Downstairs and Dead
Chapter 9
Memories of Spice
"Lucy!" Three voices he recognized – even sober – called out, and three men ran out of the house to meet them in the drive before they could even make it through the main entrance. A sharp contrast from the way people treated her at the previous house.
Though Lucy had straight up said she had no fondness for any of the Holen brothers, including Char, she managed to hold up well under his tight embrace, and then those of his two friends.
The discomfort he saw in the body language of her spirits, however, allowed him to understand her own discomfort. He would not have known, otherwise. She was becoming a very good actor.
The combination of Gemini-Lisanna's visible desire to vomit and Loke's to murder had Laxus trying to come up with a way to break up the group hug in front of him. But how... ah.
"Those drunks, right?" he said, just a touch too loudly, where someone might hear. "The runaway and his friends."
"Laxus!" she hissed in rebuke, able to push away and turn to do so.
Her face showed nothing but gratitude before shuttering and flushing in embarrassment.
"We don't want to get them into trouble!"
"A grown man going out for drinks... in trouble..." He looked at the three of them. "If that's what you were risking, I hope you did a bit more than visit a village bar," he flashed a grin worthy of Bixlow. But without the tongue.
Too erotic, Lucy said. He would never be able to forget that. Ever.
"Laxus!" this time the flush was a little more real and a little less acting, he thought.
He got three matching grins in return.
"We did okay," Magna, the tall, dark-haired, once-drunk said.
"I didn't do as okay," Char moped. "All week. Disappointing."
"Yeah," Richard, the slightly shorter red-head, countered, "but you normally pull 10s, so stop complaining."
"I'm allowed to complain. I spent good money on-"
And that's when the three of them remembered where they were and who they were with. They looked at Lucy like children with chocolate-covered fingers and crumb-covered shirts being presented with an empty cookie jar.
Interesting, since she was physically younger than they were. But, then, they probably remembered her as being older. Maybe by four, even five years. He knew how odd it was with some of the people back in the …
He knew how odd it was.
But still, the way they responded to her was comical. She was hardly some matronly den-mother. They all knew what she'd done and where she'd been. The idea of her going nuts at all in this sort of public place, even at the implication of sex that had monetary value attached – whether it was a prostitute who wasn't up to the man's ideal of beauty, or a date who hadn't put out after a fancy meal – was absurd.
On the other hand, looking at them sort of reminded him of her team... maybe she just had a way with morons. Cowering when they knew they'd behaved inappropriately. He'd buy it.
Moving on from that. At the very least, this little bit of a meeting had confirmed what the village meant by Char being wild.
Magna and Char linked arms with Lucy to drag her into the house, and Laxus decided he really had to let the physical contact go in this case. They would benefit from these men trusting and liking them. Her. And after Mason, she might even enjoy being near a few people who liked her. Actually, seeing the three of them from behind reinforced that image of her and…
Laxus covered his ears as a wail screamed through the door. He was only five steps behind Lucy; he could still see her, and she was glowing red.
"Shit!" He leaped forward to grab her, pushing the two men out of the way, and the wail doubled in volume. He was inside the house, now. Crossed the threshold. With her. Inside the house.
Which is when he remembered the wards.
Technically they were not threats to the house or people in it, but not-so-technically they were both powerful enough to be. Laxus could feel the magic of the wards squeezing around him, keeping him from moving or exercising his lightning. Or at least that was what the ward was trying to do.
Laxus fought it. Not to break it, not quite. Just to move. He just needed to move. He managed to wrap one arm around Lucy, and she reached up to grab onto his hand, using her other hand to grab a key from the sash on her hip.
He shook his head at her. Wouldn't be a good idea to do anything to destroy the ward. The house needed it, no matter how annoying it was at that moment.
Lucy's vocalization was lost in the noise, which had rendered his eardrums useless. He tried to stop her. Wanted to stop her. Couldn't stop her. Suddenly Laxus was swallowed, and the world went silent.
0000
"The fuck, he says."
Lucy looked at Hologrim, who currently held Laxus, neither of them looking at all comfortable, and she managed not to laugh. Probably because the situation itself wasn't at all funny.
"Move him out of the house," she told her spirit, yelling over the alarm. She was still trapped, but Hologrim was capable of movement, just as the boys were. The celestial spirits were magic, but not mages, she guessed. Didn't matter at the moment, she didn't have time to really work over it."Just to the door. Hopefully that's enough to clear him, and then you can come back for me."
She didn't have a way to break the ward, and even if she did, she wouldn't because the thing did have a purpose she agreed with.
But she did think taking Laxus out of the situation would calm things marginally.
It did not.
"What the hell is going on down here?!" cried a woman running down the main staircase. A man followed closely by a second. Tall. Pale. Slightly sad-looking man.
Runnar.
