Chapter Thirty-Four: Atelier

Notes: Ah, it is so good to be back writing this fic! I have some important info at the end of this chapter, so please check it out! I hope I haven't lost any of you due to the pc issues I've been having! So sorry that I had to delay some chapters! GAH!

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Heels clicked loudly, echoing through the sprawling open halls of the manor as Willow vacated the lounge and headed back towards the main hall, the rest of the group in tow behind her. She made her way over to the large staircase that filled the center of the room, a destination already in mind. She glanced back over her shoulder for a moment before stopping, her attention seemingly drawn to something that she hadn't noticed before. She started up the stairs again for a moment, placing one foot on the first step, before stopping yet again. It seemed that whatever had been on her mind had been sufficient to stop her in her tracks for the time being.

"... Sirrus. I genuinely hadn't noticed your presence until just now. Somehow I managed to look right past you. I'm sure that's not something you experience very often."

The Adjudicator stopped for a moment, pondering what to say next. There seemed to be something more that she wasn't saying, and everyone in the room had picked up on that. A blanket of discomfort fell over the group as several sets of eyes glanced between the lady of the house and Sirrus, settling on the man with the red hair after a moment due to the unmistakable amount of discomfort that he radiated. It was abnormal for him. He was normally so relaxed and put together.

"Did you happen to be in town when that attack occurred about two months back? The one where the city east of here nearly burned to the ground? Or when that store was leveled by dark magic just a week or so ago?" Willow said, still not turning to face him. There was a knowing tinge to her voice that required little explanation. "I've not seen you in these parts for at least a decade. Curious that you should return so suddenly and during such an inopportune time."

A subtle but unmistakably displeased expression slowly made its way onto Sirrus's face as he seemed to register the implications of what she was trying to say to him. He folded his arms across his chest, tilting his head slightly to the side as he seemed to stare through her as opposed to actually looking at her. Magnolia seemed to go on high alert, her eyes widening slightly and her face turning noticeably red. She was clearly uncomfortable, but neither Nero nor V really knew what had caused this situation to escalate in the way that it just had, or what it might have to do with her. They were seemingly the only two who noticed her sudden shift in mood. What was going on here?

Vergil looked over at her a moment later, quietly taking note of how displeased and anxious she looked. There was clearly history between the three of them, and he didn't care to get involved with it, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn't somewhat curious. That being said, he had no tolerance for wasting time, especially given the circumstances. Sitting through a more than likely chaotic fight between the two of them wasn't in the cards right now, as far as he was concerned. He would probably intervene if the situation called for it, if only to keep from having to actually sit through it or see them destroy the entire house. He had no desire to be rained on.

"If you're going to insinuate something, Willow, I'd appreciate it if you were less passive-aggressive about it and you actually said it to my face," Sirrus said flatly, clearly unamused in regards to what she was trying to imply. He hadn't come here to be insulted, and he had no plans to be. There was no reason that he should just stand here and allow her to accuse him of anything. He'd done nothing to earn that kind of response from her.

"Sirrus has done nothing wrong, and you know it. He's not the only one in these parts with such power. Do not be so quick to jump to unjust conclusions based solely on what he is and not who you very much know he is. You and I both know he isn't involved in those attacks." Magnolia said, stepping forward and standing between her sister and her nephew. She was clearly just as unamused as her red-haired relative was, and she didn't like where this was going.

"Rather ironically, I was actually present for the second attack. He and I were nearly killed. That's why we're here today." Sirrus said as he gestured towards V calmly, still very irritated, but more composed than he had been a moment ago. He couldn't give her what she probably wanted that easily. He didn't want to, nor did he need to, explain himself to her, but for the sake of keeping things cordial between them, he would do so. "As for the second attack, I wasn't in the region yet. I arrived about an hour later. After the second attack, the decision was made for me to come and sort things out."

Willow turned and looked at Sirrus, a cold, almost fearful look on her face. She seemed unsettled by the revelation that he was here on business. A moment of silence fell over the room as they locked eyes, intense but otherwise lacking hostility. Finally, she turned and looked up the stairs before speaking again. "Adjudication, then? That's what brought you to town after all this time? And then you simply stumbled your way into… whatever this is? Once again you find yourself a victim of happenstance, caught up in the middle of something larger than yourself."

Sirrus nodded in agreement despite the fact that he knew she couldn't see him. He was fine with going with that assessment of the situation. It wasn't inaccurate, and it kept him from having to say or do anything further. "For the most part, yes. That is correct."

Nodding in acceptance, Willow quieted down before continuing up the stairs, saying nothing as she went. Hydrangea sighed quietly and shook her head, looking at the rest of the group. She then looked at her aunt and cousin before looking over at her mother again. She had continued down the hallway and into a room they couldn't see, but they got the impression that they were probably still supposed to be following her in spite of it all. Hydrangea walked over to Sirrus and gave him a sympathetic look, allowing her regret in regards to the current situation to be seen easily on her face.

