House of Anubis: Triad of Memphis

House of Lotuses/House of Consequences

During the hour of sunset, Jared, Jonah, Sarah, and Lucille met again in the foyer, William having other things to handle. The house was still locked, and they wouldn't be able to head outside, but they hoped they wouldn't have to be outdoors for Lucille's tears to work.

They moved into the living room while no one else was there and Sarah held out the metal flower which she had removed from the staff temporarily.

"Okay cry," she nodded. "Jared, Jonah, make sure no one is coming."

Lucille's tears flowed down with an ambient blue tint to them, and as they reached the flower it began to glow itself and then bloom. Or as far as it could've, the petals spread out in such a manner as to imitate it.

Lucille and Jared planned to head back down into the cellar since it wasn't necessary for them all to go. The rest of the staff was still constructed and hidden for them to find, so they parted ways Jonah and Sarah as they headed down. They reconnected the flower with its staff and wasted no time to enter back into the tunnels, returning to Nefertem's task room.

The two of them arrived back to the room where the vines and lotuses draped the walls and floor. They both held onto the staff and took the authority to place the staff into the stump in the center of the room. This caused not only another passageway to slide open, but the vines suddenly vibrated with life and this eventually spread to the lotuses. The lotuses bloomed around every inch of the room, emitting their own soft glow in the room and for a moment, making everything seem so surreal.

Lucille let out a breath of disbelief as she gazed around in awe. She turned back towards Jared who suddenly grabbed her head gently and pulled her in for a kiss. A passionate one which neither of them wanted to end.

"I-" Lucille was lost for words.

"I couldn't wait any longer."

They stared at eachother for a moment, Jared's hands still up to Lucille's cheeks.

Jared cleared his throat and pulled himself away. He grabbed Lucille's hands and told her that they should continue and jot down the riddle for the next and last staff.

They approached the next room and Lucille quickly took down the next riddle.

Find the creator,
Giver of life,
Free him with the sceptre of Dominion.
And He, the Noble Djed,
The giver of wine and bread-

Lucille and Jared both glanced at eachother when the riddle suddenly stopped, but two phrases suddenly appeared with an ambient glow on the walls.

Lucille read the first one. "'-will grant you redemption." Then she read the other option. "-will flood this world in crimson."

Lucille took a slight step back.

"Maybe it could mean fruit punch," Jared suggested faintly.

"Jared, this decides our fate," Lucille declared. "It's obviously telling us we're either getting the good Ptah or the bad Ptah out of this, and we don't know how to ensure that it'll be the good one!"

"It's 50/50," Jared shrugged. "Like a coin toss...where the consequences are weighted pretty heavily...Wait, what if it's like your parents said that time...it depends on who awakens him? I mean, we're the good guys, so-"

"-it's too much of a risk."

"Well it's the only choice we have," Jared chuckled slightly. "What are we going to do-forget it all? And then what? Just wait for the society to come kidnap you so they can awaken the gods for themselves? And then what? Watch as the world perishes under the wrath of the gods? Surely if we don't drown in all that blood, we'll be living with it on our hands."

Lucille took a deep breath.

~~~~~
Sarah was about to head up to her room, but Jonah stumbled after her, stopping her in the center of the foyer.

"I-I've been meaning to talk you about the whole date thing..."

"Oh no, you're rethinking it, aren't you? Of course, how could any guy be so interested in m-"

"-n-no that's not it at all. No, Sarah, I really like you," Jonah reassured, setting a hand on her arm. "I was just wondering when...and where...and how..."

"Well...how about we do something this weekend? In the attic? Just the two of us and we don't let anything get in the way."

Jonah nodded with a smile.

~~~~~
A few days had passed which in the meantime, Lucille and Jared updated the others on what went down in the cellar, the lockdown over he campus has been relieved, and only a few portions of the final staff were dispersed between the two bags still there at the house.

It was Friday morning when Niamh grabbed Jared and pulled him away from the dining table and out into the foyer.

"Lockdown is down!" she exclaimed within a whisper.

Jared nodded and shrugged.

"The group home, remember? We can head there after school."

"Oh right! Yeah, of course."

"You haven't forgotten about me, have you?"

"I could never." Jared hesitated for a moment, deciding whether or whether not to inform her on all that Rusk had himself into now. He didn't want to worry her more than he had to. "I could never," he repeated.

"Niamh," Mr. Rainier called from the top of the stairs. He descended them and eye Jared so that he would leave them alone. "Niamh," he muttered to her, "be careful. Just watch all your surroundings, alright? If you see a random man, don't trust him."

"I don't know, I've always been so trusting of random men I don't know," she remarked sarcastically. She shrugged her eyebrows and headed off to grab her bag for school.

~~~~~
And so the kiss finally happens.

At least we didn't have to wait until the end.

Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed the chapter! And for now, here are the discussion questions:

Do you agree with Jared that it's too late to walk away from the mystery?

Do you think Rusk will show up for the Chosen One at the school, or the house, or elsewhere?

Do you think Sibuna will get the bag back or must the staff be pieced together by...other means?

Okay, well those are the discussion questions for now! Again, I hope you enjoyed and as always, until next time, Aristocrats!