Work Text:
There were worse chores than cleaning the floors, Yuu tried to convince themselves.
The kitchen stoves were hot and greasy, and took so much scrubbing to clean that an order from Crowley meant an ache in their arms the next day. Dusting the ledges always crushed Yuu’s back, and their neck burned from gazing up at the dizzying ceilings. There was the wiping down of every hall table with a different knick-knack, the dishes, because the food had to be plated beautifully even if only two people would ever see it, the sheets, the carpets, the draperies, the cooking- but the floors weren’t so bad.
They took a while, and the work was monotonous, but as they'd just explained, they could be much worse. Crowley insisted on the shiniest floors possible, and that meant an abundance of elbow grease, hours of boring scrubbing, and pruned hands. Yuu wished they were allowed gloves, but they only had those for the dishes, and Crowley liked to find any reason to torture them further by stating if they cleaned quicker, they’d have no need for gloves.
They'd been caught, multiple times, and Crowley’s spoon struck hard- but it still could be worse as far as chores went. So Yuu spent the walk to the garden’s water pump preparing themselves for the long day, trying to come up with a story to amuse themselves, and soaking up the sunshine.
Yuu reached the pump and began filling the bucket. They reached a cupped hand into the stream and took a small sip of water. Swallowing, they shook the water off and pushed their hands against their lower back to stretch, closing their eyes and trying to savor the feeling.
They let their neck roll back, trying to preemptively counter the hours of crouching they had ahead of them, and took a minute to admire the beauty of the garden in the back of the house. The flowers were in full bloom, stark red and yellow against the luscious green of the bushes. The bees and butterflies fluttered about, inspecting each flower for nectar.
Yuu sighed, and took the bucket back into the house. Though they'd start with the front hall, so as to not incite Crowley’s ire, Yuu typically took water from the back so they’d at least feel the sun sometime today.
Putting their bucket down, they added soap to the water and dipped their rags in, but before they could get started-
“Grim!”
The gray cat with sharp blue eyes and a striped ribbon Yuu’d given them so long ago was wandering around the manor. Crowley had denied Yuu’s formal request for a pet, so Grim was encouraged to stay in the basement. Yuu couldn’t keep him there, however, no matter how hard they tried, so instead they tried to encourage Grim to at least stay in less populated areas of the house.
He listened, at least when it helped him. He could recognize things and fetch them for Yuu when they asked, so long as he wasn’t feeling particularly lazy. Despite his curiosity, he’d never been upstairs as Yuu had requested. Somehow, they weren’t sure how, he could understand Yuu.
“Grim! Come on now, you’re not supposed to be here.”
Grim meowed.
“Yes, I realize this isn’t technically the second floor, but it’s still up the stairs from the basement. Come on, let’s get you back down there.”
Yuu set their rag down, picked up Grim, and started walking towards the basement staircase. Grim meowed louder, and batted his paws in the air slightly.
“Mmmm… it is pretty hot down there. Would an open window help?”
Grim seemed to shake his head, and wiggled slightly, begging to be let down right then.
“Alright, alright. Crowley or Epel might come down for a snack later, so the foyer and the kitchens are a no. Stay near the drawing room, ok?”
Grim meowed again, and Yuu released him. He stalked off in the direction of the drawing room.
“Hey! Don’t get too much hair on the cushions! Pick one and stay on there!” said Yuu to Grim’s retreating form.
Yuu went back to the foyer, mixed up the solution, and dipped their rag. As they started scrubbing, they pondered what story they would tell themselves today.
The girl who fell into the ground and met an ill-tempered queen? No, Yuu needed something a touch more dramatic.
The exceptionally talented son of gods, who defeated death itself? Nah, something longer!
The unassuming forest girl who finds out she’s a princess, but is cursed to sleep forever? Better, better… But just as Yuu was imagining the splendor of her castle and the gleam of her crown, the scene vanished.
Yuu huffed and sat on their heels. It was going to be a dreary sort of day, so why not make it worse by telling the saddest fairy tale of all time- their own life?
As they picked the soapy rag back up and scrubbed the floors, their vivid imagination saw the scenes play out in the gleaming reflections.
Yuu’s mother had died young.
Yuu could see her now- still and silent, flowers in her hands, blush on her cheeks, beautiful in eternal sleep, like the princess driven out of her home, awaiting her prince to kiss her. But when Yuu’s father leaned down to give one last unspoken goodbye to his wife, she did not awake, body and lips cold.
She had read Yuu all their favorite fairy tales at bedtime, and Yuu still remembered how the stories went leaning up against the warm body of their mother, though they had forgotten her voice. Their father had taken over the task after, and he had done an admirable job, but it had always been different after.
Yuu’s father had needed some help after that, said he to Yuu, and that they should not be afraid of the man in the crow mask. He was just here to help.
Crowley was his name, and Yuu could never shake a feeling of wrongness around him- they tried too hard and half-heartedly at the same time, pockets full of sweets covered in lint, an insistence on sending them out of the room whenever Crowley needed to exchange words with Yuu’s father. When Yuu asked what they were speaking of, Crowley would dumb down the contents of the conversation so Yuu could “understand” better- Yuu wasn’t stupid. They knew what liquidation was.
Then Yuu’s father went on a trip. A short one, he promised.
Yuu had asked who would read to them. Yuu’s father said he had asked Crowley to, and to do all of the other things fathers were supposed to do until he got back.
Yuu had pouted, but tried to be good about it. They gave him a hug, and said goodbye.
When he didn’t come back, Yuu had already run out of tears.
From there, it was a pretty dull story from age 14 to now, 7 years later. Crowley had suddenly become their guardian and the executor of Yuu’s father’s will, and had taken the house and the money. He had brought another kid with him, a short, purple-haired boy too similar in age to Yuu to be a brother, Epel, and Crowley asked if he could have Yuu’s room, to make him feel more at home.
Yuu gave an inch, heart heavy with grief and a longing for any level of normalcy, and Crowley had taken a mile. Their tutors were canceled, they were relegated to chores, and they moved into a corner in the basement to have quicker access to the kitchens. There were protests, of course, but Crowley insisted this was the way- Yuu would focus on the cleaning so Epel could focus on his schooling. He was to be wed, after all, to save them all from the financial ruin of this house.
So up went Epel, into Yuu’s old room, being schooled on whatever it is noble children were supposed to know, while Yuu scrubbed floors, hoping that someone would mistake them for well-bred nobility.
Yuu wasn’t noble themselves- their parents had money and a house with a carriage, but it was all what they had earned. There were no grandparents or cousins that could help. Yuu never thought to ask why, and one long shouting match between Yuu’s mother and a stranger at the door when they were very young told them not to ask.
They ran over every detail within their mind’s eye, until a soft knock at the door interrupted their thoughts.
Looking up, they blinked a bit in confusion. No one came to this house. It was up a small hill down the road, making them an unwieldy destination for solicitors. Their groceries were always delivered.
Draping the rag over the side of the bucket, Yuu grunted as they stood up, legs and knees burning. They made their way to the ornate door and opened it.
Standing in front of them, a man with purple streaks in their black hair wearing a mailbag smiled up at Yuu.
“Hello! Is this the Crowley residence?” chirped out the visitor.
“Yes,” said Yuu, curious of what was about to happen. “That’s us. May I ask who you are?”
“Of course! My name is Lilia,” said Lilia, “and I am a messenger from the royal family.”
Yuu cocked their head. The royal family? What did they want with Yuu's family?
“There will be a ball at the palace in three days’ time,” continued Lilia, “to celebrate the crown prince’s official entry into society.” He reached into his bag and produced two invitations. “Anyone is eligible to go to the ball, but groups will need to enter under at least one invitation. Am I to assume the master and child of this house are a Mr. Crowley and an Epel Felmier?”
“That- um, yes, they live here.”
Lilia produced two cream envelopes and said, “Then here are the invitations. Please be careful- without at least one of those, you won’t be allowed in.”
Yuu nodded and took the invitations. “Thank you, I will,” they said, and Lilia walked off to meet the black and green carriage.
They closed the door to the hoofbeats of the horses, and took a moment to look at the envelopes. They were heavy and rich, and felt cool against Yuu’s cracked hands.
Looking up the staircase to where Epel's room was, they tucked the envelopes into the front pocket of their apron. Epel and Crowley were practicing singing, judging by the sounds coming out of the room. They were not to be disturbed, per Crowley’s orders, but knowing him, he might become more upset later if he finds out Yuu held on to this information.
There was no winning here, but Yuu was sure the decision could be put off another moment, so they walked towards the kitchen to grab a quick snack and ponder their dilemma.
There, they saw Ace and Deuce, huddled in a corner, sandwiches in hands and mumbled words exchanging lips. The pair hadn’t seen Yuu, so Yuu took a step back and crouched behind a counter.
It was faint, but Yuu, who rarely got to speak to anyone, was eager to listen.
Crowley’s insistence on keeping the household costs as low as possible, to “ensure there was enough left for Epel”, meant Yuu had taken over most of the indoor chores after the sizable staff had been dismissed. Even they couldn’t take care of the indoor and outdoor chores simultaneously, however, and so Crowley had brought in a few other kids- Ace and Deuce, one with red hair and one with blue. Yuu had seen them fight their way through every task they were given, but they also had to note the two were remarkably thorough.
They really were just kids. The first time Yuu had seen them, they'd been struck by just how... young each of them looked. Yuu hadn't been around very many people younger than them, being an only child and living in a relatively rural area, so Yuu couldn't help but think of the two as the closest thing they had to brothers.
Which is why they had volunteered to help them move the groceries in, desperate for any contact that wasn’t purely negative. They had been a bit shy at first, but had eventually opened up and gotten to talking. When Ace went back to move the cart a bit closer, Yuu asked Deuce how they’d ended up here.
Deuce lived with his mother and his grandmother. Deuce’s mother had been working herself to the bone to keep a roof over their heads, but when she had broken her arm, Deuce had to find work himself. Unable to secure any work quickly, however, a friend of a friend had eventually recommended him to Ace, which is where his story began.
Ace had been a petty thief, stealing change out of people’s pockets, trying to help his family stay afloat by making himself as small a burden as possible. When an acquaintance had introduced him to Deuce, he taught him the tricks of the trade, but it wasn’t long before one of them had suggested a bigger prize.
At this, Ace grew quieter, and Deuce fixed him with a glare. He never clarified to Yuu which one of them had ultimately suggested the plan. Yuu assumed that neither of them remembered well and had already had many arguments on the subject, given the silence and the tension in the air.
Moving on, Ace had said, they had eventually scoped out a fancy little house, full of treasures. The rest was history. They stole something out of Crowley’s house to sell, but got caught on the way out. Crowley offered them indentured work in exchange for not turning either of them in. When Ace explained he intended to sell the goods for money for school fees and Deuce said he needed the money for his family, Crowley asked how much he’d need, and said he’d give him the money for a certain amount of work. After some tearful goodbyes to each of their respective families, they had both packed into a carriage together, traveling far from their homes. Neither had left the manor since, beyond collecting the weekly groceries.
The two of them also didn't have any idea of how much of the debt had been paid off, because Crowley didn’t let them see the books. They didn't celebrate many holidays, and they certainly didn't get time off for them, so estimating how much time had passed was tricky. But when they'd first arrived here, it was snowing, and it had snowed three times since then.
As the memory faded, Yuu propped themselves higher up against the counter, keeping their ears peeled.
Their instinct was right- the red and blue duo were huddled together, whispering about… something Yuu could barely hear.
“..........how w……….off?
“We…………k Epel!”
“.............ki…ng m..? ………….st……… der Crow………..con………..no use!”
“Yuu!”
Yuu jumped in surprise at hearing their name, banging their head into the counter. They winced in pain. In their effort to get a better listen, they had scooted up too far, and their head must have been spotted sticking out over the countertop.
“U-uhm- do you- did you hear a lot of that?” said Ace, chewing on his lip.
Yuu didn’t know what to say. They had turned out to make quite a poor spy. “No! No no, not a… lot.” replied Yuu.
They all sat in silence, staring wide-eyed at each other.
“What were you guys talking-”
“Nothing! Nothing at all!” insisted Ace.
“...Ok. I’ll, uh, get back to my work then.” said Yuu.
“You do that, Yuu.” said Deuce.
Yuu turned away from them, feeling uncomfortable. They had been caught, and hadn’t even learned anything for their trouble. Feeling sheepish, they pressed their mouth into a line, and stepped off the counter.
They didn’t exactly blame the pair for not trusting them. Despite the fact that they were all in the same situation, Crowley managed to keep them all overworked to the point where they barely had the energy to talk to one another.
It still stung, however, being rejected by the few people who might understand what they felt, and Yuu was resigned to nurse their hurt feelings somewhere else when they stopped.
For so long, they’d resigned themselves to this life. They had no money and not enough education, and they hesitated to leave the home of their childhood. But Yuu realized they had also been beaten into this. They hadn’t wanted this life, and once upon a time, they had fought to make that known.
“....couldn’t even go…”
So when they heard a whisper of what Ace and Deuce were talking about, Yuu resolved to change their fate.
“Are you trying to go to the ball?” said Yuu.
Ace and Deuce jumped, startled by Yuu’s voice.
Ace recovered quicker than Deuce and said, “What? No!”
Deuce rose form his seat and said, “This is none of your business, Yuu.”
“You need an invitation to get inside the castle.” Yuu said.
Ace and Deuce paused, and then turned back at Yuu.
“How do you know that?” asked Ace.
“The invitations were delivered just now. There’s one for Crowley and one for Epel.”
The duo sighed. Deuce turned to Ace and asked, “What now?”
“What are you guys trying to do?” asked Yuu.
“”It’s none of your-” started Deuce, but Ace put a hand on his shoulder.
“They might be able to help. I think we should tell them.”
“I’ve already helped,” said Yuu.
Ace laughed, and said, “That’s a good point. Alright, let’s just check that Crowley's not in the hall somehow.”
“He’s upstairs with Epel. They’re in a music lesson right now, and they’ve got at least an hour left according to the clock.” Yuu pointed at the one hanging in the kitchen, ticking away. They answered as matter-a-fact as possible if it would convince the pair of their usefulness.
Ace nodded and waved for Yuu to come in closer. As they leaned in, he whispered, “We’re trying to find something to steal, so we can sell it for money to get out of here.”
Yuu’s eyes widened. “And you’re looking for something at the castle?”
“Yes,” said Deuce.
“What about… anything here? It seems easier than traveling all the way.” asked Yuu.
Deuce shook his head and said, “There’s nothing here to steal. Nothing we could easily move, anyway.”
It was true. Yuu didn’t know what had happened to the jewelry, but their mother had never been much of a fan, so they presumed there wasn’t much to begin with. The flatware had been sold forever ago, reserving only a few select pieces for when Crowley wanted to eat fancily. The nice clothes were in use by Epel or Crowley, and though Yuu tried to take the utmost care with them, they were long since out of fashion, and probably could not be sold for a lot. And, like Deuce had said, there was the furniture. Well-crafted and expensive-looking as it was, it would be hard to move a sofa.
“We’ve turned over this house for at least a year, and we haven’t found anything that’s actually worth anything except for the house itself.” explained Ace frustratedly.
“We’ve heard that the ball is going to have some of the crown jewels on display- even one would sell for enough to set us up for a lifetime.” marveled Deuce.
“What about your families?” said Yuu.
Deuce’s face contorted and he angrily spat out, “We’re not leaving them! Once we have the money, we’ll go find them.”
Ace nodded. “We’ll have enough money to start over anywhere, and we’ll be able to convince them to come with us.”
“But none of that matters if we can’t even get to the castle,” muttered Deuce gloomily.
“I’m telling you, Deuce, he’s gonna need an entourage! He wants to seem more important than he actually is and stuff, it’s a good plan!” said Ace, trying to reassure Deuce.
“But he won’t. Because he’s Crowley,” grumbled Yuu.
Ace rolled his eyes. “It’s all a big show, and he needs actors.”
“But has he ever brought you anywhere before?” said Yuu.
They all fell silent for a moment. As far as Yuu knew, none of them had ever left the grounds since they’d come. Crowley found every excuse not to let them out. Even the groceries were delivered at the beginning of the road, to be picked up be Ace and Deuce.
“...maybe this’ll be an exception?” said Ace.
Yuu looked at Ace, trying to seem confident enough to hook their way onto this escape plan. “Maybe. Are you gonna bet on that?”
Ace had no reply. Yuu reached into their apron and pulled out the invitations.
“I haven’t taken them up yet. Crowley will be suspicious if we don’t get any invitations, but technically, only Epel needs one.” said Yuu.
The boys exchanged another look. Deuce said, “Are they addressed? Epel will need his.”
Yuu flipped the invitations over. “It’s this one,” They looked back up. “Hey, why can’t you just ask Epel for help?”
“We’ve tried. But Crowley’s never apart from him, have you noticed that? He even makes Epel sleep in the master bedroom, so he’ll hear if anyone is coming.” said Deuce.
Yuu didn’t say anything out loud, but they felt a bit worse for Epel.
“Do you have anywhere safe where you could put it?” said Deuce, referring to the invitation.
“Yes.” Yuu was sure Crowley searched their room and under their bed, but they could hide this between the pages of a book in their dresser.
“Ok, aside from the invitation, what’ll we need?” asked Deuce.
“What about clothes? Who’s going as what?” said Yuu.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a ball. We need to be dressed appropriately, even if some of us go as servants,” Yuu clarified.
“Should Ace be the noble? He’s got the best thieving skills out of all of us, and it would give him the most access.” suggested Deuce.
“Ugh, no way! I wouldn’t wanna be a noble, I couldn’t act that way!” refuted Ace disgustedly.
“You wouldn’t have to act for long, you’d just have to smile and get through the door,” said Yuu.
“Still. Gross. Plus, I’d have to dress up super flashy, right? If I go as a servant or something, I can be more inconspicuous.”.
“You could dress up in similar colors as the castle servants! That way, at a glance, they won’t be suspicious, and that could help you,” said Deuce.
“Great idea!” said Ace. “Do you know what colors they wear?”
“Uh, black?”
“The guy who came to the door was wearing dark gray and green," said Yuu, tapping their cheek with their finger. "I think are the colors of the royal family, so black could work. Deuce, do you wanna be the noble?”
“I’d rather not attract that much attention to myself… besides, it’ll be way more suspicious if a noble guest is with a servant, right?” said Deuce.
“Then… who’s going to be the noble?” said Yuu
“How about you, Yuu?” proposed Ace.
At first, they were confused. “Me? It’s not like I could pull off an air of nobility better than you guys.”
“You’ve at least got more experience than us- this was your house, right? And, you know, you look…” Ace waved his hands in the air, as if trying to pull words out.
“I look… what?”
“...fine.” finished Ace.
Yuu leveled him with a slight glare. “Thanks.”
“Yuu, not to be rude, but Ace has a bit more experience with stealing stuff, and he and I know we can work together. If you can just get us in the door, we can go from there,” said Deuce, intervening before the situation could get more awkward.
“As long as I’m still considered a part of the plan.” said Yuu.
Ace looked surprised. “You want some of the money?”
“I’d like a chance to leave, at least. We don’t have to stay together, but when you guys go, I’d like to come with you,” said Yuu.
Deuce nodded. “That seems fair. We won’t leave without you.”
Yuu smiled.
‘Friends’ was a strong word, but Yuu had successfully made their first allies.
“Wait! When is the ball?” exclaimed Ace.
“The man delivering the letters said in three days, so… Thursday, the 29th?”
“What? But that’s so soon!” sputtered Deuce.
It was Monday- only a few days to the party. Anyone who wanted to order something new without the money for rush fees was already too late. Crowley was gonna have a fit.
Ace didn’t look happy. “We’ll have to move quickly, then, on everything,” he said, “It’s not good to rush a job like this one, but this may be our only chance.”
It also meant Yuu’d probably be sewing and stitching from now to the ball. Great.
“You guys can figure it out from there. I’m going to go throw this in my room,” said Yuu. “See you guys around.”
Ace and Deuce broke off to attend to their respective chores, and Yuu scurried to their room.
Once it was safe between the pages of their old book of fairytales, Yuu made their way to the bottom of the stairs. They took a deep breath, and began walking up.
They stood outside the master bedroom. Inside, Yuu could hear Epel’s shaky singing voice and Crowley’s piano playing. They knocked, swiftly and sharply.
Suddenly, they heard a sound like crashing keys. Crowley stomped up to the door and yanked it open.
“Yuu!” They flinched as Crowley shoved their face in Yuu’s, beaked mask lunging into their face.
“Mr. Crowley, sir-”
“Surely, Yuu, you knew that we had music practice from 1-6 today, seeing as it is Monday,”
“Yes, I did-”
“And you know that Epel needs as much practice as possible,”
“Of course! But-”
“So I don’t understand why you’d interrupt us, now of all times, and jeopardize not only Epel’s but all of our futures, including yours?”
“Yes! But please-”
“Goodbye, Yuu.” And so the door was slammed.
Attempt number 2. Yuu knocked again, harder this time.
The door swung open. “Yuu, I will not waste any more time on this. Do NOT bother us again.”
“But-”
“If you have time to talk, you have time to clean. Good. Bye.” The door was slammed once again.
One more try. Yuu pounded on the door. Crowley swung it open again, open palm raised in the air, but before he could move, Yuu held the invitation in front of their face and hid behind it.
“Something came in the mail today!”
The invitation was snatched out of Yuu’s hand, and Crowley tore it open.
“You are cordially invited to… oh yes, yes! It’s what we’ve been waiting for! Epel?”
Behind Crowley, the sullen purple boy appeared behind Crowley. “What is it?”
“It’s an invitation to the prince’s ball! I’ve been waiting for this to be formally announced, my contacts at the palace expected this ages ago.”
Epel said, “Prince Malleus, right?”
“That’s ‘Your Royal Highness, Prince Malleus’ to you, Epel, which is what you’ll address him as at the ball in-augh”
Crowley made a noise Yuu would not dare describe as squawking for fear of falling apart in laughter, and Epel asked, “What? What is it?”
“The ball is in four days!” exclaimed Crowley. “Yuu, forget all your chores for now. I'll need you on outfit mending duty for the foreseeable future. Epel, bring your blue dress with the gold details, it has a rip in the hem, doesn’t it? Grab the purple dress, too, there’s a stain and it needs to be washed, and get the green jacket while you’re back there, it’s missing two buttons. Grab all your white button-ups too, they’ll need to be thoroughly checked for flaws, I like the one with the stiff collar for this ball but there’s a rip in the underarm.”
Epel ran between his wardrobe and the rest of his room, trying to get everything Crowley requested.
“This jacket?”
“No, no, that’s lime green! The darker one, does that look like it’ll match the blue dress?”
Epel, having picked up the correct jacket and all other of Crowley’s requests, carefully walked over to Yuu, who grabbed onto the pile with outstretched hands.
“If- ha,” Yuu tried to adjust the pile in their arms. “If the party’s only one day, why do we need all the clothes?”
“To find the right outfit! This is our best shot, it’s what Epel’s been waiting for!”
At that, Yuu glanced over at Epel, whose eyes were blown wide in fear. The look passed, however, and Yuu could do nothing else but walk down the stairs to begin the sewing.
Crowley placed his hand on Yuu’s shoulder. “Yuu, was there any more mail?”
Yuu felt a sudden bolt of fear, but tried not to let it show, “No,” they breathed. “I’m sorry. Were you expecting something else?”
“Yes! An invitation for me! How is Epel expected to go without a chaperone, this is most improper!”
Yuu begged silently for Crowley to lose interest. They were not an excellent actor, certainly not a good enough one to play this off easily.
“I’m sorry, none came.”
“How did you get the invitation?”
“A man came up to the door and handed it to me.”
Crowley sighed. “And you didn’t think to ask why there was only one invitation?”
This was torture! “I’m sorry, I didn’t think about that.”
Grabbing Yuu by the chin, Crowley forced them to look up at him. Yuu tried not to tremble as their balance was thrown off. “No, that’s your problem Yuu, you just don’t think. You complain so much about the chores I give you, but if I gave you anything you had to think about, your poor pea-sized brain would shrivel up at the effort.”
Yuu's legs trembled with the exertion of holding themselves up.
Crowley moved his hand to pinch Yuu’s cheeks on both sides, and a tremor went through Yuu, arms straining under the weight of the clothes. “This is why Epel was invited, and you were not. Even though you’re so cute, Yuu, there’s just nothing upstairs in that head of yours." Their heart was beating out of their chest, and Yuu couldn't figure out whether it was better to say something or stay silent. Either way, they didn't reply. "Now,” Crowley released Yuu’s face, “sort the pile and meet us in the foyer. It’s your job to help Epel to the best of your ability. I’ll need to call him down here, to begin practicing immediately. You may watch us, so you have something to entertain yourself with.”
Yuu blinked away phantom tears before taking another few steps forward, taking a few steadying breaths. They remembered something, however, and turned around to ask, “Will you be taking Ace and Deuce with you?”
