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Description
December 10, 1864; Paris, French Empire

Alright. She had learned her lesson. Love at sight is complete rubbish.

God knows she wished things hadn't gotten this bad. Her father always told her not to be like the other girls and just get with the first man she thought was attractive. But did she listen? Nope. A year ago she laid eyes on Edward Cope and… she couldn't help it! And he liked her, too! It seemed like destiny! It seemed like she could have that fairy tale romance! But no… it was too good to be true.

The two of them kept meeting long after that initial introduction in Berlin. Her father was right when she said all of them would become good friends. Evelyn, Cope, Marsh, they all continued to correspond with one another on scientific matters across Europe. And Cope and Evelyn, they had grown a special bond. Yes, she was ashamed to admit it was one based more on attraction than anything else… but still. It was something. Something Evelyn had yet to experience. She loved people, but she was admittedly a bit shy. She wasn't gonna pass up the opportunity when Cope had asked her out!

But now she was a year later sitting here in her university office, ignoring her work because she was regretting saying yes.

She wished she was able to take the blame for how bad things had gotten between them, but she couldn't. It was definitely on Edward's end. How could she put this? He's too… full of himself.

He never even noticed there was anything wrong between them. Everytime she seemed stressed or down because of something he said, he just assumed it was “womanly oddities”. And it wasn't even the worst of it.

He never seemed to acknowledge her as a person, as an individual, as a scientist. Every time she and her father would be working on a scientific endeavour, he essentially kicked her out of the conversation and discussed all the ideas put forth with just her father instead. Even when her father tried to bring her back in, Cope waved her off, as if she was a child that had no mind for adult matters. He made her feel like a lesser person, like she was just his girlfriend and nothing else, like she was just a housewife like the rest of society wanted her to be.

Quite frankly, she was sick of it. She was a scientist, dammit. She put in just as much, if not more, work than him and Marsh and her father combined! She'd probably be well on the way to owning a doctorate by now if the law didn't forbid women from earning such educational prizes. And if Cope wasn't able to respect her for what she was, then quite frankly he didn't deserve her at all.

She had to break this off. She knew she had to. She hated that she had to… but she knew she had to… She sighed, and pushed herself out of her chair.

“Alright…” she said. “Let's just get this over with. God… I hope he won't be too torn by it. He's an arrogant jerk sometimes, sure, but I hope we can at least still be friends.”

She took a deep breath, and after a moment of last-minute hesitation, she forced herself to walk out the door. She put a spring in every step she took as she walked down the hall, trying to overpower the resilient doubts latching onto the back of her mind. No, she told herself. This had to end. This was an abusive relationship and there was no way she'd let herself be stuck in it any longer. She just had to find Cope’s office and-

“Oomf!” She suddenly bumped into someone as they rounded the corner. “So sorry!” she began to say. “I wasn't looking where I wa- E-Edward!”

Sure enough, Cope was standing there, dusting off his waistcoat. He smiled at her and immediately went to hold her by the waist in a light hug.

“Evelyn!” he said. “What a pleasure it is bumping into you just now! I'm heading off to attend a seminar discussing the Hadrosaurus fossils that Joseph Leidy has been examining. Would you like to come and socialize with the other women there while I debate with the gentlemen?”

Evelyn swallowed the initial irritation at him asking her to come along as luggage instead of asking her to debate with him at the seminar.

“No thank you, Edward,” she said. “I-”

“Alright fair enough. Have fun with whatever else you occupy your day with.”

He started to walk off, expression still unchanged as if he didn't just brush her off rudely. Evelyn’s blood boiled but she tried to hold back her rage. She didn't want this relationship to end bitterly…

She quickly walked up to his side.

“Edward listen-”

“Change your mind?”

“I- No Edward. There's something I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Alright, then we may discuss it after the seminar.”

She scowled. She stood in front of him. “Edward, I need to talk now,” she insisted.

“Evelyn, come now,” Cope said, a bit put off but clearly still ignorant.

“No Edward. I will not ‘come now’. I have something important to discuss and I'm not going to let you walk away from it.”

Cope’s smile finally started fading. “Alright fine,” he said, irritated. “What is it?”

“Edward, you are an astounding scientist and I appreciate that. But you never appreciate me.”

