Seraphine took in a deep breath as she stepped out of the carriage, squinting at the building in front of her. The theatre was impressive—no doubt about that—with its ornate facade of intricate marble work and gleaming gold accents.

"This must be the right place, then," she remarked, noting the signage over the gate that read "The Blackwell's Grandiose Entertainment Venue and Theatre for the Ages." She tilted her head in amusement, wondering how many times Julian Blackwell must have altered the signage to fit his desire for acknowledgment.

The entrance to the theatre was gated and guarded by a pair of serious-looking men in uniforms emblazoned with Blackwell's coat of arms—a lion on one side, and a rose on the other. They eyed her and Levy warily as the two of them approached, halting them with a wave of their hands.

"I'm afraid the theater is closed for the time being, Miss," one of the men said, standing firmly in front of her with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Oh? And why is that?" Seraphine asked, planting a hand on her hip.

"We have orders not to allow anyone inside at this time, miss. I must ask that you turn around and go back the way you came."

Seraphine sighed, reaching into her bag to produce an identity card bearing her Hunter's Seal. "I am a Hunter of the Order of the Viridian Cross, and he"—she pointed at Levy— "is a Hunter from the Arcane Collegium. We've received reports about possible Unhallowed activity on the premises, so if you would kindly stand aside and allow us to do our jobs, I would greatly appreciate it."

The guards looked stunned for a moment, then exchanged a look of uncertainty before stepping aside and allowing Seraphine and Levy through.

"Thank you, gentlemen," she said, giving them a smile. As she walked past them and towards the doors, she turned to Levy and grinned wryly. "You know, there are times when I really do enjoy that authority that comes with being a Hunter."

"You should use it more often then, you never seem to bring out that Hunter's Seal of yours," he replied as they entered the lobby of the theatre.

Their investigation of the premises didn't take long, and soon the duo found themselves standing inside the balcony seats, overlooking the performance hall within. The old blood stains, bullet holes, and broken furniture told a tale of violence and chaos... most likely the gruesome aftermath of Aubrey's rampage.

After leaving the theatre, Levy and Seraphine tracked down the songstress Lucille, who had secluded herself to recuperate following the night of the incident. It did not take much coaxing to gain information that corraborated Aubrey's story. While Lucille hadn't seen everything directly with her own eyes, she did tell them of her encounter with Aubrey.

Next, they investigated one of Blackwell's factories that Aubrey had infiltrated to steal those ledgers. While the duo was stopped by the guards from entering the private offices, the workers were willing enough to share what little they knew of the owner of this place. A few discreetly slid them documents pertaining to various projects that were supposedly under the purview of Julian Blackwell.

The rest of the day was spent scouring other districts for any leads on either of the groups mentioned. However, both of their investigations ended up turning into dead ends as no further evidence could be found implicating either organization, let alone any connection between them and Blackwell.

----------------------------------------

By the time they returned to the carriage to return to the safehouse, the two had agreed on one thing: that Aubrey was being at least partially truthful—but there remained some questions to ask before they could ascertain just how dangerous she truly was.

As soon as they stepped foot in the room where Aubrey was confined, the young woman groaned loudly from her position on top of the mattress. Her head popped up, crimson eyes glaring at them with annoyance as her hair was a wild mess around her face.

"Look, I'm already bored outta my mind. Can you, like, get me something to do?" Aubrey whined, rolling onto her belly. "Like, I dunno... music sheets? Anything to entertain myself?"

Seraphine sighed quietly as Levy walked over and took his seat in the chair next to the bed.

Aubrey's vernacular was... unique, to say the least—something neither she nor Levy had encountered before. She spoke as though she hailed from another place, and the way she addressed people made it abundantly clear that she wasn't from any noble family of import. If anything, her speech sounded closer to the way common folk or street urchins tended to speak.

"You do understand the situation you're in?" Levy asked, leaning back into his seat with arms folded. "We're investigating the truth behind your story, so you're staying here until it's done. Besides, it's only been a day. Surely you can wait a bit longer before throwing a tantrum over boredom."

"Fuck, dude, all I need to keep entertained is a guitar! That, or just a pen and a pad to write down what's in my head! It's not like I'm asking you for an entire bloody orchestra!"

"And leave you with your hands and feet free? No, I'd rather not give you an opportunity to attack us or escape if you decide we're taking too long. Just sit still, keep quiet and—"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Levy," Seraphine interrupted, raising a hand to gesture at him to stop. She turned to Aubrey and inclined her head in a polite nod.

"Sorry, but for now, that's how it is. Until things have settled down, you must remain here... but I'll look into finding something for you to read, at least. Would a book suffice?"

Aubrey buried her face in one of the pillows, groaning loudly into the fabric. After a moment of silence, she raised her head once more, staring at them blearily with those ruby-red eyes of hers.

"Fine, sure. A fucking book then," she grumbled, sounding utterly defeated. "Give me a thick smut book with lots of sexy scenes. That'll do nicely. Maybe it'll even turn me on."

