A/N: Hey guys, sorry I updated this so late, I'm trying to catch up with summer classes and research so it's been pretty busy. I kinda made this in a rush and literally posted this at 2:30 am so please let me know if there is anything that needs editing, including story improvements and whatnot. Also shoutout to Rav for getting me on my ass to work on this.
Chapter 4: The Magician's Trick
Avery sighed as she once again glanced around her new room.
Rich scarlet walls decorated with gleaming gold leafing laced in the fabric of the wallpaper. A spacious wooden desk with meticulously designed carvings stood in the corner next to a towering window that overlooked the forest. A wooden door peeked open which led to her abnormally large bathroom, which of course, was also lavishly decorated in marble grandeur. All in all, the room was remarkably large for a single person and Avery wondered if it was bigger than her apartment.
"How did I even get here again?" she asked herself again though she knew the answer already. What had transpired in the past 7 hours still blew her mind.
Sebastian had just introduced himself to her when suddenly she saw policemen charging towards her at the other end of the hallway. It was no surprise to her, really and she had picked up her gun to shoot only to realize in dismay that it had run out of bullets.
"Alright here goes nothing," she shouted and went with plan B, chucking her taser like a spear to the frontmost police officer who fell to the ground in a twitching mass. Her little trick did its charm as other policemen stopped briefly to make sure their fallen comrade was not hurt.
"And this is where you run!" Avery declared, grabbing Sebastian's hand as she tried to hightail down the opposite end of the hallway. However, no matter how hard she pulled, the man would not move. "Are you trying to get caught?" she yelled, as she tugged on his hand harder.
He smirked at her question and remained in his place, "Please, they could never catch me. Would you like me to get rid of them?" he offered though he made no move to show any action.
"You can do that?" she questioned, letting go of his hand. She was very curious to see him in action. Could he shoot magic through his hands? Manipulate objects? Materialize swords and weapons from thin air? After all, he was a supernatural being.
"Of course, you only need to order me to do so," he confirmed.
"Alright, I order you to knock them out!" she asserted pointing her finger at the policemen who once again started running at them.
"Yes, my lady." he answered to which Avery responded, "Don't call me 'my lady'".
Sebastian ignored her and in a flash, he pulled out butter knives from his coat pocket, flipping them out stylishly between his fingers. With the grace of a panther, he dashed to the mob and struck each officer with the edge of the blade. Bodies fell around him as he spun around, a wide smile evident on his face. Sebastian clearly enjoyed showing off. At the same time, the cries of officers sang a chorus of shrieks and shouts around him seemed to be tuned to the whoosh of the knives in the air as he maneuvered them with astounding speed.
Meanwhile, Avery stood to the side, her form shaking. One would have thought she was shaking with horror but a closer look would find that she had a hand over her mouth as she tried to muffle her laughs.
"A butter knife!" she thought, caught up by the ridiculous choice of weapon, "of all things to choose from! What is he going to do? Butter some toast?" her giggles grew louder as she imagined the stoic, superhuman man bothering with something as menial as spreading butter on bread. (little did she know that was exactly what he did in his previous contract). "I suppose he didn't have any cool powers or magical items." she chuckled, wiping tears from her eyes as she looked up. She could have sworn she saw Sebastian glare at her causing her to stick her tongue out in defiance. There was no doubt in her mind that she would tease Sebastian about it later. Surveying his actions, Avery took notice and with great relief, saw that he had not killed her pursuers as per her orders, only clocking the policemen in the head or neck.
With a hard tap on the head with the back of the butter knife, Sebastian knocked out the last officer. "It is done," he informed her, using a handkerchief to wipe away any specks of blood that may have dirtied his precious little weapons.
"Mhm, I see that. Nice job and interesting choice of weapon." she commented, "Never knew butter knives would be the sacred choice of destruction for someone like you."
"It is an old habit," he dismissed and put away his glorious butter knives into some secret jacket compartment. "Now, we should get going before more follow. Where do you currently reside?"
"Oh, nowhere, I just ditched my apartment."
Dark eyebrows rose beneath his bangs, eyes tinged with interest and a hint of frustration. "May I ask why you did that?" he asked, clearly not enjoying the fact of potentially being homeless.
"I'm starting a new life with a new beginning so it seemed like a logical choice." she patted her backpack, "and I packed all my important stuff here too."
"Hmmm" was all the answer she got. Sebastian's eyes glowed softly as he glanced her way before looking around with a calculating expression.
"Soooo, I was thinking of booking a hotel for a couple of nights before we decide where to stay unless you've got a better idea." she continued, trying to justify her point.
He didn't answer, his expression showing he was deep in thought.
"AND SO, I guess we are staying in a hotel" she emphasized, trying to get him to respond.
"Why don't you stay here instead? I will just need to touch the place up. It'll only take a moment." he said abruptly after ages of silence.
"Um, er, what?" She replied intelligently, staring at him like he was lunatic as her mind tried to even work the possibility of that happening. How could a single person fix an entire crumbling building before the sun sets in three hours? Moreover, how would they ward off any incoming police officers?
"Are you crazy? This place is old and run-down! I could never stay in a place like this! The cops would be coming too!" she yelled at him once she regained control over her brain.
"Ah, do not worry, it'll only take a short amount of time and I can take care of any intruders." he confirmed, "just close your eyes until I notify you, my lady."
Avery frowned at the title but closed her eyes nonetheless, thinking she would play along to witness more of his powers (or lack thereof). "Don't do anything weird," she warned. She trusted their little contract and was entertained with the idea that it might give her some more teasing material. However, she did not trust that he wouldn't do anything on the other side of PG, she was, after all, alone in a dingy, empty manor with a man and miles of forest stood between her and the closest person she could scream rape to.
