Disclaimer: I do not own Familiar of Zero or Yu Yu Hakusho, they belong to their respective owners. I'm not making money, this is just for fun and a hobby at most.
AN: Hello, Happy New Year, or whatever you may celebrate! Poll up in my author page for this story for readers to vote, please. Sorry this chapter for the holiday was late, not they I can always promise chapters for holidays, I just try too. Side note: Does anyone think I might be pushing a mature rating with the current content of this or previous chapter? Let me know in comments, as I have tried to keep it to a teen rating, being vague and not in depth with mature themes. Warning this chapter may be more mature. Cliff ahead. Anyways enjoy the chapter.
Chapter Twelve: Count Mont's Gardeners
It hadn't taken very long to get to count Mont's Estate. With Tabitha's dragon Slyphid the journey was rapidly shortened, in fact the three girls could already see Count Mont's mansion. It stood at least three stories high and had lots of land around it. Vineyards, gardens, and courtyards of every manner. It was a show of wealth not usually seen by the average count. The mansion itself, while not taking up much land, showed a high level of wealth. It had large white pillars supporting a very large porch area, as well as well crafted artisan designs for the rest of it.
"This man is just a royal appointed Count! He looks richer than a duke!" Kirche roared. "Even Germania Counts aren't this rich Louise. He must have taxed the citizens of this county really bad."
Louise couldn't help but think Kirche had a point, and she wasn't referring to her new tail. "Well he is the royal postmaster carrier."
"Too rich.." Stated the dragon Slyphid's owner Tabitha.
"Yeah what Tabby said!" Kirche nodded her head.
Louise cringed as she was ganged up on. "The princess would not have appointed him if he did not have her confidence... I'm sure... Besides look at all the commoners down there, it looks like there having a festival, just look at that bone fire down below."
The red and blue haired girls in front of Louise shook their heads. Louise believed too much in the infallibility of royalty. They didn't see commoners having fun as odd behavior, only a stuck up noble would think of servants as just dogs.
"Landing. Prepare." Tabitha spoke softly enough for the other girls to hear her, as she took her dragon too the ground.
*Chapter Twelve: Count Mont's Gardeners*
A door very quietly shut. From behind the door could be heard the sounds of flesh being rent apart. It was similar to the sound of a very practiced butcher going at his trade very quickly. The woman, Marge, who had just shut the door was almost ready to hyperventilate.
The scene behind that door was very terrifying. That crimson flower.. No crimson demon had rent Marge's world apart just as well as the demon had rent apart the other occupant in the room with her. For a very long time Marge had lived the life of luxury. Of course the life of luxury does not come free.
It had begun a long time ago, when Marge was just a little young flower herself, she had entered into the business herself. She was practically born into it. Yes she spent her first young years as a plaything of men, just trying to survive, that was until she changed everything.
She was smarter, more cunning, and she had true ambition. Before she celebrated the age of being married, she was already controlling the entire garden herself. It took bribes, extortion, blackmail, and finally death. She had done it though, and became the proud owner of her own garden. Everything had gone well for a very long time, but eventually she got old.
Yes she was afraid that a young flower might one day try to replace the gardener. That was her biggest fear. That was when she had made her decision, she would seek a new garden to play in. And so, after meeting with one, Count Mont, a bargain had been struck. Count Mont offered to let her tend to his own her garden, in exchange he would allow her to retain her position of wealth and power. She was to become a gardener again, if not it's owner in reality.
With the garden owner dead, so did her current position and future aspects die as well. The flowers would not follow her, at least not in the long run, she would have to flee. She did not have the ability to replace Mont.
"Housekeeper Marge I've finished cleaning the Guestrooms on the second floor." Said a young maid to the head maid.
"Very good Fran, please tell the other staff to avoid the masters chamber as he doesn't want to be disturbed at any cost. Tell them the penalty will be as high as planting a new flower in the garden." Marge ordered, thankful the girl hadn't noticed the sounds coming from the master's room.
Marge saw the small child maid rush away in a hurry after a quick response and polite bow. The girl seemed to have no plans to go to the garden. She was far to young to be put out to the pasture. Still Marge new that she wouldn't have a lot of time to flee. Thankfully she new where the master kept his valuables, including some dirt on the people he worked for. In fact the Count had just recently come back from one of his trips, so there was sure to be more of those cold magic ice stones.
*Chapter Twelve: Count Mont's Gardeners*
Fran had acted innocent to the workings of the mansion. In fact for one so young, and thankfully to young to be picked by Mont, she was smart. Now she knew how it worked around here, and knew it was only a matter of time til she was picked, or worse, discarded. Yes that was her fate, an inescapable fate. At first she had thought one could become so good at tasks they became irreplaceable.
That may have worked if it was true. Unfortunately her master had wealth beyond his station, or so said the older maids. Yes Count Mont, despite being a count over a small town, and merely an appointed royal messenger had enough wealth to rival a Duke. Still being useful was a way to increase her value, and a valuable flower was more likely to be precious and doted upon.