Crowley paused. “To the ball? What for?”
“I thought you might need someone to drive the carriage. And they said everyone was invited, so long as you went in a group.”
“And deprive you all of a well-deserved holiday? No no, you’ll stay back here with them. Have yourselves a little party! Of course, we’ll be needing refreshments when we get back, so you’ll need to be keeping those fresh for us. And a hot bath, so we can rest after a long night. But between doing that, you’ll have a night off! Isn’t that nice? You know Ace and Deuce, right?”
Yuu blinked and said, “Yes, I do. Uh, thank you. At what time will you be coming back?”
“Oh, we’ll be out all night, you know how these parties go. If the prince takes a liking to Epel, we might not be back ‘till sunrise!”
Joy. Yuu stifled a groan and nodded to Crowley as they marched off to their task. It had been a long day, and they had miles of stitches ahead of them.
“Up, Epel, eyes up to me! Graceful and refreshing, like a breath of fresh air!”
Yuu was worried they’d need to stitch Crowley back together. He was coming undone.
Epel and Crowley were practicing dancing in the foyer, as the largest flat space in the house. Epel was actually quite good, but he managed to make it seem as though he was being dragged against his will by Crowley- which was true. Crowley was making Epel balance a book on his head, but he was having trouble keeping the book steady while also looking up at Crowley, who was a fair bit taller than him. The book kept slipping, and Crowley kept making Epel start over, voice more frantic each time.
“Epel! How many times are you going to force us to start over?”
“S-sorry, Mr. Crowley,”
Yuu was sitting on the floor, stitching up that green jacket in between queuing up records to play classical music in ¾ time to practice Epel’s waltz.
“Start it again, Yuu, Epel needs to practice this song.” he said, and Yuu moved to rewind the record.
Epel slumped into himself, exhausted. Yuu didn’t blame him- they’d been at this for hours.
“Epel, let me get you a snack, or juice? For energy?” cut in Yuu, glancing between him and Crowley for approval.
“Fine, fine, a bit of juice,” said Crowley dismissively, “to keep your energy up. But not too much, Yuu, Epel needs to be in top form.”
Yuu dropped their work in an instant and dashed into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water, eager at the chance to stretch their legs. They’d need to go down to the cellar for the juice, but Epel seemed to like it most of all.
The cellar was a bit musty, but it much cooler than the stuffy manor. The last vestiges of summer still had a death grip on some days, even as the leaves turned brown. They picked up the ladle and scooped a cupful of juice into a glass, pouring a small sip into their mouths. Crowley would have their head if the staff were caught “skimming”, but Yuu figured they deserved the treat.
It was sweet and rich, a perfect drink for the beginning of autumn, and was a nice rest from the monotony of the day.
Recognizing it was about time to get back to work, they made their way over and up the ladder. Partway up, they placed the glass on the kitchen floor to have both hands free. When their head peaked over the floor, Ace was there.
“Can I give you a hand?” he said, hand outstretched.
“Thanks,” said Yuu, climbing up the rest of the way. “You want a bit of apple juice? It’s for Epel, but I got a bit too much.”
“Oh, yum!” Ace tipped the glass into his mouth as Yuu closed the door to the cellar. “Mmm, delicious! I remember harvesting these apples.”
“Yes, and thanks again for that. I squeezed them pretty well, don’t you think?”
“Definitely. You did a good job.”
Yuu smiled. They took the glass and headed back towards the foyer, but Ace grabbed them by the arm and spun them around.
“Do you have any ideas for clothes for us yet?” asked Ace.
Right. Outfits.
“I checked,” they whispered, leaning in a bit. “There’s some green fabric in the storage closet, and I think there’s at least one dark suit in Epel’s closet Crowley’s not considering for the ball. We’ll need a way to get it, though.
Ace nodded. “What are they doing over there?” he said, glancing out the kitchen door.
“Dance practice,” said Yuu. “Don’t bother trying to sneak up now. They’re right in front of the stairs.”
“I’ll leave you to it, then.”
“See ya.”
Yuu returned to the foyer, glass of juice in hand. Epel perked up a bit at the sight, more enthused than Yuu had seen him, ever. After chugging the glass, Epel gave Yuu a slight nod in thanks. Yuu smiled and took the glass back.
“I’ll go rinse this out.” Anything to put off the eye-straining task of a thousand little stitches a little while longer.
Crowley waved them off without another glance.
In his haste to drink quickly, lest it be taken away from him, Epel had left a little juice at the bottom of the glass, and Yuu drank it quickly.
They turned on the faucet and watched the water swirl and fill the glass, trying to rest their eyes and give them some reprieve from the strain, and the rest gave their mind a chance to think.
Yuu needed some way to get Crowley and Epel away from the master bedroom and anywhere else they might see people entering the room.
Could Yuu get them outside? It would give them the most leeway, but they didn’t see how it could happen.
What would you hypothetically want your prize pig to have to catch a prince? Good looks, good manners and poise- wait.
The dining room was sufficiently far from the staircase, and there was no view of the room from there. It was definitely something necessary to know, for all those banquets and feasts, and Epel would even get a rest from standing.
“Mr. Crowley!”
Crowley sighed as he was interrupted once again.
“Mr. Crowley, I hate to bother, but-”
“Clearly you don’t actually hate bothering us that much, otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it.”
“Yes, but I have-”
“And CLEARLY you don’t care about the future of this household,” said Crowley, cutting off Yuu as he stepped forward, “let alone the rest of its inhabitants, because you’re actively sabotaging-”
“Dining etiquette!” squeaked out Yuu.
There was a sudden pause.
Yuu really, really hoped they hadn’t just set off a bomb by interrupting, and that Crowley would think their idea so genius, so wondrous, that they wouldn’t even stop to think about Yuu’s transgression.
It didn’t hurt to dream.
And it seemed to be the week for dreaming, as Crowley’s face lit up in recognition of the idea.
“That’s actually an excellent idea! Come on Epel, we’ll practice your fine dining skills. Yuu, put away the record player, and set the table. Fully set it, please, like they do at the palace.”
Crowley walked past them to the dining room and Epel followed, shooting Yuu a resentful look. Yuu mouthed “sorry” and hurried on to the record player. They picked it up, and once they made sure Crowley was out of sight, they ran to the door to get outside.
After a bit of frantic searching around the outside of the house, they found Deuce, painting the fence,
“Deuce! Come here, and be careful. Epel and Crowley are right there.” They shifted the record player into one arm and pointed at the window Deuce was painting in front of, the one that looked into the dining room.
Deuce turned around and dropped his paintbrush into the can. He took both items with him to Yuu until they were both out of sight of the window. “What’s wrong, Yuu?”
“Epel and Crowley are in the dining room, and I need to go set the table. Can you go into the master bedroom and look in the wardrobe for something we can use for your servants outfits? We need something as dark as possible, but don’t take anything that looks too expensive.”
“Got it. How’ll I know if something’s too expensive?”
“Umm… just try not to get anything too nice.”
“You got it, I’ll go right now.” Deuce set down the paint can and started to jog back to the front entrance.
“Be quiet! Don’t stomp on the stairs, they might hear you.”
“Oh, right! Thanks Yuu!”
“Bring it to the basement when you’re done!”
Yuu followed Deuce back inside to set the record player down in the storage closet, and went off to set the table, ‘castle-style’.
Entering exhausted, Yuu ripped their apron off and tossed it to the side to flop down onto the bed in a heap, body giving up after the endlessly long day they had endured.
The place setting ended up being all of the utensils from the last set, forks on the left and knives, then spoons on the right, in descending size order. It was a relatively simple task, once Yuu found all of the spoons.
Helping Epel practice fine dining had been relatively simple from there. Yuu was to stand pasted to the wall, behind Epel, doing their stitches. It was a bit odd, sewing in mid-air, and they could still feel the bend in their neck, but it wasn’t the worst chore they had ever had to do.
Yuu couldn’t say the same about the dyeing Crowley set them to do.
The blue dress and the green jacket, said Crowley, were looking more than a bit faded. The blue dress’s dye was looking especially uneven, and so Yuu was put to the task of finding a way to fix it.
Never mind Yuu didn’t know anything about dyeing clothes, and they didn’t think they had fabric dye in the house. Never mind any of this, mumbled Yuu.
Suddenly, an idea came to them. Perking up, they grabbed a wicker basket from the pantry and set a cloth down on it, fastened a hat to their head, and set off through the back door.
Basket swinging, they jogged into the forest, trying to remember the way to a patch of blueberries they had found once so long ago.
Stopping in a familiar clearing, they tried to look into the foliage to work out their next move.
“Yuu.”
They gasped, whirling around to face the source of the voice and tripping over their own legs in the process. Yuu's basket fell to their side, bouncing in the grass.
Yuu's eyes trailed up to a tall man in a black uniform, horns spiraling at the top of his head. He looked down at Yuu with a sly smile, amused by their antics.
“Oh!” Yuu clutched a hand to their chest, and took a deep breath. “Tsunotaro, you scared me!”
Yuu had met Tsunotaro some years ago, in this very clearing. He had been wandering the woods, having become distracted by the scenery after being thrown from his horse. Yuu had been hiding, trying to get away from their wretched house and endless work for an hour or two.
They had been curious at the appearance of the oddly-dressed stranger, but when they'd asked for his name, he had seemed confused, asking if Yuu did not recognize him. The comment struck a nerve. Who was he to ask if Yuu knew who he was! It wasn’t their fault they never left their house, and they said as much to the stranger, rolling their eyes and beginning to walk off, when he had grabbed them by the wrist and smiled.
He apologized, merely surprised, he said, but when they asked again, he replied that his name was whatever they called him. They were annoyed by his evasiveness, but had taken a step back, assessing him.
Tsunotaro, they had said, for his demeanor and horned features. Yuu had never seen anyone like him, with horns and pointed ears, but they kept that to themselves. Whatever they said must have been amusing, because the guffaw that left his mouth was more genuine than anything he had said so far. Yuu. not knowing how to react, stood there looking at him, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Once he composed himself, he asked Yuu for their name. Yuu only gave him a squint in return, which they were trying really hard to make into a fierce glare.
“Have you no name, then?” he had asked.
Yuu wasn’t sure if he was just having himself a nice little laugh, or if he had a legitimate reason for withholding his name, but they replied, “If you won’t tell me yours, then I won’t tell you mine. Seems fair, don’t you think?”
He had laughed once again, loudly and without restraint, and conceded the point. He then asked about their business in the forest, and explained his own reasoning for being here. Yuu offered to help him look for his horse, and they began to walk together.
Yuu had found themselves as distracted as their companion had, however, when he began to talk about the architectural prowess of the royal palace. He seemed determined to explain to Yuu every fact about gargoyles in existence, and had become quite animated in his explanations. It was surprisingly interesting, or at least the way in which Tsunotaro chose to talk about it was.
“So,” Yuu had said, “you live near the castle?”
“I live there,” he had replied simply.
“You live there?” Yuu had looked at Tsunotaro quite intensely then, piecing something together. He seemed to tense suddenly.
“You must work there!” Yuu told Tsunotaro in amazement.
That’s what they had missed. The clothes in the color of the royal house, the horse, the mannerisms. Tsunotaro seemed surprised they had figured it out, Yuu had thought back then, and had laughed a bit.
After what felt like an eternity of wandering, not particularly concerned with where they were going, they had found his horse in a clearing, munching on some grass near the blueberry patch. Tsunotaro had gotten on and offered them a ride back to their destination, but Yuu declined, knowing the way home.
Tsunotaro had been reluctant to leave, insisting on taking Yuu home despite their refusal. He had then asked if he could see them again, but Yuu had explained their inconsistent schedule. Still, Tsuntaro’s words held an odd, pleading undercurrent, and so Yuu had promised to try and get away.
From there, their meetings had continued, and their friendship had bloomed.
They'd been able to meet up about once a month. Usually, Yuu was able to get away less than they anticipated, but the two of them had been able to develop a true bond in the sparse amount of time they had been able to spend together.
Yuu could feel something else between them, something tingling just under their skin. Tsunotaro had gotten more affectionate, his touches more longing. When they looked into his eyes, Yuu could see something within them. But, afraid to burst their bubble, they said nothing, and neither did Tsunotaro, and so they had remained as friends to this day.
Presently, Yuu’s heart fluttered as they looked up at Tsunotaro. They sighed, trying to exhale away their feelings.
“You scared me!” they exclaimed, grabbing Tsunotaro’s outstretched hand. He pulled them up, and Yuu used their free hand to dust themselves off.
“I apologize,” he replied, “it was not my intention to obscure myself from you. However, I was just standing here, admiring the view of the forest, as we had no standing appointment.” He leaned down, causing Yuu to look up from their apron. Tsunotaro reached out to take Yuu’s hands into his own and crouched down, beginning to scrutinize the palms carefully and occasionally brushing them off. “What are you doing here, by the way?” His eyes flicked up, but they returned to the palms of Yuu’s hands quickly.
The flutters in Yuu’s heart were back. Tsunotaro was looking so intensely, Yuu wasn’t sure what he was looking for. They'd seen that look on his face before, however, and knew that unless they directly told him to stop, he would continue happily. Yuu decided to simply answer his question, after swallowing down their newfound nervousness.
“I needed to dye something blue, and I thought boiling the blueberries with the clothes might work.”
“Hmm,” his voice rumbled in his chest, “that seems quite logical. What manner of,” at this, he paused to look up at Yuu, a shadow of something passing over his face, “...errand does he have you running to fulfill this time?”
They hadn’t revealed much of their situation to Tsunotaro. Yuu tried to keep it as light on the details as possible, not wanting to burden him with their problems, but some stuff had just slipped out. So far, they had mentioned they lived with a caretaker and that they did a lot of the chores around the house, trying to frame it as merely their own eagerness to help although they thought Tsunotaro might have heard their undercurrent of resentment. Yuu also thought he had noticed they had never mentioned their parents, commenting in passing his own were deceased.
Yuu sighed in exhaustion at being reminded of their task. “I’m dyeing some clothes for Epel. There’s going to be a ball.” Yuu gasped in realization. “Oh! Did you hear about it? Well, of course you would, right? Are you going to be there?”
They couldn’t fight the small smile that made its way onto their face, picturing a dressed up Tsunotaro standing in the middle of a fancy ballroom. He looked up at them, and for a moment, it looked as if he was kissing their hand after asking them to dance, eyes threatening to sweep them off their feet.
He rose fully then, apparently satisfied with his work. He was looking right into Yuu’s eyes, apparently so distracted that he forgot to fully let go of their hands. Yuu declined to remind him.
“Yes, I will be present at the ball. I presume you will be there as well?” His hands squeezed Yuu’s ever so slightly.
Initially, Yuu fought a wave of disappointment, but remembered they were, in fact, going to the ball. “Yes!” Recalling exactly why, however, they felt the need to pull their reaction back, and not give Tsunotaro false hope about being able to spend much time together. “Ah, but I won’t be there for long.”
Tsunotaro cocked his head at them. “Oh?” His eyes narrowed somewhat. “Why is that?”
“Well-” Yuu paused, not knowing how to explain that they were sneaking to the ball behind Crowley’s back to rob the royals. As a guard, Tsunotaro would want to stop them to protect the royal family.
They realized that, after the plan, they’d be leaving him behind as well. It hurt their heart to think about leaving their friend. Could they bring him as well? Could he be convinced to desert his post?
Taking a breath, Yuu said, “Do you live close to here? I know you live at the palace, but your family. Are you from around here?”
Tsunotaro looked confused, a curious smile forming on his face. “Yes, my family is from here.”
Yuu sighed, closing their eyes. “What?” he asked. “What is it?”
Swallowing, they opened their eyes to face Tsunotaro again. “After the ball, I’m planning to leave. My house, Crowley- I'm going to do it.”
His smile shifted into something more natural. “That is excellent news! Where will you go? I will visit you, and we can take walks together in a new environment.”
Yuu shook their head. “I don’t know where we’re going, but it’s going to be far away from here. I can’t stay here any longer, I have to leave this kingdom.”
Tsunotaro’s eyes widened a bit, and his grip on Yuu’s hands tightened. “You’re… going to what?” His voice was thin.
Yuu pulled his hands to their chest. “Which is why I want you to come with me. I know, it’s a lot to ask, but it’s not like you could never go home! Although,” Yuu thought of the fact that he might be branded a deserter, “it might not be easy,” they said.
Tsunotaro didn’t say anything for a moment, before replying weakly, “Yuu… I cannot.” His eyes were filled with sadness, and his shoulders dropped.
Yuu exhaled and nodded sadly, knowing this was a possibility. “I understand. I wouldn’t want you to leave your family behind.” They let go of his hands, but his grip remained as strong as ever.
“Must you leave?” he asked pleadingly. His hand reached up to touch their chin delicately, thumb placed right under their lips. “I cannot imagine living without you, even as scarcely as we see each other now.”
They swallowed. “Tsunotaro, I can’t stay in that house anymore.” They glanced off to the side, trying to avoid having to look at him, and his hand dropped from their face.
“Come stay with me, then.” His voice sounded so pleading, Yuu felt awful for letting him down.
“I’m sorry,” they said, “but I can’t endanger you like that.”
“Endanger me?”
Even if they did accept his offer, they’d be putting Tsunotaro and his family at risk once their crime was discovered. Not to mention the act of putting Tsunotaro in a position where he had to choose between them and the law. Yuu couldn’t do that to him.
The silence hung in the air, Tsunotaro apparently out of ideas. Yuu turned back to him, and grabbed his hand.
“But I’ll see you at the ball, right?”
He looked at them again, happiness returning to his face. “Yes,” he said, “I will be there, and I will await you most eagerly.”
Yuu gave him a smile. “I can’t wait.” They tugged at their arms, pulling their hands out of Tsunotaro’s. “Now, help me look for some blueberries before Crowley decapitates me.”
He gave them a short laugh, and Yuu stepped back. They leaned over to pick up the fallen basket, and kneeled in front of the blueberries, Tsunotaro joining them.
“Well, let us make sure you can go to the ball after all.” He smiled at Yuu, clearly trying to mask the traces of sadness on his face, and began to pick berries off the bush.
After they had headed home, with a lingering goodbye from Tsunotaro, they set down the berries in the kitchen and made dinner. A cold soup with vegetables from the garden and salted meat cuts, something quickly thrown together. Not that Yuu got to try any- Crowley asked how the suit was going, and when they said they were almost finished, he replied, “Good. You can eat when it’s done.”
So that was the end of that.
Yuu licked their lips, trying to taste something to stave off the growling in their stomach. They thought back to the sip of apple juice, and tried to remember the sugary sweetness as they dumped the berries into the boiling pot of water.
Peering into the soup, Yuu noticed the color wasn’t quite right. It was somewhat lighter than the suit, and Yuu was worried the faded patches wouldn’t be quite covered up. They tried to rack their brain for ideas as to what could help.
They had a bag of black beans in the cellar, nearly depleted, a year or two old. Turning back to the cellar opening, they left the pot for a moment to retrieve the beans and dumped them in, stirring them to mix the color.
The beans’d turned the soup a darker shade than it had started, and Yuu was relieved their idea had worked. Retrieving the suit from the chair in the hall they had left it on, they stirred it in slowly, letting it stew in the color.
“Meow.”
Yuu looked over at Grim, who was looking up at Yuu, tail swishing.
“I’m making soup.” Yuu lifted up the suit from the soup with the spoon, giving Grim a peek. “Pretty good, huh?” They smiled.
Grim was interested for half a second before walking on behind Yuu to go do whatever it is he did.
The suit would smell a bit sweet, but as Yuu mumbled words of discontent into the pot, they let themselves feel a moment of relief at accomplishing their task so successfully.
In the present, all of these memories flashed in the eye of Yuu’s mind. The suit had been hung up to dry in the summer air of the garden, Yuu remembered as they settled themselves onto the quilt. They kicked their shoes off and shuffled forward, but their leg nudged something rougher than the quilt bedspread.
They pushed themselves up onto their arms and took a look. It was a pile of black fabric that they couldn’t account for. Yuu took it and flopped onto their back to examine it closer.
It was one suit jacket, two pairs of dress pants, and a gray shirt, probably the things Deuce took from Epel’s room. Yuu didn’t have a good idea of Ace and Deuce’s sizes, but the pants were almost certainly going to need to be taken out. The jacket might be alright- the gray shirt was too light in color.
Yuu sighed, and shoved the clothes off the bed. Their stomach grumbled. There had been no food saved for them, and they had been too exhausted to make anything else. Eyes drooping, savoring the feel of Tsunotaro’s hands on theirs, they settled in for a dinner of sleep.
“So, how are the outfits going?”
Two days to the ball, and Crowley was popping stitches.
He and Epel were locked in the master bedroom, practicing conversational skills. Crowley was quizzing him on the books Epel was supposed to have read as he corrected his diction. Yuu was to bring up slices of fruit in water in a few minutes, lunch an hour after that, and tea 2 hours after that. After breakfast, sweeping, and a pile of laundry, they were sewing in the living room, permitted to do so by Crowley to watch the clock.
Today, it was the purple dress. There was no damage Yuu could see, but it needed a shorter hem, because even in heels, the dress was too long for Epel.
It had already been pinned in place, and Yuu was stitching it together as Ace knocked on the open window. Yuu had popped it open to hopefully let a breeze in.
Yuu held up the stitching. “Epel’s hem is gonna need a little more work, but it should be done soon.”
“Great for him. What about our outfits?”
“I’ll need you for a fitting after we’re all done with our chores, down in the basement. There’s only one jacket and I need to see who it fits better.” Yuu pulled another pin in the hem.
“When should I go?”
“Just come down whenever you’re done for the day.”
Ace nodded and went off to continue his work, but Yuu stuck their head through the window.
“Hey! Can you tell Deuce that, please?”
Ace gave Yuu a smile and a thumbs up, and Yuu shut the window.
Yuu glanced at the clock. With five minutes left until they had to bring the fruit water up, Yuu put their work to the side and stood up, glad for the stretch the change in position brought.
Once they were in the kitchen, they pulled out the lemons and the strawberries, fresh-picked by Deuce, and started cutting. Into the glasses they went, and the glasses onto a tray. Picking it up quickly but carefully, they ascended the staircase. With a minute to spare, Yuu laid the tray down in front of the door, and knocked.
As they turned to walk back down them stairs, they saw something through the window above the main door. What looked like Deuce and Ace, at the end of the road, talking to someone Yuu didn’t recognize.
Yuu looked back at the door to the master bedroom, suddenly very aware Crowley was about to poke his head through it. Yuu started down the stairs as fast as they could, so as to not draw more attention to them and thus, the window.
In their haste, they missed the last step, and in an attempt to save themselves from the floor, they grabbed the railing and pitched themselves over the side, making it out of sight of the master bedroom just in time for Yuu to hear the door click open.
Yuu tried to focus on the sound as they steadied their breaths, eyes clamped shut, and as the door clicked closed again, they let out a breath of relief.
Stepping forward to the window, Yuu managed to wave Deuce and Ace down as they came back from the intersection, and indicated for them to follow them into the kitchen.
Yuu opened the backdoor for them, and asked, “I saw you guys down the road. Who were you meeting?”
“Oh! It was the kid who delivers the groceries," Ace explained. "Ortho. We’ll need a driver, unless you know how to steer a carriage?” Deuce and Ace stepped into the kitchen.
Yuu hadn’t thought of that. “Will we need to make him an outfit?”
“No.” Deuce grabbed an apple from the counter. “He’s got nice clothes he can wear. He says he wants to hang out with the horses, anyway, so he’s not gonna come in with us.”
“Does he want a cut of the money?”
Deuce threw the apple to Ace, who took a big bite. “He doesn’t know what we’re doing. He just likes horses.”
“What time will he be coming?”
Deuce’s eyes widened. “Oh shoot! Oh dang it! I’ll go now! What should I tell him?”
“Party starts at 8! Go!”
Deuce took off through the backdoor.
Ace laughed. “I’m sure he’ll get there in time. He’s a fast runner when he needs to be.”
Yuu nodded. “I’m gonna boil some veget-”
“Yuu!!”
Ace and Yuu turned to look out the kitchen, where Crowley’s voice had come from. Yuu sighed. What now?
“Soup for lunch, ok? Tell Deuce, I’ll see you later-”
“Yuu!!!”
They left the kitchen and ran to the master bedroom. Yuu knocked on the door, and Crowley swung it open.
“Yuu, I’ve been calling and calling, where were you? Do not make me wait that long again, do you understand? You have a job here, one single job, and when you don’t fulfill it you’re useless, Yuu. Is that what you wanna be? Useless?”
Yuu stayed silent. They did not risk provoking any further reaction.
“And oh, look at you, standing there without a thought in your head. I suppose the answer is yes. Why do I even ask?"
Crowley peered down at Yuu.
“Hmm?”
