Ever since Athena had found out, she had taken to cornering her every time they had a chance.

"Trucy, what about Klavier?"

Athena had been shocked at first upon hearing Trucy admit her feelings for Apollo. Apparently she had never even considered the possibility, not really. She had assumed that Apollo and Trucy's relationship was purely professional due to their connection to Mr. Wright. Trucy honestly could not blame her. She had fooled even herself.

"Klavier…" She murmured, her head bent. "He cares a lot for me, I know. But… I…" She struggled to find the words, to spit them out in Athena's face. Her mind was still trying to figure out what her heart felt. She had no idea why she hated the idea of Apollo and Juniper Woods being together. "He is… a good friend."

Athena's expression softened. She leaned forward and squeezed Trucy's hand.

"I understand completely." She said to her quietly. "But if you're not interested in him… You should let him know, okay?"

Trucy nodded, her mouth dry. It was perfectly sound advice, even if it was coming from Athena of all people. But Trucy could not help but be suspicious of her motives. She had been trying to get Apollo and Juniper together for over a year now. Why would she help out Trucy, who directly stood in the way of that goal?

Perhaps it was a ploy. Perhaps she was being manipulated in some way. Perhaps Athena wanted her to dump Klavier right before the wedding, which would make her look bad to Apollo. Who would want to be with someone who had broken up with someone for no apparent reason?

For that reason, Trucy did not heed her advice. She met with Klavier as she always had during the day, had sex with Larry during the night, and passed out with thoughts of Apollo. She had more than one nightmare about him being with Juniper. Many of them involved her lying in her bed, trying to block out the sound of Juniper moaning Apollo's name. Sometimes she would wake up and think that it had really happened during the night. But thankfully that never turned out to be the case.

Athena did not seem sure of how to deal with the situation. She clearly felt a little conflicted about being there for her friend and being nice to Trucy. Thankfully she had not told Pearl, Maya, or Daddy about the situation. Trucy imagined that she would never hear the end of it from the Feys, and Daddy would probably wonder whether or not Apollo had taken advantage of her.

Her chest tightened. The thought of her interest in Apollo tearing her family dynamic apart was horrifying. She could not seriously pursue Apollo. Not until she was sure that Daddy would approve. It was bad enough that Athena and the Feys were spending all of their time with him, laughing. She could not handle it if Daddy and Apollo had a fight over her. She felt as if she would break in two.

Pearl would, hopefully, fuck off for good once she got married and moved in with her new husband. Maya would hopefully go back to that hovel in the middle of nowhere she called a home and try her best to lead her sham of a cult into relevancy again. Athena…? Trucy felt her throat tighten. Athena wasn't going anywhere. Athena was NEVER going to go anywhere.

"Trucy, are you friends with Athena?"

She took in a long gulp of air as she ran her fingers down Butz's side. He was lying on top of her, as always, and had posed the question right out of the blue.

She seriously considered being honest about her feelings towards Athena, for once in her life. She was starting to get a little worried that their pillow talk might lead into discussion into uncomfortable areas.

"We're really good friends." She told him. "Why?"

He smiled at her brilliantly. "She's really cute."

Trucy almost bit his cock in rage, but held herself back by sheer force of will. "Is that why you keep dropping by?" She asked him. "To flirt with Athena?"

"And Pearl… and Maya…" He said, almost drooling. "They're all such good girls, you know?"

It was so incredibly strange how Butz approached and viewed relationships. He took what he could get and offered absolutely nothing in return. It seemed that that philosophy worked out for him surprisingly well, Trucy was beginning to realize. He had convinced her to fuck him regularly, after all.

It was so odd how the other girls viewed him. Maya viewed him as a harmless oaf. Pearl was a little more apprehensive, and Athena was growing a little bit hostile towards him.

"He keeps sending me flowers!" She moaned, as she slammed the roses onto the table with disgust. "How do I get him to stop?"

"You don't." Daddy said, sounding almost amused. "I've never known anyone who managed to convince him to love her alone."

"Ughhhh…" Athena moaned, as she placed her head on the table. "I'd rather be single than put up with that creep."

Trucy watched this with an apprehensive eye, not speaking up at all. Athena had been paying special attention to her words whenever she spoke about Larry, and had made it a point to never get involved in these conversations.

"Oh, yes." Daddy said, as he reached for an envelope for the side of the table. "This came for you."