If Fran could not change her station in life from beyond being trapped in the garden, then she would improve the garden. Yes she was trapped in the garden, but that didn't mean the garden had to be bad place. Yes the garden could become beautiful, reformed, it might even be a place Fran could control. Yes, just like the Housekeeper Marge, but better. A better keeper of the Garden.
Now Fran in her short life had been busy learning. From cleaning, to manipulating, to cooking, and even butchering. Yes butchering, Fran recognized the sound of metal slashing flesh all too well. She recognized the smell of blood, even if it was so faint at the moment. Then finally she could see the fear in the head maid's eyes, yes she saw those eyes from time to time. It was the eyes of someone afraid, someone shocked, someone guilty of lying.
So once Marge had her say, Fran excused herself with a quick response and a polite bow. Thankfully for Fran, Marge missed the moment in which she broke out into a big smile.
*Chapter Twelve: Count Mont's Gardeners*
The carriage was nearly full, the horses were ready, all Marge had to do was open the barn doors. As she was a few feet from the doors they were flung open. What stood behind the sliding doors shocked her.
"Grab her!" "Kill the old Bitch!" "Get her!" "Don't let her get away!" "String her up!" Were among many verbal shouts that originated from the crowd of girls behind the open barn doors. Many of the girls held improvised weapons of a sort, including many burning torches.
"Shit!" Marge cried out as she unsuccessfully ran towards the carriages horses. She was taken down without hardly any fight. She was far too old to fight a mob, and unlike Mont she held no magic. She regretted sending all of Mont's guards away. Although she would never have gotten away with the carriage of loot otherwise. She did not want to give up her lifestyle after all. In some ways she was far more corrupt then Mont.
Yes, even when she first convinced Mont that flowers must be sacrificed to prevent the other flowers from picking other gardens, he was hesitant. He just wanted to borrow the flowers and return them after they had been picked. She had set him straight, she had given him the best possible garden. She even slowly got him to understand sometimes a flower needed a proper hand, a good set of sheers, and sometimes needed to be pulled like a weed.
Kicking and screaming as she was pulled by her hair, Marge was pulled into the main large courtyard. The courtyard was meant to celebrate noble parties and such. Today however, the maids were all ripping apart shading pavilions and other wooden structures nearby to create a pile. Underneath the pile were lots of fire stones. While it was true a commoner without magic couldn't use such stones. The stones presence alone would increase a fires potential several fold.
"String up Count Mont's killer!" Yelled a small female maid.
"You will all be sent to the garden for this!" Seethed Marge as several maids shouted unpleasant insults at her. Her words falling on deaf ears.
Fran smiled as the last of the lantern oil was poured unto the pile and old ugly flower.
"Goodbye Housekeeper." The small girl Fran threw the first of many torches towards the pile of wood. A smile beaming on her face.
*Chapter Twelve: Count Mont's Gardeners*
Riding piggyback on Kirche was a bit embarrassing for Louise. But there was no way for her to ride on Tabitha's back. She was still tired from her willpower exhaustion, so walking wasn't an option. She even felt bad about it as well. Kirche had only just barely recovered from the injuries caused by her own aunt. A fact she was not ready to reveal to Kirche to avoid further embarrassment.
Count Mont's courtyard did seem to be in bad shape. The girls couldn't help but notice many structures looked like they had been ripped apart by a storm, strange seeing as there hadn't been any. The commoners present were all female maids, which was also odd, where were the Counts guards or male staff?
It seemed many of the staff had been drinking as well, based on the smell. Besides the smell of spirits, the odor of cooked fleshed was also palpable. Which was also odd as they saw no signs of the commoners eating any meat. Perhaps they had already eaten?
As odd as the commoners here were, Louise and the gang were here on a mission to find Siesta. And when they asked about her, the other maids seemed to not even know she existed. It would have been impossible for them to know that the only ones to ever see Siesta where the Count and his head maid.
Without much luck outside, the only choice they had was to enter the Count's mansion and find Count Mont.
*Chapter Twelve: Count Mont's Gardeners*
Fran eyed the strange nobles as they entered the Mansion. As far as she was concerned life would go on as normal under a new appointed Count, so telling these young noble girls anything was dumb, in fact they might try to blame her for his death. No Fran was smart.
Fran would let them find his body on their own. With the Housekeeper already taken care of, that just left what she suspected was the Housekeeper's accomplice. Yes the head Maid and the new flower would take the blame, no need for a small gardener like her to get involved by incriminating herself.
Yes she was just a small young innocent flower and the other flowers had already gotten rid of the old ugly flower for her, so she would be fine. Flowers wilted and died all the time, best not for it to be her. The new flower just picked the wrong garden bed to sleep in, a thorn shouldn't prick the master right, the nobles would need a flower for the effort of their trip right? Gardeners like her had flowers to look out for after all, and so she shall do just that. She smiled wickedly.