"You bloody morons," Runnar cursed at everyone in the room, "it's Lucy Heartfilia, not a monster army. We knew she was coming, and her escort Laxus Dreyar. Did no one think to put in a damn exception?" He waved at the air around him, "Uma, turn the damn thing off!"
"Yes, Lord Runnar," the woman bowed and waved a hand. Lucy sensed no magic from her, so she guessed there was a mechanic to it. The woman was no mage. Still, whatever it was she did, the sound, the light, the minor paralysis cut off, and she was able to move.
She tripped forward slightly, caught by Richard and Magna with Char looking up at his brother.
"Why wasn't Lucy added as an exception?" he asked.
"The hell do I know?" Runnar spat back. "What kind of control do you think I have in this place anymore?" Then, as if exerting a great force of will, he closed his eyes, sucked in air, and exhaled.
"Welcome back to Holen house, Lu-"
"Lucy, let me the fuck out of this thing, now, he says." Hologrim's voice surprised her.
"Oh crap! Laxus, I'm so sorry! Thank you so much, Hologrim!" She released the spirit, who left Laxus standing, only mildly rumpled just outside of the door. Looking not at all happy. "Um, so… I was trying to help?"
"Remind me, again, who the guard is and who the lady is on this trip… you don't help me, Lucy. I help you."
"Well when I am the one able to do something, I'll help all I please, Mr. Dreyar. I may have asked for your help, but I didn't ask for a babysitter."
"Maybe that's wh-"
"Welcome to Holen house," Runnar said again, this time much louder and focused on both her and her partner. Lucy blushed, realizing that she had been arguing with him in public just as she would in private. Or in the guild.
"Ah. Thank you so much, Runnar. I'm so sorry about the… the ward. I didn't… I didn't expect that, so we both reacted poorly. I apologize."
"No need. Should have seen it coming. Did see it coming, in fact. I could have sworn we put you in as an exception."
"How does that work? What did you use to activate the exception? Blood and skin work best for wards, and I know you don't do that. Names don't work… I didn't know about it at all, so I didn't give you a magical imprint…"
Char and Runnar exchanged looks.
"Bendi was supposed to talk to you and take care of it at Mason," Runnar said. "Char's fond of the city at Mason, and I don't like house parties, so we knew we would avoid most of the festivities. Kattia, however, demands that Bendi be on hand 24/7, so we knew he'd see you. He was supposed to ask for hair… and I'm guessing he didn't."
"He did not."
"Fantastic," Char groaned. "Mother is not going to be happy."
"You're going to tell her?" Magna looked at him like he was insane.
Runnar snorted, "Don't be a dumb ass. She heard. Of course she heard. The village idiot probably heard. The King probably heard. On that point, if the two of you can give Uma here a sample of your hair, and then, Uma can go fix the spell. Dake," he nodded to a guard who had appeared at the door, "go and inform Lord and Lady Holen of the situation here."
"Of course, Lord Runnar."
The woman went to do as ordered after taking the hair Lucy and Laxus had both – somewhat reluctantly (there were unfortunate curses that could be performed with hair, but they had little choice if they wanted to walk around this house) – supplied, and Runnar finally descended the last few stairs to join them at the entrance.
"You children go play elsewhere. I'll take Lucy and her escort to their rooms."
For a moment, Lucy thought Char, or at the very least Magna, would argue, but neither of them did. Richard grabbed Magna's sleeve, slapped Char's shoulder, and the three of them left out of a side door.
"Follow me," Runnar snapped his fingers at the Holen servants with their bags, at Loke and Gemini-Lisanna, and technically at Lucy and Laxus, as well. "Unfortunately, by the time we received your letter, there were no more double rooms available. So, Laxus, you will be on the third floor, and Lucy, you will be on the fourth."
In her peripheral vision, she saw Laxus' jaw clench. This was something they knew might happen. It was something they had actually planned for happening. But actually having it happen was going to be slightly awkward. Especially in a warded house with a load of hyperactive young men. She wouldn't be at all surprised if they didn't sleep.
"I do like having a suite," she told Runnar, "but I did write very late, so that is what happens. I can hardly complain! And I've never stayed at your house in a room that was less than beautiful, so I certainly don't expect a bad experience just because the place is a bit smaller than I'm used to."
Laxus was very much not loosening up. She paused for a moment to let Runnar get two steps in front of her and glared at Laxus. She couldn't actually say anything, but it was enough to at least unclench his teeth.
His shoulders, however, would probably not bend under steel, they were so tight. He was not a happy man.
They reached the third floor and Runnar very obviously tried to dump Laxus off. Normally, she thought Laxus might have allowed it, but after the disaster downstairs she came very close to laughing in his face at the attempt.
"No. Lucy may have a point that she doesn't need a babysitter," Laxus moved his icy glare from Runnar to her, "may" and then back, "but I'm not inclined to let her out of my sight until I feel a little more comfortable about your home, and I would like to speak to her in private." He said the last in a tone that indicated she was about to get a severe tongue lashing.
Thanks for that, you jackass.
