CHAPTER TWELVE- REUNION AND A MESSENGER

"Thursday here."

"Are you alone?"

Thursday's eyes widened at the voice, but he stood, locking the door to his room. "I can't guarantee you won't be heard," he whispered. "What do you want?"

"Oh, how cooperative of you."

"I should tell Arthur you're calling right now," Thursday growled. "Hurry up before I make up my mind to do so."

"Oh, are you going to run to your master, loyal dog?"

"You'd to well to stop being so rude," Thursday shot back. "Last time- what do you want?"

A sigh. "What I want and what I beseech you to do are two different things. Warn Arthur of the Will and what it does. If you care for so much as one Denizen in your entire Maze, you would."

"Why would you care? I know why you've changed the Campaign. You fear for your Denizens and demesne, not mine," he accused.

"True. I won't deny it, but this a rare case where your interests and mine have an overlap that proves to be commensal rather than parasitical for once."

"It's a bit late to come playing the commensal card!" Thursday hissed.

"Perhaps, but not too late to strike the heart strings."

"I can't tell him."

"Why not?"

Thursday sighed and flopped onto his bed. "The Will hovers around him constantly."

"That is not an excuse."

"You know as well as I do what happens if we speak of it. We cannot write it down. We are bound to the final clause by our Keys. If we tell anyone who is not a Trustee, our Keys are rendered useless until the Heir takes them, all but the Seventh. Sure, I will tell him, and Friday's Mirror will become a beautiful glass, and your quill will be nothing but a fancy writing utensil. If that's what you want, you might as well switch to ballpoint now and save me the trouble."

"I know of this. It… is why I have not told anyone."

"Yet you still want me to tell him?"

"On second thought… better not. I will it keep it in reserve, for now… as a last resort."

"Either you will fix the mess you've made, or Arthur will," Thursday said.

"For the sake of the House, you better hope it's me, honor or not. What good is honor if everyone is dead?"

"Better to be dead with honor than alive without."

"But if everyone else is dead also, who bestows upon you this honor you are so willing to die for? Your honor will kill us all."

"As will your envy."

"No. That is where our delusions differ. Yours will extinguish every flame, mine merely most. I will have survivors. The Will won't. Pick the lesser of two evils, Thursday. I am it."

"Saturday-"

A click. She'd hung up.

The phone melted, and Thursday unlocked his door, sighing. He straightened his tie, thoughts running through his head, the unspoken challenge prevalent. Betray Arthur and the Will, or betray the remaining Trustees.

Choose the lesser of two evils.

Marshall Dawn gently smoothed back Dusk's hair after helping him into bed. "Rest, brother," she said, shutting the door behind her. Then she sighed, and entered her own room.

She bit back a gasp and quickly shut the door. "Sir!" she exclaimed. "Wha- is something the matter?"

Sir Thursday frowned. "Does something have to be the matter?"

He hadn't been in her room for several centuries at least. The last time was not a happy memory for either of them.

"No, sir," she said. Dawn was getting nervous. It didn't help that Thursday was looking oddly calm. If he tried anything, she'd jump out the window. She'd probably break a couple of bones landing on the veranda, but it was better… or she could run for it. She was nearer the door.

"I wanted to speak with you," he said. "I hope you haven't gotten the wrong impression. Nothing has changed, Marshall."

Oh, so this was about the kiss.

She had no idea what spurred it to happen. She knew better, but something about seeing him so weak and wounded… She had technically broken regulations, and though she didn't care all those years ago when things still looked bright, she was now terrified. Thursday was not the man he'd been, and if anyone found out…

Dawn didn't want a repeat of her confrontation with Lady Friday.

"Yes, sir," she said, voice small. The Will was gone, but even though Thursday was healed, she found herself flinching, as if expecting a slap.

None came. That surprised her. He'd crack, she knew it- no one could reverse ten thousand years of violence in several hours, even with magical intervention.

"Then we don't need to mention what happened, do we?"

"No, sir."

She'd thought that maybe he'd changed his mind, that he cared again. The time he'd tried to get her on the elevator had convinced her, but, yet again, she was wrong.

"Good." He sighed. "I'm going to bed. Don't bother me." Thursday walked out, the slam of the door sounding too loud and final to Dawn. She sat down at the edge of her mattress and bit her lip. She wasn't going to cry. She'd cried too much already. At least… things could've been worse.