“What are you talking about? I appreciate everything about you, Evelyn! Your beauty, your charm, your eyes.”

“That's not what I mean, Edward.”

“Well what else could you mean? Is that not all?”

“No! And that's just it! The fact that you think that's all is the problem! I'm more than just a pretty face, Edward!”

“Evelyn, come now. This is ridiculous.”

“I have every right to be treated as an equal scientist as you do.”

“Well perhaps when we compare degrees, then we can attest that claim, hmm?”

Evelyn felt her fists clench, much as she tried to call herself. “Edward I'm done,” she declared finally, as calmly as she could manage.

“Done with what?” he asked.

“Us, Edward. Us. I'm… I'm breaking up with you.”

Cope’s jaw silently dropped. He stared in utter disbelief. Evelyn crossed her arms and gave an apologetic, but set expression. “I can't be with a man who treats me more like a pet than a person,” she told him. “I'm sorry… I hope we can still at least be friends?”

Cope continued to stare. Evelyn noticed his expression start to darken. His stare turned into a scowl. “Fine,” he spat. “Father said I could do better than someone with tainted blood like yours anyway.”

And with that, he shoved past her, steaming down the hall and never looking back.

“Edward…” Evelyn tried to plead. “Please Edward…” But he was already gone. Evelyn lowered her head and held back the urge to go hide in a corner and cry. “I'm sorry…” she mumbled.

She stood there for a couple minutes, shifting her feet under her dress and telling herself that at least she got it over with, and then she decided to go back to her office.

Well… on second thought, maybe there was another office she should visit. She rounded a corner and walked down the hall until she came across her father's room. She knocked and let herself him when she heard him tell her to. He looked up from his work and smiled brightly at her, though his smile quickly faded when he saw how distraught she looked. He immediately stood up and walked up to her.

“Evelyn, sweetheart, what's the matter? What happened?”

“I… I broke it off with Edward,” she told him.

“Oh honey, I'm so sorry…”

She shook her head. “It was… it was for the best. He didn't appreciate what he had and I wasn't going to live in his shadow anymore.”

Her father hugged her. “Well, I'm proud of you for doing the right thing,” he told her. “You're a smart girl.”

“I only wish Edward could've seen that.”

“Yes… admittedly Dr. Cope was always the type to have his head stuck up his rear end. I never said anything because I thought you were happy and I didn't want to ruin that.”

“Well, I wasn't happy. But… at least now it's over. I can focus on my studies without him putting me down about it.”

Her father nodded. Evelyn kept her head hung a bit. Her father put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” he told her, “I've got something for you. It might cheer you up a bit.”

She raised her head a bit. “Oh?”

Her father nodded. He went over to his desk and swiped up a small stack of papers and handed them over to his daughter for her to look over.

“So your mother and I have been doing a bit of snooping while we go around Europe, and she came across something she thought you might be interested in.”

“That so?”

“Indeed! She found out that your little ‘friends’ the Templars are on another artifact hunt.”

“They're looking for a Piece of Eden?”

“Mhm. And a nasty one at that, based on what I've heard. Something about a sort of scythe.”

“A Scythe? Blimey that's a new one.”

“Now thankfully they have no clue where it is so far. We've discovered that they're using this new fangled paleontology thing as a platform with which to find it. Hiring scientists to dig in places where they think the Scythe will pop up.”

“Templars always did have a talent for taking an amazing thing and twisting it to suit their needs.”

Her father nodded. “Well that's why we have people like you, sweetheart. You're a true scientist, a true paleontologist. You do what you do for the betterment of all mankind, to achieve a greater understanding of the world and our place in it. That's rather admirable.”

That managed to make her smile. “Thank you, dad,” she said.

“Of course, my dear. That's what fathers are for: making their children smile. Just because your adventure with Dr. Cope has come to an end, it doesn't mean your journey as a protector of the people will too. That's where you really shine, sweetheart. You're going to do amazing things in this world, even if he's too dense to see it.”

Evelyn’s smile spread even farther up her cheeks. She stowed the documents away into her purse and she hugged her father tight.

“Thank you, dad,” she said. He smiled and hugged her back.

“You're quite welcome, my dear.”

