Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Did you know that Loppezz is Vi’s assistant now?” Serapter asked her.

“No, isn't she a-already Muu’s assistant?” Ivory asked back.

“Yeah, she has to handle both now.”

“That s-seems stressful.”

“It probably is, you know, turns out Pyro wanted me to be Vi’s assistant but since I’m so slow now at stairs, he decided against it.”

“I think you’re only slightly slower on the stairs.”

“Ivory, it's been 15 minutes from our room and we’re still only on the second floor.”

“...”

“Anyways, did uh Pyro tell you anything now that he’s basically the head of the whole company?”

“Yes, he told me that he’ll be going to the factory on some days to change some stuff and I’ll be allowed to stay in the estate or go outside for anything.”

“Oh, a lot of free time then, what’re you planning on doing with it?”

“I was planning on playing the piano, but t-today Vi wanted me to come with him to the city to buy more redstone.”

“Oh, shopping and piano, man you have so much time, if I had that time I would probably spend it all on getting down and up these damn stairs.” He said as they finally reached the first floor.

Ivory let out a little snicker after a few seconds.

“Oh come on, I’m not that pathetic, I can still do stuff.” He said as he tried to get down the stairs faster but then stopped.

“W-what happened?”

“My leg hurts, that was like 5 seconds and it hurts, I hate this so much.”

“Didn’t the doctor say that you needed to walk slow for it to heal?”

“Yes,... but that doesn’t mean I like to.”

“I-Isn’t it supposed to heal in 3 weeks?”

“Yes and no, It’ll be better than now but still not t-totally normal. It’ll eventually be normal, I think.”

“That… That is reassuring.”

“Reassuring? For what?”

Dropping her voice,”So we can go back on the roof, when it’s not s-snowing.”

“Yeah, I miss that too, do you think it still smells like smoke up there? Cause I can definitely smell it here.” He said as they finally reached the ground floor.

“Maybe, I’m not sure with the wind up there.”

“Yeah, man I hate the smell, just makes me feel like my lungs are full of smoke again.”

“I see.” She said as they made their way to the end of the stairs.

“Do you think you would walk faster with a cane?”

“A cane? Like Ash? No, if I use a cane, my leg will have no incentive to stretch and repair itself.”

“Ah, well. What do you think the announcement is going to be?”

“I don’t know but I think I heard that it’s something about Clown from Vi, he doesn’t really seem to know either.”

“Well, w-we’ll see now I guess.”

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

“Is that everyone?” Pyro asked Clown after noticing Ivory and Serapter finally make their way to the ball room.

“Yes, that’s all.”

“Alright. Well listen up everyone, Zombie is going to be in the hospital for longer as he’s not recovered yet, I’ve been put in charge while he’s in there so don’t hesitate to come up to me for anything.”

Murmurs across the staff.

“And the changes to management, Loppezz will handle Vi along with Muu now, Ash is to remain as head chef, Maddie to handle Izzy, no changes to the others, uhm Div you can just help around until Zombie comes back. Any questions?”

Ash went up to him,”You’re forgetting something.”

“Oh and you’re allowed to call your family to come visit them, they’ll be accommodated in the city since the estate needs the guest rooms in case someone important comes along. And Ash’s wife will be coming today along with one of Clown’s old war buddies. Ash’s wife will stay in his room as we’ve given him a bigger bed. Clown’s buddy will stay in the city.”

Div blurts out, “Since when is Ash married?!”

“A couple of years.”Ash answers him.

“And you thought we shouldn’t know?”

“The circumstances weren’t right.”

“The circumstances weren’t right? Alright then, at least tell us what’s her name.”

“Her name is Squiddo and you’ll be seeing her soon, anything else?”

“No sir.”

Pyro then interjected, “I’ll be heading down to the factory today to fix a lot of the stuff there, I’ll leave after our guests arrive, after which Clown is in charge. Everyone got it?”

The noises of agreements and yes’s answer his question.