As was her daily ritual since the day Lady Friday had scorned her, Dawn repeated her sole mantra. "I am a soldier. A soldier does not care. I am a soldier. A soldier does not care."

It was before the breaking of the Will that Dawn learned what it meant to say 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'

She'd been in the parade grounds with Noon, fencing. They were both adept duelers, and they usually drew a crowd. Noon was a bit of a show-off, and he went out of his way to showcase his fancy-schmancy moves, which almost always led to his downfall. As great a soldier as he was, he got a large ego far too easily.

Dawn leapt aside to avoid a thrust and swiped her rapier towards him, but Noon parried easily. They exchanged blows for several seconds before realizing the grounds had become deathly quiet. Dawn stopped and held up a hand to Noon, who was staring at a figure coming towards them.

It was Lady Friday. That was strange; Dawn didn't know she'd spent the night.

The Day had a wild, angry look in her eyes, and she walked straight to Dawn. Without a word, she slapped the Time.

Dawn winced but didn't comment.

"Lady Friday," Noon said. "Is something wrong?"

"I can't believe you," Friday hissed.

"Lady Friday," Noon repeated. "What's happened?"

"I'm not talking to you!" Friday snapped. "You- Dawn. Where were you last night?"

Dawn blushed and remained silent. Last night, she and Thursday had kissed on a boat while sailing over the Eastern Water Defense. She often sneaked out to see him at night, and she knew she wasn't supposed to, but she couldn't care less.

"Don't you know," Friday screamed, "Thursday and I are engaged?" She held up her hand to show Dawn the ring on her finger. "What kind of a witch are you?"

Dawn was aware that the entire Citadel was probably watching by now, and she pinched herself to stop from shaking.

"Lady Friday," Noon ventured.

"SHUT UP!" Friday shouted, and pointed at Dawn. "You should be demoted. Or cast out of the entire Army! You can't steal a man from one of the Morrow Days!"

"It's not stealing if he didn't belong to you in the first place," Dawn said. She immediately knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't let Friday insult her in front of the entire Citadel.

Friday's mouth dropped open. "You- you-"

"What's going on here?" a voice boomed.

Both Dawn and Friday turned to face the newcomer, Sir Thursday himself. He scowled at both of them. "Well?" he asked. "What's going on?"

Friday pointed at Dawn again. "Ask. Her."

"Marshall Dawn," he said, eyes boring into hers. "Why is Lady Friday so upset?"

"I- because-" She looked to Noon pleadingly. Was she supposed to admit it now in front of everybody?

Noon frowned and gave her a look of pity that almost infuriated her.

"Lady Friday has found out about our affair," she said at last.

"Aha! She confesses!" Friday crowed.

"She doesn't confess to anything," Thursday said. "I ordered her to do it."

Friday screeched, an inhuman shriek that frightened Dawn to her marrow. "You what?" she spat.

"I have complete control over my soldiers. They can't refuse an order. I ordered her to have an affair with me," he shrugged, not looking at either of them. "It's my fault."

"Is that true?" Lady Friday asked Dawn.

Dawn couldn't stop her outright trembling at this point. It was all she could do to nod. It was true.

Lady Friday scowled, yanked the ring off her finger, and threw it at him. Thursday caught it easily. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Sure. Have the Marshall, if that's what you want," she said. She whirled around and screamed, "SOMEONE GET ME AN ELEVATOR! I'M NOT STAYING IN THIS STUPID MAZE A MOMENT LONGER!"

If only the story ended there. As if that was bad enough, Friday still seemed to resent Dawn very much. When Thursday and Dawn got engaged, she made her feelings quite clear by visiting the Maze to 'congratulate the happy couple.' Not a single thing went right with her there.

And when the engagement was called off six thousand years ago, Friday wouldn't let it die down.

Dawn had been asleep, tired and exhausted. Since the breaking of the Will, she didn't often fight herself, but as a Borderer, places like the Boundary Fort were her responsibility. She was glad to return to the Citadel, and her own bed. Sir Thursday was awake next door- he never slept- but he made not the smallest noise.

Usually, anyway. Dawn woke up to the sound of laughing, but she dismissed it. She opened the door to get a drink of water and saw Friday exiting his room, the Day chuckling. She leaned over and pecked Thursday on the cheek, then erupted into uproarious guffaws when she noticed Dawn.

