A little recap, since it has been so long. Sora Naegino goes to pay off a debt of her uncle in the castle of Leon Oswald - an eccentric aristocrat who turns out to be a... wolf. In a castle of invisible servants, dolls that talk backwards and suffocating flowers, Sora discovers some odd things about herself. And her employer.

This chapter goes to Royalbk, who has worked her head off this week! Hope you get better soon, sweetie!

Chapter seven

May had lain out her outfit for her before she woke up, and for once didn't try to put it on herself. Sora found herself sitting on the bed for a full minute, waiting for something to happen, but the most she felt was a chill from where her feet touched the floor.

No one showed up. Perhaps it was for the best.

Her limbs were leaden as she donned the simple gray frock. The starched collar seemed to suffocate her.

She tried going over the scenario that she and Leon had practiced earlier – her lines, her gestures, the mechanics of the puppet, but her thoughts were sluggish at best. Her joints hurt, as if she was recovering from a bad cold, and there was a dread coiled into her belly like a snake. Maybe it was nervousness, but… she wasn't so sure. Last night, she'd had that dream again.

The world was completely devoid of light – no moon, no stars, not even ambers in the hearth. She'd been lying in that darkness, trying to convince herself to sleep, but for some reason her body wouldn't let her. There was just something in that moment, something she could not comprehend and yet scared her to no end. Something which her mind didn't understand, yet her body had identified immediately – every atom of her being hummed, and the acute awareness bordered with an ache.

And then she had heard it – the slip – the thing she would have missed had her heart not been in her throat.

Another breath. There was somebody in the room with her.

She'd tensed immediately, prepared to scream, and then the feeling was gone, as quickly as it had come.

Sora usually didn't pay much attention to dreams. Usually, she'd been busy all day long, so by the time her head hit the pillow, she passed out until morning. Whenever she did dream, the reveries were brief and vivid, fleeting her grasp before she even rose from the bed. But this… this had been so visceral she had briefly wondered if it hadn't really happened.

That was silly, of course! Nobody could have been in her room. The door locked from the inside, and Leon had assured her that no harm would befall her while she was in his house. She could trust him, surely!

But… there was always that silver of hesitation, that splinter in her logic. How much did she really know about her host? He was a talking wolf, for crying out loud.

Well, a hundred or more years back, he would have been considered a demon, but Sora knew that in the Capital scientists made all sorts of new discoveries. Talking animals were probably as common as domesticated pets there. Granted, they probably couldn't run their own finances, but it couldn't be impossible. The church labeled them abominations, but people were willing to risk eternal damnation for the benefits science offered.

But Leon wasn't a science experiment. Could she really trust him?

What choice did she have?

That was what it all boiled down to. She didn't have to trust him, but in the end, the result was the same. Sora sighed and went over to the water basin to splash her face. Thinking so early in the morning wasn't good. And the day hadn't even started.

Leon was pacing in the drawing room when she arrived. She had helped set up the place the previous night – the doll was propped as far away from the fire as possible, close to a curtain where Leon would hide. The table was cleared of the tea things, but she would set it when the guests arrived. The stairwells leading to the upper floors were barred, and Sora knew the curtains on every floor would be pulled so that the rest of the mansion would look uninhabitable.

It scared even her. But if it had worked before…

"Sora," Leon said, "are you alright?"

She stopped chewing on her nail and straightened up. "Yes, yes I am."

"Hmm." He didn't look convinced. "I apologize," he said. "I realize that it's a very short notice."

He asked me to lie, pretend to have qualifications I don't possess, and pose as a nurse, she thought. In any other city, posing as a medical person can get me hung. And he's worried he gave me a short notice.

She took a deep breath. "It's alright. I can do this. I'm certain I can do this." See? She was already good at lying.

Leon's real estate agent came first. His name was Kalos and he was from the Southern Provinces. He nodded at Sora, foregoing the traditional bow, and sat down next to Leon to start preparing for their less welcome guests. She wondered if this rudeness was the result of his upbringing, the situation, or her new station in life. She was a nurse, thus, she was supposed to be invisible.

Since Kalos was there, though, it meant that she had to start serving, which gave her an excellent excuse to run to the kitchen and back. She was just starting to set the table when she heard a bell toll – the new sign that someone was at the gate. She knew that the doors would open on their own, but it was up to her to be there to greet the guests and, if they were on horseback, tie their horses and bring them water.

There were three of them – two older men and a boy who looked like he had just turned twenty. They stared as she, sweaty and short on air, curtsied clumsily and offered to take care of their horses.