Description
December 10, 1864; Paris, French Empire

Alright. She had learned her lesson. Love at sight is complete rubbish.

God knows she wished things hadn't gotten this bad. Her father always told her not to be like the other girls and just get with the first man she thought was attractive. But did she listen? Nope. A year ago she laid eyes on Edward Cope and… she couldn't help it! And he liked her, too! It seemed like destiny! It seemed like she could have that fairy tale romance! But no… it was too good to be true.

The two of them kept meeting long after that initial introduction in Berlin. Her father was right when she said all of them would become good friends. Evelyn, Cope, Marsh, they all continued to correspond with one another on scientific matters across Europe. And Cope and Evelyn, they had grown a special bond. Yes, she was ashamed to admit it was one based more on attraction than anything else… but still. It was something. Something Evelyn had yet to experience. She loved people, but she was admittedly a bit shy. She wasn't gonna pass up the opportunity when Cope had asked her out!

But now she was a year later sitting here in her university office, ignoring her work because she was regretting saying yes.

She wished she was able to take the blame for how bad things had gotten between them, but she couldn't. It was definitely on Edward's end. How could she put this? He's too… full of himself.

He never even noticed there was anything wrong between them. Everytime she seemed stressed or down because of something he said, he just assumed it was “womanly oddities”. And it wasn't even the worst of it.

He never seemed to acknowledge her as a person, as an individual, as a scientist. Every time she and her father would be working on a scientific endeavour, he essentially kicked her out of the conversation and discussed all the ideas put forth with just her father instead. Even when her father tried to bring her back in, Cope waved her off, as if she was a child that had no mind for adult matters. He made her feel like a lesser person, like she was just his girlfriend and nothing else, like she was just a housewife like the rest of society wanted her to be.

Quite frankly, she was sick of it. She was a scientist, dammit. She put in just as much, if not more, work than him and Marsh and her father combined! She'd probably be well on the way to owning a doctorate by now if the law didn't forbid women from earning such educational prizes. And if Cope wasn't able to respect her for what she was, then quite frankly he didn't deserve her at all.

She had to break this off. She knew she had to. She hated that she had to… but she knew she had to… She sighed, and pushed herself out of her chair.

“Alright…” she said. “Let's just get this over with. God… I hope he won't be too torn by it. He's an arrogant jerk sometimes, sure, but I hope we can at least still be friends.”

She took a deep breath, and after a moment of last-minute hesitation, she forced herself to walk out the door. She put a spring in every step she took as she walked down the hall, trying to overpower the resilient doubts latching onto the back of her mind. No, she told herself. This had to end. This was an abusive relationship and there was no way she'd let herself be stuck in it any longer. She just had to find Cope’s office and-

“Oomf!” She suddenly bumped into someone as they rounded the corner. “So sorry!” she began to say. “I wasn't looking where I wa- E-Edward!”

Sure enough, Cope was standing there, dusting off his waistcoat. He smiled at her and immediately went to hold her by the waist in a light hug.

“Evelyn!” he said. “What a pleasure it is bumping into you just now! I'm heading off to attend a seminar discussing the Hadrosaurus fossils that Joseph Leidy has been examining. Would you like to come and socialize with the other women there while I debate with the gentlemen?”

Evelyn swallowed the initial irritation at him asking her to come along as luggage instead of asking her to debate with him at the seminar.

“No thank you, Edward,” she said. “I-”

“Alright fair enough. Have fun with whatever else you occupy your day with.”

He started to walk off, expression still unchanged as if he didn't just brush her off rudely. Evelyn’s blood boiled but she tried to hold back her rage. She didn't want this relationship to end bitterly…

She quickly walked up to his side.

“Edward listen-”

“Change your mind?”

“I- No Edward. There's something I wanted to talk with you about.”

“Alright, then we may discuss it after the seminar.”

She scowled. She stood in front of him. “Edward, I need to talk now,” she insisted.

“Evelyn, come now,” Cope said, a bit put off but clearly still ignorant.

“No Edward. I will not ‘come now’. I have something important to discuss and I'm not going to let you walk away from it.”

Cope’s smile finally started fading. “Alright fine,” he said, irritated. “What is it?”

“Edward, you are an astounding scientist and I appreciate that. But you never appreciate me.”

