Chapter 11: Scarlett and travelling

Anthony Smith P.O.V

Since Ace decided that he wanted us to go with him, I have been on the edge that's not the travel that makes me anxious but the little smirk Ace had when he told us this of course Lena was ecstatic and didn't notice anything wrong if anything I think she felt that Ace was trusting her to get some insight about which school to go to but I knew that he just wanted to get something out of this situation since the start of the summer him and Martha were plotting something I could feel it.

Also, the fact that one of the schools was in New York was not helping my anxiety level to go down at all I really hoped he would not choose Columbia but I got this feeling that he had already made his choice and was just doing this so we could spend more time traveling but then again I was sure there was more to it than what meet the eyes, this kid will be the death of me one day sigh, for the last 3 days I was making preparation for our little visit to the U.S Lena was running left and right taking things in and out of her suitcase because every new piece of clothes was better than the last and she didn't seems satisfied so she started all over again.

After going through everything that was needed for our excursion I called Nigel to my office after waiting for 5 minutes I heard a soft knock on the door.

-It is open come on in 

-You called for me Mr.Smith

-Sigh, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Anthony, Nigel?

-Probably until the very end, Mr.Smith

-Alright I will stop trying then anyway, I called you here because I need you to go talk to the crew of the jet to get everything in order before our departure I would also like for you to go over there before us to check on our accommodation and prepare our transportation for the 2 weeks we will be there can you do that for me?

-Yes Mr.Smith I will get to it right away and I will also leave first thing in the morning tomorrow.

With this out of the way, I could finally breathe a little I knew I could count on Nigel to get things right.

Lena P.O.V

 When Ace asked me to come with them for this little outing I knew he was up to something with all the allusion he was making about my love life I knew he was up to something and with how perceptive he was I knew sooner or later he would have seen my lingering feeling for his Uncle what I didn't take in consideration was how pushy he would be to put us together contrary to what everyone was thinking well everyone except Ace because he knew me very well he sure knows that I would be happy traveling with them nothing to do with the fact that when I saw the smirk Ace had on his face when he asked us to go with him, I knew he would give me the chance to be alone with him hehe I bet Anthony is still thinking something rude about me being this excited humph if only he knew what Ace was planning (giggles) 

Ace P.O.V

On the day of our departure like every morning, I was out to run my daily 20 kilometers when I suddenly heard a sound coming from behind a bush that stopped me right in my tracks usually I wouldn't stop for something like this but I had a gut feeling that I would regret it if I don't stop to look for the strange sound, don't tell me why but my instinct are usually on point after stopping my run after taking a deep breath I took a step toward the bush, behind the bush there was a little cat clearly in pain I good see dried blood on one of his hind legs there was also a bad scar still bleeding on his nose, with great care, I took him in my arm and start making my way back toward the mansion I could have run but decided against it seeing how wounded the little cat was if me running could potentially worsen his injury I would blame myself

After walking carefully for 30 minutes with this little girl in my arms because yes while walking I discovered she was a girl I arrived at the little farm that we got on the island at the beginning it was just a little poultry but after my infinite complaints about the qualities of the meat we were eating my uncle got tired of it and began buying pigs, cows, wild boar, deer and probably other species I didn't know of yet, anyway, I was here because I knew that Doug had a veterinarian diploma and he was a good one, before coming working for us he was working as a zoo veterinarian at the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. In addition to impressive worldwide conservation efforts, the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium—located in Omaha, Nebraska—features the world's largest geodesic dome. This dome creates a realistic desert environment that acts as a home to countless animals and plants. So it was no wonder that our little farm was day by day looking more like a mini version of this zoo than a farm and honestly I was all for it taking care of endangered species and saving animals was a noble cause, of course, the most commons species were used for our consumption and when the population was starting to grow out of control most animals were sold to environmental park around the world we also had a huge aquarium not as huge as the public one but huge enough to breed multiple species of rare and not so rare fish except the racing track that my uncle built for me last year this place was my favorite of all, I will miss this place

After looking around for a bit I finally found Doug who was osculating a red panda I approached the enclosure stood by the door and made a coughing sound to let him know I was there without looking back and knowing who it was he said '' wait a minute I am almost done here'' that's one of the things I like about him sure he always looked grumpy and he didn't shy away from saying what was on his mind without filtering his thoughts beforehand but that was part of his charm like Mammy would say but he really loved his job and the animals even more so.

