Inside a certain perfume maker's house, all was calm. Klaus was enjoying this, and pulled out materials to begin his work. Then, suddenly, the door of his house slammed open. Thinking it was Fritz or someone else who was equally energetic, he sighed deeply. Reluctantly turning around, he opened his mouth to reprimand the reckless kid. That immediately stopped when he saw who was actually there.

"Iris?" he said, surprised. He stood up and walked over to the frazzled blonde. She was breathing heavily, and her skin was a few shades paler than normal.

"Mi- Mistel-" was all she managed to get out, staring out with wide eyes. She reluctantly pushed herself from the door and collapsed onto a chair.

"What about Mistel?" Klaus asked, sitting across from her. "Did something happen to him?" The only thing he could think of was that Iris had found out that her brother was dating Agate. However, that did not seem the appropriate reaction for that discovery.

She took a deep breath, burying her face in her hands. Blonde locks tumbled down by her face and onto the table. "I guess so.. But whatever happened to him a long time ago, and I don't know if I can fix it. I didn't even notice! He was my own brother, and I didn't even expect this!"

"Expect what, Iris? What do you mean whatever happened had occurred a long time ago?" Through all his questioning, Klaus kept his voice calm and soothing. It was a natural talent that his voice always had some element of calm, no matter the situation.

"I.. I can't even say it," she said softly, looking down. "Just.. look at this." That was when Klaus noticed the shoulder bag next to his friend. She pulled some manila folders from it and sat them on the table.

To say Klaus was puzzled was an understatement. However, he grabbed the first folder from the pile and opened it. His puzzlement only increased as he continued reading. Then his expression morphed from confused to a sudden, horrified understanding. Just to be sure, he reread the file.

Puppet Files*

Name: Melanie Harmony

Age: 12

Birthday: Winter 28

Gender: Female

Family: Lillie- Older sister, Maurice- Father. Very close with both.

Other Connections: Lutz crush?

Main Personality Trait: Romantic

Favorite Food: Pudding a la mode

Loves: Sweet foods like Cream Puff, chocolate drink, chocolate pudding, apricot cake, fruit punch, pumpkin pudding. Also loves ice cream. Typical for a girl her age. Might have different tastes as she grows older.

Likes: Small fish, snowballs, white pearls, pink diamond, glass stone, glittering stone, any animal treats, white yarn, fruits from trees, fruit jam, pineapple, watermelon, mashed potatoes, carrot soup, corn potage, moondrop flowers, + milks, potato pancakes, any recipe with pumpkin, fruit breads, melon bread, corn pasta, desserts, juices, and shakes.

Dislikes: Sea urchin, fish bone, wasabi, bell pepper, fish bait, honeycomb, insects, medium, large and giant fish maybe a smaller size is easier to handle for her?, onion salad, radish salad, herb salad, curry salad. potato plum salad, plum vinegar salad, herb soup, lotus root soup, minestrone, shrimp chili, sauteed lotus root, boiled broccoli, dry curry, herb pasta, tea drinks This girl dislikes a lot of things. Most likely takes what she likes for granted, then.

Despises: Poison mushroom, grass drink, tom yum goong, spicy curry and fried squid, catfish, alligator gaar, large loach, rice grasshopper, hard-headed and enma field crickets, longhead and brown-streaked locust, pepper, toad, goliath frog

Hated Food: Kimchi

Impression of Me: Finds my antiques more interesting than myself, but treats me with respect. Enjoys speaking with me.

Hobbies: Playing match-maker for Lillie She tried to set us up once. It was awful.

Useful Qualities: Outgoing, easily bribed

Overall Usefulness: 8/10, would be more useful if more kids her age were here

Biggest Drawback: Cannot keep a secret

Currently in Plan? No

"Why would he have something like this?" the perfumer asked in surprise, tearing his gaze away from the paper. "Are those other files also.."

"Like that one?" Iris finished. "Yes. He has one for every person in own. That isn't all, though. I found those while I was digging through some boxes under his desk, trying to figure out the meaning of something else that I found."

"Something else?" he asked, leaning forward. "What do you mean?"

"I told you about Mistel's secret project on his desk before. Well, I thought it was some antique that he was looking over. However, that's not it. I-It's not close at all."

"What do you mean? Does it have something to do with the files?"

"I- I don't know. I think so. It's.. the town."

"The town? A map?"

"No.. not a map. He had a wooden model of the town. With everyone as figures in it!"

"That seems a little... odd," Klaus conceded. "Have you asked him why?"

"No, he was out today. With Raeger. Oh no! Raeger!" She jumped back in her seat, eyes wide in horror.

"Raeger? What's so significant about that?"

"Mistel has been taking an interest in him lately. Seeing what I did in his room... I just cannot believe that he means anything good by that. Raeger is going to get dragged into whatever Mistel is planning, and it cannot be anything good. He controls the entire town, Klaus."

"Well.. we cannot act right away. We have to make a plan, and keep him unaware that we know. As long as he doesn't know, we should be alright. I still cannot believe it. Mistel being some sort of..."

"Sort sort of puppet master. You know, it's my fault. I never paid attention to him much when he was young, so he must have learned to be like this because he was always alone."

"Iris, you mustn't blame yourself. Besides, he isn't beyond fixing."

"..You're right. But what should we do?"

