CHAPTER 4

WANTING MORE

Reighley had just left the school grounds while Freya, Destiny, and Ulysses were still on the rooftop. One of the private security team members rushed up the stairs holding the bracelet in his hand.

“We found it, Lady Freya!” The guard said with excitement. Destiny, filled with joy rushed over and snatched the bracelet from the guard.

“Thank you! Freya give this man a raise would you?” Destiny said with a golden smile.

“Actually, it was the boy who had just left the building. He found it and turned it in.” The guard was honest. Freya knew that the guards were paid very well, and were extremely loyal to her and her family. They would have no reason to be dishonest.

“Very good. Tell those who remain downstairs that they are free to leave now.” Freya replied.

“Freya, give Reighley a raise,” Destiny said seriously.

“He doesn’t work for me yet.” Freya laughed. Deep down in her heart, she was thankful for him helping her best friend. He didn’t have to go out of his way to do that for Destiny. Though she was confident that the task force would have found the bracelet eventually.

“I’ll have to spoil him on our date tomorrow. It is the weekend of course.”

“Date? I didn’t know you and Reighley were dating.” Ulysses said, slightly disappointed.

“It’s complicated. Wait, who are you again?” Freya said with confusion.

“This is Ulysses, the guy who helped Reighley and me search the school. We found him in one of the rooms and he offered to help.” Destiny retorted.

“Well, here.” Freya handed Ulysses 10,000 yen, (75.00 USD). Ulysses was confused by the outcome but didn’t refuse the payment. It would help with his cigarette addiction.

“Thanks. I really should get going.” Ulysses awkwardly strutted towards the door and headed home. He wasn’t sure how to talk to girls. He was quite shy when it came to simple interactions with them or anyone for that matter. Once he had left school grounds he wondered if he had made friends today. If not with the girls then at least with Reighley. Ulysses never had friends growing up. He only had his older brother and his father as role models for him. He was always alone. However, he knew the reason why. He was intimidating, his social skills were lacking, and he smelled like cigarettes. He tried to quit but just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Not smoking for a day was like being in a desert without water for a week. He was nervous about what other people thought of him. He never wanted to make others feel uncomfortable. When Ulysses arrived home he played single-player video games to pass the time, as his father and his older brother both worked at their family's restaurant during the weekdays. They owned a small humble ramen shop called Back Alley Ramen. It was an underground walk-in wooden shack that had stools you could sit on once you walked over the sheet covering the entrance. Ulysses would help with the shop on the weekends. He was fairly proud of his ability to cook.

Their home was connected to the upstairs of the shack built into the structure. Ulysses shared a room with his older brother Sunny Cinder. Sunny had white hair and wasn’t nearly as stout as his younger brother. He was already in college. He was two years older than Ulysses. Although the family lived in a restaurant, they were incredibly wealthy. Their family’s wealth came from their mom’s side of the family. She was born into it. She was often gone from home traveling the world and collecting art as a hobby. She had her two sons stay at home with their dad, so they could learn to live a normal honest life. After a long walk, Ulysses arrived home, and awaiting him in his room was his older brother.

“Hey bro, you think you can run the shop by yourself tomorrow?” Sunny asked.

“Yeah, I think I can manage,” Ulysses replied.

“Good, because I’ll be out of town. I am going to a group study thing for school.” When Sunny said this Ulysses's eyes widened. Sunny was nothing like Ulysses. Though the two both got their education through Gilford High, Sunny was a popular student there at the time of his enrollment. He was everything Ulysses wanted to be, confident, with great social skills, and a perfect physique. Ulysses thought Sunny was the coolest big brother ever.

Ulysses was not jealous of his brother, instead, he was proud of him, as he was the top student in his class all while managing to work at the ramen shop. Ulysses knew he could never be as cool or awesome as his brother, but he still loved Sunny and supported him to the fullest.

Sunny was also a really good sword fighter. He practiced kendo daily throughout high school. However he didn’t use a standard sword style, instead he applied Iaijutsu (居合術), a traditional quick-draw sword style. They called him the Yukime (ゆきめ) which in English meant Snow Blindness, because of his white hair and that he would swiftly strike his opponents with a blinding strike.

“Is it a date?” Ulysses probed.

