The Arcana: Imagination

Part Thirteen

     Lucio's POV~

"Prue!" I call, just as she places her hands on the door to lead from the main entry room to the dining room. She pauses, then looks over her shoulder at me, flashing a smile I haven't seen in years.

My heart is palpitating. This girl is going to be the death of me.

"What you pulled, was dirty. If you wanna play it that way, I can play it that way." Her eyes widen for a second, her smile fading. I smirk in triumph and push open the door from behind her- she's back to being all shy and innocent-looking.

This will be a great next six days- or maybe a great rest of our lives.

"Ah, there you are, my darling Prue! ... Lucio." She sneers at me, rolling her eyes, and I sweep my cape behind me as I walk to my seat at the head of the table. "How was winding down?" Nadia asks as the first course is served- Prue swallows hard, and I stifle a grin, but Nadia pays no mind to either thing.

"I... I have a memory of you, Milady." Nadia drops her spoon in her egg flower soup, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Oh? Pray tell, fair maiden." She winks at Prue, and I feel anger rising in my stomach. I swallow it- I want to hear the memory.

"W-well... uhm, I was wandering the vast expanse of the palace, and I ended up high up, floor wise. It was dark, cold, and terrifying. I was shivering, and then I heard growling. I froze, and it stopped, and then I heard it again."

I find that both Nadia and myself are leaning forward, hanging on every word.

"And then?" Nadia urges.

"What was next?" I eagerly ask, enthralled with her very being. Her eyes flicker from her soup, to me, to Nadia, then back to her soup.

"A-and then, I thought I saw four, huge white paws with glistening, sharp black claws. I was convinced I had heard them click on the tile. Then, you showed up behind me, Countess. You placed your hand on my shoulder. I jumped, turned, and cried into your beautiful clothes. You consoled me, and I admitted my fright. You assured my safety and promised I would never be hurt here, and we went to head down to dinner. I looked back over my shoulder, and the paws had disappeared- I remember questioning whether I really saw them or not."

Mercedes and Melchior. My prized pets. They're beautiful animals that have come to adore her almost as much as they adore me.

Almost.

"Ah, I remember. We talked over that after dinner on a night stroll through the gardens, and we rationalized that your mind was playing tricks on you, in Lucio's wing."

     ~Prue's POV~

"Th-that's... that's your wing?" I ask Lucio with wide eyes. He smirks and puffs his chest just a little.

"Why yes, yes it is. And those paws you saw? Those were-" just then, two gorgeous but very intimidating, huge white dogs come prancing in through one of the doors. A servant steps in from the kitchen.

"Come, Mercedes! Come, Melchior! Dinner time!" He says, setting two pure gold bowls on the floor by the door to the kitchen. They completely ignore him and head straight for me.

"A-Ah, Ah-" I begin to panic as the dogs flank either side of me, trapping me in my seat (unless I decide to launch myself over the table and into Nadi, which I'd rather die than do), and begin to sniff my body. The one with black-tipped ears puts his GIGANTIC paws up on my leg and stands, sniffing my face, poking his wet nose right into my cheek.

They both stop where they are and stare at me for a second, and then just assault me with all of the dog-kisses.

"Ah- Hey, you two! Okay, okay!" I say through laughter while dodging kisses and licks to the eyes and mouth. They both try to jump on me at the same time, effectively crashing into me and making me fall backwards. The chair shatters, splinters going everywhere, but I seem to be fine.