Notes: This chapter takes place within chapter eighteen of Grasping Liquid, during Marilyn's auction. Starts when Marilyn, Gus, Tony and Arianna leave the hall to organise the customers. Also, this is the last chapter of Advice from the Market Stall, so next update we'll be moving back to Grasping Liquid itself and onwards with Act Three! Thank you so much to MJ for giving me the encouragement to write this side-story, as Marilyn & Gus's relationship was indeed something that I wanted to explore further while I had the chance.
Marilyn didn't look back into the hall as she, Gus and both of the Barde siblings headed out into the corridor. She'd see those that had been left behind soon enough, in little more than five minutes should all go well, but right now she couldn't face them. Or, more accurately, she couldn't face Badger. He'd be going to pieces on the inside and if he saw she was anything less than completely confident it would shatter the illusion he had of her.
They were all counting on her. Somehow she had to pull this auction through from the midst of disaster.
"Right, we need someone out there to let them know what's going on," she started, once they were out of earshot from the others, "I can do that if none of you feel up to it."
"N-no, let me do it," squeaked Tony.
"Are you sure?" Marilyn asked, "You've already done a lot of great work this week. There's nothing you need to prove, if that's what you're worried about."
Tony shook his head; "It's not that. I know a lot of the locals in the crowd and they know me. They all live in the Great Ely area, not the market crowd that you're use to. They also know that Arianna and me are involved somehow, so maybe they'd feel better if we spoke to them. Save the Black Raven for when they get inside."
"That does sound like it'd make more sense," Marilyn agreed, "Okay, if you're sure that's what you want then head out the front and let the crowd know what's going on. After that try to organise them into groups based on how many you think would fit into the hall at a time. First come first served and if anyone has a problem with that come back through here and grab Roddy so he can get them in line."
"Will do!" chimed Tony.
"I'll go wait at the door to let them through on your signal," Arianna added, "That's what you wanted, right?"
"Yes, that'll be perfect. And while they're coming through Gus and I will be standing at different parts of the hallway to steer them in the right direction. That sounds like everything, so you two better hurry off," concluded Marilyn.
Both brother and sister nodded before dashing away towards the entrance. As she watched them go, Marilyn hoped that Tony could handle this. There was no doubt in her mind that Arianna would be all right, but Tony was still such a nervous person. However, the situation had left them with little other choice or much time to plan around this, so there weren't many alternates.
She let out a sigh. Today truly was a disaster...
"This is going to work," Gus assured, speaking up for the first time in a while, "Once we get the crowd on the move it'll just be a case of keeping everything in order and doing what we usually do."
"I'm not sure it's going to be that simple," admitted Marilyn. She turned back towards him, now that Arianna and Tony had disappeared from sight, "Maybe we can make tonight work if we push ourselves, but this is going to have a lasting effect on the Black Ravens. So many locals know about us now and they'll only tell more people still. It won't be a secret any more..."
Gus looked down at the floor; "Why would he do this...?"
"So you've guessed too?" Marilyn checked, "I could tell that Roddy had cottoned on straight away, but I wasn't sure about the rest of you."
"Who else could it have been?" replied Gus, looking back up again, "When Badger said that he'd been chasing another Black Raven around North Ely, I knew that most of us were accounted for with getting ready for the auction. As much as I don't want to believe it, the imposter could only be Crow."
"Well, unless you, me and Roddy are all completely off the mark I'd say we have our saboteur," Marilyn confirmed, "Especially when you consider that he use to live up there years ago. Out of all the Black Ravens, he'd be the only one other than Tony or Arianna to know that area well. And I'd put money on that they wouldn't have snuck around the underwater walkways like Crow would have done."
"What's it all about though? Is he so worried that we can do this without him that he's actually trying to take us down? That doesn't seem like something he'd do after how many years he's spent building us up," mused Gus.
"I don't know. Crow's actions can be erratic and he rarely bothers to explain himself. Part of me wants to believe that he knows what he's doing, but even if he doesn't, our job right now is to make this auction work. We can worry about the rest of it after that," Marilyn replied.
"Yeah, it must have been almost five minutes by now," agreed Gus.
The two of them took a look around the corner and further down the hallway to where Arianna was waiting to open the door. She caught their eyes and nodded, as if to say that Tony had got the crowd ready to go whenever they were. It was impressive for anyone to have organised such a large group so quickly, particularly for a shy boy like Tony.
Both Marilyn and Gus hurried to pull on their Black Raven robes. After that they were no longer two nervous teenagers on the verge of finding out if their plan was going to work, but instead were part of a machine that thinks and acts together to complete the task at hand. Though admittedly they were both probably still nervous.
