Apologies for not having gotten to this for over a week. I've been a bit sick, and lost focus for a while.

But I hope you enjoy this regardless.

I own nothing except my OCs.

Read, review, but no flames.

Chapter 6: Unexpected Returns

It was practically evening when Mary finally located a room that seemed to be a sick room, making her wonder if there's anything in there that could be useful (and quite possibly, have not been spoiled from lack of use). But first, she had to set her priority on her elder sister; so, she quickly had Caroline brought inside and set down on the worn-out bed in the middle of the room before she immediately set to work.

"Now, Caroline, stay right here while I look for something to keep the wounds from bleeding out," Mary ordered strongly.

"Just hurry, will you? I can't stand the pain," Caroline groaned in agony.

Mary sighed deeply as she hurried over to the cabinets and opened it to see what contents she could use to heal her sister's injuries. However, she was having a lot of problems finding what she needs because there were many web-covered bottles and dusty jars, and the labels – if any at all – were severely faded away beyond ability to read. If she didn't find the right materials to help her sister and left her wounds untended, what are the odds that the wounds would fester and putrefy? No! She shouldn't think like that right now! Mary forced herself to focus and search for the remedies needed, or at least some kind of disinfectant to protect the wounds.

"Ah, there you two are. What are you both doing here?"

Mary jolted in shock, and turned around to find that they weren't alone now; to her surprise, she found one of the staff – the blond gentleman who she last saw at the dining room – standing outside as though he wanted an explanation as to what they were doing.

"Hey…you're the guy who was with the other men, weren't you?" Mary asked, "I could ask what you are doing here."

"Please, madam, call me Luxord. The master wanted to know where everyone was," Luxord replied politely, "But in the midst of my search, I found a trail of blood and followed it to here. Pray tell, what happened?"

"Caroline caught her leg in an old clasping trap," Mary explained, "and I'm trying to look for something to mend it, or at least stop the bleeding."

Luxord's face fell the moment he heard the notion of blood. "Oh…that is most upsetting. If only we'd warned you…" He paused as he stepped inside the sick room and rummaged through the old materials. "Allow me to handle the situation, my lady. I'm sure it would've been…a bit nauseating to handle blood if you tried."

As much as she wanted to protest and tell him to at least instruct her on what she should use, Mary reluctantly complied with his request and watched as Luxord fluidly picked out two colored jars, a wrapped bandage, and two rags from the packed cabinet. All the while, she couldn't help but notice that while he was doing all this, he kept his eyes fixated on Caroline's exposed wounds…especially the dark red substance oozing out from where the victimized sister had been caught thanks to the unforeseen trap. It made her wonder if the man helping her is a hemophobic or if he was trying to figure out how best to proceed with mending the leg.

It didn't help that she had to watch Caroline twitching her leg impatiently, behaving as though she was dying (when the only injury she got thus far was not supposed to be fatal). However, she knew that if she were in her sister's shoes, she wouldn't like the feeling of something clamped to her leg and piercing her just enough to make it bleed.

However, as she watched impatiently for her sister's injury to be treated, Mary noticed for a moment that Luxord's eyes seemed to fluctuate between red and his normal blue color. That is really weird, she thought nervously. For what reason would his eyes be changing colors? Was it because of the sight of blood before his eyes? Or is it something else entirely? She couldn't tell what's going on. She was already confused enough about the circumstances that brought her and her sisters to Hollow Bastion; she didn't need to find any more complications to make things even more complicated.

"How bad is it?" Caroline whined, "Will I have to get it cut off? I sure hope not."

Luxord snapped out of his odd trance for a moment, and replied calmly to her, "No, I'm sure it's nothing too serious. Perhaps it might be swollen for a while, but I'm sure it's not as dangerous as you think it is."

Mary bent down to take a closer look at the leg and asked, "Are you sure that it'll be fine? If it's going to be swollen or something, she might have to walk carefully for a few days, wouldn't she?"

Unbeknownst to her, as she was bending down to inspect her sister's leg, her rosary dangled down openly to show a cross. When Luxord noticed the shape, he immediately turned away from it and kept his eyes on the ointments he was using to clean up Caroline's leg.

