Archives Falls

LBW: Part Nine

Fiddleford paced back and forth, unable to think straight. His mind was boggled with thousands of equations all at once, causing him to lose it once again.

Then again, who was able to think straight all the time? Who in this town wasn't doomed with some terrible ending, unlike everyone else? Who was able to stay sane under the constant pressure of the society constantly pounding on them, no matter how hard the pleaded and cried, it wouldn't end, and they were determined to find him and make them pay?

Fiddleford sure wasn't able to. There were few things that kept him sane, and ever since Candy had forced him to cut back on his hours, he felt himself losing it again. It was in some ways unbearable.

He didn't want to appear desperate. He didn't want to make the girl more worried than she already was. He knew of the struggle she went through daily, and doing this to her would be one of the hardest things to do. He had already given her such a load, he didn't want to stress her even more.

Fiddleford lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling to keeping himself from screaming out loud and causing more disruption. He couldn't control himself a few days ago, and now he was sure his great nieces thought he was insane, if they didn't already think he was distant. This only made it worse.

His great nieces. That was what was causing the problem. Well, not them specifically. In fact, he didn't think either of them were bad people. In fact, he thought they were both very intelligent in their own ways. It had more to do with the person one was hanging around.

Robbie Radiance. The boy he had built the shield around his powers so many years ago to protect himself, and now, the one was bringing the boy into his own house and letting him see everything. With his powers, who knew how much knowledge he could consume? With the help of that amulet, how terrible could it be?

To be fair, she probably had no idea what Robbie was actually there for. He was sure he had passed the shield onto the girls, but if she kept hanging around him, who knew how long it could last? Fiddleford didn't. All he knew was that with the more time she spent, the more danger she put her and everyone else in daily.

Fiddleford closed his eyes and took deep breaths. He had to calm down or he would lose it. He couldn't lose it, not again.

He turned on the little television he had downstairs. All that seemed to be on were infomercials, romantic soap operas, and some little kids show he didn't recognize. Either way, no matter what he watched, it was one of the few things that really kept him sane, despite what might have been going on around him. It was a distraction from everything else, and it did work, temporarily, before he had to go back.

Fiddleford walked up and out of the basement, sure he looked more than just tired. He could feel his eye bags underneath his spectacles and didn't need a mirror to know how wild his hair looked. The slight stare he had gotten from Gideon as he entered was also a bit of a clue in to him that he looked less than presentable.

Even though Gideon might have glanced for a minute, it was quiet. Besides the sound of someone flipping through a paper or the squeaky sound glass made as Candy was cleaning it, no one spoke. It hadn't been this quiet since Wendy and Pacifica had arrived. Even then, often times it was a bit louder.

"Tourists?" Fiddleford asked aloud, fixing his spectacles.

"Three groups, Mister Pines," Gideon answered, not looking up at him. The article he appeared to be reading was on hair, which struck Fiddleford as odd. Gideon had always worn a hat since the day he was hired. Why would he be so concerned about hair?

Three? That was a low number. There was usually at least five groups through a day, what caused business to be so slow today? Fridays were always a big day, with people stopping through as they got a bite to eat as they headed up to their cottages and cabins for the weekend. Slow business was peculiar.