Final Act

Sophie stood quietly in the courtyard of Cassandra Gladstone's manor.

She still couldn't believe that Cassandra had asked her to come back, the day after she made him so mad at her to the point that he almost hit her. He had requested that she come with Owl, because he needed to talk with Owl. In exchange for that, she could talk with her brother.

Sophie had accepted the invitation immediately.

Now, she was here, and she was waiting for her brother to appear.

And appear he did.

She didn't recognize him at first, but then realized it was him...unmasked, and in a dress of all clothing choices.

"Sophie?" He asked, gazing at her. "Is that you?" He didn't recognize her at first, either, because Sophie was a tomboy, and she never wore dresses except to really fancy parties and such.

Sophie ran to him, not caring if she ended up tripping on the hem of her dress or not, and embraced him quickly and tightly. Meister held her tightly, too, and it took a moment for them to let go of each other and simply just gaze at each other.

"I tried to get in contact with you yesterday, but Cassandra said that you didn't want to talk with me. Why?" Sophie asked. She paused before asking, "How has it been...being in Cassandra's posession?"

"It's not too bad." Meister responded quietly. "I tried to escape once, but he caught me and put me in a...Scavenger's Daughter, he called it. It hurt like crazy...but I've recovered from that. He only kept me in there for five minutes or so; so the lingering effects afterwards were not too bad. Since then, he's been quite good to me." He looked down at this dress. "This...piece of feminine apparel...it's weird wearing it. I've gotten used to it, though, along with the corset underneath. I hate the corset, though. I'm not able to move as flexibly as usual."

"That's because it's meant for girls, silly." Sophie responded, giving him a light punch in the arm. "What else has happened?"

"Sophie, I..." Meister paused before he continued. "For the past while I've been with Cassandra, I've got...feelings...for him. I can't really figure out if it's lust, or love, or something in between, but they're feelings. And Cassandra's feeling the same back towards me. It's so odd, and I can't decipher it...Are you going to be mad at me?" He finally asked. "Because I have these harbored feelings for a man you despise?"

Sophie paused for a moment. So, her hunches had been correct...But...

"I can't be mad at you for that. Despite what you say about love, over and over again, brother, you can't really know what it truly is until you experience it." Sophie told him. "I just hope those feelings you and Cassandra have for each other really is love, and not the the other end of the scale."

Meister nodded quietly, holding Sophie closely. "Thank you..." He paused, letting go of her before he asked. "How are things with Owl?"

"He's weird. He plays the violin amazingly well, I admit, and he's nice, but he acts weird at times. He likes running about at night, playing that violin...I wonder if he has insomnia; it's like he never sleeps." Sophie sighed quietly. "I just hope his health doesn't crash at anytime due to him being so reckless like that..."

"Concerned for him a bit much?"

"Ah, shut up..." Sophie sighed, smiling a little. "Okay, I admit I like him a little; but it's probably nowhere close to intense as you and Gladstone."

"Better to have some common ground than to go overboard straightaway with your feelings like I did..." Meister remarked quietly, smirking a little.

"True." The two were silent before Sophie spoke up again. "I do hope we can meet again sometime."

Meister nodded quietly as he hugged his sister again. "Yeah...I'd like that. You too."

"Sophie doesn't seem too mad at him about it, does she?" White Owl remarked, turning to Cassandra. The two Major Arcana had been watching the scene from afar.

Cassandra nodded with agreement as he continued to watch the scene, sighing of relief. "Yes, thank goodness...I'm kind of relieved about that. I should apologize to Sophie when I get the chance..." He turned to Owl. "I assume Sophie is doing well under your care?"

"Yes, she is. I just hope she gets used to me being awake at night."

Cassandra sighed. "Owl, you are too naturally nocturnal for her to ever get used to you, I swear..."

Owl laughed a bit. "Surprising how you and Sophie's older brother get along well, isn't it?" He remarked.

"Just as surprising as how much you keep wanting to tease with Sophie's feelings, Owl. Just as surprising." The two watched the scene again. For once, something was made a bit clearer, and they were glad that they could actually understand something out of each other, for once.

Author note: ...Not sure if ending was as strong as I hoped for, but it'll do unless I change my mind about something there...

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it, and I hope you review! Thanks for reading!