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"Can dogs look up?"
The question turned everyone to look at the gardener. The Lawyer. The Lucky guy. She tapped her chin, swaying her head side to side. "I think they can." She swung her feet back and forth.
"Miss Woods, Of course dogs can look up." The lawyer responded. His voice made clear his slight frustration in being disrupted from his reading. He raised an eyebrow as he sat up from his chair, closing his book with a quiet thud. "Why did you need to ask such a question anyway-"
"No they can't!" Lucky intervened. "Dogs can't look up! It's impossible for them to do so!" He pushes himself up from his chair, standing tall until sudden realisation of how loud he had been hits him, and he meekly slinks back into his chair. "I-I mean-" He sighs. "No. Dogs can't look up."
Emma and Freddy stared at Lucky. The two met eyes with each other before looking back at the ever shrinking Lucky. Freddy's brows furrow into a frown.
"What on earth are you talking about? Dog's can look up." Freddy crossed his arms, leaning back into his chair. "I hope you have a very good explanation as to why you think they cannot look up, Lucky."
Lucky held his shoulders close to himself as he looked away. Gradually shifting his eyes towards Emma, who gave him a gentle nod.
"It's because they don't have the bones for it." He gestured to his neck. "The way their necks are structured- it makes it so they can't look up like we do. So they can't look up." His voice grew more and more confident with his voice, Emma's encouraging nods helping to bolster his confidence.
His confidence was quickly killed by the lawyer's expression. His sneering glare was as cold as a knife and just as deadly.
"No. No." Freddy sighed. "Do you even know how anatomy works?" He pinched his nose and leaned back into his chair.
"Do you?! You're a lawyer not a doctor!" Lucky slammed his hands upon the table, "I-I mean-" He mumbled and fumbled his hands back under the table. He messily weaved and intertwined his fingers out of sight.
Freddy's frown devolved into a disapproving sneer, "Fine then. Let's go ask." He let out a heavy sigh. "Dyer." He pushed back the chair and stood up.
"Are you sure Mr Riley-" Emma stood up from her chair. She had only asked a simple question- a simple question that appeared to be escalating into something more-
"We're at a tie, and so she can act as our tiebreaker I'm sure for a woman like-" He pinched his nose before letting out a quiet huff. "Her- is smart enough to know the correct answer."
"Hmm." Emma thought for a moment, before she nodded. Emma looked over at Lucky and gave a small nod. "I saw Emily in the infirmary earlier! She must be still there! Come on Lu!" She takes Lucky's hand and pulls him to his feet.
"Ack- Emy-" Lucky wobbled onto his feet. He let out a small whine as the much stronger gardener pulled him up.
"Let's go!~" She sings, pulling the unlucky Lucky along towards the infirmary, the lawyer trailing behind the two friends. He stopped in front of the infirmary door.
"You two go in. I'll wait here." He waved his hand. No way was he going to see that woman unless he was forced too. Their truce only meant he would tolerate her. Nothing. More.
Emma and Lucky glance at each other. Lucky sighs before he enters, Emma humming behind him.
Freddy leaned against the wall. His arms crossed. Yet, He strained his ears to hear through the wall to hear what was being said on the other side.
After a few strained minutes. Emma skipped out of the infirmary with Lucky in tow, who seemed oddly happy.
"Well?" Freddy moved off the wall. Despite the fact he already knew the answer based on Lucky's smile.
"Emily said she doesn't know for certain-" She held her hands behind her back. "But, she said she thinks they can't." Emma tilted her head. "So that… makes two against one."
Freddy held himself back from striking that smile off of Lucky's face. He won a battle, not the war. "That's preposterous. Dog's are completely capable of looking up!"
"That's not what Emily thinks." Lucky crossed his arms. If he wouldn't stop smiling-
"Mr Riley-"
"What are you three arguing about now?" A tired voice disrupted their argument.
The Magician stood at the end of the corridor, holding a cup of tea in his hands. His face was in it's usual grumpy state as he took a sip of his tea.
"Le Roy! Can dogs look up?!"