“Did… you need-”
“Ah. Yes. How’s the blue dress going?”
“Uhm, I can go get it-”
“Of course, you didn’t think to bring it. Ugh. Go fetch it.”
When Yuu came back, the suit slightly stiff from lack of a proper wash and smelling sweet as predicted, Crowley took it out of their hands and started inspecting.
“Hmm, the fabric feels rough, but the stitches look alright. The stain is out, and the color is… passable. Alright, here’s what I need you to do, Yuu.”
Crowley went to get something in the room, and came back with a bright yellow suit, ruffles on the jacket.
“I need you to take the fabric from this dress and use it to replicate this suit.” He held up the yellow dress, and put both in Yuu’s stunned hands.
“...From scratch?”
“Yes Yuu, unless you can make one out of thin air.” At Yuu’s continued shock, he said, “Oh Yuu, don’t give me that look. You’re smart enough to put this together, yes? And how’s the hem on the purple dress going?”
Yuu took a step back. “I’m still working on it. Do you want me to-”
“What are you waiting on, Yuu? What have you been doing all day? You know we only have two days left, yes?”
“Of course, I’ll get it-”
“Don’t make excuses. Your work ethic is pathetic enough already. I expect this to be done by tomorrow morning.”
“Tomorrow morning?”
The words slipped out of Yuu, unable to stop them. Crowley turned to go back into the bedroom, but before he did that, he made sure Yuu saw him roll his eyes and shake his head in exasperation.
Yuu took a look at the suit. It didn’t seem too hard, even with Yuu’s lack of experience. There was a suit pants pattern in one of the books from the drawing room somewhere, Crowley wouldn’t notice if they swapped it out. The jacket they’d have to eyeball, though.
Puffed sleeves? And how were these ruffles sewn on…?
They had hours ‘till lunch. They could make a dent in their work in that time.
It was hard getting the needle through the fabric with shaking hands, but Yuu was sure they had a breakthrough.
It took Yuu a while to take apart the blue dress they had so lovingly dyed. They ran the scissors carefully along the tight stitches, hoping the panels of fabric were large enough for the pieces they needed.
The pants had proven much harder than originally believed. Yuu spent a good chunk of time trying to understand the sewing shorthand in use, taking a guess, and backtracking- then starting all over when they realized they had sewn the front panel backwards.
They took up the trays of lunch, vegetable soup with fresh herbs, and Crowley asked about their progress. Yuu said they were halfway done (an exaggeration- they had a lot of stitches left on the pants, but at least they were sewing in the right direction this time) and Crowley nodded.
They poured out two bowls of soup to set on the windowsill, but before they could pour one out for themselves, Crowley called.
“Yuu?”
They walked out of the kitchen and through the hall to see Crowley standing in front of the bedroom.
“Yes?”
“I’m just making sure you’re going right back to work. Wouldn’t want to waste any time, yes? You’re behind as it is.”
“Yes, of course!” Yuu answered eagerly despite their exhaustion, trying not to set off Crowley.
They stared at each other for a second. Crowley settled himself over the railing of the stairs. It seemed he intended to watch Yuu go back into the drawing room.
They slowly made their way there, and after taking one last glance up, they closed the door. Whatever. They’d go back out in a minute, after Crowley went back.
Click.
Yuu whipped their head to the doorknob and shook it. To no one’s surprise, it was locked.
They couldn’t move for a few moments.
When feeling returned to their limbs, Yuu turned back quickly, and got straight back to work.
And that’s how they got here, not even a candle to light their way. It was afternoon by the time they figured out a way to puff the sleeves by folding the fabric and sewing it down. It looked horrendous on the inside, but it was going to hold. Yuu managed to get the ruffles down, too, but by then the sun was in free fall.
Crowley hadn’t come once.
In the most desperate of scenarios, Yuu could jump out the window. But, trying to give Crowley the benefit of the doubt, they got to work on finishing the hemming for the purple dress.
As they were tying off the last stitch, they started hearing shouting outside the door. It was muffled and hard to hear, but as the doorknob jiggled- “Yuu! Oh, there you are. Get started on dinner, will you? I’m starving. Is that suit almost done?”
“Y-yes! Here you are-” Yuu tried to stand up, but their legs were numb after sitting for so long, and they went crashing down to the floor.
As they struggled to stand, Crowley rushed to their side. “Yuu! Be careful, those outfits need to stay clean!”
He scrambled to pick up the clothes, and once they were all safely in his arms, he left, leaving Yuu a heap on the ground.
They staggered to their feet, trying to remember where they had put the potatoes and the rosemary.
When they got to the kitchen, Ace and Deuce were there, waiting.
“Oh Yuu, hey. Is dinner gonna be ready soon? We got done with the chores early for once, finally.” asked Deuce.
“It’ll just be a minute. Can you fill that pot up with water while I get the potatoes?” Yuu pointed at a brass pot on the stove as they opened a cabinet. They found the sack and, after a frantic rinse and scrub, dumped it into the pot, moving the whole thing to the stove.
Yuu turned a burner on. Judging by the light streaming down the hall, the sun was setting. They grabbed the flatware and some plates and went to set the dining room.
When they get back, they say, “We have two days to the ball. We need to talk about the logistics.”
Ace turns to face them. “Logistics? What do you mean?”
“We should go through the steps of what’s actually going to happen in two days, in case there’s anything we missed.”
Deuce folded his arms. “Good idea. We’ll need to leave long enough after Crowley and Epel so they don’t see us.” He glances at the pot as it simmers. “Do you know when they’ll be leaving?”
“The party starts at 8, so they’ll probably leave… do you know how long it is to the castle?”
“Half an hour, maybe?” Ace said, leaning on the stove.
“Don’t burn yourself. So they’ll probably leave around 7:30. We’ll leave at 8, then, to give them time to get settled?” Deuce looked back at Ace.
“If we wanna be extra sure, we should give them more time. There wasn’t an end time on the invitation, so even if we show up a bit late, we should be alright,” said Yuu.
“8:15, then? Also, it’s boiling.” Ace pointed at the pot, and Yuu stepped forward, grabbing a fork off the counter.
“That’s 45 minutes we have to prepare. I’ll start work on your outfits tonight, we can all go down to the basement together after Epel and Crowley go up. And-”
Yuu stopped for a second, fork in hand.
“What? What is it, Yuu?” asked Deuce, worried about what could be phasing their new friend.
“You don’t have anything to wear,” said Deuce with a realization.
“I-I’ll figure something out. We’ll worry about it later, it’s your outfits people will be scrutinizing the most.”
“Ok,” said Deuce. “As soon as they get down the street-”
“No, they should go at least get down the turn before we move,” said Yuu.
“We’ll be hitching the horses. We’ll be getting dressed! I’m not saying leave right-”
“Shhh! Keep your voices down,” said Ace, looking at the open kitchen door. Deuce went to close it.
Yuu stabbed a potato. Still raw. “We’ll keep things quiet while they go down the road, in case they turn back. But we should have plenty of time to get dressed and ready.” Yuu turned to look at Ace and Deuce. “Deuce, what did you tell Ortho?”
“I’m sorry, I told him 8 PM, which is too early,” he said.
Ace put a hand on his hips. “He can wait. I’ll go down early and tell him what’s happening.”
“That works,” said Yuu. “A few minutes before 8, Ace will go down to meet Ortho with the carriage. They should be gone by then. We’ll need the invitation, anything else? Although it’s not like we have anything…”
“We should make sure to leave the ball early, to make sure we beat Crowley and Epel home,” said Yuu.
“11? That’s at least two hours,” said Deuce.
Yuu stabbed a potato again. “Let’s make it 12. Just in case.” The potato stuck to the fork a moment before slowly sliding off. Yuu took a bite.
“Oooh, are the potatoes done?” Ace looked eagerly at the pot. He grabbed a fork from a drawer and handed one to Deuce, who also stabbed a potato.
Yuu turned the burner off. “Let’s go downstairs.”
“Stop fidgeting, Ace.”
Yuu was trying to get a good idea for how much of the jacket would need to be taken out- Deuce’s shoulders were broader, so he was getting the jacket from the scrap bolt of fabric, but Ace still had quite a bit of muscle from all that work in the sun.
“Sorry, sorry! It’s just- your hands are poking me-”
“Oh, sorry, I’ll be done in a sec. Raise your arms?” Ace put his arms in the air. “Is that as high as you can get them?”
“Lemme try- oh shoot, I think I popped a stitch.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have to redo some of this, anyway,” Yuu turned Ace around to get a look at the jacket from behind. “Besides the shoulders, is anything else bothering you?”
“This sleeve?” Ace held up his right arm, clutching his bicep. “It’s really squeezing me, can you do anything about it?”
Yuu nodded. “I’ll try,” they said. “It shouldn’t be too hard to take out.
Internally, Yuu cursed. They had to stop overselling their sewing skills.
They let go of Ace for a moment to take a bite of their potato. Yuu had managed to find salt and butter to add, so it felt like a full meal.
“The pants fit, Yuu!” Deuce’s voice piped up from behind the folding screen.
Yuu swallowed their bite of food and said, “Great. Ace, give me the jacket, and go check the pants I gave you,” Yuu turned and took some chalk and a piece of paper from a shelf, then knelt on the floor in front of the black fabric that was left. They started sketching out patterns for a jacket, and used a tape measure to check it would fit Deuce.
“I know it’s late, but can I ask you guys to stay a little longer, so I can start on the alterations and make sure they’ll fit?” Yuu looked up from their work at the boys, and they nodded.
Deuce came out from behind the folding screen, his work pants still unbuttoned, and placed the dress pants on Yuu’s bed. Ace took his black pants and went to go try them on.
Deuce lit another candle, and Yuu thanked him silently as the strain on their eyes was relieved.
Yuu used their finger to wipe away some of the chalk on the fabric. Better to make it a bit bigger, thought Yuu, as there wasn’t much fabric left to cut a whole new piece on.
They picked up the fabric scissors and started cutting, and as they were finishing up the last piece, Ace said, “Mine are good, too!”
“Make sure you can bend your legs enough to run in them, just in case.”
Yuu grabbed another quick bite and stood up to take some pins from a jar on the shelf. “Deuce, let me see if this’ll fit you.”
Deuce nodded and stood up, arms straight to his sides. As Yuu pinned the jacket, they became curious.
“You did that without asking. Have you been fitted with a lot of clothes?”
Deuce’s face went a bit blank. “My mom and my grandma are seamstresses. I was their mannequin sometimes. When I was little.”
Yuu lifted Deuce’s arm up slightly to pin something, and Deuce stood up a bit straighter, as if on instinct.
His face was still blank, as if Deuce was trying to keep it that way.
“I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you again soon,” they murmured. Deuce nodded tightly.
Feeling they had made this a bit worse, they tried to redirect the focus to then and said, “Well, I’m gonna travel. With my cut of the money, I mean.”
Ace laughed. “Where do you wanna go?”
The words snagged in Yuu’s throat for a moment. “I have this old book of fairytales, and they have a bunch of pictures to go with the stories. My parents used to say the castles in them are based on real castles, so I’m gonna try and find them.”
“That’s such an idyllic goal,” Ace had his clothes back on again. “It’s kinda sweet.”
“Ace, can you grab those scissors and tear out the seams in the shoulder of the jacket?” Ace nodded and picked up the scissors.
“What will you do with the money, Ace? Any specific plans?” asked Deuce.
Ace flipped the jacket inside out. “Yeah, I was thinking about school.”
“School?” Yuu was behind Deuce now. “For what?”
“I’m gonna be a magician!”
Ace had said it with such enthusiasm, Yuu felt awful about their impulse to laugh, and stifled it behind Deuce. Deuce, feeling the same, was less successful, and let out a confused guffaw before catching himself.
“A magician? Like one from a fairytale?”
“A-ah, sorry,” Ace was rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. “That just slipped out. It’s what I used to say to my brother whenever he asked if I was going to go to school like him.”
From behind Deuce, Yuu said, “What did he study?”
“Accounting. There’s a lot of math, but it makes good money. We didn’t have enough for both of us to go, though, and I was never that good in school. Too much to focus on, eh?” Ace gave them both a lopsided smile, good for rolling off any feelings Ace threatened to show.
“Alright. Deuce, lift your arms. Gently, it’s still just pins.” Deuce raised his arms a bit.
“It feels good. Feel free to sew it.” Yuu carefully helped Deuce out of the ‘jacket’ and laid it down to grab a needle.
“I took out the seams in the sleeves, Yuu, should I take out anything else?”
Yuu took a look. “That looks good, thanks Ace. You guys can go upstairs now if you want?”
Ace moved to the door, but Deuce looked at all the clothes strewn around. “You seem to have a lot left, Yuu… do you want some help? I’m pretty out of practice, but my mom taught me some stuff.”
Yuu looked up with a start. “You would? Really?! I know it’s late, and you have a long day tomorrow-”
“We all have long days. C’mon, you give the orders and I’ll do the stitches.”
Yuu was about to cry in relief. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! We don’t need to finish tonight, but if we can at least make sure the main pieces are done, I can more than finish everything tomorrow.
“Of course. What do you want me to start on?”
Ace, moving to turn around, said, “Well, it seems like you guys have this figured out-“
“Nnnope,” said Deuce, hooking his finger in the back of Ace’s shirt collar and dragging him back. “We’re part of a team now. We do this together.”
“Deuce,” said Yuu, “if he can’t help-“
“I taught you how to sew, right? And we could always use a cheerleader.”
As Ace shot Deuce a glare, Yuu smiled.
One.
More.
Day.
Yuu was sure Crowley was no longer a person, but a ball of energy barely holding together its human-shaped form.
Epel was looking miserable. Yuu suspected Crowley was taking out his anxiety on the young man- it had to go somewhere, or Crowley would collapse in on himself. Still, Yuu once again felt a pang of sadness for Epel.
They thought about how melancholy he had looked at lunch, eyes unfocused, movements sluggish as Crowley prattled on about the importance of properly presenting oneself to a member of the royal family. Politeness, deference, and charm along with a pretty face were all requirements if one even had a hope of nabbing a crown, or so Crowley insisted.
Actually, with the way Epel’s head kept dipping every time he blinked, exhaustion seemed to take priority in Epel. Yuu hoped Crowley wasn’t working him too hard, but knowing him, Epel was beating the sun to rise and staying up until the moon shone bright.
Yuu let the image wash away in their mind, much like the water in the basin was washing away at their hands. The lack of chores had caught up to the household, and now there was a giant pile of laundry to be done. Crowley had made them redo some of the stitching on the pants, but they got that done quickly.
After this, they had the draperies they'd never finished, the dusting again, a full scrub of the bathrooms, then the kitchen, not to mention the cooking, and then Yuu had stopped listening because they knew they wouldn’t get much more after that done today.
Crowley had wanted fish, so Ace had gone fishing that morning. Yuu was marinating the catch, and they were sure it would make a nice filet for dinner with some lemon.
Now was as good a time as any to revisit the progress of the outfits.
They had gotten everything they needed done last night, and had even started cutting up the green fabric. Yuu had gone over the memory of Lilia’s clothes over and over, but the green fringes still didn’t make much sense. They could probably make the outfits look similar from a distance, though, but they still lamented not having taken a closer look.
Which just left Yuu’s own clothes.
Once Epel and Crowley had left for the ball, Yuu could try Epel’s closet. It would be risky, as they might recognize the clothes. But they had no other way to acquire them, and no materials to sew a new one. Besides, they were busy enough as it is.
It was dicey to leave anything to chance. This was already such a fragile operation, and even a small detail such as Yuu’s clothing and whether anyone noticed could mean the difference between a scrutinizing eye and a glazed look.
Something nice, but old, would be a good compromise. A vague allusion to a fallen family fortune, or perhaps patronage from a richer family member, indicating loose connection to wealth or prestige and that their invitation was out of politeness. It would serve as a good cover story for their clothes and any condition they may be in, and would likely ward off anyone even slightly interested in money or power.
From there, they tried to go over contingency plans in their head.
Yuu knew it would be a bad idea to stay where the dancing was going on, but they didn’t know how much of the castle they were permitted to access. Going somewhere off-limits would be suspicious. On the other hand, it could divert attention away from the thieves without escalating anything. With an empty glass flute and a stumbling gait, they could be politely escorted back to the party.
The pair would need bobby pins for locked doors, maybe some rope? They should ask Ace. He has the most experience, and would know best what they could use.
Yuu gave this shirt one last dunk and squeezed out the water, then dumped it into the wet clothes pile. They plucked some pants out of the dirty laundry and got to rubbing them against the washboard.
There were leeks in the garden, and there were still some potatoes left in the sack. Together, they’d make a nice soup for lunch tomorrow. Yuu wasn’t sure if Crowley would want dinner before he left for the party, or if Epel would be allowed any, but there was always more garden salad to be made.
Yuu didn’t think they’d need a purse. They knew it was common with those of high fashion, clutches selected meticulously to match fabrics, but they needed nothing they could fit in there.
That got them thinking about makeup. There was some in Epel’s room, but Yuu wasn’t sure how much they could take without calling attention to it. But they couldn’t show up bare faced, despite their lack of knowledge on the application of makeup. They’d dab on a bit that looked right, to smoothen out any ridges their face may have or sharpen any dull edges, and be on their way.
Yuu finished on the pants and started another shirt.
And that was all of it, huh? Anything they couldn’t foresee they’d have to deal with the day of. It still didn’t seem real, and part of that was Yuu’s lack of genuine faith in the plan. They were the royal jewels, how could they be left so unguarded? But part of it was self preservation. Yuu didn't want to get their hopes up, only to be crushed.
They couldn’t survive the disappointment.
Yuu wrung out the shirt into the washbin, placed it in the wet clothes pile, and went to hang it all up outside, trying to stretch out their overworked muscles.
The world swam as Yuu reached for the doorknob. The lack of sleep was really starting to get to them, but as they opened the door to the basement-
“Yuu!”
That was Crowley. Shoot, what now? The chores were all done, miraculously, and Crowley had already gone up. What could he want?
Could Yuu just ignore him? There was light underneath the door, though, meaning Deuce and Ace were probably in there. If Crowley followed them in and saw the two there instead of in their own quarters upstairs, he’d get suspicious. The man was so paranoid, but for once, he had something to be paranoid about.
Yuu reluctantly turned around and followed Crowley’s voice out of the back steps into the hall.
Crowley rounded the corner at the end. “Yuu!! Yuu, where are- oh, there you are.”
Yuu stepped forward. “Yes? Is there anything I can do?”
“Ah, yes. I wanted to go over the plans for tomorrow.”
Yuu blinked, or at least tried to. Their eyes tried to stay shut, but Yuu forced them open again.
“We’ll be leaving a little before 8, so I’d like tea to be served at 7, to settle Epel’s stomach.”
Yuu nodded. “Would you like that right after dinner?”
“No. We won’t be eating dinner, there should be food at the ball, and Epel shouldn’t eat much anyway. You can go right from lunch to to chores, I have a few more things I need you to do.”
Great. Crowley had forgotten the rest of them needed to eat. Oh well. Yuu hoped the castle was serving something good tomorrow.
“I need our bedrooms cleaned and the sheets on the beds changed, and I need the bathroom cleaned.”
They had just done the master bathroom, but Yuu thought not to say anything.
“I also need you to clean the carpets and polish the banisters.”
“The carpets?” The words were out of Yuu’s mouth before they could think. “Oh, but I just did-”
“Do them again.”
Yuu’s teeth clicked in their haste to clamp their jaw shut.
“And the floors need another scrub, oh! The shelves in the drawing room, there’s dust collecting on the books.”
There was not. Yuu had just been there. But they pressed their lips together and didn’t say a word, trying to remind themselves of how close they were to freedom.
“Don’t give me that look, Yuu,” Crowley looked at them with soft eyes all of a sudden. “I just want you to have one nice night, all to yourself, and I don’t want you to worry about anything while you relax.”
Yuu tried to unclench their jaw and nodded.
“And you want Epel to have the most successful night he can, right?” Crowley paused for a moment. “Look at me, Yuu, I need you to understand how important this is. It’s ours- this entire house’s- best chance. Your parents left you with very little, and I’ve been taking care of you for such a long time. It’s about time you contributed something to this house.”
Not a word out of line, thought Yuu. Through the grinding of their teeth, they said, “Yes. Thank you,”
Crowley smiled. “Of course. Now, go and rest up for tomorrow. We’ll be sure to absorb as much as we can at the party to tell you all later. We’ll have lunch together the day after. It’ll be nice, like a family dinner.”
“Of course. Have fun tomorrow.”
“We won’t be having fun, Yuu. We’ll be at work, while you get to rest.”
Yuu swallowed down the words they were choking on. “Right. Goodnight,” He turned around and threw a “Goodnight” over his shoulder.
Yuu stood there for a few moments, trying to process the conversation. More accurately, they were trying not to let Crowley’s words cut them, not to let their thoughts wander to their parents.
They took a steadying breath, and made their way down the steps to the basement door. The light was still on, and as they opened the door-
“Yuu!”
The voice of Ace carried from his seat in the corner as he looked up from his work, and it cheered Yuu up a bit.
“We’ve already gotten started on the fringes. Does this look right?” Deuce sat up with a bundle in his hands.
Yuu took the clothes and held them up. There was a green strip of fabric, halfway sewn onto the edge of the jacket so it would cover the buttons.
“It looks good! But we’ll need a piece for the collar. Ace, how’s yours?”
Ace held up his pants. “It’s a bit crooked, but it should be fine, right?”
“Yes, that’s fine, as long as you have enough to make it around the whole waist.”
Ace nodded. “Were you just talking to someone? I think I heard your voice.”
“Just Crowley. I have a mountain of new chores tomorrow,” Yuu shook their head. “Where are the hats?”
Yuu had remembered one last detail from Lilia’s outfit, a short little cap on the top of his head. It was black, thought Yuu, with green details… probably. Not for the first time, Yuu cursed at themselves for not taking a real look.
Deuce held up a tiny scrap of fabric. “They still need the green fringe. Can you sew it on?”
Yuu took the cap and some green fabric to cut up, and settled themselves on the edge of their bed.
“After you guys are done, get changed. I’m gonna check the fit of the clothes one last time, and see if there are any improvements we can make.“
The two boys nodded.
After a brief lull, Deuce said, “What happened to your brother, Ace, after the well?”
Ace looked confused for a moment. “Oh! Oh, right, ok,” he says, with an enthusiasm that had rarely made itself known, “So he apologizes to the girl…”
As Ace continued his story, Deuce’s face cracks to show the slightest bit of a grin.
Yuu rose early.
When they opened their eyes, the sun hadn’t yet risen. The sky was preparing for its arrival, a pale, watery blue, as if afraid to shine too brightly without its crowning jewel.
This moment was a deep breath that one would take to fortify themselves, before anything had really happened, and it belonged to Yuu. So few things did, nowadays, and Yuu took a moment to relish the crisp air, the chill, the silence like a bubble.
Today was the day, thought Yuu. When they awoke to this sight again, Ace and Deuce would have the jewels. Or Yuu would have a gold bracelet stuffed down their clothes somewhere. Either way, there would be a door marked exit.
A sick sort of feeling rose up within them and Yuu tried to tamp it down by running through the list of chores they had to do today. Bedrooms, drapes, dusting, polishing, and Yuu was sure Crowley would come up with something else. Still, the sun would have to set eventually
Yuu closed their eyes, and pushed themselves out of bed.
Trying to keep their hands from shaking, Yuu’s skin tingled as they ladled oatmeal into bowls. They couldn’t fight the anticipation rising within them, but they were desperate to keep it to themselves for fear of Crowley sensing it on them somehow.
They placed one bowl of oatmeal on each tray of breakfast, along with a bowl of sugar, a spoon, a tea cup, and a pot of tea, and began carting it up the staircase.
Grim’s tail was swaying slowly as he sat at the top of the stairs, washing himself.
“Grim!” Yuu was not startled to see him where he was, as Grim was a master of infiltration. Still, Yuu felt it prudent to remind him of his place in the house.
“Go downstairs,” said Yuu, “They’re gonna grab their breakfast trays, and you know they can’t see you.”
Grim’s eyes tracked Yuu as they moved closer and closer, burning them with the intensity of his gaze.
Yuu was not amused. “Grim, go.” They nudged their head down the staircase. “I’ll see you later.”
Grim blinked, but took off from the top step. Yuu rolled their eyes and saw him slink down the stars, disappearing into a hallway.
Yuu left Crowley’s tray by the door, and went to set down Epel’s.
As they crouched down, they looked up. The lock on the chain dangled precariously, heavy and imposing.
The tray clanked a bit as Yuu set it down, but before they could stand up, Yuu heard a soft “Thank you.”
Yuu paused. The words were gone from the air so fast, Yuu thought they had imagined them.
How did Epel know they were there? He must have been watching the shadows under the door, or maybe he heard the clink of the tray. Yuu had not heard running or pacing, so he must have been waiting there.
