The room was dark despite it being mid day. The sheets were made, the place dusted, the room tidy, yet it felt barren, despite its three inhabitants. Soft music caressed the air in melancholy notes from a guitar strummed by delicate fingers.
"They still don't know what's wrong with her," Violet finally sighed from her spot on a settee in the corner.
Lily plucked a few more chords as if she hadn't heard Violet, Ava playing at her feet with a small blanket with a bear's head attached, pretending it could fly. At last, Lily let the last chord die, and she licked her lips, looking down. Her black ringlets fell over the body of the guitar that shielded her stout, but now toned, body. When she had started, Marie had tutted over her small frame, the amount of hindering fat. Now, after gentle training and a lot of work, she was a weapon rather than an instrument.
But Lily had never liked that. Perhaps that was why she played music constantly. She wanted to live singing and creating, not destroying.
"I know," was all Lily said. "It'll take time."
"Time? It's been almost two weeks," Violet said bitterly, rubbing her face. "I should've done something. I was there."
Lily frowned at Violet and walked over, putting down the guitar. She took the younger girl's face between her hands and stared her in the eyes.
"Violet, there was nothing you could have possibly done to stop a Noah from attacking her. Magnolia would have slapped you three times already in the last two weeks for being this melancholy," Lily professed with slow, intent words. " 'Fix your face before I fix it for you?' Does it ring any bells?"
Violet looked away as Lily let go, though a small smile twitched on her face as she remembered Magnolia's frequent threat, copying their mother's, sometimes lax, regimen. Magnolia had been a rather more reliable disciplinarian.
"I wonder if she dreams in there," Lily wondered absentmindedly, looking out the window.
"What does that matter?" Violet mumbled sullenly. "She's not here with us. She may as well be dead."
"Would it be better to be happy and dead, or living and distraught and hurt with your family?"
"What kind of question is that?! Maggie's not miserable with us. God, sometimes I don't get you, Lil."
Lily looked back at Violet with a pained expression as the younger girl looked away sullenly. For all Violet's bluster and vive, she was woefully oblivious. Lily had watched Magnolia from afar, more aware of her sister's growing responsibilities than she knew. For every mission she returned from, the more the weight grew, though with Kanda's help, she was swiftly growing the spine needed to bear it. Yet, Lily was old enough to remember when life was not so hectic and dangerous. Violet probably didn't - she was too young - but Lily knew the difference. She had hoped that having Kanda there beside her would be like a trellis supporting a vine, but Magnolia did not trust so easily. He had said something to seriously offend her, she knew that much from what little Magnolia would say.
And once Magnolia's trust was fractured...
There was a sharp rap on the door, and the two turned to look, on edge. There was no reason for anyone to come by - they were in Magnolia's room, and everyone in the Order knew by now what had happened to her - so it was hard to tell who could possibly be at her door. Violet got up to answer the door, being closest, and Lily sat back down with the guitar, strumming a few chords to herself.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here, you know that?"
Lily looked up in surprise, and she leaned over to see who was at the door.
Kanda stood in the doorway with a crudely wrapped box, looking for all the world like a confused, if grumpy, panther. Violet, who barely stood at shoulder height to him, radiated distaste and anger, though it didn't seem to phase the man at the door. Lily sighed, reading the situation as easily as a children's primer. She got up again and put her hands on Violet's shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Kanda. Magnolia isn't here. I don't know if-"
"No, I heard. They told me you'd be here," Kanda said.
"What's it matter to you?" Violet spat.
Kanda glowered at Violet, though Lily saw just an edge of guilt on his single glance into Magnolia's room.
Of course. He'd promised Violet to keep Magnolia safe.
"I never gave Ava her gift," Kanda stated, lifting the package.
"Like you care-" Violet mumbled, but Lily was already ushering the younger sister out the door and past Kanda.
"Violet, maybe you should see how Maggie's doing? Even asleep, she probably would like to know you're alright," Lily said with a sweet tone, insistently pushing Violet out, despite her protests.