Sure, it was a good excuse for a private conversation in her room, since they were apparently going to be watched, but it also basically infantilized her to an individual she would need to deal with as a peer.
Runnar was clearly not happy with the situation, but put up no fight with a decision he had honestly no right to stop. They could talk with each other if they chose, wherever they chose to do so. They just needed to make sure no one thought they were too close.
He led them one more floor up. Lucy had hoped that her room would be directly above Laxus', making Virgo's hole digging straight down a simple way to get from room to room. Not so much. Her room was one floor up and on the complete other side of the house.
Once again, she glanced up at Laxus, and it was like she could hear inside of his head. It was nothing but curse words.
She really, really wanted to laugh. She wondered if she was having a mental breakdown.
"Thank you so much for walking us, Runnar. And we're sorry, again, for causing a ruckus at the door. I hope we didn't interrupt anything too important."
He shook his head, "Seriously, don't apologize. Bendi's fault completely. And you didn't interrupt anything but the usual preparations. Which, though it all should be a lot of well-oiled machines by now, are all somehow still frantic. You'll be in the dining room at seven?"
"Yup. Good to see you again, Runnar!"
"Same, Lucy." He smiled, that bit of sadness leaving his face. For a small moment she almost recognized a boy she once knew…
Lucy opened the door and led Laxus and her 'servants' into her assigned room.
"God-fucking-damn it, Lucy!" she was taken completely aback when, before she could even take a decent breath, he had her pulled around and started shaking her. "Don't do that!"
"L-l-laa-a-a-x-uuu-ssss!" She grabbed onto his wrists squeezing them. Trying to pull them off, like that was ever going to be possible.
"I am more than capable of-"
She slapped him.
"The fuck?!"
"Let. Go. Of. Me."
"I will not let go of you until-"
She slapped him. Again.
She thought he might electrocute her. He was sparking pretty hardcore. Uma must have got their hair in the system since the ward wasn't going off like mad.
He let go.
Loke and Gemini had gone, thank goodness, to let the two of them deal with things. Frankly, she was surprised Loke had left, but it was better that he did. He would just rile Laxus and make this more difficult, and Lucy knew she was good enough at that on her own.
"Like I said downstairs, I'll do what I find necessary in the situation."
"You called me as a guard, Lucy-"
"Yes, and it was obvious what the situation was: Not an attack, but a defense. The best thing to do was to remove both of us from the house. You first, since you are the more powerful mage, and your power is more volatile, and the ward is more likely to act against you, if it acts in any way. Once you were out, Hologrim was to return for me. Plus, if it was necessary to do something, you'd be more able to do it outside the ward."
"Lucy-"
"No. I will not accept your lecture! What I did was right!"
His head dropped as if all the energy drained from his muscles. "Shit, I hate working with you."
"Hard on your ego," she smirked.
"No fucking kidding."
"Ah, Laxus, you don't have to be quite so protective."
"Yes, I do. Yes, I do." He lifted his head, and his eyes were hard and serious. This was a fight she was not going to win.
"Okay. Fine."
"…two rooms."
She finally felt safe enough to laugh. "We'll come up from dinner at the same time, and I'll send Gemini in my form to my room. No problem. I'll have Virgo bring me clothing."
"You can't just come through some spirit world portal or something?"
"Not safely. There are time differences and spacial differences, and it's much easier just to sneak. No need to cause more problems than we already have."
"Yeah. We have more than enough problems."
"No shit," she agreed. She reached up a hand to touch his cheek. "I'm sorry."
"Eh, no big. Not like it hurt."
"Want me to do it again?" she muttered.
He chuckled and finally let her go. "Maybe I do. Been awhile since I've had a good spar. Any spar, really."
"Your team?"
"Haven't been with my team, have I?" He sat in one of the chairs while she put away her clothes.
"Well yeah, but I didn't think you were counting this period time. And two-and-two-thirds weeks is hardly a long time."
"Sure as hell feels like a long time."
She rolled her eyes, but as she was facing the wardrobe he couldn't see. Safer that way.
"What do you say, Lady Lucy Heartfilia? Wanna pull out your whip and give these stuck up assholes – and our murderer – a real show of what you're capable of?"
She turned to face him and rolled her eyes again, more exaggerated for his benefit. "One: Please, like I could put up anything like a decent showing against you. Two: I'm here undercover-ish, remember. Leaving behind Lucy of Fair- Lucy the mage. Rebecoming Lucy the once-and-possibly-future wealthy elitist. Three: Some version of those two things, phrased in a different way. I need a nap."
He sank into the chair, crossing his arms. "Wow, look at those smarts leak right out of your ears."
"You are such a jerk."
"En. So that's no fight then?"
"No fight."
"Shit. Running is boring as fuck," he sighed. This was an actual, serious statement.
"So rip trees," she snapped. "I still think that's a good alternative."
"You think Lord Holen's going to be glad some guy's tearing up his forest?"