"Please forgive my mother's less than hospitable personality. I believe she is intimidated by the presence of so many powerful beings in her home." She said softly, clearly thoroughly embarrassed in regards to her mother's behavior. Hydrangea knew full well that Sirrus wasn't a threat to any of them. She had spent plenty of time around her older cousin during her lifetime. It was just her mother who didn't. The young teen got the impression that her mother would do a massive double take if she realized how many times her daughter hadn't been forthcoming about going somewhere or simply spending time with him. She enjoyed their conversations, and she didn't want her mother to ruin that for her.

"Don't apologize on her behalf. Please. It's your home, too. Your mother is an adult. She has a responsibility to carry herself with the behavior expected of one. That is not your burden to bear. Trust me, I have experience with this." He said, matching her tone as he took a mental note of the fact that Willow was ushering them up the stairs now, seemingly tired of waiting for them. Magnolia nodded in agreement in regards to Sirrus's statement before heading up the steps. It seemed that she wanted to put space between her sister and everyone else present.

He closed his eyes for a moment and nodded once, slowly. After he had composed himself, he cleared his throat and patted Hydrangea gently on the shoulder. There was no need for him to make her worry. There was no way that he would dare to do anything to her mother, especially with her standing right here. He didn't get along with Willow very well at times, but it wasn't a killing offence, and he sure as hell wasn't going to do that to his little cousin. Her wellbeing was important to him.

Sirrus had grown tired of the atmosphere in the room. He decided to change the subject.

"Where are we headed, then?" He said, starting up the steps as the group migrated towards whatever place they were being brought to. Willow had failed to actually explain what she had planned to do after Vergil had informed her that they were there because they needed assistance with something demonic in nature. There had been no time to truly explain the depths of the issue they had been presented with.

Glancing over her shoulder at him, Willow gave him a look that seemed to indicate that she didn't understand why he had asked her that. "Why, to the Atelier, of course. Ours is a bit unconventional, but it's still not nearly as opulent as the one at your mother's estate. Something we have to fix in the near future.

"You've been there recently, then?" Sirrus asked, seemingly surprised by the fact that she had brought it up. It was rare that people visited his old home. His mother was not very accommodating to outsiders of any sort, so the idea that she had allowed anyone to come and visit her home was news to him. It didn't affect him in any way, but it was indeed a fascinating turn of events.

"I just returned from there, actually. Aluta was requested specifically, but she's been indisposed recently. And I don't think she'd go even if she wasn't. To my understanding, your mother makes her extraordinarily uncomfortable, and that place she calls home has much the same effect on her. She thinks it's thoroughly cursed." Willow rounded the corner at the top of the stairs, funneling them towards the door at the end of the hall that she had disappeared near just a short while ago.

Magnolia shook her head in distaste as they fell behind her sister and Sirrus slightly, allowing them to make idle chit-chat in the hopes that things would stay calm for now. The eyes of everyone besides Sirrus and her sister fell upon her for a moment as though to ask her what in the world had just happened. She sighed softly as she continued forward. "It would appear that there is still a bit of bad blood between our two families. None of that has to do with Sirrus, however. My sister needs to remember that. Sirrus is simply a child unlucky enough to be caught up in a double divorce."

Nero piped up that time. "You mentioned something about that before. Or was that Sirrus? Anyway… What happened again? The details are kinda fuzzy. I was only half-listening at the time. Sorry."

"There is no need to apologize, young one. Although it is a rather unpleasant story…"

Sirrus stopped as Willow unlocked the door again and entered, leaving it open behind her. He seemed to consider something as they entered the room, clearly displeased but otherwise fine. He had obviously overheard their conversation, though he didn't seem to mind the fact that they had been having it in the first place. They weren't exactly talking about him behind his back.

"After my mother and father split up, he married Aluta. And then they divorced a short while later. Things have been… tumultuous since then. Despite the fact that my allegiances lie with house Ludwig in regards to what transpired, I don't think that everyone here wishes me well." He shifted slightly as he said this, clearly recalling something that he would have preferred to forget before continuing onward. "The very nature of who and what I am gives her reason enough to be wary of me. I can only imagine that you all have experienced something similar. Perhaps it is difficult for her to believe a son would go against his father's wishes, but he was never much of a father to me. But then again, neither was my mother…"

Discomfort became evident in his demeanor for a moment before he simply stopped talking and made his way into the room, clearly unwilling to say anything more. Dante and Vergil exchanged a curious look for a moment, the eldest of the two then giving his two sons a lingering look that was hard to decipher. He said nothing, but something about what Sirrus had said had clearly piqued his curiosity. There was clearly more going on with him than what was immediately apparent, and he couldn't help but wonder if that would become a problem going forward. While Sirrus seemed to have everything under control, the fact that this could introduce unknown variables into the equation was enough for Vergil to be somewhat uncomfortable with it.