"There are two sharp turns that the crowd will need to make to get them into the auction hall," Marilyn stated, "I'll stay here by this one, turning them off from the entrance into the corridor that leads to the room itself. And then you'll need to stand by the room to direct them inside and make sure they don't wander further down than that."
"Got it," answered Gus, with a nod of the Black Raven mask, "It's... going to be okay."
Marilyn chuckled, "Are you sure?"
"Um, n-no."
"Good, me neither. Now let's go find out!"
The auction concluded in three parts and they could very nearly say that it had gone well. If not for Crow throwing a wrench in the works once again.
Maybe that wasn't a fair assessment. His grand reveal during the auction had been more about showing off than anything else and hadn't done any lasting damage the way that his stunt with Badger had. In some weird way, Marilyn believed that it might have worked out better that he did turn up for the auction. Now that many people had seen Crow bidding, they would think that he wasn't part of them and had been just as curious as the rest of Misthallery about what was going on. And since Crow acted almost like a figurehead for the market kids, they by extension might be off the hook. So even if the Black Raven was going to be better known it would take longer to trace it back to them.
But no amount of logical thinking on Marilyn's part could account for the hurt feelings amongst the group, especially from Badger and Roddy. The two of them trusted Crow above all else and when it came out that he was indeed the culprit behind the fake Black Raven they understandably blew up at him.
It ended with Badger racing out of the room, unable to face this any longer.
"Badgah...!" Crow called, though the long-legged northerner had already sprinted beyond his hearing by the time he managed to say it. Crow made to follow him, but Marilyn put a hand on his shoulder.
"Leave him, Crow," she said, "I know that you want to help, but he's too angry and you're too wound up right now. Give him until tomorrow. Then you'd better hope that you've got something good to make up for all of this."
"Wot if he does somethin' stupid before then?" demanded Crow, "I don't wanna sit around while Badge' goes an' 'urts 'imself!"
"He won't. He's probably just going to go home and cry," Roddy snorted.
They all nodded in agreement. As much as Marilyn knew that poor Badger would be embarrassed if he was here, he did have a reputation as being a bit of a crybaby. And in all honesty, after tonight he had a lot to cry about.
It seemed this wasn't enough for Crow though. Their wayward leader ran a hand through his hair, face a picture of worry.
"I've ruined it. I've completely messed up. He's not going to want to come with me now..." he whimpered.
"You were... gonna take Badger with you?" checked Roddy.
"Yeah, but I guess that's ovah now," Crow sighed, "I've bin such an idiot...!"
"No one's disagreeing with you there," assured Marilyn, "But I think that if Badger knew that you wanted him with you then it... well, it would help. But you have to do this properly, Crow."
"I will do, don't worry about that. Heck, I was even gonna go ask 'is ol' man for permission," Crow replied, with a hollow chuckle to finish his words off.
"Do that then. Do it as soon as you can," pressed Marilyn, "Don't talk to Badger until after that."
"Right, I'll go first thing in the mornin', when the 'ospital opens for visitahs," Crow vowed, "But, um, that's enough about me an' Badge' for now. I'm sure the rest o' ya are all tired and don't wanna 'ear about my problems. Mal, would ya be so kind as to give me the reins of the Black Ravens again?"
"They're all yours, boss," sniggered Marilyn.
"Thanks. So... I guess I said most o' wot needed to be said before Badge' ran off, but I don't think I can say enough times 'ow proud I am o' everyone o' ya," he praised, "We're gonna 'ave a couple of days off to rest an' then we'll do damage control. Aftah all that's in ordah an' we've got more eyes on the Black Ravens in the best way possible, then I'll start getting' ready to leave..."
"Is that all?" Roddy snapped.
It was clear he was having a hard time keeping his temper back, but knew this was neither the time nor place to kick off. And it seemed that Crow had picked up on this too, because he quickly nodded in answer to his question.
"Yeah, that's it. All o' ya 'ave a good rest an' I'll see ya in a couple o' days," finished Crow.
With their reinstated leader dismissing them it was like a spell was broken across the room. They could all relax now, at least for a short while, before it would get stressful once again. Though maybe this time the problems would work out for the better and they could truly get themselves into the best shape possible before Crow (and potentially Badger) left them for who knew how long.
At different paces the group left the room. Roddy stormed off almost instantly and Crow wasn't far behind him. Whether they were going to talk was anyone's guess, but Marilyn hoped that they would. Despite his unpredictable rashness, Crow had something of an understanding of Roddy that none of the others came close to having. Even if he was the problem, Crow could talk him around.
Soon after that Tony went back through to the other room to see how Arianna had got on with the last of the auction winners. Once they got the all clear that the rest of the stragglers had gone for the night, Marilyn, Gus and Scraps all came through to join them.
They talked for a while about the auction and about the future. It seemed likely that Tony would want to join them again after this, which Marilyn was glad of. Deep down they all knew that the Black Ravens would be good for him, even if he was still finding his place within them.