"What about boulder breaking?"
"You see all that many boulders when we were wandering around the other day?"
"…no."
"Again, those brains just dripping all over this nice carpet… so sad."
She considered the distance between the wardrobe and the chair, the time it would take to cross it, and the impact slapping him once more would have. Instead she crossed her arms in a parody of his usual stance. "Again, such a jerk."
He grinned.
"Gemini," Lucy called up the spirit. "Can you go down as Lisanna and inform the kitchens that we need a small lunch. Mention that the ward wiped us out."
"Did it?" he was looking at her strangely.
"Maybe a little. Keeping Gemini and Loke out while adding Hologrim shouldn't make me tired for as short of time as they were in action, but I do feel tired. I assume part of the drain was how long I used the magic caught while in the ward, keeping Loke and Gemini running despite the ward trying to shut me down, calling Hologrim up during that period… I couldn't tell how much was actively sapped out of me. But at least a little was. You?"
"Not much, but I wasn't in it from the start, and you got me out pretty fast."
She nodded. "Well, tell them we need a lunch. Then we'll send you down as Laxus to his room. You don't have to stay, of course." She blinked, "But of course, you don't have to stay here either!" she told Laxus. "If you want to go to your own room, as you, yourself, that's fine!"
"Honestly, I'd prefer we both went to my room. For the duration."
"Why?"
"One floor closer to the ground. According to what Gemini discovered as Romeo, it's on the same side of the house as the kitchens and the servant's quarters," he looked at the spirit to confirm.
"Right," s/he said. "The window also looks out directly on the back gardens closest to the forest itself, if an escape becomes necessary."
"Well then," Lucy smiled. "Down we go as a group to the kitchens to grab a quick snack, since I'm so informal. Then we go to Laxus' room, eat, and you," she nodded to Gemini, "return to this room as me."
"As you wish, Lady Lucy," s/he bowed slightly in the servant Lisanna character. Lucy grimaced.
Ugh.
0000
Dinner was going to be hilarious fun, Lucy realized when she entered the hall some ten minutes after Laxus, maintaining the illusion that they were in separate rooms.
Some wonderful individual thought it was a great idea to sit Laxus with the young fan-boy, Hanrae Keltin, once again. When Lucy walked down the line of the table and saw the seating arrangements, she worked very hard not to cackle at his misfortune, but the quick glare she caught from her partner told her she hadn't tried hard enough.
She was placed with, luckily enough, Hanrae's brother, Brath. At the Mason house she'd tried to catch him for a dance, but hadn't been able to manage it, being either more sought out by the older men or younger men not being allowed to speak with her by their elders.
But Holen house was different. That was obvious.
"Lady Lucy," Brath nodded when she sat down across from him. They were the first two at their section of the table.
"Lord Brath. How were your travels?"
The man snorted, "To be perfectly honest? Miserable. My brother spent the entire time gushing over your friend." He cut his eyes down the table to Laxus. "Thank you immensely for that."
She grinned. "Yes, well. The way Laxus told it, I can't imagine Hanrae never mentioned him before. If it is any consolation, I know Laxus is probably going to enjoy this dinner far less than you enjoyed your trip, and being in public, he is actually under orders to mind his tongue and keep his temper." She bit her lip, "Hopefully…"
She thought Brath might have laughed, but they were joined by Rachael Eldonia. And – good goodness, why – Magna. Following them were Petreus Lette and Victoria Belwin, completing their table. She would lay money on Char being the reason she'd been seated with people of her own age. She'd have to thank him. Even if he'd put Magna at the table.
"He seems, even in extreme situations, to keep a fairly even temper," Magna mentioned, continuing the point, and suddenly Lucy realized that they were about to start their dinner conversation on the subject of Laxus.
Poor man. He could probably hear them, if he tried. She so hoped he was focused on Hanrae.
"Oh, of course. But how much starry-eyed fawning can one person stand before they want to run from a room, really?"
"It would depend on who's fawning," Magna leered, but at Victoria, not her. Thank goodness.
Accepting bowls of iced pumpkin soup, Victoria rolled her eyes, and Rachael must have kicked his shin or something because he winced as she grinned.
"Being as that person is my brother," Brath said, "feeling pity for him is fair. I too hope he manages to hold in temper. The most tame of men would be tempted to rage when spending time with Hanrae."
Petreus' laugh was loud enough to fill the hall, and most of the older people turned to look at them with scorn. Magna relished in the attention, the rest of them did their best to maintain neutral expressions and ignore the two maniacs determined to get them into trouble.
"It appears Laxus isn't who I should be worried about," Lucy muttered, giving Petreus a small frown when the rest of the dining room returned to their own conversations.
"Lord Laxus was possessed of quite impeccable manners when I dined with him at Mason." Victoria's face was soft and flushed a pretty pink. Blue Pegasus Brain Washed. Brilliant. He was brilliant. Exactly how many girls has he infected? Lucy wondered. "I was very impressed with him, especially when compared with the younger Keltin." Victoria nudged Brath with her forefinger.
