Author's Note: This is one of my more random chapters. This will be one of the last chapters in the 'Midsummer Mansion' setting, as the story is about to move on next time. Well, here's Violet really //enjoying// her small scrap of freedom.

Freedom Comes at a Price

Carrion took a book from the stack Violet had been reading, and began to read about the best way to fry mushrooms. He was tried. He'd read books on cooking, make-up, and how certain foods were bad for the complexion, and still Violet wasn't home. With every passing moment his mood became darker.

Violet sat on a bar stool, her vision becoming fuzzy, and some bloke's arm around her shoulder. Elspeth was sitting on the other side of her, trying her best to get served; so far she hadn't had any luck, and had been stealing Violet's drinks.

"Vi, are you going back soon?" she asked sipping Violet's drink whenever the barman turned around.

"No," Violet said scoffing. "I'm not hurrying back to him, he'll only lock me in a cupboard, or something equally as evil to teach me a lesson."

Elspeth shook her head, a little too eagerly as a result of alcohol.

"You should, you know."

"Hey, you do much worse things than ignore him, why should it be any different for me? Why do I have to do what he tells me all the time? He never really hurts you for it!" Violet said stabbing her index finger into the bar with every point she made.

Elspeth rolled up the sleeve of her top.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged, proudly showing Violet her newest bruises. "Fancy one too?"

"I've got enough thank you, and he wouldn't dare!" Violet replied, slightly slurred.

Elspeth thought about this carefully.

"Yeah, maybe not. I doubt he'll be too happy you went out though, I think, he thinks, he owns you. He gives me real evils if I even touch you."

"You're imagining things," Violet said, but somewhat concerned. "Anyway, I said I didn't know what time I'd be back. He looked really mad; he looks really mad all the time. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him look anything other than mad."

Elspeth burst into laughter and Violet laughed so hard she almost fell off the stool.

"Ha!" Elspeth exclaimed. "I bet he's fuming! No, you'd best stay out with me. I'm determined you should only go back steaming drunk, then whatever he tries won't seem so bad, or at least you won't remember!"

"Oh, great logic."

"Hey bartender, ten shooters over here!" Elspeth called.

The barman sighed, the girl was so under-aged that it was ridiculous; but since she appeared to be getting drunk by magic, he gave in and served her, hoping she'd get bored soon and go home.

"Right," Elspeth continued. She gave Violet five and kept five for herself, they lined them up in a row. "Last to finish has to sweep around the TV tomorrow and take the abuse, and no hands!"

"What do you mean no hands? How am I meant to sweep with no hands?" Violet asked. "Actually, I can't think of any way of sweeping without hands that wouldn't look rude."

"No, the drink. But you've got a point there. You have to pick it up with your mouth and knock it back, and I mean the drink. I have to warn you I'm pretty good, so say hello to the broom when you go home, because you're about to loose."

"Well, we'll see about that. Ready? Go!"

Elspeth drank three shooters and began coughing.

"Woah, what the heck is this stuff?" she asked looking at the liquid. "It's burning my insides! I think I'm about to die!"

"Stop making excuses, you lost. Now I'm going home, because if I stay, I'm going to fall over, and this guy is going to think it's his lucky night, and I'm pretty sure in my sober state he'd be a no go," Violet rambled, climbing off the stool ungracefully and knocking the guy's arm away.

"Hey honey, where are you going?" the man complained. "Let me buy you another."

"No, I'm going home to that man," Violet replied, followed by a loud hiccup. "My boss-man, employer guy… I feel unwell. You know, that guy, the important one… doesn't he wear a hat? No, that's someone else."

"Yeah, he does wear a hat Vi, a red velvet one," Elspeth said. Five shooters and Violet had gone from moderately drunk, to rambling, crazy person who couldn't stand up.

"No he doesn't! Does he?"

"Sure, he was wearing it yesterday."

Violet frowned. She couldn't remember, did he wear a hat? Someone wore a hat, was it him?

"Well, I'm going. Goodbye."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Elspeth offered as she watched Violet stagger to the doorway. She didn't get a reply, so she followed; thinking it probably wasn't a good idea to let her friend stumble out into the road alone.

"Have you got a key Vi? Because I left mine…" El asked. Violet waved her into silence.

"Pssh, I'll get him to let me in," she said opening the letterbox and looking inside. "Oi, you!" she shouted as she spotted Carrion sitting on the sofa.

Carrion jumped, clearly not expecting to be harassed in his own living room, and looked at the door angrily. El hung back from Violet as if she anticipated something bad about to happen.

