Chapter Text
When Ronald Knox began his pupillage at one of London’s most famed barristers’ chambers, he envisioned a year of endless paperwork, ungodly overtime hours and absolutely no time for parties, all of which are components of his worst nightmare. He dreaded everything about the life of an apprentice lawyer, so much so he wondered why he chose the legal career in the first place. But there he was, standing at the doorsteps of his new life, looking more like a anxious client than a fresh pupil ready for the big bad world.
“You will be working under the supervision of two of the finest criminal barristers in London, Ronald.” said Alan, who looked way too young to be called a senior clerk, as he toured the youngster through the lounges, meeting rooms and stunning libraries of the chamber, “You must be an extraordinary graduate.” he commented in the end, “I never thought they would agree on anything at all, save team up to supervise a pupil. I believe they were both impressed by your record.”
“My record…” Ronald nodded self-consciously. It was a miracle that he managed to keep his grades up, despite his horrific attendance records back in the Inn. For he was never a fan of traditions, because who wants to sit down and dine with a bunch of sleep-deprived law students and grave-looking professors whose speeches were almost always slurred, when you can throw yourself on a fuzzy couch and share drinks with a girl?
Yes, he wondered how he managed to graduate at all. And how his application got passed on to two of the biggest names in the courts of London remained a mystery.
“Are you ready to meet your supervisors?” Alan asked with a smile.
No.
“Sure.”
“Great, let’s move to-” Alan’s words were cut short by a pair of heels loudly clicking against the marble floor, “Looks like she’s coming to you.”
“Who’s this helpless pup that I’m looking at?” As Grell Sutcliff emerged from the shadow cast upon her at the end of the hallway, Ronald held his breath: not that he was too nervous to breathe, but because Grell sucked up all the air around her wherever she went. The dull, colorless courthouses seemed ill-suited for a ravishing creature like her. Her mere presence lit up his sight, and maybe that’s why she was there.
Damn that red hair.
“This is Ronald Knox, your pupil for the next 12 months.” introduced Alan.
Grell beamed at the young man as the latter tried his best to put up a friendly and sincere smile, “Are you ready for a life full of murder, rape and drug crimes, Ronnie?”
Ronald shivered at the nickname. He has been called Ronnie before, but having it come out from the lips of his supervisor 5 seconds after they first met sent chills down his spine. “I guess.” he answered.
“Never say that again.” Grell stared right into his eyes and grinned, “That’s a terrible, terrible answer.” she suddenly turned to Alan, “Has my package arrived?”
“What package?” Alan looked confused.
Grell groaned, “They said they’d post it first thing in the morning. Have you checked everywhere?”
Alan hurriedly nodded before making his way down the stairs, “There was a package this morning but it was designated to Mr Spears. Maybe I should go check aga-”
“No need. I’ll go check myself.” before Alan could respond, Grell had gestured Ronald to follow her as she marched down the hall to knock on a dark door.
“Come in.” said the voice behind the wooden barrier.
Grell stormed in to find a bespectacled man sitting behind the desk with his morning coffee in his hand. Before she had uttered a single word, the man pointed to a chair on the other side of the room, “Your package is over there.”
Ronald froze at the doorway, amazed by what an uncanny contrast this man was to his flamboyant supervisor. This quiet, almost monochrome space stacked with heavy volumes of god-knows-how-ancient legal files made up his natural habitat. His every word and every move barely stirred the room’s unwelcoming air, yet offered the most chilling reminder of his palpable presence.
They exchanged looks, and for a moment Ronald was afraid that he would disappear into that gigantic ebony shelf behind him and never to be found again.
Grell picked up the package and suddenly remembered that there was a third person in the room, “This is Ronald Knox - the pupil, remember?” she raised her brow to look suggestively at the man, “Our pupil.”
And that was when Ronald realized that his other supervisor’s name was indeed Spears - William T. Spears, the moving statue and breathing stone of London’s courts, he heard. Discipline, regulations and punctuality, words that Ronald dreaded, were floating around William’s neatly-trimmed hairline. He audibly swallowed at the thought of being devoured by the piles and piles of paperwork William would so generously offer.
