The Trial of Morrigan Crow; Morrigan Crow's Revenge

Chapter 12 - Shadows

"We don't remember a s-single thing!"

It wasn't a surprise that Cadence use her mesmerist knack to get into the twins head, as she walked with Jupiter out of the Proudfoot house.

The sun had come out, making the bare black branches of the tree-lined drive seem somehow less sinister than before. She lifted her face, letting it warm her, and absently reached out to touch one of the dead trees as she and Jupiter strode down the drive. A flash of searing heat and tiny purple sparks met her fingertips, as she quickly bite her tongue to bite down her surprise and quickly taking her hand back. She nearly forgot about her wunder...Morrigan laughed silently inside as she caught up to Jupiter.

Summer of One

Morrigan was free to enjoy the summer at Hotel Deucalion as her first trial over and the next one months away. Days of splashing in the sun-drenched Jasmine Courtyard pool gave way to balmy nights of ballroom-dancing lessons, barbecue dinners, and long lounging sessions in the Smoking Parlor, relaxing in vaporous clouds of vanilla smoke ("to soothe the senses and bring happy dreams"). Although, occasionally her thoughts would drift back to her first life miserable, the thought would always be quickly chased away by an invitation to help Charlie groom the horses, or to taste-test the menu for Frank's next party.

Sometimes Dame Chanda, who famously had six suitors ("one for each night of the week, except Sundays," she explained nonchalantly), would enlist Morrigan's help to choose her outfit for the evening. ("You have a beautiful face my dear...I wouldn't want Jupiter's awful taste on clothing to affect you." Jupiter who just entered the room: ...) Together they would dive through the thousands of beautiful gowns, shoes, and jewels in the soprano's wardrobe (which was nearly as big as the hotel lobby) to find the perfect ensemble for dinner and dancing with the man Jupiter had dubbed Monsieur Monday, a stroll in the park with Sir Wednesday of the Midweek, or a night at the theater with the Honorable Lord Thursday.

Life at the Deucalion brought fresh curiosities daily—like the time Kedgeree summoned the Paranormal Services men to remove a pesky ghost that had been walking through walls on the fifth floor. Kedgeree said he didn't mind ghosts, on the whole, as long as they didn't have any annoying habits. But this one kept coming back, he said—they were already on their third visit from Paranormal Services—and while he'd never seen the specter himself, the stories and rumors had so frightened some guests that he'd had to move them to another floor. Although, Morrigan was allowed to watch the exorcism, she knew it wouldn't be that impressive so she kindly refused.

Of course, the same disappointing thing in summer has happened again just like her first life, was that Morrigan was seeing less and less of Jupiter. He was always being called away on business for the League of Explorers or dashing off to endless meetings, dinners, and parties.

"Bad news, Mog." Jupiter slid down the curved marble banister one Thursday afternoon and landed in the foyer, where Morrigan and Martha were folding napkins into swans. Martha's swans looked perfect, like they could fly off in formation at any moment. Morrigan quickly caught up to her as her swans looked even more beautiful than Martha's, which Martha was proud since she taught Morrigan. 

"Can't take you and Hawthorne to the bazaar tomorrow night. Something's come up."

"...Again?" Morrigan sighed, she knew this would happened but she couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Jupiter ran a hand through his bright copper hair, hastily tucked his shirt into his trousers, and snapped his suspenders in place. "'Fraid so, old girl. The Nevermoor Transportation Authority has sent...." Jupiter trailed off.

Morrigan sighed again as she placed the swan she folded down on the floor, having a clear gloomy face on. The NTA had been sending messengers to fetch Jupiter from the Deucalion all summer long. They usually only needed his help with "echoes on the Gossamer Line" but three weeks ago there'd been another derailment, and this time two people had been killed. It was front-page news for a week, and the Deucalion had gone wild with rumors about who was responsible and what it might mean. Some of the staff got into such a state of panic that Jupiter had to ban anyone from uttering the word Wundersmith.