Churning shadows

As Lumière was about to adjourn from the Fencer's Association building, the Master, Dreselle Artois, called out to him. Lumière turned to face the man who held a gaunt, serious expression, and gave him a puzzled look.

"Will you participate in the tournament in eight months time?" Master Artois asked of him.

"Eight months is too far a future to say yes. No man has say over whether they get another tomorrow, let alone eight months."

A smile curled up Master Artois's lips.

"So you really have changed for the better." Master Artois chuckled lightly. "Still, I expect you there. I know you won't disappoint me."

It felt almost as if they were saying a final goodbye. The tense mood that had always been between them had dissipated, and Lumière felt as if he was no longer looking at him like a man that he feared, but one that he had always admired. To Lumière, who couldn't remember his father's face, the grizzly, antiquate Master was someone who had always showed him the way.

"Will I see you there too, Esteemed Master?"

Master Artois's gaze fell towards the blood-red sun that hung in the sky, a smile still apparent on his face.

"I'll be there by any means." Without looking at Lumière, he bid his goodbyes. "Now go. I'm sure you have a much more exciting life to get on with."

"Don't discount yourself, Master." Lumière winked, before turning his back to the old man. His hands trembled slightly, and he bit at his lip as he tried to keep the tears collecting at the edge of his eyelids from spilling out.

'What aren't you telling me? Why are you speaking like this suddenly?'

Lumière knew it well. Many people only spoke from their hearts when they felt like they had little time left to do so. Many parts of him ached to turn back, but he didn't. He kept walking down the main street of the middle borough, the old man fading away in the background. When he felt like the magician had all but left him behind, Old Master Artois turned towards the shadows beside him in the street, his smile fading away and his gaunt, dull expression returning.

"Will that be enough to sate your curiosity, Lord Calister?"

A man with a polished visage stepped out of the shadows. He had copper-coloured hair and bright emerald eyes, with an ornate outfit of white and green. He turned to look where Lumière had long-since faded away, and a gentle, plotting smile curled up on his face.

"He fights too brazenly. He'll be fun to mess around with." Orion Calister laughed aloud. "Did you truly teach him, 'o Great Master of weapons?"

Old Master Artois seemed obviously annoyed by the Lord's slight, but still he replied genially.

"Will you talk with that demon as you promised?"

"You want your soul back? Is that it? Are you not scared to die, but afraid of what comes after?" Orion chided.

"I wish to rest with my wife and child in the Lady of Thorn's gentle embrace. Is that too much of a pipe dream for a worshipper of demons to comprehend?"

"You're a fool to think that Deities look gently upon on this world." Orion murmured, before turning away from the man. "If you want to speak with Euler, however, you should speak with him yourself."

Old Master Artois suddenly reached toward his face, compelled for some unknowing reason to brush his fingers against his cheeks. There was a warm, wet sensation, and when he pulled his hand away to glance at his fingers, they had been stained in bright crimson. Quickly, blood begun to flow down his cheeks like red-stained tears. To his horror, his hand then contorted wildly, as if the flesh that clung to bone began to morph like clay. It melted away, dripping down towards the ground, then reformed itself into wild, incomprehensible shapes. His bones began to peek out of his skin, spilling his blood in large pools underneath him. Slowly, the life in Old Master Artois's eyes faded away, beginning to glow an otherworldly, demonic hue. Soon, without even the opportunity to cry out, Dressele Artois had been killed.

Orion Calister looked on with a slight mix of horror and aggravation, his eyebrow twitching slightly.

"Do you really have to kill them so cruelly everytime, Euler?"

The horrendously twisted form of Master Artois's corpse slowly began to reform into his shape once more, and the demon Euler cracked his neck back into place with a resounding snapping noise.

"Projecting my consciousness degrades the human form quite rapidly. Not killing them would result in quite a lot of pain. It's rather 'humane' this way." Euler grinned.

"Will he receive the peace he bargained for?" Orion continued on, his brows furrowed.

Euler shook his head in response.

"Why would I give him that? A man who bargained for the power to become the greatest swordsman- what kind of deity would want a man like that to reside in their eternal kingdom?"

Orion let out an audible 'tsk' and turned his back to Euler, his long cloak fluttering in the evening wind.

"Whatever, forget about it."

---

Back on the main street of the middle borough, Lumière tried to keep the rushing wind from blowing his hair about as rain started to pour in droves onto the street. Under the rain, dozens of people in bright-white uniforms and caps marched through the streets in unison, carrying large rifles and batons in menacing fashion. They were the Peacekeepers of Leiden, who enforced law to a moderate degree, getting rid of whatever didn't conform to their idea of 'order'. Usually, that meant anything associated with the lower borough, which they thought to be degenerate, dirty, and lawless. In recent days, the number of Peacekeepers in Leiden had undergone a significant shift, growing rapidly by the day. Moreover, those Peacekeepers had been making their presence known in the lower borough, despite the reign of the Scraplords and mob bosses.

'It's too hard to get through the East gate so quickly... It's why we use that secret flowering passageway. How are they allowed to and from the lower borough so quickly? Is it the presence of the will of one of the Lords of the wall? Have they started to move on the criminal organisations undercutting their profits? We're surely in for some trouble in the near future...'