Mary noticed this and asked, "What is it?"

Luxord shook his head slowly and replied hesitantly, "It's…nothing. Nothing you need to worry about."

That was far too strange, Mary thought with suspicion. What did he see that made him turn away in fright? But she didn't want to worry about that right now; her sister was of highest priority for the moment, and she has to locate their other sisters because chances are they heard Caroline screaming from who knows where.

"There we go. I've cleaned up your injuries, Miss Caroline," Luxord suddenly said, "Your leg might be swollen a bit, and you might limp for a few days. Other than that, you should be fine."

Caroline sighed in relief at this. "Thank goodness! I was afraid I might lose a leg after that horrific experience."

"But it would be best if we found Jane and Mina," Mary noted, "They need to know what happened to Caroline. Plus, I'd rather not take chances that a stalker found them or something worse than that."

"If you'd like, Miss Mary, I can escort you both down to the dining hall. The master has been wondering where you all wandered off to, and it would comfort him so if he had a sign that all of you are alive," he offered politely.

"Yes, do that. I don't want to waste the evening sitting around this place," Caroline pleaded, eager to get away from the unclean room.

"What about Mina and Jane? Shouldn't we go look for them?" Mary questioned in concern.

"No need to be paranoid, Miss Mary. Xaldin and Marluxia have been sent to look for them while the master waits," Luxord reassured her, "Who knows? Perhaps your sisters are already waiting for us along with the rest of the staff."

That was rather startling to hear, but it was also a bit relieving for Mary to know that they've been found. As much as she wanted to press the questions, she thought it best to save them for the master himself; after all, wasn't it better if she and her sisters were all together to hear anything she had to say?

Of course, she wasn't allowed to walk away because she had to provide temporary support for Caroline, since she is forced to cope with a slight limp after being bandaged and treated her injuries. But, well, a sister has to do what a sister should do in the family, right?

Meanwhile, on the part of Mina and Jane, they were having trouble locating their other sisters since they still haven't seen the rest of the castle (besides, what are the odds that Mary and Caroline covered all the rooms that the two didn't). If anything, they wished there was someone who could help them find their sisters before anything harmful ever could.

"Where do you suppose they could be?" Jane asked as she searched around.

"I wish I knew, Jane. Hollow Bastion is much vaster than we thought," Mina replied, "They could be anywhere."

"Perhaps we could be of assistance, ladies?"

The instant the two heard the smooth, seductive voice, Mina and Jane turned around to see who's there; to their surprise, two of the staff – one of which was identified as Marluxia, and the other they didn't know too well – were standing expectantly in the hallway. The elder sister couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief that they'd been found by someone who knows the castle better than them.

"Oh, yes, thank you. We need help finding Mary and Caroline," Jane explained, "We were exploring around Hollow Bastion, albeit separately, on our own. But then we heard Caroline screaming in pain hours later, and we feared that something terrible might've happened to her. Can you tell us where she and Mary are?"

"Luxord is seeing to them at the moment. He should be bringing your sisters to the master right about now," Marluxia reassured them with an eerily gentle smile.

"But what were you four thinking, wandering around the place without having someone to keep an eye on you?" the man with the dread locks criticized them; "The least you could've done was wait until we had returned. Is it that hard to do?"

"If an explanation needs to be given, we chose to look around because we didn't want Caroline to get agitated about the absence of all who live here," Mina answered in defense, "We had no idea where all of you went, and we didn't know what else to do to occupy ourselves. But I can assure you that we didn't poke our nose into anything dark or sinister-looking while we were out and about."

Marulxia turned to face his partner and said calmly, "Now, Xaldin, let's not make any accusations against them. You know that the master wants to see our guests and speak with them personally. So, why don't we put any suspicions aside for now, and guide these two beauties to the dining hall?" He turned towards the sisters with a sweet smile. "Given how long you've been…exploring…I'm certain you are feeling much hunger, am I wrong?"

Jane nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's very kind of you."

The pink-haired man simply smirked as he motioned his friend to follow him. "In that case, please follow us, and kindly don't dawdle."

