Fritz Ch3

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Chapter 3
Reunion

I am in town with Waltz because Parfait needed supplies for her potions and we were the only ones available to get them for her.

Lucette: *I do not know why but I feel on edge.*

Waltz: Don’t worry, princess. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.

Waltz: Though you know… you wouldn’t even have to be here if Lady Parfait hadn’t placed so many orders.

Lucette: I do not understand why she has to get everything today. Surely she can just pick up the rest tomorrow.

Lucette: *If she was more patient, I wouldn’t have needed to go out at all today for such a bothersome chore.*

Waltz: Lady Parfait’s been receiving a lot of orders recently. She needs to keep up with the demand somehow.

Lucette: …

Lucette: Let’s make this quick.

Waltz: Of course.

My eyes wander to the shop right in front of me.

This should be the place.

Witch: How may I help-

Witch: Oh, it’s you.

Lucette: *This is the witch who came into the Marchen some time ago with mud on her shoes.*

Witch: What can I do for you two?

Waltz: We need all of the items on this list, please.

Waltz holds out the list Parfait gave him.

The witch surveys the list, then gives a thoughtful nod.

Witch: I’ll collect these for you right away. It’ll only be a few moments.

The witch disappears into her back room. I fold my arms as we wait, my thoughts drifting.

Waltz: We’ll be finished before you know it, princess.

Lucette: …

Man A: Well, look who it is.

Man B: Hello again, little girl.

Man A: And it seems like you’re here again with your little friend.

Lucette: !!!

Lucette: *These are the men that tried to rob me back when I was on the streets.*

Waltz quickly steps in front of me as if to shield me from the men.

Lucette: *Can he even protect me?*

Man B: She cleans up all right, don’t she? Almost didn’t recognize her all neat.

Lucette: What do you want?

Man A: Us? We don’t want nothing. But we heard there’s someone who wants you.

Man B: And they’re willing to pay more money than we could have ever gotten from you.

The man reaches out to grab me, but Waltz slaps his hand away. The men’s unwashed stench reaches my nose and I try not to gag.

Waltz: Don’t touch her.

Witch: Oy, what’s this?

The witch reappears at the door and the men back off slightly when she appears.

Man B: None of your business.

Witch: I think it is. These people are my customers.

Man A: Stay outta this, hag.

Witch: Hag?

I am slightly startled when the witch leans forward and whispers to us.

Witch: Listen.

Witch: You both start running, okay? You run as fast as you can and don’t stop for anyone. You need to get back to the Marchen.

Waltz: But-

Witch: Don’t worry about me. I’ll distract them for as long as I can. But you need to run.

Witch: Go.

Man A: Hey!

Witch: Look alive, boys! This one itches…

Waltz grabs my hand and pulls me with him as we run, not even turning back to look when we hear the shatter of glass.

Lucette: She is a witch. Why would she help us?

Waltz: Because she is a good witch, princess.

Lucette: *I am sure that she is only helping us because she wants to keep us indebted to her.*

We continue running against a current of people.

I manage to keep up with Waltz for a time, but it is not long before my hand slips out of his and I am lost to the crowd.

The minute I am separated from Waltz, I stop. Panic begins to well inside of me.

Lucette: Waltz!

I frantically look around at the crowds, trying to find him, but I fail.

Lucette: *I need to get back to the Marchen.*

Slowly, it dawns on me that I am in a part of town that I do not recognize.

Lucette: *I do not know my way around this area.*

Lucette: *I knew leaving the Marchen was a bad idea. When I see Parfait again, I will give her a piece of my mind.*

Man A: I found her!

Lucette: !!!

I immediately turn on my heels and run as fast as I can.

I am so panicked I cannot see what is in front of me.

I do not notice the man in front of me until I crash into him.

I prepare to fall but the man has braced himself just before I crash into him.

We both somehow manage to remain upright.

Lucette: Excuse me, I-

Man: Princess?

Lucette: *This voice…*

I look up in shock.

Lucette: Fritz?

