The next few weeks were difficult to say the least. The Ambermores kept her incredibly busy, and she was required to help Victoria whenever she called. That first encounter had certainly been tense. Victoria could tell that she was the one from the party, and was clearly waiting for her father to leave so that she could confront Freya. Freya tried as hard as she could to prevent this from happening, asking for other maids to come help her find the room, or finding an excuse to go do another task instead.

Victoria began requesting Freya specifically for tasks—using the alias of Élaine—which made Freya's efforts that much harder. She didn't want to be interrogated by Victoria, especially because she knew her real alias; Lupine. She didn't want to have to explain to Victoria that that wasn't her real name. Victoria wasn't dumb by any means, and it would be only a matter of time before she realized that Élaine was another alias as well.

Worried about this, Freya realized that she did in fact have to confront Victoria and explain that it was a simple misunderstanding should she ask if she was the mysterious Lupine. Freya sighed as she got to her feet after mopping the kitchen floor. Naja heard this, and demanded what the issue was. Freya opened her mouth to create a lie, but closed it again after realizing that Naja would certainly be able to see right through it.

Freya brought her mop and bucket back to the servant's kitchen where others handled it. Since she was Victoria's personal servant, she headed towards Victoria's chambers to ask her if she needed anything. With every step, she worried about what this conversation would bring. She prepared her accent mentally, prepared her alias and prepared her supposed backstory. It would run smoothly; Freya would make sure of that.

Freya couldn't seem to focus as she walked through the halls of the Ambermore mansion. Her mind was racing and her memories a blur. She walked in a haze knowing that no matter what, she was going to have to lie to Victoria. The thought made her heart ache. Halls flew past, servants like herself bustling before lunch which was only an hour away. Soon enough, Freya found herself at Victoria's pristine white door, hand raised to knock. Freaky swallowed her fear and rapped twice.

"Come in," came Victoria's voice, causing a fresh wave of unease to flow over Freya. She couldn't back out now, not after knocking.

She stepped in the room. She had seen it before when she had been cleaning—while Victoria was at dinner of course—and despite this she was still blown away. Two large french doors were at the back of the room leading out to a large balcony; a four poster bed lay nestled to the left; dressers to the right; and every centimetre of wall was covered in--as far as Freay could tell--original artwork.

Victoria looked up from a desk on the left of the french doors. Her purple hair was down for a change, displaying the perfect layers and natural bounce. She sported a simple white chemise, black leggings, and ballet flats. A smile curved perfectly on her lips, filling the room with light. Her dull green eyes were calculating, and Freay found herself trapped in her gaze.

"Shut the door behind you, Lupine," Freya cringed at the sound of her alias. This was why Corvus had been so angry. He expected Victoria to remember it. So had Freya, but not for her to use it. "I've been waiting for you to show up."

"Have you, Ms. Ambermore?" Freya asked in her French accent. "I do believe that you are thinking of someone else."

"Oh, cut the crap, Lupine," Victoria said, her smile fading. "We both know that Élaine is not your name."

"You have the wrong dame, Ms. Ambermore," Freya tried again. "I do not know of any, Lupine. Sauf Arsène Lupin, creation of Maurice Leblanc of course, though I do not think that that is who you are talking about."

Victoria applauded sarcastically. "Well done, Lupine," she said, her smile returning, though it was clearly sarcastic. "That was quite the performance." her smile dropped. "Moving on now shall we? Why are you here?"

"To clear the air of course," Freya responded, accent dropped. "I may have given you the name of Lupine that night, Victoria, but I assure you that it is not my name. If you would please just—"

"—Why lie?" Victoria interrupted. "Why lie to me, and to my father? What do we have that is so important to you that you would risk getting caught. You knew that I lived here, so why try to masquerade as Élaine Cartier when you could run off into the night with that necklace?"

"N–necklace?" Freya asked, taken aback. "What—"

"Don't play koi with me, Lupine," Victoria snapped. "I know full well that you—" she bagn counting on her finger with each point. "—Worked here as a maid to learn the layout of our home; joined in on the party hoping no one would notice; stole our necklace from the safe; replaced it with a glass replica; and returned here with an accomplice. I would applaud you for your work but you were terribly sloppy."

Freya didn't correct Victoria on Nana's involvement and how Freya was technically *her* accomplice.

"I have no idea—" Freya started.

"—Save it," Victoria snapped, cutting her off again. "I could tell that you had snuck away and gone upstairs to search for the safe, so I followed you." Freya cursed her stupidity for not checking behind her. "Lucky me, I managed to get there just in time to see you place the necklace in your bag and replace it with a glass replica. You really should start looking behind you, thief." She spat out the word as if it were poison. "So be honest with me now: why do you do it?"

Freya was silent for a moment while she thought about it. The most obvious answer was that it paid well; that much was obvious. However, if she was honest with herself, she did it because of the thrill. The thrill of being caught and knowing that whether she succeeded or failed, someone out there would know who she was, whether by journalist-assigned name or her real name. Freya would have never called herself an attention-seeker, but that was part of what made her job so enjoyable she supposed.

"I don't know," Freya answered, not willing to admit to Victoria what she had been thinking. "I don't want fame," that was a lie. "I don't want fortune," another lie. "I just want a purpose I guess. Even if I'm hurting rich snobs—no offence—I'm able to help others."

This was the truth, though she didn't mention that Corvus only told them that it was going to 'a good cause' but never any specifics.

"Come, sit with me. I'll have someone bring us some tea." Victoria said.

"Ms., that's my job," Freya was quick to answer. "We can't exactly ask someone else to do it."

"Then go get us some," Victoria reasoned. "Enough for both of us. We have a lot to discuss."

So there is our latest chapter. Writing has been slow lately, so I have next to no ideas. I have part one of chapter four finished, but have no idea what to write afterwards. If someone would like to help me, that's be great. PM me your email and I'll share the doc with you. 

Above are Mr. Ambermore (first name ideas welcome), Lupine as Élaine, and Naja as Helen as well. I know Naja doesn't look too different as Helen, but after some research, it seems that having such a freckled complexion makes things difficult when it comes to hair colour. 

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Any tips and/or ideas are welcome. Thank you very much for reading this story. Steal someone's heart, not their treasures. What do you think, should I use that in the description or at the end of each chapter?

~Alley