"Don't blame me;" Brath looked directly at her and smiled, "we all know who is really at fault."
Lucy stopped with her spoon halfway to her mouth. "What?"
"Indeed," Rachael, nodded.
Blinking at all of the smiles and nods surrounding her, she put down her spoon and pointed at herself. "Me?"
"And not just Hanrae," Petreus' laughter was much quieter. "You'll find most of the younger children are taken with magery and mages. Thanks to your rather dramatic departure, and extremely dramatic return, there is little in our world considered more interesting than your world."
"No wonder I'm so popular with the parents."
"Or married older siblings that you used to hang out with?" Magna's sly tone suggested some understanding or knowledge of her interactions with Bendi and Kattia.
"Oh, do they also have problems with me? How awful. Look at me weep." She blinked a few times, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a napkin, and then shrugged. "Or not."
"Not all of the older siblings, though," Victoria's smile was coy. "I can think of one or two who are willing to ignore your past."
"I'm not interested in anyone who wishes to ignore my past. My past is as much a part of me as my present," she told the table. "I'm not ashamed of who I am. I never have been."
The awkward silence that followed didn't really touch her. Making the communication emotionally rocky could make things easier.
"And Laxus?" Brath questioned. "Are you interested in him?"
"He's my friend, but he is not, as so many people have tried to insinuate, my lover. People have wicked imaginations," she smirked, glancing once more at Victoria's pink cheeks. "Not that I blame them. He's very much sought after, of course. As we all know, powerful men are great attracters of fans. Not just for magery."
Magna was laughing again. So was Rachael, who hadn't apparently been overcome by Laxus' varied charms.
"And you?" Petreus crossed his arms, waiting for the next course to be served.
"Me?" Lucy nodded to the servant girl who placed the blackened red fish in front of her. The girl was young, pretty, and – in Lucy's mind – entirely vulnerable.
"Do you have fans?"
The statement startled a laugh from her, "I'm no Laxus Dreyar."
"But you flashed on the barrier, too!" Magna was talking with his mouth full.
Manners had apparently become very loose in recent years… that or Magna was allowed to get away with quite a lot.
"The barrier?" Brath looked down at his brother before turning fully to Magna. "Are you serious? There's actually a barrier on this house?"
"Of course there is," Rachael rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows that. The Holens actually decided to do something this year."
Lucy blinked.
Lucky.
"Do something? About what? I just assumed it was general protection. I'm not at Laxus' level, so it's not just seeking out the most powerful. It's looking for magic. So I just assumed it was trying to keep the peace at the party, right?"
"Well, yes," Victoria agreed, "but it's a certain kind of peace."
"…are we being vague for a reason?" Lucy asked, looking face to face at her table-mates.
"Yes," Petreus' eyes flicked to the side where an older woman – a Maritus sister? – was watching them. The six of them were quiet through the changeover to the salad course.
When the room noise rose again, Lucy leaned forward slightly, "Sooo, what is this big secret that we're not telling me?"
Magna nodded to Petreus, who was sitting to her left, and could – she presumed – tell her in a whisper.
"We've had a few murders."
"Here?!"
"Yeah."
"And most of the other houses," Victoria, on her right, and also able to whisper, added.
"All of the other houses," Magna corrected.
"Not Mason, this year," Rachael said.
Magna shook his head, "Yeah, there was. Girl died before most people showed up."
"Really? So… so everywhere," Victoria's blush was gone completely. She was ghost-pale.
Lucy looked from speaker to speaker, watching the interactions, and how they confirmed what she and Laxus already knew. Knowledge was hidden, not shared. But everyone knew pieces; yet, still did nothing. "How long?"
"Two years," Victoria answered.
"This is the fourth," Brath, who had finished his food, pushed it away. "If a girl died at Mason, this is the fourth year."
"But… but only Holen has protections?" She cocked her head to the side as if considering the information for the first time. "And only this year implemented them?"
She was answered with a long span of silence that was lengthened by another course change.
"Why only Holen house?"
"I've not asked," Rachael said to her veal. "We don't ask."
"Magna? You practically live with Char. You knew what it was. Why only this year?"
Lucy had a good idea of what was coming when he wasn't able to look her in the eye. "I know what you're going to think about this, Lucy. But Lord Holen was hesitant to spend the money necessary because..."
She narrowed her eyes, "Because?" She looked at the others, wondering how far to go. "A girl died at Mason. A medical carriage drove away just as mine drove in. That girl was a servant. If I were to suppose all of those who died were servants, and that was why the cost was considered so dear until year four, would I be wrong?"
Silence once more.
"Ah."
"It's not the way it sounds," Victoria grabs her hand.
"How is it, then?"
"I… people are scared, but no one can find the person doing it, Lucy."