Fritz: It really is you! Princess, I…

Lucette: *How does he remember who I am?*

Man A: There she is!

Lucette: *I have no time to think about this now.*

Fritz: Who…?

I grab his arm and pull him with me into a run.

Fritz: Why are we running?

Somehow, he is barely out of breath despite how long we have been running. It sends a sliver of irritation through me.

Lucette: I think those men want to… sell me.

Fritz: What?

I shake my head as I try to tug him forward again. However, Fritz does not budge.

Fritz: Princess-

Lucette: *This is very irritating.*

Lucette: We must keep moving!

Man B: I see her!

Lucette: *...Oh no.*

Fritz: Princess?

Lucette: *Wait, Fritz is a knight.*

Lucette: I trust you can manage these two fools.

Fritz: With one hand behind my back.

With a nod and a confident smile, he turns to face the oncoming men. He moves to stand in front of me, effectively shielding me with his body.

Man A: Two on one? I don’t like your chances, boy.

Man B: We’ve got no business with you. We just want the girl.

Man A: Run on home. She’ll be more trouble than this is worth.

Fritz: You’ll have to get through me first.

Man B: Hah! And how are you going to stop us?

Fritz: With this.

Fritz brandishes his sword and smiles at them.

Fritz is second only to his father, Sir Alcaster, in his ability with the sword. His skill is obvious just in the way he holds his blade.

Man B: Waving a sword around isn’t gonna scare us away this time.

Man A: The girl is worth enough gold to sort out any scratches we might get.

Fritz: Any closer and I’ll do more than scratch you.

Man A: Get him!

[CG end]

The fight is over as quickly as it starts. I cannot keep up with Fritz’s movements at first, but when I am able to focus on him again the two men are completely immobilized.

One is sprawled on the ground with Fritz’s foot firmly planted on his back. The other is collapsed against the wall of the alleyway with the tip of Fritz’s sword pressed against his neck.

Fritz: You wanted to question them?

Lucette: *Fritz is completely unscathed.*

I turn to look at the man against the wall, thinking he might be more capable of speech at this time.

Lucette: Who was going to pay you?

Man B: Tsk!

Fritz: I’d answer her.

Man B: !!!

I watch as Fritz pressed his sword against the man’s neck, enough to draw a gasp out of him.

Man B: It was a witch!

Lucette: A witch?

Lucette: *Waltz insisted the witch we met was good… but this is just further proof that witches will always be inherently wicked.*

Man B: It was a witch, I swear. We got a note with your picture. Then it burned to pieces right before our eyes once we’d read it.

Lucette: What did the note say?

Man B: Just to get you to the witch in one piece. That payment would come when that happened.

Fritz: How much was the payment?

Man B: …

Fritz: Answer me.

Man B: One thousand gold pieces. A whole one thousand!

Lucette: *One thousand gold pieces would be enough to feed a family for years.*

Fritz: Princess?

Lucette: *Not just anyone would have that kind of wealth. They would have to be nobility, royalty even.*

Lucette: Are witches disguising themselves as members of the aristocracy now?

Fritz: Princess.

Lucette: Yes?

Fritz: What do you want to do with these two?

I look at the men and feel something icy run through my veins.

Lucette: *These men were going to abduct me.*

Lucette: *There’s no telling what they would have done to me if they had caught me.*

Man A: Please-

Man B: Don’t beg. What would your son say if he heard you?

Lucette: *He has a family?*

Lucette: *That does not matter. Even if I had mentioned my family, it would not have made a difference.*

Lucette: *Wait…*

Lucette: What did you do to her?

Man B: Do to who?

Lucette: The wit… the woman at the shop. What did you do to her?

Man A: …

Man B: Nothing that can’t be fixed.

Lucette: Did you hurt her?

When neither of the men answer me, I frown.

Lucette: *I do not know why that witch was trying to save me…*

Lucette: *But she did try.*

Lucette: *These men cannot get away with doing whatever they wish.*

Lucette: Answer me. What did you do to her?

Man B: Nothing that won’t heal.

