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A knock on Louisa’s door snaps her from her stupor. She quickly cancels out her ability, jumping from her seat and rushing to greet whoever has stopped by to bother her. It must be Francis, or someone sent on his behalf, likely with a new task for her to complete or seeking an update on the work she’s done so far. How long has she been in here, again? A couple weeks? She can’t honestly remember.
She opens the door to find Lucy on the other side, arms crossed and eyebrows scrunched up. Margaret stands behind her, also looking at Louisa in dismay.
“Um,” she squeaks. “Hi…?”
“You’ve been in here for too long!” Lucy declares. “We’ve collectively decided it’s time for you to take a break.”
Louisa starts to ask, What?? but before she can even get half the word out, she’s been transported into Lucy’s ability space alongside Margaret and Lucy herself. The sudden brightness has her blinking spots from her vision, and stumbling as she fights to regain her balance. A little head’s up might’ve been nice!
“What are you—?”
“It is nearly midnight,” Margaret informs her, reaching out to steady her with a hand on her shoulder, “and you have been working so late these days. We thought it necessary to force a break upon you by any means necessary.”
Louisa adjusts her glasses. “I, well…” she stammers, not entirely sure how to defend herself in a way that Lucy and Margaret will accept. She’s been working longer hours because they’re getting closer to being able to leave for Japan—hopefully, if everything goes as planned, they’ll soon have the Book in their hands. But, as the Guild’s strategist, that means Louisa has to ensure everything is perfect.
And, okay, maybe she didn’t realize how late it had gotten. Maybe she’s losing her ability to gauge how much time has passed while working alone in her room, but it’ll all be worth it in just a few months! A few, uh, regular months—not a few of Louisa’s months.
Regardless.
“I’m fine,” she assures her friends. “Just got a little distracted. I was about to head to bed when you came by,” she lies.
Lucy and Margaret look at each other, and then back to Louisa, who instinctively tries to curl in on herself under their critical stares.
“If that’s the case,” Lucy says slowly, “surely you won’t mind joining us for a slumber party!”
Louisa’s eyes widen. “I—”
Margaret groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. Lucy releases them all from her ability, then grabs Louisa’s wrist and starts tugging her along after her. Thankfully, Margaret has the sense to close the door to her room, because Louisa has no chance to do so herself. She’s rather unceremoniously tugged through the hall, all the way to Lucy’s room, which is decorated in a way that is strikingly reminiscent of her ability space. There are plushies and dolls lining the shelves, and pink decorations everywhere Louisa looks.
“I told you I wanted this to be our last resort,” Margaret grumbles, shutting the door and turning to scowl at Lucy.
Lucy smiles innocently. She still hasn’t let go of Louisa’s hand, which is. Fine. “The situation was dire!” she insists. “Poor Louisa would’ve simply kept working through the night if we’d left her alone.”
“That’s not true,” she protests, even though it definitely is.
Margaret huffs. “Fine, fine. What does your ‘slumber party’ entail?”
Lucy taps her chin as if deep in thought. Then, she declares, “Slumbering!”
Margaret stares at her blankly.
“…And maybe a movie too?”
“You are not getting me to watch another horror film with you!”
Louisa raises a hand awkwardly. “I…don’t really want to watch a horror movie either.”
Lucy groans, throwing her head back. She does finally let go of Louisa then, to stomp over to her desk and grab her laptop. Louisa tries not to mourn the loss of contact. “Fine! Have it your way! We’ll watch some stupid romcom.”
Louisa blinks. It was that easy? she thinks, but she figures she shouldn’t voice that, lest it start a longer argument. Louisa isn’t much into romcoms either, but she’d much prefer that to horror. Especially if Lucy and Margaret intend to make her sleep afterwards.
“Perfect!” Margaret says cheerfully.
They settle themselves on Lucy’s bed, huddled together due to both the limited space and the small screen. Louisa lets Margaret and Lucy decide on a movie, because she doesn’t much care what it is they watch. Also, now that she isn’t fixated on her work, she’s starting to realize just how tired she is. Her eyes are already drooping, and they haven’t even started yet.
Louisa doesn’t even catch the name of the movie they’re watching.
She tries, valiantly, to remain awake for at least a little while longer. But she’s so warm pressed against Lucy’s side and beneath her fluffy blankets, and she’s been much too busy with work to sleep properly, so it probably shouldn’t be surprising that she starts nodding off about five minutes in. Her eyelids are just too heavy to keep open, and it’s so much effort to stay upright, and the movie is providing just the right level of background noise…
Her head lolls to the side, and in her half-asleep state, she assumes she must be resting against a pillow.
There’s a bit of giggling, then fingers running through her hair and a quiet, “Get some rest, Louisa.”
It’s the last thing she registers before she’s out.
Some time later, Louisa finds her way back into consciousness. It’s hazy, at first, and she’s greeted by quiet darkness. But she’s warm, and the sleepiness still clinging to her is a pleasant sensation. A quiet sigh escapes her lips as she shifts, slightly, turning her head so her ear is pressed flat against her pillow.
Which—
must not be a pillow at all, because she can hear the steady beat of a heart.
She wrenches her eyes open, trying to make sense of where she is for a moment before she remembers she fell asleep in Lucy’s room, with her and Margaret. She must be lying on Margaret, then, because she can vaguely make out the red of Lucy’s hair.
And, really, Louisa should get back to work now that she’s awake again. But Lucy’s arm is thrown over her torso and her legs are tangled with Margaret’s, so there’s no way for Louisa to extract herself from this without waking the others.
She lets her eyes slip shut once more, and she tries not to dwell on how nice this feels or how she’d like to be this close to Lucy and Margaret forever. Because she knows the Guild isn’t a place to form attachments, and she’s only going to make things more difficult for herself in the long run, but…
Lucy mumbles something in her sleep, and a fond smile tugs at Louisa’s lips.
(…but she knows it’s too late. She’s already fallen.)