Hello. Happy New year. This is my second ruby-red fanfiction. It's the meeting between Gideon and Gwendolyn from Gideon's point of view. I hope you will like it. And please review.

Today I visited James de Villiers (older carnelian line 14) in Kensington, whose wife Selina had just yesterday given birth to their son and firstborn child at Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital.

I'm proud to record the birth of the eleventh in the circle of twelve, the diamond:

Gideon Jonathan de Villiers.

7 Ibs. 11 oz. 20 in.

Congratulations to Hector de Villier, inner circle, for the birth of his grandson.

FROM THE ANNALS OF THE GUARDIANS

12 September 1992

Report: Thomas George, Inner Circle

"GIDEON JONATHAN DE VILLIERS, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

"Of course, I am, mum," I answered on the phone. "But could you repeat this to me again? What did Raphael do?" When she and I talked, it mostly had only one subject: My brother Raphael. Sometimes I think that she called to discuss this with me, because she needed somebody else than her husband to let her frustration fall upon, and I was closest in my place as her oldest son.

"He snuck inside his school at night with a few friends and crashed a teacher's office."

"That's sounds extreme, even for him," I said. Normally Raphael only did dangerous things which were only bad for himself.

"Yes, I couldn't believe it myself, when I heard it, but he was caught on the security cameras. Jacques had offered to pay for the repairs, and the headmaster accepted it."

"Then there are no troubles, well?" I asked. Monsieur Po-Face would pay for anything. He likes showing how rich he is. Rich like Croesus.

"No, if only Raphael would apologies to the teacher in question," my mum answered.

What?

"He refuses to apologies?" Raphael might be a little reckless, but mostly his actions weren't mean to harm anyone.

"Precisely, and now the school council are considering expelling him."

I'm not surprised that they wanted to expel him.

"What about that I call him in the weekend and have a talk?" I suggested. I was going to have a busy week. Originally the plan was that after Charlotte had her first elapsing, we were going to visit the count in the eighteenth century, where she would be introducing to him.

"In the weekend?" my mother yelled. "By that time he could already be kicked out of school."

I sighted. I do wish that I could be of more help, but I had enough to do in my life than concerning myself with Raphael's problems.

Don't get me wrong, I love my brother, but I just prefer to love him from a distant, because he can be a little handful.

"Listen, tell Raphael that I will call him tomorrow evening. I have to go, mum."

I ended the call before she could protest. I felt a little guilty for cut her off. Despite our relationship she was still my mother.

My closest family was a mess. My father was dead and I had a distant relationship with my mother and my brother.

And my stepfather?

Just because I didn't like him, didn't mean that I couldn't tolerate him. In his company I would call him Jacques and not Monsieur Bertelin, and if he sent me a present to birthdays or Christmas, I would thank him. But I could never think of him as a father.

Somehow my days were the same. I go to the temple to elapsing, once in a while I get a mission and after the circle of blood is complete, there would just be elapsing every day to the 50s where I could be safe and sound. My whole life was set in stone. I just wish that something would change.

And did I mention that I'm a horrible friend?

Charlotte Montrose was the ruby, my counterpart. Just like me she was training her whole life to be prepared to travel through time. She became my only friend, due to that I didn't had much time to spend with other kids at my own age.

Charlotte is in love with me. It's just something I can tell. And I don't blame her. I'm the only guy she even got close to, so what else was there to expend?

If I was a good friend, I would have told her that I didn't felt that way for her. But no, the count insisted that she should remain in love with me, because that way she was easier to control.

I felt guilty for leading her on, but it was the order of the count. And the count always put the greater good first.

The count of Saint Germain.

I met him two years ago, when I had to be introduced to him. He took the news of the theft better than I had feared. And then he asked about the ruby, Charlotte, and I answered him as accurate as I could.

"The ruby, do you know her?"

"Yes, sir. Her name is Charlotte Montrose. She is first cousin to the Sapphire, Lucy Montrose. Her grandfather was Lord Lucas Montrose, the late grandmaster of the lodge. She has been properly trained since childhood."

"Very good. And her parents, who are they?"

"Her mother is Glenda, daughter of Lord Montrose, and her father is Charles Auden."

"Auden? How interesting. Does her father have any connection with the lodge?"

"No."

"And how does she look like? I would like to know that."

"She has blue eyes… and red hair."

"Red hair. Like my old friend Madame d'Urf and both Elaine Burgley and Cecilia Woodwille. Too shame I haven't met the Jade and the Sapphire yet. I assume that they both also have red hair."

I decided to walk up to the dragon hall and see how Charlotte was doing. I was finish with necessary elapsing for today. I promised myself that I would help and support her when she would begin elapsing, because I was the only person who she could share this thing with and her only friend.

But I walked around the next corner, someone ran into me, and hit the air out of my lungs.

Ow.

"Oops," I heard Mr. George said.

"Mr. George," I exclaim in surprise.

With him was a young girl – the one who ran into me –, probably a few years younger than me. She had black hair and eyes in a striking blue color. She was pretty, but she was looking at me like she saw a ghost. It felt a little uncomfortable. I didn't like people staring at me. I had enough of that while I grew up. Members of the lodge who wanted to catch a glimpse of the Diamond, the last gene-carrier in the male line. I clearly remembered how they would whisper around me.

"Gideon, this is Gwendolyn Shepherd," sighted Mr. George. "Gwendolyn, this is Gideon de Villiers."

Gwendolyn Shepherd? The name rang a bell somewhere in my memory, but I couldn't remember where …

But I didn't want to look like an idiot, so I said: "Hello."

"Hello." Her voice sounded hoarse. Why? Was she ill?