The anger that was nothing but a small flame burns full force in my chest.

Lucette: *They do not deserve mercy.*

Spare them. (+2 Fritz)

Punish them. (+1 Fritz)

Lucette: …
Lucette: *They deserve to be punished. But…*

Lucette: *These men were nothing but puppets to some other master.*

Lucette: *Punishing them is a waste of time. It is an additional burden that I do not care to shoulder.*

Fritz: Princess?

Lucette: Promise not to come after me ever again.

Lucette: Swear it.

Man A: I swear. I swear on my life you’ll never see me again.

Man B: I swear it as well.

Lucette: Let them go.

Fritz: …

Fritz: As you wish.

Lucette: *They are not good men.*
Lucette: *They must be punished. How dare they think they can get away with it?*

Lucette: Fritz.

Fritz: Yes?

Lucette: Make sure they pay for what they did.

Fritz: !!!

Lucette: *I may not be ‘good’, but I would never harm another person.*

Lucette: *There are consequences to harming others.*

Lucette: Fritz.

Fritz: Princess, I can’t-

Lucette: They will survive.

Fritz and I leave the men behind in the alleyway.

I sigh in relief when the scenery around me becomes more familiar. From here, I can probably find my way back to the Marchen.

Fritz is so unusually quiet that I barely notice him as I become wrapped up in my thoughts.

Lucette: *What does a witch want with me?*

Lucette: *As far as I know I have never done anything to a witch…*

Fritz: Princess?

I am startled when Fritz talks.

Lucette: Yes?

Fritz: You let those men go.
Fritz: I wasn’t expecting you to-

Fritz: …

Fritz: You showed them mercy when not everyone would have.

Lucette: Mercy?

Lucette: *Is that what it was?*

Lucette: *I think Fritz just has more faith in my morality. I did not spare those men to save them. I spared them to avoid the consequences.*

Lucette: It was difficult.

Fritz: The most meaningful shows of mercy often are but…

Fritz: …

Lucette: *Why is he smiling at me like that?*

Fritz: I wasn’t expecting you to ask that those men be punished.
Lucette: …

Lucette: They will heal.

Fritz: What if the woman in the shop didn’t want revenge?

I look at him quizzically.

Lucette: Why wouldn’t she?

Fritz: What if she would have preferred that you show them mercy?

Lucette: They deserved what they got.

Lucette: Mercy? After what they did to an innocent woman?

Lucette: There is no reason they should be let off without any punishment.

I notice Fritz fidgeting. It is a sure sign that he has something else he wants to say.

Lucette: What is it?

Fritz: Where have you been, princess? One day you just suddenly disappeared. No one in the palace seems to remember you at all.

Fritz: Why am I the only person who can remember you?

Lucette: *Could Fritz be…?*

Lucette: Are you cursed, Fritz?

Fritz looks shocked.

Fritz: Are you talking about the Fairytale Curse?

Lucette: Yes.

Fritz: No! Of course I’m not. What makes you think that I am?

Lucette: *If he is not cursed, how else could he know who I am?*

Lucette: Are you a witch or a fairy?

Fritz stares at me, as if I have grown another head.

Fritz: I don’t understand why you’re asking me this, princess. I am definitely human.

Lucette: …

Lucette: *Could it be that he is somehow unaware of the conditions of his curse?*

Lucette: *I must speak with Delora and Parfait about this.*

Fritz: Princess, what is going on?

Fritz: Princess!

Lucette: *I need to get to the Marchen as quickly as possible so I can speak to Parfait and Delora about what Fritz’s curse might be.*

Lucette: *Waltz is probably looking for me as well.*

Then abruptly, Fritz puts himself in front of me, blocking my path.

Lucette: What are you doing?

Fritz: I could ask you the same thing. Where are you going?

Lucette: I am returning to the Marchen.

Fritz: The Marchen?

Lucette: It’s a tavern for the cursed. I’ve been living there.

Fritz: Princess, are you saying that you’ve been cursed?