Servais stared at the lawyer, and the lawyer stared back. The silence between them was murderous. Servais glanced at the kitchen door. Then at Freddy, who was staring back at him. Then to the door. He turned around. Reached for the door- as Freddy rushed in front of him.
"Le Roy."
"Riley."
"Choose your answer wisely."
"I refuse to partake in this."
"Refusal denied. Answer the question."
Servais sighed, pinched the tip of his nose. "Is this truly an argument we are having?"
"Answer the question Le Roy." Freddy inched his face closer to Servais.
"They can't look up! Right Mr Le Roy-" Lucky cut himself off as the magician turned his gaze towards him. "...o-or or… not-" He nervously chucked, retreating behind Emma.
"Yes Lucky. Of course they can't." Servais muttered. Everyday he questioned the mental stability of his fellow guests in this accursed manor. "They don't-"
"Are you serious!? Have none of you ever seen a dog?!" Freddy hissed. His faith in everyone in the manor was ever rapidly decreasing each moment..
"Mr Riley-" Emma tried to interject once more.
"It's three to one-" Lucky's confidence was returning, even if it was so very slowly.
"Two to three Lucky." The lawyer glared at him. Lucky frozen upon the spot as if he had been encased in wax. "Miss Woods said she thought they did. As such. It is two to three."
"B-but earlier-" Lucky protested.
"You're still losing Riley."
"I am not wrong, Le Roy. Perhaps I shouldn't be too surprised a washed up children's entertainer-"
Servais's gaze turned to murder. Emma covered her eyes and let out a weary sigh. Truly and deeply, she regretted ever asking a question she had asked in boredom.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me." Freddy uttered, now that he was on this path, he was not going to back down. His glare utterly locked with Servais's. "I had a sliver of hope you would be wise enough to answer correctly- but it appears you are as foolish as Lucky-"
"The only foolish one here is you Riley!" Lucky yelled. "If God wanted dogs to enjoy the beauty of the world above them he would have given them the anatomy to do so! But he didn't!"
"But they do-"
"No they don't!"
"Yes they-"
"ENOUGH."
Emma stomped her foot down. "When you three are done arguing over something so petty-" the other three fell silent. "To decide this once and for all. I will send a letter asking my father and Smiley what they think. Then we'll ask the detective and whichever has the most votes in the end is the winner, and that will be the end of it."
The three only nodded to the Gardener's order.
"Postman!" Emma called.
The ghostly apparition appeared before the four, his ghostly eyes the most eyes in the manor that did not belong to the detective, looked over at the four as he held a letter. His ghostly companion hovered by his feet.
"Hello Postman! Could you go ask my father and Smiley if they think dogs can look up? We're having a bit of an argument here-"
The postman blinked, yet gave a gentle nod and wrote down her request upon a piece of paper. Once he was done, he vanished in an instance.
The group stood around. Some exchanged silent glances with each other.
"So… do we just… wait around-" Lucky asked- when with a *poof* the postman returned. He held out a letter to Emma.
She took the letter and carefully opened it up.
"Father says dogs can look up," Freddy smugly smiled. "But- Smiley says they cannot."
"That means-" Lucky's eyes lit up with utter glee.
"Not another word Lucky." Freddy muttered.
"If we ask the detective, it will either be a tie or we win. Are you sure you want to continue, Freddy?" Servais questioned. He crossed an arm over his chest, his hand resting upon the arm holding the tea cup.
"If it's a tie then at least I can have some faith there are some people with intelligence in the manor." Freddy huffed. Lucky opened his mouth to speak. "I am not entertaining the thought of losing unless I am forced to. Come on. Let's meet him directly."
Another exchange of awkward glances. Servais let out a tired sigh as he placed his tea to the side. "Make this quick Riley." He muttered. "I would rather not let my tea go cold."
The group trundled to the Voice of the Manor, Freddy taking his place leading the group. One they funneled into the room, Freddy turned towards the staircase.
"Postman." He muttered. The ghostly form appeared before him. "Invite the detective here. Quickly."
The postman nodded. Then vanished.
