The mansion felt quieter than usual, creating an eery atmosphere. Corporal Holland led Cassy back to the restricted section of the house, passing by two guards in the hallway.

They approached a door that was flanked by another pair of guards. Holland paused just before opening the door, looking at Cassy, "Ms. Riley, this is Lord Burton's morning room. I want you to remember something while speaking with Lord Burton; he is a kind and caring man, but he must put his duty to protect the house first."

Corporal Holland opened the door, beckoned Cassy inside, and said, "Best of luck."

Cassy entered the room, it was a spacious room with lighter panelling than the rest of the house. Windows filled one wall, filling the room with the morning sun. The ceiling was two stories tall and there was a small balcony that runs around three sides of the room with stairs leading down providing access to the second floor of the manor. A desk sits against the wall to the left and a large eight-person table is centered in the middle of the room. Four chairs sit facing each other on the right side of the room, with a small coffee table providing a conversational area.

Corporal Holland closed the door behind her, standing to one side of it with another guard. A maid stood in the left corner of the room near the desk.

Richard greeted her, "Welcome, Ms. Riley. Please take a seat over here,” he led her over to the four chairs on the right, where Fletcher was already reading from a tablet.

Cassy walked over to the conversational area. Fletcher looked at her, "Thank you for coming, Ms. Riley; please take a seat." Cassy sat down in the seat to Lord Burton's right, "have you eaten yet" he asked.

"No, my Lord."

"Probably for the better. I will have breakfast brought after we have discussed what I called you here for. Ms. Riley, I have some suspicions about the mark on your arm. I would like to examine it and your memories from when it was placed on you.”

“Examine my memories, my Lord?”

“Yes, I have the ability to look into other people's minds and see their thoughts and memories. It will be like reliving the memory from the side lines. The mind probe may cause you some discomfort. Would you consent to this?"

Cassy hesitated momentarily, recalling Holland's words, and nodded to Lord Burton, "Yes, my Lord."

Fletcher turned his chair slightly to face her. "I will need to place my hand on the side of your head near your temple. Please turn your chair towards me, and if you feel nauseous during the process, use this pot to vomit." As he said this, Richard handed Cassy a steel pot.

Cassy moved her chair closer to Lord Burton with Richard's assistance and placed the pot on her lap, gripping it with both hands. Fletcher put his hand on the right side of her face, with his index finger touching her temple. "Let us begin," he said.

Cassy felt the room swirl as her consciousness retreated from the world, and she found herself standing in Michelle's living room watching herself eat breakfast on the morning she came to the mansion. Lord Burton stood beside her as they watched Cassy and Michelle eat breakfast.

Lord Burton began to speak, "I will first need to examine your memory from before you came to the mansion." The pair followed along silently as they watched the memory flow around them.

They soon arrived at the entrance to the estate and as Cassy was about to cross the gate. Fletcher snapped his finger, and the memory froze. Fletcher walked over, taking Cassy's right arm and pulling her sleeve to her elbow. He examined her arm, saying, "There are many things that your mind will remember, but you don't notice yourself. For instance, your mind can remember any marks or hexes placed on you; right now, I can tell you have no marks before entering the estate."

He snapped his fingers again, and the memory proceeded like unpausing a movie. Soon they reached Cassy’s interview with Mrs. Hopkins. Fletcher listed intently to Mrs. Hopkins's choice of questions. As the memory continued, Fletcher turned to Cassy and spoke, "Did you notice that she asked you about your family situation, and then she asked about your friends."

"I thought she was worried someone might cause an issue, or I might get distracted from work by them."

"She did say that, but I do not believe that was her true intention. We know from interrogating Ms. Grant that the assassination was supposed to be pinned on you. I believe Mrs. Hopkins is involved and selected you for that purpose."

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Cassy nodded and then noticed that they had reached the point in her memory where she was instructed to change clothes. Fletcher, realizing this, smiled and said, "We can wait outside the room. It won’t affect the outcome, and you deserve your privacy.”

The pair followed her memory into the common room, where Fletcher listened to Mrs. Hopkins's instructions and watched closely as Mr. Grayson drew the mark. Just as he finished drawing the mark, a head-splitting pain hit Cassy, and she fell to her knees, holding her head. Fletcher snapped his finger, pausing the memory, and grabbed her by the hands, protecting her from whatever was attacking her. The pain quickly subsided.

"This is not from the mind probe. That mark might look like it's from my house, but has an ulterior purpose." He looked around, "I'm afraid to uncover the truth; We will need to proceed, Ms. Riley. Please bear with me," said Lord Burton in a distressed tone.