Lucette: *Oh. I forgot that I haven’t told him yet.*

Fritz: Princess, I need answers. Please.

Lucette: …

Lucette: I suppose you will not let me leave without an explanation.

Fritz: Not after you suddenly disappeared like that.

Lucette: …

Lucette: Very well.

Delora and Parfait will have to wait.

Fritz is convinced the only place I will be safe is his house and I am not in the mood to argue with him.

I look around the modest living room.

Lucette: I did not realize that you had lodging outside of your room in the palace.

Fritz: I grew up here. I was older than usual when I started training to be a knight, so I spent a lot of time in this house.

He walks over and hands me a mug of tea. The comforting scent of it and the realization that he has made it precisely as I prefer it makes something loosen inside of me.

Fritz sits opposite me, his eyes bright and focused.

Fritz: Start from the beginning.

Lucette: …

Fritz: Please, princess. I need to know in order to put my mind at ease.

Lucette: One night I was in the palace, and the next morning I was on the street dressed in rags.

I tell him about no one remembering who I am, and about my first encounter with the men that Fritz fought in the alleyway. I tell him how I was saved by those at the Marchen.

Yet I say nothing about Delora or Parfait, and I deliberately leave the identities of the Marchen boarders anonymous.

I am not sure why, exactly, but I feel suspicion tugging insistently at me.

Lucette: *How is it possible for someone to be unaware of their curse?*

Lucette: *Rumpel has amnesia and even he knows he is cursed.*

Lucette: *Fritz said that he is human. I can trust him, right?*

I close my eyes and will the impending headache away.

Lucette: *Maybe Mother was right. Maybe it is impossible to trust anyone, including my knight.*

Fritz: And what is your curse?

Lucette: …

Fritz: Princess?

Lucette: Can I still trust you, Fritz?

Fritz does not even bother trying to mask his shock. There is sadness in his eyes.

Fritz: When have I ever betrayed you, Your Highness?

Lucette: *Fritz has been loyal to me ever since he was assigned to me… but every person I’ve trusted has turned on me apart from Mother.*

Lucette: *Even my beloved doll betrayed me.*

Lucette: *How can I be sure that Fritz will not do the same?*

Fritz: I swore on my life that I would protect you, princess. I would never lie to you, or do anything that would put you in harm’s way.

Lucette: …

Lucette: Cinderella. I have to complete three good deeds to break it.

Fritz: Cinderella? Are you sure? That Fairytale is about-

Lucette: It’s been reversed in my case.

Fritz: Oh. That… makes sense.

Fritz: What will you do now?

Lucette: Return to the Marchen. I must break my curse.

Fritz: I can’t allow that.

Fritz: Unless I stay at the Marchen with you.

Lucette: What? Why?

Fritz: I have been wondering where you were this whole time, princess. Trying to find you.

Fritz: And now that I’ve found you, I must resume my duties. I need to protect you. And I want to make sure you are safe by staying with you.

Lucette: …

Lucette: You are no longer my knight, Fritz. You work for Emelaigne now, don’t you?

Fritz: I am not her personal knight. I work in shifts with her other guards so I’m not expected to stay the whole day.

Fritz: Besides that, I am your knight and I intend to fulfil that role until you no longer need my services.

Fritz: I failed to protect you from being cursed. Let me protect you this time, princess.

Lucette: Fritz is very capable. No doubt he will be able to protect me better than anyone else at the Marchen.

Lucette: And who knows how many people received the witch’s note? The witch wouldn’t even need to enter the Marchen herself, so long as she has others there to capture me.

Lucette: No matter where I am, I am not safe. Especially when I have no idea who I can trust.

Fritz: Stay here. Stay with me.

Lucette: !!!

Fritz: I’ll be able to be with you. I can keep you safe.

Fritz: It won’t be for long. Just until I can get you back into the palace where you belong.

Lucette: And how will you do that? Nobody apart from the cursed, the witches and the fairies remember that I am the crown princess.

Fritz: I still remember you.

Lucette: You must be cursed as well, Fritz. There is no other explanation.