"Oi, come on, I- You know what, never mind, yeah, I'm gonna go see my sister, unlike someone," Violet acquiesced, finally shoving off and giving Kanda a deep, dark glare before turning down the hall towards the Infirmary.
Lily smiled vacuously after the girl, letting the silence drag behind Violet before saying, "Would you like to come inside?"
Kanda shook his head, but Lily left room for him to walk in as if he'd agreed, and he hesitantly walked into what had been Magnolia's sanctum sanctorum in the time she'd been in the Order. Very few had ever set foot in Magnolia's space, given her sudden need to have some kind of place to call her own. It was slightly drab, with the odd knick-knack, an Order-issued bed, a cabinet full of clothes, both civilian and uniform, as well as a desk cluttered with books in a number of languages. Ava came forward to hug Lily's legs as she sat back down on the bed with a guitar.
"Well, you can let Ava open it. I'll clean the mess," Lily stated as she set up her guitar and began to strum the piece she'd been working on.
Kanda hesitantly put the package on the ground, as if giving an offering, and Ava looked up to Lily. She pointed to herself, and Lily asked, "Nah-ah. Who's it for? Are you going to ask?"
Ava looked at Kanda with large, liquid eyes, and she asked, "For me?"
Kanda nodded, and Ava fell upon the box, ripping it open with frightening gusto. Kanda even flinched back as she tore apart the box along with the paper, revealing a toy fishing pole. She smiled as she examined it, smacking it against the ground and in general being very loud with it.
"She likes it," Lily stated airily, and Kanda watched as Ava ran up to Lily to show her.
"Why come now? Ava's party won't be until Maggie wakes up," Lily asked, looking up.
"I like to be realistic."
"Ah. You don't think she'll wake up? Or do you hope she doesn't?"
Kanda's head shot up to stare at Lily darkly, and she continued to look at him with almost cow-like beatification. She shook her head as she continued to strum.
"You two had a falling out. It's hard to talk to people after that. It's okay. Everyone feels something like that."
"I want her to wake up."
"And that's good that you consciously want that. There's no shame in your relief. You haven't seen her since, though. I think you're afraid of her," Lily said, cutting to the quick.
"I just came to give Ava her present," Kanda said tersely, heading towards the door.
"She likes you," Lily said to his retreating back. "Maggie does."
He didn't stop. In fact, he hurried towards the door, as if running from Lily's proclamation, and she pressed her lips together in disappointment. Ah, well, she couldn't help everyone. If he was that deep in denial, there was nothing she could do about it. Her song filtered through the open door, and she allowed tears to well as she thought of the sister who dreamed, perhaps happily, in the infirmary, and the world she would have to re-enter.
Violet looked into the room cautiously, as if afraid that she would find, instead of a sleeping woman in a bed, an empty room and a doctor with a clipboard ready to give her the news. Instead, she found Magnolia the same as before, her eyes shut and her mouth still moving with the occasional word. The Science Department had blown the dust off a few of their more outlandish medical devices and attached them to her with electrodes, showing blurry dots that Violet couldn't decipher. Magnolia was noticeably skinnier now than she had been when she'd first come in. Her cheek bones were pronounced, her freckles standing out like smudges of dirt against her pale skin. She was dressed in a white gown under the white covers, and for all the world, she seemed to be asleep.
However, Violet hadn't counted on there being a visitor.
Lavi looked up in surprise at Violet's hesitant footsteps, and he got up from his chair. His clothes were rumpled, his hair in disarray, and he'd chosen to come in civilian clothes rather than the stiff, awkward uniform. He hadn't been quick enough to hide the fact that he'd been holding Magnolia's hand, and Violet felt slight validation - she called it.
"Nah, sit down, you're fine. How's she doing?" Violet asked, looking down at her sister as she grabbed a chair to pull up next to her. She seemed so much smaller without that typical motherly look of warning or the uniform to give her that little bit of authority.
"Nothing's changed," Lavi said quietly, bouncing his leg up and down. "A doctor came in and said that they're not really sure what they can do at this point other than keep feeding her."
"It doesn't look like they've been doing a very good job," Violet muttered, "she's practically skin and bone."
