"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Malcolm looked at the mischievous crew like a parent looking at his children whom had been behaving suspiciously.
Mammon nervously looked over at Margret who had been with Bel tending to Fran's wounds.
Everyone looked at Malcolm then at each other not knowing where to start.
"So let me get this straight..." Malcolm prepared to sort this out carefully. "Bel is seeing Fran... Who Margret is pretending to see, because he went missing and she discovered that Lucius had found out about him and Bel. And he decided to kidnap him to see if he could persuade Bel into not breaking off his engagement with Lucille?"
Malcolm made a face at the absurdness. Then with a questioning look he eyed Mammon.
"Where do you come in?"
"I'm Fran's roommate." Mammon said warily. Malcolm was an intimidating man.
"Ah I see..." The man said as he brought his attention back to Bel and Fran."Well I think you two are way in over your heads... But I'm quite impressed at your handling of this so far. I do think this is a dangerous road you're treading on, especially now that Lucius knows, but I wish you the best and if there's anything you need Belphegor, let me know."
Bel's face lit up as he bowed politely, "Thank you Malcolm, it means a lot really."
Malcolm simply nodded and left the room.
"Fran how is your eye?" Mammon joined the crowd. "You look..."
"Like crap?" Fran said his dead pan voice, "good because I feel like crap."
"Don't move." Margret tsked at him as she bandaged a large gash in his shin.
The overall damage wasn't too bad, well Fran thought so anyway. Aside from the black eye and the gash on his shin, there were only a couple scratches here and there… and a giant bruise on his abdomen that he wasn't going to let Bel or Margret see because they would make a scene over it.
Bel hadn't said a word to him since the council meeting ended. In fact he had been avoiding making any sort of contact with Fran. He was probably upset with Fran.
Fran made a disheartened face and both Margret and Mammon took notice.
"Hey I'm going to go whip up some tea that will help ease the pain." Margret announced looking at Mammon who got the hint.
"Do you need help with that?" He volunteered and Fran realized what the mischievous duo was up to.
"I doubt Margret-" He began.
"Actually I need you to help me with the- er- just follow me." The maid and Fran's roommate sped out of there before Fran could protest.
It was so quiet for what felt like the longest time but was probably only a minute or two.
Finally Bel spoke up, "Fran," he hesitated or seemed to, Fran couldn't tell, the blond was still avoiding his gaze.
"I'm sorry." He said finally.
"It wasn't your-"
"Fran..." Bel looking him and flinching at the sight of his left eye. "I think you should keep your distance for a while. At least until this all dies down."
The boy looked at him almost confused but nodding as he understood. "Yeah okay."
"And don't go out alone anymore alright?"
Although it wasn't like he was never going to see Bel again, Fran couldn't help feeling a bit rejected and defeated. He didn't even have energy for an argument, so he simply nodded in response.
The blond stared at him for a debated second then dropped his gaze to the floor. "I'll be leaving then, I'll- I'll see you around campus."
And with that he exited and Fran found himself once again alone. Like in the beginning of the school year, just this time it felt worse because now he knew what it was like to have friends, and how much it really sucked to be alone.
"Ah that was a tad awkward what do you suppose they're talking about in there?" Mammon asked Margret as they made their way to the kitchen.
"I don't know, I hope nothing too bad." The maid said admittedly a bit nervous for Fran. "It took my all to convince Fran to confess to Bel, he has absolutely no confidence in himself sometimes. I can't believe Lucius would do something like that. That is just low."
Mammon felt the same. Even now that it was over he still had a horrible feeling in his gut. Perhaps it was because of his own experience, and even though he had warned Fran, it was really the last thing he had expected to happen. "It's true, no one deserves that." Mammon finally said a bit darkly.
"From what I hear you've had a similar experience yes?" Margret inquired as she set water to boil.
Mammon looked at her strangely.
"Sorry." Margret apologized quickly. "That was out of place for me."
She turned away and started going through cupboards.
"It's fine, it was a long time ago- I'm sorry who are you?" This girl was so weird, not necessarily in a bad way.
"Margret."
"Well that I know, but you're Bel's maid really? You're very... Well-read for a maid."
"Um yeah." Margret a bit surprised that she was being let off so easily. But if Mammon was friends with Fran, that would explain his kindness. "I try to not come off as completely uneducated."
"Hm..." Mammon observed.
The two were interrupted when Bel entered the room.
"Your highness." Margret curtsied and returned her focus to the tea preparation.
"Mammon." The blond looked a bit distressed.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I told Fran that he should keep his distance for a while, but I need you to do me a favor and take care of him for me." He sighed in frustration. "This is insane. I can't do this..." He ran his hand through his hair.
"Bel it wasn't your fault." Mammon reassured him. "Stop blaming yourself, it'll only stress Fran out."
The blond looked over at the purple haired young man. He smiled warily and nodded. "I know, I'm just so bad at this."
Mammon cracked a grin. "You are," he teased, "but that's why you got us."
"Oh my god, would you stop moping around?" Mammon cried out unexpectedly startling a dazed Fran. "You've been applying that same shade of purple to the same spot for an hour."
Fran looked at his canvas and realized this was true. He dipped his brush in a blue and started applying it to another spot in the same bored strokes as before.
"Oh come on Fran! It's not like it's over." His roommate looked at him in concern.
"But it is." The painter set his pallet and brush down. "And even if it wasn't it will be eventually, so might as well not bother."
"Fran…"
The broken boy stood up and grabbed his jacket. "I'm going for a walk."
"Francis, long time no see." The dark professor eyed the green haired student of his observingly. "You look awful. What's wrong?"
