After the dessert course was finished, you were dragged into a crowd which led you into the recreation room. Everyone around you started games of cards, pool, darts, and pinball. This was the only normal part of your time here, as no one bothered using their magic to push their cue sticks and press buttons on a machine. You assumed there was an unspoken rule here forbidding any sorcery, to prevent anyone from cheating.

With those expectations out of the way, you were not asked to perform any more tricks or show off your 'fire'. Instead, you did your part having conversations with other club members. You tried asking about what was going to happen to you tomorrow morning, but everyone you talked to refused to spill their big secret. You'd even tried learning the source of this club's wealth, but they were incredibly modest about their exorbitant lifestyle.

Curioso was silent during your time there. You knew he was trying not to interrupt or distract you…but it made you feel strange. It seemed like he had talked too much when the two of you started working together, but now it was like something was missing. As if Curioso's commentary was essential to your investigation.

"Are you still there?" you asked your sleeve quietly while the rest of the room was starting their poker game.

"I am," he whispered back.

You relaxed on the stool you were sitting on. It was such a ridiculous thing - he promised not to leave your side, yet here you were thinking he'd be elsewhere with better things to do. You needed to focus.

When their heads were clearly wrapped in their game, you took this opportunity to leave, claiming you were exhausted and wanted to head back to your room. No one questioned you as you quickly exited the room and sped down the hallways. You didn't want to get stopped again and roped into doing something else. For now, you were going to bide your time until the night got late enough and you were positive everybody was asleep. These people had to rest sometime .

You were alone again in your room with Curioso, who sat across from you and presented some new cards you'd never seen before. You figured playing a game or two together would help the time fly by. You had a cup of coffee at your side that you sipped from, to help you stay awake for the long night ahead of you.

You blinked curiously at him as you read the name of the pack in his hands.

" Skip-Bo ? Never played it before," you drummed your fingers on the table as he shuffled the cards.

What a sight that was - it almost looked like each card was moving by itself as he performed a riffle and bridge shuffle. Your eyes were locked on his hands as they did their magic.

"It was the only game my family ever wanted to play with me," he bowed his head as he arranged the cards. "Probably because I wasn't very good at it, so they had an easy win."

"Huh," you eyed your hand of cards that he gave to you. They were different colors and numbers, reminding you of a game more familiar to you. "Most families play Uno . Ever heard of it?"

"The kids at school played that one. I was never…invited into those games," his voice softened as he took off his top hat and faced you, "This is like a solitaire card game. It's a little complicated at first, but you're smart, so you should get the hang of it pretty quickly."

You smiled modestly, and spent the next hour or two learning how to play this new game between you and Curioso. It involved a lot of counting and thinking, so your mind was constantly working. After some point, it was easy to forget that you were supposed to be by your lonesome, as you stopped listening for any footsteps by the door and allowed yourself to be completely engrossed in his company.

It was so easy to fall into a comfortable state when you were around him. You've been on so many cases by yourself with no one to help or accompany you. Now that you had a friend who was always close by, it was hard to feel alone anymore. Curioso was incredibly pleasant as a companion - as he did a good job keeping you busy and often made you smile and laugh. You no longer felt any tension or weariness from your early days with him…he had your complete trust and attention now.

Judging by his eagerness to spend this time with you, you assumed the feeling was returned.

"Those kids missed out for sure," you sniffed as you watched him make his final play. "You're a lot of fun to play with."

"I don't recall you feeling this way the last time we played Monopoly ," he grinned.

"Yeah, well, that game can tear people apart. You're lucky we're still talking after that stunt you pulled."

He laughed, collecting the cards and allowing them to disappear in thin air. "And you're a lovely opponent yourself. I'm honored to play with you."

You looked away, but allowed the smile to remain on your face. He complimented you so often you wondered if you would ever be close to returning the favor to him. "I'm sorry your childhood was so lonely. If it makes you feel any better, I was the last one picked for all the field games."

He tilted his mask at you. "Was it because you were a nerd?"

"What? No ! I was…just that weird kid who took a lot of pictures with my camera my dad gave to me, and made a big deal about missing jackets or people going to the bathroom for too long."

Curioso almost sounded proud. "You grew up to be a detective."

"Yep," you puffed your chest out in pride. "I played a lot of Clue back in those days. I've settled a lot of disputes and mysteries during recess."

Your friend looked down at the table, drawing imaginary lines into the wood with the tip of his mechanical finger. "I never knew what I wanted to be when I was young. Never really…had the chance to do what I wanted."

