Chapter Text
Katherine Plumber was so, so bored. Staring at your bedroom ceiling and waiting for your father to come home from wherever he disappeared to for days on end only worked to keep the pure boredom away for so long. Her chores were done, her laundry washed, and she’d read every story she had left in her tower. And she’d brushed her hair, which wound out the door and down the stairs, gold and straight, and probably getting dusty on something.
If only Father hadn’t taken away her pen and ink... but no chance. She didn’t dare go through his things, not after the last time. He’d gotten so upset with her, he’d shut her up in her room for a week. Sure, it had ended up being shorter, but still.
Then she sat up quickly. Tomorrow would be her birthday. Which meant that the floating lights would appear, like they did every year. Maybe, just maybe, he’d take her this year. She hadn’t left her tower in years— actually, not for as long as she remembered. But Katherine was tired of watching everything from her window, she wanted to be outside and not have to worry about any of that.
There was a small push on her foot, and she moved her skirts to see the tiny chameleon she’d adopted as a pet, Darcy, poking at her foot. She grinned, scooping him up. “What, want a rematch of Hide and Seek? What was it, twenty-two for me and how many for you?” He didn’t look amused, but she laughed. “Okay, no Hide and Seek. Oh! I could make you a dress-“ Another look from the chameleon. “A suitcoat, maybe? Like what Father wears.”
Another unamused look from the chameleon, but Katherine didn’t care as she raced off to get her sewing supplies.
~~~
While Katherine was trying to deal with boredom, Jack Kelly was having a bit of trouble. As a thief, he should be used to trouble (he usually was the trouble), but this was a different kind of trouble. He’d taken a job from a man named Joe Pulitzer, which had two issues. One, he had to work with his least favourite people— the Delancey brothers. Big, tough, and ruthless, they were good muscle, but awful partners. Two, he had to break into the highest security building he knew of— the royal palace. They’d had a tip off from an anonymous source that there was a hatch in the roof, which ended up with Jack tied to a rope being lowered down by the Delanceys. He only hoped the prize they were about to win was enough incentive to not drop him to his death, or his execution.
There wasn’t exactly a very reasonable, legal explanation to why he was rappelling down into the palace, right above the pedestal where the lost princess’s crown lay.
Jack could only hold his breath as he lowered towards the glimmering crystal crown and the dozen or so guards he saw in a ring around it. He was within feet in seconds, barely able to touch it. He didn’t drop it, thank god. He may be broad, but he was young, and he hadn’t lost the nimbleness he’d gained being an orphan kid on the streets. It was easy enough to take the crown and slip it into the satchel he held.
Then one of the guards sneezed, and he couldn’t help but make a witty joke. “Hay fever?” The guard looked over his shoulder, and Jack realized he was kind of cute, in a ‘I look a little scruffy but it’s somehow working for me’ kind of way, with bright eyes and dark hair. For some reason, he didn’t seem to register that Jack was literally stealing a crown.
“Yeah.” He said, turning back to his position, and Jack couldn’t help but grin as he was pulled up and watched the utter chaos left in his wake. Guards scrambled to find them, and all Jack could do was wave the satchel at the Delancey’s before they took off, sliding down the castle walls and racing through alleyways and backstreets as guards filtered out of the castle. When they were on their way across the bridge leading to the main kingdom, Jack couldn’t help but laugh.
“Look at all we’ve done, fellas, and it ain’t even eight in the morning! This is a really big day!”
~~~
“This is a really big day, Darcy! I’m going to do it. I’m finally going to do it! I’m gonna ask him.” A call from downstairs made Katherine perk up— her father was home. “It’s time!”
She raced downstairs, bare feet on the floor, tossing her hair into the hook above the window as she prepared to toss the end out, as was their routine. “Katherine!”
“Coming, father!” She tossed down the end of her hair, watching it fall down and glimmer in the sunlight. She resisted the urge to squeal in glee— she was so close to seeing that for an entire day! Or at least seeing the lights… then she snapped out of her thoughts as she felt her father tugging on her hair.
This was always Katherine’s least favourite part— having to pull her father up. But she managed it somewhat easily, and soon her father was sitting on the windowsill. “Welcome home, father!” She said, a smile on her face.
Her father looked exhausted, fixing his waistcoat and running a hand through his dark blonde hair. “Katherine darling, how you do that every day without fail astounds me.” He said, smiling back. Katherine didn’t particularly like her father’s smile, it never seemed genuine.
“Oh, it’s nothing.” She said with a laugh, looking down at her feet.
“Then I have no idea why it takes so long.” Katherine winced, her smile dropping for a moment and her face flushing with embarrassment. “I’m just teasing, dear.” He said, sweeping past her. She laughed nervously, trying to shake it off. Was she getting worse? Maybe she was going slower than usual.
“Father— so, as you know, tomorrow is a very big day—“ She started. She’d rehearsed this in her mirror, trying to find the words she wanted to say. Usually, writing them out helped, but she hadn’t dared to find a pencil or a pen and ink.
But her father interrupted her. “Katherine, dear, come look in the mirror.” He situated her in front of him, grasping her shoulders. “In this reflection, I see a strong, confident, talented young writer with great potential.” Katherine felt a swarm of butterflies in her stomach, but they were crushed in moments. “Oh, yes, you’re here too.”