Fran looked at his reflection in the window; he hadn't left his room for a week and a half. The only reason he wasn't failing was because of Mammon covering for him. He did look rather ghastly. Not in an unclean hobo-y way, he found himself bathing more often than ever now that he wasn't attending class. In fact, he accidently spent 3 hours in the bathtub once after getting lost in his thoughts. Mammon freaked out on him after thinking he had drowned.
No, Fran looked like the creepy dead children you read about in books. It almost made him cringe. Pale as the moon, and the bags under his eyes made his eyes look like they were sunken in. The black eye didn't help, it was in the last stages of healing so it was a faded green. Even his hair had lost its sheen. Oh god. He had promised himself that he wouldn't let something so… simple, bother him as much as it actually was bothering him.
He sighed. "Nothing professor, just caught a bug, but I'm better now, is there anything you need me to do?"
"Are you sure? You don't look better. Don't push yourself too hard." Mukuro had concern for the boy but if you didn't know him well you wouldn't be able to tell. "I don't have anything for you to do right now, I have to run a couple errands, but if you really want something to do you can start on your make up work for class."
"Which is?"
"Anything you want it to be Francis, it's your painting." Mukuro said as he closed the door behind him.
Fran grabbed a canvas from the supply closet. This was his painting, but was it really? And why couldn't it be his painting?
"Have you changed the linens in his highnesses room yet Margret?" Gregory asked the maid as she carried a basket of laundry down the corridor.
"On my way there now sir." She replied politely and he continued on his way.
She didn't really see the purpose in changing the linens in Bel's room, after a week of not getting any sleep, Margret had found Bel passed put in a chair in the study that very same morning.
Her thoughts were interrupted when something grabbed her arm and pulled her behind a pillar.
It was Fran's roommate Marma-? Crap what was his name?
"What are you doing here?" She asked confused. "Are you hiding from Bel? He's not home-wait how did you get in?"
"Er..." Mammon decided not to answer half those questions. "It's Fran, he won't stop his moping around, It's driving me up a wall." He said in a hushed tone despite Margret's assurance of Bel not being home. He had told Bel that he would take care of Fran and letting him know about the boy's constant misery would just stress the blond out.
"I know..." Margret agreed with a sigh, "Bel's been the same... I ought to smack him, but he's the emperor... I'd have to find work in another county."
Mammon had to think about her remark for a second. "I don't remember if I told you that I think you're really weird or if I just thought it... But what do I do about Fran?"
"Why would I know? I'm not the relationship wizard." Seriously though Margret wasn't even getting paid for this.
"I don't know!" Mammon said in a panicked whisper. "You convinced Fran to confess to Bel, now do something please?"
"Hey! From what I hear you had a good chunk of influence on it too."
"Not so loud!" Mammon urged.
"Fine, I'll think of something." Margret added this to her list if chores.
"Quickly I hope?"
"Watch it." Margret said with a subtle glare, she had enough to do already.
"Please?"
"Alright alright, just get out of here before Bel comes back!"
"Margret?" Fran was pretty sure the girl standing in front of him was the maid, except she was wearing normal clothes.
"Fran, are you busy?" She peered inside the room and Fran let her in.
"Um… no… it's 7a.m. on a Sunday… I was sleeping…"
"Who's tha-" Mammon stopped in his tracks whipped around and walked back into the bathroom.
"Let's go for a walk." She said with a sincere smile. Fran knew she was probably just checking up on him, he honestly missed the strange maid, but she could read him so well. He wouldn't be able to put on a strong face for long around her. He smiled.
"Alright," He looked at his sleepwear. "Let me change clothes first."
He knocked on the bathroom door, "Mammon get out of there so I can change."
"I can wait outside if you want." Margret suggested.
"It's kinda cold out there though, I'll just be a second."
Mammon came out of the bathroom wearing a bathrobe over his sleepwear. "What kind of lady lets herself into a guy's room?" He asked the girl bitterly.
"I'm a maid, get over it." Margret said boredly.
"How's Bel?" He asked quietly so Fran wouldn't overhear. Bel hadn't been on campus since the council day.
"Well he doesn't look as bad as Fran, but he's a total kill joy to be around." She answered. "Seriously how could you let that happen?" She motioned in the direction of the bathroom. Fran looked awful.
"Hey I tried!"
They quieted when Fran returned to the room.
"Ready?" Margret asked with a smile.
"So how have you been?" The maid looked at him carefully.
Fran couldn't lie to Margret. "How do I look?"
"Bad." She answered honestly.
"Well I feel at least 3 times worse."
"I'm so sorry Fran… you're such a good person you don't deserve this." She said terribly sadden by his confession.
"It's not really you're apology to make… but it's not anyone's really." He admitted thoughtfully. "I can't even say this is Lucius's fault…"
"I understand where you're coming from Fran, but still there's a certain extent where it's reasonable to try to break you and Bel up. But what he did was too far."
"But we would have broken up eventually."
"And what if you didn't?" Margret stopped walking and Fran looked back at her. "You're giving up without putting up a fight. In fact you've been so busy beating yourself up about it all that you haven't even considered fighting back."
She wasn't done. "I know this sucks Fran. And I feel bad that this is happening to you. But I can't stand it that you're just willing to throw in the towel so easily every time someone says no."
"They tried to kill me Margret… that was more than a 'no', they wanted to get rid of me… forever." Fran said calmly.
Margret looked sad, but couldn't think of a reasonable response.
Suddenly a loud noise broke the silence. The sound of a gun.
dum dumm duuummm
I know, this took forever and it was so short...
I also said last chapter that there would only be two chapters to go, but it now pains me to admit that there might be 1 1/2...
This chapter was intended to be longer and I'm sorry, I've just been so busy.
Anyway my proofreader is somewhere in South America right now so please forgive any typos :)