The Peculiar Alchemist

65 || A Terrifying Illusionist

There's nothing Lucille loved more than excitement, and exciting things seemed to love her back. They always seemed to happen when she least expects it, and this time it was when she was browsing the paintings in one of the galleries she loved to frequent.

The green stone hung from her neck, glinting whenever the light hit it at a certain angle, and those who knew about it couldn't take their eyes off of her as she studied every detail in each painting, unperturbed by all the stares, and more perturbed by how awful the displayed artworks were. Something was always wrong with them, and she sighed moving her gaze away to look for an art piece she'd actually like.

But someone had interrupted her.

"I almost mistook you for a masterpiece." Disinterestedly, Lucille's gaze went to the person who was talking to him. Flattery never really worked on her, but she still gave one of her charming smiles to the woman speaking to her. She was a bit young and probably one of the artists, but that didn't matter much.

"How sweet of you. Can I help you with anything?" Lucille asked eager to return to her paintings, but the woman abruptly linked their arms together in a somewhat rude manner. She was all smiles and giggles acting as if they were old friends.

It was unexpected, but it didn't surprise Lucille all that much. "Better not make a scene here, trust me. I know who you are."

"Oh?" The woman was too busy guiding Lucille somewhere that she didn't really take notice of the smile on her face, nor the teasing tone she was using as she let herself be taken someplace else "Did one of your dead friends tell you who I was?"

It was these words that made the woman turn her head towards Lucille, and she was taken aback at the nonchalance her supposed captive was displaying. Even as she spoke, she couldn't hide her unease because of that. "You're surrounded, we're everywhere. Don't try anything."

That made Lucille laugh as the woman tugged her a little bit too roughly towards where she wanted her to go. There was not a single sign of resistance she showed through the whole thing, only delight.

"I was having such a dull day, I am so glad you came to me. The paintings weren't the best I have seen." She told her conversationally and even sounded truly relieved at being taken away like this. The woman, who was dragging her forcefully, was the one who looked tense but she still didn't reply with anything. "Really, you're starting to become dull yourself. Is Briar here?"

Quickly, the woman turned to shush her after hearing that name. "You better keep quiet if you don't want us to hurt you."

"That's a bit of an overreaction, I have been very quiet." Lucille said as she looked around her distractedly. They were slowly heading somewhere secluded. "Is your painting on display?"

The woman didn't answer her immediately, but it gave Lucille a chance to scope her surroundings. She saw two other men approaching them from both sides of the hallway, and she knew that they were Briar's people, too. It was smart how Briar made sure she had people everywhere, they could blend in anywhere seamlessly.

The woman dragging her by the arm was actually an artist. "Yes, my painting is on display."

It was all she said before she shoved Lucille into one of the rooms, and the moment she walked in she was surprised to feel something cold against her neck. "That's her alright." A man said as he examined the stone on her neck using a very long sharp object in his hand, and when Lucille looked behind him she saw one other man and an impressive collection of knives all laid out on one of the tables. "Welcome, Mrs. Abbott."

Despite the situation she found herself in, Lucille bowed her head and politely smiled at him. "Thank you. What an interesting place I have been brought to."