"I mean, I imagine it's a little difficult to feed a sleeping person. There's only so much you can shove through an IV," said the redhead, staring at the drip hooked into Magnolia's arm.
Violet slumped in her chair, rubbing her mouth as she stared at her sister on the bed.
"What's going to happen if they can't wake her up?" Violet asked.
Lavi put his hands together, touching his forefingers to his lips as he stared at her languidly. He shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm not really sure. We keep her alive. The Order won't let her die, not while she's got those," Lavi stated, pointing to her wrists, which still sported the bands of Innocence that had refused to come off even in sleep.
"And if it rejects her?"
Lavi opened his mouth to answer, but he found the words were stuck in his throat. He knew exactly what would happen, and it killed a small part of him to even think about it. Violet shook her head as he hesitated to say, gathering enough from his reluctance to voice the thought.
"It's just... It's not fair. Maggie's been through too much just to fall asleep on us and die," Violet raged, wringing her hands as her voice cracked. "She was supposed to get to be a dancer after the war was over, and she was supposed to get married and have kids, and I was supposed to be an auntie. We had it all planned out, when we were kids, how things were going to go, and this wasn't it."
"Sometimes, things don't go to plan," Lavi offered sagely, but Violet shook her head.
"Anything Maggie wanted, she made happen. She got us into school. She... she worked two jobs, three jobs. You know, there were whole days we wouldn't see her? And then she'd come back with reams of money. We never asked. And now... It doesn't make sense. She can't just leave. I was supposed to set you up on a date with her."
Lavi looked at Violet with an incredulous expression, and Violet returned it with one of chagrin.
"What?"
"Did I get a say in this?!"
"Uh... Well, I mean, I was going to like... engineer a dinner between you two... You know, invite you both to the same table, candlelight, all of that. I had it planned for weeks..."
Lavi shook his head with a slight smile.
"You're lucky she's asleep. She'd knock you over the head so hard, you'd be the one in the bed."
Violet blew a raspberry in disbelief.
"She likes you. She doesn't say it, but she likes you."
"I know."
"You know?!"
"We talked about it."
Violet stared with horror. She hadn't been informed of this conversation, and that was frankly insulting. Maggie told her and Lily everything, so how did they miss this exchange? Surely, Magnolia would've been agonizing over some portion of the discourse, either that she was too harsh or she said too much or... Wait, were the two courting under their noses? Was that it?
"And?!" Violet asked, her voice high-pitched with indignation.
However, her ire was dampened by the bittersweet look on Lavi's face.
"It was probably three weeks ago. A week before all this. We got to talking over coffee, and we put how we felt on the table."
Lavi was quiet for a moment as he replayed the conversation in his mind. He could remember every word, down to the last sigh she took as she pushed back from her chair to leave for training. It had not been their last conversation, but it had been their most baring.
"We knew it wouldn't work."
He laced his fingers together, forming a net that sat before his mouth. Violet seemed more hurt than confused as she slumped in her chair.
"Why? You two have been... inseparable. You go everywhere together, you talk nonstop, you just... I don't get it. You were happy, damn it!"
The last words seemed more directed towards Magnolia than at the man sitting beside her, Violet's eyes turned on the woman in the bed as she threw her hands in the air. Lavi bowed his head as nurses turned to see what the commotion was about, but upon seeing the steaming Violet, they decided it was best to let family deal with family.
"It's not so easy," Lavi said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "I can leave at any time. I can give up my weapon and take off whenever Bookman sees fit. I've stayed here too long already. Two years is the longest I've ever stayed with a single war, and we're due to leave. I can't give her what she wants, and we both know this. Just the fact I could disappear would eat her alive, if we started something, and I'd make myself miserable thinking about it."
"But... but while you're here..."
"Magnolia doesn't think like that."
"...I know she doesn't. She always has her head stuck in some far future that she can't even see. But, for once, just for once, I would've liked to see her put herself first. To take a risk on something that might make her feel like she's worth something, because you make her feel like she's worth something. She's worth everything to us," Violet sighed.
