my love is unwell!" Laura rolled her eyes yet smiled brightly. "It's genetically imposable for me to be silly. It's not a Howlett trait." "Is that so?" Betsy mused. "Do you believe that, BB? Do you think that if we tickled her, Auntie Laura would giggle like you?" Beatrice nodded her head firmly, grinning as her eyes danced. "Can we try?" "Shall we?" Betsy asked innocently. "Betsy." Laura warned as she backed down the hallway, her hands up to fend off the tickle attack. "Yes my sweet?" she asked, her purple eyes dancing as she advanced on Laura. Before she had a chance to escape Laura felt both elegant and tiny fingers tickling her. There was only one thing to do. She tickled back and bit her bottom lip to hold back her giggles. "Don't you dare!" Betsy cried, grabbing at Laura's hands so Beatrice could tickle Laura. The girl was giggling so hard, she was almost crying and Betsy felt herself succumb to the most unladilike giggling too. "I got ya!" she cheered at Laura as she reached to tickle her stomach. It was almost to easy to use Elisabeth's hold on her to pull the older woman towards her. Laura grinned just before capturing Elisabeth's lips with her own. Elisabeth returned the kiss whole-heartedly, sinking into it then swiveled slightly to lift the little girl and cuddle her as she let Laura go. "Strange little family we'll make, love." "Strange is what we do." Laura replied as she smiled at her love and the little girl. "Normal is boring."