"Maybe you got promoted following his 'orders,'" Friday said, "but it's not going to make him love you."

Thursday frowned, but didn't say anything.

"I didn't get promoted because I-"

"Silence, Marshall," Thursday said. "Lady Friday, our relationship was not of that kind."

"Of course not," Friday scoffed. "Whatever. I'll be back next week."

"I'll be waiting," Thursday replied. Friday waved, blew a kiss, and walked off, her posture that of a very confident person.

Thursday shut the door without speaking to Dawn, and she sat down on her mattress, wondering just how many people assumed she got her promotion for less-than-honorable conduct.

After all, she wasn't sure herself anymore.

Arthur was glad to hear the New Niths had accepted his offer of peace and were returning the captured Piper's Children. In fact, the New Niths looked up to him as their leader now that he held the Pipe, though their respect for him was tainted by a resentment for upstaging the Piper that turned to outright hatred when it came to Dame Primus, his killer.

Scamandros, after performing a check-up on Arthur's shoulder and some basic wound care, offered to examine the Pipe. He refrained from blowing into it, not even placing it on his lips. "A most potent sorcerous object," he said, turning it over in his hands. "It operates on prodigious manipulation of Nothing, and is similar to, but not as powerful as, a Key. It has the capability of conducting advanced sorcery, but is simple enough to be learned fairly quickly. It is also less inimical to a mortal than traditional House sorcery." He placed it near the mask on the table. "A fine instrument, to be sure."

"Could I use it without contamination?" Arthur asked. If that were the case, the Pipe would prove to be invaluable.

"No." Scamandros dashed his hopes with a pitying look. "It is the nature of sorcery of any kind to transform its wielder. I suspect that the Keys have effects upon Denizens as well as mortals, though of a different nature, due to-"

"So it'd still make me less human?" Arthur interrupted. Who cared what the Key did to Denizens? He wasn't one, so he certainly didn't.

"Yes," Scamandros confirmed, "but less than the Keys."

"It contaminates, but at a slower pace?"

"That is correct. Unfortunately, I suspect that the simple spells needed to learn how to use it would rob your of your last mortal remnants."

So it was basically useless.

"And the mask?" Arthur pressed on. "What's it do?"

"It augments sorcerous power," Scamandros said, "and has basic shielding and protective charms, as well as some more advanced defensive properties. It might make you faster and stronger, but again, not without significant magical residue, and its charms fail against Keys."

"How much residue?"

"Considerably less than using the Keys or the Pipe. Exactly how much, I cannot say for certain without copious experimentation." Scamandros shrugged. A tattoo of a question mark appeared on his left cheek.

Arthur nodded. He might use the mask, then, in emergencies. It might help out, even if it failed against the Keys. At the very least, it would help him get to the Trustees.

"Thanks, Scamandros," he said. "I'll see you at dinner." He picked up both items and walked out to the courtyard, nearly running over Dusk in the process. Dusk had lost his leg, though he had assured Arthur it'd grow back. It was, however, extremely painful.

Dusk nearly fell over, but he managed to straighten his crutches in time. "Careful," he said.

"Sorry," Arthur apologized, and continued on his way. He jumped as someone called his name.

"Sir!"

Arthur turned.

"Oh, Marshall Noon," he said. "What is it?"

"The Piper's Children have arrived!"

Arthur ran out in front of the Citadel and whooped happily as he saw the Children returning. They whooped in return, even though some were wounded and hobbled along only with the help of other Children or even New Niths.

"Arthur!"

"Suzy!"

Arthur sprinted towards her. Suzy looked none the worse for wear, having several bandages but seemingly not bothered by them. He stopped in front of her and laughed, relieved. "I'm so glad to see you're safe!" he said.

"Oh, come on!" She rolled her eyes. "I'm not made of glass, Arthur."

"Sorry. I get worried, that's all."

"Well, worry about someone else!" Suzy said. "Glad you blew the Spike and whatnot, eh?"

Arthur smiled. "I guess."

"Arthur!" Gold ran up to him. "We didn't really meet properly. I'm Fred Initial Numbers Gold, and I've been with Suzy for the past couple hours. This is Banneret Ugham. He was our guard."