Lumière let out a quiet sigh and continued walking. Everyone had come to the quiet and subtle agreement that the lower borough belonged to the Scraplords and mob bosses, the middle borough to the Four Lords of the wall, and the high borough to the nobility families who saw over all of Leiden. However, the Peacekeepers had been established under the tacit approval of the two main orthodox churches in Leiden- of the Crown of Thorns and the Architect, and so in most people's eyes, the Peacekeepers superceded the authority of the aforementioned groups.

"Lumi, what are you out doing today?" A gruff voice called out suddenly.

Artier and Letis, the dark-haired Hammond twins sudden appeared behind Lumière. A smile immediately curled up the magician's lips, and he quickly embraced the two in excitement.

"Ah, you fools. The better question would be to ask what you two are doing here. Shouldn't you be cleaving meat in your mother's shop?"

Letis let out an audible 'tsk', adjusting his glasses before grinning.

"Things have felt slightly off recently. We're taking a day to adjust ourselves today and enjoy the festival. Etten-Leur has been dreary, but it seems business is up since that field of Rain Grass has been planted. More and more people have been making their way to our shop recently. It's no trouble now to afford a day of leisure."

Artier nodded in agreement, his gruff voice resounding in response.

"Of course, we haven't forgotten our mother, either. She's taken a day of rest as well. You know she just doesn't enjoy crowds as much."

Lumière nodded.

"I know that much." Lumière chuckled slightly. "Still, you would think she would take a day like this without hesitation, since it doesn't come so often."

Lumière talked with the two men genially, although his heart had been gripped with fear. He used all of his concentration to keep his face from contorting with anxiety, and tried his best to keep his emotions in check.

The shadows that followed the two men around were writhing and contorting rapidly, and there was obviously more than two of those 'monsters' following them around.

'Shit... should I make some excuse to follow them and pacify the creatures with the music box?'

Without wasting any time, Lumière immediately made up an excuse.

"It's been too long since I've last enjoyed time in the festival district. Why don't we spend some time together today?"

Artier and Letis's expression lit up bright with excitement. Neither were aware that they stood atop calamity.

"That sounds wonderful." They seemed to speak in unison.

Before long, the three were wandering along with the crowds of smiling families, unbothered by the constant rainfall. They made their way to a stall by the wayside and bought three steamed potatoes, hurting Lumière's wallet and heart significantly, but calming his emotions with the salted flavour of the delicacy.

"How have you and Ainsworth been holding up?" Letis asked suddenly.

Lumière took another bite of the potato, and answered succinctly.

"Fine enough. He's busied himself. I've been too busy trying to stay alive to think about it."

"Ha, that seems a little dramatic. Has that Madame of yours lowered your wages again?"

'If only a lack of money was the only threat on my life... then I could truly enjoy a beautiful existence...' Lumière lamented inwardly.

"Is she buried near that monastery? We'll have to visit sometime. We'll bring the fruits that she enjoys." Artier smiled sadly.

"Are believers of the Architect even allowed on the hallowed ground of the Lady of Thorns? Isn't tha sacreligious?" Lumière chuckled slightly.

Suddenly, soft sobs began to reverberate beside the group of men. Lumière glanced to the side, and saw that a child was crying by the wayside. Rather than showing off an empathetic expression, however, a grin crept up Lumière's face, much to the surprise of the two men beside him.

'It's a perfect opportunity. All it requires is the lie of a magician.'

Lumière walked over and knelt beside the child, drawing its attention with his hand before smiling.

"What's wrong, young one?" Lumière asked in a gentle tone of voice.

"I-I've lost my mother..." The young child sobbed once more.

"Ah, that really is a problem to cry about..." Lumière had already reached into his pocket, procuring the music box that had been gifted to him by the lofty figure in the House of Cards, the Joker. He handed it to the young child in turn, who accepted it with curiosity, tears still streaming down their face. "If you twist this crank on the side, it will start playing a wonderful song. Will you give it a try?"

Children, unlike adults, were more willing to mindlessly try something without convincing, as long as it was suggested by anyone around them. So, Lumière watched as the child began to turn the crank of the music box, a sweet, soft melody reverberating throughout the air. As the child listened to the music, a smile crept up his face, and Artier and Letis standing behind Lumière held warm expressions. They knew Lumière was a kindhearted soul, but seeing him in such a mode of 'performance' was a wonderous experience to them. As a magician, he was really too different from his usual self.

When Lumière took the music box back from the child, he reached into his pocket and procured a shiny golden coin meant for his performances, made of brass and nickel. He handed it to the child with a smile.

"This coin is quite special. If you ever feel that you can't decide on a choice, flip this coin and assign each choice to one of the faces. The magical elements will then decide which choice you should take, and make that choice obvious with the face that lands upwards. Isn't that exciting?"

The child's face lit up bright, and they nodded succinctly.

"Thank you, sir." They smiled.

Lumière looked back towards the two men behind him. Their shadows had lulled themselves into a deep slumber. He didn't know why their shadows had gone crazy suddenly, but he also wasn't in a hurry to investigate it. Asking around would have been a better choice. The Joker might have known something about it, so he made a mental note to inquire on his next visit to the House of Cards.

Standing up, he whispered to the two men as he passed them by.

"I've just remembered I have something to do. Please take care of helping the child find their mother. Thank you for today, as well. It was wonderful to spend time with you."

Before the two men could even respond, Lumière had vanished into the crowd.