So here's the last chapter. I'm actually fucking finishing something pretty quickly considering how I've let other things rot.

This chapter is actually a bit more Zelda-centric than Manfred-centric for the first part but it gets right back to the good stuff. I'm actually tempted to rate this M because of a particularly gruesome death.

I decided that this whole thing should take place a few months after Shadow because I just read it. Worst. Ending. Ever. But I might be biased because I can't stand Tancred. Also, still no sign of Zelda. D: Maybe she'll add her in the next book. Honestly, the whole Manfred/Dorcas thing is being implied. I think I will cry if it happens.

Um, I have story, too, you know. And here it is.

Chapter 6

Lover's Keeper

"Ouch, ouch, OUCH!" Manfred hissed in pain as Zelda propped his aching legs on two pillows.

"Honestly, after all the running we've been doing lately, it's no wonder that your legs hurt as much as they do. Still no news on your dad, by the way, except that Harken's been made temporary headmaster of Bloors which is absolute bull sh-SIT STILL!" He lay back on his bed in a huff.

Their relationship had been strained for a while, now. They had been living with ten other people in two one-room apartments set up for them by Mrs. Bloor. Five in each room with several of them being kids under fifteen does not a quiet home make. The house count went up to fifteen when Mrs. Bloor, despite having a penthouse apartment in the building across the street, moved in to make sure Zelda, Mrs. Tilpin, and Mrs. Yewbeam didn't have to handle so much. Having her boyfriend's mum in the house criticizing her lack of motherly skills was the first added pressure for Zelda.

Then her mum, who spoke very limited English, moved in. Mrs. Tilpin knew absolutely zero French, so Joshua taught her a little bit that he'd learned from textbooks, but Mrs. Dobinski was from a part of France where the textbook would not apply most of the time, so the dialect was extremely different. Dagbert would get frustrated with the Frenchwoman and attempt to drown her, but Zelda would launch a book or three at his head and he would just sigh and get back to studying.

Then the twins had an idea that on paper looked good. Their mother, Zelda's aunt on her mother's side, could come to live with them. Charlotte Branko knew much more English than her sister, but had a heavy accent and still preferred her native language.

Zelda had neglected to think of that fact when she invited Auntie Charlotte to stay with them. The two women would babble in French about how Manfred was "trop maigre" (too skinny), "trop sérieux" (too serious), and "pas un bon match du tout" (not a good match at all). Zelda would reply with a sigh and a reproachful "Maman" or "Tantine" or sometimes both.

Manfred had had enough of the women's jabs.

"Zel, you have to do something about your mum and aunt constantly having a go at me!"

"My mum? Your mum's the one who constantly breathes down my neck when I'm making dinner for the little ones and criticizing me all the time!"

"She tries to help you! You shouldn't even be doing it! You're only sevente-"

"Don't even start with me on tha—" Suddenly, a high-pitched cry could be heard. It sounded like a wounded animal. And it was coming from across the hall.

"Oh what the hell now…Dagbert, stop fighting Asa!" The cry was heard again, this time sounding more human and strangled.

"What was that?"

"ZELDA! MRS. BLOOR! MADAME DOBINSKI! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP! HE'S GONE AND KILLED MY MOM!" An icy chill ran down Zelda's back. No, it wasn't possible…she was the only one left with an endowedment she could fight with…

"Oh God, no. Not Fairy Tilpin…she was a witch…my mum's just an Empath…" She and Manfred ran across the hall to the room the boys and Fairy Tilpin were staying in. Dagbert, face frozen in horror, points to the bathroom where Josh is sitting in front of the tub looking like death warmed over. Zelda bursts in and is met with a gruesome sight.

Mrs. Tilpin had been sickeningly killed. She was tied to the tub with two of Josh's socks while another sock filled her mouth. Blood was on the sock and also trickled down the side of her mouth. But that wasn't the worst of it.

