The pact

Chapter 4

This could work out... Milady pulls out two plates for breakfast and pours the contents of another tin on them. Meatballs, this time. If Lucy works for her, then being part of the ritual will simply be a job. Then she can explain it to Lucy, too. It will be easier than she thought. So she'll only need to keep her busy for the next month, and once they're getting closer, she'll simply come up with a job to do for Gullvi, and they'll cross the worlds. This worked out better than she thought. Now it's only the rest of the preparations to do, but they will be easy, now when they have the price.

"Is it morning yet...?"

Lucy stirs on the mattress and sits up, her hair askew. She'll need to find tasks for her, make sure she's not a complete idiot. Milady's expectations have lowered the more she gets to know her, but with clear instructions, it might still work.

"Yes, are you hungry?"

Lucy stumbles to the kitchen. She has a t-shirt with a pastel horse on it and the text "Life is better in pink" above it and a heart circling it.

"Here, I made us some breakfast."

Lucy takes the plate and sits down on the sofa.

"So, when did you run away?, Milady asks."

"Yesterday.."

"And someone will be looking for you?"

"Looking for me?"

"Yes, looking for you. Will someone report you missing?"

"Oh... Yeah, I think so.."

"Then we need to make something with your looks."

"My looks?"

"Yes, your looks. People will recognise you if you look like that."

"Oh..."

"I have some hair dye we can use, and I'll lend you some of my clothes."

Milady takes her plate of meatballs and sits down on the sofa. She'll need to talk to Gullvi soon, it's time to give an update. She'll be happy to know that the price is handled. Now she just needs to survive this month with Lucy. She puts the empty plate to the side.

"I'll cut your hair, come."

She pulls out a chair and Lucy hesitantly gets up and sits down.

"Will you cut a lot...?"

"As much as is needed."

It takes the whole morning, but when she's done, she would be hard-pressed to have recognised Lucy on the street. Green, spiky hair, a black t-shirt with a faded print and a pair of worn jeans. Quite a good work, if she might say so herself.

"Now it's just the name."

"Name?"

"Yes, you can't be Lucy here."

"I can't?"

Milady sighs.

"No, because then people might recognise you"

"Oh... Does everyone have a different name on the street? You too?"

"Yes."

"Oh... What are you called?"

"You can call me Milady."

Lucy goes quiet.

"I could be Mary.. Or.. Annabelle? I like that name, it was a movie once that.."

"You can't be Annabelle."

"No?"

Milady sighs. It's just a month. Just a month.

"No. "

"Why? I like that name."

"Let's just say it won't work here."

"No?"

"No."

Fucking Annabelle Tinkerbell.. She might as well have a neon sign above her head saying "Please scam me".

"What do you suggest then?"

"Something like a Razor, or Shank."

"What is shank?"

Milady sighs.

"Just think about it, okay?"

"Okay..."

Milady cleans up the dye and the clothes and then says,

"I'll be in the other room, I need to prepare tasks for you for today. Just stay here."

"Okay."

Milady closes the door behind her. It's her adapt room, where she keeps most of her books, the cauldron, and spells. Lucy hasn't seen it yet, and she plans to keep it that way. There is no need for her to know what she's doing. She picks up the tarot. What will they be able to tell her now when they have the price?

The cards are as vague as the last spread, but at least she can read hope in there. Well, that's a good sign. It means they are on the right path. Maybe Gullvi will have some more information after this week. In the end, the books and her intuition have led her right so far on her path.

She gathers the cards. The ritual. She wonders... No, never mind. It might not be as bad as she thinks, and the cards only spoke about hope. It wasn't as if the Tower came into the spread. And in any case, she's doing Lucy a favour. Being with her here for a month will be better than anything Rat would have done to her. At least she has a roof over her head here, and food on the table. And she's stupid enough to get herself into another problem. Better, then, that she stays with her.

She puts the cards aside, gets up and takes out a herb bag from a drawer. Lucy can deliver this to the other side of the city. Can't be too difficult for her. She puts the herbs in a bag and goes back to the living room. Lucy is sitting on the sofa, watching the room in anticipation.

"I have the first task for you."

"Really?"

She leaps off the sofa.

"Get this to the other side of town, the address is written on it."

Lucy skips over to her and clutches the small bag to her chest.

"I won't disappoint you, I swear."

"Fine. And what name will you go by?"

"Name..? Oh, I think I'll be Anabee."

Milady sighs.

"Fine. Now go."