It was frustrating to watch her sister wear herself out to nothing. She had had so many opportunities for happiness, joy even, and she'd thrown them away because of her family. She had always put them first, to the point that there were days she no doubt starved so they could eat, and it killed Violet. There was no way that she could ever repay her older sister, and worse, she'd never told her that fact.
Now, she may never get to.
Violet felt tears sting her eyes, and she sniffled hard. Lavi, taking notice, pulled out a clean handkerchief - this family could supply a waterworks station for days - and let her have it, the girl collapsing into tears. No doubt, she'd bottled up all of her fears and anxieties in the hopes of appearing nonchalant or, at the least, just frustrated at the situation, rather than have her family see her sob her eyes out. Yet, he knew she needed that moment to be alone with Magnolia, so he got up, patted her shoulder, and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Violet took hold of Magnolia's hand, wiping her face clean as she stared at her sleeping face.
"It'll be alright," Lenalee said as Erastus chucked another rock into the pond.
Sebastian looked up with worry at his brother, who'd thrown the pebble with more force than was due to such a small thing, and it was telltale to the emotions no doubt stirring in his twin.
"How can you say 'everything will be alright?' What evidence do you have that it will be alright? Because right now, all we have is my sister in a coma," Erastus grumbled, grunting as he threw another rock.
This one skipped once, twice, thrice, and then plopped into the water. Lenalee hugged her elbows and looked to Sebastian, but he could only shrug. Of all people, Sebastian knew better than most that in cases of medical import, waiting was often the only thing to do.
"I remember when I was a child... I thought the world was ending. It was awful. No family, no friends - but then, my brother came to the Order. After all that, I ended up here," Lenalee said.
"We've been through worse. Kanda's told me before that she's had more horrific injuries and bounced back," stated Sebastian, trying to sway his brother with harder evidence than a vague anecdote. Erastus threw another rock, and it skipped only once.
"But they at least knew what the problem was then. We knew what was wrong with you when you busted your eye out. What do we know about this?" Erastus asked, gesturing towards the Order and, by extension, the infirmary where their sister currently slept.
The two could offer no help. It was as much a mystery to them as it was to the doctors trying to treat it. They had never seen a sleep so deep, and they could only guess as to what had caused it and how to cure it. Sometimes, Magnolia would rouse to a false wakefulness, but those moments had been incredibly far and few between. So far, there were no leads. All they could do was keep her on an IV drip and hope that at some point she woke on her own.
"Sebastian, Erastus!"
All in the company turned their heads to see Reever walking down towards them. He looked wan and drab under the overcast sky, and he held a clipboard in hand. He cast a glance at Lenalee before stating, "We need you to come to the infirmary. There's something we've got to talk about with all of you. Lenalee, I'm afraid you can't come. Only family are allowed."
Lenalee, who'd just been getting up, stared with confusion as Sebastian and Erastus slowly came up the path towards Reever.
"It's alright if she comes," Erastus said, but he was interrupted by Reever's rebuttal.
"This isn't my policy, it's the hospital's. Lenalee can come to the infirmary, but she's not allowed to sit in on the conversation."
With that, all four made their way to the infirmary, and Lenalee quickly left to see some of the Finders who were holed up at the moment, leaving the twins alone.
"You don't think-" Erastus asked, but Sebastian shook his head.
"They would've just told us. This is something else," the other twin said, as they were lead to Magnolia's room.
When they arrived, the rest of the family was in attendance, along with one of the eggheads from the Science Department. The two took a stand on either side of Lily, who sat with Ava in her lap, while Violet was in the corner, chewing a fingernail.
Reever shut the door on the family, and the Science Department representative swallowed as he readied his spiel.
"So far, the doctors have said that there's been no change in her condition, and that she will start to atrophy the longer she's in a coma. By the time she wakes - a month, a year from now, five years - she won't be fit to be an Exorcist any longer, and she'll have to live with the debilitation that comes with it. We've been working on something to try and rouse your sister, testing it on heavily sedated mice, and we think there might be a way to get your sister to come out of her coma," he said, and the entire family looked on in disbelief.
