Lucy's heart was in her throat and she pushed past the crowds and dove into the nearest available tent.
Her skin prickled; anxiety, guilt, and shame welling up in her all at once as she forced herself to peek out from the corner of the entrance flap to the tent, her breath held as she prayed she would not be spotted.
Thus, she watched as the Baron's face fell, his hand lowering to his side in defeat as he searched for her in vain for a moment more before trotting off miserably to no doubt look for her elsewhere.
Feeling her lip begin to tremble, Lucy felt the beginnings of tears prick the corner of her eyes. Heavens, she was truly awful, wasn't she? Not only had she played some part in the Baron's death but she had abandoned him in that moment as well.
It was too much to bear, and a small sob escaped her throat-- quickly becoming stifled as she turned around to find herself face to face with two figures sitting at a table, tea cups poised in hand, their expressions concerned as they gazed at her. They, much like the minotaur at the front gate, had several human qualities about them to not be entirely animal-like.
One appeared to be a large grey cat, dressed rather impeccably in a waistcoat and top hat that perched in between his pointed ears, his amber eyes entirely unamused at her presence. The other, a goat that stood perhaps five feet tall upon its hind legs, its body draped in bright robes that trailed along the ground, and with a small fiddle clutched in its hands that possessed only two large fingers like a cloven hoof might.
"I..." she started, "I'm sorry, I never meant to disturb you, I was just--"
"She looks as though she's seen a ghost!" the goat remarked in a voice as light as the notes of a bell, clapping a hoof over her mouth when the cat gave her a rather nasty look. "That is-- it's not uncommon to see ghosts here, what with this being a carnival for the dead and all..."
The goat's words trailed off then and a rather awkward silence followed, one in which Lucy's thoughts were drawn back to the Baron and the betrayed look on his face as she had run.
She was here for him! Not for her own enjoyment of magic. And yet here she was doing quite the opposite, guilt washing over her till she could hardly stand it. "I'm sorry, I never meant to barge in in such a way. Someone was looking for me. my lover-- the Baron-- he was trying to find me and I ran away."
Both creatures seemed to grimace then, and the cat shook his head in disapproval. "Dreadful indeed."
She was beginning to sob in a rather ugly manner now and though it was by far the most humiliating moment of her life, she couldn't bring herself to stop.
From the corner of her watering eyes she saw the goat trot over to her, as distressed a look as such a creature could possibly have upon her face, a silk handkerchief clutched in her front hooves.
"There, there, sweetheart. No need to fret-- you shall find your lover again. It's not as though he can leave anyhow, being dead and all that."
"Mabel!" the cat shouted from across the room when Lucy began to cry harder.
The goat fretted further then. "Oh dear! Now I've gone and made it all worse, haven't I? Still, I'm certain he or she shan't be upset with you dear, whoever they may be. Why, surely they must have wanted you here so very terribly. It's why you received an invitation to begin with."
Lucy opened her mouth to reply, finding that no words could escape her lips.
The Baron wanted her here? It's not as though they had known one another, much less would they have been considered lovers in any sense of the word. Had he truly put such faith in her that she would come for him?
The goat, Mabel, continued on then. "Now, you should find your lover and go have a wondrous time. The night is still young and you shall have plenty of time to spend with one another--"
"I don't want that!" Lucy cried, "I don't want any of that, that's not why I'm here!"
"Then why are you here?" the cat growled.
"I..." Lucy swallowed down the lump in her throat as the two looked at her expectantly, "I have to bring the Baron back to life."
............................................
A/N; I spent way too much time deciding if Mabel should have regular hooves in the front or like actual human looking hands. Finally, I settled for something in the middle and I can't tell if its better or worse lol
YOU ARE READING
The Mortal And The Wicked-- ONC 2023
FantasyONC 2023 Shortlister His features had haunted her for years; a boy with silver eyes peering out from beneath a mask of bone. His body cloaked in darkness, a wicked grin upon his lips that spoke of treachery-- a smile that had broken countless hearts...
