The Lullaby of Treble Castle - part 19b

The Lullaby of Treble Castle
part 19b

Lucien was strict in how he spoke regarding the new girl. It made Rachel wonder. He was typically so gentle and refined, but harsh words kept coming up in his speech. Every time someone said anything vaguely referring to her, he shot them down without any apparent reason. Lucien seemed angry and frustrated.

And he was. Giving Achille what he wanted so soon made his stomach churl. If the girls got attached to a new friend, it was only going to get worse. Either Achille would get this new one or he would take Rachel. What was worse is he couldn't tell any of them what was going on, as per the contract he signed with Achille. Lucien was going to have to put up with all of this until nightfall.

Breakfast was awkward, but even moreso when Alyssa didn't show up even after the other three girls finished. Rachel was worried for her, so when she was done in the dining hall, she went back to the Eastern Hall to wait for some word from Severin about it. This gave Lucien a bit of time to think about what he was going to do.

"I suppose I'll head to the garden, then," Arianna thought aloud.

"I'll be right behind you," Florence said. "I'm gonna help my brother tidy up the dining room." He ruffled her hair affectionately. "Won't take long."

"That's fine," she replied. "Thanks for breakfast as always, guys."

Linda brought her stack of plates up to the sink where Lucien had been washing all of them since Rachel left. "Lucien, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask you something."

Lucien looked over. "You can ask me anything, Linda," he replied quietly. "What's on your mind that you can't ask Karoly?" He took her plates and placed them in the soapy water.

"Because Karoly isn't tending to Rachel," Linda muttered.

"Oh."

"I'm still mad at myself for what I did to her. I should have let it come out on its own, and I'm sorry that I didn't. I'm sorry that I let fear control my actions instead of logic, and... I'm really sorry that it hurt you, Lucien," Linda said quietly. "So, please. Tell me that she's been at least somewhat like herself lately. Maybe the spell's power has faded or..."

Lucien seemed like he was on the verge of tears, but even he didn't know if he could cry anymore. It'd been so long since he even felt that much about anything. "Linda," he said, "Rachel has been more like herself every day. I can see the stubbornness start to show itself a bit more." He looked down to her, smiling slightly. "I know you value your cousin. Put your worries to rest, milady. The spell on Rachel will fade away over time, and you'll see her personality come out even more as it does."

"I'm... I'm so glad," Linda said. "I'd hug you, if I could. Just to say thank you."

"Ha, well," he said, going back to the dishes, "You're quite welcome for the reassurance. Go on, now, let us finish cleaning up this mess, all right?"

"Yeah," Linda nodded, starting to walk out. "Lucien."

"Yes?"

"I don't know if this means anything, but I trust you with Rachel," Linda said. She turned around and walking out of the dining hall.

When she was out of earshot, Karoly came around to that side of the kitchen and said, "You're a liar. Rachel's love for you is only growing by the day."

"I didn't want her to feel even worse than she does now," Lucien replied, handing him a towel. "Start drying."

"Oh, why do I have to-"

"Just stop complaining," Florence called from the table. "So, Lucien, is there a reason why you're so obstinant about this new one the castle lured in?" he asked. "You seem like you want to keep her as far away from us as possible."

"Not just us," Lucien replied. "The girls, as well. You know Treble Castle does not have a high survivor rate. If they get to know her and start to like her, they'll be hurt when... she might not make it very long." He wiped his hands on his apron.

"If you leave her alone like this, she's going to kill herself," Karoly thought aloud. "Self-fufilling prophecy."

"We broke rules ourselves when we let the ones we weren't linked to see us," Lucien snapped at them both. "There's going to be long-term reprocussions about this if we don't handle it the way we're supposed to. Hell, we were only seen during feedings a hundred years ago!"

"Whoa, big brother, calm down," Florence said, taken aback by Lucien's outburst. "Things have changed. This group is one that is closely linked. That's why we get away with it." He walked over to where Lucien was stacking all of Karoly's dried dishes in the china cabinet. "What has got you like this? You seem so troubled."

Lucien closed his eyes. "I will do what I must to keep my princess safe," he whispered. "No matter what that might be."

"What are you talking about?" Florence asked again. "Lucien, what dark things are you thinking? Snap out of it!"

"The new Queen of Treble Castle will rise," Lucien whispered. "And I will be at her side."

"Heaven above," Karoly said, starting to float again. "There must be something he's forbidden to say. He's never this cryptic about anything."

"But there is no strange magic on him," Florence said. "I feel no energy which isn't either Rachel's or Lucien's." He tried to catch Lucien's attention, but each moment seemed to push Lucien even further into some sort of trance. "Oh for the love of... Lucien, did you sign a contract which forbade you to speak of its contents?!" He shook Lucien's shoulders with all his rage. "Lucien, talk to me!"

Tears fell from Lucien's eyes. "I can't, or the contract will break."

"Who or what did you make the contract with?"

"I can't say that, either," Lucien whispered. "My princess will be in danger if I do. Nothing else matters anymore."

"Damn it!" Florence shouted. "I'm gonna have to set an appointment with a certain dungeon-dwelling, shadow-crawling king of demonic spawns, aren't I?" He was ready to start a war that instant, but Karoly stopped him by grabbing the back of his uniform collar. "Let me go, Karoly!"

"No," Karoly said quietly. "If you go in there as emotional as you are, you're going to come out with a deal as bad as Lucien's. Think about it. Lucien did go see Achille against our better judgement, and he did it as a wreck. He wanted a solution for his problem that minute, but never actually stopped to consider the future." He motioned with his head for Florence to look back at Lucien. "Based on how he's been acting this morning, and what changed over the course of the last week, I have a bit of an idea as to what kind of a deal was made. Not having to be in their rooms by sundown, for one. But Achille doesn't do anything without getting anything in return. He hasn't been hunting the last week."

Lucien couldn't bring himself to answer it. He knew he'd done wrong, but he wasn't going to go back on the deal. He was going to ensure Rachel's survival no matter what the cost. He was determined to see it through.