“Alright then that’s it everyone, you can return to your spots.”

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Serapter, after finishing off dusting the ball room and helping Ross and Ash clean up the kitchen, went to the library to find Zam.

“Oh hey Serapter, how’s the leg now?”

“It’s better Zam, at least I’m not walking around with a cane like Ash, and speaking of Ash, does his wife know he’s on a cane now?”

“I’m not sure, not really my specialty. Anyways, I don’t really have any important stuff to do that doesn’t involve stairs so feel free to take some time for yourself.”

“Oh, t-thanks Zam.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Serapter then walked into the servant’s dining room to get something to eat and found the overwhelming amount of choices between an apple and a banana.

Taking the apple, he started looking around for people and spotted Loppezz coming down from the stairs with Clown.

She spotted him and raised her arm to come to her.

“What’s the matter Lop?”

“They’re here, Ash’s wife and Clown’s friend.”

“Where’s Ivory, have you seen her?”

“No, not really, she was dusting some of the rooms on the first floor last I saw and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Huh, weird.”

Pyro came down from the stairs to greet the newcomers who had now pulled into the front lawn of the mansion.

A cab pulled up to the front yard, Serapter knew the cab driver, now along with another man who must be Clown’s friend and the woman in the front must be Ash’s wife.

And his guessing came true when the woman came out and immediately hugged Ash.

“Honey! Oh, I missed you so much!”

Ash staggered back a bit but managed to stand and hug his wife.

“I m-missed you too, careful please, my leg-”

She immediately pulled away, “Oh I’m so sorry, does it hurt too much?”

“No, but I might have fallen over.” Ash giggled.

“Old man, help me with the suitcase.” Branzy called out to Clown.

“Yeah let me take it.” He said, taking the suitcase from the man’s arms.

“ Se-actually, Div show them to the room.” Clown ordered

“I can show it myself no need.” Ash then said.

“Jeez, you 2 changed for the worst.” Branzy stated.

“Yeah, weren’t you helpful instead of being a freaking drill sergeant?” Squiddo added on.

“Surviving a murderer, an almost murderer detective, and a fire has that effect, I think.” Clown pointed out.

“Yeah sorta walked into that one.” Branzy realised.

“We’re all trying to just recover now, half the staff are still injured with me and Serapter having major issues with stairs.” Ash pointed to Serapter trying to elevate the mood.

“Sir Raptor? Interesting for a servant.” Branzy said.

“It’s j-just Serapter, one word, no titles for me.” Serapter replied playfully.

“Oh, my apologies young man.” Branzy apologised.

“Oh no worries, It’s not the first time and I’m sure it’s not the last.” Serapter answered.

“Where’s your suitcase Branzy?” Clown asked him.

“I left it in the lodgings. Didn’t want to carry them back all the way.”

“Yeah ok.”

The new guests finally entered the mansion.

“Welcome to Whitepine, I’m Pyroscythe Hemlocke.” Pyro said as he held out his hand.

“Im Squiddo, Ash’s wife.”

“As I’ve heard, he’s done a very good job of hiding that he’s married.”

“Oh I know, it was your preference for unmarried men that led to that decision.”

“You seem to have confused me with my father, I’m much more open to believing anyone can work if they need to.”

Pyro then shook hands with Branzy. “And Mr Branzy, Clown has told me about you.”

“Is that so? I wasn’t aware of this.” Branzy said, staring at Clown.

“Yes I was informed about a week ago when we had just recovered from the fire.”

“So I see.”

Squiddo notices Vi walking down the stairs looking half asleep.

"Hello, w-what’s happening?” Vi said groggily as he walked down the stairs.

“Vi, these are Ash and Clownpierce’s friends, Mrs.Squiddo here is married and will be staying with us.”

“Oh uhm..” Vi stammered out.

“Yeah, things have been a bit rough here since the fire.” Pyro said.