Fritz: I would think I’d remember if I’d been cursed, princess.

Lucette: *I would be inclined to agree. Even Rumpel, who’d forgotten everything else, remembered that he’d been cursed.*

Lucette: *But then, what could Fritz’s Fairytale be?*

I hadn’t truly intended on staying with Fritz but somehow the day passes by without me noticing. Before I know it, night has fallen.

Lucette: *It is far too late to attempt to return to the Marchen on my own now.*

Lucette: *Even if, for some reason, Fritz allowed me to leave his house.*

Fritz: You can stay in the guest room, princess.

Fritz: …My father returns here at night, after his duties for the day are over.

Lucette: *I’d almost forgotten. Sir Alcaster Leverton, Fritz’s father and the Commander of the Order of Caldira.*

Lucette: I thought he’d have his own room at the palace, like you do.

Fritz: My father’s never stayed the night at the palace as far as I know.

Fritz: He always comes back to sleep here, no matter how late he leaves the palace.

Fritz: …Or how early he has to get up to return there.

Alcaster: …

Fritz: Good evening, father.

Alcaster looks at me, then Fritz.

Alcaster: Who is this?

The weight of his stares makes me feel like looking away, but I manage to stare back at him coolly.

Fritz: This is Lucette Riella Britton, daughter of King Genaro Britton III, and the crown princess of the Kingdom of Angielle.

Alcaster: I am not in the mood for games, boy.

Fritz: It’s the truth! I told you about her when she disappeared, that she’d been forgotten.

Alcaster: Nonsense-

Fritz: She’s been forgotten because of the Fairytale Curse.

Alcaster: …

Sir Alcaster’s eyes are cold and calculating

Lucette: *I do not like the way he is looking at me.*

Alcaster: What is your Fairytale?

Lucette: *…I do not want to tell him.*

Sir Alcaster’s gaze grows colder as his question is met by a long stretch of silence.

I only relent when I see Fritz about to answer for me.

Lucette: Cinderella.

Alcaster: …

Alcaster: I trust you will break your curse, princess.

Sir Alcaster says nothing more and I am surprised when he simply walks away, into a bedroom and away from us.

The door closes behind him and Fritz and I are left alone.

Fritz: It’ll make things easier if he believes us.

Lucette: *I saw the look in his eyes. I doubt he believes us.*

Lucette: *That would be too simple.*

Sleep does not come easily, even though this bed is significantly more comfortable than the bed in the Marchen.

Lucette: *What could Fritz’s curse be?*

I sit up in bed when I hear footsteps outside. I stare at the clock; it is almost two in the morning.

Alcaster: You are late.

Man: My apologies.

Lucette: *That is Sir Alcaster’s voice… but I do not recognize the other one.*

Alcaster: Come, we have much to discuss.

The sound of their footsteps slowly fade and silence descends once more.

Lucette: *I suppose being the Commander of the Order of Caldira means that he is always busy…*

Lucette: *But working at this time…?*

Soon enough my exhaustion coaxes me back into slumber. I close my eyes and let my desire to sleep win over my curiosity.

Dream Sequence

Lucette: …

Maid A: It’s true, she definitely takes after you-know-who.

Maid B: I heard that rather than speak with people, she only ever speaks with her dolls.

Maid A: I can believe that. She seems a little weird in the head.

Maid B: She is so strange. I can’t believe she is going to be queen one day.

Lucette: …

Maid A: !!!

Maid B: O-oh! Good morning, Your Highness.

Maid A: P-please excuse us!

Lucette: …

Despite my exhaustion, my sleep is brief with all the thoughts whirling through my mind.

When I feel it is late enough I finally step out of bed and make my way toward the living room.

Sir Alcaster and Fritz are both there, but they fall silent at my entry.

Alcaster: …

Lucette: …Sir Alcaster.

Alcaster: …Princess.

Lucette: Are you leaving for the palace?

Alcaster: Yes.

Fritz: Will you be able to get the princess back into the palace?