As both men began to guide them through the hallway, Mina and Jane followed behind them while trying their best to keep up with the peculiar gentlemen. Luckily for them, with the guidance of Marluxia and Xladin, they were back in more familiar territory as soon as they recognized the very area that they had been guided through the night before.

Once they've entered the dining room, the two sisters were surprised to see that all the residents have assembled in the room as though they were expecting company at any moment. Xigbar was relaxing casually in one of the chairs, while Saix remained standing like a stone statue not far from him. Xemnas, on the other hand, was seen with his back towards them, gazing out the window into the darkness that he seemed so fond of.

But the one thing that surprised the sisters was that their other siblings were also there, and Luxord was there doing a double check on Caroline as she fussed about the bandages around her leg. Mary was waiting impatiently, keeping her eye on the blond gentleman until she looked up to notice that everyone else arrived.

"Mina…Jane…I'm glad to know you're both okay," Mary said in relief as she stood up from her seat.

"Mary, what happened to Caroline? She doesn't seem to be in a good mood," Jane questioned, "Is she hurt?"

Mary sighed dismally. "Caroline caught her leg in an old trap within the castle. I am glad that Luxord took care of it, but as much as I don't want to say it, she should've known better than to run off without even paying attention to her surroundings."

"Perhaps you ladies could've made things much easier if none of you wandered around so loosely," Saix said coldly.

"Calm yourself, Saix. Rather than reprimanding them so harshly, it would be best if an explanation about our absence was given," Xemnas commanded as he turned to face the confused guests.

The four sisters watched as the master turned his attention away from the window and toward them with a calm, collected face.

"I apologize for not informing all of you on my affairs. I initially thought that you'd be accustomed to the absence of others, but it appears I was wrong," he said coolly, "You see, my daylight hours are occupied by doing business in the countryside. Sometimes I would be hunting game, or I would be searching for anyone who requires a reason to earn their place in the world. It all depends on what my men find as they scout the region."

"It must be quite exhausting, doing such business like that," Mina commented, "But I am sure that the results of your hard efforts are well worth it."

Xemnas gave her a curt nod and replied, "Yes, it is always rewarding when you've accomplished what you meant to do. Surely you ladies would know about how it feels to achieve something worthwhile."

Mary shook her head with a slight frown. "Not really. We didn't get the chance to gain anything when we lost our parents in an accident, and what's more, we had to give our late father's business over to more capable hands. That was when we made plans to leave for Twilight Town."

"And I have been saying that we should've stayed in Traverse Town," Caroline criticized irritably, "Or at the very least, you could've thought of finding another way to Twilight Town. Really, if we didn't have that accident in the middle of nowhere, then we wouldn't have gotten ourselves into this mess!"

"Caroline, don't be angry about it," Jane scolded before turning to Xemnas, "I'm very sorry about her. She's just unhappy about our situation."

Xemnas simply raised his hand to the level of his eyes, most likely his method of saying 'I understand what you are talking about, don't worry about it'. "What has been done is done. Let us cast aside all your petty frustrations, and put behind the mistakes that have been made. Come; join with me for the night."

That was when he gave the silent command to his staff to resume their duties and bring the girls something to satisfy their appetites (if anything, to compensate for their absence). The men immediately scattered off to the doors around the room and left to fulfill their jobs, leaving the four sisters with the master. As soon as they were alone, though, they were caught by surprise when their mysterious host asked them a question.

"Tell me, for what reason were all of you wandering around Hollow Bastion without proper escorts?" Xemnas asked with a disappointed tone, "Surely you were not planning to leave so suddenly, weren't you?"

Mary hesitated a moment before replying, "We wanted to see what's inside the castle, so we chose to explore around and find out what we could learn. On my part, I wanted to see if I could find anything that could provide information on Hollow Bastion's history, but many of the books in there were quite old in more ways than one." She hesitated again. "I didn't think that Caroline would get herself hurt by a trap while in the castle, to be honest. But I guess we were quite lucky that Luxord showed up to help when he did, otherwise her injuries would've gotten worse if left uncared for."

"I would not call it that. Luck is foolhardy words that only serves as a fickle term to use when speaking of positive events," the host said coldly, "You might as well call it good fortune, for it was through that which your sister has not suffered a crueler fate than what she already experienced."