He handed it to Trucy, who took it gingerly. It was a letter.

"What is it?"

"Fan mail, I think." Daddy told her, smiling. "I think they must have stopped by the agency to drop it off, it wasn't at home."

"Oh, I see."

She generally didn't read fan-mail. It didn't really interest her. But after she left the table she decided to open it anyway, just to take a glance.

FORMER ACROBAT MURDERED IN HOSPITAL

The envelope slipped out of Trucy's hands as soon as she read the headline. She stared at it, lying there on the floor, as if would leap up and bite her, before she slowly bent over and picked it up.

With trembling hands, she pulled the newspaper clip out of the envelope and held it upward. There was no mistake. This was what the person who had mailed this wanted her to see.

There was another piece of paper in the envelope. Trucy trembled even harder as she got it out and slowly unfurled it.

I KNOW IT WAS YOU

IT IS IN THE BLOOD

It was not signed, but there was a familiar little symbol under those words. The symbol of Mr. Reus.

She almost ran off to his prison immediately. She had gotten her hands on a small pistol in case of emergencies and had just checked to make sure it was loaded and ready to fire before she began to relax. No… Mr. Reus would never have sent her that message if he had intended to go to the police. He had no evidence.

But what if he went to Daddy?

Her grip on the pistol tightened. Daddy had no reason to believe a convicted murderer over his own daughter and one of his former lawyers.

But what if it made him doubt?

No… she set the pistol down, back into its holster, and smiled. She was completely at ease. If she went stampeding after Reus, after he accused her of murdering Bat, then that would only cast more suspicion on her. No, the best thing for her was to continue the show. She could not go off script now. A mistake on her part could cost Daddy everything.

If she was convicted, so be it. As long as Daddy believed in her innocence, she would face death with a smile.

…

The wedding came ever closer, and Trucy was beginning to feel frustrated by the sheer amount of visitors that she did not care for in her house.

"Fraaaaanzy…"

The legendary German prosecutor cracked her whip and Butz took the blow, tears in his eyes. Trucy was amused to see that he did not even try to pull away. She could tell just by looking at him that he kind of liked it.

"All of these years and you are still a sniveling worm." Von Karma said to him coldly. "I hope you don't make a fool of yourself at little Pearl's wedding."

She was a tall, tough woman. So much so, that she looked a little embarrassed as she leaned down over Pearl.

"I… uh…" She coughed, as if trying to find the right words. "I wish you the best, Pearl."

She grew harsh again the instant that Daddy stepped into the room. "And yet here you stand, Phoenix Wright, still unmarried." She told him. "How pathetic. Even the child is marrying before you!"

"I could say the same to you, Franziska." Daddy said, almost lazily. Trucy giggled as Von Karma's eyes went wide

"H-how dare you…!" She muttered, but she offered no real objection. It seemed to be a blow to her pride. Trucy knew enough about her that she thought she understood the issue. She spent so much time traveling the world, prosecuting that she had never had time to really make real friends of her own. Trucy wondered whether she would be like that too, someday. The last person she had ever met that she had grown attached to was Apollo, and that was years ago.

Edgeworth came to see them quite regularly as well. He often brought along a young prosecutor that he was quite fond of. A young woman named Kay Faraday. She and Athena met eyes once and immediately seemed to decide that they were rivals for life. They spent the entire visit glaring daggers at each other and flashing their badges from across the room.

"Seeing them together in court will be something, I think." Edgeworth noted. "I was expecting to have her go up against Mr. Justice, however."

Juniper Woods was dropping by a lot too. Trucy felt her heart beat faster whenever she looked her way. There was no way that Athena had not told her about her feelings. There was no way that they were not actively plotting on how best to win Apollo's heart and fuck over Trucy behind everyone's backs. Trucy was beginning to feel a little threatened. Athena would surely push Juniper to make a move. They had been extremely anxious to do so ever since he had left for Khu'rain.

Klavier had been trying to hide his increasingly depressed mood by acting even more flamboyant than usual. Trucy was beginning to find it rather irritating, honestly speaking.

"I can't wait for the wedding." He told her. "It's been a while since I've been to one."

She nodded, her lipped pursed. She was beginning to feel very apprehensive about the whole thing. Not only because of her situation with Apollo, her deteriorating relationship with Klavier, or anything to do with Pearl. No, she was becoming increasingly anxious about what Maya wanted from all of this.