"Mr. Oswald is waiting for you in the drawing room," she said as rehearsed. "Please go in right ahead. It's the first door in the bottom of the corridor."

"We know where the study is," one of the older men said as he dismounted. "We have been here before, young lady."

Sora turned beet red and stammered, "Yes, of course, excuse me."

"Well," he went on, "the old bat still lives, does he? I suppose he's driven himself halfway mad at the thought of having people in this house."

"Oh, I don't know. If this girl has managed to stay, he's probably wearing down," his companion said and winked at Sora. "How's he, dear? Still kicking?" And then he laughed at his own joke. Sora didn't like him the least. He reminded her of the mill owner too much for comfort.

The boy was holding the reins of his horse and looked three shades of uncomfortable. To his credit, he actually followed her to the shelter (the stables were too far away), and helped her tie the horses and bring them water.

"Thank you," she said after they dumped the last bucket. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Oh, no problem." He smiled, but even though his words were awkward, his manner was everything but. Up close, he didn't look so young, even though he was still no more than a year or two older than her. Wisps of blond hair fell from under his riding cap and his eyes were clear and blue. He had Ken's boyish beauty, but he also held himself with a kind of swagger that suggested he had been places and seen things.

"I should… um… go wash…" she murmured, when she realized that she'd been staring. And that he had stared right back. "I'll be… err… right back."

She could feel his eyes on her as she made a very unladylike run for the bathroom.

By the time she made herself presentable and come back to the living room, the guests had managed to get in two fights (verbal, thankfully) with Leon and Kalos, and had turned the teapot over. She checked on the doll quickly to make sure everything was fine, and then she caught Leon's eye from behind the curtain. He nodded only briefly, but he was focused on the conversation.

"…being unreasonable!" the man who had first spoken to Sora was saying. "It's there, written black on white!"

"No record of the marriage exists," Leon said, his voice muffled by the curtain and sounding appropriately low. "Engagements are fine, but they're not legally binding."

"Perhaps you lost them."

"Or perhaps you aren't doing your job well enough."

Sora, who was in the process in refilling the teapot with hot water from the kettle on the fireplace, paused. She snuck a peek at the men, and tried guessing who was Mr. Killian. The irritable man looked like a lawman to her, not a spoiled heir. If she had to point one out, she probably would have said it was the lecher, but… maybe it was this time spent in the castle, but she had made of habit of mistrusting her initial judgments. The blond boy caught her eye and winked.

Her hand landed on the kettle and she immediately felt pain resonate. She tasted copper, and realized that she had bitten down on her tongue to keep from crying.

"At any rate," the lecher said, "the marriage you're disputing happened decades ago. Even before the Revolution. Papers were burned left and right…"

"…how convenient…" his companion murmured.

"…However, that doesn't mean that there aren't other ways to prove it." He picked up the engagement contract and looked it over. "It says here some properties were designated to be given to the groom's family when the marriage happened. The Ponticherry cottage, I believe, was meant to be home for the newlyweds. It's right across the river, isn't it?"

Leon grunted in what was probably his version of 'yes'.

"The cottage isn't there anymore, but we know the appropriate location. It's in the grounds of Mr. Killian." So not the lecher either. That left the blond. Sora felt odd, as if she had eaten something bad. He was supposed to be the man who was trying to chase Leon out of his home… yet he didn't look anything like one. She would have felt better if he was more like the lecher – at least then she wouldn't have qualms for lying to him.

"It's close to the borders," Kalos said, and for the first time Sora listened to his voice properly. It was low, but rich in expression, and cultivated. It was the kind of voice you stopped to listen. "Since the building itself doesn't exist, determining where exactly it was is a matter of interpretation."

"What about the water mill down in the valley? It's on the list as well."

"Those grounds have been claimed by the city council years ago. Have you found whose property it was before that?"

"Alright, I think we're running off course here, gentlemen," Mr. Killian said. He leaned forward in his chair and fixed the doll with a steady gaze. "Mr. Oswald, with all due respect, you are unreasonable. You live in this huge house, and even if you only occupy one floor, it's still no place for an invalid. It's a lot of work to keep it cleaned and warm, especially during the winter. You only live here with one nurse. She could barely take care of the horses on her own – how do you expect her to clean every day, chop wood, and start fires in addition to her regular duties?"

Sora blushed harder than ever, this time in indignation. Yes, it was true – she had needed help with the horses. But she never thought he would actually bring it up.

Leon gave another grunt. "Sora is more than capable of meeting all my needs."