Upon hearing this, Mary was quite stunned as to how harsh he sounded when he spoke of luck. It made her wonder how much he knew, or why he would dismiss the idea of luck for that matter.

But Xemnas shifted his attention over to the other two sisters and asked them, "What of you two? What were you seeking as you searched the castle?"

Jane took the chance to explain the matter. "Well, Mina and I didn't find much either, but we did find a studio that has been left unused for who knows how long, and there was a garden beyond that. However, much like most of Hollow Bastion, they were long neglected and have had no love from anyone who lives here."

"Not to mention, there was a lovely portrait left in the studio that I saw," Mina added, "There was a painted picture of a woman that we've never heard of: if I recall right, her name was Hellene Steiner. Is that name familiar to you?"

Strangely, the moment Xemnas heard that name; his face gave an eerily blank expression and his body stiffened tensely. None of the sisters had a clue what was wrong, and didn't know what to do about it. On Mary's part, however, she did wonder if he knows something that they don't and if he was covering up some important information; Mina, though, was more confused than curious as to what was wrong.

"…Is there something wrong?" Mina asked out of concern.

Xemnas was silent for a moment before he answered, "…No, nothing. I was caught off-guard by that question. You asked if I knew of Hellene, is that right?" All four sisters nodded eager to hear the story; the host proceeded to explain to them. "Her story was most tragic, still known well within these walls. Hellene Steiner was a victim of misfortune, instigated by those who were oppressed by her family. She had no home and no destination. My ancestor took her in, along with what few other survivors she had for her support, and allowed her to live in peace without having to witness more cruelty. Sadly, she had her own problems: Hellene was rather sickly, and she was no stranger to illness. Nonetheless, my ancestor loved her…"

"What happened to her?" Jane asked.

"…At one point, she contracted a strong sickness, and it affected her health greatly," Xemnas replied sadly, "Every healer tried to help her, and every physician tried to reinvigorate her, but ultimately nothing could be done to save her…She died after several months."

Mina's face expressed sadness upon hearing this. "Oh…that's…that's so sad."

"She was fortunate on one thing, though: Hellene had much support that fought her illness until the bitter end," the host said as he looked away, "But even so, her death has haunted this place for many years. Even I cannot help but feel the pain as much as my ancestor once did."

As this conversation was going on, the sisters were given simple delicacies by the staff to whet their appetite after such a long day. However, despite the small distraction, they couldn't help but be drawn more to the mystery surrounding the castle that is Hollow Bastion.

It didn't really help when Mary wondered if there's something that their host was not telling them regarding the castle's hidden secrets; especially when she thought back on that door she and Caroline discovered hours before but didn't dare to pry into. Though, it made make her question just what might be behind the door: to have it locked must mean that there's something important hidden in that forbidding area. One side of her mind wanted to ask the host if he knew about that door and what lay behind it, but another side of her ordered her not to take chances.

"…Mary, were you listening? It's getting late, and we have to head back," Jane was heard speaking.

Immediately, Mary snapped out of her thoughts and turned toward her sister. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. What were you saying?"

"Caroline wants to get to bed and rest her leg," Jane explained, "and Mina needs to sleep. Are you ready to go?"

"Oh…yes, certainly," Mary agreed as she turned towards the host. "I'm sorry, sir, but it's late, and we'd like to head back to our rooms, if that's alright with you."

Xemnas stared suspiciously for a moment before answering, "I see…I must be terrible for keeping all of you awake. Marluxia will guide you back to your rooms, if you are willing to allow him."

"I don't see a problem with that," Caroline quickly replied before Mary could say anything.

The suspicious sister couldn't help but frown at Caroline for being so impulsive at answering someone's questions, but it was unavoidable when Marluxia sweetly offered to lead everyone to their rooms; it didn't really help that as he was leading them through the halls, she noticed how he has been repeatedly glancing towards Jane with a subtle contortion of lust written on his face. Then again, she couldn't help but recall how some of the staff have been eyeing the four of them as though they desired something from them…but it made her dread what they're really thinking, and, personally, she didn't want to know what it is they want.