Despite only being a decade older, Maya had been trying to her hardest to be Motherly to her. Having Maya corner her every day, asking her how her day was or trying to cook her meals come off as annoying more than anything else.

Trucy suspected she knew why she was doing it. It was obvious. She was trying to show Daddy that she was wife material. Although Trucy was not exactly happy with how he was handling the situation, she rather appreciated how one-sided it was. He didn't seem interested in the idea at all.

Although Daddy seemed steadfast in his desire to remain merely friends with Maya, Trucy was beginning to fear that she may try something more drastic during the wedding. Something that would take advantage of the romantic atmosphere and cause Daddy to rethink his decision.

She would have to keep a close eye on them during the wedding. A very close eye indeed.

Pearl seemed to be practically glowing with every passing day. Trucy was rather taken aback by it. She was naturally extremely bright to begin with, but as the day approached she seemed to be almost be glowing with a divine radiance. Trucy had never seen her so happy. Trucy didn't understand it at all.

Pearl seemed to want to rush things. The wedding date was apparently much sooner than it should have been. Daddy seemed very apprehensive about all of it. ("Isn't she taking things too quickly?") Maya did not seem to share his sentiments.

"Better too young than too old, right?" She said, laughing. "I wish I had gotten married at her age…"

Maya was about Von Karma's age, Trucy realized. Although Franziska was far more mature and professional in what she did, it seemed that they were not that different after all.

The weeks leading up to the wedding were quiet and uneventful. Trucy began to feel as if she had settled back into her old routine. She woke up, went to work, and then came home every day. She was excited for the wedding. Not because of Pearl (In fact, she agreed with Daddy that it was probably a bad idea) but because she would finally get the chance to see Apollo again.

She had not seen him at all since they had left Khu'rain. He had missed her birthday and countless other events due to the demand of being the only defense attorney in Khu'rain, but things had calmed down enough for him to take a couple of days off and fly out to the wedding.

A part of her was annoyed that Apollo was coming back for Pearl and not for her, but Apollo had made it clear to them just how much he wanted to see them again. That mollified her, somewhat. She felt the same way towards him. For the first time in a long time, the three of them would be together again.

She half expected to come down the stairs in her wedding things to find Apollo sitting at the breakfast table, chatting with Daddy. She was disappointed when she was told that he was still on the way.

The wedding would thankfully not be taking place in Kurain Village, or following any of their customs. This of all things seemed to upset Maya.

"I don't think Pearl has put enough thought into how they're going to fit in spirit medium training for their daughters." Maya said to Daddy, as they stepped into the car that Edgeworth was going to drive to the wedding. "Or discussed this with her special someone."

Trucy sighed. The lifestyle of the Feys was at odds with the modern world. It was very possible that Pearls children would not be interested in becoming Spirit Mediums at all. Pearl herself, although she somehow believed that she could call back the dead, had already distanced herself from her bubble to find someone to marry.

The wedding was a dull, boring affair. Trucy had been asked to be a bridesmaid, and she accepted to make her Daddy happy. She tried her best to bring out a little bit of flair to the proceedings, but inwardly she was troubled. Apollo had still not arrived.

Pearl stood at the altar, smiling radiantly, and then it was over. People applauded and soon the after party began.

"What is keeping him?" She asked Athena, as they stood over a bowl of punch. Athena, who was dressed in a bright orange dress that matched her hair, shrugged.

"We don't know." She hissed. She nodded towards Juniper, who was dressed in pure white and looked utterly devastated. "Junie's really upset."

Trucy's mood brightened considerably. Juniper would not be invited back into the office with them after everything was said and done. Apollo being late could be a blessing in disguise. It meant that Junie would not have a chance to be with them.

Her mood considerably brightened, she joined Klavier on the dance floor and then end up sitting around with the Prosecutors.

"Bah, American wine is tasteless." Blackquill sniffed, as he eyed the bottle in front of them apprehensively. "If I were to provide for the refreshments, I would have imported some real wine."

Klavier opened his mouth to respond, but Maya cut in before he could. "Oh, Simon." She said brightly. "Sorry, I overheard… we have the good stuff over here."

Simon got up and followed her to another table, where Maya showed him something that was hidden under the table. Simon looked surprised at first, and then seemed really pleased.

Kay sighed, as she cast a look around the room. "I barely know anyone here." She complained. "Klavier, who here is single? I want to dance."