She'd been cut open, too, brutally, like some sort of animal had done it. Her insides, including her heart, were lying neatly in a heap on her chest. Zelda closed her eyes; she had promised herself not to cry, and sedately walked out to the "bedroom", took a sheet, and covered Mrs. Tilpin in it. Titania, in death, had regained some of her beauty as Miss Chrystal.

"Dagbert, you can clean this up, right? The blood? With mist or rain water or a flood or SOMETHING?" Her voice shook. Dagbert regained calm, knew that as one of the oldest boys that he had to keep calm.

"I suppose I should then." He said moodily. Zelda gave him a look and pointed as his best friend, who looked hollow and as dead as his mother.

"I know you'll be thirteen and a few days and that's tough, but please try to have some respect for the dead. After you clean this up, we need to pack because we're moving. They've found us." Joshua burst into sobs.

"What about my MUM? ARE WE JUST GONNA LEAVE HER IN THE BLOODY TUB?" Zelda clasped her hands.

"My aunt has this endowedment. It's a bit nasty, you see. Well, she can make the dead invisible. We'll have to make her a makeshift grave. Josh, we need to get out of here before they kill someone else. Where's Asa?"

"He heard something about his sister and went to bust some skulls." Dagbert said calmly. Manfred ran into the room.

"What the hell happened here?" Zelda was shocked at his insensitivity.

"Fairy Tilpin is dead. I'd like to know what the fuck you propose we do about it?" The language shocked Manfred, now.

"I don't know. Looks like Asa did it, and I'm sure as hell he didn't, so we seemed to have reached an impasse." His girlfriend looked extremely angry. Without warning, she smacked him in the face.

"I'm going out." She said bitterly.

"You can't just leave. We need you." Manfred put on a whiny voice.

"Watch me. No one seems to appreciate what I do until I get hurt, anyway. I'm going out." Manfred took her hand.

"Where, dear?"

"Out." She walked out the door and slammed it.

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It's getting too hard for me to handle. I can't even Empathize correctly anymore. I'm overusing the telekinesis. I should just leave and move back to Poland with Papa like he asked me to…but no, I decided I had to be in love with an asshole…

Really, though, She thought, why did he have to be so insensitive about the whole situation? She was wandering the streets of London alone in the snow. Problem was, she didn't know where she was going. Maybe she could catch a film or go window shopping. But she knew she was totally independent and any chav who thought he could take advantage would have the nasty experience of have a car or something thrown at them. She felt a hand cover her mouth and she figured it'd be OK. She focused on the TV in the window of a shop but it wouldn't move.

"I'm sorry, my dearly departed great-granddaughter, but your mind-moving won't be any use to you here." The rough hands shoved her face around to face him, nearly breaking her neck.

"Look into his eyes, dear Zelda…" She tried to fight it but as Ezekiel Bloor cackled she found herself gasping, her pupils dilating…she was hypnotized…

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"It's not like her to just up and leave like that, Manfred. What the hell did you do?" Dorothy Bloor asked her son sternly as she piled wraps into a suitcase.

"I…really don't know." He said. He was still puzzled about it. She slapped him in the face because he didn't know who killed Fairy Tilpin.

"Mate, I think when she comes back you should apologize. Gah, where is that sock?!"

"We don't have time to look! The guy that killed my mum might come back!" Joshua, in fear, had taken no more than 5 minutes to pack all of his things. The twins looked at him.

"We're not leaving without Zelda, you know. Auntie Claire would have a fit." As if on cue, Mrs. Dobinski walked in.

"Ou est Zelda?" Manfred looked at her sister.

"She wants to know where her daughter is." Charlotte said. Manfred sighed irritably.

"She had a fit and walked out." Charlotte nodded.

"Eet ees like mah niece to do zat. But she 'as not ree-turned? Most unlike her." Manfred was doused in icy fear as Charlotte relayed the happenings to her sister, who wailed in anguish.

"Asa, we need to talk outside." He whispered. Asa nodded.

"You had the same thought I did, then?"

"Probably." They walked into the hall.

"What if the thing that got Titania has Zelda?" Manfred asked frantically.