Your smile fell as sympathy washed over you. "...You were taken pretty early, weren't you?"

"I was thirteen. The only thing I really liked to do was make sculptures and doodle on my homework. Maybe if I had gone to high school, I would have joined art class. I don't really know."

You frowned as you watched his hands move. Again, you found yourself wishing you could have saved him in time. Done something. "Well…you make a fine partner to a detective. You're a good investigator."

"It's funny, I would have never imagined myself doing any of this."

"I mean, you were the one who wanted to join me and read all about my investigations. Maybe you had an interest in all of this without really knowing it."

"Or maybe I was just interested in you ," he countered.

The blood rushed to your face. "Ah…but why would…" you refused to see his mask as you sat there not knowing how to react. You stood to your feet slowly. "What time is it?"

He pretended to check his watch. "It's 2 A.M. Do you think now's the time to snoop around?"

You grinned. "You know it."

You shrugged on a dark coat around your person, to help hide you in the shadows as you tiptoed around the clubhouse. You haven't been here long enough to know how to avoid any creaky floorboards, so you were extra cautious as you walked down the halls. Things were quiet and there were less lights on, the ones aiding your way were incredibly dim. You could only hear muffled voices and sounds of televisions from rooms you passed - but no one was out in the open anymore.

You relaxed as you smoothly made your way across the main room. You were feeling confident you'd find what you need without any hassle. And if anyone did find you-

"Hey!"

You jumped at the sound of a voice and reflexively pressed yourself against a nearby wall. Your eyes frantically shot around in the dark but you couldn't find anybody. Curiously, you peeked around the corner to peer in the next room, where you saw Aydan standing across from Elise, his arms crossed and his face twisted in displeasure. You'd only seen him smiling during your time here, so the expression took you by surprise.

The room they were in was clearly a separate bar, as there were shelves lined with fine liquor and taps for beer, with stools arranged around the counter. You wondered how you'd missed this earlier.

"You know better than to give out second glasses," his voice darkened in warning. "Now we're running low on tequila."

"I apologize," Elise responded, her hands clasped tightly together at her waist. She looked as stiff as cardboard. "I had miscounted. May I summon you some more?"

"You know that's not what I'm concerned about," he took a step closer to her, his orange eyes burning like the flames of fire. "What message do we leave when I allow you to give our guests more than they are promised? They will start expecting more , and you know as well as I that we cannot have that."

"Yes, sir." she whispered quickly.

"Come here."

He took a seat on one of the stools and beckoned her over. She stood still for only a second longer before slowly walking over to where he was. Your eyes widened as you watched him hastily pull her up, setting her on his lap and gripping her suit tightly in his hands, scrunching up the fine material. Your jaw fell open when Aydan grabbed the back of her invisible head and forced his mouth onto…what could only be hers .

Even without a face to meet his, you could tell the kiss was forced and painful. A feminine whimper was heard in the air as he forced his tongue into her mouth. At this point, you turned away from the scene, feeling sick from what you were seeing. You would think watching a man tongue-kiss the air wouldn't be so bad, but it was Elise's cries that reminded you it was real. The way her gloved hands tried pushing him away from her, only for Aydan to practically crush her body against his own…

After what felt like an eternity, you opened your eyes. He pushed her off of him like he wanted nothing to do with her and Elise stumbled a little against the wall.

"Have I made my point clear?" he asked sternly.

"Yes."

"Do not let this happen again, or I will have this discussion with you upstairs. We are not a charity."

"Of course, sir."

"Stock all the alcohol and clean the rooms when you're done. I don't want to see you for the rest of the night."

He sauntered away and Elise slumped on the counter when he was gone. Your eyes were locked on her, your feet refusing to move. So your suspicions were right. She must be a prisoner under Aydan, but it went…much further than you presumed. He was imposing himself and assaulting her. It sickened you to realize that people could do this to their magical servants and get away with it…since their soul was bound to them, and there was no possible way for them to fight back, lest they get punished…

"My god," you muttered under your breath. "I can't believe he can do that to her."

"I can."

"Did…" you sucked in a breath harshly. "Did your enchantress ever-"

"No. She just kept me in her control and hurt me when she was angry."

Your eyes threatened to swell with tears, but you swallowed your anger down. You let out a breath to calm yourself, and your heart twisted to hear Elise crying as she arranged the liquor bottles. You couldn't just walk away from this.