"And she's quite an amazing cook, isn't she?" the lecher laughed and reached out for a plate of pastries, only to give Sora's sleeve a hard tug. She almost fell over the table. Mr. Killian went bright red, but his companions laughed loudly. Kalos gave them a narrow-eyed look. "What do you say, girl? Is it too hard here?"

"What? No, not at all!" It was true. When she had worked on the farm, it had been a lot worse. In comparison, she lived like a princess. But her reply came much too fast to sound believable.

"I think she's just shy," the irritable man said. "What's the matter? You had no other offers? The agency didn't have any more places for nurses?"

"No… I mean… It wasn't like that. I came because I wanted to."

"Yes, I'm sure that if you'd want to come here faced with 'unemployment', right, Sora?" She could feel his eyes on her, and she could tell he was also trying to guess her age and how she looked under her frock. Could she get any redder? "Let me ask you something, young lady. If you could choose between any employment in the world, would you stay here?"

She huffed and stood straighter. "We don't get what we wish for, sir." She made a move to stand next to the doll. This fire was getting too hot for her liking anyway.

The irritable man stood up with her, though. "Now just wait a minute. You can't tell me that you like to stay in this place!" He grabbed her hand. She gave him a steely look, but it was probably not very intimidating.

"Let go of me," she said.

"What does he pay you? Are you just his servant girl or are you carrying out extra services?"

Something in that comment made her see red. Maybe it was the fact that he was squeezing her hand so hard she felt actual pain, maybe it was saying the things she was afraid of were said about her back home, but it made her snap. He was standing right there, invading her personal space, and she had to get away. She grabbed onto his shoulder and brought her knee up between his legs, hard.

There was a sound like nothing she had heard before. It was high pitch, like a squeak of a mouse, but it had something else to it, a weird timbre that could only come from one throat. But she had never heard a human being make it.

The irritable man slumped back, mouth open wide. His companion jumped to his feet.

"You little bitch!" he roared and raised a hand. Sora heard Kalos' chair scrape the floor and Yuri making like he was about to stand up, but then she caught a movement from the curtain and her breath hitched.

Leon was in the room, stalking across the floor. His teeth were bared, and he was giving a very convincing snarl. His fur was standing on its end, and he truly looked like he could attack someone.

Everyone stared, petrified. Even the irritated man seemed to have forgotten he was in agony a moment ago. Kalos edged back towards his chair, where his riding cane was propped. Leon whipped his head around and barked.

"What the hell is this mongrel?"

"L… Len, don't." Sora knew she was being stupid, but she doubted the guests would be happy if they thought this was a wild wolf. She rushed towards Leon and grabbed the back of his neck, hands fisting in his fur. Trying to restrain him was like trying to stop a landslide – he was at least two hundred pounds of solid muscle, writhing back and forth. "Down, boy, down," she yelled, hoping that he would understand and act along.

"How can you keep this thing around the house? Without a leash, no less!"

"Down, boy!" Sora pulled back, and he took a few steps. "Please, don't yell, you'll scare him…"

"Are you crazy! This… this… thing can eat us! And it's the one being scared!"

"What is wrong with Mr. Oswald?" Mr. Killian said, and Sora realized with horror that Leon couldn't throw his voice. The puppet was slumped on its side. Panicking, she let go and ran over. Leon snarled again at the visitors. The older men ran as far as they could in the room, but Mr. Killian stood in place. The wolf then turned and circled behind the chair, throwing his voice once more.

"As you can see, gentlemen, we're fine and we're protected."

"You sick bastard!" The irritable man had regained use of his voice and was now taking full advantage. His companion, though, was silent. Sora couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn the front of his trousers looked darker. "You let that beast in the house so you can scare us."

Leon growled and snapped his jaws, then lay down on the floor where he hid his muzzle carefully. "You threatened my nurse. You'll be lucky if we don't raise charges."

They glowered.

"I think this conversation is over," Leon said in clipped tones. "I trust you can show yourselves out."

The older men didn't need another dismissal. Mr. Killian seemed to take slower, so Leon stood up again and barked. The young man retreated, and not too long after, they heard the sound of hooves on the pavement that indicated the departure of the guests.

"Sora… go close the doors while I have a word with Kalos."

She blinked a few times, as if she had just woken up from a daze, and realized belatedly that the other man was still there… and that from where he stood, he could see Leon's muzzle perfectly well. "Err… Mr. Oswald…"

"Go," he said, this time not making any effort at concealing himself. She heard Kalos gasp, and she immediately tried to reassure him.

"No, you don't understand, he's perfectly kind…"

"Sora," Leon interrupted, this time in milder tones. "It's alright. Nothing will happen to Kalos. Tell everyone to come out."