A New Nith with beautiful Denizen features save a third eye in the middle of his forehead bowed. "A pleasure."

"Sable, Quicksilver, and the others are all coming too," Fred added. "They're mighty grateful you helped and all. We revere the Piper, but… well, he's not the most honorable man."

Ugham nodded. "All of us owed him debt as our creator, but we do not agree with everything he has done," he explained.

"Uh, okay. Listen, let's get inside, and we can catch up over some tea and biscuits."

"Oooh! Tea!" Suzy squealed. "Wonderful! I'm up for a biscuit anytime! Being captured sure works up an appetite, you know."

Dame Primus pointed to the Pipe Arthur was still holding. "Are you going to carry it around or actually use it?" she sniffed.

"I don't want to become a Denizen," he said. "Learning would transform me."

"The Pipe is styled after an instrument known as the axthehxvht," Dame Primus said, "from the planet Bthehthshvfh." Arthur didn't know if it was actually gibberish, or he just heard it that way because there was no English equivalent. Sometimes he wondered if everyone in the House actually spoke English, or if that was simply what he understood- yet another quirk of the House. "I could teach you on a non-sorcerous version."

"All right, then," Arthur found himself agreeing, and his music lessons began.

Arthur's father Bob was a musician for a band called the Ratz, and Arthur himself didn't have a bad musical ear. He was able to play the piano and several percussion instruments, such as the xylophone. In fact, his musical ability was what had saved him in Grim Tuesday's demesne, and Dame Primus knew it- the Will had been there, after all. She must have known Arthur was learning far faster than normal, especially considering the instrument was not from his world, but she didn't praise him for it at all.

"A start," she said at the end of their first session. "It was a start."

Arthur found that his lessons with Corporal Gunsworth and Marshall Dawn were still continued, even if he was now Commander of the Army. In fact, he suspected they had increased, probably because they knew just as well as him that the Army was now run by a twelve-year-old boy who had no idea what in the House he was doing. It was most likely their attempt to remedy his ignorance.

Arthur sighed after he lost at chess for the five-hundredth time to Marshall Dusk. Now that he was resting most of the time to heal, Dusk had taken up Arthur's strategic training, and chess seemed to be a favorite way to teach it to him. "Chess is all about strategy," he'd told the boy, and Arthur, who'd never been very good at it, immediately caught his meaning.

"I'm hopeless," he complained. "I should just appoint Dame Primus as Steward again and let her handle things. The next Campaign is doomed with me around." If Arthur even had one. He thought it was quite pointless to have Denizens fight Nithlings for no apparent reason, though all the Marshalls and Thursday still told him it was 'valuable training.'

"Nothing is hopeless," Dusk said, his voice smooth and reassuring. "It just takes practice. Thursday was terrible when he first started, but we still never managed to lose a single Campaign."

That sounded more like luck than skill to Arthur, at least until Thursday got the hang of things.

Thursday was very withdrawn, avoiding both Arthur and his Times, but that didn't bother the boy too much. If he wanted to sulk, let him sulk. It was probably his way of facing the loss of the Maze to a pre-teen with no experience whatsoever.

Dame Primus, when not with Arthur to conduct his musical lessons to prepare him for when he would 'inevitably play the Pipe,' was often flitting between the Maze and Port Wednesday, claiming she was working on the Border Sea's problems. She also spent a lot of time on the phone, directing the management of the Far Reaches and the Lower House.

Arthur restocked Dawn's chest of water balloons as a surprise, but checking back on them next week, found that she hadn't thrown a single one. Either she no longer visited the not-so-secret-anymore spot, or she didn't feel like throwing balloons anymore.

So Arthur enjoyed throwing some himself, and the next day, he brought Suzy and Fred up there with him. Suzy spent the entire night waiting for Dame Primus to walk under, and her patience paid off when she managed to nail the Will with three big ones.

They all ducked when she looked up. They doubted it, but the Will might have known about the invisible veranda.

Arthur also called Sneezer and asked him to check on his world with the Seven Dials. Sneezer reported that it was now just a little past Friday, but nothing that could be recognized as the work of the Trustee had occurred. "Unless she is behind some ridiculous song by the same name," Sneezer said, "which I seriously doubt- the style is not at all to her taste." Arthur was relieved, but also worried. It was early Friday morning, and time would not tick as normally now that he and his Spirit Eater were not in the Realms. Friday had plenty of time to do whatever she wanted.