Yuu knelt down and got their face as close to the bottom as they could.
“You’re welcome.”
Yuu stood up suddenly, brushed their apron off, knocked quickly on Crowley’s door, making sure to knock hard so Crowley would awaken, and walked briskly down the stairs, not stopping until they were in the laundry room.
Yuu held their hand to their chest as they took deep breaths, feeling their heartbeat under the skin as Grim, sitting on the counter, watched them.
He tilted his head.
“I’m fine. Sorry, I think my heart is being a bit dramatic.” They gave him a thin smile, trying to project confidence.
Grim nodded, and hopped off the counter to walk to Yuu, pawing at their legs. Yuu knelt down and picked him up.
“You’re so spoiled, Grim, I have chores, you know.” Crowley was vague on what he wanted done, but he would definitely see the foyer, so Yuu needed to at least polish it.
Yuu looked down at Grim again, and stuck their nose into his fur.
Grim yowled, but Yuu knew it was just him playing. When Yuu let him go, though, Grim reached out to paw at Yuu’s face, and he meowed again.
“What is it, Grim?” Yuu felt like Grim wanted something, but they were having trouble figuring out what precisely.
Looking at him, Yuu thought of an idea, and began walking to the garden with Grim in their arms. “Actually,” they said to him, “if you have some free time, I have something I need your help on…”
“And so- ack!” Between strikes on the carpet, hung up on a rack, Yuu was talking to Grim, who was sitting on an upturned bucket. “If you could find me something, somehow, I’d really appreciate it. I’m- agh!” Yuu had to strike the carpet with as much force as they could muster, as it was quite heavy. “I’m so busy, as you know, and it doesn’t need to be much of anything, just something enough that no one would notice.”
Grim ducked his little head to wash his paw, and Yuu took that as a sign of affirmation.
“Are you talking to the cat?” Yuu yelped, and dropped the stick.
“Ace?” Yuu looked around frantically, picking the stick back up. They couldn’t see him anywhere. “You scared me!”
“Sorry!” He appeared from behind the carpet, hands up in surrender. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I heard you talking, and I saw the cat- oh, please don’t hit me.!”
Yuu exhaled. “I promise, it’s just for the carpets. I need to air them out.”
“Again?” Ace looked confused. “How often do you have to do that, anyway?”
“Not often enough, by Crowley’s standards.” Yuu smiled. Grim kicked off from the bucket and went his own way.
Ace paused for a moment, looked around, and leaned into Yuu. “How are things going for… tonight?”
“Crowley is making me do a thousand more chores. It's like he knows or something. There should be some I can rush through, but I’ll be pretty busy until they leave.” Ace nodded.
“I hear ya. We just got down from cleaning the roof. The roof! Who cares if it’s dirty?”
Yuu chuckled a bit. “Also, we’re not serving dinner. Sorry.”
Ace looked shocked. “What? Why not?”
“We’re only serving tea, and only to Crowley and Epel. They’re gonna eat at the party, so we’ll probably have to eat there too.”
“Ugh. Well, thanks for the heads up.”
“What are you guys talking about?” Deuce was approaching Yuu and Ace, hair disheveled and clothes sooty.
Yuu wrinkled their nose. “What happened to you?”
“I told you,” said Ace. “We were up on the roof.”
“Yeah, except only I did any of the actual work.” Deuce was trying to brush soot out of his hair.
“Hey! I cleaned! It’s just bad luck you got all the hard spots!”
Yuu picked the carpet up off the rack and threw it over their shoulder, staggering under the weight.
“I’m gonna go back inside. See you guys, uh, whenever.”
The pair turned to Yuu. “Oh, right! See you… soon!” Ace couldn’t contain his excitement as he grinned, and Deuce’s smile indicated some of it had spilled over to him.
Yuu walked back inside, carpet slung over their shoulder. They hadn’t aired it out long, but they had just cleaned it, and Crowley wouldn’t notice as long as the carpet looked like it had shifted a bit. They’d do the same with the one in the drawing room and the ones in the bedrooms.
They deposited the carpet in the hall. It was closer to noon now, and they needed to start lunch. Sandwiches would be filling enough, and they started for the kitchen to cut up a tomato.
Yuu had saved the polishing for last, thinking it would be the quickest task as it covered the least amount of area. But they had been scrubbing at a single spot for several minutes now, and it did not look like it was improving.
Angrily, Yuu threw the rag down in defeat. Hopefully, Crowley just wouldn’t notice.
They stood up and stretched, glancing out the window.
It was late afternoon.
The coil of anticipation from earlier in the day returned, and Yuu once again tried to stop it. They took a breath. It was late, and they needed to get started on tea.
After which, Crowley and Epel would leave.
Excitement surged within Yuu again. All of this was almost real.
They shook away those thoughts. No use counting their chickens before they had hatched. If Crowley and Epel were ever going to leave, they needed their tea.
Chamomile, thought Yuu, to soothe Crowley’s nerves, with an apple zest for Epel. As the kettle began to heat, Yuu went to pluck a jar of tea from the cupboard.
The kettle began to whistle just as Yuu heard footsteps on the staircase. Who could it have been?
Crowley, of course, coming down in a black tuxedo with ruffles, Epel trailing him in a different purple gown with the blue suit jacket thrown over his shoulders. At least not all of the work had gone to waste.
“And remember, Epel, chin up! Make the prince meet your eyes, he’ll be bewitched if you only try!”
Crowley was trying to inspire something out of Epel at the last minute. Epel, for his part, looked like he wasn’t here at all, completely zoned out and starting into the distance.
“Yes, Crowley.”
“Ugh, do try to speak with more energy than that, Epel, your tone of voice is boring me.”
Yuu took the kettle as Crowley and Epel sat themselves down in the dining room, clearly expecting to be served. They grabbed a tray and put teacups, sugar and the pot on it, and walked into the dining room.
“Ah, Yuu. What kind of tea did you make?”
“Chamomile.”
“Ah. Fine.” To Epel, Crowley said, “Savor this cup, you’ll need as much strength in as petite a figure as possible if you’re to catch the eye of the prince tonight.”
Epel nodded and took in the warmth of the cup into their hands before taking a sip. They look at Yuu and gave a slight nod, one that Yuu returned with a smile as they walked back into the kitchen.
From now, it was just torture.
They were speaking about etiquette as Yuu sat down next to the oven, and the sun was going down. There were no clocks here, but it had to be 8 soon.
Leave, thought Yuu.Just leave already!
They could feel every second now, ticking by before their eyes. Every last excruciating moment, every detail in the kitchen and under the counters, where there was a little bit of dust piling up among the spiders, weaving webs in the shadows as Yuu felt themselves dying a little more each second.
Wood scraped on wood. Yuu shot up off the floor, recognizing the sound of someone sitting up from a chair.
Crowley’s heels clicked on the floor, trailed by Epel, as Yuu left the kitchen to watch them leave. Epel’s head was bowed a bit, looking resigned to his fate. Crowley stopped at the door and turned around.
“Put on your coat.” asked Crowley. “Yuu!” Realizing their name was being called, they stepped out into the foyer.
“Yes? You called?” Outside the windows of the entrance, Yuu could see the carriage pulling up.
“We’re leaving now. You can start on our rooms now, and after that, feel free to take the rest of the night off. I’ll wake you when we get back, you can serve us tea.”
Yuu nodded.
“Epel, let’s get going. Pick up your dress, don’t let the hem drag in the dirt. Yuu, get the door.”
Yuu rushed to open the ornate doors, stepping back so Crowley and Epel could walk through them.
“Good luck.”
Yuu mumbled it under their breath as Epel walked past them.
He paused for a moment, and replied with a soft, “Thank you.”
Epel walked out to meet the carriage. Crowley climbed up to steer the horses as Epel settled himself, taking a look back at the house. With a tug on the reins, Crowley indicated for the horses to move as Ace shut the door to the carriage. The horses began to trot, circling around the plaza before heading down the street.
Yuu stepped outside, feeling the cool night air against their cheeks, eyes glued to the carriage as it went down the road. Ace was watching too, his eyes tracking the carriage as it eventually turned to the left.
Yuu and Ace looked at each other.
“Where’s Deuce?”
“I think- yeah, there he is.” Ace looked off to the right, where the road stretched on, and Yuu could see something shifting. On closer examination, it was Deuce, sprinting up the grass.
“Guys!” He called out to Ace and Yuu as he ran, hands waving in the air. “Guys! Ortho’s down the road. That was them, right? Is it time?”
“Yes,” said Yuu. “Let’s get ready.”
They all hurried back inside, Yuu sprinting up the stairs.
“Yuu!” Deuce shouted up at them. “What are you doing?”
Yuu stopped at the top. “I have to clean their rooms, there’s no way they won’t notice if I blow it off. We might not have enough time afterwards!”
Deuce smacked the railing. “Crowley,” he spat out. Deuce started stomping up the stairs.
“Wait! What are you doing?”
“I’m coming up to help you. Ace! C’mere!”
Yuu could have cried. “Shoes off! You’ve been outside.”
Deuce hurried to take his shoes off and throw them down the stairs. “I’ll take Epel’s room, you do Crowley’s. Here’s a rag-” Yuu took a rag out of the pocket of their apron and threw it at Deuce- “-throw the dirty laundry out into the hallway, dust whatever you can, focus on stuff you can see.”
“Got it.”
Deuce!” From the bottom of the stairs, Ace looked up. “What did you want?”
“Come up and help me clean Crowley’s room.”
“Why?”
“Because we need to do it, ok? And take off your shoes!”
Yuu dove into Epel’s room. There was a clock there indicating it was 8:15, meaning Crowley and Epel had left later than expected. They’d have to push back their departure time to be sure. The room itself was pretty messy, but it seemed superficial. Clothes were strewn everywhere and there were a few books scattered on the unmade bed, but as Yuu started picking up the clothes, the transformation was immediate. Soon enough, they had the drawers pushed and the books stacked up on the newly cleared desk, and the room was transformed.
Yuu stepped over the pile of laundry to see another one, a bit smaller, in front of Crowley’s room. When they leaned into the room to take a look, Yuu was astonished.
It was clean. Genuinely so, as if there had been time and care put into the task. Yuu didn’t know how much of that was actually Ace and Deuce’s work, but given how disorganized the final corner the two were working on, and the level of dust implied by how much was floating in the air, they had been working hard.
“Wow guys, this looks great!”
Ace and Deuce looked up from their work at Yuu. “Oh, thanks! That means a lot coming from the expert.” said Deuce with a small smile.
“Yuu,” said Ace, “Is this enough?”
“Absolutely. When you guys go downstairs, can you take the laundry and drop it in the laundry room?”
They nodded. Yuu grabbed their own pile and took it to the laundry room.
As they made their way back to the main staircase, Grim stopped them in the hall.
“Grim?” asked Yuu. “Do you have it ready?”
Grim nodded, and scampered down the hall, not waiting for Yuu.
Yuu walked quickly to catch up, chasing him around to the other side of the house to a storage closet, where Grim indicated to the door. Yuu took that to mean that they should open it, and when they did, they were greeted with a wondrous sight.
“Oh, Grim!”
Inside the closet, an outfit had been hung up. It was a deep blue with a slight shimmer that made it look as if the wearer were a construct of magic. It was genuinely, actually pretty- and Yuu recognized it.
It was from their parent’s trousseau. They had always liked to wear fine things such as these, keeping their seamstress dutifully employed with their complimenting outfits. After everything, Crowley had taken the outfits for himself and for Epel. Yuu teared up a bit. It felt like seeing their parents again for the first time, and it felt like a good omen.
For the first time, they let themselves feel hopeful.
At the bottom of the outfit, a pair of gold slippers lay, and Yuu took those as well.
“Thank you, Grim,” they said. He meowed and leaned his head to prompt Yuu into trying it on.
They popped into the drawing room to change, as it was nearby and empty, with Grim waiting outside. Once they were ready, they stepped back outside, feeling the clothes quite comfortable. Grim also appraised the outfit, and, seeing it fit, went off to do his own thing. The shoes, however, were a different matter. Yuu’s feet were wide, and a bit oddly shaped, so their feet spilled out of the sides of the shoe.
They gathered up their old clothes and went to drop them off in the basement, took a cape from the back of Epel’s closet, and swung back around to the kitchen, where Ace and Deuce were leaning on the counter.
“Yuu! You look nice!” Ace was taking in the shimmery clothes with wide eyes.
Yuu smiled. “Thank you,” they said, ducking their head. “Are you guys almost done?”
“Mmm-hmm!” Deuce affirmed with a mouthful of bread.
“I’m gonna use the basement to change, Yuu, if that’s ok. Once I’m out, you’re up, Deuce.” Deuce nodded.
“I can’t believe this is actually happening,” he said.
“It does feel like today has been one, long dream. I don’t think my body will believe it until we’re standing there, in the castle.”
“How do I look?”
Ace stood in the doorway, running his hands over the black and green suit.
“You’ll blend in well. Great job on the suits, Yuu.” Deuce pushed himself off the counter and wiped his hands on his pants as Yuu took in the compliment. “Ace, go tell Ortho to pull up to the house.” Ace took off to fulfill the order. Yuu trailed after him to be ready for the carriage.
“Oh, wait! I’ll be right back.”
They dashed off back into the house, into the basement, and grabbed the book of fairytales from the dresser. Yuu plucked the invitation out and shoved the book back into the dresser, returning to the doorway to see the carriage.
Yuu saw a young boy with blue hair, much lighter than Deuce’s, pull up to the house with 2 white horses attached to his white carriage. They opened the door and decided to greet their coachman for the night.
“Hello!” Yuu was having a bit of trouble seeing him without light, but the boy saw Yuu and greeted them back.
“Hello! I like your outfit!” His voice was squeaky. He seemed young.
“Thank you. And thanks for lending us the carriage… are you sure you’re old enough to drive it?”
“Yup! I’ve gotten lots of practice this summer. Big brother Idia was supposed to be doing the grocery deliveries, but he asked me instead, and I really wanted to help him!”
Yuu wasn’t sure what to make of that, but they were glad Ortho’s desire to help seemed to be so genuine.
“Guys? Where are you?” Deuce’s voice was slightly muffled behind the door, and Yuu opened it to see Deuce looking around. He saw Yuu and went outside, both heading to the carriage, Deuce assisting Yuu into it.
“Alright, Ortho, let’s get going!” Ace’s voice rang out.
“Ok! Where do you wanna go?”
“Take us to the castle!”
“Ok! How do we get there?”
Everything felt silent for a moment. “Um… go left down the road,” said Deuce.
In a hushed voice, Ace said, “You don’t sound sure.”
“We’ll see it when we get into town!”
“Do you even know where the town is?”
As the pair bickered, Yuu heard a meow outside of the carriage.
“Grim?” Sure enough, he was waiting in front of the door, and Yuu held out their hands to let Grim jump in. “Are you wearing a cape?” Grim pointed his head at the ceiling, and Yuu tried to lift them so they could get on top.
“Oh! Hello, Mr. Kitty! Do you wanna help me drive the carriage?”
They began to move.
“Don’t worry, guys! I know where to go now!”
Yuu breathed a sigh of relief. They lurched forward a bit as the carriage sped up, and soon, they were off to the castle.
Yuu had dozed off a bit in the ride, but had been woken up by the sudden flurry of noise that surrounded the castle. When they first laid their eyes upon it, Yuu knew they’d never do it justice in any memory of theirs.
It was a magnificent work of art, made of dark stone, embedded with colorful glass windows that glowed from the inside. Torches lit the ornate entrance, the doors of rich brown wood fastened with black metal spilling out the warm light of the inside. The towers stretched high into the night sky, dotted with gargoyles.
It was nothing short of a castle out of a fairytale.
So entranced by the ornate castle, they were surprised to see the door open of its own volition. Ace was there with a waiting hand to assist Yuu out of the carriage. As they got out, Yuu saw Grim shoot out from their left, disappearing into the crowd.
There were a few people milling about, and despite their lateness, there was a sizable crowd. Deuce and Ace flanked Yuu as they clutched their invitation, walking towards the door as Ortho drove off with the carriage.
Yuu produced their invitation to the doorman to examine, who took a look before dropping it into a glass bowl.
“Have a nice time, Dire Crowley.”
Yuu felt Ace’s lips twitch to their side. They had forgotten they were borrowing Crowley’s name.
Inside, a line of guards indicated where the ballroom was. Ace and Deuce slowed down, noticing how the guards were dressed.
Yuu’s gamble had paid off. They were dressed in black and green, small caps on their heads. It would be easy to confuse them for the guards, even from a few feet away. Seeing they had stopped, however, Yuu grabbed the pair and forced them to keep moving down the hall, deeper into the castle.
Finally, they stood before the glittering ballroom, lit by glowing lights floating over the heads of the party guests. A sea of gowns and suits, exquisite clothing on the nobility of the kingdom.
Ace and Deuce took a step inside, but Yuu paused. “Excuse me, guard?”
The guard turned their head to face Yuu, but otherwise did not move.
“What areas of the castle are available to the guests?”
When the guard said nothing for a moment, Yuu added, “I’m sorry, I just want to make sure I don’t go anywhere I’m not supposed to.”
“You can go into the ballroom, and the furthest wall from here leads to a hall of paintings that goes to one of the gardens, as well as a sitting room to rest and recover yourself. There’s also the display room, where the royal jewels will be brought out to be displayed at a later point in the evening. You may also be in this hallway, if the ballroom overwhelms you."
It had been a good idea to ask. Yuu thanked the guard and stepped into the ballroom, Ace and Deuce pulling them in close.
“You guys heard that, right?”
“Yes,” said Ace. “And we can take it from here.”
“Thank you, Yuu,” said Deuce, palm resting on Yuu’s shoulder. “You’ve gotten us this far. We can figure out a way to the jewels. Now, you have a few hours to kill before we need to leave. Keep a close eye on the clock, and remember.”
Ace and Deuce stepped into the crowd, but Yuu was confused. “Remember what?”
Deuce grinned. “Have fun!” The pair disappeared into the sea of people, leaving Yuu to float on their own.
Hmph. They hadn’t budgeted for fun in their plans.
They took a few moments to think through a plan. They scanned the crowd for a purple mop of hair, trying to gauge where Crowley would be. They saw Epel, confirmed it was him by the dress he wore, talking to a red-haired person of similar height in an elaborate gown. Yuu would assume that meant Crowley, so searched for him in the crowd so they’d know where to avoid, but Yuu didn’t see him around Epel.
Strange… was he actually letting Epel go on his own? If anything, Yuu assumed he’d be watching Epel like a hawk, making sure that he was only to the prince. Was the prince that red-haired person?
Yuu thought it wouldn’t hurt to ask around, and turned to the person nearest to them that didn’t seem presently occupied. “Excuse me, but do you know who that person in the red-and-black gown is, talking to that boy?”
The person they had chosen to ask, a purple-haired fellow with cat ears, gave them a slow, easy smile. “That’s Riddle. I’ve known him for a long while.”
“Is he the prince?”
The purple-haired person let out a short chuckle. “Of this castle? No, he comes from farther away. He’s here to build good relations and fulfill an obligation, I believe. But if you’re looking to nab a rich prince, I’d stay away. He’s not unkind, or lacking in treasure, but his court is full of rules that are complicated for foreigners to learn, and he is not known for his mercy.”
“Oh, no, I didn’t mean-”
The man let out a longer laugh this time. “I’m just teasing. You seem like your eyes are going to burst with the amount of things they’re seeing.”
Yuu’s new acquaintance shifted. “I’m sorry to cut our conversation short. You remind me of a girl I knew once, but I think a friend of a friend wants to speak to me.” He gave Yuu a smile, and then he was gone.
So, Epel was talking to another prince, and Crowley was nowhere in sight.
Even if they couldn’t see where Crowley was, it was still dangerous to be in the ballroom, just in case they were caught. They could stick to the walls to get to the hall of paintings the guard had mentioned, and-
THE FOOD.
All sense was thrown out the window as Yuu's eyes locked onto the buffet tables laid out to the side, piled high with food. It seemed while some people were eating, they were more focused on the conversation and the dancing, which worked out perfectly for Yuu.
Making their way over to the tables, they grabbed a plate and began piling it with food. Whole roasts, giant bowls of soup, cakes in delightful shapes and colors, Yuu was having trouble restraining themselves from eating straight from the buffet. They decided to go for variety, taking a little bit of everything, but the food was too tantalizing to wait for, and as they made their way down the many buffet tables, they began to eat. It ended up a perfect system, as Yuu could fill their immediate hunger and create more space on their plate to try those cuts of meat steeped in vegetables and the fruit cut up into spectacular shapes.
Seeing that they were nearing the end, they loaded up on things they could skewer with a fork, unfortunately leaving behind a most wonderful looking orange soup. They marched out of the ballroom, unsure if they were allowed to leave with food but deciding to keep moving anyway.
The hall with the paintings was quite grand, they thought while biting into a mouthful of vegetables in sauce, but despite the beautiful artwork, Yuu became distracted by the wallpaper of all things. It was such a rich green color, with gold details, and Yuu balanced their plate on their arm as they took a close look.
After several long moments of admiring the spiral of the gold, however, Yuu had a thought. Yes, it was beautiful, but they’d only ever have one chance in a place like this. They should make every moment count, and try to absorb as much of this palace as they could, to remember for later. They could savor the wallpaper later, not now when there was so much they hadn’t seen.
With this thought, Yuu turned around- discovering a shadow behind them.
They gasped in surprise, but quickly recognized the horns that crowned his head.
“Tsunotaro!” Unable to reign in their excitement, they set their plate down and launched themselves at him in a hug, and he staggered a bit as he caught them.
His warm arms wrapped around their body. “It is wonderful to see you here. I was worried you would not come.” Yuu could feel his hand stroking their head.
They had never hugged him like this, but he was nothing short of a light at the end of this endless week, and they were friends, were they not? Yuu couldn’t sense any hesitation in his grip, any indication that he wanted them to stop, and so tried to savor his warmth and comforting smell a little longer.
Not warning to drag out the moment for too long, they released him and stood up. “Yeah, sorry, I had a few things to take care of.” They ran their eyes over his clothes. “Wow, you clean up well! I mean, not that you don’t usually look nice, but it’s cool to see you in a fancier uniform.” He was dressed in his usual black and green, but this outfit was lined in gold and shimmered in the faint light.
Tsunotaro gave them a smile. “Well, since we are here, do you wish to dance?” He held out his hand in invitation.
Their heart lept- but they couldn’t. “Ah- I’m sorry, I would, but I’d really rather not go back to the ballroom.” They picked their plate up and started again on their meal.
Tsunotaro’s brow furrowed. “Why not?”
Yuu realized that was kind of an odd thing to do, to go to a ball and decline to dance. They needed to come up with an excuse quickly.
“Well,” they began, looking around for inspiration, “I need to eat! The palace put out such a great spread, I’d feel bad not indulging.” They took a big bite and chewed quickly, eating to finish their plate before going off with Tsunotaro. “Plus,” they said, gesturing around, “I’ve never been here before!” They gestured to their surroundings. “It seems kind of a waste to not look around at such a beautiful place!” They looked at Tsunotaro. “We’re allowed to do that, right?” they said before taking another bite.
He laughed a bit. “Yes, we are. Don’t rush- we have all night to enjoy each other.” Yuu smiled at Tsunotaro and continued eating quickly despite his words, not wanting to waste a minute on something as mundane as food no matter how good it was.
It would be the last night they shared, after all.
“Come,” he said once Yuu had finished, offering the crook of his arm, “if you are an admirer of aesthetic beauty, I know exactly where we can go. The gardens are lovely this time of year.”
“Oh! But I need to return this plate.”
Tsunotaro took the plate out of their hands and set it down on a nearby table. Yuu supposed he would know where to put it. He extended his arm again and Yuu took it, delighted at being so close to him, and let him lead the way. “Oh, I don’t think we’re allowed to leave this place,” they said, as he led them to an open door.
“Most of the guards have been placed nearer to the ball,” he explained. “There will be no one to disturb us.”
Yuu looked at him. “Shouldn’t you be there, then?” Something like fear flashed over Tsunotaro’s face at that, and Yuu laughed.
“Ah, you’re not supposed to be out here. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret,” they giggled, smiling at the idea of Tsunotaro slipping away from his post to have a bit of fun.
Tsunotaro nudged Yuu forward to the gardens. “Come. The moonlight illuminates the flowers of the gardens in a most beautiful way.”
As they stepped outside, Yuu unconsciously clutched Tsunotaro a little tighter, seeking the warmth his arm provided. Tsunotaro held them a bit closer in response.
“Do you often get the chance to be in the gardens?”
Tsunotaro pondered the question. “Not in some time, though I lament that.”
“They must be working you pretty hard around here, huh? I get that. Sometimes, it feels like I don’t see the sun all day.” They passed by a small bunch of pink flowers, rows of petals adorning the center.