"No one can find him? So someone cares enough to try and find him, and fail, but no one cares enough to attempt to protect the potential victims." She went for hissing instead of screaming so as not to draw any attention to their table or conversation.
"Lucy…"
"Do you even know people searched? You didn't know how many years it happened or where. Is this real?" She rubbed a hand over her face. "Why the hell did I think coming back here was a good idea?"
"It's real," Lucy felt the touch of Rachael's shoe on her shin. "I saw one of them."
Lucy looked at her in horror. This was new.
"And what's so special about it that no one can catch the person after 4 years?"
There was horror. Horror in her expression. "I don't know. I just know they can't."
"Who is they?"
"I don't know; I don't know."
And that was the line, Lucy knew. If she pushed any harder, they would resent her.
"Why in the world…" she looked down the table at Laxus and sighed. "This isn't going to go over well."
"What isn't?" Brath asked.
"The fact that Laxus and I are probably going to have to try and protect everyone in this house while we're here…"
Magna dropped his fork, "Lucy, you can't."
"What do you mean I can't? Of course I can. I must."
Petreus looked up at Lord Holen at the head of the table, "They won't like it…"
She laughed, "As if I've ever cared. And as if regard of that nature matters in the face of loss of life."
"Lucy…" Victoria began, but she cut her off.
"Laxus and I aren't the sort of people capable ignoring murder. Not with our power. We won't just forget this. But I'll understand if you feel the need to tell your families that we are now aware of the situation."
Rachael shook her head, "They'll kick you out if we do."
"At which point we stay on the perimeter and/or call the Council guard. I'm not going to let this go. I won't freak out," she took a deep breath. "I won't freak out, and I won't let Laxus freak out, either. I won't mention any of your names. I won't get you in trouble if you're not supposed to talk about it. But this isn't something we'll just ignore."
She looked at Laxus, and at that moment he turned to her. She didn't know what his conversation was about, but he looked more like his pre-Fantasia self than he'd looked in a long time. She could only imagine he, too, had reached into information on the murders. His smirk made her blood freeze in her veins.
It was going to be a long night.
0000
She sank into one of the chairs the moment she entered his room and put her head in her hands. She was shaking. He wasn't sure he knew what to do with her. He wasn't sure he wanted to do anything. He was angry. At everything. He needed to leave the house.
Breaking trees was beginning to sound like a great idea.
He leaned against the door. "The kid knew about the ward. Wanted to know if I could break it."
"I know," she whispered. "It came up in conversation. Brath didn't believe it was real, but I'm pretty sure he heard about it from Hanrae. So we talked about that for a bit. Quickly followed by conversation on the murders. Only new information I got is that there were people trying to figure out what happened. Rachael Eldonia actually saw one of the bodies. I didn't press her at dinner. Things were too tenuous. And it was dinner. I'll try her during the ball."
"Until then?"
"Loke's on patrol. He's watching. I figure you'll probably go exercise at some point, early-early in the morning. I'm sending Gemini for late-night snacks at around 2 or 3 A.M.-ish. I'm wondering how weird it would be to send Plue..."
"Plue?"
"My dog spirit. He stands out, but he has a nose. But then I don't know what he'd hunt for. This guy doesn't leave blood. Silver? For the spoon? The house is full of that."
She finally looked up at him, and he was concerned, deeply concerned at the emptiness he saw there. It was if the only emotion she had left was the emotion she was faking.
"You didn't say, before, but compared to Freed, how was the ward?"
He considered the question, considered the ward. He hadn't given it much thought, being too caught up in the danger it posed to her. "Given what it was? Fine. Not 100% there, but I'd say almost on par."
"I could still move a bit. Use my magic. Hologrim, could move."
"Yeah, but your magic is otherworldly. Almost inhuman, and the spirits aren't human."
"Like when the barrier during Fantasia wouldn't let Gajeel and … and Natsu out on the 'over 80' rule. Because of the dragons inside of them. It wasn't intentional, but the rule didn't take it into account. I'm a human with magic, so it alerted for me, but my spirits are not technically from Earthland, so my magic still works through them as energy."
He winced. "Yeah, something like that."
She thought, perking up a bit. "The magic this killer uses is effective, but not necessarily powerful or much. He kills physically. None of the other guests are mages-"
"-that we know of," Laxus added.
"Surely we would know. I have a good sense for magic. Surely I could tell if one of these people worked magic..." She chewed on her lip. "Surely... so if it's bought magic... they make it through the ward regardless. The anti-fighting ward... we haven't seen that in action-"
"And I'm sure as shit not fighting anyone to see it."
"I wasn't going to suggest it!"
"Good."
"What I meant was, we haven't seen it, but it doesn't stop anger or disagreements. They stop active aggression. Killing."
"Yeah..."
"What about those exceptions?"
"What exceptions would there be to that?"
"The hunters."
A long moment of silence seemed to echo between them. The word. The idea. The possibilities.
