Keeping Up Appearances

Brianna had spent the night lazying about in Quinn's bedroom, she would have been happy to spend the rest of the evening there with him. But he had excused himself to run some errands which she understood. As she gathered her things from his room and headed back to her own she caught sight of a note pinned to her door.

Arabella wanted to see her.

Did Arabella know of her relationship with Quinn? Was she about to get into trouble for sleeping with him? Depositing her things into her room she made her way to the one place she knew where to find her. Standing outside her bedroom door she knocked and waited.

"Arabella? Arabella are you there?" she called.

Arabella had sent Cassia to go grocery shopping so she and Brianna would have privacy. She was surprised how quickly she heard a knock at the door.

"Arabella? Arabella are you there?"

She smiled, opening the door.

"Come on in, Brianna. I just thought we should talk about a few things. Did you want to start things off or should I?"

Brianna was a little alarmed when Arabella answered the door straight away as she tried to keep herself calm and relaxed. But it was kind of hard when she could not hear Cassia which meant they were alone which was not a good thing.

"Look I should have told you and me and Quinn...But it just sort of happened and I like him very much... she ended before she told her any more.

Arabella smiled at the quick confession.

"I appreciate you being honest with me about that, but I already knew about it, Brianna. I am fairly observant. Think on this. When you and Jessica fought, who did he comfort? How often have you two gone off alone? Then there was the pile of clothing found by the lake..."

She laughed softly...

"...but that is not the main reason we are talking. The two of you are welcome to enjoy each other, as far as I am concerned. The only detail I would ask is to keep proper appearances. Things like sleeping in your OWN bed. What do you think would be the result if your maker decided to make a surprise visit and found you naked in Jonathan's bed? I am not scolding you for sleeping with him, far from it, but I would ask that you be a bit more discreet."

She paused, looking into Brianna's eyes...

"Understand?"

"You know about us?" she looked on confused.

When she explained how she knew Brianna tried her best to hide her embarrassment but knew that she couldn't. She did know that Bill could drop by any time and if he found her in his bed he would surely take her back to his home and she would never see Quinn again and that thought alone made her feel sick.

"I understand...But if I could make Bill understand that we like each other he might understand and let me stay. I mean he and Quinn get on don't they? I don't want to leave I love it here" she pouted.

"I understand that, Brianna. That is why I am bringing this up. As for Jonathan and your maker, they are allies in a cause, and hold a civil peace. They get along because they share an enemy and that is something they are building on. For now, let us be discreet. Your maker has far more vital things to deal with right now and he does not need a distraction like this could cause."

She paused, letting her words sink in.

"For the foreseeable future, I want you sleeping in your own bed, alone. Consider it one of the conditions of your training. If you and Jonathan want to enjoy each other, I have no issue with that as long as it does not interfere with your training. Remember that your training is the primary reason you are here, followed closely by your protection. You having sex with my father runs a far last place on the priority levels and will not be permitted to interfere. I am not, at this time, planning to bring your dalliance with Jonathan to your maker's attention. Please do not give me a reason to change my mind. We all love having you here, and you say you love it here. Let's all agree to make sure that does not need to change."

Brianna listened to and understood everything that Arabella was telling her. But the part about her telling Bill about her 'dalliance' with Quinn had her ticked off.

"I understand...But let me ask you something Arabella? I am here because of Bill, he believed that I will be better protected here with you and Quinn training me whilst he does whatever he does. But did it occur to you that what is happening between me and your father is helping him get over Jessica? I like him and he likes me. But if you tell Bill then you will rip that happiness apart and all because you feel you own some loyalty to my Maker. I have heard a lot of things about Bill and I know that he will do whatever he wants to get his way. she scoffed.

Standing from her chair in front of Arabella

"But if you do not want my dalliance with your father to disrupt my training then perhaps I should take my training to another level. One that does not require Quinn to be apart off. That way you look good for my Maker" she smirked sarcastically.

Arabella's dry laughter filled the air, a look of amusement on her face.

"Wonderful, Brianna. Calm nerves...cold logic...and you even managed to throw in some attitude. Bravo!"

She stood, pulling Brianna into a brief hug, then pulling back, smiling.

"I needed to bring this matter up to you, but more so I needed to see how your emotional control was coming along. I am impressed. I pressed every button I could and you kept your composure. Well, at least mostly. Well done!"

She walked to the end table and picked up a small packet. She walked over handing it to Brianna, smiling.


"We're going on a little shopping trip. Mathew took Cassia to the grocery store so I'll get Tolvin to drive us to the mall. It's my treat."

Brianna stood stunned as Arabella engulfed her into a quick hug as she did not expect that reaction from her.

"Wait? So no yelling? No telling me to get out? I don't understand?" she looked on confused.

Looking down at the small packet that she was handed as she noted the name.

"Victoria Secret? But this is a...lingerie store? Why are we going there?" she asked.

"I thought you might like to pick up a few things. His favorite color is purple. I also thought you might enjoy surprising him for a change."

Arabella winked at her and smiled.

"Go ahead and get yourself ready. We'll leave when you are done. There are other things we can talk about, but we can do that while we are shopping..."

"Pick up a few things?" she repeated when her mind clicked.

Part of her found it weird that she was going lingerie shopping with his 'daughter'.

"Does he like surprises?" she grinned knowing that she would at least have another opinion about what she was buying.

Turning on her heels she went to go and get ready, at least Arabella wasn't mad at her.

Arabella smiled as Brianna went to change clothes. That had gone perfectly. Brianna was a bit confused right now but would see her as an ally. That could be useful later if things went south. She walked to the closet, deciding to pick out something that would turn heads. She was in the mood to play games. Once she was dressed, she walked down to Brianna's rooms, leaning her head in and smiled.



"Ready to go break some hearts?"