Chapter Text
The house felt like a godsend.
The exterior was a bit tumbledown, but completely renovated with new appliances by the previous owners. The style dated it back to about two hundred years prior, with stately architecture and fine bones despite the years of wear and tear.
The house looked almost noble, nestled in the small grove of trees just outside of Rosohna. It was about a half hour walk to the small bookstore where Caleb Widogast spent his days, a ten minute walk to the closest grocery store, and it was tucked away from other properties, like the others wanted nothing to do with it.
Inside the old purple vermaloc wood creaked and groaned with every step and every small breeze. The old plaster walls were covered with a fresh coat of paint from one of the sets of people who had attempted to sell it, making the inside brighter than Caleb expected. It had lots of natural light despite being hidden in the trees, and it was big enough to fill with books if Caleb ever got the funds.
His favorite thing about it was all the old stained glass windows. Above the front door and in the master bedroom there were stained glass windows depicting a starry night sky. The big one in the bedroom had the stars and featured the moon phases, with Ruidus and other planets scattered around it.
It was perfect.
Caleb signed the papers without any questions and took ownership of the home and a very, very reasonable mortgage that he could actually afford, as opposed to the astronomical rent everywhere else in Rosohna proper. With the fake papers he'd gotten from the nice girl nicknamed Jester that Astrid had found for him, he could disappear at any moment, and Caleb Widogast would cease to exist. It was as good a plan as any, and Rosohna was so far north he was sure Ikithon and his lackeys couldn't find him.
There were a few people he would need to tell where he was living, but for tonight, he was just grateful not to be sleeping in the homeless shelter, even after he’d gotten used to it. Jester, the forger, worked there too and insisted he not sleep outside any longer, bringing him in and finding him a job at the small bookstore in the Gallimaufry District.
He had a small bank account that actually had some money in it, and with the economy in shambles, he was able to get this ridiculous mortgage and finally stay somewhere safe. It was safer than some landlord that would check in on him once a month, and for once, maybe, he wouldn’t have to look over his shoulder every moment of the day.
The reason the house was so inexpensive and so avoided was due to the pervasive rumor that it was haunted. But Caleb wasn’t afraid of silly things like that.
His fears were more rational, more tangible. He still had the scars from them, and on bad days those scars still ached.
"Now, we had hired a gardener to keep up the property," the real estate agent, Opal, said, breaking himself out of his thoughts. "Here’s his card. We paid for the full month, so if you want to keep him on you'll see him a few times to be able to talk." She slid the card across the black marble kitchen island where they’d set up shop, since they were the only seats in the home.
Caleb took the card for a Mr. Caduceus Clay and nodded, "Danke. I'll speak with him." He wasn’t exactly excited to talk to someone new, especially when he would essentially be firing them, but he might as well get it over with as quickly as possible. That way the gardener could look for more work before the end of the month.
She smiled and nodded, looking too eager to go. Picking up all the copies of contracts and paper she needed, she separated them into a pile for herself and one for Caleb. "Perfect! If you need anything you can give us a call."
He smiled back at her, genuinely pleased for once. "I think I'll be all set."
"Okay!" She grabbed up her copy of the contract and tucked it away in her briefcase. "But seriously, if you ever want to sell, I've sold this house like, ten times in the past five years. I'm very good."
He chuckled softly. "I'll keep that in mind. Have a good day."
"You too, Mr. Widogast!" she said, waving as she slipped out the door to her bright white car.
Caleb watched her pull away for a moment, making sure she didn't forget anything and return unexpectedly.
When she was gone, his shoulders sank and he took a deep breath.
Slowly, methodically, he took his duffle bag out and considered taking out its contents and spreading them throughout his home. He could put the books on the shelves, his carefully packed clothes could go away into the dresser that had been left behind upstairs by a previous tenant, he could put his meager supply of food in the cupboards of the kitchen.
Instead, he took the bag and his sleeping bag and deposited them in the master bedroom upstairs. He could sleep in a place where he could lock two separate doors on the way to him. Maybe he could manage to sleep peacefully through the night.