“It’s no problem, still looks more polished than my clinic.” Branzy said

“I-I…Sorry.” Vi said as he ran back up the stairs.

“Uhm.., I’m at a loss for words, my apologies for the awkwardness.” Pyro said.

“It’s no problem, everyone has their own way of recovering, you just gotta give them time.” Squiddo reassured.

“Y-yeah thank you. Anyways, I have some pressing matters to attend to at the factory, both Ash and Clown will be here at the estate so feel free to look around and enjoy your stay.” Pyro said before he left for the car waiting for him in the front lawn.

“Hell of an introduction huh?” Serapter asked Div.

“Eh, I’ve seen worse.” Branzy said before moving on.

“So, this is the kitchen and that’s Ross.” Ash said to both the guests.

“Hello! You must be Squiddo and Branzy.” Ross said.

“That would be right!” Squiddo exclaimed.

“It’s quite large.” Branzy remarked.

“Yeah, needs to be when you’re feeding a whole mansion’s worth of people.” Clown replied.

“And where are the staff quarters?” Squiddo asked.

“The top floor.” Ash said.

“How do you get up there with a broken leg?” Branzy asked.

“Quite fast actually, the fire seemed to have burnt off some nerves and the cane makes it easier I suppose.” Ash replied.

“And you, young man?” Branzy asked Serapter.

“Very slowly, I’m either hanging on to the handrail or walking 2 steps before falling.” Serapter said.

“Can confirm, saw him tumble down 4 days ago.” Bit added.

“Try not to do that, might make the injury irreversible, and walk down the stairs with someone by your side.” Branzy said.

“Uhm o-okay, I’ve stopped going down fast nowadays and Ivory is always by my side when I go down or up.” Serapter said.

“And Ivory’s the new girl, am I right?”

“Yep. Poor girl, she had to put up with so much.” Ash said, tired.

“Does anyone know where Ivory is?” Squiddo inquired.

“Haven’t seen her since the morning breakfast.”Loppezz said.

“I saw her in the back lawn sometime ago so she might be there.” Serapter said.

“Alright then lets go there next!” Squiddo said.

“No, take some rest, both of you. Serapter, bring Ivory to Ash’s room- wait actually just bring her to the kitchen.” Clown said.

“I’m on it.” Serapter said as started walking away from the group.

How the hell did Ash of all people get married? He thought to himself as he walked towards the back lawn.

Opening the heavy back door, he spotted Ivory beside the fountain. In the time it took him to get down the stairs Ivory had walked into the greenhouse.

He walked over to the greenhouse and saw her staring at some flowers.

“Ivory.” Serapter called out as he entered the greenhouse.

Ivory seemed to be lost in thought as she continued to stare at some small carnations.

Serapter, noticing her disassociation, plucked off one of the carnations and held it right next to her eyes.

“Is that enough looking?” Serapter asked jokingly.

“Y-yes, I’m-I’m sorry Serapter.”

“I’m playing with you, anyways the new guests are here and they want to meet you.” Serapter said.

“Okay. Now?” She asked.

“Yep, what were you doing here anyway?”

“Just wanted to be out… for some air.”

“Alright, come on let’s go.” Serapter said as he tucked the stalk of the flower into her hair.

They then went back to the mansion, still having to slow down since going up is even harder than going down the stairs.

Loppezz was waiting for them at the door.

“Come in guys, what took so long?” Loppezz asked.

“His leg, still very slow.” Ivory responded.

“No fair, you get burn marks and I get a broken leg.” Serapter called out.

“Hey you’re the one who insisted on getting back to the estate.” Loppezz said.

“Yeah, cause who wants to be in opposite rooms with Zombie?” Serapter pointed out.

“Fair but you could’ve at least just been in bed in that case.” Loppezz added on.

“I can barely sleep in that room, the smoke smell, especially at night, is unbearable.” Serapter said.

“Ivory, is that true?” Loppezz questioned.

“I-I don’t know, I don’t mind the smell.” Ivory stuttered out.