Her shoulders slumped against her will. “Stop taking everything so seriously, darling.” Her father said, flattening down stray hairs from his beard, as if inspecting for grey ones.
Katherine started to speak again. “Alright, Father, but as I was saying—“
“Dear, I’m feeling a little rundown. Perhaps we can talk later.” He turned to her, pausing for a moment. “Why don’t you sing for me?”
Another one of their routines, something they’d done since even before Katherine could walk. If Katherine could get it done fast, then she could finally have his attention. “Of course!” She raced around the tower, mentally checking off the list in her head. Her father’s chair, her small stool, hairbrush. She sat him down quickly, shoving the brush in his hands and shutting her eyes as she sang through the song rapidly. “Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine, make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine! Heal what has been hurt, change the fate’s design, save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine!” The glow from her hair exploded like a tiny supernova, erasing the grey from her father’s hair and the lines from his face.
Her father threw down his brush, glaring at her. “Katherine!”
Katherine quailed for a moment, before remembering the words from the paper she’d found on the table. A good reporter never succumbs to anger or extreme emotion from his reportees. The story is more important. “Sorry, Father, but I wanted to tell you. Earlier I was saying that tomorrow is a very big day for me. It’s my birthday!” She tried to shut down the excitement in her tone, with minimal success. She wanted to seem adult and not childish— she would be eighteen after all.
But her father only shook his head. “No, Katherine, I distinctly remember. Your birthday was last year.” He said, patting her head condescendingly.
Katherine laughed a bit. “That’s the thing about birthdays, they’re kind of an annual thing.”
Her father raised an eyebrow at her, which she took as a cue to continue. She took a breath. “Father, I’m turning eighteen, and I really wanted to ask this for— well, really for years now, I’ve wanted this for as long as I’ve even been able to walk, but I’ve been afraid to tell you, because you usually think things like this are a little bit weird or childish, so I—“
“Katherine, what have I told you about your rambling? It’s very annoying.” He cut her off with a look, and she slumped, staring at her feet. As she waited, her father got up, heading for their tiny kitchen, starting to organize the cupboard they had.
Katherine heard a tiny noise, and looked over to see Darcy, hidden behind a chair, gesturing for her to ask. Another deep breath, and, unlike what she’d practiced, all calm and cool and collected and not at all impulsive, she blurted out, “I want to see the floating lights!”
No way would her father take her seriously now. As it was, he froze, in the midst of pulling out an apple and setting it in a basket, an odd look on his face. “Whatever do you mean?” He said coldly, turning to her. “What is this about lights? Darling, you have to be more specific.”
She almost gave up, but she couldn’t back down now. “The floating lights. I was hoping you could take me to see them this year, I am old enough, and if you come with me—“
Her father cut her off. “Do you mean the stars, Katherine? I did believe you were more intelligent than that.”
“No, they aren’t stars, Father!” She went over to her desk, pulling out sheets of paper. “I’ve done my research on stars, plenty of it, and I’ve written so much on them. But these aren’t stars. They move so much faster, and they only appear on my birthday. And I can’t help but feel like—“ She was aware this sounded stupid and childish, but still. “—like they’re somehow meant for me.”
Her father was walking away, she was losing him. She followed after him. “I want to see them, Father, and not just from my window. I want to see them in person. I want to know what they are.”
That made her father turn around, and she suddenly realized how much taller he still was. “You wish to go outside? Please, Katherine. I offer you a life of security here. If you leave, you are liable to be hurt.”
She opened her mouth to protest, but he shushed her. “Don’t misinterpret me. You’re a very strong, talented young woman, but you’re still a child. You know the consequences of leaving.”
“I know, but—“ Again she was shushed.
“I always knew you’d wish to leave me. Soon- but not yet!”
“But-“
A glare made her protest die in her throat. She hated it when he was upset with her. “Trust me, dear, I know what is best for you. It’s too dangerous for you out there.”
“But I can handle it—“
“Something will go wrong, Katherine!” Her father started counting off on his fingers. “Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals, snakes, the plague, pirates, thieves, large bugs, men with fangs— I could go on for hours about the dangers. But while you’re here, I’m here to protect you.”
Katherine kept quiet, but she wanted to ask him about the hours he was gone— why didn’t he get hurt? What if someone came to her tower and climbed it while he was gone?
“You’re sloppy, immature, and childish, those people out there will hurt you. All people will want with you is your hair, they won’t even think to care about your intellect as long as you have something so precious.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I have one request of you. I keep you safe, and you do one thing for me.”
Katherine felt a spark of hope. Maybe she could leave with her father… “Don’t ever ask to leave this tower again.” His voice sounded so cold and menacing, she caved, nodding. His face softened. “Good girl. You won’t regret your decision. I do know best, after all.”
He held out his arms, an odd occurence, and she let him wrap her in a hug. “I love you very much dear.”
“I love you more.” She said, almost like a parrot. It had been their little joke as long as she’d known, and she waited for his response.
“I love you most.”
He ran his hands through her hair, before pulling away. “I’m very sorry, but I have to leave again. I hope you don’t mind.”
“But—“ He’d just gotten home, and now he’d have to leave again? Katherine sighed. “I’ll let you down in a moment.”
Within twenty minutes, her father was waving to her before disappearing through the curtain of ivy disguising their home from view, leaving Katherine’s hair floating in the wind as she tried to think of a better plan. She would see the floating lights if her life depended on it.