Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Twenty-Five: Relapse

WARNING: REFERENCES TO CHILD ABUSE AND AN EARLIER PANIC ATTACK! SELF HARM!

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Lucy sat on the couch, staring down at the coffee table, seemingly absentmindedly. She was unable to sleep, but that wasn't much of a surprise to her. She thought back to when she, Freed, and Midnight had returned to their quarters:

Lucy opened the door and made her way over to the bedroom that contained Rufus. As she passed by the coffee table, she glanced at the spot where she had left a note to her friend, letting him know where they had gone. When she saw that it was gone, she guessed that Rufus had seen it. She knocked on the bedroom door, waiting for him to answer. She heard a muffled "come in" and turned around, motioning to Freed and Midnight that she was going to be right back.

She slowly opened the door and peered inside, finding that Rufus was dressed in his sleeping clothes and sitting on his bed. He was leaning forward, his hands covering his face. When Lucy entered the room and softly closed the door, he straightened his posture and looked up at her.

Lucy walked toward him slowly, not wanting to accidentally startle him. When she came to a stop beside him, she asked, "are you alright?"

Rufus sighed, "yes, I am now. I apologize for my behavior."

Lucy shook her head, insisting, "no, no, you have nothing to apologize for. It's understandable that you wanted to be alone for a bit. That game was intense and scary for all of us, especially you."

Rufus patted the spot beside him and Lucy accepted the offer, sitting right next to him. She reached into her pocket and asked, "do you remember that conversation we had about rock, paper, scissors having a strategy?"

"I do."

Lucy held up her newest key. She smiled as she informed him, "I played it against some den owner named Bou and got this."

Rufus took the key into his hands and looked it over before he asked, "you used one of the strategies to win?"

"Well, I used both. I didn't win though. The game ended in a tie."

Rufus handed the key back to her, asking, "what was the tiebreaker?"

Lucy turned the silver key around in her hands as she answered, "I rolled a die and he had to guess what color the pips were." She gave him a smile as she added, "I guess you helped me. I don't think I would have done so well if you hadn't told me about that rock, paper, scissors study."

Rufus chuckled, "yes, I suppose I did."

Several moments of silence followed. Lucy rubbed the key in her hands with her bandaged fingers. She sighed and stood up, turning around to offer her hand as she asked, "want to see me summon my new spirit?"

She watched as Rufus stared at her hand for a few seconds before he took her hand and let her lead him out of the bedroom. Lucy walked to the front of the main room and raised her new key, but stopped before she spoke.

"Is something wrong?" Freed asked from where he sat.

Lucy nodded, answering, "I need to summon Loke first."

She requiped Loke's key into her hand and announced, "Open! Gate of the Lion: Loke!"

In an instant, Loke stood in front of her. He took hold of her hand and kissed the back of it, greeting her, "your knight in shining armor is here, Princess."