"Well, you said he was with Raeger, did you not? I can find out where they are and have some excuse to be nearby. I'll hear what they're talking about, and if Mistel is asking Raeger to do something, we will find a way to counteract it. If he doesn't, we'll just have to stay silent until we have better reason to panic."

"But-"

"There's nothing else we can do, Iris. Unless you want to go there yourself."

With that, Iris nodded and stood up. "Actually, I will. If they notice me, i'll just say I'm there to apologize. After all, we did have a spat earlier."

"That makes sense. I wish you luck, Iris."

"Thank you, Klaus." She sent him a grateful smile and walked out the door. Now to find where they went.

Thankfully, for Iris, finding them was not hard. All she had to do was walk out of town and on the mountain trail. Soon she saw the two, walking side by side. They were engaged in a conversation, and neither noticed her. She pulled closer, just to be withing ear shot.

"Where are we going?" Raeger asked with curiosity, glancing at the end of the trail. "To Eda's?"

"No, actually," came her brother's reply. Just seeing his face made her a little sick. He was a monster, controlling everyone like they're puppets. However, there must be some good in him. There must be.

"Nest to Eda's in an abandoned farm land where Richard and his father** used to live. I often come here to think. If you ignore all the sticks and stones, it's a nice place. Even with them, it still looks nice." After a moment of silence, he added, "But maybe I'm biased."

Iris brows furrowed as she heard Mistel talk. She vaguely remembered the duo, but there was something she wasn't remembering. Then, Raeger seemed to realize whatever it was, and turn to face of Mistel.

"Oh, I remember now. That boy.. Didn't you two know each other when you were kids?"

"Yes, we did We ended up moving here around the same time as well." Unmistakable sadness passed through his violet eyes as he spoke.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Raeger said quietly. "It was terrible, that he had to leave this world so young."

The blond didn't respond, just nodded. "Anyway, it's a good place to look at. What do you think about it?" He swiftly changed the subject as they entered the old farm area.

Meanwhile, Iris' eyes opened in realization. Oh, Richard was the boy who died in that accident. She followed the pair, memories flooding back. When he was a child, Mistel was infatuated with a boy around his age. Now she remembered seeing the boy's smiling face every day, and how Mistel would always follow him around. Then came the other piece of important information: Richard drowned in the river when he went swimming alone.

I can't believe I didn't remember that before... Iris thought to herself, continuing on.

"Mistel.. I have a question for you. You don't have to answer if you don't want to, though."

"Why did I bring you here? Well... I don't know. I just needed to get out of the house, and this is the first place on my mind. On second thought, it might not have been the best choice. We can leave if you want."

Raeger chuckled a little, to Mistel's confusion. "No, I understand. I came in at a bad time, and your sister didn't help. I would have done the same thing. Actually, I had a completely different question."

"Oh, really? What is it?"

"It's probably silly, really, but I've wanted to know for a while. When you first came into town, you used to stop by the restaurant a lot."

"I still do," Mistel countered, laughing a little. In this farmland, he seemed completely at ease, as if he wasn't dwelling on what he had lost. A strange way to spend in a place your best friend used to live, but Iris just chalked it up to Mistel most likely not even caring about the kid.

"No no, that isn't what I was getting at. Uh... You used to kind of stare at me when you came in to eat. I was wondering why." Raeger laughed in embarrassment, rubbing his neck. "Sorry, that's probably an awkward question.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I must have made you rather uncomfortable," Mistel laughed. "No, I was just trying to learn by example."

Shooting the blond a quizzical look, Raeger sat down on a tree stump. "How do you mean?" he asked.

Mistel followed his example, taking his place on a rock nearby. He smiled at the other, clearly amused. The smile looked much too innocent for him, now that Iris found what he was. However, his answer intrigued her. She held her breath, waiting for the answer.

However, it never came. Instead, the blond happened to take a glance to his left, and locked gazes with her. Oh no...

"Iris? What a surprise. Is there something you needed, or were you paying Eda a visit?" the blond asked innocently, standing up.

"No, I thought I would come to apologize for my behavior before. It was uncalled for,' she said, quickly falling back on the pre-determined lie. Internally she winced at how wooden it sounded. He was going to figure out, she was sure of it.

Instead, he just laughed, to her confusion. "Oh, I see. Klaus put you up to it. You really do need to tell him to mind his own business. What was said was none of his concern. Well.. since you're here anyway, I forgive you. We should probably go home now, anyway. If we do, then I'll have time to open up the store late."

The petite boy pushed himself off the rock, heading to the entrance without a backwards glance. Raeger pulled himself up as well, following. As he passed Iris he gave her a look that showed he wasn't pleased. "Couldn't you have waited until we got back?" he muttered, turning away.

She stood there for a moment, watching them leave. They hadn't interacted much before, and now Mistel was acting much friendlier than she would think. This had to be some sort of plan to win Raeger over. However, that didn't explain Raeger's side of the story. He seemed genuinely frustrated that she had interrupted. What was his reasoning? After all, the two were no more than acquaintances.


*I googled the information for almost all of this.

**My original characters used for the backstory of the farm. I know this isn't 100% following canon, but this is already an alternate universe.

AHHH I LOVE THIS CHAPTER BUT I HATE IT AT THE SAME TIME! I WAS TRYING TO PUT SO MANY THINGS INTO ONE AND I JUST- CAN'T-

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I worked rather hard on it.