He blinked. "But they're not going to ward the woods. Are they?"
"No, I'm sure they're not, but it wouldn't surprise me if they made exceptions, because while the front of the house begins and ends at the door, the back of the house will extend into the gardens and the grounds. The ball at Holen doesn't take place indoors. It is held in an outdoor garden. I remember there being pigeons there..."
"So we see who hunts tomorrow morning..."
"And that will limit our list, hopefully."
0000
Neither of them slept well. Lucy tossed and turned, and shivered. Laxus worried that she was basically in constant use of her magic and was going to drain herself to death. He worried that while they were hiding in their room, some madman was downstairs doing awful things to some helpless girl.
He worried, and it was making him sick, and angry.
At 5 A.M., he rolled out of the bed he had barely slept in, and put on clothes fit for exercise. This time he worried about leaving Lucy alone. He worried about leaving without saying anything, but she'd only finally fallen into something resembling sleep about thirty minutes before, and waking her would be cruel. Especially when it had been her idea for him to leave so early in the first place.
Like at Mason, he left, made a circuitous route of the house as a warm up – it was cold, why not warm up inside? – before hitting the kitchens for a light snack. Then, he ran. He covered as much of the grounds as he could, but he saw and sensed nothing. At 7, other men from the house emerged, guns in hand, to enter the woods and hunt. Laxus made sure to make note of each one in his head. He would point them out to Lucy, the ones he didn't already have names for, and they would adjust their list if they thought they could.
There were twenty-three.
A few of them – Char, Magna, Richard, and Hanrae in particular – nodded to him, in a silent early-morning greeting, while a few others – Runnar, for example – looked on in clear distaste.
The blatant jealousy he could see oozing from the slightly older man was almost amusing. Or would be if it wasn't so damn stupid. Scrawny, pale, almost sickly, with a terrible attitude, it was no surprise that he'd be jealous. But it was also pointless to be. A waste of his time. He should be more focused on getting a hold on his own life.
But then, Laxus had more important things to do than give advice to moronic rich-boys.
Between 8 and 9, he was in and out of a shower, changed into nicer clothing, and was finally pulling Lucy out of bed to take her to breakfast. She managed to fumble through the meal, eating little-to-nothing, and throwing it up when Laxus half-carried her back to his room.
"Lucy, you've got to shut your magic down for a few hours. I'll stay out to watch, so you don't have to worry. You need to cut off completely. You're making yourself sick." He put a hand to her forehead to check for fever, finding her to be cold, rather than hot. "Loke might be out on his own, but Gemini isn't, Crux is working through your eyes and ears, analyzing the lists almost all the time, Virgo's in and out, Hologrim yesterday, the ward yesterday, plus shitty sleep... Shut it all down. Take a nap. I'll watch the house."
It was a testament to how fucking tired she had to be when she didn't give him any lip and just did as told. Crawling on the bed fully dressed and falling almost immediately asleep.
He wanted nothing more than to crawl in with her. Beside her. To sleep. To forget anything and everything. But the job came first.
She still had her shoes on. Her dress' high collar was twisted around her throat. He tapped his foot. Looked at the door. Looked at her shoes.
He could at least put her under the blanket, right?
Fuck it.
"Loke?" he called.
"I'll take care of her," the spirit said, appearing at his side. Laxus grinned. He hadn't known if it would work. He was glad when it did. One less thing to stress about. She had told him she would give Loke full reign. "Go do what you need to do."
"Thanks."
"No need to thank me. Caring for her is the greatest honor any of us could ever be afforded."
Looking at Loke, he saw no hint of the usual flirtatiousness present on the man's, the spirit's face. Only devotion. She was safe. Laxus left.
0000
He wasn't supposed to dance with Lucy. He knew that. They were supposed to be dancing and talking with others. But she was getting angry, and he was getting bored, so he snatched her away from an older man, who was covered in unnecessary amounts of gold accessories, at the end of a song before another pompous bastard could cut in.
The day had been … fine. He'd found nothing, which was better than it could have been, in a way. But, not as good as it would have been if he'd found the killer, of course. So his stress level was still high.
Lucy looked fine. The sleep had eased all the lines from her face, and color had returned to her skin. She was moving with ease. But he had noticed the tension in her voice when he was close enough to hear her talk. He knew she managed to corner the Rachael girl, the one who was a witness. He also knew she'd been forced to dance with a lot of people she'd been very much not happy to dance with.
"Ugh. He tried to cop a feel, right there! In front of his daughter! Can you believe that?!" Her hissing whisper would not reach anyone else's ears, and her face kept its pleasant mask.
"Honestly? Yeah."
"Ugh. Should have Lucy Kicked him right in the face."
If they had been alone, he might have laughed, but as she remained pleasant, he remained stoic. But he planned to tease her about it when they finally made it back up to their room. Hopefully, soon.
"I'd'a paid good money to see you do it. Anything to stop the crap I'm having to put up with."