"Please, go talk to her," you clutched your bag closer to your person. "Let her know she's not alone. That she's not the only one of you here."

"And what do I tell her when she asks who I belong to?"

You shrugged. "Tell her it could be anybody here. Lie about it for all I care. Just…make her feel better."

"But, Detective…we need to search their files. Gather our evidence. Without me -"

"Open the door for me, and I'll go and get everything myself. I'll meet you in our room when I'm done."

There was a pregnant pause where you watched Elise polish the glasses with shaking hands. You could sense he did not like this idea, you weren't too big on being alone without him here either, but your concern for her outweighed everything else right now. After a moment, a flash came before you, and you watched as Curioso, dressed in his ensemble, approached her and tipped his top hat to her. There was an audible gasp as the glass she was holding slipped from her hands - only for your jester to reach forward and catch it before it could land.

The last thing either of you needed was for him to get discovered.

"Hello," he offered politely, setting it back in her hand. You could tell he was tense, but at least he was being friendly.

"You…you're…" she sounded breathless, pointing at him. "Who are you?"

"My name is Curioso," he took the liberty of seating himself while Elise scrambled to set the glass down and face him properly.

"You're one of us," she said in disbelief.

"I am. There's no need to be afraid, I promise."

He lowered his arm and made a movement with his hand in your direction. You got the signal and moved on, reluctantly pulling yourself from the doorway and quickly sliding by in the darkness. You had to be fast while the door was uncovered. You did not want anyone stumbling upon it and seeing that someone was searching around.

You finally reached the hallway you were in earlier today and gawked at the door that now stood where it hadn't before. But you wasted no time, heading straight for it and closing it behind you. You even locked it for good measure, turning around and observing the hidden room for yourself.

It was an office, but this one had lots of filing cabinets and filled bookshelves. You got to work searching through these shelves using a small flashlight clutched between your teeth, taking note of what was there and grabbing what you were sure they wouldn't miss. There were records and logs, but no dossiers. Those must all be in Aydan's office. You busied yourself grabbing folders detailing this organization, tucking it all away in your bag to be thoroughly read through later. If you were quick here, you'd have the rest of the night to learn everything you could and contact the police.

You tried opening a filing cabinet, only to find that it was locked. You swore under your breath as you wasted some more time searching for a key or a lockpick. It took far too long for you to uncover the hidden key tucked in the window sill. The moment you had it, you unlocked the drawers and began your hunt. After several minutes, you reached for a folder and opened it, smiling when you saw the address of the building you previously investigated.

Finally!

Figuring you were done here, you slipped out of the room and tucked your bag out of sight. It was incredible luck to have no one stumble upon you in there. Or to hear anyone walking down that hallway. Having Elise distracted must've worked to your advantage. She would've been the likeliest one to find you tonight. You hoped her conversation with Curioso was going well right now.

You were close to reaching your room until you felt someone grab your sleeve. You let out a cry and turned around harshly, only to meet the face of the telekinesis man you'd met earlier. For a second there, you thought Aydan had caught you. You eased down the second you realized they weren't orange eyes.

"Good evening, mate," he grinned at you, sounding just as friendly as last time. "Sorry for the scare."

You calmed down and made sure to keep your bag out of view, waving him off. "No worries. I was just going to the bathroom."

You noticed his expression had changed, eying you with a confused look on his face, but he quickly wiped it and replaced it with a smile. He shook his head, muttering something to himself, and you shifted uncomfortably.

"Say, I hate to bother ya', but the fire went out in my room. Can't get it to light again. Was wonderin' if you could help me?"

You shook your head, fully aware that you were not under Curioso's protection right now. "Sorry, I'm pretty exhausted from today."

"C'mon. It'll be real quick and it won't be much on you," he paused before adding, "This place is freezing at night!"

"Sorry, I just want to go back to my room and rest. I can help you tomorrow."

He looked at you oddly, and you did your best to appear as sluggish as you could, despite having caffeine in your system. After a second, he nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off you. "Okay, mate. Have a good night."

His tone was flat and you got the feeling that he wasn't very happy with you. You recognized suspicion in his eyes - and you froze, realizing that you did not have…what did Curioso keep calling it? An 'aura' ? He said you did not have one, and without him on your person, it was obvious to anyone around you that you did not possess magical powers.

You were so confident this wouldn't happen, but you let yourself slip out of concern for Elise. Crap .

"Uh, thanks. You, too."

