The Hourglass

Chapter XII.

The cool night breeze blew tonight. Caught by it, Aurelio's brunette hair looked wilder than ever.

Aurelio: Please, Jasmin. Help me to find my father and brother or avenge them before it's too late.

Jasmin: What do you need me to do?

Aurelio: Did you find whatever the enchanted object which was used to keep me from Ludovic Mansion? Please tell me you've destroyed it.

Jasmin: I think I have it with me here. I knew at some point that I would find a time to give it to you and I know that right now would be the best time. I'm sure that this belongs to you.

I handed the puppet to Aurelio that Caspian had previously given me right by the stairway as I descended weeks ago, Aurelio took the puppet from me and his eyes beamed with slight hope.

Aurelio: A reminder of a more innocent times. It would've been better if you'd destroyed it, Jasmin. I'm sure that this puppet had given me the most emotional support I'll ever have in my life time.

Jasmin: I thought you would want to keep it?

Without warning, Aurelio snapped the toy into two with his powerful hands and casted the broken pieces onto the floor.

Aurelio: No, my innocence is lost and it's never coming back. The enchantment which prevented me from entering Ludovic mansion should be gone now.

Jasmin: But Aurelio- what's your plan once you're inside Ludovic mansion?

Aurelio: The term 'plan' may be pushing it for what I have in my mind. I have vague recollections of having been in Ludovic mansion before as a child. But it's as though those memories were locked away by somebody.

Jasmin: It was probably done by magic. There seems to be a lot of memory altering magic around.

Aurelio: Oh? Who else was it used on?

Jasmin: Both Lady Evalyn and the gardener, Kurtis. A spell was used to make them forget entering the mansion's cellar or even that such a room exist at all.

Aurelio: Interesting. I may have to add this cellar to my tour of the mansion.

Jasmin: What? You plan on walking around Ludovic Mansion, hoping that something triggers a memory about your family?

Aurelio: Pretty much that would be the case. The mansion is so busy tonight that one more 'guest' shouldn't make much of a difference.

Jasmin: You're right, that's not much of a plan. What do you need me for?

Aurelio: If I described some rooms to you from these fractured memories of mine, could you take me to them or at least direct me there?

Jasmin: I'll try to.

I headed up to the garden path with Aurelio beside me, by the time we reached the path, there were many partygoers who wore fancy suits, ball gowns of all types and venetian masks that were headed inside the Ludovic Mansion.

Aurelio: There is something I should warn you of. I've arranged a form of distraction, to keep both Augustus and his lackeys occupied.

Jasmin: What did you do?

Aurelio: I sent the head of the road gangs a gift; the bloated corpse of a maid who previously worked for the Ludovics along with evidence which implicates Augustus Ludovic as being responsible for her death.

Jasmin: Since when did you work with the road gangs? Why didn't you use your own men as a distraction?

Aurelio: My colleagues can be overzealous. The hope is that the road gangs may be more discreet. I want to avoid a bloodbath tonight.