“Caaaaaleb!” There was a knock at the door, accompanied by a familiar voice. “I’ve got Frumpkin!” Jester called out. “Fjord’s here too!”
That was a surprise. Fjord would never travel anywhere with Frumpkin willingly. He must have taken enough allergy medication to put down a horse. Caleb very carefully unlocked the door.
“Congratulations, Caleb!” Jester said, bringing him in for a tight hug the moment he opened the door.
He let her squeeze the air out of him and gently patted her on the back while trying not to laugh at Fjord holding Frumpkin’s carrier out as far away from his body as possible. “Hallo, Jester. And Fjord, this is a pleasant surprise.”
“Hi, Caleb,” Fjord said, definitely sounding like he was a few hours away from deranged, Benadryl fueled dreams. “Got your cat.”
Caleb took the carrier from him. “Danke for looking after him. I hope your allergies are alright.”
“He’ll be fine!” Jester said. “Besides, I needed him to help me carry this in!”
Finally looking beyond Fjord’s tall stature, he saw the man’s truck.
And the absolutely massive couch hanging out the back of it. “Jester, I can’t-”
“It’s a housewarming gift!” Jester said, already walking over to carry it inside with Fjord. “Mamma was going to get rid of it anyways, since she just ordered a new one to match the new curtains at the Chateau.”
Arms full of cat carrier and not posing a very intimidating figure compared to the two currently wielding a large couch, his feeble arguments fell on deaf ears as the two of them brought the couch inside his house. It wasn’t as if he could really haul it back out himself, even if he wanted to.
“Upstairs in your bedroom, or in the living room?” Jester asked, as if she wasn’t forcing this on him, and as if she wasn’t carrying a piece of furniture that would require ten Caleb’s to move more than an inch.
Caleb sighed softly and relented. “Wherever you’d like is fine.”
“You don’t have a bed yet, right?” she asked, moving again once she heard Fjord grunt at the strain of holding the thing for so long.
He shook his head and watched her haul it all the way up his creaking stairs and place it in the master bedroom.
“It’s a pullout too, so you can get all comfy!” she said, clapping her hands together at the sight.
Pushed right up against the stained glass window and pulled out into a bed, the couch almost made the room look lived in. “You didn’t have to do this,” he said, bringing the two of them into a hug even as he spoke. They were far too kind to him.
“I had the day off from working at the orphanage anyways,” Fjord shrugged. “It’s good to see you in a new place.”
“You know we’re happy to help, Caleb,” Jester said, wearing the expression she donned when she thought he wasn’t accepting the help he deserved.
He smiled at the pair. “Still, it was very kind of you. Everything you’ve done, really.”
Jester brushed him off, despite being ridiculously good at her work. How she’d managed to forge a paper trail for “Caleb Widogast” that was good enough for him to get a bank loan he had no idea. Someday he would find a way to repay her.
Fjord and Jester didn’t stick around, off on a date night since they both had a rare afternoon free together, and Caleb was finally alone.
He let Frumpkin out of his carrier and allowed him to sniff out the whole house while Caleb took a blissfully long, hot shower. He’d worry about the water bill another day, but for now, he would just relish in having his own bathroom. Despite his reservations about needing to run again at any moment, he left his soap in the bathroom, along with his towels. At some point, he’d relax enough to unpack more.
Eventually Frumpkin finished his survey of the new house and joined Caleb on the new couch, pulled out into its bed form and big enough for both of them to sprawl comfortably.
“What do you think, Kätzchen?” Caleb murmured, scratching under Frumpkin’s chin as he rested in his pajamas. “We’ve come a long way, ja?”
When he’d first found Frumpkin, they were both just trying to make it through the cold nights of Rosohna. Caleb pulled the purring cat into his lap, closing his latest book and just relishing in the current moment. It was rare that he felt so peaceful, and he wanted to drink in every moment.
He had a home.
He had a home and right now, very, very few people knew where it was. Caleb was mostly, probably, safe here. For now.
Safe.
It was something he hadn’t felt in ages.
No matter the rumors about the house being haunted, and the rate of people who sold the house without even staying there a year, he was staying.
After all, there could be no worse monster residing here than him.