Chapter Text
“’Morning Lycaon!” Belle greeted the dignified Thiren as he stepped in Random Play.
“Master Proxy.” Lycaon nodded, “Is your brother also here at present? There is a matter I’d like to discuss with the two of you.”
“Sure! He’s in the staff room. C’mon, we can talk there.”
Lycaon followed Belle to the back room lit in the glow of wall of screens, where Wise was sorting through tapes. After some exchanged pleasantries, Belle asked, “So, what’s up Lycaon? What was it you wanted to talk to us about?”
“Right.” Lycaon cleared his throat, “Mayor Mayflower has contracted us to retrieve a Ms. Luciana Montefio and reunite her with her family. I came to speak with you on the matter as I am aware you both are well acquainted with her.”
The pleasant atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense. Belle and Wise shot a wary glance at each other.
“Or perhaps I am mistaken?” Lycaon took note of the shift in mood.
“I’d say we are more than just acquaintances.” Belle said.
“Lucy is our friend.” Wise crossed his arms.
“Oh. Well, that’s wonderful news.” Lycaon’s brow lifted at the revelation, “So you know her well, then?”
“Yes, well enough to not help you reunite her with her family.” Belle’s eyes narrowed, “In fact if you do bring her back to her family, I don’t think we can remain friends with you, Lycaon.”
“Belle’s right.” Wise agreed sternly, “Nor could we continue working with Victoria Housekeeping in good conscience.”
Von Lycaon’s eye widened at the sudden and unexpected direction this meeting took. He suddenly regrets not bringing Rina along for this. Though, he assumed it to be nothing more than a quick, informal discussion.
After a moment of tense silence between the three of them, Lycaon spoke composedly, “… Forgive me, Master Proxies. It seems I’ve failed to do the adequate research on this case, and that there is more that must be brought to my immediate attention before moving forward.”
“Oh?” Belle seemed especially protective, “Is that so?” Never has Lycaon seen her so defensive on such a personal level. It troubled him to be the target of such aggression from the Proxies.
“Indeed.” the thiren composedly answered, “If Luciana’s case is one that holds such a possibility of never working with Lord Phaethon again – then there must have been a misstep as well as lack of knowledge on my part.” Lycaon bowed with his hand to his chest, “Please… Tell me what you know.”
“How about you answer our questions first.” said Wise, “Why does the Mayor care about the whereabouts of Lucy?”
“I’ll answer every inquiry to my upmost.” Lycaon straightened, “As you may know, the Montefio family is of high status and affluence, and the Mayor wants them present for his annual Unity Gala. Apparently, the Montefios are considering partnering with TOPS, which greatly inconveniences the Mayor’s lengthy efforts to keep their growing influence over New Eridu at bay. They have elected not to attend the Mayor’s event which only further confirms our suspicions. They claim it’s due to their bereavement of their lost daughter.” Lycaon conjured the declined invitation from his pocket, and handed it to Wise, “The Mayor is most troubled by this. And has hired Victoria Housekeeping to simply retrieve her.”
Wise plucked the invitation from Lycaon’s hand, and the brother and sister quickly skimmed through the ink cursive writing scribbled on by the invitation’s recipients.
“This is all I know for certain.”
“Lycaon, do you…” Belle’s eyes softened, “Do you not know who Lucy is? Who the Montefios are?”
It’s not that Lycaon was entirely ignorant, the name Montefio was often brought up in conversation by the upper echelons that Victoria Housekeeping often served. And when it comes to Luciana, Lycaon has been in her presence only once or twice due to the Sons of Calydon and Victoria Housekeeping having interconnecting missions. But now that the question was pointed accusingly at him, he realized he didn’t rightly know her or her family. Not exactly, anyway.
“Lucy… She’s a princess.” Wise said plainly.
“An actual princess.” Belle chuckled.
Bringing his hand to his chin, Lycaon muttered, “So, the Montefios are royalty…”
“Big time royalty. But the thing is.” Wise sighed, “I spent some time with her in lumina square the other day…”
“It was a date.” Belle teased, warranting a glare from Wise.
“She ended up telling me some things… about her past.” Wise sighed bleakly, “Bad things.”
“Such as?”
“When she was younger, she secretly took an Ether Aptitude test; which she scored abnormally high on. She then expressed that she wanted to be a Hollow Investigator, and her parents opposed – but not just opposed. They…” Wise trailed off slowly lowering himself on the couch.
“…They confined her in her room against her will.” Belle finally finished his sentence sadly, sitting on the couch next to him, “Left her there in total isolation. She also made mention of some verbal abuse but hasn’t opened up to either of us about much else. It’s obvious she suffered.”