Alcaster: I will inform Mythros of the situation.

Lucette: *Sir Mythros?*

Fritz: But father, Sir Mythros won’t-

Alcaster: Mythros will work as quickly as possible to resolve this.

Alcaster: In the meantime she will be safe here, won’t she?

I am standing close enough to Fritz that I notice his body posture stiffen. I see the way he clenches his hands into fists and the way he squares his shoulders.

Fritz: Of course she is. I am her knight.

Alcaster: Then there is no problem.

Lucette: You and Sir Alcaster do not seem very close.

Fritz sighs. He looks somewhat flushed, though it doesn’t seem to be out of any embarrassment.

Fritz: Princess, I…

Lucette: Should I have not said anything?

Change the topic. (+1 Fritz)

Press the issue. (+2 Fritz)

Lucette: Never mind. It is not important.
Fritz: …

Lucette: I am sure you have your reasons. You can share them when and if you want to.

Lucette: I noticed the way he spoke to you. And in the palace I never saw the two of you together.
Fritz: …

Fritz: I didn’t think you would notice.

Lucette: Why? You are my knight. I spend a lot of time with you so of course I am aware of how others treat you.

Fritz: !!!

Lucette: I… also know what it is like to be distant from your own family. If you do not wish to speak of such matters, you do not need to.

Fritz: …Thank you, princess.

Fritz clears his throat before he turns to me, his smile so bright it seems to light up his face.

Fritz: Would you like to get breakfast? I happen to know where the best baker in all of Angielle sells her croissants.

The thought of croissants makes my mouth water. I am at the door in seconds.

Lucette: What are you standing around for? I am hungry.

Fritz: We leave at once, then.

The shortest route to the bakery from Fritz’s house leads us past the palace gates.

Fritz: Princess, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…

Fritz’s voice fades into the background when I notice the royal family eating their breakfast outside.

Emelaigne sits underneath the shade of a cherry blossom tree, reading aloud from some book in her hands.

Rod is smiling as he pours tea for all of them and Ophelia is looking on with clear love in her eyes for the family that surrounds her.

The king laughs at something Emelaigne is saying. He looks happier than I have ever seen him before.

Lucette: *They… they truly are happier now that I do not exist with them.*

Lucette: *Father has never once looked at me the way he is looking at them.*

Fritz: Did you know that when the best baker in Angielle was offered a job in the palace she turned it down?

I am slightly startled when Fritz starts talking beside me.

Lucette: She did? Why?

Fritz: The Royal Gardener wouldn't let her graze her cows on the palace grounds.

Lucette: What?

Fritz: The best baker in Angielle only bakes with the butter she makes from her own cow’s milk. She wasn't allowed to bring her cows with her, so she refused the job.

Lucette: I don’t believe you.

Fritz: It's true! I heard it from the head chef at the palace.

Fritz: They can’t miss what they don’t remember.
Lucette: …

Fritz: I’m sorry for bringing you here. I should have known it would be difficult.

Lucette: How could you have known?

Fritz: You’re my charge. It’s my job to know.

Lucette: Exactly how much does he know about me?

I realize we have been walking as Fritz talked. The palace gates are well behind us and the royal family is thankfully out of earshot.

Fritz: Here we are.

The variety of breads and pastries in the window of the bakery make my heart skip a beat. It has been a long time since I have seen such delicious looking pastries.

Fritz: Pick anything you want, princess.

Lucette: Anything?

Fritz: Whatever you want. I know how much you like your pastries.

Fritz: Maybe I’ll finally see you smile.

Lucette: What?

Fritz: Go on in, princess. I’ll be right behind you.

Fritz and I return to his home to eat our pastries.

Lucette: *They truly are the best croissants I’ve ever had.*

As we come to the end of breakfast, Fritz turns to me, a hesitant expression on his face.

Fritz: Princess?

Lucette: Yes?

Fritz: I hate to say this, but I’m expected at the palace today. I’m afraid I have to ask you to stay here on your own.

