"Forever?" she asked.
"Forever." he said.
In which two twin sisters join an agency run by two teenage boys, who seem to think they have everything figured out.
or
In which Elara Carlyle falls for the charming Anthony Lockwood, whom seems to have...
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3 years ago...
"Tell me about your daughters, Mrs. Carlyle."
"Well, they've always had talent, ever since they were babies. They used to keep us up all night with their crying. We thought there was something wrong with them until we realized they were hearing them in the street outside their window," Mrs. Carlyle explained to the man. "So they're listeners?" "Gifted. When they were six, Lucy saw a visitor on the marshes. Elara heard it long before she saw it, or she wouldn't be with us now," Mrs. Carlyle smiled towards her daughters. "They do sound special. And you're in luck. We have two vacancies. I lost two of my operatives the day before yesterday, poor lads, but... they were about their sizes, so maybe they can fit in their old uniforms," the man offered, sending a creepy smile to the twins. "Well, that'd be wonderful," their mother smiled back. "Mrs. Clarke will take care of the paperwork." "We're ever so grateful."Ms. Carlyle said once again. "Aren't you gonna give me a smile, young ladies?" he asked, and the two girls just stared him down.
"You confirm that the children are of legal age to be operatives?" Mrs. Clarke asks. "Yes, 13 last week," Mrs. Carlyle confirmed. "And have adequate ability to sense the presence of Type One and Type Two visitors, and to defend against them?" "Yes." "You understand they'll be exposed to significant risks of trauma, injury, and death while carrying out their duties?" "Yes." Lucy gripped Elara's hand tightly. "And that beyond completion of training and issuance of protective equipment, it's their responsibility to safeguard themselves at all times?" "Yes." "Payment will be made on the last Friday of each month into whose account?" "Mine."
The twins and their mother walked out of Jacob & Co's agency, Lucy and Elara on the verge of tears. "I don't want to do it. It scares me. I don't want to be scared all the time!" Lucy complained to their mother. "Everyone's scared all the time. What makes you so special?" Their mother shot back, tightening her coat around herself. "We'll get a job somewhere else. Anywhere else. We just want to stay in school. We want to be normal!" Elara yelled at her mother as she came to an abrupt stop. Turning around to face her children, she glared daggers at the two girls. "Listen to me, young ladies. Your father left us with nothing when he drank himself to death, so you'll go in there Monday morning, smile and charm and be grateful, or so help me God, I will show you what being scared really feels like," Mrs. Carlyle threatened.
★・・・★・・・★・・・★
"Ladies and gents, these are the Carlyle twins, Lucy and Elara. They're listeners. Mother says they're gifted, but we'll be the judge of that. Norrie, look after them, show them the ropes," Jacobs ordered. Lucy poured a dark blue liquid into glass vials carelessly, while Elara and Norrie watched. "Careful. Don't get any on you. It's deadly poisonous," Norrie warned. "Poisonous and extremely expensive," Jacobs cut in. "Any you spill comes out of your wages." Lucy, Elara, and Norrie all glanced at each other.