“Yeah… kind of.” Sunny got embarrassed. Being bad at talking to girls was something the two shared. It supposedly runs in the family, as their father Todoh (Toe-Doe) has trouble too, even while being married.

“You got this bro!” Ulysses gave Sunny a thumbs up.

“Thanks, buddy, let's hope for the best. I really like this girl.”

The two brothers proceeded to talk about Sunny and his plan to ask this girl out on a real date with just the two of them. Ulysses, who thought himself unqualified to answer such important questions, suggested that he should just ask her outright, and be honest with himself. However, that was the harshest reality for Ulysses. He could say all these things and give great advice but he could never apply it in practice. When it came to taking that first step in making friends, he just couldn’t do it. The only reason he decided to help look for the bracelet at school was to divert their attention from the fact that he was smoking on school grounds. Once the two finished talking, they went to bed. Ulysses and Sunny both were unable to sleep well due to their minds stressing about the future to come. When Ulysses reached into his pocket to grab a cigarette he realized that the pack was missing.

“Crap.” He whispered.

Freya and Destiny chatted on the roof for quite some time after Ulysses had left. Freya’s task force dispatched from the building before returning to their helicopters. Freya also had her private limousine waiting for her at the entrance. The two girls went inside the vehicle and Herald proceeded to drive the two home. Destiny was dropped off at her house which was about a ten-minute commute from school. The two said their goodbyes, and Freya was driven back home. When she arrived she was greeted by her personal handmaid Lily and the head maid Elise.

“Welcome back Lady Freya.” The two maids said in unison, all while taking a bow. Freya waited for Herald to open the door for her, once he did she stepped out and made her way back to the front entrance of her family’s estate. While on her way to the house elevator, Freya wondered if she looked cool in front of Reighley. A secret passion of hers was that she loved action movies and stunts, though she made sure not to tell a single soul. Not even Destiny. Her favorite actress was Chakie Jan, a Chinese movie star who would do her stunts in all of her movies. Freya made it a part of her live streams to do stunts of her own every so often, she would go rock climbing, hang gliding, skiing, ice climbing, and skydiving. On her outward appearance, she would remain calm, cool, and collected, but when she would do stunts like those it was one of the few moments in her life where Freya truly felt alive.

“Dinner will be ready shortly, Lady Freya,” Lily informed.

“All right, I will come down after I finish getting ready. Don’t bother me during that time.” Freya replied.

“Very well,” Lily answered. Freya made her way to her room alone. She had changed out of her current outfit she wore for the helicopter, into a set of comfortable clothes Lily had prepared for her beforehand. Freya wore a pink T-shirt with a star in the center and lime green shorts. She wanted to use this time alone to think of a plan for tomorrow. Freya decided that she was going to find out where Reighley lived and kidnap him for a date. During her commute home, she asked Herald to find out where the boy lived. She asked him to remain quiet about it to the other maids, as she didn’t want it getting back to her father. Herald was the house worker that Freya trusted the most. He was often the one who went with her to all her extreme sports. He made sure not to snitch on her to her mother or father either, though they could find out through her livestreams on SocialLight. That was also part of the fun for Freya, as the risk of getting caught made her blood rush even more. In return, Freya would make sure Herald never worked any Holidays. She made the argument to her parents that there were no benefits to being the head butler, only more duties. It was their little secret that they shared. Freya assumed she had become this wild due to needing to act like a princess her whole life. The chains that were formalities, shackled her down.

Freya finished getting ready for dinner. Over her t-shirt and her shorts, she wore a navy blue dress shirt and a black skirt that went down past her knees. She usually wore something more modest for dinner for the off chance that her father would be joining. She knew that wasn’t the case today since her dad left on a flight this morning but she did so anyway. She wore it because she had a small ounce of hope that he may have returned in time. Freya walked out of her room into the elongated hallway that was their second floor. Awaiting her was Lily, she was standing outside her door just off to the left.

“I left my clothes on the floor, take care of them would you?” Freya asked.

“As you wish, Lady Freya,” Lily replied. Lily went inside Freya’s room and cleaned up after her mess. She began rambling about how Freya couldn’t make her life any easier.