“Ah. Yes, I can imagine juggling all of your duties must become difficult when you have such a strict taskmaster.” Along the path before them, a lone orchid stood up surrounded by bushes.
“What would you do, then?” At Tsunotaro’s questioning gaze, Yuu continued. “If you had a whole day to yourself?”
He seemed a bit taken aback by the question. After an extended silence, he said, “I’m not entirely sure. I’ve never thought about it. To be honest, that’s a bit of an overwhelming question.” They passed under a tree with sweeping branches, tall enough that they nearly became tangled in Tsunotaro’s horns.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Yuu looked up at Tsunotaro with worried eyes. “I didn’t mean for it to be!”
Tsunotaro chuckled. “It’s alright. It’s just something I truly had never pondered, though I don’t know if one day would be enough to follow every impulse of things I’ve ever wanted to do.”
“Ok, then, how about an easier question.” Yuu saw up ahead a tunnel made of plants, lined with the glowing lights they had seen earlier. “What if you had more days? What would you devote an entire day to doing?”
Yuu’s companion smiled to himself. “That’s a bit simpler. I would take my time walking around the castle, observing the gargoyles.”
They stepped into the tunnel, and Yuu’s eyes widened. It was so beautiful, the lights slowly bobbing through the air, and Yuu slowed down to take it all in.
As they looked around, their eyes eventually found Tsunotaro’s, who seemed to be looking at them with a dreamy gaze. He appeared to almost glow in the lights, and Yuu suddenly found it hard to tear their eyes away. Yuu’s heart, which they’d felt every beat of so far for the last few minutes, seemed to pick up.
“It’s all so beautiful,” said Yuu, not entirely sure they were speaking about the flowers. ”I feel like I’m walking through a dream.”
“Yes,” Tsunotaro replied, and did not elaborate.
Yuu’s hand reached down to take Tsunotaro’s, slowly tugging him forward. “C’mon. There’s still more to see, right?” Their eyes finally tore away from Tsunotaro’s, facing forward to guide them through the rest of the tunnel.
“Mmm,” he said.
They felt the chill in the air again, but hesitated on curling back into Tsunotaro. Yuu wasn’t sure if he was just being gentlemanly and didn’t want to force his hand.
He seemed to have other ideas. His hand crept down Yuu’s arm before grasping their hand. They smiled.
Yuu tugged on Tsunotaro’s arm a bit harder, and he leaned into the movement, swinging around in front of them with a delighted smile on his face bathed in moonlight. Before Yuu knew it, Tsunotaro was pulling Yuu in as they had, and when Yuu swung forward, Tsunotaro lifted their arm up and twirled them.
Yuu let out a delighted laugh, but it quickly changed into a startled shout when they felt Tsunotaro’s foot catch Yuu’s heel, tripping them right into a waiting pair of arms.
Yuu looked up to see Tsunotaro smiling down at them, the breathtaking green eyes nearly swallowed up by the darkness of his pupils. “I am sorry to startle you, again, but I am glad I was able to catch you.”
They smiled up at him, taking hold of his arms. “Well, I suppose as long as you’re there to save me, I could stand falling for a bit.”
Yuu dove under Tsunotaro, taking one of his hands with them as they went, and tried to spin him. He was too tall for Yuu to do such a thing comfortably, but he ducked under Yuu’s and his arms, mostly his, to spin.
Yuu laughed loudly at the sight, as Tsunotaro had to duck his head quite a bit to ensure his horns would not scrape Yuu’s arm.
A little farther down the path, Yuu saw mounds of roses arranged in front of a fountain, bathing in the moonlight. Never letting go of Tsunotaro’s hand, they dragged him forward again, and like before, he swung forward and spun Yuu. And so down the path they went, pulling each other along, twirling and spinning, until Yuu took Tsunotaro’s other hand and began spinning them together in an odd, frantic waltz.
Tsunotaro’s grin gleamed as it reflected the light, and he pulled them off the path into the grass, where they kept spinning and spinning, not letting go of one another. \ Faster they went, Yuu feeling the wind whipping around them, the world blurring as it shrunk down to Tsunotaro’s smile, eventually culminating in Yuu swinging them around to far and Tsunotaro dipping into the grass, taking Yuu with him.
“Oh!”
Yuu yelped a bit as they ended up on top of him, and the dancing pair laughed into each other’s faces.
Yuu savored the sensation of their body against Tsunotaro’s, noting how warm it was, and pushed themselves off of him.
“Here,” they said, offering Tsunotaro a hand, “Let’s get back inside. I think the chill is getting to me.”
Tsunotaro eyed the offered hand for a long moment, then took hold. Yuu lifted him off the ground, and he dusted himself off.
“You promised me the paintings?”
“That I did,” said Tsunotaro, checking himself over. “But if you are amenable to waiting on them a little bit longer, I’d like to show you something else.”
Yuu grinned. “You’ve gotten me this far. Lead the way.”
Retaking Yuu’s hand, he guided them back indoors, into a dark hallway. Tsunotaro seemed to know where he was going, though, and so Yuu let themselves be guided for a short while.
Before they could make it too far, however, Yuu’s ankle wobbled, and they tripped in place. Yuu panicked, and fell quite hard, and would have likely injured themselves had Tsunotaro not moved to steady them so quickly and so enthusiastically.
His eyes were wide, filled with worry. “Are you alright?! What happened?”
Yuu was breathless, bundled up in Tsunotaro’s grasp. “Yes, I-I’m fine. It’s these shoes, you see,” Yuu pointed at them. “They’re not quite my size, but I’m sure if I just take them off, I should be alright.”
“Of course.” Despite this, Tsunotaro put an arm under Yuu’s knees and picked them up, holding them close to his chest.
“Oh!” Yuu gasped. “There’s no need for that, really!” Tsunotaro was holding them quite close now, and they could really feel his body heat under his clothes.
“You are welcome to take off your shoes,” he said, beginning to walk carrying Yuu, “but I will ensure our shared safety in this way.”
Yuu clutched his jacket. “But if something happens, we’ll both go down!”
“Nonsense.” Tsunotaro hefted Yuu up a bit closer. “I will protect you.” And, said in such an authoritative way, Yuu did not feel as though they could protest.
They reached around and took their shoes off, however. Yuu would feel safer out of them for now.
The two eventually entered a much grander hall, well-lit with the floating lights again, all the way to the top of the towering ceiling.
As they made their way to the center, Tsunotaro stopped, leaning down to gently set Yuu on the ground, as if they were made of glass. Once they were safely standing, he ducked behind Yuu, prompting them to follow his movement to find him bowed at the waist, offering his hand to take.
Yuu’s heart began thumping at the gesture. In this grand hall, right in the center, Tsunotaro looked like a prince awaiting their most ardent love. With no other choice, Yuu took their hand, and Tsunotaro pulled them in for a waltz.
As a servant, Yuu had no practice dancing, but Tsunotaro seemed to be experienced, and so Yuu followed in his footsteps. They looked down to try and avoid his feet, but Tsunotaro pressed them in closer, encouraging them to simply follow his body.
So Yuu did, trusting him as they had throughout the night to steer them, and they waltzed. Without shoes, Yuu was sliding a bit, but it gave Tsunotaro more of a chance to lead. They danced their way into one of the rooms leading into the hall, a grand room with a piano and tall paintings of people in various states.
Yuu gasped, blinking away from Tsunotaro to gaze at the art as he steadily guided them through the room. Tsunotaro slowed his dancing, sliding into Yuu and giving them a chance to admire the paintings.
They drank them all in with wide eyes, trying to study and trace every brushstroke with their eyes and burn it into their mind. The detailed features of the people, leaning this or that way as they were frozen in their tasks, spoke to Yuu.
“I’m glad you like the art. I prefer these pieces to the ones in the other hall, though of course they are all so stunning.”
“It’s amazing how lifelike they are… do you get to look at them often?”
“Yes, though I haven’t studied them as much as you are right now.”
Yuu stood up to get a closer look at the paintings. “You should! Right now!” Yuu looked at Tsunotaro, excitedly waving him over before turning back to the wall. Brushing their fingertips against the artwork, they said, “If you stand right next to them, you can see the imperfections in the paint!”
They walked along the grand paintings, gently bumping their hands against the paint, trying to take it all in. “Imagine the care in every leaf, every fold of clothing.”
“Yes, it’s stunning.” Tsunotaro spoke next to them.
Yuu looked at him again, and noticed their throat felt a bit parched. They swallowed, a bit uncomfortable.
“Is something wrong?” Yuu looked over at Tsunotaro, who was rising from the couch.
“I think I’m just thirsty. It seems we did a lot of dancing, huh?”
Tsunotaro held his hand out. “Come. We’ll go to the kitchens and get you a glass of water.”
“Oh no, I’d hate to impose-”
“Nonsense.” Tsunotaro took Yuu’s hand of their own volition. “It is a single glass. It is hardly an imposition.”
With Yuu’s nod, they began walking out of the room and into the grand hall again, this time entering another hall connected to it. They turned, and found themselves in front of the open doors of the kitchen, still bustling as bakers frosted cakes and chefs garnished dishes.
A few people looked over at them, but dropped their gaze once their eyes met Tsunotaro’s. He found a glass, and filled it in an unattended sink.
“Here,” he said. He handed them the glass. Leaning on the counter, Yuu took the glass and drank. It felt amazing on their parched tongue.
“Thank you,” they said, handing it back empty. Tsunotaro filled it again, and Yuu took a sip.
They eyed a waiter heading out the door with a plate of cakes, and Tsunotaro asked, “Would you like one?”
Yuu’s eyes flicked between him and the cakes. “Um-”
Tsunotaro stopped them, and the cakes were offered to Yuu. They took two, both with strawberries on top, and thanked the waiter, who went on their way.
They took a big bite into one, moaning as the taste hit their tongue, and offered the other to Tsunotaro.
He did not immediately move to take it, prompting Yuu to ask, “Do you want it?”
As if dazed, he blinked a bit, and took the cake. “Yes, thank you.” He took a bite.
Tsunotaro closed his eyes in apparent bliss, slowly chewing, seemingly trying to savor every flake of pasty. He opened his eyes again, catching Yuu’s own in his gaze, and gave them a warm smile that set something on fire within Yuu. Yuu nudged their head out of the kitchen to leave, and Tsunotaro followed. They drank the last of the water and left it on a counter.
Cakes in hands, they reentered the grand hall, and after Tsunotaro had finished his bite, he said, “May I show you something?”
Yuu smiled. “Of course!”
He laid his hand on the small of Yuu’s back, guiding them out of the hall to a staircase. It led to a long balcony on the outside of the gardens where they had just been, and let Yuu see the expanse of the landscape.
“This area has some of the most beautiful views in the castle, in my opinion. Would you like to see them?”
Yuu took Tsunotaro’s arm, eyes enraptured by him. “Let’s go,” they said, leaning their head a bit more into him than they needed.
“And so this was around when the most common appearances of gargoyles shifted away from animals-”
Yuu wasn't sure when he had begun talking, but they were hypnotized listening, or at least that’s what they hoped their slow nods and unbroken gaze implied..
They had been walking, intertwined in each other, for quite a while. Tsunotaro had brought Yuu to see a variety of places in the castle. After the beautiful expanse of the grounds, they'd seen winding halls with grand statues, huge tapestries hung up depicting great events of history, a small room that jutted out from the rest of the castle with a roof of glass, that let the sun in during the day but for now showed the stars gleaming in the sky. A giant library with books stacked as high as Yuu could see is one of the rooms they visited, with a cozy nook Tsunotaro took care to introduce Yuu to, behind a bookcase not immediately apparent to the eye, with a pile of chunky-knit blankets on a loveseat.
Eventually, they made their way back outside to the outdoors hallway that encircled the castle. Yuu had feared a lull in the conversation when they weren’t actively gushing over something, but Tsunotaro had taken the reins with enthusiasm and had begun telling Yuu seemingly every fact about gargoyles in existence, his passion evident. Yuu let the words wash over them, and admittedly hadn’t heard much of his side of the conversation, feeling intoxicated by his presence. They were leaning into each other more than truly walking, Yuu’s eyes having trouble staying focused on anything that wasn’t Tsunotaro. Yuu wasn’t looking straight at him, but from the corner of their eye, his head hadn’t turned away from Yuu, meaning he was probably feeling similarly. \ They clung tightly to him, unwilling to part with the intimacy of their new position, and Tsunotaro seemed to be in no position to let them go, keeping a steady grip on their arm.
The hallway had opened up to a viewing deck, and judging by the view, they were in the front of the castle. The city lights and castle fires glowed beneath them, and though Yuu longed to take a look over the railing, they couldn’t free themselves from Tsunotaro, neither his grasp nor his aura, and chose instead to lean further into him, if that was even possible at this point. Tsunotaro responded by winding his arms around Yuu.
They leaned over to set their shoes down on a bench, freeing up their other hand.
Tsunotaro’s arms crept to Yuu’s hips, which he moved slowly to face his own. Yuu, still drunk off of the night, was helpless to fight him so long as he did not let go.
They turned their gaze up to him. His face was filled with amorous affection, and Yuu’s heart, feeling like it couldn’t beat any faster, soared.
As if on instinct, they slowly moved closer to one another, hands creeping further and further into one another.
Tsunotaro’s gaze dropped to Yuu’s lips, and he started to lean down a bit. Yuu’s eyes went half-lidded, face turning to the side, leaning up to Tsunotaro’s-
Ding! Dong!
Cold dread shot through Yuu's spine, and they jumped in surprise at the sudden sound, trying to find its source. They saw a tall clock tower in the distance, both hands pointed straight up.
The spell of the night wore off in an instant as they remembered what they were doing here.
The jewels. Their life. They needed to leave, now.
Above them, Tsunotaro’s gaze was adoring. “Are you cold?” he murmured to his companion, bundling them up in his arms. “Come in closer, your clothes are so thin…”
Yuu put their hands on Tsunotaro’s chest, and with a wide expression, said, “It’s midnight.”
Not sparing a glance at the clock, Tsunotaro replied, “Yes, it is.”
Yuu pushed away from Tsunotaro. “I’m sorry! Goodbye.” They scooped up their shoes. The chill was suddenly much harsher than it had been before, and it served to wake Yuu up.
It seemed the spell had not yet worn off for Tsunotaro, and, as if waking up from a dream, he shook his head slowly. “What?” Tsunotaro reached out to take Yuu’s wrist. “I thought we were having a nice time.”
“We were!” Yuu tugged their wrist free, but Tsunotaro stepped forward and grabbed their other one. “But it’s so late, and I need to go.”
“Wait.” Tsunotaro sounded desperate, and as Yuu freed themselves on one side, he would grab them on the other side. “Stay, just a little bit longer.”
Yuu tried to tug on their wrist, but they didn’t have the strength to escape Tsunotaro’s grip. “I-I got a ride with a girl in her carriage, and she’s not a big fan of parties you see,” Yuu lied, again trying to slip away. “She said we’re leaving at 12 o’clock sharp, so you see, I’m already late.”
“We’ll find your friend, and explain the situation.” Yuu ripped themselves free, and Tsunotaro once again took their hand, trying to pull them in.
“She won’t stay a minute longer than she has to- she was very insistent on that point!”
“Then let her leave.”
“But how will I get home?”
“Don’t. Stay the night.”
“A-ahah?! In what room?”
“I’m sure I could help find you a room,” Tsunotaro’s green eyes seemed to glow in the dark, filling with desperation. “This castle has so many empty ones.”
They had slowly made their way backwards, back into the hall, Tsunotaro grabbing Yuu’s wrist over and over.
“But- the prince!” Yuu looked at Tsunotaro, trying to feign surprise. “I have to leave, and I haven’t even seen the prince.”
Tsunotaro didn’t respond for a moment “Wait,” he said, “I am-”
“YOUR MAJESTY!”
A voice rang out behind them, startling Yuu. They looked over their shoulder, seeing a silver-haired guard approaching them authoritatively, and for a moment, everything slowed down.
No. No way. Their luck could not be this bad.
For a second, Yuu thought the guard could perhaps have been mistaken, the shadows warping his vision. But as they looked at Tsunotaro again, shining in the moonlight, a different sort of fear had taken over his face as he looked at the guard.
He looked as if he had been caught in a trap.
Terror bolted through them at the realization of their horrific situation. They had to get away, as fast and as far as possible, and with that single thought in their mind, Yuu dug their heels into the ground and pulled on their arm one last time. Tsunotaro, grip loosened by shock, allowed Yuu to pop free.
Before they knew what was happening, they turned swiftly and took off running into the halls of the castle, knocking their shoulder into the guard and nearly tripping. Tsunotaro, realizing that this game they had played was finished, began a desperate chase.
“Wait! STOP!” Yuu could hear his footsteps rapidly gaining speed over the pounding in their heart as he ran to catch up with them. They sprinted down the hall as fast as they could, socks nearly slipping on the smooth tile. They dove down an unfamiliar hall in an effort to shake the newly revealed prince, but quickly realized their mistake as they were drowned in the darkness of the unknown.
“Wait!”
They kept running once they heard Tsunotaro’s cries behind them. He was yelling, and the walls had begun to echo his voice, so it was hard to tell how close he was to catching them. Squinting in the darkness, they eventually saw a shift in the shadows that led them to an open door straight to another hall. When they got to the end, however, Yuu turned around frantically to try and keep moving further away. This action confused them, however, and they suddenly lost their sense of direction. After a few harried moments of scrambling, they realized they were well and truly lost.
Yuu ran further into the halls, but it quickly became an undecipherable maze to Yuu, punctuated occasionally by Tsunotaro’s cries echoing through the halls, making it impossible to hear where they were coming from.
“Please, I can explain!”
Their heart squeezed at the panic in his tone, but they tried to use the sentiment to get themselves to move again. Feeling a breeze, they threw themselves through an open door leading into yet another hallway. Yuu kept running forward, trying to roughly guess where the front of the castle was, but as they turned down yet another dark passageway, they let out a noise of frustration, and were about to try and turn again when they felt hands grab them and drag them into a hall closet.
Yuu tried to scream, fearing they had been caught, but someone slapped a hand over their mouth and spoke into their ear.
“Yuu?!” His surprise was evident in his voice. “What’re you doin’ here?!” His accent, the one Crowley had tried for so long to train out of him, was coming out in his panic.
It was Epel. Yuu turned their head back to make sure, but couldn’t respond because he was still covering their mouth.
“Oh!” Epel lifted his hand from Yuu’s mouth.
They still didn’t know what to say, however, unsure of Epel’s intentions. Their eyes darted to the door, but Epel noticed, and threw his body against it to block Yuu.
“Please! Where are you?” Tsunotaro’s muffled voice bled through the door, and Yuu swore it was louder than before.
Epel looked at Yuu. “Is someone chasing you?”
Instead of responding, Yuu instead said, “Where’s Crowley?”
Epel held his stance in front of the door. “He’s not here. They needed someone t’ take the carriage and he threw a fit. They said he could wait in the stables or they’d kick him out, so he’s out with the horses.” Epel looked back at Yuu with suspicion in his yes. “Are… are you guys planning to leave?”
Yuu blinked. “Us?”
“Are you guys going to leave from here? Please,” Epel stepped off from the doorway and clutched Yuu’s arm. “Please, I’ll do anything!”
Yuu couldn’t believe what they were hearing. “You want to leave?” Their tone was incredulous, partially because they were unable to process anything with such fear coursing through their body.
“Yes!” Epel clasped his hands together. “Please, I won’t tell, I’ll do whatever you guys need, just take me with you!” Not seeing a response, he continued, “I can be useful, I promise!”
Shaking off their shock, Yuu said, “We’re not leaving from here. Ace and Deuce are stealing some of the jewels on display tonight.”
Epel gasped and looked up at them with widened eyes. Yuu continued, “We’re gonna sell them for money. That’s how we’re gonna leave. We’re supposed to leave now, but I got caught up with someone and now I don’t know where the exit is.”
Suddenly, Tsunotaro’s voice rang out again. “Wait! How will I find you!” His voice was much clearer that time, and Epel and Yuu turned their heads to the doorway.
Epel looked back at Yuu, and asked, “Why is he chasin’ you?”
Yuu brought a hand up to their face, massaging their temple. “It’s just someone I met,” they said, not wanting to get into the details of how they had apparently been meeting up with the prince for months on end. “I couldn’t explain why I had to go so suddenly, and I think he thinks I abandoned him.” Yuu’s face contorted in confusion. “Hey, wait, why are you in this part of the castle?”
Epel shushed them, and thought for a moment. “So you need to leave now?” Yuu nodded. “Ok, I think I can get you out. If I help you, will you guys take me too?”
“I’ll talk to them. I’ll make sure we don’t leave without you.”
Epel nodded. “Ok, stay here,” they said, opening the door. “I promise I‘m coming back, don’t follow me. I know someone who can help.”
He darted out the door and closed it carefully. Yuu heard his footsteps down the hall.
For a long, long moment, Yuu wasn’t sure what to think. Trust Epel? Even if he was genuinely trying to get out from under Crowley’s thumb, could he even actually help? Should they leave? They might get lucky, or they might run into Tsunotaro, who seemed very intent on keeping them there.
Yuu stretched their arms over their head. They’d been standing for a while.
The door opened again, and Yuu stepped back, unsure of who would walk through. Epel had returned, with a guard who had white hair and fluffy, pointed ears.
“Don’t ask questions.” Epel and the guard stepped into the closet. “This is Jack, and he’s gonna get you out. He knows the castle. Listen to him, ok? And Yuu, don’t leave without me. Take care of them, Jack.” Epel looked to the guard for the last sentence, who nodded.
Epel stepped out of the closet again, closing the door behind him. Yuu looked to Jack. “Should we go now?”
He shook his head, then leaned forward. His ears twitched, tracking a sound in the distance.
“I don’t even know your name!”
Yuu had to resist jumping. Tsunotaro’s voice- he was right there. It sounded as if he was just in front of the door, and to confirm this fact, they heard a set of footsteps race by the door.
After another moment, Jack took Yuu’s arm. “Let’s go.” Jack opened the door and dragged Yuu roughly hurriedly through a different hallway, ducking under some stairs. They turned down, one, two, three entrances before seeing a grand door with light and noise coming from it. Yuu recognized it as the entrance to the ballroom. They stepped into the hall, and Yuu tried to blink away the influx of light, remembering the layout from earlier in the evening. The exit was just up ahead.
“HEY!”
A voice boomed down the hall. Jack and Yuu turned around to see a green-haired guard in the same uniform as Jack.
The green-haired guard stepped forward and spoke to Jack. “Come with me. We have new orders.”
“As soon as I help them, Sebek, they couldn’t find the exit,” said Jack, indicating to Yuu.
Impatient, Sebek took Jack’s arm. “Down the left, follow the hallway.” He spoke hurriedly to Yuu. “Jack, we need to go.”
Jack looked at Yuu, who said, “Thank you,” to him, before taking off down the hall. They nearly bumped into a wall but- oh! The exit!
Seeing the carriage pulled up, they began to sprint to it, running as fast as their legs could carry-
“STOP!”
The sudden shout caused Yuu to miss the first step of the stairs, and they went tumbling down. When the finally stopped rolling, they realized they had lost their grip on their shoes. They got up slowly, fighting through their pain, and scooped up their fallen slippers, wobbling their way to the carriage where Deuce opened the door.
“Where have you been?” He was evidently upset. “You’re super late!”
“I’m so sorry,” said Yuu, as they stumbled into the seat Grim was already in. “I’ll explain, but we need to go!”
“Ok!” Ortho hitched the reins. “But can you send the cat up again? I don’t think I know exactly where to go.”
“Just make sure no one’s following us first, and then we can get organized, ok Ortho?” Yuu shouted up to the roof so he’d hear them.
“Alright!” The carriage began to move, and through the window of the carriage door, they saw Sebek the guard running down the stairs, his silver-haired companion and Tsunotaro following him.
The carriage began to move, heading for the ornate exit at the other end of the roundabout.
“CLOSE THE GATES!” Yuu’s head whipped around in shock at Sebek’s loud proclamation, seeing his face flushed slightly with the exertion of shouting.
The guards posted near the gates jumped at the order, and began scrambling for the levers.
"Ortho!” Ace was alarmed as the gates began to fall.
“Don’t worry!” Ortho whipped the reins, and the horses picked up speed. The gate closed faster, but against the odds, the carriage sped through, the top just barely missing the points of the rails.
The gate clanked shut behind them, and there was a collective sigh of relief as they sped into the night. Yuu took a few breaths, hearing the clamor grow distant behind them as the night stretched on, dotted by the stars.
Someone knocked on the roof of the carriage. “Yuu.” It was Ace, his muffled voice coming through the carriage. “Where were you?”
Still trying to catch their breath, Yuu said, “I’m sorry. I got distracted and I went off with someone.” They were not ready to confess what they had done. “I didn’t realize what time it was. I’m so sorry.” Yuu took a few more breaths. “Did you guys get the jewels?”