“She even told me she went hungry several nights,” Wise added softly, “she said she thought she might actually die there.”
Lycaon lowered his head, truly troubled by this disclosure, “… Indefensible.”
“Beyond indefensible.” Wise sighed, “All because she wanted to be something outside of the life they cut out for her.”
“So, you can understand why she escaped, and why we won’t help you. Right?”
“Indeed.” Lycaon said. What Wise and Belle have explained makes the note in the contract ‘use force if necessary’ even more disturbing.
“So please call this off.” Belle urged, “Lucy deserves her freedom – and nothing justifies how her parents treated her.”
“While I do agree with you, there is one issue that quite complicates things.” Lycaon confessed, “I unfortunately have no way to void our contract with Mayor Mayflower. Not legally… We must complete the contract.”
Belle and Wise both stood simultaneously; “What?!” Wise protested.
“We trusted you!” Belle exclaimed angrily.
“And you still can trust me.” Lycaon urged them evenly, “Listen. From my understanding, the primary goal of the Mayor is not about getting Lucy home, it’s about assuring the Montfios attend the ceremony and hopefully drop their potential partnership with TOPS. There may be more than one way to persuade them.” he calmly flipped open his pocket watch, the snapped it shut, “There are several things that need to be sorted before we even carry out the task. I need to speak with my colleagues about this matter.”
Both Wise and Belle’s shoulder’s relaxed at Lycaon’s next sentence.
“Master Proxies. Regardless of how it must be done, Victoria Housekeeping won’t allow any harm to come to Lucy, from her family or otherwise.” Lycaon lifted his hand to his heart again, “You have my word.”
The brother and sister both let out a visible and audible sigh of relief. Lycaon’s word did mean something to them, after all.
“Before I take my leave, is there anything else you can tell me that would be helpful?”
“… One thing, yes.” Wise hesitated, “After Belle and I found out about the Montefios and what happened to Lucy, we did a little digging. Well, a lot of digging. Turns out that that family is into some very suspicious business. In fact, they may have been already working with TOPS for a long time. They have a lot of money, but they tend to work with some suspicious groups of people. We still haven’t been able to narrow down who they are or what exactly it is they do. One night Belle and I were talking, and we got a little too curious about it and decided to hack the Montefio’s data system. But we only managed to get in briefly. No surprised they have some of the best cyber security money can buy.”
“What did you find?” Lycaon asked readily.
The siblings exchanged another wary glance before Wise explained, “The Montefios already know where Lucy is in the Outer Ring. And they are actively keeping tabs on her. Lucy isn’t lost. And I hate to say it, but if they truly wanted to bring their daughter back, they could.”
“But not without a fight.” Belle added, “The Son’s of Calydon are loyal and strong, and they keep a lot of strong friends around, too. Lucy is one of them now. They aren’t going to just give her up. The fight would be huge. My guess is, the Montefios would lose more money and manpower than what she’s worth in their eyes.”
“Plus, it would put a spotlight on them. More Inter-Knot notoriety is the last thing this family wants.” Wise interjected, “If even Von Lycaon doesn’t know much about one of the wealthiest and noblest families in New Eridu, then we can assume they are trying to stay under the radar. And while we don’t know all the details, whatever they are trying to cover up is probably motivator enough to let Lucy roam free in the Outer Ring. At least until now, anyway.”
“Are you implying our contract with the Mayor may be a part of a larger scheme? Playing into the Montefio’s hands?”
“It’s hard to say for sure, but something is definitely off about this whole thing.”
“Then there is much to be done. I will now take my leave and discuss this with my colleagues immediately.” Lycoan reached for the doorknob, “I’ll text you tonight.”
“Please keep us in the loop.”
As Lycaon opened the door, Belle shot out a final, fair warning, “We’re trusting you, Lycaon. For Lucy’s sake.”
“Your trust… It is not misplaced, I assure you.”
The sun was warm on her skin as Lucy sipped her third glass of… whatever the hell concoction Burnice mixed up for her. Burnice and Ceasar were busy chattering at the other end of SteelTusk’s bar. Piper and Lighter… who knows where Piper and Lighter were. Lucy didn’t care. The waning sun hung low, The Outer Ring’s dry, dusty breeze swept against the open walls and the terrain all around her, and she allowed herself to zone out.
It was a very calm and unassuming day in Blazewood. Somewhere nearby, kids were squealing and laughing in the distance, a soaring bird cawed from above.