“She could have at least put the clothes on her bed instead of being a complete slob,” Lily whispered in frustration. This was Lily’s general opinion of Freya. She thought of Freya to be a spoiled brat. Someone who would never change or fully mature, and most importantly, someone who would never be happy later in life. Lily was convinced that Freya would never find true love, for as long as she lived, because to her, Freya was the worst. Freya was the reason she was miserable. Lily was underpaid. This was because she made a mistake only a year into being Freya’s maid. Lily had spilled coffee over Freya’s clothes by accident. The outfit itself was a custom-made strapless white dress paired with a white hat with a flower pinned to it. It was worth 5,000,000 yen (37,500 USD).

It was Freya’s birthday week. Freya pushed Lily very hard during that week, leaving plenty of messes to clean up and having Lily order things for her over the internet constantly. She also prepared all of Freya’s outfits and helped her get ready for the day. At that time Lily was working sixteen-hour shifts daily. So, on the day of Freya’s birthday, while holding Freya’s coffee, she dozed off for a few seconds, spilling the drink on Freya and her extremely expensive dress. Now her paycheck has a deduction on it that is used to pay the dress off. In the end, what made Lily the most upset is that Freya never said thank you for all her hard work, or at least when she did, Lily was sure she didn’t mean it.

Freya headed down the elevator and proceeded to the dining room. To her disappointment, her father had not returned.

“Welcome home darling!” Marine said while slightly tipping over, only to correct herself upright.

“Hello, Mother,” Freya replied. Freya got a sense of Deja Vu, as her mother was still drinking wine. She worried about her mother, as normally she would stop drinking after she left for work. This time, however, Marine was outright drunk.

“Your Father hasn’t returned home just yet. Don’t worry he will be back eventually, just to leave again.” Marine fumbled over her words. To Freya, this was hard to watch. Her mother drank because she was lonely. She was married to the richest and most successful man in the world, but rarely ever got to see him.

“Mother?” Freya asked.

“Yes, dearest darling?” Marine replied

“Let’s watch a movie together,” Freya said. Shortly after dinner, the two girls went into their private movie theater in their house on the second floor. The two then proceeded to watch “chick flicks” that Marine picked out, while Marine ate ice cream in her sorrows. The movie theater had a giant bean bag sac that the two sat in together. They watched movies until Marine sobered up.

“That was so good,” Marine said while sobbing.

“I agree when the father said ‘I love you, but I can’t stay’ it really had me tearing up,” Freya said while tears were going down her face. The two realized that the movie correlated to their current situation. It was about a father who had a family and responsibilities. He was always busy to the point where his wife and his daughter became resentful of him for never being around. Their marriage began to crack, and the father ended up missing important moments in the daughter's life. It was all a little too “on the nose”, for Freya. In the end, the dad realized his mistakes and ended up making time for the two and started being there for them. Freya, even though she got everything she wanted, wasn’t sure if she would get the same ending.

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“You know your Father loves you very much, Freya,” Marine said.

“He loves you too,” Freya replied. “Lily, bring me my milk.”

“Of course, Lady Freya…” Lily reluctantly held a glass of warm milk on a heated disk under Freya’s chin. Herald had prepared it, but somehow Lily ended up being the one holding the glass for Freya while she drank it from a straw.

“Hey Mother, I’m going on a date tomorrow.”

“Is it with the criminal?” Marine asked.

“Well yeah, but he’s a lot more kind than I expected,” Freya said. “If you're going to spy on me, have Lily tail us, I don’t want him uncomfortable on our date.”

“Okay. Lily, you heard the girl. I’m entrusting my daughter's safety to you. If even the slightest thing goes wrong I want the proper authorities called.” Marine said while looking towards the maid with a serious face.

“Excellent… As you wish, Lady Prismarine.” Lily bowed, hiding a grimace on her face. Lily respected Mrs. Young. She was the one who gave her the job as a maid. Lily worked full time due to her parents both being hospitalized from a car accident as a child. When she was younger Lily met Elise by sheer luck. While Elise worked for Prismarine, she also volunteered as a registered nurse. She was assigned as Lily’s parents' nurse at the hospital they stayed at. One day Prismarine was there speaking with Elise for reasons unknown to Lily and Lily recognized the woman from news articles and magazines. Elise had told Prismarine about Lily’s situation, and Prismarine offered to hire Lily, and in return for her work her family's medical bills would be paid for. Lily was incredibly grateful to the Young family. The only reason she put up with Freya’s antics was because she owed so much to her family.