Entering the room, V was immediately taken back by the sheer number of books on display. A two-story room with a balcony on either side greeted them from where they stood, tempting them with access to books that they otherwise wouldn't have. A large window spanning both stories of the room and the vault in the ceiling above them would probably have let in ample light if not for the fact that the storm still raged just beyond the glass. It was the kind of space that V could get lost in and never leave, forever indulging in the vast variety of literary works that stretched out in front of him like an endless sea.

"I trust you remember this place, Vergil? There have been a few additions since your last visit, but even so, I can't say that much has changed." Willow said as she took a seat in the middle of the room, pulling her dress around in front of her. She seemed lost in thought for a moment, her gaze drifting lazily over towards the window. For a moment she looked over at Sirrus before turning back towards the window, a more sympathetic look on her face. It seemed that she didn't know what to say to him. Or more likely that she knew what she needed to say to him, but just hadn't yet. She had miscalculated, and she seemed to understand that.

Looking around the room, Vergil seemed to take in the space spread out in front of him. Yes, Willow was correct in that regard. Things had changed substantially since his last visit. This library hadn't possessed that much of a second-story back then. Just a sitting area where at least 10 new bookcases now stood, filled to the brim with vintage books, journals, and artifacts. There was even a section for scrolls now. A work area took up the middle of the floor on the lower level where they currently were, a painting easel and several pieces of half-finished art and a stack of blank canvas sitting next to it. It seemed that someone had started painting something, but stopped abruptly, leaving their work just unfinished enough to be difficult to discern.

"Yes… that is clear to me now. You seem to have added a few new shelves during my time away."

"Personally, I know very little about the Devil Prince Belial, but you may be able to find something of use in this room. There are texts detailing things from the underworld that pertain to those sorts of matters on the second floor next to the painting of the fountain. The Demonology section is a bit lacking, unfortunately." Willow continued, standing up and heading towards the door. It seemed that she had somewhere else to be, and had simply intended to set them on the right path. "Otherwise, you're going to have to wait until Aluta returns. I would be willing to believe that she knows more about the subject than I do. Keeping tabs on his actions hasn't been of much concern to me until recently. He was largely dormant for countless years. I believe that something disturbed him."

Nero couldn't help but think about the library in Fortuna as he took a seat at the table that sat in the center of the vast home study. There were so many priceless books that probably had tons of important information in them and they had just been abandoned and left to the elements… Maybe he should see if there was something he could do about that. He got the feeling that the Ludwig family (or V, for that matter) would take much better care of the books than they were currently experiencing. This place was immaculate. A great deal of time and effort had clearly been put into making sure that everything in this room had been treated with care. Maybe he'd mention something about it if he got the change. "You said he's be "dormant" for a long time, hu? How long do you think? What, was he just gone the rest of the time?"

Magnolia sat down next to Nero, shrugging nebulously. "For the most part, yes. Belial just sort of didn't do anything noticeable for the better part of about a century. Probably a little bit longer. I have no doubt that he was up to something, but demons that are this primordial tend to take breaks for hundreds of years at a time before becoming active again. Mundus did much the same after he lost to your Grandfather. Resurrections take time, and he bided his time for well over a thousand years until he felt that he was ready." She looked over at V, taking note of the fact that he was listening intently to what she was saying. "He's become increasingly active in the last few years. We were under the impression that he was after something, but now we know what that something is. And we can't let him succeed. Not for our sakes, and especially not for V's."

Willow stopped dead in her tracks, turning around and allowing her eyes to follow her sister's gaze. She stood quiet for a moment before speaking, seemingly taking in the fact that it was V who her sister had insinuated was the object of the Prince of Darkness's fascination. To think that Belial wanted this child… it made her blood run cold. "Before you leave here… come see me. There may be something I can do. Trust me, it shall be worth your time. And if Belial is indeed after you, it may very well save your life. Nothing good has ever come from being the object of a devil princes' obsession. The least I can do is slow him down."

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For next week I can unfortunately only do a chapter for Friday because I'm still recovering from the issues my pc had and just now catching up, but from there forward, I'm happy to announce that I'm back! I'm also working on something cool for you all, so I hope you like it! I'd love to see you all in the comments! Take care! I hope you're having a wonderful week, and I'm so sorry for all the delays I've had for the last couple of weeks! I seriously love writing this story, and I'm not going anywhere, but my pc just loves to hate me sometimes lol!