"Can you let me in? I'm wet and I'm cold!" she asked peering at him through the gold-rimmed box. "Please?"

Carrion got up slowly, deliberately making her wait. El saw Carrion's shadow pass across the drawn curtains, and felt a cold chill go up her spine. She wanted to grab Violet's hand and run away fast, she couldn't bear to think what might happen now. She hadn't lied after all when she said she was covered in bruises, and she felt them all tingle again in wait for the next one.

Carrion crouched down in front of the door, his eyes level with Violet. Violet blinked at him, her vision not letting her see the look of weariness in his eyes. Everything was blurred, and when he moved she felt dizzy.

"No," he said calmly, as if it wasn't blowing a gale outside, and the two girls were not soaked to the skin. "I think I'll make you stay there until you are sorry."

"I am sorry!" Violet screeched.

"You're not sorry, you're drunk."

El stepped forward and took hold of Violet's arm. More for her own security than her cousin's, she had a feeling she might survive this if she stayed with Violet.

"Well, that makes a change, it's usually you!"

At this Carrion stood up and moved out of sight.

"Hey!" Violet called. She stuck her hand through the letter box and felt around for something.

"Vi, we should go. You can stay with me, come on, you're making him angry. Even if you get inside, do you think he's going to be nice to you?" Elspeth asked in a hushed voice, trying to pry Violet away, but she wouldn't let go of the door.

"He's gone El, he's gone!" Violet shouted looking in again. "I can see his shoe!"

El pushed Violet out of the way.

"Vi, that's just a shadow. Come on, he's not going to let you in," El tried again.

"What if he's dead?" Violet asked, hanging onto the door for dear life.

"He's not dead, you were just speaking to him!"

"No, he's dead!" Violet screamed.

She started crying. At this Elspeth gave up, there was no way Violet was going to leave with her, she wasn't going to sit outside all night catching her death.

"Yes that's right, he's dead. You went out, and now he's dead. Come on Vi! I'm going back to the inn, you can either come with me or stay here, your choice."

Violet was still crying, half because she was locked out and cold, and half because she'd drunk too much and made herself feel ill. El looked at her one last time, and then began to walk away. Just before she was out of sight she heard the door open and light flood out onto the street.

Violet looked up at Carrion with both tears and rain running down her face. She gave him a genuine smile of greeting, as if he hadn't just made her wait in the rain. Carrion grabbed her by both arms and dragged her into the house, then slammed the door in case anyone should see them.

"What is wrong with your face?" he asked once Violet had sat herself upright.

Violet just stared at him. In the rain and her tears, all her make up had washed off, leaving behind all her cuts, bruises and scrapes.

"Well what did you expect?" she hissed at him. "That I'd be fine? If I hadn't have come back, you would have found someone else, and I need to be here!"

"Why do you need to be here?"

"Because unfortunately for me, I'm now a criminal in Midnight, so I can't go home, and you've all I got!"

Violet clutched her head, she was feeling increasingly sick now, but was doing her best to ignore it. She tired to stand with the aid of the sofa, and held on.

"In case you haven't noticed, there is no one else, why do you think I put up with you, and that annoying cousin of yours? I don't want you going out and getting hurt, because I need you to help me," he said helping Violet to stand. "You're going to help me, aren't you?"

Carrion began undoing the buttons on her coat. Violet watched him for a moment before she was able to say anything.

"Hey, what are you doing? Stop that!"

"You cannot sleep in this, take it off," he said not stopping like she asked him, but moving her about to pull her coat off.

Violet let him do whatever he liked, her body wasn't under her control anymore, and she couldn't have stopped him if she wanted to. Once her coat was off, her dress clung onto her like a second skin. She looked down, where she had been scrabbling about on the floor; it had risen up higher than it should. Conscious that she ought to pull it down, since she was exposing most of her thighs, Violet simply stared at her own legs and couldn't get the message down to her hands.

Carrion wasn't messing about, once the coat was gone, he began carrying her up the stairs. Violet's head lolled against his shoulder, the motion of moving making her close her eyes against the sickening feeling in her stomach. Finally, Carrion set her down in her room, and Violet wondered what was going to happen now.

"Take this off…" Carrion said pulling at the strap of her dress. "Put this on. I don't what to see you until tomorrow, understood?"

Violet took the dressing gown he was offering and waited for him to leave. She didn't remember changing, and didn't how she's even managed to get into bed, but she remembered the ill feeling washing over her before she managed to escape into a dreamless sleep.