"That's what I think happened here. But we can't just leave them here. They'll be picked apart, with the exception of Josh but still. They probably didn't kill her…it would give us no reason to leave…they want us two to go out and look for her so that they can come back and finish what they started with Mrs. Tilpin."

"So we wait?" Manfred asked. Asa nodded sadly.

"We have to."

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"Poor thing needed to be carried in from the cold. She was just lyin' in the middle of the parking lot freezing herself to death. She's right lucky she didn't catch hypothermia."

"Maisie, you should really advise us when you bring, ah, company over."

"Nonsense, Grizelda, anyone could see it was an emergency!" The girl was awoken by two elderly women arguing. She sat up in the bed she was lying in and noticed herself in the mirror. She has long, unkempt black hair and wide brown eyes. She's a deadly shade of pale and her pale pink lips stick out awkwardly.

Describing herself did not help her remember her name, as she would find out when Maisie came bustling in.

"Oh! You're awake, dear. Well, I hope I haven't startled you any." The girl shook her head, taken aback by the boisterous personality of the round, cheery woman in front of her. She definitely did not remember this.

"I suppose you'll want tea, dear? If you don't, that's all right. You've been asleep for half the day. I didn't want to call the police…too much hustle and bustle and I figured it had something to do with…well…my grandson might be of service to you. His name is Charlie Bone. He'll tell you if those nasty Bloors have had anything to do with you."

Bone and Bloor. Two names she found familiar. One had a particular ring to it…Bloor…what did it mean to her…?

"I don't think we've properly introduced ourselves yet. Well, I'm Maisie Jones. And just who are you?" The girl tried to stammer a reply…but what to say…somehow a name seemed familiar.

"Anika."

"And does Anika have a last name?"

"I'm not too sure, Ms. Jones."

"Oh, call me Maisie, dear. Everyone else does. Hm, I suppose I should send Charlie in." And with that she bounced out. A few words were exchanged in the hall between Maisie and a teenage boy, by the sound of it. There was a knock on the door.

"C-come in." Charlie Bone walked in, and he looked stunned at the sight of her.

"Zelda!"

"Who?" Charlie groaned.

"Oh no. It's gotten you, too. People worried about you!" Anika shook her head.

"No, not me. No one worries about me. People like to take advantage. And who is Zelda? My name is Anika, I'm pretty sure. I think I bumped my head outside the supermarket last night."

"Uh-oh. Jeez, they really hit the mark on this one. Maybe I should take you to see my Uncle Paton Yewbeam."

Yewbeam. Another familiar word.

"Hm. I suppose I could, if it helps me remember what happened. Is your Uncle a police officer?" Charlie was stuck, but he knew he had to lie through his teeth.

"He's something like that." Ah. Lying by omission. He saw a woman in a movie get pushed into an oven for lying by omission. Zelda shrugs.

"All right, then." He leads her by her hand outside and up the street. It was unnerving, almost scary, seeing Zelda so vulnerable and feeble.

They reached the book shop. Since it was Saturday, Yewbeam Books was extremely busy.

"Hello, Char-Zelda!" Emma exclaimed. Anika shook her head irritably.

"I told you, I'm Anika! I just don't remember…my last name. I don't remember anything." Emma took her hands and cleared her voice, trying to sound more like an adult.

"Then isn't it just the tiniest bit plausible that you could be Zelda Dobinski?" Anika blinked.

"I suppose. But I don't remember!" She wailed. Emma looked at Charlie.

"We should definitely get Uncle Paton." Anika continued to stare into space as Paton Yewbeam bustled in.

"Oh no. Zelda, please say you can hear me."

No movement.

"Zelda, please. You have to wake up. You've been hypnotized!" Emma said. She knew that, as someone who had been severely hypnotized herself, she had to do anything she could to help Zelda.

"Zelda, you have to remember you're endowed. Remember your friends. Remember how we all need you…remember how Manfred Bloor loves you…please, Zelda…"

No movement.

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Surprise end chapter.

The plot decided to eat this chapter and spit it out as two parts. Now is a good place to stop. Part 2 will be tomorrow. Hopefully.