I looked down at the little girl in my arms to see if everything was alright, she was sleeping I sighed in relief she must have felt that she was safe now and exhaustion caught up a short moment later Doug turned around and looked at me then his eyes opened wide he was not surprised that I was here I came here almost every day no he saw the cat in my arms he hurriedly stood up and said '' hurry, follow me '' we walked through the facilities with ease until we arrived at his clinic he pointed the table at me I knew what he wanted me to do so I delicately put Scarlett on it ( yes I already gave her a name ) I planned to keep her with me if she can make it which I didn't doubt a second with Doug here.

-So what happened and where did you find this cat? asked Doug

-I don't know what happened but I found Scarlett while I was running this morning she was maybe 1 kilometer away from the worker's village so I assume that one of their cats gave birth and Scarlett got lost or was abandoned as soon as I saw the state she was in I brought her here

-Hmm quick thinking to bring her to me instead of going to the mansion first nice reaction kiddo I see that you plan to take care of her if you already gave her a name I know you love animals it's good that you finally choose to take care of one yourself, the wounds are shallow but she seems dehydrated and malnourished, infections could have really gotten to her if you hadn't found her quick enough. Well you can let her stay with me until you come back, I heard that you guys are going to visit universities I wish you good luck don't let those college girls eat you alive hahaha anyway you don't have to worry about Scarlett here you can see shes a fighter and with me here nothing bad will happen she will be sprinting around by the time you came back he said while patting my shoulder now leave I've got work to do kiddo

I took a last look at Scarlett wishing her to recover quickly then left i was thinking about returning to the mansion but I knew I needed to turn my mind off a little bit so I put my earphones in my ears and put the volume on to maximum before resuming my run 

After finishing my run and taking a shower I took my suitcase downstairs since we were set to leave right after breakfast, I made my way toward the dining room, Lena and my Uncle were already there sitting at the tables waiting for me, I sat down at my favorite place were I could see the gardens through the windows like usual I was so hungry that I didn't even take the time for greetings and immediately start devouring the food in front of me, seeing this my Uncle raised an eyebrow and Lena was looking at me for 1 minute before finally having enough of this situation she cleared her throat then said sarcastically

-Good morning to you too Ace, I slept like a baby I'm glad you asked.

-Cough cough, sorry Lena I was really famished. Good morning I said with a smile

-Hmm what made you forget your good manners on this beautiful morning? she asked

-I found a cat! I respond

Both my Uncle and Lena looked at me with a gaze that told me that if I didn't explain the situation fast they would jump on me to beat me up so I started

-When I went on my run this morning I found a wounded cat behind a bush so I took her to Doug and then finished my run that's also why I was a little late for breakfast sorry for that

-Awwnn is the cat alright? asked Lena

-Yes she should be, Doug is taking care of her until I come back so I am not worried, oh talking about this Uncle we will need to buy necessities for Scarlett

-Who is Scarlett? Uncle asked me puzzled

-My cat of course! I said looking at my Uncle with a weird gaze

Lena started laughing at the situation .. more like laughing at my Uncle but she will never admit it after this discussion, we finished our breakfast in silence took our luggage, and made our way out I wanted to take my car but my Uncle was having none of it I finally relented and took the limo to the private airport with them. We arrived 35 minutes later on the runaway where our jet awaited us.

After another 30 minutes of waiting the jet was ready for takeoff I took my seat on one of the many sofas in there and looked through the airplane window thinking to myself with a smile on my face this will be a fun little adventure for sure, with little to no tremor thanks to the luxury of this plane we took off after 4 minutes the voice of the pilot could be heard through the interphone -We have leveled off at our cruising altitude. enjoy your flight, the next stop is in 13h56 minutes!