"Well, what are you waiting for?!" Violet gushed.
"Th-there's some drawbacks! It's... it's a compound, never been tested on humans, has a significant chance of death, and the process of administration is a little risky," the scientist blurted out. "We'd be looping a catheter through her thigh into her heart to giving her a near lethal dose of a hormone that would spark a panic response... caused by extreme rapid heartbeat."
"You want to give my sister a heart attack," Sebastian stated slowly, just to be clear about what they wanted to do.
"No, we... we want to simulate a heart attack. It would make her brain think that she's in danger, which induces a panic response, and therefore enables the brain to wake up the rest of her body in a state of fight-or-flight," the scientist said.
All in attendance stared blankly.
"What's the success rate?" Lily asked.
"This is bad," Ava mumbled.
"Er, about... forty-five percent."
"So, a coin flip's chance of survival, basically?" Erastus said, and Sebastian put a hand on his arm as the boy began to step towards the man.
"What's the survival rate after success?" Violet asked pointedly.
Here, the scientist winced.
"Twenty-five percent."
"Great. One in four chance that she survives - great odds," Erastus mocked.
"She's got zero chance right now," Sebastian sighed.
"But she's at least alive. We can stand to wait," Erastus argued back.
"Whose decision is it to make?" Lily asked, much to the confusion of the rest of the room. She pursed her lips and said, "Hey, now, there's only four of us who can make decisions. We might tie."
"Actually, Magnolia has already stated who will be her medical liaison on this sheet," the scientist said, holding up a clipboard.
He flipped to the page and scanned down it. The family braced themselves, wondering who exactly she had picked out of their bunch. In some ways, all of them hoped it was them, but in others they dreaded it for the responsibility that would be placed on their shoulders. The scientist's eyebrows flew upwards.
"Oh," he murmured.
"They want to do what?" Kanda asked at the cafeteria table. "She signed me as her medical liaison?"
"I know, I know, we're just as confused, trust me," Violet hissed, earning her a sharp glare from Lily.
"They want to give her a simulated heart attack. Not a real one - a fake one."
"Because there's a real difference," Kanda muttered as he broke his chopsticks apart. One end broke midway down the shaft, and he chucked them down the table in frustration. "Why the hell did she sign me as her medical liaison?"
"She actually left a note," Lily said, sliding across the table a piece of paper with a handwritten letter on it.
Kanda snatched it and skimmed it, though he took his time given his English could be slow when reading.
Dear Shifu Kanda,
I know this will come as a shock to you when I inevitably am unconscious and unable to make my own medical decisions and you're suddenly pulled from whatever training room you're in to act on my behalf. I have a reason for this, so please don't kill me when I become cognizant again. My family has four members, and it will come down to a tie if they have to make a decision about my welfare.
To my family - this is not an insult. You care about me a lot, and you want what's best, but I don't know if you will be able to handle something that traumatic without a lot of infighting. I also don't want to have to pick one of you over the others in the case I'm incapacitated, as that would cause more grief than it would alleviate.
Kanda, you are both made of tougher stuff and borderline hate me. However, you're not outright malicious (most of the time) and I believe you understand what I would want in a given medical situation because you believe it would be the stupidest decision I could possibly make. What I want, however, is not the point. You would do what you think would be best for my overall health and wellbeing. You understand risk and reward much better than most. And you've already put too much time and effort into training me to let me die, or to live out the rest of my life in an unfit state, as that would completely void the point of training me.
The ONLY thing I ask, is that you don't hand over this medical decision-making to the nearest nut-job.
Thank you in advance,
Magnolia
"She thinks of everything," he grumbled as he reached for another pair of chopsticks from a holder on the table. "What's the survival rate for the treatment?"
Violet scrunched up her face as Lily looked down with a resigned sigh.
"Twenty-five percent," Lily sighed.
"Is there any way to bump that up?" Kanda asked as he dug into his soba.
Violet and Lily looked to each other before glancing back towards the twins playing with Ava on the other side of the cafeteria. They gave them questioning looks, and the two girls shrugged.