"Oh, Laxus," she blinked her large brown eyes at him, "you're soooo handsome and muscle-y and tough and broody and stuff. I don't care if my parents don't approve of it! Please, take me away with you! We can live in whatever humble 5-8 room shack you call a home, and I'll happily make with you all the babies you could ever want!"
She fluttered her eyelashes a bit more and giggled, and he considered dropping her on her ass.
"Okay, so it's not as bad as getting groped, but it's still annoying."
"No questioning that."
He lifted his arm to spin her around, stepping with her as the music swelled loud and fierce to fill the glittering space.
A scream. Muffled. But it wasn't music hiding the sound. Distance. Distance and something more.
With a pull, stronger than necessary, Lucy returned to him. "We have to go."
He ignored the looks of other dancers, dragging his partner off of the floor, away from the garden, into the house, down the hall. Another hall. A third. He only had the one scream to follow. And the path was unfamiliar. A fourth. A stairway. A fifth.
"Where are we going? Do you know?"
"Not sure. This way. I heard a scream. This way." He cursed. "Fucking walls."
"Teleport?"
"Can't hear anything anymore. Don't know for sure. Can't feel anything. You?"
"No," she pulled her hand from his, "but I wouldn't. Run, Laxus. I'll catch up."
By the time he heard the crying, he again knew he was too late. And this too late was true. Truly his to own. He was too late. Not even two minutes after the scream, he reached the body.
"Shit."
The women surrounding the young girl looked up at him, most shocked. The one on her knees, hands covering her mouth, she was the one who screamed. Laxus could tell, even from the door, that the body was cold.
Here, in the middle of the kitchen, a girl had died and waited. Waited to be found.
Was found.
"No..." Lucy gasped, running into his back. He thought she might panic, again – he might panic, again – but she stepped around him and addressed the small crowd. "Who is she? What happened?"
She wasn't looking down, Laxus noticed, briefly. She kept her eyes on the women, the women living. He couldn't. Not for long. His eyes were pulled to the girl on the floor. She was... she looked...
She wasn't a series of photographs in a folder. She wasn't speeding by him in a carriage. She lay on the floor, a living girl draped over her feet, weeping. Over her feet, because those were the only parts of her still perfectly whole.
"My sister," the weeping girl said, gasping. "My sister. The Ghost came for my sister."
"The Ghost?"
"Yes. He's already taken three... next year it'll be another. Right next to us, and we'll never know."
Nineteen, and now twenty, he didn't say.
"Laxus, you heard..."
He indicated the sister, nodding to Lucy, "It was her. You found your sister. You screamed?"
"She did," an older woman confirmed.
"So nothing before that?" Lucy flinched after saying it. Could be she was worried she insulted him. Insulted his abilities. His alertness.
She didn't have to. He could do it well enough on his own.
Died under his watch. Under his nose and ears. Heard the sister scream half a house away, while in the middle of a ball, during conversation...
Get a fucking grip!
He looked around the room. Sniffed. Sniffed, again. Took a few steps back into the hall. Into the kitchen. Around.
"No. Nothing before that." He looked at Lucy, "I smell mint from her. Nothing else. Just mint. No personal scent, no kitchen scent. Just mint."
"She's..." then Lucy cleared her throat. "Did someone call the Guard?"
"Yes, Lady Lucy," another woman, this one much older. Her eyes were deep, deep green, and terribly hard. "They'll be here, soon."
"I don't mean the guards outside, I mean the Council Guard. This is obviously has some magical component to it."
"Yes, Lady Lucy," the woman said. "It was the Council we contacted. They had a group close by."
Lucy looked at Laxus, and he thought of her call to Hisui, and wondered if the princesses had anything to do with that. Not that the princess typically had any political influence over the Council.
The main butler entered, called by another servant and obviously already aware of what he would see in the kitchen. "Lady Lucy. Mr. Laxus. If you two would please return to the ball so that we may handle this matter."
"No." Laxus shifted, "She smells like mint, and nothing else does. I'm going hunting. Lucy?"
"I'll stay for the guard. Good luck." She clutched at his hand for a brief second, "Be careful."
0000X0000
Author's Note:
So. That happened.
Thanks so very much for all the wonderful reviews and support. I'm so very glad you're all enjoying it, and those of you who are taking the time to converse with me about it, well! We've had some fun convos, I think! Some of them very private, which will never EVER see the light of reality, but! Yes! Hahaha... ANYWAY.
Last few times I've posted chapters, sections of sentences, words, or in one case a whole paragraph disappeared from my document in uploading. If you see anything just totally odd, feel free to mention it! I try and check, but since I know what SHOULD be in the chapter, sometimes my eyes just assume it's there...!
Again. Thanks for your continuing support of Downstairs and Dead.
(Also, someone please tell me I'm not the only one super pissed that Lucy's next big battle is dependent on her being naked in a bathtub with another naked woman...)