They only had to wait a minute before the doors creaked open, the detective walking into the room. He held up his lantern high, turned his head up to look at the lawyer looking down upon him.
"You called for me?"
"Orpheus!!!" Emma jumped down the stairs as she rushed towards the detective. Tackling him into a hug, and easily picking him up to twirl him around."It's been a while! You've been taking care of yourself right?"
"O-Of course Miss Woods-" Orpheus stuttered, wobbling once his feet reunited with the ground. "You've been doing well in your matches recently as well-"
"Ahem." Freddy coughed, positioning himself at the top of the entrance to the stairs. Perfectly above Emma and Orpheus. "Let's get to the point. Detective. Can Dogs look up?"
Orpheus stopped for a moment. He freed himself from Emma' hug before he faced Freddy from the bottom of the stairs.. "Is…" Reluctance crawled onto his face. "..This a genuine question?"
"Unfortunately." The lawyer's expression conveyed his disappointment perfectly.
Orpheus questioned leaving the room he was trapped in before he raised a hand to pinch his nose. A deep heavy breath filled his lungs and was released in a long weary sigh. "Yes. Yes dogs can look up. Is this truly the only reason you called me away from my investigations-"
"Thank you Detective for being a reasonable man!" Freddy cried. He spun round to face the other two. Hands raised in a brief moment for his small triumph.
"It's a tie Riley." Servais muttered. His tea was growing cold for this. "You've done all of this for a tie- What do you plan to do now? Or are we ending this in a stalemate?"
"You… are all aware the postman has a dog…" Orpheus raised an eyebrow. They had realised this? Right?
The group stared blankly for a moment
You could hear the sound of a pin drop in the silence. Only broken when from the top of his lungs Lucky turned and called "POSTMAN!"
The ghostly apparition appeared. The smiling postman now looked a little nervous from how loudly Lucky had called for him. Truthfully he began to physically shrink from all the eyes upon him.
He looked around the group, awaiting for them to hand him a letter to deliver, hoping for a quick exit from their unyielding eyes, very much of what they truly wanted.
"Postman. We need your dog." Freddy approached the postman, who immediately scooped up the dog in his arms and turned his back towards Freddy. "Please we have no intentions of harming your dog. We just want to see if he's able to look up."
The postman raised an eyebrow, and maintained his position. That's all they wanted? It couldn't be-
Emma shoved past Freddy and took his place in front of the postman. "Does your dog like treats?"
The postman glanced side to side. Their eyes were still upon him. He backed into a corner before he nodded.
"Good!" Emma opened up her pocket and rummaged through it. "I got some earlier from Miss Nightingale- right- here!" She pulled out a little brown bag.
The postman looked at the bag as Emma pulled out a small bone shaped biscuit. Perhaps she picked up upon the postman's nervousness, and held out a treat for him to inspect.
The postman cautiously took the treat and inspected it. Twisting and turning it around. Thoroughly inspecting it was safe for his furry friend. Wick barked, their small tail wagging as they looked up at the treat the postman held in his hands.
"See?!" Freddy's voice shook across the room. The Postman flinched and used his body to shield the dog. "As I had said! Dogs can look up!"
Lucky and Servais stared in silence for a moment. Then the magician turned away and headed towards the door. "Do not bother me with these frivolous questions ever again."
Freddy huffed as the door closed behind the magician. "Tch."
The postman took this chance as his purpose being fulfilled longer needed and promptly disappeared along with his dog.
"Is this all?" Orpheus asked, rubbing his temples.
"I think so- Sorry to disturb you Orphy!" Emma skipped over to the detective. "Are we still up for our tea party later?"
"Of course. I'll see you then Miss Woods." He gave her a small smile before he as well headed out the door, leaving Lucky, Emma and Freddy alone.
"Well...You were right…" Lucky mumbled, his voice sounding defeated.
Freddy was about to gloat his victory over Lucky, before Emma took Lucky's hand. "Lucky you wanna help me in the garden?"
Lucky nodded, and the two headed out the door.
"You two-" The door closed in front of Freddy. The lawyer grumbled to himself. Then he opened the door and left.