"We haven't talked to them about that yet," Violet admitted.
"Two weeks in a coma isn't irreversible. Four weeks is closer to being permanent. I'm going to give them another two weeks. If they can't raise the chances of survival, we won't do it. If they can, we'll take it," Kanda said simply. "I'll light their coat tails on fire if I have to."
"You know, I've asked this before, but seriously - what do you care?" Violet asked, leaning against the table.
Kanda looked up from beneath his brows, visage dark.
"She's right. I put too much time in that moron to let her have a vacation in the infirmary and sleep off all the muscle I put on her. That's six months' worth of work, for God's sake."
Marie walked towards the training room with a heavy heart. After having talked with Lily, he had decided that, for the time being, their practices would come to a halt, at least until the new treatment was tested out - or not, whichever Kanda decided. It was obvious the family was quite upset, not only by Magnolia's predicament, but also by her decision to eschew them as her proxies. Marie had to hand it to her- it was a smart move to give it to someone who wasn't a part of the family, but her decision to put her life in Kanda's hands seemed odd, to say the least.
As he expected, he could hear the swish of a sword at work, and he carefully made his way into the training room, remembering to duck. More often than he'd like, he'd smashed his head into the top jamb of the doors, as they weren't made for people who were his gargantuan height. Blindness only compounded the pain of smacking his forehead into door-frames.
Once inside of the training room, he could hear his once-partner's labored breathing as he slashed to pieces some imaginary enemy, going through the motions of sword-fighting techniques, easily and efficiently dicing the air. His heartbeat was unsteady this time, however, and Marie frowned. Something was on his mind. Typically, his heartbeat was as steady and fast as a jackhammer at full speed. It was barely noticeable, yes, but Kanda was a man who could change at a twitch.
"Shouldn't you be harassing Miranda for something," Kanda stated.
Marie only smiled.
"Miranda is in Germany. She's busy in Berlin," Marie answered as he took a seat, listening to Kanda's sword cuts.
Marie himself fiddled with Noel Organon, playing a few chords here and there, testing the strings on a few of the practice dummies. It was always easier for him to get a feel for a room when he was using the Organon, but he was always careful to only do it if Kanda was in the room. He was used to its constant use, not to mention the fact that the strings didn't bother him. Most had a small panic attack when running into the thin, hair-like strings, as if they'd walked through a spider web.
"I heard that Magnolia made you her medical liaison," Marie said, and Kanda abruptly cut a dummy in half.
He heard the other half fall to the floor with a heavy thud, and he remarked, "That's going to come out of your allowance."
"Tch," was all Kanda was willing to say.
Instead of walking off, the young man came to sit next to Marie, wiping his forehead with a rag, while Marie carefully manipulated a dummy into the air, the hum of an organ hanging in the air. The two sat in companionable silence for a while as Kanda caught his breath back.
"Everyone and their mother's heard that I'm suddenly Maggie's favorite," Kanda spat, crossing his arms with irritation.
Marie made no move to show distaste or amusement. He merely flipped the dummy over.
"She trusts you."
"No, she doesn't. She trusts I won't let her die because I've spent too much time on her. She trusts my persistence," Kanda explained.
However, his heartbeat spoke otherwise. It raised, just a hair, a little bit faster, and Kanda knew that Marie knew.
"Does that offend you?"
"... It does."
"Why?"
"She thinks of me as a soulless machine for the Order. She couldn't be more wrong," Kanda said quietly.
Marie leaned back in his seat, manipulating the dummy from afar and putting it down again. He laced his fingers together and put them on his stomach. His blind gaze was directed out, but Kanda knew that gesture. Tiedol did much the same when he was about to go into some spiel about the sanctity of human life, or the beauty of the world that surrounded them. For Marie, though, it was an open invitation to have a frank discussion. After all, Kanda could not lie to Marie. Not only was he a living lie detector, he also was perhaps one of a handful of people Kanda trusted and respected.
And Marie, of all people, understand his last statement.
"Then how do you want her to think of you?"