Ace didn’t answer Yuu. “Ortho!” He shouted over the carriage. “Can you find somewhere to stop so we can do somethin’ quick?”
“I’m gonna turn into this road, is that ok?” Ortho spoke up from the front. The carriage tiled a bit, and they ducked into a small gravel path covered in shadows.
In the pitch black, Yuu took Grim and helped him to the roof before sitting down on the edge of the carriage. Ace and Deuce also stepped off, into the bits of light spilling in from a streetlamp through the trees. Deuce said, “Give us a minute, ok Ortho?”
“Ok! Hi, Mr. Kitty!” Ortho began petting Grim, and the cat was happy to lap up the attention.
Once they were all in a circle, Yuu apologized again. “I’m so sorry, guys. It’s completely my fault we’re late.”
Ace looked at Yuu. “You really didn’t know?”
“Not ‘till we went out and saw the clock tower.” Yuu hung their head in shame.
“It’s alright, Yuu,” said Deuce, putting his hand on their shoulder. “We were really worried. We’re just glad you’re ok.”
Then Yuu remembered. “I talked to Epel.”
“You what?!” They both exclaimed.
Yuu tried to calm them down. “He’s on our side, he even helped me out. He wants to leave with us, so we can’t go without him.”
Ace rolled his eyes. “Ugh, how are we gonna leave with him? How are we even gonna talk to him?”.
“Yeah, it seems riskier than it’s worth,” Deuce concurred.
“C'mon guys,” said Yuu, “he really saved me back there. Without him, I don’t even know if I would have made it out. We’ll figure it out.”
With an eye roll, Ace said, “Ugh, fine. I guess we have a chance now, anyway.”
Yuu looked up. “Did you guys…?”
Ace grinned. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small cloth. In his palm, he unwrapped it, revealing a milky white jewel set in a gold ring. There were little sparkly details surrounding the main gem, and Yuu thought it looked beautiful as it sparkled in the moonlight.
They couldn’t believe their eyes. “You got it!” they nearly shrieked.
The party all looked up at each other with a big smile. “You did it!” Yuu shouted. They all came in for a hug, laughing and cheering.
“Oh, man, I can’t believe we pulled it off! Deuce and I got lost for so long, we thought we were going to get caught, but in the end it all worked!”
“Yeah, thanks again for the outfits, Yuu.”
“Yes!” Ace exclaimed, interrupting Deuce. “It worked! We thought we had gotten caught but they were just asking where the buffet was, it was incredible!”
Suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats picked up. Ace pulled Yuu out out their seat as Ortho snapped the reins and pulled the carriage into the darkness, and the group ran to hide behind the lines of trees, seeing black horses zipping past led by the guard with silver hair on a white horse.
They all watched for a moment as the group sped past, then turned to face each other as they stepped out of the trees. “Yuu,” said Deuce, “Someone was following you out, right? Do you know why they were chasing you?”
Suddenly, Yuu wasn’t sure what to say. They really did not want to reveal the sordid details of their night, not ready to confront them themselves.
As convincingly as possible, Yuu shook their head, and said, “No.”
Ace and Deuce looked at them again, Darn it, Yuu, lie more convincingly next time.
“Are you lying to us?” Deuce asked.
Yuu gulped. “No,” they replied again, but the pair remained unconvinced. If anything, the exchange had solidified Yuu’s guilt.
“You didn’t tell anyone, did you, Yuu?” Ace was looking intensely at Yuu, arms crossed over his chest.
“No,” they said with a sigh, relieved they could answer with the truth this time.
Ace and Deuce seemed to believe them at that, tension dropping from the air somewhat. “Except for Epel, right? Maybe he told someone!” Deuce tried to explain.
Yuu shook their head. “They were… chasing me before that.” They turned to look at the side, not wanting to meet either of their eyes.
“Who was chasing you, Yuu?” Ace was determined to get some answers.
“Just a guy,” they mumbled, trying to brush this under the table as soon as possible. They felt so dumb for letting such a foolish thing compromise them all.
“Yuu,” said Deuce, “You have to be honest with us. Or this plan is gonna fall apart.” Deuce’s tone was stern. “If they bring us in, they’ll question us quite harshly.” He dipped his head slightly, looking at Yuu. “And if there’s a shred of doubt between us, we’ll crack, and we’ll all go to jail.”
Deuce could be scary when he was mad, but Yuu had no idea how terrifying he could be when he was controlling himself. They opened their mouth, but no words came out, choked back by Yuu’s fear. After a few attempts, they were finally able to squeak out, “I think it was the prince? He- we just got really swept up in each other. It wasn’t related to this at all, I promise, I don’t even think he suspects us. He’ll forget about me,” Yuu said, trying more to reassure themselves than anything else, “and I didn’t tell him anything. It doesn’t matter, ok guys?”
It had been hard to admit, but Ace and Deuce seemed satisfied with the answer. “Alright. Let’s go home,” said Ace, and that was all they needed to hear as they begun to climb onto the carriage again.
Once everyone was safely on board, Ace told Ortho to take them home. They slowly pulled back onto the street, horses trotting along.
Settling into their seat, Yuu asked, “You still have the ring, right Ace?” with a joking tone. Ace laughed, the sound ringing out into the night.
As Yuu sorted themselves out, they slipped their right shoe on. They checked around their seat and the floor of the carriage, but the other one did not appear. They checked the folds of their outfit, under the seat, but it was nowhere to be found. Yuu tried to calm the rising nervousness in their stomach, knowing it wasn’t a good sign.
They leaned into the backrest, closed their eyes, and began to replay the sweet moments from the night, trying very, very hard not to think about the mess their heart had gotten them into.
“I hope we haven’t kept you out too long, Ortho.” Yuu was stepping back out of the carriage with Ace’s help. Grim jumped onto Yuu’s shoulder.
“Oh, no worries! It’s a bit past my bedtime, but I’m glad I could help you guys!”
“Yes, thanks again, Ortho,” said Deuce. “You really did us a favor.”
“No prob! Bye guys, see you soon!” And with that, Ortho took off.
“Let’s get back inside,” said Yuu, once Ortho had made it down the road. “We need to change, and we need to rest.”
“Goodnight, Yuu.” Deuce and Ace walked back to their quarters.
“Night, guys. Great job.” Yuu looked down at Grim, who was waiting in the hall, having already shook off his cape. “Grim, where do these clothes go?” He led them back to the hall closet, and Yuu stripped in the hall. They hung the clothes back up, looking at Grim, who nodded. Letting Grim take it from there, they slowly made their way back to their own room. They pulled back the quilt and kicked a thin sheet over themselves, pasting themselves onto the bed.
It was morning again.
Yuu, despite hearing the birds chipping and seeing the light through their eyelids, refused to believe that fact, and settled deeper into the covers.
They had been having such a wonderful dream. A man of their imagination, tall, handsome, had been leading them in an endless dance. The music was lovely, the ballroom exquisite, but what had mattered most was him.
His eyes, so filled with love for Yuu, had ensnared them in his grasp, and they allowed him to lead them through a slow waltz. His arms were strong as he held them, promising security and safety as Yuu let themselves fall deeper and deeper.
He twisted their arm and Yuu was dipping slightly, caught up against him, and he leaned his head in, close enough that Yuu could feel his breath against their cheeks-
A pounding at the door woke them up suddenly. It must have been loud, as the basement was quite a ways from the front entrance.
Not wanting to keep the visitor waiting, Yuu scrambled to get out of bed and throw a robe on. They ran to the door, still disheveled, and swung it open.
The man with the invitations, Lilia, was back.
“Ah, we meet again. Sorry to bother so soon,” he said, clearly referring to Yuu’s half-undressed state, “but I have another message.” Lilia produced two invitations, much like last time, and handed them to Yuu. “I know it hasn’t been long since the last one of these, but it’s very important that everyone come back right away.”
That intrigued Yuu as they opened one of the envelopes to read it. “Why?”
Every drop of blood drained from their face as they realized why.
“Well,” said Lilia, leaning in a bit, “the invitations have the necessary information. But it seems someone left a slipper at the ball, and the prince is very interested in returning it.”
The Royal House of Draconia Invites You
To the royal palace
As a personal guest of
The Crown Prince Malleus
To try on the Golden Slipper
8:00 PM - 30th
“The prince?” Yuu read the words over and over again.
“Yes. He intends to try the slipper on everyone who was there, and he’ll be taking attendance.” Lilia looked straight at Yuu now. “He intends to check every guest, and if they don’t show, he’ll be paying them a visit at home with the shoe.”
Lilia took a step back from Yuu’s stonestill form. “But don’t tell anyone I told you that. I’m not sure I’m supposed to mention it.”
Yuu was still frozen at the front door. Lilia, seeing this conversation going no further, said, “I’ll leave you to it, then. Make sure that gets in the right hands.” He began walking back to his carriage.
Yuu forced out a “Thank you!” through their lead tongue, and shut the door. They shoved the invitations down their shirt, and tried to run back to the basement.
They tried, because Crowley was standing at the top of the stairs.
“Who was that?” asked Crowley, body alert, clearly hoping for a specific answer. He was still in his robe, and also looked as if he had just woken up. Yuu’s heart rate shot up.
They pondered for a moment.
Under no circumstances could Crowley see the invitation. It could be a trap, someone could have connected their heist last night to Crowley’s invitation and could be trying to lure him back to arrest and question him. Yuu had no doubt the slipper was some sort of red herring. If they questioned Crowley, it could expose their little expedition. They didn’t have enough time to figure out how to sell the ring, and so they could not depart for good yet. Additionally, if they came around looking for the mystery person, Crowley could recognize the shoe.
If he came looking. If Tsuno- if Malle- if the prince Yuu accidentally befriended went looking for them, Yuu had no idea what would happen.
Crowley was still looking at them expectantly. “No one,” they said. “They had the wrong house.”
Crowley’s eyes narrowed for a moment, then he sighed. “Never mind, then. What are you doing dressed like that? Do you believe it appropriate to waste the entire day sleeping?”
Yuu was about to apologize when they noticed the windows next to the door.
They were stunned to see it was much later in the day than they had realized. Though it was still morning, the sun was bright and the day had clearly begun hours ago.
“I’m sorry,” they said, wanting to return to their room as fast as possible, “I’ll get changed and bring up the breakfast trays right away.”
“Don’t bother,” said Crowley, “start tea in the dining room. Call Ace and Deuce as well, and fetch the rest of us when you’re ready.” He turned back to the staircase, returning to his bedroom.
They ran to their basement and dropped off the invitations, then went to the servants’ quarters. It seemed the late night had gotten to everyone, and Yuu assumed they would still be asleep.
Knocking quickly on the door, they heard a sleepy, “What?” and footsteps. Ace, hair askew, looked at Yuu through cloudy eyes.
“Hi, Yuu,” he said, “what is it?”
“I’m sorry to wake you,” their own voice croaking a bit with sleep, “but Crowley wants to see us all in the dining hall.”
“All of us?” Ace said, his voice rough.
Yuu nodded. “Epel too.”
“Could he… does he know?”
“When I saw Epel,” said Yuu, “he told me Crowley hadn’t been able to get into the party, and that he’d been waiting outside all night.”
Deuce shifted in bed. “What?” His voice was scratchy.
“Oh hey Deuce,” said Ace, turning to speak to his partner over his shoulder. “Crowley wants to see us all in the dining room- now?” he turned back to Yuu to ask.
“Now,” they confirmed with a nod of their head. “Could he have seen us when we were leaving?”
Ace fell silent. There was no way to tell.
“Anyway,” said Yuu, “We shouldn’t keep him waiting. Get dressed.”
Ace nodded, and Yuu left to change their own clothes and start the tea.
As the water for the tea boiled, Yuu leaned onto the counter. Their thoughts wandered to last night. Yuu swayed a bit as they relived the dancing in the garden, the feel of Tsunotaro’s arms as the stars twinkled up above-
A whistling sound broke through Yuu’s thoughts. The water was ready.
They scooped it up and turned off the stove, grabbing the box of tea leaves as they went into the dining room. They set the teapot down and grabbed some bread to serve with it as Ace and Deuce walked into the dining room.
Yuu had no opportunity to say anything as Crowley followed them soon after with Epel, apparently not waiting for Yuu to fetch them. Crowley said, “Ah. You’re all here. Ace, Deuce, take a seat. Yuu, go get three more teacups and take a seat yourself.
Returning swiftly with the cups, they poured Ace, Deuce and themselves some tea. Deuce took a sip, but Ace left his untouched.
“Now,” said Crowley, placing his hands on the table. “As you all know, we went to a ball last night. Since you all couldn’t come, I’ve decided to give you all a little treat this morning. Why don’t you tell us all how the party was, Epel?”
Yuu didn’t dare breathe, but relief washed over them. They had forgotten about this. Had Crowley really only mentioned it yesterday?
“Y-yes,” stammered Epel. “Well, I went inside, and it was all so beautiful. The castle, I mean. The carpets were so pretty, and there were these lights floating everywhere, so it was surprisingly well-lit even though it was night.”
Epel kept talking, describing the castle and the party, the guests, the atmosphere, but as they relaxed, Yuu found their thoughts wandering back to last night. Or, more accurately, to the last few months.
The prince. So that’s why he’d been so shocked when Yuu didn’t recognize him. And of course he was wearing the colors of the castle, they were the colors of his home. Yuu could hardly believe it.
What was this all about, for him, they wondered? Why hadn’t he told them? Well, actually, it was obvious why he hadn’t mentioned it initially. The party had been buzzing with the chance to get the attention of the prospective future king, for all of the riches and prestige it would offer. In that position, you’d never be able to tell if someone was being genuine. Even if they were, the crown would loom over anything else.
So, if Yuu really thought about it, they understood why he had elected not to mention it.
But Yuu had really thought they had a future together. Alright, maybe they were going to run away without him before, but they had felt badly about leaving someone so dear to them. They had told Tsunotaro as much on that last day before the ball.
Yuu’s face began to heat up a bit, and they rubbed the back of their neck a bit. Tsunotaro… the prince had let them call him that?
They couldn’t help but feel humored. Tsunotaro was not afraid of teasing slightly, but had he really just been laughing at them the entire time? When he had said he wished he could see them more, was that just to escape his own responsibilities? When he had mentioned he had few friends, did he just mean friends like them?
When he said he couldn’t live without them, did he mean it?
And then there was the matter of the shoe. Yuu cursed themselves for leaving it behind, even though everything had happened so fast. Tsunotaro seemed so intent on tracking them down, but as Yuu racked their head, they couldn’t imagine any scenario that didn’t end with them in a jail cell.
Yuu had suspected, quietly in those brief moments they had with him, but those hopes had long since been dashed. No matter how Yuu felt, there was no possible way it would work out between the crown prince and a semi-indentured servant commoner, and that was before Yuu’s new criminal record.
Mind frazzled and heart a bit aching, their thoughts carried them to greener pastures. Before… everything, it really had been a night right out of their book of fairytales. Tsunotaro- should they call him Prince Malleus? Whatever he was called, he had really swept them off their feet. If they hadn’t been in love with him before the night started, they certainly were after. He had shown them so many wonderful places in the castle, it was such a shame to only get to see them once. They thought about the library and the little hidden nook Tsunotaro had shown them. They hadn’t had much time there, but they had taken a moment to look around. Tsunotaro had seemed wistful when he had shown Yuu this room, giggling with them as their delight for being in such an intimate space together spilled over-
“Yuu!”
They jolted upwards suddenly, hitting their legs on the bottom of the table. Everyone was looking at them, especially Crowley.
“Yuu, are you paying attention?” Crowley asked.
Trying to remember what Epel had been saying, they quickly said, “Yes of course! Epel, you were telling us about the… party?”
“Yes!” Epel’s eyes flicked to Yuu. “I was just telling the story of how I met the prince.”
Their heart skipped a beat. “Wow, really?” Yuu tried to sound as interested as possible. “That’s good news, right?”
“Yes,” interrupted Crowley, “and Epel said he was particularly smitten! Oh, this is wonderful news. You know, at first I reprimanded Epel for leaving when he said the prince seemed so attached to him, but he said he’d send for Epel! Isn’t that just so romantic!”
Yuu had never heard Crowley so happy and nodded along, despite the fact that the story didn’t make any sense.
Or maybe he just looked at everyone like that. Who could tell? Certainly not Yuu.
“Epel?” They asked, seeing this as the best opportunity to pose a question. “What did the prince look like?”
He gave Yuu a look before speaking. “He was tall, with longish black hair. And he had horns, of course, ‘cuz he’s the prince.”
Crowley, ignoring Epel’s highly informal use of contractions, said, “Yes, of course he has horns! He is a dragon fae after all, as the royal family is.”
Yuu was looking right at Crowley, but they could feel the stray looks the others were shooting at them.
Eventually, Epel finished his story.
“A most successful night. Excellent job, Epel. Yuu, Ace, Deuce,” said Crowley as he stood up. “I need you all to be watching the front door very closely. Given Epel’s performance last night, we may be expecting a royal summons very soon. Epel, come with me. It is more critical now than ever that your book smarts be at their best.” Everyone stood up from the table, but Epel spoke up.
“A-actually-“
Crowley fixed Epel with a glare. “What, Epel?”
Taking a breath, Epel said, “Since I did so much work this last week, and I did so well at the ball, I thought I could maybe have a little break?”
Crowley stared at Epel for a moment. “Come now, Epel, you’ll have plenty of time to rest after you get married and secure our futures. Get up,” at this, Crowley grabbed Epel’s shoulder, “you you are going into your room and you’re not coming out until you’ve got every branch of that family tree memorized. I, however, will be resting in my room, as a reward for my hard work” Crowley pulled Epel in to make sure he knew exactly what that last sentence meant and marched Epel out of the room, who took one last glance back at Yuu, eyes flicking to the chair for just a moment.
The chair?
Ace and Deuce looked at Yuu, then at the door, to make sure Crowley was sufficiently far away.
Yuu pulled out the chair Epel had been sitting on, and noticed something on the seat. They took it and held it up.
“A key?” Deuce scrutinized the item.
“Let’s go to the basement. I need to tell you guys something.”
They nodded, and headed for Yuu’s room.
“So, what did you need to tell us?” Deuce asked Yuu.
Yuu pulled out the key from the apron. “The key Epel dropped- I think it’s the key to his door. We need to go get him, now.”
“Now?” said Deuce.
“Yes. I have more news, and he needs to be here for it.”
“But how? Crowley’s room is right there. I swear, he has ears like a bat.”
“We need to get him out, somehow. Please?”
Ace turned to walk back out the door. “C’mon, obviously we’re gonna help you. We’re just gonna need to be super quiet, Deuce.”
Yuu stepped into the hall, and whispered, “Take off your shoes, and walk slowly. Some of the stairs creak.”
The group tiptoed their way to the staircase, and slowly made their way up each stair. A board bent under Ace, and he frantically grabbed for the railing to lift himself off. The entire group looked at Crowley’s door to see if he’d pop out.
Finally making it to the top, Yuu waved Ace and Deuce closer. They took the key out of their pocket and slowly inserted it, fighting their nervousness. Ace moved to cup his hands over the keyhole, trying to muffle any sounds that might escape. Deuce moved to do the same, only instead blocking it with his body.
Yuu steadily turned the key, feeling the pins lean up and stick against the teeth. The key turned slowly, as fast as Yuu would allow themselves.
Eventually, it clicked. Yuu let out a sigh of relief and slowly took hold of the door handle. They turned it, agonizingly slowly, but felt it twisting out of their hands for a moment felt panic.
The door creaked open, and in the darkness, Yuu could make out a slice of Epel, staring back at them.
His face lifted in joy, but before he could say anything, Ace’s hands over Yuu’s head waved wildly, attempting to shush him. Yuu took a step back and waved him forward, and Epel seemed to understand.
Epel closed the door behind him, slowly and carefully, and they all began walking back down the stairs, hearts pounding.
Once they made it down the stairs and into the basement, Epel began to talk.
“Oh, this is so cool!” Epel was looking around at the basement, taking in the boxes of storage and Yuu’s living quarters. He then looked at Yuu and jumped forward, trapping them in a hug. “Thank you, thank you! All of you! I wasn’t sure you’d pick up on my hints, but… oh thank you!” Epel squeezed Yuu harder.
“Of course!” said Yuu through the constriction of their ribcage. “But there’s something we need to talk about first.”
“Oh, right!” Epel released Yuu and jumped back, giving them as much space as he could. “Of course, the plan to escape! I’m so excited!”
“Right, before that.” Yuu pulled the invitations out of their apron pocket.
“Epel,” said Deuce, “if you had that key, why haven’t you ever used it before?”
Epel gave him a small, sad smile. “I’m always on the wrong side of the keyhole.”
Yuu handed an invitation to Ace, who let Deuce read over his shoulder. They gave Epel the other one, and let them read.
“It’s mine,” said Yuu, after they had a moment to look at the invitations. “The shoe. I-I dropped it when I was at the party,” they stammered, finding it surprisingly hard to confess the error. They had felt so awful at having delayed their exit, they couldn’t believe they had compromised the group again. “I had no idea, I’m so sorry.”
Deuce looked at Yuu. “It’s ok, Yuu. It seems you did the right thing.” Deuce shrugged. “We can just tear these up and Crowley will never know.”
Yuu shook their head. “No, they said they’re gonna check if everyone shows up. If you don’t go, they’re going to come to your house.”
Ace looked confused, and leaned on the wall. “Why?”
“They want to know who’s shoe it is. I think it’s a trick- they think whoever left it is related to the robbery, and they want to bring them out.”
Deuce leaned his head back in exasperation. “Ugh!”
Yuu dropped their head into their hands.
“No, Yuu, hey, it’s not your fault,” said Deuce, reaching out to them. “We can fix this.”
“How?” Yuu didn’t see a way out of this mess.
Deuce was silent for a moment. Ace intervened. “Ok, first, we lay out the facts. If none of us go, then the invitations don’t get turned in. If they don’t get turned in, the royal court shows up here and… what, Crowley turns them away?”
Yuu shook their head again. “The shoes were from my parent’s things. If there’s any chance he’ll see them, he’ll definitely recognize them.”
“No, he won’t.” Deuce suddenly became animated. “Because we’ll go. All of us. You’ll go as Crowley again, Epel will go as Epel, we’ll go as your servants- and we’ll steal something again. Only this time-”
“We’ll steal the shoe!” Epel jumped up to match Deuce’s energy.
“And we can leave from there with everyone. We haven’t found a way to sell the ring yet,” said Ace, looking at Yuu, “but we can figure it out. We’ll get out of town, we’ll find a map, we’ll take our families-”
“And we’ll leave for good, All of us.” Deuce finished with a smile.
Yuu wasn’t sure. “I can’t. I can’t go as Crowley. They’re trying the shoes on the party guests, and the person I was with might be there and recognize me.”
“Oh, and we’re missing someone,” said Ace, “We don’t have Ortho this time, who’s gonna drive?”
“I can!”
They all looked at Epel.
“I know how! I drove a lot, o-or at least I used to! I’m a bit rusty, but I could get us there.” Epel’s eyes were sparkling, and he looked like he was about to bounce off the walls.
“Ok, so, Epel will drive,” said Ace, “and Yuu can’t go to the party. So…” Ace trailed off, and looked at Deuce. “It’ll have to be us. We’ll go as Epel and Yuu, and turn the invitations in.”
“Epel and Crowley, Ace. Epel,” Deuce turned to him, “We’ll need fancy clothes. Can you try to find something in your room that’ll fit us?”
Epel nodded eagerly, hands clenched in excitement.
“The party’s tonight, though.” Their desperation bled through. “Will we have enough time to prepare?”
“This is our only shot. We’ll have to make it work.” Ace’s face was set, determined.
Yuu stared at the three in silence from their seat. This was, quite frankly, not a good plan. They didn’t have enough time, or enough energy to think this through properly. Despite this, Ace was right. Maybe it was the exhaustion, or the enthusiasm that Ace and Deuce had presented the plan with. Whatever the case, Yuu made their decision.
“Ok. Let’s do this.”
Yuu forced down the anxiety building in their stomach as they stirred the pot of soup for dinner.
Taking a sip, Yuu sprinkled in a bit more comfrey. Yuu tried it again, and, satisfied with the flavor, turned the heat on the stove down and capped the pot.
Trying to keep their hands from shaking, they ladled soup into bowls on trays and cut slices of bread for sides. Losing themselves in the moment, their thoughts wandered to what had occupied their mind for days. Malleus.
He had seemed so surprised when Yuu had offered them the cake. His eyes had been so round, so full of surprise, green irises nearly drowned out by black, slitted pupils, as he gazed at the sweet treat with his sweet, delicate lips parted.
Were they feeding him that poorly at the castle? Surely the prince could ask for more pastures.
Yuu couldn’t help thinking that perhaps he was taken aback by the gesture, Yuu themselves, the cake being inconsequential.