She looked between the men, not entirely sure if this was a good idea, but Kalos didn't whip a gun out or start screaming, so eventually she retreated and did as she was told.

"He is not a handsome man, is he?" Sarah was waiting just around the corner.

"Who?"

"Not Mr. Leon's agent."

"Kalos?"

"No!"

"I know." Lately, Sora had gotten more used to Sarah's chatter. Although the puppet refused to say more than a sentence because she didn't want to confuse her, Sora really liked her. "He must be from the Southern Provinces."

"Not many handsome men there."

"I guess." Her mind went to Mr. Killian and she winced. "But being handsome isn't all it's cut out to be."

Sarah gave her a sympathetic look and patted her shoulder. "You had to do it alone. Mr. Leon is letting you off." She made a face, like she really didn't like saying what she said. "If he hadn't gone in, others would have helped you, but it was your fault."

Sora looked away in shame. Yes, she couldn't have done it alone. Yes, Leon was asking too much. But the idea was for the visitors not to notice the weird servants. If no-one had been around when she had struggled with the horses, the others would have helped her. But Mr. Killian had stayed on his own free will – probably to get more ammo against Leon. She didn't know what was worse – actually contributing to people harassing Leon, or having him blow his cover for her.

"Do you think they're gone now? Mr. Killian and the others?"

"Yuri? Yes!" Sarah rolled her eyes. "He gives up! The whole family does!"

"I know, I know. It probably takes more than a big dog to scare them," Sora said. "I just wish… it didn't turn out to be so bad."

Sarah gave her a hug, which said more than words.

When Sora came back, the puppet was gone, as well as Leon. Kalos was sitting by the fire, head bowed. She couldn't see his face, but his tense body language seemed to convey it all. He was angry. Too angry.

She bit her lip and knocked on the door. He bolted, as if stung. Then he saw her.

"Would you like some tea?" she said, feeling awkward. "I made a fresh pot."

He blinked. "I just realized my employer is a dog. And you're offering me tea?"

"Wolf."

"What?"

"He's a wolf, actually. Or, at least I think he is. I'm pretty sure," she said. "Look, I know it's shocking. I was shocked too. But I promise you, he doesn't eat people." Kalos stared at her… and then her burst out laughing. It was a beautiful laugh – full-bellied, head thrown back and arms grabbing for support. The whole body laughed. "What is it?" she asked.

"The way you said that. "He doesn't eat people." I swear…" He struggled for composure. "You're rather straightforward, aren't you?"

"Guess so. With some more than with others." Sora shrugged. "It's a blessing and a curse. Do you want some tea?"

"No, miss, I do not want some tea." Kalos straightened up and took his hat from a nearby chair. "I think I will have tea at home, where I hope to get to before dark, and where I'll be able to think this whole thing over."

"But you won't tell, will you? About Leon…"

"Who would believe me? I'd be thrown in an asylum with the lunatics in seconds," he asked as he fixed his cravat and picked up his cane. Then his face softened "Relax. Leon explained the situation to me. I just need time to get used to the mechanics of it."

"Oh, of course." That was reasonable, she thought. After all, it had taken her some time to accept this too, right? She followed him outside, where he gathered his horse and mounted. Just as he was about to leave, he turned around and gave her a look.

"You write letters for him now, is that right?"

She nodded.

"Wonderful penmanship. You should practice it more," he said, then he took his hat off for her and kicked his horse into a trot. The bushes swallowed him soon after.

She knew she ought to go back inside soon. Sarah was right – Mr. Killian wouldn't let this thing go so easily. They needed to devise a plan, and soon. They needed real, tangible servants. Maybe with Kalos' help, they could arrange something. She sighed and breathed in the heady air. Even with the smell of roses suffocating her, it was still refreshing, after being in that room. She had been away from people for so long, having four of them in the same room made her feel closed in.

As Sora turned to go back inside, she noticed something white sticking out between the door and the hinge. It turned out to be a piece of paper, torn out of a pocket book. There was an address scribbled on it, as if in great haste, ending with a single line.

"If you need to run. Yuri Killian."

A/N - No, I'm not dead. No, I'm not crazy (well, I'm crazy with work, but that's different). No, I haven't become a Sora/Yuri shipper.

What I am is sorry for this delay. Really, I wanted to write this story, but it just never was the time. Sadly, school and Goodreads and my attempts at an original novel came as a bit of a roadblock, so I apologize for that.

I do hope you liked this chappie. I'll try to upload more often, promise. I've got some pretty nice ideas too. Hope you're all fine.

F.S.