Marine got up from the seat along with Freya. The two hugged each other goodnight and went their separate ways for the rest of the night. Freya made her way to her library to study. She figured out what her course of action was as well. Freya tapped into her knowledge of romance novels. She thought a good first date would be at an amusement park as there was a lot to do there. She needed to make Reighley fall in love with her. She was paying him, but she knew money alone wouldn’t be enough. While studying for roughly an hour Freya heard a knock on the library’s door.

“It’s Herald, Miss Freya.” The voice said.

“Come in,” Freya replied. Herald entered and stood next to Freya. Lily was told to wait outside while Freya studied. “Did you find what I asked for?”

“Indeed,” Herald answered. He proceeded to hand Freya a letter. Inside were pictures of Reighley entering and exiting his house letting out a cat. Next to the photos was a piece of paper with his address on it.

“So, he kept the cat?” Freya said curiously. “Herald, please have someone bring me cat litter, a litter box, and cat toys, as well as a bag of premium cat food. Nothing says generous more than a gift for the things he cares about.”

“Very well, Lady Freya,” Herald answered. Freya’s plan to take Reighley to an amusement park changed slightly once she realized his living conditions. He lived in a tiny house, roughly 1200 square feet. It looked no bigger than her private bathroom. She was displeased by his social status, but wouldn’t let this stop her. She asked Herald if he knew of any “poor people” restaurants that Reighley and her could go to that wouldn’t be poison to her. He told her about an old friend that he trusted. He mentioned that he owned a ramen shop that served very delicious noodles for a commoner's price. However, Freya was skeptical due to the name of the shop. It was called Back Alley Ramen. Freya pictured what the place looked like in her mind. To her, she imagined a damp alleyway between buildings that had broken windows. In the buildings were thugs flipping switch blades in unison. When she thought of what the shop looked like, she envisioned it being someplace that criminals and thugs would go to to talk about committing and planning crimes, all while eating food they could barely afford.

“You needn’t worry Lady Freya. Todoh, the shop owner keeps the place very tidy and up to your standards. I eat there every so often.” Herald reassured.

“Well, I trust your judgment, Herald, so very well, Reighley and I will stop there first for a meal,” Freya replied. “Make all the preparations like I asked, we leave at 11:30 AM.” Herald dispatched and began his duties assigned to him. Once he left, Freya spent the rest of her night studying and deciding what to wear for tomorrow before heading to bed.

The next day, Freya woke up at 7:00 AM with plenty of time to spare. It was a Saturday, so Freya had the day off. She conducted her morning routine and got ready for her date. Once Freya got ready she went around her entire house asking the maids what they thought of her outfit. They all agreed she looked wonderful, but Freya suspected they only said that due to her family being their means of income. Suddenly Freya took a step back. Why was she nervous about her appearance? She thought that he must think that she was beautiful. However, in the back of her mind, panic began to set in. What if he didn’t think she was pretty? It was a possibility, as he was also the first person who turned her down. Reighley was a complete anomaly. The more Freya thought about it, the worst her nerves got.

Freya was wearing a red summer dress with white polka dots and green hooped earrings. On her feet, she wore red bare strap patterned sandals. Freya thought of red to be the color that demanded attention. Something that sticks out in the best way. She wanted Reighley to see her and be unable to take his eyes off her. Freya decided to ask Destiny about her conundrum via text.

Freya: Hey, how do I look? (Freya sent a picture of her attached to the message.)

Destiny: Like a Strawberry.

Freya: No seriously, how do I look? I need to know.

Destiny: Like a delicious Strawberry.

Freya soon realized that this was most likely the best she would get out of Destiny. Freya didn’t want to tell her that she was worried that Reighley wouldn’t like her appearance. So, completely out of options, she decided to do a quick live stream and ask her audience. Freya went live on the internet. Twelve thousand viewers joined in just under a few minutes. That was enough people to give her the confirmation bias she needed. After a short ten minutes of entertaining her viewers and answering their questions, she asked what they thought of her outfit and how she looked. Comments started flowing telling her she looked incredible.

FunnyUser232: You’re gorgeous.