“What are you talking about? I appreciate everything about you, Evelyn! Your beauty, your charm, your eyes.”

“That's not what I mean, Edward.”

“Well what else could you mean? Is that not all?”

“No! And that's just it! The fact that you think that's all is the problem! I'm more than just a pretty face, Edward!”

“Evelyn, come now. This is ridiculous.”

“I have every right to be treated as an equal scientist as you do.”

“Well perhaps when we compare degrees, then we can attest that claim, hmm?”

Evelyn felt her fists clench, much as she tried to call herself. “Edward I'm done,” she declared finally, as calmly as she could manage.

“Done with what?” he asked.

“Us, Edward. Us. I'm… I'm breaking up with you.”

Cope’s jaw silently dropped. He stared in utter disbelief. Evelyn crossed her arms and gave an apologetic, but set expression. “I can't be with a man who treats me more like a pet than a person,” she told him. “I'm sorry… I hope we can still at least be friends?”

Cope continued to stare. Evelyn noticed his expression start to darken. His stare turned into a scowl. “Fine,” he spat. “Father said I could do better than someone with tainted blood like yours anyway.”

And with that, he shoved past her, steaming down the hall and never looking back.

“Edward…” Evelyn tried to plead. “Please Edward…” But he was already gone. Evelyn lowered her head and held back the urge to go hide in a corner and cry. “I'm sorry…” she mumbled.

She stood there for a couple minutes, shifting her feet under her dress and telling herself that at least she got it over with, and then she decided to go back to her office.

Well… on second thought, maybe there was another office she should visit. She rounded a corner and walked down the hall until she came across her father's room. She knocked and let herself him when she heard him tell her to. He looked up from his work and smiled brightly at her, though his smile quickly faded when he saw how distraught she looked. He immediately stood up and walked up to her.

“Evelyn, sweetheart, what's the matter? What happened?”

“I… I broke it off with Edward,” she told him.

“Oh honey, I'm so sorry…”

She shook her head. “It was… it was for the best. He didn't appreciate what he had and I wasn't going to live in his shadow anymore.”

Her father hugged her. “Well, I'm proud of you for doing the right thing,” he told her. “You're a smart girl.”

“I only wish Edward could've seen that.”

“Yes… admittedly Dr. Cope was always the type to have his head stuck up his rear end. I never said anything because I thought you were happy and I didn't want to ruin that.”

“Well, I wasn't happy. But… at least now it's over. I can focus on my studies without him putting me down about it.”

Her father nodded. Evelyn kept her head hung a bit. Her father put a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey,” he told her, “I've got something for you. It might cheer you up a bit.”

She raised her head a bit. “Oh?”

Her father nodded. He went over to his desk and swiped up a small stack of papers and handed them over to his daughter for her to look over.

“So your mother and I have been doing a bit of snooping while we go around Europe, and she came across something she thought you might be interested in.”

“That so?”

“Indeed! She found out that your little ‘friends’ the Templars are on another artifact hunt.”

“They're looking for a Piece of Eden?”

“Mhm. And a nasty one at that, based on what I've heard. Something about a sort of scythe.”

“A Scythe? Blimey that's a new one.”

“Now thankfully they have no clue where it is so far. We've discovered that they're using this new fangled paleontology thing as a platform with which to find it. Hiring scientists to dig in places where they think the Scythe will pop up.”

“Templars always did have a talent for taking an amazing thing and twisting it to suit their needs.”

Her father nodded. “Well that's why we have people like you, sweetheart. You're a true scientist, a true paleontologist. You do what you do for the betterment of all mankind, to achieve a greater understanding of the world and our place in it. That's rather admirable.”

That managed to make her smile. “Thank you, dad,” she said.

“Of course, my dear. That's what fathers are for: making their children smile. Just because your adventure with Dr. Cope has come to an end, it doesn't mean your journey as a protector of the people will too. That's where you really shine, sweetheart. You're going to do amazing things in this world, even if he's too dense to see it.”

Evelyn’s smile spread even farther up her cheeks. She stowed the documents away into her purse and she hugged her father tight.

“Thank you, dad,” she said. He smiled and hugged her back.

“You're quite welcome, my dear.”