But ultimately they were all too tired to keep up the conversations for long. With a few more goodbyes, Marilyn and Gus saw themselves out. Only Scraps stayed to talk with the Bardes longer. But because he was generally a loner who moved about at his own pace, neither of them were worried about him finding his way back on his own. Nothing scared Scraps and you'd have to be very foolish to pick a fight with him on a dark night.
It definitely was dark now, as Marilyn realised once they hit the cool air of the outside. Only the stars and some hazy lights from houses further down the hill illuminated their walk back home. The mist obscured some of this, but they'd lived in Misthallery for long enough to be use to walking around in that. Especially given that the trek to and from Barde Manor was becoming a common one for all of them to take.
What struck Marilyn most of all was how quiet it was. You wouldn't believe that only a few hours ago this path was teeming with people trying to get a glimpse of what was going on with the auctions.
"So do you think it went well?" Gus asked, once they were a good way towards the town itself.
Marilyn considered this and answered, "As well as it could have gone, I reckon. Maybe things didn't go swimmingly between Crow and Badger... or Crow and Roddy, for that matter, but they'll sort it out between them. Sometimes you need to have a snap in the tension to clear the air."
"That sound right," agreed Gus, "Then we'll be planning for when Crow goes. But, um, I think we'll be all right. Maybe before all this I would have been worried, but I can see now that we'll manage without him."
"From the looks of things, we can all see that now," agreed Marilyn, with some satisfaction.
"And... um, I-I think you... w-well you make a b-better leader than Crow does..." Gus stammered.
"Don't let him here you say that," laughed Marilyn, "He'll be moody for weeks! Seriously though, when the time comes I don't think that I'll step up as leader. Maybe I'll say to Crow that I will, but once he's gone I have another person in mind who I think will be better for the role than me."
"Even though you're so good at it?" Gus questioned. He seemed almost disappointed.
"I don't want to do it," Marilyn bluntly retorted, "It's far too much being both the one nudges you all quietly in the right direction and the one who directly gives you orders – that's a conflict of interest. And I'd rather just pull the strings from behind the scenes, like I always have. No, other people are more suited to being leaders than I am."
Gus twiddled his fingers awkwardly; "I'm surprised you're telling me all this."
"You know it anyway, so there's no point in keeping it a secret from you," Marilyn hummed, "Besides, I trust you."
She couldn't see Gus's face too closely in the dark, but she was willing to bet that he was burning bright red about now. Maybe it was cruel for her to put him in this position, but Marilyn knew that it wouldn't be too much longer before Gus admitted that he had feelings for her. It was just a matter of him reaching the potential he had to be both wise and confident before he would do that.
...And from there, Marilyn wasn't sure what would happen. Or even how she would respond when he did. Some things were best left to the moment.
They made their way back through town and the continued to talk about when Crow was gone, since it was an unavoidable topic.
"We're going to be down two more Black Ravens on top of already losing Wren, Socket and Louis," Gus pointed out.
"I'd say we'll be down three," corrected Marilyn.
"Three?"
"Yeah, eventually one more of us will follow Crow, though it will take some time," Marilyn predicted.
"But Roddy has his mum to look after," reminded Gus.
"I've been hearing some things, though it wouldn't be my place to say," Marilyn said, "Roddy's heart is torn between his family and Crow. But maybe in time there won't be so much of an issue there."
"Okay, so maybe in time we might lose Roddy as well. That leaves Scraps, Tony, Arianna, you and me. No matter how good we all are it's still going to be a struggle," replied Gus, "So I've been thinking that... um, actually Crow probably wouldn't like it..."
"Crow won't be here," Marilyn prompted.
"...I guess, but even so... Well all right then, I was thinking that maybe as time goes on we could recruit some new members," Gus suggested, "What do you think?"
Marilyn smiled and looked around the street. From where they were she could see through the window into one of the houses, where a prim and proper young boy was being scolded by his parents for staying out too late. He glanced their way and gave Marilyn the most savage of glares, to which she merely nodded sweetly and continued to smile. After that they were out of sight of the house and the moment was gone.
"I think that's a good idea," she answered.
"And I'd take a guess that you're already two steps ahead of me and have a few people in mind?" checked Gus, smirking a little.
"Come now, I can't ruin all the surprises," evaded Marilyn. She gave her nose a little tap for emphasis.
"All right, I won't ask," promised Gus, "Part of me wants to be as surprised as everyone else."
"Sometimes wisdom takes away the fun of the surprise, but I hope you find the right balance someday," Marilyn offered.
"A-as long as I have you- ...um, all of you, I mean... I'm s-sure that I will," confirmed Gus.
"Yeah," Marilyn agreed, "I think that I will, too."