Klavier laughed. "I would have suggested Blackquill, but I think he's a bit pre-occupied at the moment." He said. "I-"

"Why don't you dance with her, Klavier?" Trucy suggested. "I wanted something to eat, anyway."

Kay shot her a warm smile as Klavier stood and took Kay's hand. He led her onto the dance floor, and Trucy headed back to the food table, where Von Karma was standing with Mr. Edgeworth. They were chatting about something or other, something work related.

"I cannot believe that Bat was murdered. And you still have no idea who did it….?"

Trucy grabbed her food quickly, trying to drown out the conversation, and stepped outside.

It was still a bright, lovely afternoon. She sat on the stone steps outside of the building and pecked at her food. She was not hungry, not really. She was just worried about Apollo. Where was he?

She sat out there for fifteen minutes, watching the road and cars pass by, hoping that one would turn into their road and stop in front of her, with Apollo stepping out of it.

It never happened. She sighed, setting the plate on the stone steps, she stepped down the stairs and closer to the street. She wasn't doing herself any favors just by sitting around. She would take a quick walk around the building and then head back inside.

She stuck to the concrete, refusing to get her nice things dirty by stepping into the grass. It was surprisingly pleasant out there. It was a well kept building, perfect for getting married. She wondered what Pearl was doing now.

She ended up behind the building and continued walking. She wondered where she would end up if she walked in through the back. In the spur of the moment, she stepped through the back door.

"Hello?"

There was no one around. There were two stairs, up and down, and Trucy decided to go down purely out of curiosity. She could hear laughter and music a little bit further upstairs.

She opened the door and found herself in a kitchen. It looked a complete mess. The place had been used quite thoroughly to prepare the food for the wedding. It was, however, completely deserted. Trucy walked through it, wondering just how much time it had taken to make the wedding cake, as she stepped into the next room.

It was a completely dark, pitch black room. Trucy fumbled for a light switch for the side of the wall. She pressed something, that she hoped was a light switch. Instead a whirring sound hit her ears. Oh, her bad. That was the fan.

She fumbled with the switch, trailing her hand up and down to find the right switch, as something wet and sticky fell across her face. It entered into her mouth a little, and she gagged slightly, as she wiped it with the back of her hand. What was that?

She flipped on the light and stared at her hand. It was blood.

Trucy stared at it, wondering vaguely where it had come from, before turning to the room in question.

The fan she had turned in had small flecks of fresh blood on it, that seemed to have been sprayed everywhere when she had stepped into the room and turned it on. The room itself, however, was completely drenched in it. The couch looked as if it had been completely submerged in blood.

Trucy felt her lips tighten as she took a step back, her eyes following the trial of blood. It was real alright… this wasn't a trick, or a prank. It was real. But whose blood was it? There was no body…

She had to report this. She turned around, anxious to get back to the main hall to find Edgeworth or Von Karma and get to the bottom of this. She was way out of her depth here. There was probably-'

She stopped mid motion, staring at an object she had somehow not seen as she had walked through the kitchen. It would not have been visible from the first door she had gone through. In fact it seemed to be deliberately positioned so that whoever stepped through this door would see it immediately.

It was a brown bag, covered a small ball shaped object and red blood. After having seen the living room, Trucy strongly doubted that it was hamburger meat. She stepped forward with trembling hands and opened the bag, and dumped the contents out on the table in front of her.

She flinched in fear as Pearl Fey's head stared up at her with empty eyes.

…

A/N

Wow! It feels like such a long time since I started this project, but I've finally got around to explaining why it is called In the Blood!

The story was, in fact, inspired by the joke among fans that Trucy seems to be the only member of Troupe Gramarye that isn't a completely terrible person. The idea I had was to make a fic where Trucy did start to go off the deep end, and start to obsess over her relationship with Phoenix and her career.

This plot point, Pearl's death, has been planned for a really long time now. I wanted to introduce it last chapter, but it had been so long since I had actively worked on the fic that I needed to take time to go over everything I had planned and make sure that it was all going to check out, and maybe start thinking about when the story should end.

I think we're now about at the half way point, I think. I don't expect to go further than twenty chapters. If I keep releasing chapters at this pace, I'll be done before the summer is over…! But I'm not sure how likely that is. I have to stress that the main reason I came back to this after so long was the great feedback I've been getting from those of you who love this story. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I'm sure Trucy does too.

Until next time!