Hey you guys! Missed me?

*dodged rotten tomatoes and trash*

I'm sorry… Truth to be told, I became lazy. But I'm changing! Here's a preview for chapter 9. I'll be changing it to the full one by this week.

"Mrs. Lloyd!" Winter called out as she pulled Tintin by his wrist. Lanav glared sharp daggers towards the teenagers, but could not do anything out of hand as his wife and daughter stood beside him.

Mrs. Lloyd squinted at Winter, seemingly trying to grasp on her distant memories. She beamed as soon as she remembered and glided gracefully to Winter, holding out her arms for a hug. "My darling Winter Rose," Mrs. Lloyd chirped, giving a peck on both of Winter's cheeks. "How divine it is to see you here! I would never think of meeting you once again!"

The woman laughed elegantly as she moved her cloudy grey eyes to Tintin. "And is this the famed reporter everyone has been conversing about these past years?" She added happily.

"Journalist Tintin, at your service," He said, emphasizing the adjective. Mrs. Lloyd hung out a gloved hand, and Tintin took it in his gently before kissing her slender fingers. Winter noticed Mrs. Lloyd trying to get a better look at his face. She then shrugged her shoulders, noting to herself that she did not care about Tintin's admirers and grabbed a cup of water from a nearby food table.

"You are a handsome gentleman," Mrs. Lloyd said as a matter-of-factly. "Are you planning to get married soon?"

Tintin's sky-blue eyes widened a fraction as he shook his head. "Oh non, mademoiselle. I've never really thought of marriage, and I plan not to until I am emotionally and physically capable. May I ask why you are curious of this topic?" He said, a polite smile growing on his face.

Mrs. Lloyd giggled and took his hand in hers. "Well, if you say so… I was wondering if you are interested in marrying my daughter."

Winter spurted out water and laid the glass back onto the table, choking on the liquid in a rather comical way. Tintin's eyes opened wide once again at the suggestion, and he retracted his hand from the woman's and patted Winter's back in effort to help. "I-I'm sorry, Mrs. Lloyd, but I'm afraid that cannot be done…"

"It's alright, Tintin. But do talk to her! She is reaching her proper age for marriage, and you would make a wonderful spouse." Winter coughed harshly once again, earning a couple more pats from Tintin.

"I'm okay, Tintin, you can stop hitting my back now," Winter gasped, rubbing her throat in distress. "But that rather caught me by surprise, Mrs. Lloyd."

"I see that," She said, helping Winter straighten herself up. "Is it possible, though, that you two are…?" Mrs. Lloyd gestured towards the teens. Winter and Tintin glanced at each other and shook their heads violently.

"Well, you see Mrs. Lloyd…"

"We just met a few days ago and—"

"We sort of got mixed into a problem and now I'm helping her—"

"Or rather, we're both helping each other—"

"And we are more like siblings," Tintin finished off, resting a hand on Winter's shoulder. The young girl frowned thoughtfully and nodded her head.

"Ah, I see…" Mrs. Lloyd said, studying the both of them, as if trying to find a different answer. "But I don't suppose that you'll find it too troublesome to get to know my daughter?"

More later!