PrincessPlum7: I love your outfit!

Lucky_Luffy_x: Wish she was mine.

Moderator-DJ_Destiny has joined the chat.

Moderator-DJ_Destiny: STRAWBERRY!

Destiny started an unending virtual train of people spamming the word “STRAWBERRY” in her chat. This did not help Freya one bit as all of the confidence she had just gained flew out the window. Freya kept her poise and said goodbye as she ended the stream. Freya reassured herself that she looked good, and hoped for the best. When the time came for Freya to leave she met with Herald at the front entrance. At the door was Lily. She was wearing sunglasses, a scarf, and a cap. It was a fairly pitiful disguise, but Reighley wouldn’t know of Lily anyway so it wouldn’t be much of a problem. Freya didn’t say a word to Lily, instead, she gave her a glare stating her intentions. It was the type of glare that stated “If you somehow ruin our date, I’ll ruin you”.

Lily only looked nervous underneath the getup she was wearing. Herald had pulled up the family limousine and opened the door for Freya letting her inside. Lily got inside and sat in the passenger seat. Freya planned to have Lily ride along with the two since you could not see through the reflective tinted windows. After picking up Reighley and dropping him and Freya off, Lily would get dropped off a short distance away to avoid suspicion. Freya pulled out a hand mirror to take one final look at herself. She looked wondrous but for some reason, she was not satisfied with the result. The only thing that would make her feel better is if Reighley told her she looked good. She would do everything in her power to know his opinion.

Isabelle always started her morning an hour and a half before Reighley. She did so, so she would have enough time to get ready for school. She always wanted her big brother to get enough sleep, so she became his alarm clock if he overslept. She knew about how hard Reighley worked himself and how much he’d sacrificed for her and their mother's sake. She was proud of him and considered herself lucky to have someone like him in her life. However, as of late, Isabelle began to worry. She worried that Reighley wasn’t living out his life the way he wanted to, as he would forget to take care of himself from time to time and suffer from extreme burnout. She also feared that Reighley was giving up his youth for her sake. Reighley was fifteen years old but had never had a girlfriend or even shown interest in a girl. It’s not that he was into guys as far as she knew, but that Reighley was too busy to have a social life.

It was 10:00 AM. Isabelle decided it was a good time to wake her brother up for brunch. She would let him sleep in on the weekends. Isabelle put her black curly hair up in twin ponytails and put on a black and white striped long-sleeved t-shirt that she tucked in. She then put on a brown skirt that went from her waist to her shins. She made a few friends on her first day of school. They invited her to go with them to the mall. She was scared that they would make fun of her since she couldn’t afford to buy anything, so she lied to them saying that she had already used her family allowance for the month. She knew she couldn’t keep up this charade forever, but she wouldn’t make it seem like she was dirt poor either, even if that was the case. The outfit she was currently wearing was a birthday present from her brother. It was the nicest thing she had to wear. Isabelle asked Reighley how much it cost, but was only told “Don’t worry about it”, in response. She was sure it was expensive, and he must have used a good portion of his savings for such a nice outfit. That’s why Isabelle was determined to become the financial provider of the family so Reighley could finally take a break and not work himself to death and maybe even start a family.

“Wake up sleepy head,” Isabelle said as she opened the door from their kitchen to their garage. To her surprise, Morgana had already beaten her to wake up Reighley, as the kitten was standing on his chest as if demanding some sort of sacrifice. Reighley had fed Morgana some leftover chicken and rice that the family had the night prior, but they were all out and needed to get some actual cat food for Morgana.

“I’m already awake. Woke up with cat paws on my face.” Reighley said with a yawn and a stretch.

“How do you plan on feeding him anyway? I know you’re out of money.” Isabelle asked sternly.

“Well, the original plan was to go on a bike ride and find some curb treasures, to pick up and sell, but things have been taken care of in the meantime,” Reighley answered with a lax tone, lifting Morgana off his chest. “C’mon boy, let's see what we can scrounge up in the kitchen.” Reighley climbed down his top bunk with Morgana in hand and made his way toward the kitchen door.

“You know, you could at least change out of your pajamas first.”

“Yeah, you’re right, hold this for me.” Reighley handed Morgana to Isabelle and shooed her out the door.