With that, you sped-walked away, glancing behind your shoulder to check if he was following you. Thankfully, he remained where he was, eying you until you left his sight. From there, you rushed to your room, and closed the door behind you with a turn of the lock. You kept your body pressed against it for a minute longer, keeping an ear out to listen if he followed your direction, but you heard nothing.

You sighed in relief.

"Curioso?" you called as quietly as you could, looking around. "I'm back."

You checked the bathroom and every corner of your space, but it was empty. You inspected your clothes and your bag for his little face, but everything was as it should be. You sighed begrudgingly as you set down your bag and took out all the folders and papers you'd stolen. If Curioso wasn't done yet, then you weren't going to waste any time waiting for him. You'd check all of these and keep what you could for evidence.

They should be done soon.

A couple hours passed and you grew increasingly suspicious. Has something gone wrong? Did he get discovered? Had Elise ratted him out? It was nearly 4 AM now, and you worried it wouldn't be long before the early birds would rise. You shoved all the papers back in your bag and started your search outside of your room - checking the hallways and rooms you passed as silently as you could. You were on edge as you looked for your friend, knowing you couldn't call out for him.

You even returned to the bar you'd left them at, only to find the room completely empty. You checked behind the counter but there was nothing. You grew a little frustrated as your journey continued. Where had they gone? What could've taken them so long? You told him to meet you back in your room. He surely had no problem getting back in there, even if it WAS locked. He knew better than to take too long…

When you felt you checked every inch of the place, you gave up and decided to return to your room. Curioso knew where it was, and you trusted everything was alright. He was smarter than you credited him for. Nothing was wrong…he'd probably be back in there by the time you returned, and the two of you would laugh upon having missed each other–

A pair of voices caused you to freeze. It sounded like they were outside. But when you glanced out of the nearest window, you did not see anything. You gently pushed open the door that led to the downstairs balcony and looked to your left and right.

Nobody was around.

"We could leave together."

You perked up at the sound of Elise's voice. It was coming from above you. Ah, so they were on the balcony upstairs. You were about to head back inside until you heard Curioso's voice respond:

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

…You hesitated, then withdrew your hand, choosing to flatten yourself against the wall and listen in. It probably wasn't right for you to eavesdrop, but you didn't want to interrupt them if they were talking about something important. You had a feeling that's what this conversation was.

Elise's voice rang from above your head. "But you have temporary freedom. You do not need your master to release you. You can go anywhere you want, if you have your box."

"I don't want to," you could hear the sternness in his tone, as if he wanted to put an end to this conversation. You silently pleaded with him to do exactly that.

"But, why? Does your master not force you to work, to do as they say? Do they not remind you that you belong to them, and punish you when you do wrong?"

Your mouth was dry and you wet your lips. You remembered what you saw earlier. Your heart was pounding so loudly in your ears that you could barely hear their voices. Still, Curioso triumphed over the noise.

"I'm not a servant. Not anymore. And if I leave, I might become one again. We can't run from our curse - we must always belong to someone, and I have who I want."

Your face felt warm. He had who he wanted.

"You don't serve them? Then what do you do?"

You pressed your lips against your teeth, clenching your hands as you waited with bated breath. Curioso wouldn't give you away. It would bring the end of your investigation. She'd surely tell Aydan, and then you'd be found out…

"I'm their partner. They take me places and I help them in return. I am never forced, nor punished, to do anything."

A moment of silence ensued, and you shifted your footing. Some bells jingled and there were a few noises from above that you couldn't identify. Elise's voice returned after a moment.

"You're lucky. I would not want to leave if I were you, either. But I don't love my master and I cannot escape. What shall I do?"

"We can free you."

She sounded surprised. "How?"

"All it takes is your master's hand on the box. Some coercing can make that happen." That familiar sinister tone of his was in his voice, and you smiled at the familiarity of it. "And then your soul can find a new owner."

"But how do you know all of this?"

"I read the book."

"You - you did? How?"

"I have my ways. There is a combination your master can enter that will free your soul. We take your box, and you will be ours. Just until you find someone new."

"But that book only has punishments. There's no such combination. How can I trust you?"

You leaned forward, intrigued with where this was going, but you had no chance to hear Curioso's response. Two hands went around your throat and pulled you roughly inside. You choked at the sudden movement, widening your eyes when you were met with the same man from before. He must've been hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike when you had your guard down.

"Let's take a walk, yeah?" he whispered roughly in your ear, and you squeezed your eyes shut.

Shit.