They shook off those thoughts. Prince Malleus was the enemy now, even if Yuu had stolen from him first.
Yuu wondered if, even now, the prince was as conflicted with his feelings as Yuu was. If he was replaying every sundrowned minute of their rendezvous from the last year, every glance, every touch, every sweetly-spoken word...
Darn it. They were doing it again.
They took Epel’s tray up first, unable to balance both with the soup sloshing around, and as they set it down, a slip of paper darted out.
I’m ready.
Yuu laid their hand on the door and smiled. At least one of them was.
Yuu ladled soup into two more bowls, and laid them on the windowsill.
Eventually, the dishes returned to the hallway, emptied of their contents. Ace And Deuce were standing in the kitchen, bowls in hand, ready to help. They washed up together, laughing with each other and then shushing each other and looking at the door, checking if Crowley had heard them.
Crowley bid Yuu one last goodnight, and Yuu tried once again to fight the anticipation rising within them.
They realized this could be the last time would Yuu ever see him.
So they looked Crowley in the eye, trying to keep even their mind blank, worried Crowley could somehow smell their traitorous thoughts, and said goodnight, hoping it would be for the very last time.
In Yuu’s room, Ace was sleeping, and Deuce had his head stuck out a window, trying to gulp down the cool night air.
Yuu flopped down on their bed next to Ace. It was large enough for both of them. They tried to banish thoughts of dancing with the prince, falling down, lying in each other’s arms, drinking each other in, feeling his heartbeat under his chest, slow and steady, grounding Yuu like an anchor.
The sun was bright, and Malleus smelled nice, warm, like a home Yuu hadn’t had in a long time. He was stroking their head, nose against their scalp, and Yuu could feel him breathing against them.
He shifted under them and turned to look at Yuu, stroking their chin softly-
“Hey, wake up.”
Yuu opened their eyes to see Ace’s blurry form above them, shaking Yuu and trying to wake them up.
“Oh no, I must have fallen asleep,” they said, rising to cradle their head in their hands. Then their head shot up. “Did I oversleep?”
“No, no, we’re fine, we just need to start now. Sorry for waking you up.”
Ace looked at Yuu sheepishly. “...were you having a nice dream?”
Yuu looked at Ace. “What?”
“I’m sorry!” Ace waved his hands in the air. “It’s just- you looked so peaceful. You were smiling.”
This was getting out of hand. Yuu shook their head. “We’ll all have something to smile about when we get out of here.”
“Exactly. We know you haven’t had much time, so me and Deuce are gonna go bust Epel out again while you pack and do anything else you need to do.” Ace went off, leaving Yuu alone in the basement.
Yuu had been so fried this week, they hadn’t even thought of what they’d wanna take. As they sat on their bed, they tried to process what was happening tonight. They were leaving their childhood home, forever. One their parents had built and filled with love. They tried not to feel like they were betraying them.
Yuu pulled out an old suitcase from the boxes, and began to pack.
The book of fairytales went in, along with a few other books Yuu had taken over the years. Clothes, papers, a set of profiles of their parents, their birth certificate, the jar of loose change they had picked up from years of checking Crowley’s suit pockets before they washed them, a few toys they had been able to keep from childhood.
As they were pulling out the items, the certificate proving a bit difficult to find, Grim appeared.
“Grim! Did you hear?”
Yuu wasn’t sure what Grim knew. He seemed to know everything at times, but Yuu didn’t want to risk him being left behind.
“Grim, we’re going to leave the house. Now. Come with us, please?”
Grim stared at Yuu with wide eyes, then meowed.
“Alright. Ace, Deuce and Epel should be outside somewhere with a carriage. You can go out to them now or you can stay and we can go out together.”
Grim circled a point and lay down to curl in on himself, opting for the latter choice.
Yuu turned back to their work. Upon seeing the half-empty suitcase, Yuu tried to fight their tears. They’d pack up the house if they could. Feeling a sudden rush of grief, they took a small, fancy pillow they kept under their bed, and put it in the suitcase. It went with a set in Crowley’s room, but Yuu had taken it one day to play with.
Behind the pillow was the other slipper.
Yuu wasn’t sure what to do with it. They hadn’t had enough time to really think about it. Should they get rid of it? Just throwing it away wouldn’t be enough, they’d have to burn it or bury it or something.
Yuu held the shoe in their hands for a moment, running their fingers over the soft material, feeling the ridges of the beading. They held it to their chest.
Grim was looking at them intently, his little head cocked to the side.
It would only serve as a reminder of that night. Not just to Yuu. They didn’t have the suit, hopefully well-hidden by Grim, but if it was found on them, it would most certainly link them and their friends to the crime. But those memories, so sweet and warm, even if they ended up implicating them in the end, were too close to Yuu’s heart to cut out permanently.
Yuu couldn’t lose the last thread of that one magical night. They took the shoe and wrapped it in a shirt, then buried it as well as they could in the suitcase.
Someone knocked softly on their door. “Yuu?” Epel’s head peeked through the door. “Oh, you’re up!” Epel. followed by Ace and Deuce, bounded through the door. Epel was dressed in a brown two-piece, a short brown vest and matching pants with a waistcoat. Deuce was dressed in a bright red waistcoat and a matching long vest, with deep blue matching pants. Ace was in a dark blue coat that stopped at the waist, buttoned up tightly across Ace’s chest. The gold details were stark against the deep blue, and reminded Yuu of the stars. Grim stumbled a bit as he got up from his little nap, choosing to scramble under the bed.
“If this was a fashion show, you guys would have it locked up,” said Yuu, rising from the suitcase on the floor. “You don’t think it’s a bit too flashy?”
Deuce rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well, this is the only time we’ll get to go to a party like this, I just thought that maybe this once, it would be ok?”
Yuu gave them a small laugh. “No, you’re right. It’s not like they’re looking for your faces, anyway.”
“Yuu, we’re going to load th’ carriage with all our stuff,” said Epel, heading for the door again. “We’ll be outside when you’re ready, ok?”
“Here are the outfits, Yuu. Take whichever one you don’t wear, so we don’t leave any evidence behind.” Ace dropped his and Deuce’s disguises from the first ball onto the bed.
Yuu nodded, and the rest of the group left to attend to the final details.
After trying the outfits on, it was clear they wouldn’t be a perfect fit. Still, they mixed up the pieces and made it work, and as Yuu was smoothing out the wrinkles on the jacket, their resolve hardened.
This was going to work. Yuu believed it now.
Grim, having come out from his hiding place, looked up at them.
They took one last look around the room, trying to burn it into their memory, and made one last decision. Taking the blanket off the top of the bed, Yuu wrapped it around their shoulders, took their suitcase, and left the basement with Grim.
Yuu still had to walk through the house, however, and though it was harder to see in moonlight, it nonetheless did something to Yuu. This has been their home once, they thought, as they tried to stop their heels from clicking as much as possible on the floor, and it had housed them for such a long time. Yuu once again fought tears, but said a silent thank you.
After a short search, they found Ace, Deuce and Epel loading up the carriage.
“Yuu, you’re here! Lemme take your bag.” Perhaps making up for years of being stifled, he loaded up the suitcase with glee.
“Yuu, do you know where to sit?” Deuce appeared from the other side of the carriage, Ace in tow.
Yuu stepped up and into the seat reserved for coachmen. “Here, right?”
“Yes, but hold on tight.” Ace hopped into the carriage behind Deuce, who was worried for Yuu’s safety. “We shouldn’t be going too fast, but it wouldn’t be fun to fall off.”
“Got it.” Getting an idea, they said, “Have fun, my lord.” Yuu couldn’t help fighting their smile, one Deuce returned.
“Bleugh. I hope I don’t have to hear that too often tonight.”
He climbed into the carriage, but not before Yuu saw a gray shadow dart into the closing door. Grim was safely on board.
“Epel, that’s everyone. Let’s go.” Epel gave Yuu a thumbs up, and snapped the reins to start the movement of the horses.
Yuu got one long, last look at the house as they crept slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. They couldn’t breathe, trying to watch the house in case Crowley popped out and they had to run. It seemed they would never make it down the street, but eventually they were far enough away that Epel felt comfortable going faster, and they took off for the last time.
Arriving at the castle for the second time was not less magical than the first, as much as Yuu wished otherwise. Just as grand as ever, they had an even better view of the lights shining on the black stone, this time unrestricted by the walls of the carriage.
Their heart leaped before they knew what was happening.
Prince Malleus, with a few other guards Yuu thought they might have recognized from the first ball, was standing at the entrance. He was dressed a bit differently from last night, in a fancier black and green uniform with gold buttons and shiny medals. He seemed to be scanning the crowd quite intently, probably looking for Yuu.
His eyes caught onto the carriage, and his eyes crept up-
Yuu looked away so fast their neck hurt, and hid themselves behind the carriage as much as they could while still holding onto its side.
They barely heard the carriage door opening and steps walking to them over the pounding of their ears.
“Yuu, are you ok? We’re here,” said Ace, concerned for Yuu.
Trying to hide their face, Yuu said, “Go! Without me! He’s right there, he’ll recognize me!”
Ace looked back between the guards and Yuu. “Shoot,” he said. “It’s the prince!”
Yuu nodded frantically as Deuce came around the corner to see what the issue was.
Ace stood up and tiled his head so his voice would be heard. “Epel, we’re ready, go on ahead.” To Yuu, he said, “Ok. Find another way in.”
The carriage began to move again as Ace and Deuce turned away from Yuu to walk into the party, or at least that’s what Yuu was hoping they were doing. They didn’t dare look up to check for fear of meeting the prince’s eyes.
They didn’t let go of the carriage until Epel was calling for them, asking for help unhitching the horses.
Yuu untied the horses with as steady hands as they could muster, Prince Malleus’s face burned into their eyes.
They were in the stables, surrounded by other coachmen and horses. As they gave the horses some food and water, Epel looked at Yuu and said, “Ok. Stay here. You saw a good chunk of the castle, right? You’ll have the best chance of finding the shoe between us two. I’m gonna go get someone who can help.”
Without another word, Epel took off towards the castle, leaving Yuu to the horses.
Yuu hadn’t gotten to spend much time with them throughout their lives. They had seen them through the windows occasionally, but had few opportunities to be close. They decided to pet one of their faces, trying not to bother them too much. It was relaxing, a nice change of pace from the few minutes before.
The crowd had cleared up somewhat by the time Epel was back with Jack again. Yuu felt like they were reliving a dream.
“Ok Yuu, I’ve explained everything to Jack, he’s going to help get you into the castle through the back so no one sees you. Keep an eye on the clock this time, Yuu.”
Yuu smiled. “Thank you, Epel.’
Epel nodded, and Yuu left him to follow Jack around the stables. Walking through some brush, they eventually reached a small gap between two buildings, and Jack slipped inside. Yuu followed him through, suddenly bathed in darkness, unable to see well. Making out Jack’s form in the darkness, they slid through, following him, until eventually, a door clicked open. Yuu followed Jack through, and after a few moments of walking in darkness, was greeted by a flurry of noise and a hoard of people rushing around.
Jack pulled Yuu through the crowd, sticking to the walls and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. From the sounds, it seemed to be a kitchen, but Yuu didn’t recognize it as the one they saw at the ball the first time. They exited to a spiral staircase, and walked up several loops before reaching a door.
Here, they stopped, and Jack leaned down to whisper to Yuu. “I’m not supposed to be back here, so I need to leave. The door leads to a hall, there’s some guards up ahead but they should just be passing through. If you get caught, try not to look out of place. Just walk, look confident, and try not to make eye contact.” Jack cracked the door open, and pointed to the left. “Go down there, count the number of doors. When you get to the 4th on the left, turn and go to the next one on your right. You’ll see another set of stairs. That’s where the private living quarters are.” Jack pulled away from the door and began down the stairs, pausing for a moment to look up at Yuu.
“Good luck.”
“Thank you,” said Yuu, looking back at him. “So much.”
Jack nodded at Yuu, and disappeared down the staircase.
Yuu opened the door, testing to see if it creaked, and began walking down the hallway. It was empty, and sparsely lit, putting Yuu on edge. They ran their hand along the left side of the hallway, trying to feel for doorknobs. They felt one, and as they thought they felt another, something rustled further down the hall.
Yuu’s heart rate shot back up, and, fearing a confrontation, they frantically felt for the knob again and opened the door, shooting behind it.
They closed it as quietly but as quickly as they could, heart in their throat. They put their ear to the door and tried to listen.
Footsteps hurried down the hall, someone muttering under their breath angrily. The footsteps grew distant. and Yuu’s heart settled.
Yuu returned to the hall, and began walking again. In their panic, however, it seemed they had lost count of the doors This was the second one, yes? Or the first…?
Yuu tried to focus, but they were fighting days of poor sleep and a wild seesaw of emotions. They decided it was the first door, and that they’d keep one eye on the right side and check for the staircase.
The second doorknob they found easily, but the third was trickier. They found a door, yes, but it was small and thin, seemingly a closet. Did this count? Yuu wasn’t sure, but decided to keep walking.
They hit a fourth doorknob and switched sides. Yuu walked, and walked, and walked, but was unable to find anything.
Had they missed it? Was it farther down? Yuu couldn’t see the end of the hallway, but they had been walking a long time. The end had to be soon, is what they had said a few minutes ago.
Deciding to turn back, they ran as quietly as they could, trying to feel where they had started. Thinking they had found where, they kept running, feeling their fingertips brush against the wall until it suddenly gave way.
Yuu stopped, feeling a sudden breeze. They walked back, and yes, there seemed to be a doorway with no door. A single beam of moonlight fell upon the stairs, and Yuu could have cried tears of joy.
Disregarding the necessity for stealth, they began running up the stairs, but had hardly made it anywhere before they heard steps clanking down the other side, and nearly slipped in fear.
The sounds were rapidly getting closer, and Yuu didn’t have enough time to think of a good hiding place. They went back down the stairs, trying not to lose their balance, and found that the stairs went down further than the floor Yuu had started on. They pasted themselves to the rails and held their breath.
“C’mon, c’mon, move faster. We are definitely not supposed to be up here.”
“I just wanted a drink, ok? I am sorry, I know it was dumb.”
“Ugh, it’s not your fault Silver and Sebek were right there. You know how those guys are. They know where everyone is supposed to be, and you’re right, they are usually glued to the prince’s sides.”
The voices got louder, and Yuu realized they intended to come down the rest of the staircase.
“What were they doing there, anyway?”
Yuu began panicking. They were about to be discovered. They saw a shadow in front of them and realized there was a small opening in the wall and dived in it. It wasn’t deep. They’d be right up against the guards.
“He’s getting the shoe, remember?”
Yuu stood as still as they could, and with no small amount of luck, the two passed. They were able to set themselves down gracefully.
Once the steps had well and truly faded away, Yuu climbed the stairs, taking them as quickly as they could, not wanting to risk any more surprises. They reached the top to find-
The night sky, and the wind whipping in their face.
The hall was open to the air, like the balcony had been. The city lights twinkled below.
Tearing their eyes away from the scene, they took steady steps to reenter the castle interior, closing the door behind them. The doors in front looked quite ornate. This must be the wing of private rooms Jack was talking about.
Where could the shoe be? And there was someone else coming. Yuu was on a vicious time limit.
They took a chance and picked a door, and began rummaging. Pulling out drawers, checking under furniture, it wasn’t anywhere.
As they turned to check behind the door, Yuu kicked a box further under the bed. Something knocked around inside of it.
Yuu ducked to grab it, and opened it.
Their heart soared as, among a few other trinkets, they picked up the shoe, gleaming in the light, but it went crashing down as they felt something stick into their back.
“Drop it, and put your hands up.”
It was the cool point of a sword digging into their spine, almost surely held by one of the guards.
Yuu lifted their arms and let the shoe topple to the ground.
The sword scraped their neck as the guard took Yuu’s left hand, wrapping it in rope with the right.
“Stand up. You’re coming with me.”
Resigned to their fate, Yuu did as ordered. The guard took Yuu by their shoulder, out of the room and into the hallway.
It was over.
It wasn’t over yet. Deuce and Ace were still at the party, and Epel was in the stables. The only person who was actually in trouble was Yuu. As far as they knew, Yuu robbed them both times, and as they marched down winding halls, they decided to take the fall.
They’d come back for Yuu, surely. They’d freed Epel and they could free Yuu. And if they didn’t, deciding not to risk themselves, to cut their losses and be free, Yuu would be happy for them.
The thought energized them. They had allies, friends even. Even if the worst fate came upon them, they’d be happy in their final moments, and maybe they really would come bust Yuu out-
The guard, Silver, had brought them to the dungeon, where Ace, Deuce, and Epel were all in separate cells, looking dejected.
Oh. Well. They were toast.
Ace looked up first. “Yuu!” Upon hearing this, the rest followed, eyes widening in shock as they saw Yuu.
Yuu gave them a small smile, happy to see them despite it all.
Silver dragged them forward, to the cell next to Deuce, and deposited them inside. He locked the door and left without another word.
None of them said anything for a moment, and then Yuu hung their head.
“I”m so sorry, guys.” Silver had bound their hands behind their head.
“Oh Yuu.” Deuce sounded tired. “It’s not all your fault.”
“Yeah, we probably weren’t going t’ get away with this, anyhow.” Epel seemed cheery, despite it all.
“Hey!” Deuce was unhappy.
“Still,” continued Yuu. “We all could be out of here if I hadn’t dropped the shoe.”
“Maybe,” said Ace. “But maybe we’ll get lucky again. We’ve gotten this far, eh?”
A silence fell over the group. No one seemed to know what to say, and Yuu’s only thought was that they had just gotten them all sentenced for a very serious crime, until they thought of something.
“I’ll confess.” Yuu was looking up now, between Ace and Deuce.
“What? No! Why would you do that?” Ace moved closer to the bars on his cell. There were sounds of protests from the other group members, also indignant at the suggestion.
Yuu shook their head. “No, guys, I’ll confess to everything, but I’ll say it was me. That I planned it all out, and that you guys didn’t know anything. I can say I used you guys. It’s a good plan, I know everything and the rest of you can go free.”
Ace stared at Yuu. Quicker on the uptake, Epel said, “That’s stupid! Yuu, you can’t just take the fall for all of us! We left together, and we’re gonna stay together!”
Ace was nodding frantically, clutching the bars of the cell. Deuce looked just as worried, pasted right up against the bars to try and get as close to the group as he could with his hands also seemingly bound behind his back.
“Guys, it’s better than us all being-”
The door rumbled open, and Ace shushed Yuu, who fell silent. Everyone backed away from the bars, trying not to look suspicious, and Silver the guard dragged in Jack, sticking him in a cell in front of Yuu before leaving again.
Yuu looked at Jack for a moment, heart welling with guilt.
“I’m so sorry, Jack-”
Deuce spoke quickly. “Don’t start, Yuu.”
Jack closed his eyes. “It’s fine. I knew what I was doing.”
“Well, I’m sorry!” Epel scooted up to the edge of the cell, and Yuu could see the curls of his hair sticking out through the bars. “I had no idea this’d all happen, Jack, I… I don’t know what t’ say.”
“It’s ok, Epel, I made my choices and I’ll live with them.”
As Epel and Jack argued over who was more guilty, Yuu was lost in thought, eyes trained on Jack but not really seeing anything.
“Yuu.” Deuce was looking at them intently. “Don’t even think about it.”
“What?” Jack’s tall ears perked up. “What’s going on?”
“Yuu wants to tell them they did it. All of it.”
Jack looked at Yuu. “Don’t. They could come down pretty hard on you. If none of us confess, they’ll probably give us all a lighter sentence.”
Yuu shook their head. They could be free much sooner.
The door opened once again and Silver appeared. He went to Yuu’s cell and unlocked it. Yuu stood up, apprehensive.
“I’m sorry, but you need to come with me again.” Silver pulled Yuu out of the cell, not waiting for Yuu’s response.
Yuu walked forward, uncertain of what was going to happen. Silver walked them through the hall of cells, but before they could get far, Ace spoke up.
“Yuu.” Ace reached out, but instead of grabbing Yuu’s hand or arm, he grabbed their suit jacket for a moment.
Yuu was forced to turn away, Silver pulling them along.
Once they were out of the dungeon, Silver spoke. “You’ll be brought in front of the prince. He’ll be hearing your case personally.” They walked up some stairs.
It was there Yuu would confess to the crimes, the ring and the shoe, sparing their accomplices from a grisly fate. Perhaps, with enough repentance in their voice, they could get through to him, and convince him that Yuu deserved mercy.
They turned, and came into some light. They were in the empty hall from yesterday, where Yuu and Tsunotaro had danced for a bit.
Silver pulled them into the center and paused, gripping Yuu tightly. What exactly did he think Yuu was going to do?
Well, they had stolen from the royal family. But neither of those incidents involved violence, protested Yuu internally.
Yuu glanced over at Silver, his eyes trained straight ahead. They heard footsteps and turned to look for a moment, before they were forced to their knees by Silver.
Their gaze was pushed down as they heard the newcomers to the scene make their way in front of Yuu.
There were two sets of legs Yuu could see, both in black pants. Silver had let go of their head,
and curiosity got the best of them, so they began to look up.
Yuu’s heart jumped at seeing him again.
“Your Royal Majesty,” said Silver, “I caught them in the private wing. What would you like me to do?”
Tsunotaro’s face was authoritative. “Put them in my room for now. I can’t get away at the moment, but once the ball is over, I will attend to them.”
He kneeled down and met Yuu’s eyes, took their chin into his hand, and smiled. Yuu’s heart thundered, and their mind began to race.
“Tsunotaro,” breathed Yuu.
“That is His Royal Majesty, Prince Malleus to you, you common thief!” Sebek yelled, enraged by the lack of decorum.
“I’m sorry to leave you.” he said to Yuu softly, “but I must finish the obligation I have promised. I swear to you, I will return to you quickly.” He stood up and turned on his heel to return wherever he had come from, Sebek following him.
Silver hauled Yuu up, too lost in their own thoughts to get up themselves. They began to walk towards their destination, Yuu trying to ascertain where they were but quickly becoming lost.
Eventually, after a flight of stairs, they entered the room Yuu had been caught in before. Silver pulled out a chair from a small desk, and sat Yuu down on it.
“Don’t move.”
Then he left, locking the door behind him.
Yuu’s hands were still bound behind their back, so even though they could walk, they wouldn’t be able to push the door handle. They decided to stay seated and look around.
It was a grand room, mostly done in the black and green of the castle. Fitting for a prince-
Yuu’s heart seized again.
He was the prince??!?!? What!! The prince had held them!!!! Looked so fondly at them!!!! Why did he do that?!!?? Yuu’s outfit had been nice, but no one would mistake them for the heir to something grand. He had seemed a bit doubtful at Yuu’s weak cover story, but hadn't pushed the issue. The reason as to which Yuu was unaware at this time!!
Yuu was surprised they were surprised. They’d had some time to come to terms with this fact, but they supposed actually being in his room made it real.
Trying to shake off this mystery, Yuu tried to turn their thoughts to other matters.
Such as the reasoning for them being inside of the prince’s room.
It was likely the intention was to question them privately, perhaps Yuu would be given a chance to plead their case?
He seemed like someone who would want the whole truth, even if it was only to punish those truly guilty. It would give Yuu enough time to incriminate themselves and no one else. Yuu knew the group had protested the idea, but it was still much better than all of them being locked in the dungeons for all eternity. Yuu hoped that would be the worst punishment Prince Malleus chose to dole out.
Being a prisoner wouldn’t be that bad, thought Yuu. It would probably be pretty boring, especially since the dungeon would be empty after the gang left. But they would have plenty of time to tell themselves stories, plenty of silence to reenact epic tales of their invention. They had been an effective prisoner for so long, this would hardly be a change of pace. Plus, they’d have a better chance of seeing the prince more often. That sounded pathetic, even as Yuu had thought it, but being pathetically in love with your jailer was a lot better than falling into despair.
…How much longer did they have to be here, again?
Trying to stave off boredom, Yuu tried to take in the room again. Though a lot of it was in black, there were more lights floating around, localized to small areas mimicking torchlight, making it possible to see everything. The bed lay under a sheer green canopy, the slits into the bed not tied off but tucked to the side. The bed itself looked awfully comfy, a fluffy black comforter hiding bright green sheets stacked with pillows stuffed to the brim, and Yuu had the sudden impulse to dive in and nuzzle their face against the fabric.
If they were going to the dungeons, might as well, right?
On the other walls, there were a few shelves littered with trinkets. There were a few flowers in a bouquet made of folded paper, books of all lengths and subjects scattered about, a little plush dragon that had unfortunately fallen forward on his snout. There were a few doors, one cracked open slightly to reveal a room that was totally dark, making it unable for Yuu to ascertain what it led to. There was an ornate desk, with some shelves on the desk that looked completely empty, save for a single pencil lying in the middle of the desk. The dresser Yuu had dug through was still messy. The carpets on the floor were full and rich, softening the stone floor and making Yuu feel bad for walking on them with shoes on. Overall however, the room seemed pretty clean, which made sense because the first ball was to welcome the prince home after a long departure.
