Mr. Rook was starting to wonder if he would have to forcibly restrain Dale. She had been sneaking out at night, and returning with injuries. She would never heal if she continued like this, and that worried him. Mr. Rook wasn’t a man to question the actions of his employers, but he was the kind of man to worry.

The weeks that Dale stayed with him were like a long dream. There was no stress of school, no worry about the outside world—except for the Negaverse lurking in Dale’s mind. Mr. Rook had no idea what that was, of course, but it was obvious that there was some greater responsibility that Dale was calling to. Sometimes he wondered if she had fallen in with some gang. If only he knew the truth.

Sadly, dreams end. When dreams end, you either wake up, or you enter a nightmare. The reality that Dale was about to wake up to, Mr. Rook knew, was going to be nightmarish. He held a letter that Mr. Spencer had dictated to him over the phone. His heart ached for the young girl as he took it in for her to read. Dale was a little spoiled, he knew, and if her freedom and riches were taken away, what did she have left? She had been fed silver spoon after silver spoon after silver spoon.

But, as Mr. Rook looked at the bandaged girl lying in his bed, he knew that something had to be done. There was no way that his Miss Spencer could continue on like that.

“Miss Spencer,” he said. “I have a letter from your father.”

Dark eyelashes sprang open to reveal terrified blue eyes.
“He found out about the car crash, then,” Dale whispered.

“Yes, Miss. He’s also received a letter from the Crystal Academy inquiring about your absences.”

Dale struggled to sit up, and Mr. Rook was over there in an instant, putting a pillow behind her back and helping her straighten up. She was paler than usual, and her eyes were glassy. Still, she had a small smirk on her face. “Does Father know about my injuries, too?”

Mr. Rook paused for a moment before saying, “No, Miss.”

Dale closed her eyes, her smirk spreading into a smile. “You’re so dependable, Mr. Rook, like always. Thank you.” She lifted up her hand towards him and touched his shoulder.

“Don’t thank me, Miss Spencer, please. I haven’t finished,” said Mr. Rook. “Your father… he’s de-activated your credit cards and cut your allowance.” He paused, letting the shock permeate Dale’s cool exterior. After a moment, he said, “May I continue, Miss?”

“You mean there’s more.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

“He’s asked me to personally retrieve the keys to your remaining vehicles. You aren’t to use them until further notice.”
Dale crumpled into the bed.

“He’s also demanded that you return to Crystal.”

Dale was shaking her head, and she pulled one of the sheets up over her mess of black hair.

“No… no, no way…”
“Miss Spencer—“

Dale sat straight up, forcing the sheet back down. “Look at me, Rook!”

He did.

“I look like an abuse victim! There’s no way I could live at Crystal like this! I’d be trapped there, the girls would talk, it’d just be… awful…” As Dale spoke, her voice got more frantic and more high-pitched, until she finally just broke, warm tears wetting her makeup-covered face. “I couldn’t be myself there.”

“Well…” with a sigh, Mr. Rook sat down next to Dale and let his sobbing employer cling to him like a life preserver. She was getting foundation all over his crisp, white shirt, but he didn’t care. He just pat her head, letting her cry as her world fell around her. “I’ve been thinking. What if you attend your classes, and then afterwards come here? I’m not chic or anything, but you would by no means be trapped, and you could heal here with no one to judge you.”

Dale looked up at him like a child might stare up at Santa Claus.

“The only rule is that I have a curfew for you. I don’t know what you do at night, but you haven’t allowed yourself to heal. Until I personally give you a clean bill of health, you aren’t allowed to leave here after dark without me as a chaperon.”

Dale sighed, she knew that there was a catch. If Charonite knew that she couldn’t do her job, what would he do? Still, she wasn’t succeeding at anything. Every battle she had encountered, every senshi, every hurtle, she had allowed to beat her down. She would have to allow herself this one opportunity to stay in this sanatorium, this apartment. The dark-haired girl buried herself in her butler’s arm, inhaling his old cologne, and nodded.

“Okay,” she said, sounding more like a child than her usual self. “I accept your offer.” She lifted her head and gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek before sinking back down under the covers. “If you don’t mind, Mr. Rook… I need t-to…”

Sensing that more tears were on their way, Mr. Rook nodded. “I’ll shut the lights off on the way out. I need to pick up your keys from the Crystal Academy, anyway…” He winced as the sobbing started, and quickly made his exit, clicking the light out on his distraught employer.