“Anyways, pick up the pace, Clown’s been waiting for quite some time.” Loppezz said as they walked to the kitchen.

“How are the guests?” Ivory inquired.

“They’re fine, better than Clown and Ash.” Serapter said.

“Better in what way?” Ivory asked back.

“They’re more kind and more full of energy. But then again, this is all new stuff for them and Clown and Ash have been here for god knows how long.” Loppezz answered.

“Hmmh, I dunno know, they seem like good people.” Serapter said as they turned the corner into the kitchen.

“Ivory, this is Mrs Squiddo, she is my wife. And that there is Mr Branzy, he’s an old friend of Clown from the war.” Ash said to her.

“H-hello mam and sir. Di-do you need any assistance from me?” Ivory said.

“Not at all, we just wanted to see you as you weren’t at the door.” Squiddo answered.

“You were the one who chased down the guy who broke the boiler- Kantje right?” Branzy questioned her.

“Y-yes Sir.” Ivory answered.

“Well, we should get back to our jobs, Branzy, I need your help in identifying some improvements to make around here.” Clown said.

“Alright, let’s get started then.”

Ivory quietly walked away, followed by Serapter and Loppezz.

“Now, what?” Serapter asked.

“We do our jobs.” Loppezz said bluntly.

“My jobs are over, I’ve dusted the whole ground floor.” Serapter said.

“I dunno, then go sleep or eat or do something, I have jobs to do.” Loppezz said, shooting herself up the stairs.

“Huh, well what are your plans Ivory?” Serapter asked.

“I’m supposed to go shopping with Vi since his redstone burned up in the fire.” Ivory said.

“Ah, I would join if,” points at leg,”really annoying”

“D-do you want to go back to the room? I have time now.”

“Yeah, I don’t have much else to do.”

“Alright then.” Ivory said as she helped Serapter up the stairs.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

Ivory and Vi were walking back after finishing up their trip.

“Are you ok, Ivory?" Vi asked.

“Yes sir-Vi.” Ivory responded as they turned the road.

“S-so, Ivory, did you see the new guests?”

“Yes.”

“H-how are they? I mean as in, do you like, find them comfortable or just tolerate them or anything else?”

“They seem kind, w-why are you asking?”

“Well they took some interest in trying to find out what is it that I do but I don’t know if they’re doing it out of genuine interest or they’re doing it just to get in my good books.”

“They don’t seem like that type of people, they seem genuine.”

“Well, I guess it’ll take sometime for me to warm up to them. Did you feel like that uhm-when you first came here?”

“Y-yes, but all of you helped me to get better.”

“Did we? You know… with all that happened?”

“Yes…especially after that.”

“I don’t think I helped you much, I barely even came to see you in the infirmary. I-I just couldn’t …bring myself to see you like that”

“I-I don’t mind, I don’t remember what everyone said or brought for me when I was in the infirmary. Ross kept bringing me flowers since, he saw the detective load me into his car. Serapter helped me to bed every night, everyone h-helped me in different ways.”

Vi pulled the bag of redstone back up his shoulder as they crossed the gate.

“Are you free later tonight? I want to show you and Loppezz some of the new stuff we just bought.”

“Yes, I’ll bring Loppezz later to your room then.”

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

“So the signal goes from the lever, through the comparator to the piston to extend it.” Vi explained.

“Why is the comparator here, can’t it be a direct connection?” Loppezz asked.

“It’s to prevent any backflow of power from the piston, it usually doesn’t happen but with some other …reactions it might.” Vi said.

“Oh, like what?” Loppezz asked.

“Like a book being taken out of a shelf, or tnt or other stuff.” Vi introduced.

“Tnt?! Like explosions?” Loppezz asked.

“Yep, the exploding tnt, I’ve used some before, it’s also the reason why the whole room is burnt.” Vi said.

“I-It helps to detonate from a distance. Vi showed me before.” Ivory added on.