Mr. George looked amused.

"I think you two will be getting to know each other better," he laughed. "It's possible that Gwendolyn is our new Charlotte."

New Charlotte? I looked at the girl again. What was that supposed to mean? She was still staring dumbly at me. Didn't she have any tact? Didn't she realize how stupid she looked?

"It's a very complicated story," said Mr. George. "You'd better go up to the Dragon Hall and let your uncle explain."

I nodded. "I was on my way up in any case. See you, Mr. George. Good-bye for now, Winnie."

"Gwendolyn," I heard Mr. George correcting me.

Damn. Now she must think I was moron, who couldn't remember a name. Gwendolyn wasn't a normal name there was easy to remember like Charlotte's.

As I walk (more like ran) up to the Dragon Hall, I speculated over what Mr. George had meant by 'New Charlotte'.

I had a suspicion, but I was afraid to think it.

I spotted Uncle Falk outside Dragon Hall. He looked tired, and from the hall I could hear yelling.

When he saw me, he smiled slightly. "There you are, Gideon."

"Uncle Falk, what happened?"

He sighted. "Grace Shepherd came here with her oldest daughter, Gwendolyn. She claims that the girl is the ruby and not Charlotte."

I felt like something had punched me. Charlotte, not the Ruby? This must be a joke or something. Charlotte had been in training her whole life. Dance lessons, fencing lessons, history lessons. A whole life's entire work, where nothing had been left out.

And now this?
Grace Shepherd? As in Grace Montrose, uncle Falk's old crush who broke up with him and later got married to a lector from Durham?

Charlotte's aunt.

What did I knew about her and her family? Just that the husband died a couple of years ago, and the widow moved back to Montrose household with the kids.

And I remembered now that Charlotte had mention her cousin Gwendolyn one or twice. She would say things like she was 'childish' and 'too ordinary' and spend most of her time watching movies and hanging out with her friend.

And was that kind of person the ruby? Heaven forbid.

"I don't understand. How can she claim that?"

"According to her birth certificate Gwendolyn was born the day after Charlotte. Grace – Mrs. Shepherd told us that she and her now late husband bribed the midwife to falsify the date."

What? That sounded absurd.

"Surely, the midwife wouldn't have taken a bribe," I pointed out.

Falk smiled sarcastic. "Well, Grace and her husband told the midwife a sob story about a sadistic cult who was after children in her family born on October seventh. And the midwife agreed out of pity."

A sadistic cult? Come on, how could anyone believe that? But there did existed people who would believe anything.

"And?"

"Glenda is accusing Grace for lying and Dr. White too doesn't believe it. Mr. George has taken Gwendolyn to a safe location where we can determent if what Grace has told us is true. Mrs. Jenkins is looking for the midwife to confirm the story." He sighted again. "The worst thing that can happen is that she does elapsing. But now we do have two possible gene-carriers in the same building."

"Why would they hold the girl's real birthday a secret?" It didn't made sense to me. Having the gene was a very big deal. Didn't the girl's parents thought about the risks?

Uncle Falk shrugged. "'To protect her', she says. Grace and Nicholas were the ones who help Lucy and Paul so long back. So nobody can trust what her motives were."

Yes, I remembered it now. The traitors had been hidden in her home in Durham before they went back in time with the chronograph.

"But why is Mrs. Shepherd coming forward now?" I asked.

"She claims that Gwendolyn has elapsing three times already, and she fears for her safety."

I wasn't sure what to think of it. If Mrs. Shepherd was concern about her daughter's safety, then she should have come clean a long time ago.

Then I thought about it. Lucas Montrose's fourth granddaughter. Maybe that's why she gave me such an odd look. I had been present at the former grandmaster's funeral six years ago. Maybe she saw me there.

I remembered Lord Montrose very well. I was twelve, when he died. He had always been a nice man. Such an old grandfather-type.

Mrs. Jenkins came over. She was holding a few documents.

"Mr. de Villiers, I have called our contact in Durham and got him to get the medical documents on Miss Shepherd's birth from the local hospital. But we have a problem."

"What kind of problem?" uncle Falk asked. I could hear that he didn't like the sound of it.

"I can't get in touch with the midwife, Dawn Heller. I have been calling her phone, but she doesn't answer."

"Well, try her workplace and see what they can tell us. I would really like to talk to her."

Mrs. Jenkins said she would try and left us.

As soon she was out of our sight, Mr. George come down looking panicked.

"Thomas, is there something wrong?" uncle Falk concerned.

"It happened," Mr. George gasped. "She elapsed. Right in front of me."

Uncle Falk groaned. This was exactly what he feared. I was mute. I didn't know what to say. It felt like an avalanche was falling right down on me.

"Well," Uncle Falk said. "I better get inside Dragon Hall and inform the rest of it. You two can go back and wait for her."

I wanted to say that I want to be in Dragon Hall to comfort Charlotte, but I had a feeling that my uncle wasn't going to let me.

Mr. George nodded. "Come, Gideon."

I just followed him, while my head was in chaos.

This was completely mess.

During my whole life, nothing had been left to the coincidences. Everything had been planned out. And I felt that it was easier to follow, because there was nothing I could do about it. And Charlotte had been trained to do the same. She was an educated woman.

Now the ruby was a child. A girl who most likely would become a pain in my neck.

I knew I wanted a change, but not a surprise. I hate surprises. They are unpredictable, and when something unpredictable happens I get nervous.

Be careful with what you are wishing for.

I hope you liked it.

I think of Gideon as a guy who during his whole life follow the logde's rules and views, because he had been taught that they knew best. And when Gwendolyn suddenly turned up, it made him question things. He's an amazing character. :-)