Random Play’s van pulled up beside SteelTusk, followed by a sleek, black Victoria Housekeeping branded transport vehicle. Lucy watched lazily as Belle and Wise emerged from the van. Stomach dropping, Lucy blushed and looked away seeing Wise here. She definitely overshared the last time they hung out, and she’s still internally cringing about it. In her peripheral, she could see more people who spilled out of the second vehicle.
The whole damn Victoria Housekeeping crew.
What the hell are they doing all the way out here? Lucy lifted her drink back to her lips.
The individuals congregated briefly before making their way up the ramp of Steeltusk as a group.
Hm.. looks like they’re maybe grabbing a drink after heading into the hollow? Lucy closed her eyes and tilted her head back to drain the last swig of her drink before swiveling on her chair to stand and leave to make room for the large party. The sound of her full name stopped her dead in her tracks.
“Ms. Luciana Auxesis Thoedoro de Montefio?” a deep, throaty voice beckoned her from behind.
Lucy completely froze, slowly turning her head to see she was being addressed by the renowned canine thiren, Von Lycaon, who stood tall and poised in front of the others… the rest of the group fanned out behind him, silent, looking directly at her- including Piper and Lighter who appeared out of nowhere. Her blood ran cold at the sudden, solemn attention from so many pairs of eyes.
What is this, an intervention? Am I being arrested? What is happening?
“Y-yes?” Lucy said somewhat formally, feeling herself shrinking slightly as she turned to face everyone and their damn uncle.
Lycaon towered over her, making her feel smaller than she already was. Him bowing at the waist didn’t help, “My apologies for the sudden interruption. May we have a word with you in private?”
”All of you?” Lucy lifted a defiant brow.
Without looking behind him, Lycaon affirmed confidently, “Yes, Ms. Montefio. All of us.”
Though Lucy was extremely hesitant, she could see Wise and Belle in the corner of her eye, who both gave her an affirming nod.
“Sure.” She sighed and shrugged as nonchalantly as she could muster. It’s been a while since she was socially put on the spot like this.
Without another word, Lucy led the group of friends and acquaintances through Blazewood’s dusty lots. She didn’t look back. but she could hear and feel that they were all following her. Not really sure where else to go for real privacy, Lucy lead the group back to the patchy shack she calls home. She reached for the warped wood front door and pulled it open with a sharp tug. The hinges gave a feeble groan as she swung the door wide, holding it open politely for everyone.
“Make yourselves... at home… I guess.”
One by one, they all filed in.
Belle and Wise entered first, polite and self-assured; then the Housekeeping crew, brushing past with poise, quiet nods and professional thank yous; and finally the Sons of Calydon wandered in, already comfortable in Lucy’s residence.
It was like a clown car in reverse: too many serious faces flooding into a space way too small.
As the last person in, Lucy lingered outside for a second longer than necessary, her hand still on the doorknob. She didn’t know what this what all about, but she knew it couldn’t be good. With a deep breath, she slipped in and shut the door behind her, turning around to face the group, back against the door.
The shack was a single room living space. It was tiny. And now with several individuals crammed into the very limited area, it felt suffocatingly small.
A soft hum of whispers permeated the room before Lucy.
Her home wasn’t much. Far different than one might expect a person of such nobility to reside. It wasn’t untidy or unkempt per se, but like everything in the Outer Ring, Lucy’s home was worn and frayed.
Her mismatched furniture included a bed pushed into the corner, a folding chair, a rusted wastebasket, a single framed photo that hung slightly crooked next to a tangle of exposed wires poking out from the wall.
She didn’t keep many possessions. On the opposite wall of the bed was a battered sink with a narrow, tarnished counter. A cup with a toothbrush in it, a hotplate, and a small frying pan hung on the wall from a bent nail. A couple chipped mugs stood at attention on a bare shelf above the sink. One mug read ‘#1 Grandpa’, the other, ‘I caught my first fish at Port Elpis!’ with a cartoon mackerel grinning stupidly beneath it.
Beside the bed, a stack of cinderblocks served as an end table. On it were a few bottles of skincare products, some unopened packs of exfoliating face masks, and her phone charger.
A dangling lightbulb hung from a broken ceiling fan overhead, the lightbulb buzzed weakly with an occasional flicker, the ceiling fan creaked as it turned too slowly to even give any air.
Each group was gathered in their own cluster, like cliques at a school. The housekeepers in one side, the sons of Calydon standing together a little closer to Lucy by the door, and Belle and Wise in the middle. There was a lot of murmuring about;
‘we have her back, no matter what’
‘how did she do it in the first place?’
‘She ought to have a choice in the matter’.
Until finally Lucy blurted out, “Would someone mind telling me what the hell is going on?”
