"I hate this." Ella muttered, changing back into her morning dress.

"Tsk. You just want to hang out with that Dunn boy." Her aunt teased as she sat opposite the curtain. Ella felt her face flush.

"That's not true!"

"If you're making a face, don't think I haven't seen you two walking together." She smiled evilly. "You like him."

"I-I do not!" Ella protested, swiping the curtain aside with such force she almost pulled the curtain rod with it. Her bright red ears were the first thing her aunt noticed.

"Are you silly, child? Finish getting dressed," her aunt scolded, jumping to her feet and sliding the curtain back into place. She felt a sly grin coming on. "You don't want him to see you in your underclothes."

"I can't... I can't believe you!" Ella stuttered, yanking her dress into place. Her aunt smiled softly.

"Well, you're at least attached to him, I know that much... but I must warn you." Ella paused.

"What?"

"He's a thief, Ella. He steals for a living." Her aunt reminded her. "I was surprised you'd even befriended him in the first place." She admitted as her niece pulled the curtain aside, this time fully clothed.

"I understand, Auntie, but he's not all that bad." Elizabeth replied confidently, handing her the dress. "He hasn't stolen a thing from me since... since after we met." She realized, remembering the first encounter they had when he had stolen her locket. Those days were behind him, surely.

"Once a thief, always a thief." Her aunt quoted, leading her to the counter to pay. "I'm just warning you ahead of time."

"I-I know." Ella nodded regretfully. Her aunt gave her an encouraging smile as the cashier handed the dress back to her.

"Don't worry... if he has evil intentions, his true personality will come out in the end. Remember that." She tapped her niece's head gently and pulled her into a hug. "But don't worry... I have no doubts." Ella wasn't sure what she meant, but she chose not to pursue it. Her aunt had said enough.
———
Patrick couldn't keep the grin off his face as he ducked into Jimmy's.

"What's gotten into you?" Jimmy teased behind the counter as he waved to a customer. "You look like you just won a hundred dollars." Patrick's face flushed.

"I... Ella is so easy to tease. I made her mad is all, and I found it pretty funny." His employer looked amused.

"Okay, then." He gave his employee a look.

"That was all!" Patrick protested. "I know that look, and I hate it. You give me that every time I help a girl my age with her luggage." He crossed his arms and tapped his foot angrily.

"Well, every time you have that silly grin on your face like you just struck gold. Makes a man wonder." Jimmy returned with a teasing smile.

"I just enjoy helping," Patrick shrugged. "Shove off." He fled past the checkout counter and behind the building to start hauling crates. As he knelt beside a box, he felt a jingle in his pocket that immediately washed a wave of guilt through him. He stuck his hand in the heavy pocket and felt the cold metal press up against his fingers.

The locket. He thought absentmindedly. Elizabeth Gaines' locket. With his expert slight of hand, he had managed to snag one from another passerby, and replace it before Ella has reappeared to take it back. The one he had snagged was fake, but hers was definitely real. He had no intentions of selling it, of course. He couldn't do that to her... but he wasn't sure how to return it.
He ran his thumb over the cool metal and released it from his fist. He didn't want to think about it. At first he figured he could slip it into her satchel, but since he'd stolen from her, she'd been guarding that like a bulldog. The more he thought about it the more he realized there were no other options... he would have to hand it to her.
———————————
"So. Did you find out anything?" Ella asked nonchalantly, collapsing into a crate beside him. He jumped at her sudden voice, and whirled around to face her.

"You have a bad habit of doing that." He scolded. She scrunched up her face and frowned.

"If I do it so much, why don't you expect it?" She pointed out. He huffed in response and sat across from her.

"I didn't get any new information." He started, picking at a piece of grass he had snagged from between two stones.

"But I thought-"

"I didn't get a chance, sorry." He apologized, kicking up his leg so he could rest an elbow on his knee. "But now we can do it together." He glanced up at the clock tower, and a small smile played at the corner of his lips. "I'll bet they're getting off work right about now."

"Perfect." Ella jumped down from her seat and turned towards the open alleyway. "Beat you there."

"Why you-" She lifted her skirt slightly and took off, giggling childishly as Patrick sidled past her. "Excuse me, miss, but I'm rather in a hurry." He teased, disappearing into the empty street ahead of her. She noted his paperboy cap bounce into an alleyway, and she sped up as to not lose him. She dropped her skirt and stepped into the entranceway, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Patrick, you-" she stopped herself and tried to keep from crying out. Four figures bent over a small fire in a barrel glanced up at her voice in surprise. "I-I'm so sorry, I-" her words got caught in her throat as she studied each figure in turn. Each were wearing eerie black cloaks, and large plague doctor masks

"Golly, woman, you scared the beegeebus out of us." One of the men stated, removing his mask quickly and propping a hand on his stomach. As Ella scrambled for words, the man beside him removed his and squinted at her.

"Well, this is precisely why I said we should do it in the attic, but 'no sir' Mr. Yearn says 'lets just do it outside because me old joints!'" He mocked in a high pitched voice. "Bless the poor girl... she looks like she's seen a ghost. I'll bet it's our masks, Right." He addressed the doctor beside him, who had since turned back to the barrel.

"Mm." He muttered in acknowledgement. The one who'd spoken first, a stout, older gentleman, waddled over to her and studied her face.

"My dear, you ought to come sit down. Here." He drug a nearby empty barrel and helped her sit. "Could I get you anything? A cup of tea, or a bagel, perhaps? I run that bakery." He pointed to the building beside them. Ella nodded quickly when he said tea. "Alright, then. I'll go get that for you. Were you looking for someone? Patrick, perhaps?" She glanced up in surprise.

"How did you-" he smiled gently.

"You yelled his name hardly a second ago." He reminded her.

"Blimey, she really is bad off." Another voice added from behind the barrel. "I don't still don't understand why you don't just take off your mask, Right. It would make the lady more comfortable, and-" the man with the mask on lunged towards him and pinned him against the brick wall behind. Ella flinched and stifled a gasp, but the man in front of her hardly moved.

"Do not question it. It is a part of my being." He snapped, his voice sounding old and gravely.

"Calm down, Right. No one's forcing you to remove it." The man in front of Ella pointed out calmly. "Freedom for all. Now," he turned back to Ella, "tea, was it?"