Cassy looked up into his eyes and noticed they looked regretful, and she nodded her head, saying, "I will do my best to endure it."

Fletcher nodded before saying, "Thank you for being so brave." His expression changed to determination as he released her arm.

The pain returned, but this time she could also feel it emanating from her temple, where Fletcher’s finger was in the real world. Cassy looked up to see Fletcher still looking at her, but his eyes were now a deep blood-red, and his pupils had narrowed to horizontal slits.

She heard laughter and looked over to see Mr. Grayson rising from the table, "How clever of you to come looking here, Lord Burton. I'm afraid you're trapped, though."

Fletcher stretched his hand out towards Mr. Grayson and said, "Reveal yourself," as Cassy felt a wave of energy pulse through her, and Mr. Grayson was knocked down but began laughing harder.

"It does not matter what you do to me here, young man. As long as that mark remains on her arm, I have you trapped," said Mr. Grayson.

Cassy stood up, determination in her eyes as Fletcher turned toward her, reaching down for her arm before swiping his hand across the mark. She felt it tingle as the mark vanished, and the pain dissipated except for what was emanating from her temple. She watched Mr. Grayson as his eyes widened, shock spreading across his face.

Fletcher approached him, "You will tell me what I want to know, you little phantasm." Fletcher held his hands out, a jar appearing in them as he uttered an incantation that Cassy couldn't understand. She felt herself beginning to lose consciousness as she watched Mr. Grayson get sucked into the bottle and Fletcher cork it.

Cassy found herself looking into Fletcher’s eyes, sitting in the morning room, his eyes had returned to normal. Her head was throbbing. She looked down at her arm and noticed the grease marking from Mr. Grayson was there. Lord Burton motioned for Richard and said, "Wipe that off her now and get some water."

The maid in the corner of the room quickly brought over a cup of water as Richard wiped the grease marking from Cassy's arm. Fletcher took the glass of water from the maid and set it on the coffee table. Cassy was overwhelmed by nausea and began vomiting into the pot on her lap, which quickly turned into dry heaving as her stomach emptied. After several minutes, her stomach calmed and she stopped heaving.

"Rinse your mouth out," said Lord Burton, handing her the glass of water.

Cassy took the water, rinsing her mouth and spitting it into the bucket before slowly taking a sip.

"Has the feeling passed, or are you still unwell," asked Fletcher.

"No, I feel better now," responded Cassy.

"Good, then let's have some breakfast. Richard can you have it brought and something easy on the stomach for Ms. Riley," said Fletcher before adding, “And alert Doctor Bennett I would like to have him take a look at her before she takes a rest. Please have a room prepared for her in the servant's quarters. I would prefer she stays where we can keep an eye on her for now."

"Yes, my Lord, and what about her mark?” Asked Richard as he reached down to take the pot from Cassy's lap, handing it off to the maid waiting nearby.

"I will place a new one on her," said Fletcher, turning to Cassy. "Your right arm, please."

Cassy lifted her arm, her body feeling heavy and drained of energy. Fletcher took her shaky arm and placed two fingers on the spot where the old mark had been. He took a deep breath, and she watched as lines began to draw outward from his fingers, forming a shape that looked vaguely like the previous mark and glowing brightly in various colors. The glow faded slowly, leaving an intricate tattoo on her forearm. Fletcher turned his chair back to face the coffee table before standing up.

Richard inspected the mark on Cassy's arm and helped her return her chair to its proper place. Richard then helped stand and walked with her and Fletcher to the dinning table, where she was sat next to Fletcher. Shortly after, two servants entered the room carrying plates of food. The plates were placed in front of Fletcher and Cassy, and the servants quietly left the room. The two ate in silence.

After finishing, having regained some of her strength, Cassy was led out of the room by Corporal Holland. As they were about to leave, there was a commotion behind them. She turned to see Mrs. Hopkins and Mr. Grayson being dragged towards them in shackles. Mr. Grayson locked eyes with Cassy and began to yell something in a language she couldn't understand. Corporal Holland stepped between them drawing his sidearm and taking aim at Mr. Grayson.

The guards carrying Mr. Grayson drove him to the ground, slamming his face into the floor. "Silence," one of the guards commanded him, while the other guard forced a gage into Mr. Grayson's mouth, preventing him from speaking.

As the guards finished subduing Mr. Grayson, Corporal Holland holstered his sidearm and turned to Cassy, saying, "This way, please. Best to not stick around here much longer."

Corporal Holland led Cassy down the hallway, followed by a maid.