“You two need to take me next time you do this stuff. Where did you even detonate?” Loppezz inquired.

“An old shed in the woods, I’ll show you some day.” Vi said to Loppezz.

“You should probably get going Ivory, Pyro would have started coming back now.” Vi said.

“O-okay, I’ll go attend to him.” Ivory said.

“And Lop, you should go too, I’m getting tired now.” Vi said before letting out a small yawn.

“Yeah okay, what do you want for breakfast tomorrow?” Loppezz asked.

“Uhm,.. cereal and cocoa seems good, make the cocoa hot.” Vi said before getting up from his chair.

“Alright, I’ll bring it tomorrow morning, in bed or at the table?” Loppezz asked.

“I’ll come down to the table, need to meet the guests properly too.” Vi said before letting out a proper yawn.

“Good night Vi.” Ivory said as she left the room.

Loppezz left shortly after.

“You going to Pyro?” Loppezz asked her.

“Yes, I need to ask him what he wants for breakfast, and then I’ll go and play the piano for some time.” Ivory replied.

“Okay, I’ll tell Serapter not to wait up.” Loppezz said before she went towards the dorms.

Ivory went down into the first floor, and knocked on Pyro’s room.

“It’s Ivory, sir.” She said after knocking.

Pyro opened the door.

“Come in Ivory, I’m hoping you’re readying up for Christmas.”

“I haven’t started to sir, is th-that a problem?”

“No, not at all, I’ve bought a Christmas tree, Muu’s been asking for some time and the festive mood might brighten things up.”

“I-I see sir.”

“I assume Clown informed you of when I started.”

“Y-yes sir, I made sure to keep your bath ready and the fireplace started. W-what do you want for breakfast tomorrow sir?”

“I’ll uhm take some bread and bacon along with a cup of coffee. That’s all.”

“Okay sir, I’ll inform Mr Ash tomorrow. Have a good night sir.”

“You too Ivory.”

Ivory took her leave and began to walk downstairs. She saw Clown and Branzy in the kitchen discussing something, Clown seemed to actually smile for once.

Heading past them, she found the stairs down to the basement, headed down and opened the doors to the piano.

Opening the cover of the keys, the sound of the household fell hush as she sat down. Alone with nothing but the piano and her own self.

Her hands began to move on their own, a slow and steady melody, just like how this day had passed.

Vi is doubtful whether the guests will see him as a part of the family. Loppezz is tired from the non-stop work. Pyro is trying to keep up appearances while trying to improve the mood of the household. Div is trying his best to humour everyone. Serapter is still Serapter.

The changes still felt weird, the removal of the bunks for separate beds which she woke up from. The burnt cover of the piano she had played in the morning and now returned to. The haphazardly fixed floor on the 3rd floor.

Her hands began to flow, no longer slow instead flowing like a river.

The burnt walls of the 2nd floor, charred dust falling from each brush stroke she did. The scorched plants of the yard, visible from the ground floor.

The new guests showing up when she was in the back yard after returning from Usherwood. Getting caught up in how those white and red carnations looked, the very same one which adorned the back of her head.

The piano felt the increased tension between the strings of the keys.

The greenhouse and its warmth in these late months, how did it hold all that heat and warmth through the snow? The small carnations blooming like her when Serapter planted the flower into her hair.

The cold would grow unbearable eventually, or so Serapter told her. Her sense of cold being mostly lost after the countless amount of time spent in that forest.

Her hands now moving raggedly, began to slow down as she began to breathe through her own unintelligible thoughts.

She could tell it was late, and she shouldn’t keep Serapter waiting, even if Loppezz had informed him. He was stubborn.

She closed the piano and got up to return to her dorm.

Climbing the stairs back to the 3rd floor through the silent yet cold winter breeze.

Opening the door to her room, she found Serapter in his bed under his blanket, with the lantern lit for her.

She put out the lantern and pulled into her bed. Covering herself with the blanket, it somehow never being enough for the cold in her.