Lycaon stepped forward, “My apologies, Ms. Luciana. Allow me to get straight to the point.” He took a deep breath in, “We at Victoria Housekeeping have been contracted out to reunite you with your family. As a precaution, we reached out to Belle and Wise -…”
Lycaon’s voice kept talking, but Lucy immediately stopped listening. Her heartrate accelerated to an uncomfortable speed, and her ears began to ring. For a moment she wasn’t looking at Lycaon, she was staring through him.
But as the individuals around her continued explaining, she shot a glance at Ceasar, who held such a concerned look on her face -more worried than Lucy’s ever seen.
Oh my god, this is real. Lucy thought to herself as she tried to snap back to attention in the discussion, despite feeling like the small room’s walls losing in more around her.
“The Mayor has only agreed to amend the contract, not terminate it.” Lycaon continued to explain, “Which took considerable amount of persuasion on our part. We’ve discussed the matter at length with the proxies and the Sons of Calydon, and we believe we’ve come up with the best possible plan for the situation.”
Remaining silent, Lucy did a once over of the housekeepers, noting their respectful disposition. Corrin held her hands closed to her chest with upturned brows, “I’m s-sorry all this has happened to you, Ms. Lucy.”
“We all are.” Wise added softly. Lucy couldn’t maintain eye contact with him for too long, so her eyes flipped instantly to Belle who held Lucy’s gaze with an unwavering determination.
Then, Lucy looked over at her fellow Calydon members. The ones who have become her real family. Each of them had an honest yet determined posture.
“So you guys knew about this already?” Lucy asked bluntly.
“Little ol’ me only just learned about it this morning.” Piper confessed, “’Seems to me like a situation even you young’uns can’t weasel out of.”
“We have your back every step of the way, no matter what you decide.” Ceasar avowed.
“Yeah! You’re staying here!” Burnice exclaimed with an excited wink, to which Piper calmly nodded in agreement.
Lighter crossed his arms, “We won’t let you down.”
With a gigantic sigh, Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, “Alright, alright. What’s the plan?”
“Right.” Wise answered, “As you may already know, The Mayor’s annual Unity Address is being held next week, and it’s predicted to be the most televised event of the season. You are to attend, but not as a Montefio, as a plus one.”
“A plus one?” Lucy tilted her head, “For who?”
There was an uncomfortable stillness that settled over the room, and everyone shifted on their feet. Lycaon cleared his throat and dipped his chin, “For me.”
Lucy straightened, “… Oh.” The gears in her mind were cranking.
“Anyone else really wouldn’t do.” Belle chimed in, making things only slightly less awkward, “Random Play nor Cheesetopia even hold a candle to the status and recognition of Victoria Housekeeping. With Lycaon as its main public representative, he’s the only one recognizable enough to pass as a legitimate guest to such an event. Plus, he’s perfect to be your bodyguard.”
“Rest assured, I will ensure your immediate safety.”
“And so will we.” said Wise, “I will be working on the security systems and keeping an eye on things the whole time. Belle will have Eous on standby at a rendezvous point near the hollow.”
“It’s hard to say, but your parents may make a move to get you back.” Said Belle.
“It’s probably my mom.” Lucy distained, “When I left, my dad was pissed, sure, but my she’s the one who really lost it…” Her voice thinned, “But yeah. They’re both…”
For some reason, everyone remained silent as they gawked at her. It made Lucy feel like crumpling herself up and heaving herself over a cliff. Damn, my oversharing is out of control.
“You won’t have your weapon of choice on you.” Ellen added dully, effortlessly getting the conversation rolling again, “And unfortunately, the three little pigs don’t exactly fit the black-tie vibe the Mayor is going for.”
“Grassy, Woody and Bricky will be with me.” Elected Piper sensibly.
“Where?”
“Wherever you are.” She yawned, “We won’t be far.”
Lighter placed a hand on Lucy’s shoulder and looked her dead in the eye, “Once this nonsense is over, you are coming home with us.”
Though that should have very well made a lazy grin spread across her face, it didn’t. Lucy’s expression didn’t even twitch. This was all too much too fast.
There were too many memories.
Too many uncertainties.
Too many people in this damn room for her to even breathe let alone appropriately respond to the proposition.
There wasn’t enough time in the world that would prepare her even to lay eyes on her parents again. Or behave like a ‘proper, well-bred woman’ ever again.
As fortunate as she felt to live this life as a Calydon member, in the back of her mind, Lucy has always known the reality; From the very moment she ran from her family, the clock had begun ticking.
Ticking, ticking, closer, closer…
Time’s up.