“Good morning.” was all he could come up with.
“How did those idiots send my package to you instead?” Grell flipped through the documents in the envelope, looking irritated. “It’s not like we are married and have the same last name.”
William cocked his brow at her remark, “You are a terrible actor, Grell Sutcliff. We both know you gave the wrong name on purpose so you could burst into my room in the name of reclaiming your belongings. Try be more creative next time or stop with your plots altogether.”
Grell dumped the package into Ronald’s arms as the young man yelped to balance the item in a tight embrace, “I didn’t burst in, I knocked! Fine, you busted me again, Will. But we both know because Ronnie is coming today, I’m going to bump into to you anyway. Why bother with the package? You sure you are not overthinking, my dear?”
William frowned, “We both know what’s happening, but let’s save this pupil the trouble of listening to your babbles so he can begin his apprenticeship with some peace of mind.” he sipped his coffee, “Also, he’s with you for the day as I will be meeting with the solicitor.”
“The guy’s name is Eric. You are going to hurt Alan’s feelings if he knew you talked about his love interest as if he were a stranger.”
“I doubt Alan Humphries would let his emotions get in the way of his job. As a matter of fact, I think he handles it way better than you do.”
Grell reached out an arm to touch William’s tie, “You haven’t changed a bit since I last saw you, Will.”
“You last saw me the past Friday.”
“I like your tie.”
“It’s the same tie as the past Friday.”
“Doesn’t matter. I like it.” she paused to look at him in the eye, “Dinner?”
“No.”
Then she suddenly snapped and dragged Ronald out of the room, “See you later, Darling!” and shut the door behind them.
“I’m not your darling!” William’s voice slipped through the narrowing gaps of the door and into the hollow hallway.
“Pardon my man, he needs some time to get used to having one more person in the building.” Grell said with a Cheshire grin, “Guess you’re stuck with me today, Ronnie.”
“What was that?” Ronald asked, still holding the package in his arms, “Is this package of any importance?”
“Nah, just some lousy documents.”
“Then why…” Ronald followed the redhead as she briskly walked towards her own office, “I mean, your argument made sense. Why would this package end up on his desk?”
“Because I want to catch him having coffee without his suitcoat on, that’s why.” Grell giggled and her face flashed red, “If I called him out to meet you formally, he’d have to put on that unappealing wrapping, and I won’t get to see his marvelous torso. I mean, he looks nice with the suitcoat on too, but I needed my morning fix.” she paused at the door to look at Ronald, “You sure have a lot of questions, Rookie. Anything else?”
Ronald bit his lip nervously, “The solicitor-”
“O you’ll meet Eric sooner or later. He hands us a lot of cases, a lot of interesting cases. Alan is kind of on-and-off about him. I think he likes Eric but he’s just too shy to admit it - he’s like our business partner after all. But that’s silly because Eric would never shut up about him. At some point they’d be fucking, I’m sure so don’t you worry.”
Ronald wasn’t worried, nor was he sure if he was supposed to know this much about someone he has never met.
“By the way,” Grell added, “if you have any question about work, the archives or this place in general, just ask Alan. He knows every word on every page in every book on this floor. And you do not want to piss him off.”
“Okay…” Alan didn’t look like the kind to throw a tantrum, but that advice was duly noted.
When Grell finally opened the door to her office, Ronald knew his supervisor, however hospitable she appeared to be, had no intention to make his life any easier.
“How do you even work in a place like this?” he asked as he skipped through scattering piles of notes and opened books lying on the floor.
Grell shrugged, “Why do you think I need a pupil?” she snatched a folder from her desk before turning around for the door, “I’ll be reading in the lounge. I want everything back to where they belong when I get back.”
“When will you be back?”
“After I finish reading.” Grell smirked, “And I’m a fast reader, grasshopper.”
As the door shut in front of him, Ronald knew he could not afford a moment of hesitance if he were to survive at the Bar.
T.B.C.
(You have no idea how much time I spent researching on the British legal system =A= This might be a good place to start if you are interested.)