Arthur was finally starting to think things were going well when, on his way to his bedroom, the mirror on the wall flashed a startling, brilliant white, and the next thing Arthur knew, he was lying on his back, a pink-clad female Denizen on top of him, hands on his chest.

Arthur blushed. The Denizen's eyes were bright and alert, and she quickly drew back, almost jumping off of him. Her pink garment was covered in a leather apron that had the handles of several tools poking out of the pockets- at least, Arthur hoped they were tools, and not weapons.

"I am so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I'm Emelena."

"I'm-" He stopped. He didn't know a thing about this Denizen, but he doubted she worked for him. "I'm Lieutenant Green." Green was the first color that came to mind.

"Ah, Mr. Green, I have to deliver a message to Lord Arthur from Lady Friday," Emelena said, fixing her hair. She smiled. "Mind telling me where he is?"

"He's busy. Maybe Dame Primus could see you. Um, you come in peace, right?"

"Peace? Oh, yeah." Emelena reached into her pocket and pulled out a six-foot-long silver branch that sparkled with little globes of spun gold that hung along it in intervals. "I've got an olive branch, see?"

"It looks more like a lemon branch to me," Arthur said, squinting at it.

"Yeah, we don't have many olives in the Middle House, so I was hoping this Lord Arthur is either a terrible botanist or will accept it anyway."

"Why don't you follow me into the Council Room?" Arthur asked. "Lord Arthur might be there soon, or one of the Marshalls."

"Oh. The Marshalls. Dear." Emelena laughed nervously. "They're an uptight bunch, eh?"

"I… guess…?" Arthur replied. "Do you have something against them?"

"They're so insufferably proper, like they're the most virtuous Denizens ever!" Emelena said as they walked down the hall towards the Council Room. "You know, they're cousins with Friday's Times. They used to visit the Middle House, until Lady Friday got into an argument several thousand years ago with Marshall D-" Emelena stopped and chuckled nervously. "I really shouldn't be gossiping. I'm just a Folio Gatherer, Second Grade, though I guess I'm a messenger now…" She shrugged. "The Mistress must have run out of real heralds or been in a rush, I guess. Maybe."

"Maybe," Arthur found himself repeating, and they walked into the Council Room.

All the Denizens in it immediately drew their weapons and pointed them at Emelena.

"Hey, don't you guys know an olive branch when you see one?" she whined.

"It's a lemon branch. Any half-wit can see that," Marshall Noon scowled.

"Yes, well, if you have to be so particular about it," Emelena sniffed. "I have a message for Lord Arthur. Is he here? Mr.- er, I guess Lieutenant to you guys- Green was nice enough to show me the way."

"Who's Lieutenant- ow!" Noon clutched his stomach as Dawn sharply elbowed him.

"We'll take the message for Lord Arthur," she said.

"Nope, sorry," Emelena shook her head. "It has to be directly to the big man himself. I can wait." She sat herself down on the floor, cross-legged and draping the branch across her lap.

Arthur groaned and sidled up to the two Times. "How are we going to get rid of her?" he whispered.

"No idea," they replied.

"Here's a thought- Lord Arthur could try listening to the message!" Emelena called, evidently having very good hearing.

"Let's wait for Dame Primus," Arthur suggested.

"Good idea," Noon said. "Where is she?"

"Port Wednesday," Dawn answered. "She said she needed to check something in the Sea and promised to be back within the next week."

"The next week?!" Arthur exclaimed. "That's way too long! I need to call her straight away and-"

"Allow me," Noon said. "Why don't you entertain our… guest… until she arrives?"

"All right," Arthur sighed, and sat across from Emelena. "So, it seems you might have to wait awhile. Sorry."

"Ah, no problem." She shrugged. "It's better than working. Not that I don't like my work," she hastily added. "It just gets a little repetitive after several million years."

"Understood," Arthur nodded. "While you're waiting, do you want to play a game of chess?"

A/N: Hope you like it! I sort of expanded on Emelena a bit; I hope you guys didn't mind.

I'd like to thank all the reviewers so far- HumanBarricade, DarkPaladin000, and LostPipersChild. Your support makes my day!

If you liked this chapter, please review. If you didn't, review anyway!

Thanks!

~Dragonlord Stephi