Lucette: *But the people at the Marchen…*

Lucette: I was planning on returning today to explain why I haven’t been back.

Fritz: But it’s not safe for you outside.

Lucette: I understand. But there are people I must see. I will not stay here for much longer.

Fritz: …

Fritz: Can I really not change your mind about staying here?

Lucette: *I know that Fritz can certainly keep me safe…*

Lucette: *But I cannot shake the feeling that I am safer at the Marchen.*

Lucette: *…Even if it means having to stay with the witch that cursed me.*

When I do not answer, Fritz sighs and shakes his head.

Fritz: Very well. I will ask for a day off so I can personally escort you back to this… Marchen.

Lucette: Tomorrow.

Fritz: Sorry?

Lucette: Take me back tomorrow.

Fritz: Tomorrow, then.

I spend the day looking around the house.

Lucette: This home is so impersonal. You’d never know two different people live here. Their rooms are so empty.

Lucette: Even I had my dolls in my room…

As I walk about the living room I notice a broom standing forgotten and alone in a corner.

I suddenly remember the broom Delora enchanted for me.

Lucette: *I do not miss that broom.*

Lucette: *…But this one could definitely use a ribbon.*

Fritz: Princess?

Lucette: Fritz, that was fast.

Fritz: I have something for you.

Lucette: …

Fritz: I found this doll in my room at the palace. She’s one of yours, isn’t she?

Lucette: *The Delora doll was still in my room? But how…?*

I am too old for dolls. (+1 Fritz)

She is... (+2 Fritz)

Lucette: I have never seen this doll before.
Fritz: Princess, I know how much you treasure your dolls.

Fritz: I’ve heard you talk to them before.

Lucette: !!!

Lucette: How-

Fritz: Sometimes you don’t close the door.

Lucette: …

Fritz: I thought so.
Fritz: Isn’t she one of your favorites?

Lucette: …Yes, she was.

Lucette: *Until she cursed me.*

Lucette: How did she get into your room?

Fritz: No idea. Perhaps one of the maids left her there. But I thought you’d like it if I brought her back for you.

After finishing dinner, Fritz excuses himself to run more errands so I return to my room.

Earlier when Fritz had given her to me, I threw Delora on my bed.

Lucette: Delora.

Now I turn to glare at her and all at once the doll comes alive with a sigh.

Delora: Would you believe me if I said I was worried?

Lucette: …

Delora: You can only imagine how hurt I was when you said you’d never seen me before.
Lucette: …

Delora: I honestly thought you were going to act like you didn’t recognize me.
Delora: It made happy you said I was your favourite, Lucette.

Lucette: You *were* my favorite.

Delora: You wound me, princess.

Lucette: What are you doing here?

Delora: Do you have any idea how…

Delora: …How worried Parfait was?

Delora: When Waltz came back alone and told us what happened, well, Parfait and Annice went into hysterics. The boys and Jurien looked like they were going to commit murder.

Delora: When you didn’t come back that night I had a lot of trouble convincing everyone to stay at the Marchen when they wanted to look for you.

Delora: Especially Waltz. You have no idea how guilty he felt after losing you like that.

Lucette: *…They were looking for me?*

Delora: Princess?

Delora: Why didn’t you come back to the Marchen?

Lucette: I was going to. But Fritz is… overprotective.

Lucette: I know it’s not-

Delora: Hush!

Lucette: Don’t hush-

I stop myself when I hear footsteps just outside the door.

Alcaster: This is entirely unnecessary.

Man: The walls have ears, Sir Alcaster.

The two men walk away, leaving the hallway silent.

Lucette: That is just another one of Sir Alcaster’s late night errands-

But my words die in my throat when I turn to Delora and see that she is eerily silent, her forehead furrowed.

Delora: …This presence.

Lucette: Delora?

Delora: It is weak, but it’s there. I can feel it.

Lucette: Delora, what are you talking about?

Finally, Delora looks at me slowly, as if just now recognizing we are both in the same room.

Delora: This is bad.

Delora: We must return to the Marchen. Now.

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