Isabelle was standing by the kitchen door patiently waiting. She spent the time staring at Morgana in her arms and petting him. While waiting, Jericho returned through the front door. She had just returned from her first job and only had roughly thirty minutes of free time until she had to leave for her second job.

“Hey honey, I see you’re ready for the mall. I can drop you off before I head to work. Make sure you bring the lunch I made you.” Jericho mentioned while in a rush to get ready.

“Okay, I will.” Isabelle went to the kitchen fridge and grabbed a premade lunch meat sandwich that was made for her and took it out. She unwrapped it and took the meat off it to feed it to Morgana. “Here you go kitty.” Morgana meowed and ate the meat as if looking pleased with the offering. Reighley finished getting ready and opened the kitchen door and went through it. Reighley was wearing an all-gray outfit that looked loose and comfortable. When he saw Isabelle, he beckoned her to hand the cat over to him.

“C’mon hand him over. I have to feed him.” Reighley asked.

“Fine…” Isabelle said with mild disappointment. Reighley took Morgana and walked over to the kitchen fridge, and noticed the premade lunch made for him.

“This will have to do for now.” He said and proceeded to feed Morgana the meat from his sandwich as well. Morgana's eyes sparkled with awe, and after he ate the meat, he had an energy to him as if he was royalty. Immediately after, the doorbell rang. Isabelle turned towards the door and rushed over to it.

“I got it!” she exclaimed. When she arrived only a few meters away she opened it to see a sight that astonished her. It was a man that looked to be a butler in his late forties. He had a mustache and a monocle. Isabelle thought he looked straight out of a gentlemen’s movie or something similar. In his arms was a container that looked like it was made from pure stainless steel. It had a cat paw emblem on the center of it and inside were two bags. One read Premium Cat Litter and the other Premium Cat Food. The two bags were surrounded by cat toys filling the inside area around them. What immediately grabbed Isabelle's attention was who was standing next to this stranger. It was the prettiest girl she had ever seen. She had long red auburn hair that looked silky to the touch. Her skin was fair and smooth, without a blemish and her eyes were like looking into an aquamarine gemstone. However, something was off about this mysterious beauty. She appeared nervous. It didn’t make much sense to Isabelle. "Why would a beauty like her be nervous?" She thought.

“Good morning, Mr. Summers. I am Herald. Standing here beside me is Freya Young. We are here to acquire Reighley Summers.”

“Acquire? I don’t even know who you two are.” Like a blow to the gut, Freya was shocked to the core. Not one, but two people didn’t have a single clue who she was.

“Could you go and fetch Reighley for me? I need to speak with him.” Freya asked.

“Yeah… Sure.” Isabelle closed the door in the two’s faces and went over to grab Reighley. Isabelle was suspicious. Not of the request, but because no girl that pretty would want anything to do with Reighley. It was out of nowhere. She wondered if this Freya girl was some secret girlfriend Reighley hid from the family. Then Isabelle thought she had figured it out. The cat food, litter box, and toys and the way Reighley said he had the money thing figured out, not to mention the way Freya said the words “Fetch”. Isabelle guessed that he must have gotten another job working as a butler.

Still, something didn’t add up to her. Freya was nervous. Isabelle knew that look on her face too. It was the look that she could best describe as hopeful anxiety. As if Freya was looking for approval. Isabelle snuck up behind Reighley who was bent over looking into the fridge for food and began to whisper.

“Hey. There is a pretty girl at the door waiting for you…” Isabelle stated.

“There is a what!?” Reighley exclaimed as he jerked his head banging against the freezer door. A nervous sweat started running down Reighley’s brow as panic began to set in. Reighley stood up and rushed to the door in a hurry. It was as he feared. Somehow, Freya found out where he lived and now she showed up out of nowhere at his doorstep. The worst part of all was he wasn’t sure how he was going to explain this all to his sister or his mom. It wasn’t as if he could just tell them that he sold his pride as a man for some quick cash. When he made it to the door he closed it behind him, only to turn around to be a foot away from Freya. Meanwhile, Isabelle couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong about the whole situation. Why was Reighley freaking out as well? She vowed to get to the bottom of it all, as she didn’t want some random girl taking advantage of her brother. She would decide who would be a worthy partner for him.