Providence

This wintery summer was providence from God. Well, to some people it was. Lavinia and John Fisher were not amongst those people. They didn't believe in God. Or if they did, they hated him. Lavinia cursed as another breeze blew in part of the kitchen wall.

"On it," John said quickly, hopping up from the dim fireplace to fetch more timber. He used some of it to patch the hole in the wall, not concerned worried about using too much because they actually had a nice supply from a nearby forest.

"Thanks, darling," Lavinia answered, scowl lessening. As with all people, no matter how evil, Lavinia had a loved one. Her loved one was John, her husband. And that love was true and mutual, no matter what anyone else said. Just because she killed did not mean she couldn't love. Lavinia watched him affectionately until she heard the door blow open. She turned away from John and sidled to the counter.

When she got there, a charming man in his late 20s was waiting. He had a smooth grin on his face and a withering rose in his hand.

"Oh, my pretty darling," he cooed. She smiled back, flirting and winking. "Sit beside my drink and me?"

"No thanks," she tipped her head tauntingly, affecting a tinkling laugh when he pretended to be hurt. She knew it was Unwed Henry, a literal lady-killer. Lavinia's friendship with him seemed to make no sense and yet it was still quite a real and powerful thing. The pair enjoyed teasing and flirting with each other whenever possible. Rumors even circulated that Lavinia might be having an affair with the charming murderer, but this was not true. As sexual as Lavinia was, she had only ever slept with her husband and all of them knew it. But again, Lavinia was not above flirting.

"What will you have?" she purred, accent bleeding in even while she used a low and seductive tone.

"Whatever is hot and strong," Henry teased back with a grin, leaning in close to her face.

"As you wish," her breath ghosted across his face as she made to get him his signature black triple.

Henry had finished his fifth drink and third conversation with Lavinia when Lavinia drew away from him suddenly.

"What is it?" he asked, genuinely surprised by her sudden change in behavior.

"I forgot to feed Rosalie!" she cried. She was referring to the crazy girl she kept locked up in the kitchen. Rosalie was actually another Marked but given her less than stellar mental state, she had to be treated like a dog. She was kept chained in the kitchen by day but, when night came and the Marked were free to come out of hiding, she was let loose to roam the rest of the dining hall. So because Rosalie spent all day chained up in the kitchen, she needed someone to tend to her until she was freed at night. Lavinia had totally forgotten to feed the poor, crazy girl.

"I'll do it, Lavinia," a new voice called out to the woman. Lavinia turned to see Mary walking over. Lavinia's scowl faded into a smile, a real one. Lavinia did honestly like Mary. Perhaps it was because Mary was the only other sane woman in the Marked family. Rosalie was a girl, of course, but she was insane. After killing her lover in a game that may or may not have been intentionally dangerous, she was thrown into an asylum. It actually wasn't her first time in that mental institution, but that was besides the point. After getting locked away again for murderer, it seemed like Rosalie would never leave again, but somehow, she had escaped. Where did she go after escaping the asylum a second time? Well, she came to the Six Mile Inn! Out of nowhere, she sprinted through the doors and into the kitchen like she had been called there by providence and honestly, given the fact that she was also a Marked, it may as well have been. All anyone knew was that Rosalie had come to them after escaping the asylum and she had never left since.

"Thank you, Mary," Lavinia told the younger girl. Mary nodded before scampering back into the kitchen. Once she reached a set of stairs at the back of the kitchen, she called out to Rosalie and the girl in question came clambering out from underneath.

"Sweet Rosalie!" Mary cooed, putting a bowl of food in front of the madwoman. Rosalie stretched and fiddled with her chains, looking up at Mary with a stupid but friendly smile. Rosalie was strange and she knew it. She knew she was different, or as the world said, insane. But despite this, she was not incapable of basic thought and emotion. Because of that, as crazy and stupid as she was, when she smiled up at Mary, she did mean it. She did like Mary. She liked all of the Marked. She thought they were funny and they sang good songs. They made her feel content and they didn't seem to mind when she went a little crazy.

Mary smiled back at Rosalie and Rosalie laughed a little. Mary was one of her favorites. She was so nice and she was a cutie. But when the smell of food reached Rosalie's nose, she immediately shoved her face into the bowl like a dog and began to scarf down the offering. Mary watched fondly, no longer disturbed by the mad murderess' antics. If anything, Mary saw Rosalie as a second pet.

"We'll let you out later," the young girl told the elder once the elder finished her meal. Rosalie nodded knowingly. She understood she wasn't allowed out during the day, even if she didn't know why. She didn't mind though, because she was allowed out during night and that was when all the fun happened anyway. She waved to Mary before crawling back under the stairs to sleep. Meanwhile, Mary returned to the dining area.

When she sat back down, taking a seat beside Edward who had since joined the Six Mile Inn, Henry leaned over with a sly grin but a bulldog's snarl and Lavinia's disapproving look forced him back. Once again, even Lavinia was not without some common sense and she knew enough to know where to draw the line. Henry forcing himself upon a 12 year old was part of that line. She crossed her arms until he looked defeated. Then Lavinia turned away. Mary's dog was not as quick to forgive, though, and Lavinia could hear him growling even after Henry had stopped his pursuit of Mary. Edward laughed at the whole proceeding but reached down to pet the dog who growled up at him but did not bite. On Mary's orders, that dog would only bite if she was directly attacked.

Later that night, just as promised, Rosalie was freed from her chains and she joined the others in the dining area. She, as always, began to play with Mary's dog, both of them running around on all fours between the tables and chairs. Henry had been interested in Rosalie too, but had turned his sights elsewhere soon after realizing that Rosalie was not mentally fit enough to give him what he wanted. Or so he thought. Rosalie had felt no attraction towards Henry so, to get him to go away, she simply pretended to be a dog for a few hours. Henry had not approached her since. Edward watched her run around on all fours and laughed and pointed but it wasn't out of malice because everyone there was used to Rosalie's mental ailments. Instead, Edward was laughing just because Rosalie looked so silly sometimes, an adult woman running around like a dog!

Lavinia sauntered over with drinks not long after Rosalie was set free and, in the background, Storm and Tender had started playing the inn's old piano. Already, they were singing to Mother Colombia and drinking until they were knocked out. The others watched in amusement. How mature and graceful they were.

AN: This combines the first two EPs. I'm going to write one fic per EP with each new fic adding on to the previous ones. Also, Lavinia actually did have a husband named John and I've included him in this series despite his absence from AMS canon. I know Henry kind of fills that role of John, but I just felt it was more accurate to keep the real John alive and besides, Henry is a literal lady-killer. I don't think Lavinia would be dumb enough to fall for his charms. Perhaps they would flirt for fun, but I don't like the Lavinia x Henry paring so I threw Lavinia's real husband back into the mix.