Throughout their mental categorization, Yuu had been trying to fight their rising fear. They were hoping the prince would be kind, but there was no telling for sure. Yuu had tried to turn their fear into anger, or courage, like a knight braving the dragon to save their princess. They wanted to face their fate with eyes wide open, unafraid of what was to come.
But it had been a very long week. The longest of Yuu’s life, they felt, not helped that they hadn’t slept well at all. Yuu also hadn’t eaten a lot, and they were starting to really feel it. They had stuffed themselves on the night of the ball, but they didn’t eat particularly well before this, and one night wasn’t enough to make up for years of eating light.
So, when their head tipped back to lean against the chair, curious of the fixtures on the ceiling, exhaustion took over and their eyes slid shut.
Everything was warm.
Actually, everything was a bit cold. Yuu was lying on a cloud, warm and soft, enveloped and protected. They shifted a bit, curling in on themselves, trying to seek their own body heat.
Yuu had to wake up. For something. There was something very important they needed to awaken to confront, they were sure of it. But they were too tired, exhaustion bearing down on them like a weight.
Still sleepy, they began to drift off again. Someone stroked their head.
Yuu wasn’t ready to wake up.
It was too soon to leave their warm little cocoon of rest and happiness. But something smelled good, like food, and so Yuu considered waking.
Why was there food? No one cooked for Yuu at home, and they never ate in bed anyway. It would get messy. The bed needed to stay clean, this nice, warm, bed, so much nicer than their bed at home.
…Why weren’t they at home?
Yuu shot up out of the bed faster than they thought was possible, their heart rate skyrocketing. In their haste, however, they became tangled in the sheets and lost their balance.
Before they could fall, however, a familiar set of arms caught them.
“Careful. What’s startled you so?”
Yuu’s heart refused to settle as they looked into those green eyes that had plagued their thoughts for days.
The prince was looking at them, scanning their face for an answer. Yuu had none to give, however, and the prince grew concerned.
“Is everything alright?”
Yuu began gasping for words, trying to spit something out. “I- you- ah-”
He kept looking at Yuu, and then realized something.
His face fell a bit, shoulders sagging slightly. “Ah. Yes, I suppose you know who I am now. I had hoped it wouldn’t affect your view of me, but I suppose that was foolish.”
When Yuu didn’t respond, the prince bundled them up in the blanket they were wrapped in and picked them up, his arm under Yuu’s knees, much like he had at the ball.
“Regardless, we still need to talk. You must be exhausted, however, and I didn’t want to change your clothes for you.” He walked them over near the small table Yuu had been at before, but paused in the middle of his room. His eyes never strayed from Yuu’s face. “I had a bath drawn up, with fresh clothes I thought might be your size. There’s also food if you like. You’ve been sleeping quite a while, you must be hungry. But the decision is yours. Which would you like to do first?
Yuu blinked, trying to hold on to any piece of information they could. “Bath?”
The prince nodded. “Bath it is.” He carried them through the door Yuu had seen open earlier, this time the room filled with light, and set them down gently on the tile.
“The food will stay hot while you bathe, so do not rush.” The prince closed the door behind Yuu, still wrapped in the blanket.
The bathroom was quite large, done in a very intense black. The bathrobes, towels, handles, and other little furnishings framed the bathroom. Even the candles were black, though their flames glowed green, surrounding the sunken bathtub and filling the air with a calming scent.
They tried to fold the blanket and set it down on a bench nearby, and removed their clothes to place on the bench as well. Yuu stepped forward and sunk into the water gently, trying not to splash. The water was warm and soothing, and Yuu could have soaked in it for days.
But they couldn’t.
Yuu, trying not to incite whatever lay behind Tsunotaro’s eyes, picked up the bar of soap and began to scrub. They dunked their head underwater, getting on their back to scrub their legs.
As they looked up at the surface of the water, they got lost in the waves for the moment.
What did… what did Malleus want?
They should probably get used to calling him that, or at least Prince Malleus, anyway. He may have thought their nickname was cute at the ball, but Yuu couldn’t know how he would react to things now.
He had seemed so attentive just now, though. Cradling Yuu so dearly, looking at them with so much passion. Or maybe Yuu was making it all up.
As Yuu scrubbed, they mulled it over. He didn’t have to carry them into the bathroom, or get them food. Was it just to be nice? Princely politeness? Was he like this with everyone?
Yuu surfaced, letting the water rush over them.
…Could he have felt what Yuu felt?
Their heart raced at the thought. Yuu chastised themselves- they were a thief now. The prince was probably just giving them something akin to a last meal.
Yuu’s mind wouldn’t let go of the thought, however, clinging to the idea of looking deep into his eyes as he professed he’d like nothing more than to spend the rest of his life with Yuu.
Yuu sighed, and tried to swallow down the feelings rising within them. How ridiculous this was, to be having such strong feelings for the man who was about to sentence them for stealing his things.
They stepped out of the tub, pulling out the plug, and dried themselves off. They slipped on the new clothes, black and green colored. The clothes were a bit loose, and very soft, like sleepwear. There were socks, too, and Yuu put them on before hurriedly stepping out of the bathroom back into the rest of Malleus’s room.
He was waiting right outside, a smile on his face. “I told you not to rush, but I am also eager to be back in your presence once again.” He indicated to the table, which had been laid out with a manner of foodstuffs. “Would you like to eat at the table or in bed?”
Yuu was not sure why he was asking them. “Table?” they said, making as quick a decision as possible.
“Table it is,” replied Malleus. He walked over to the bed and plucked a fluffy throw blanket off the bed. Turning back to Yuu, he wrapped it around them quickly and scooped them up.
Yuu yelped a bit in surprise, but Malleus did not react and walked over to the table and sat himself down.
He did not let go of Yuu, content to arrange them across his lap and prop them up with his arm. Yuu tensed up, unsure of what he was going to do and unable to reach out, as the blanket wrapped around them restricted their arms somewhat.
Malleus reached over them and picked up a slice of bread. He ripped off a corner, holding it up to Yuu’s lips.
Yuu’s brain felt like it was still just waking up, having absolutely no idea how to react to this incredibly bizarre scenario.
Malleus was looking at Yuu with a smile, waiting patiently for Yuu to… eat?
Hesitantly, Yuu took a bite, and Malleus fed the rest of the piece to them. They chewed thoroughly and Malleus readied another piece for them. They took another careful bite, and noticed this one had apparently been dipped in a rich, hearty soup.
Malleus fed them a few more bites of bread with soup, with the occasional vegetable scooped up in there. He was content to keep Yuu in his lap, apparently intent on feeding them an entire meal like this.
Between bites, Yuu swallowed and coughed, and Malleus blinked.
“Oh, I apologize. You must be thirsty.” Malleus reached out to grab a glass and a pitcher, and poured out a drink for Yuu. “Here,” he said, putting the rim of the glass to Yuu’s lips and tipping it slowly.
Yuu drank, taking big gulps of water as they realized how thirsty they were. Finishing off the last of the water, they sighed, feeling sated. Malleus smiled and continued feeding the soup to Yuu.
Hunger and thirst no longer gnawing at them, and newly well-rested, Yuu’s mind began to work again.
Setting aside the incredibly odd setup, Yuu wondered what exactly was Malleus’ end goal… again. Was this a last meal?
Instead of speculating endlessly about it, however, they had the ability to ask the man himself.
“Your majesty?” Malleus’s smile dropped a bit. “I would like to explain my actions last night.”
Malleus sighed, putting down the next piece of bread. “I suppose we had to discuss this eventually.” He wiped the tips of his fingers on a napkin lying on the table. “Alright, what happened last night?”
He looked at Yuu fondly, if tiredly. His eyes were filled with an emotion Yuu didn’t dare describe.
They clenched their hands within the folds of the blanket, and tried to figure out how to phrase this in a way that implicated only them. “Last night, I stole the ring you’re looking for.”
Malleus huffed a bit. “I highly doubt that.”
A familiar sort of indignity at being dismissed rose up within Yuu. “What? Why not? I wouldn’t lie about that!”
“I think you would, if you were trying to protect your accomplices.” Malleus himself reach out and took a bite of the bread.
“No- you’ve got it wrong! The people you’re holding, they had nothing to do with this. It’s a bit misunderstanding.” Yuu was trying to keep their voice from wavering.
Malleus swallowed. “Alright.” He pulled them in a bit closer, burying his nose in Yuu’s head. “How did it happen, then?”
His nuzzling was making it very hard for Yuu to focus. They felt themselves melting into his touch, and tried to persevere. “I took the ring. What else is there?”
“Details?” He mumbled into their scalp. “It’s not like we just left the ring lying on the floor. How did you get past the guards?”
Yuu tried to come up with a plausible explanation, but it seemed Malleus was more humoring them than anything else.
“There was a moment. Between the changing of the guards. I was able to distract one of them,” they said, trying to make that sound as coherent as possible while feeling Malleus breathe on them.
“Hmm.” He was burying his nose further into Yuu as he spoke. “And how, exactly, did you do this while we were together all night?” His voice held a lilting tone, mildly amused.
That was a really good point. Malleus made a lot of good points, thought Yuu, and they kind of wished he would keep talking except for the fact that they needed to respond to his question.
“Of course,” said Yuu, “I stole it after I left. While you were looking for me.”
“The ring had already been stolen by the time you departed from my side,” he replied.
“Before,” they breathed as Malleus outlined their neck with his nose, “I stole it before we met up.” Yuu was aware their lies were paper-thin, but felt the need to at least try and put up a resistance, for the sake of their friends, still hoping to save them.
“I checked on the jewelry collection myself before departing,” he said into Yuu’s neck, “I found you shortly after.”
“You don’t have to believe me,” Yuu said, eyes fluttering closed as they let the sensation wash over them, “but it’s the truth.”
“There is no possible way that is the truth.” Malleus so casually murmurs into Yuu’s neck.
“What?!” Yuu leaned as far away from Malleus as they could, which was not far, and turned their head to look at him. “Then why did you ask me for my side!?”
“You seemed so ready to defend yourself,” he said. “I wanted to hear what you would say.”
“Well?” said Yuu, trying to calm their racing heart. “Did you hear what you wanted to hear?”
Malleus looked at them for a moment before moving his hand to their chin and cocking it slightly.
Then he kissed them.
The kiss itself was chaste, Malleus seeming more interested in the sensation of his lips against Yuu’s, but it was deep, forcing Yuu to bend a bit as he leaned in further. Despite it being a surprise, Yuu’s only reaction was a slight gasp before fully melting into the kiss. They would have reached up to cup his face had they not been prevented by the bindings of the blanket.
Yuu was starting to suspect that he had wrapped them up on purpose, to keep them from running again, but if that was the case Yuu wondered why he didn’t just stop them with another kiss as electrifying as this one. They felt sparks dance up their spine as their heart felt fuller than ever. Their legs felt weak, and they were glad not to be standing for fear of falling over from the intensity of the kiss.
Malleus may have been worried they would run, but Yuu knew that they couldn’t now- they’d spend the rest of their life chasing his lips now that they knew what they felt like.
Eventually, a few minutes or a day later, he released them, and Yuu inhaled, replenishing their spent lungs. Malleus’s lips remained slightly parted as he looked down at them with sleepy adoration, and he delicately stroked their face with the tips of his fingers.
Before he could lean in and kiss them senseless again, Yuu said, “My friends! What’s happened to them?”
“Your accomplices?”
Yuu was startled to realize they had no idea how much time had passed. They looked around, but there didn’t seem to be any windows. “What time is it? How long have I been sleeping?“
Malleus laid his hand in their chest to try and cease their squirming. “The other members of your party were interviewed some time ago. They have been moved to the south wing, as we could not let them go without hearing your side.” Malleus adjusted them a bit and reached out to grab more bread and soup to feed Yuu. “You’ve been asleep for nearly an entire day. Please, eat. You need your strength.”
Yuu stared down at the bite of bread. “Do my friends know what’s happened to me?” They said, looking up at Malleus.
He prompted the bite to them, and as they ate it, he spoke.
“I have not had the chance to do so, between the events of yesterday and today.” Yuu finished chewing and Malleus prepared another bite for them, which they ate. “Once you are finished eating and feel sufficiently revitalized, you may tell them yourself.” He took a bite from a fluffy steamed bun, his teeth tearing through the soft skin with ease, and offered a corner to Yuu.
This felt even more intimate than before, but the bun looked good, and so Yuu took a bite.
It was sweet and rich, still warm in the center, and very delicious. Yuu savored the small bite and regretted not taking a bigger one as Malleus tore off another piece. Somehow knowing Yuu wanted more, he pressed the last bite against their lips and they took it eagerly, feeling their face heat slightly.
They had tasted his fingertips on that last bite.
“What’s… going to happen to us?” Yuu needed to know their next steps. They were living dangerously.
“What do you mean?” asked Malleus.
Yuu curled in on themselves. “Will there be a trial?”
Malleus paused, then smiled, realizing what Yuu was speaking of. “Ah. Yes, of course.” He poured a silver teapot into a small cup, and scooped a bit of sugar with a small spoon into the tea. As he stirred, he said, “If you are to receive any sentence at all, I must know one thing.” He lifted the spoon from the teacup into his mouth, tongue darting out for a second to taste the stray drops of tea. Tasting the spoon with a smack of his mouth, he asked, “Where’s the ring?”
Oh right. The ring.
Where was the ring? Yuu assumed they had confiscated it, but if Malleus was asking, they obviously hadn’t. Ace was the last person Yuu remembered handling the ring, in all likelihood he had it.
Perhaps not wanting to implicate Yuu further, he had lied about its location. If they hadn’t confessed, there was still a chance Yuu could take the heat for this and let everyone else escape, and the ring would provide the funds they needed.
“It’s gone.”
Malleus’s face changed. He blinked, appearing slightly in shock. “Gone?” His voice seemed a bit weaker. It seemed he had not accounted for this possibility, and was genuinely upset at this outcome.
Yuu was struck with a pulse of pity. They hadn’t meant to hurt Malleus, but the group needed to be able to leave. If he was truly upset, he’d have free reign to take it out on Yuu.
“I-I sold it. I’m sorry.” Yuu couldn’t make eye contact with Malleus anymore.
He didn’t say anything for a moment. Yuu was hoping he was processing the news well when he started shaking.
They whipped their head up. He was laughing?
Malleus noticed Yuu was looking at them, and tried to stifle his laughs. “Ah, I’m sorry, I don’t mean to tease.” He leaned down and cupped Yuu’s face, giving an incredulous Yuu a quick peck on the cheek. “All of your friends confessed.”
“What?!” He had to be joking!
“Individually, I might add. It was quite amusing to watch. You are all so protective of one another, I admire that loyalty.”
Yuu was not feeling so grateful. They slumped backwards into Malleus’s arms, sighing in frustration.
Those idiots. Yuu tried not to feel too happy about the fact that they all tried to save one another, instead focusing on the fact that they were probably all going to jail.
“It was difficult to get a clear picture of what happened that night, however, but I’m sure you can fill me in on the details later.” He nudged his cheek into Yuu’s, closing his eyes and soaking them in. “Incidentally, where is the ring?”
Yuu was lost again. “I told you. I sold it.”
“That ring,” said Malleus, “is a family heirloom. It’s somewhat famous, actually. I doubt anyone, even a criminal, would risk buying it due to its fame and recognizability.”
Yuu resisted sighing again. They felt like screaming a bit. That was just great to find out.
“Now- do you know where it is?”
Yuu closed their eyes for a moment. “Ace didn’t have it?” Malleus shook his head.
“Then I’m not sure where it is. Really. Maybe Ace is hiding-“ Yuu paused and remembered.
Ace had grabbed them just before they were carted off. His sleight-of-hand was incredible.
If he had thought there was a chance he’d be searched, if he wanted them to keep the ring, he’d have to hide it somewhere they couldn’t find it.
Somewhere not even Yuu knew.
Looking at Malleus, they asked, “I know this is kind of weird, but I need you to trust me. I think the ring is in my jacket pocket. Can you check?”
Malleus looked at them for a moment, then nodded. He scooped them up in his arms, smiling a bit at Yuu’s squeak, and set them back down gently on the chair. He walked over to a chair in the corner, where he had apparently picked up and folded their clothes from the floor. He searched the suit jacket pocket, as instructed, but was apparently unsuccessful as he turned the pockets inside out.
Yuu was disappointed, sincerely believing they were right, but Malleus was not deterred yet. Checking the inside lining, Malleus dipped his hands into the fold of the inner pocket before pulling out something small and silver.
A knot loosened in Yuu’s chest. The ring gleamed in the stray light of the room, and Malleus’s face lit up with joy.
“You found it!”
“I did,” he said, looking intently at the ring.
He stood up, still looking at the ring, and walked over to Yuu’s chair. He remained in front of them for a moment, finally looking at them.
He didn’t say anything, and Yuu was a bit weirded out. His expression was unreadable, and he clutched the ring to his chest.
Seemingly making a decision, he slowly got on one knee, and presented the ring forward at Yuu.
They weren’t sure what to say. “It’s very beautiful,” they said, trying to prompt him into saying something.
He let out a shaky breath. “Thank you,” he said, hands shaking slightly, “would you like it?”
Not ‘do you like it?’. It seemed like Malleus was offering them the ring- OH-
Yuu straightened up in shock. “You hardly know me. You don’t know me. We’ve- we-“ Yuu thought the surprises were over for the evening, but apparently not.
Some of the nervousness seemed to leave Malleus. “What don’t I know? You’ve told me about your life, your family, your friends. We’ve spent the better part of a year getting to know one another.”
Yuu wasn’t convinced. “Don’t you have to marry a royal or something?! I’m a servant!”
“I do not. The only requirements for my marriage are that both parties be willing.”
Yuu shook their head frantically. “I’m a thief! I stole from you!”
Malleus, looking intently at Yuu, asked, “Oh? And what did you steal? Tell me, what have you taken that has been unrecoverable?”
Yuu looked away. “That’s not fair.”
He moved closer, and said, “Regardless, it does seem you are a thief. I am willing, however, to pardon you.”
“What? What else did I steal?”
Malleus touched their chin with his fingertips, gazing at them intently with half-lidded eyes.
“My heart…” he said, softly, and Yuu thought they were going to die.
They hated that such a cheesy line was making them swoon, but only Malleus could say such a thing so sincerely without it sounding dumb.
He had put himself out there, however, and Yuu felt obligated to return the favor.
Wiggling their arms out of their blanket trap, they looked right into Malleus’s eyes and said, “Maybe we can rectify that,” and grabbed his face to kiss him.
So this is what makes life worth living, thought Yuu, as Malleus dipped them to deepen their kiss.
Even after the fairytale, there were still a few things to work out.
Malleus had carried Yuu back to his bed, eyes locked so deeply with Yuu’s that they wondered how he didn’t trip, but upon reaching the bed, he coiled himself around Yuu and closed his eyes.
“Hey!” Yuu shook Malleus, trying to get him to open his eyes. “We still have things to do! I need to tell my friends I’m alive!”
“I have been searching for you,” he said, before being interrupted by his own yawn, “for two straight days. I have not slept. Allow me this one mercy, Beastie,” he murmured drowsily into Yuu’s neck.
“What? Why didn’t you sleep?” Yuu stood up in bed, concerned that Malleus had put themselves through such a thing.
“You said you were leaving soon after the ball,” he replied, “and refused to give me any details of your residence or even your name. I feared if I did not move swiftly, you would be lost to me forever.”
Yuu didn’t know how to respond to that. Malleus tried to drag them back down, but Yuu resisted, and Malleus sighed into the sheets.
“Well, can I go see them myself?” they asked, Malleus clinging to their arm. “You don’t need me to sleep, right?”
“I have already found you once. I will not allow you to slip through my fingers again.”
“But I need to tell them we’re gonna be ok! Oh, and obviously they can’t go back to the house. Can they stay here for a little bit?”
Malleus dragged them down to kiss them. “Fine.”
“That reminds me- they have families. You can help them, right?”
Malleus kissed them again. “Of course.”
“And my house. I don’t think it was seized legally. Is there any way I could fight for it?”
Another kiss. “Yes.”
Yuu crossed their arms. “Are you just telling me what I want to hear so you shut up?”
Malleus did not kiss them again but did look at them. “I will endeavor to make you as happy as you have made me for the rest of my life. If there is any desire of yours within my power, no matter how fleeting, I will grant it with ease.”
Then he kissed them again.
Eventually, Malleus let them go with Sebek, making them promise to hurry back quickly.
Sebek, stiff as a board, walked Yuu to the block of rooms where their friends were being held.
He opened the door but flinched when Yuu got too close. He might feel bad for yelling at Yuu earlier- they’d have to remember to forgive him later. He was overzealous, but he had just been doing his job.
“Yuu!”
Deuce, upon seeing Yuu in the doorway, lunged up from his seat towards them to give them a hug.
“Deuce!” He squeezed them tightly, and Yuu hugged him right back as they stumbled a bit.
“Yuu?” From around the corner, Epel’s head popped out.
“Epel!” Yuu couldn’t resist crying out as Epel dived into the hug.
It seemed they were all staying in this room, because Jack appeared, probably hearing the commotion, and soon enough Ace was here as well.
His enthusiasm at seeing Yuu again proved a bit too much for the group, however, and Yuu ended up slipping, which of course brought the rest of the group tumbling down.
“Oh my god, Yuu! Are you alright?” Epel exclaimed.
The group tried to untangle themselves, with Sebek’s frantic help, and eventually arranged themselves on the collection of chairs and sofas in the drawing room of the apartment.
“Yuu,” asked Epel, “do you know what’s going to happen to us? They haven’t told us anything.”
“Yeah, don’t worry guys. We’re not going to jail.”
Everyone gasped and began to shout, smiling and laughing with joy and relief.
“That’s great news!” Said Epel. “We’ve been pardoned?”
“Mmm-hmm!” Yuu was glad to be able to give them good news for once.
“But, Yuu-“ Ace’s eyes flicked between them and Sebek.
“It’s ok,” they said, “I found the ring,” as they showed it to the group.
Epel cocked his head. “They’re lettin’ you keep it?”
And so, Yuu finally got the chance to explain what had happened. They explained how they’d actually met Malleus several months ago, and how they’d planned to meet up at the ball. They recounted a very paraphrased version of the events of the night of the ball, and how they’d had to leave suddenly.
“Yes!” interrupted Sebek. “His Majesty was quite eager to find you.”
“What?” asked Epel.
“Oh, right,” said Yuu, “I didn’t get to tell you, Epel. I found out that the guy I was meeting was the prince.”
Epel’s eyes widened. “Oh, well… alright, then.”
He shook his head. “Wait, no, that doesn’t explain why you have the ring?”
“Who cares why?” Interrupted Ace. “If we’re not going to jail and if you get to keep it, we can still sell it and get outta here.”
Sebek bristled, but Yuu readied themselves to say, “Actually, guys, I’m going to stay here for the time being, and I’m going to keep the ring for now.”
Yuu had been rolling the ring around in their hands since leaving Malleus’s room. They had, of course, accepted the proposal wholeheartedly, but hadn’t got used to the idea of wearing a ring.
The group seemed confused. Perhaps Yuu needed to clarify.
“It’s my engagement ring.”
Deuce and Ace looked stunned. Jack’s ears perked up, and Epel blinked at Yuu.
He suddenly threw his head back and choked out a laugh. “I guess that’s why he’s settin’ us free, huh?”
The tension broke as everyone laughed, Yuu included. “Yeah,” they said between giggles, “that might be it.”
“So, you’re gonna live here now?” asked Deuce. “I guess it’s better than going back to Crowley.”
“You guys don’t have to leave, though!” exclaimed Yuu. “You’re all welcome to stay here until you figure out what you want to do. We can look for your families, Ace and Deuce, it should be easy with access to the censuses.”
Their twin smiles lit up the room so brightly, Yuu could hardly see anything else.
And so, with Malleus’s help, they were able to find the Spades and the Trappolas. They sent for carriages to pick them up and the families were happily reunited. With Yuu’s support, Ace decided to try at his dream of being a mage by studying for the school of magic’s entrance exam, and Deuce, after some deliberation, decided to join him.
Epel, who had been similarly indentured, was able to reunite with his family, but moved into the palace full-time to fulfill his dream of being a palace guard with Jack, who had gotten his job back.
Turns out, Yuu had been right. The house had not been taken in a totally legal fashion, but it seemed Crowley knew this. By the time they returned to formally take possession, he (along with the last set of silverware) were nowhere to be found. Delighted at having their home returned, they oversaw the repairs alongside the wedding preparations.
Grim joined them as well, and was always seen scurrying around the palace, doing something or other.
All had managed to end well for Yuu, they thought between kisses from Malleus, and they smiled, eager to experience the rest of their life.