Levy's eyebrows twitched upwards at the blunt vulgarity, but Seraphine remained unfazed by it, merely shaking her head in amusement before turning to leave the room. "I'll find something appropriate... though I make no promises regarding content," she told the sulking girl, glancing back briefly at her over a shoulder. "Come on, Levy. Let's be on our way."

With that, they departed, closing the door softly behind themselves.

----------------------------------------

Once again, Aubrey sat back against the pillows, sighing heavily. Despite her best attempts at remaining aloof in the presence of them, Seraphine and Levy—so far—were a rather pleasant pair to deal with. They hadn't threatened her with violence or torture, had given her good food and comfortable quarters for her imprisonment.

Though she didn't exactly like it much, she had to admit that they treated her relatively decently for what she had done in their presence so far... which meant that hopefully they would soon come to trust her enough to grant some measure of leeway. The question would simply be whether they trusted her more than she had reason to trust them yet.

She would have to play nice... or rather, attempt to behave for the time being, and wait things out. Hopefully they would come through, and soon... if only because she was starting to get desperate for something to alleviate the boredom.

And it had only been a fucking day. Fuuuuuu—

Aubrey stuffed her head back against the pillow, groaning loudly into the fabric once more as her face heated up. The damn paper talismans binding her wrists and ankles itched, distracting and irritating her to no end, and the urge to rub her legs together to chase that feeling—or just scratch them—only increased. But alas...

She could probably use her abilities to break free somehow, but then that might jeopardize whatever small amount of progress she'd made so far with Seraphine and Levy. She wasn't sure if she'd like that outcome or not...

Aubrey paused for a long moment, staring blankly across the room, lost in thought before coming back to reality once more.

Damn it all... now she really needed to pee too. That, and brush her fucking hair—which already felt more tangled and greasy than usual.

This fucking sucked so, so hard.

----------------------------------------

That night, Aubrey lay on her side, her gaze drifting listlessly around the room. Sleep didn't come easily to her as she often found herself tossing and turning while her brain raced with ideas. And when it didn't, she simply stared at the ceiling in boredom with nothing else to occupy her mind.

A heavy knock at the door roused her from her thoughts, though the sound alone wasn't enough to stir her from her position.

"Who the hell knocks for a prison?" she called out. "Just come inside."

Cedric's gravelly voice spoke from behind the door, "Your knight in shining armor, here."

Aubrey smirked and quickly sat up, ignoring the creaking protests of the old bedsprings beneath her. She hopped towards the door, but her feet got caught in each other mid-leap. With an oof, she fell onto her face.

"Fu—"

After pushing herself to her feet, she hopped the remaining distance and leaned against the door.

"Hello, my knight—wait, how'd you find me and get inside this place, anyway?"

"My tracking senses tingle. Also, I just walked in. The only warded room here seems to be this one," Cedric said, dry as sandpaper.

"...ah, right," Aubrey replied flatly as she rolled her eyes. "Anyways, are you here to bust me out?"

"If you wish me to. However, breaking into a heavily-warded room could cause a catastrophic backlash. If not dealt properly, you'd risk destroying the entire house. Are you alright with that?" Cedric asked in a nonchalant tone that indicated that he likely didn't care about that too much.

"Um... probably not?" She paused, pursing her lips thoughtfully as she considered what might happen if something did go wrong. After thinking for a moment, she shook her head vigorously. "No, I think we're good, actually. I'll keep playing the role of 'prisoner' for the time being."

With a smirk on her face, Aubrey added teasingly, "...you must miss me terribly, huh? To have come all the way just for me, and all!"

"..."

There came only silence from behind the door for several moments. Eventually, though, Cedric let out a long-suffering sigh from the other side, before answering, "Something like that..."

She snickered at that response. "So, uh... how's Thaddy and Liza doing?"

"Thaddeus is fine... he's been tinkering with that luminal projector. Liza's... well, she's trying to keep herself busy with some recreational activity she learned recently."

"And that would be?"

"Writing stories and poetry. Her latest poem involves an angst-filled story about a young woman in a tower. It's... interesting, to say the least."

"Oh man, can't wait to read it later." Speaking of stories, Seraphine had better bring her those books as promised, or else—

Aubrey's eyes lit up as an idea struck her suddenly, and she grinned wickedly in the dark. "Hey Ceddy, I need a favor from you. Go up to my room in the attic and look through the bottom drawer on my bedside table. There should be a small box with a vial of pink liquid inside. It's called 'Xeno's Kiss'. Bring me the vial before morning comes. Just slip it under the door. Please?"

There came yet another pause from outside before Cedric spoke again. "And what exactly are you planning to do with that vial of yours?"

"Something to stave off boredom for a bit." A whimsical smile spread across Aubrey's face as she leaned back against the doorframe, tapping her chin thoughtfully with one finger. "It could also help facilitate a little bonding between our hostesses and me~"

Cedric's tone became flat once more, betraying nothing in his voice. "You're a very strange individual."

"Yup!"