"Of course not," he responded, a little too close to her ear, causing a small shiver to run down her back. Again, she swore she heard him chuckle.
With a sudden whoosh and thumps which seemed to be the movement of furniture, something in the air changed and Avery vaguely wondered if Sebastian was indeed an Airbender. Altogether, the musty smell was gone, replaced by a gentle breeze of fresh clean air. The wooden floors beneath her feet felt smoother and the wind that had been whistling through the gaps of rotting windows disappeared.
"Please open your eyes." an amused voice called.
The once dusty and peeling velvet wallpapers were newly replaced by soft crimson ones, decorated with intricate golden designs. Cracked light fixtures were restored, warming the now visibly long hallway with a pleasant homely glow. Any trace of dust or dirt she had dragged in with her boots was wiped away, along with the mud which clung to her outerwear.
Awed, Avery peered around the hallway, her jaw hanging open in wonder. Everything screamed rich and Victorian, there were even carvings on the aged wood on the door leading into the library.
She whistled, impressed. "Wow, this is amazing. How did you manage to remodel everything so quickly? I feel like I'm in the Victorian era!"
"It is a trade secret. If I couldn't do this what kind of..." Sebastian paused suddenly and turned away, eyebrows furrowing in deep thought.
"What kind of what?" Avery prompted, eager to hear the rest of the sentence. It wasn't often that she would see such a sophisticated man trip on words.
"My lady, who am I to you?" he asked abruptly, turning to face her with a confused expression.
"A friend, wait no that's not right, a partner in crime? A sidekick I guess?" she answered, although she was internally asking herself the same thing, "Why does it matter?"
"I suppose not," he relented but his eyes told otherwise, "Now, may I lead you to your bedroom, my lady?" He held out his hand politely to her and waited.
Avery stared at the hand, no one had ever treated her so nicely. Yes, she's dated others before but this was the first time someone had offered to help her in such a gentlemanly manner. "Maybe this contract isn't so bad," she thought.
"Yes, you may." she accepted and followed him closely down the numerous grand halls of the manor. She may be quite the adventurer but when it came to directions, she was always hopelessly lost. A large manor like this would be her undoing.
"Hey Sebastian, do you think you could give me a map of the manor? I have a terrible sense of direction," she asked, staring at him with large puppy eyes.
A wide grin appeared on his face, "Do you get lost often?" he snickered, turning around his head to face her while continuing to walk.
Avery took one look at his smug face and decided against asking him again. There was no way in hell she was going to give him the satisfaction of besting her, even if directions were her weakness. She huffed and retorted, "You know what? Forget I asked you that. I'll find a way to navigate through this labyrinth myself."
"It's not that big my lady."
"Don't call me that. And do all supernatural beings have an annoying personality or is it just your unique little trait of acting like a child."
Sebastian chose to ignore the first part of her response. "Every being has their own character, though some a little more pronounced than others," his face dipped distastefully as the image of a red-head popped into his head, "Although I have been called many things, none have openly called me 'annoying'" he replied.
"That should be impossible with such an irritating personality. I could hardly put up with you in the past few hours" Avery muttered in quiet disbelief.
"Sorry?" he inquired innocently with a fake smile plastered on his face.
"Nothing. Just thinking about your cute little kitchen toys!" she smirked, "Do you often play house with Mommy?"
"They are-" he began.
"You know what, don't respond, I know my answer already. Now hurry up, bring me to my room." she cut in, returning his fake smile. She was determined to win this verbal match with him.
"Of course. Only if you can keep up." he responded. Immediately, he quickened his pace until Avery had no choice but to run after him.
Before long, they arrived at a grand double entrance of an exceptionally large room with an equally impressive bed. It was extravagantly decorated with crimson and gold and the bed looked entrancingly fluffy, suddenly making her feel the tired weight of the day's activities.
"Dang, I get to sleep here huh?" she admired before letting out a huge yawn and reaching her arms out to stretch. "Hey I'm just going to sleep right now, could you just magically make all the dirt go away?"
With a rustle of fabric and a gentle breeze, her clothes returned to their original pristine state.
"Alright thanks" she yawned again and started walking to the bed. She was about to jump on it when a hand grabbed her arm and tugged her back.
"Will you not change into your nightgown? I believe this is what humans feel is most comfortable for sleeping." he suggested, gesturing to the closet which was mysteriously open already to show the said nightgown.
"Hmm okay, could you step out for a minute? I'll get changed." she pushed him out of the room until he was at the other side of the doorway.
"No need for you to force me out, I would have left all the same." he informed her, "I am after all, under your orders."
"I can see that." she smiled and slammed the door in his face.
On the other side, Sebastian scowled at the door and ran a hand through his dark hair. He was going through this again. Her stubbornness rivaled that of his previous master and he had no doubt her wit was the same. She showed no signs of fear, despite learning that he was not human and she acted with great confidence, never lingering in thought over her actions. And although she was remained unflinching to any sorts of carnage, often instigating them herself, she had a unsteady side that seemed to link back to her trauma. Above all, he wanted to know what drove her to take such drastic measures as to make the cursed deal with him.
A snore brought him out of his thoughts and he entered the room quietly to make sure Avery was safe in her bed. Approaching the foot of her bed, Sebastian watched her sleep, taking note of the soft rise and falls of her chest, the messy hair strewn across the pillow and the small amount of drool escaping from her mouth. Being locked up in the library for centuries had made him lose sight of how fragile and bothersome humans were. Now, as he looked down on her, he was reminded of those common traits. Little, petty things like feelings directed their actions, leaving humans as slaves to their own emotions. No matter how steadfast or resolute they may be, they would eventually fall into his waiting hands. Indeed, his previous master had fallen to these terms and Sebastian had no doubt Avery would as well. Yes, he was most excited to play this game with her.