Kanda leaned forward with his forearms across his knees, thinking.
"Do you want her to trust you?"
"I want her to trust my judgment."
"She obviously does. She's put her life into your hands."
"She trusts my practicality. I'm not her friend. Never will be," Kanda stated solidly.
Marie could hear, just for a moment, a bit of hesitation. He had heard the stories from Lavi, from Tiedol who'd met up with them briefly in India, from Bookman and from of course her family. Lavi was her confidant and her partner in crime, but Kanda had been a part of her circle as well. Kanda was not one to feel inclusion often, and he had been rejected. There was something bitter in his tone that spoke to the fact he might have lost something he hadn't realized he'd had. Nevertheless, Marie wanted him to realize this himself, rather than pull it out of him. Kanda never took to emotional prying well, even from him.
"So why are you trying to save her life? Why do you care?"
"I've had too many people ask me that."
Kanda rubbed his eyes and sighed heavily, getting up from his chair.
"I'm about to get tea. Come with if you feel like it," he said, slinging his rag over his shoulder, the rustle of Mugen clipping to his hip the only sound.
However, just on his heels, Marie heard another daintier pair of feet just behind as Kanda left, the two having a short conversation before the newcomer entered the room.
"Well... you've been talking to him. How did that go?" Lily asked.
Marie looked towards where the door would be, and he grimaced slightly, the big man's hands curling slightly.
"He's unhappy," he said. "That much I know for sure."
"Do you think he's making the right decision?" asked Lily.
Marie chewed the question over. It was difficult to gauge. What he proposed was risky, and he'd done it hastily, as well. There was no telling how things would be in the next two weeks. Yet, he knew that Kanda would not do anything out of ill intent towards Magnolia. For all his thorniness, Kanda had no spite, and more than that, he cared too much of what Magnolia thought of him, or would think of him for that matter, even if he didn't want to admit it. She had gained his respect, begrudgingly, and that was the only reason he could possibly be upset.
Because he had lost hers.
"I think he will make the best decision he can," Marie answered truthfully, before getting up. "Now, if you don't mind, I will be getting some tea."
A/N: Hello all! As you can see, it's been... um, about six months since the last update? I think the last chapter was put up in October - holy cow, I am slow. Soooo so sorry. I know that there are still people who want to read more of Maggie's saga, and I am willing to give it to you! I keep promising to get all of it lined out, and then I always end up late, hehehehe... Anyways, I sincerely hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and you will be excited for the next one! ... Whenever it comes out. I'll try not to take literally half a year. I sincerely thank any of you who are still hear reading, because this fandom is pretty slow moving, as are the updates to the manga, so at the least, we are all learning the art of patience.
To my reviewers:
Karina001- you have no idea. I was wracking my brains trying desperately to think of non-battery operated toys and I couldn't do it. I've been far too spoiled in the age of technology. You seriously gave me a good list of stuff to try and use for the last chapter, because otherwise, that thing would've been an anachronistic mess. I defer to you in all things Victorian! (Also, thank you so so much for editing this chapter. I really, sincerely appreciate it!)
stardancer1000: Well, no crying, love! Road didn't hurt her - at least not physically, anyways. ;D And glad to hear that your favorite character got to make an appearance! Tyki is one of my favorites as well, both designwise and as an antagonist. He's got a lot of fun facets to try and piece together.
Guest- Aaaah, my ever elusive guest reviewer(s). I'm glad that you continue to enjoy this story and I look forward to your feedback! Don't be shy to tell me what you think and how you feel about where the whole thing is going! Hopefully there's more reading goodness to enjoy in the future.
Of course, all who read this story are free to leave their comments: what you like, what you don't like, how you feel about the flow of the story, the subject matter and themes, the relationships - it's all there to write about! Of course, what I am most interested in is the character development (I'm just that kind of person) so ANY kind of comment on that is great. I hate making flat characters, hackneyed characters, unlikable characters - so if you could clue me in on that, it'd be awesome.
Anyways, I hope to catch you cats soon! God bless you all, and happy reading!
