"That's quite enough Lucy. I believe that's as prepared as you're going to get, additional practice would just strain your voice." Jezebel sat behind her desk and opened a drawer, producing the list of names. 

So that's where she keeps it.

Lucy was feeling impatient. She considered her end of the bargain fulfilled and could almost taste her freedom. The only thing she could taste right now was the honey-sweet tea Jezebel had made her this morning. Her thoughts raced with all the things she wanted to do when she was gone and she was getting annoyed she wasn't on the sixth floor an hour ago. Lucy took a sip of her tea, it was particularly soothing today.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Ma'am, but are you breaking Fae's bond now?"

"Not yet, I'm referencing her true name in the event that what you brought me is what I needed."

"Referencing? You're the one who told me what Fae's true name was in the first place. From memory. Did you look it up before we went to the sixth floor that day or something?"

"Hm? Oh, no. Bonded names are a bit different. Don't worry about it. I've got that part covered. You are still learning single true names and you ought to get back to that."

"Yes Ma'am"

Lucy struggled to keep her tone respectful, the sarcasm had nearly worked its way in that time. The crystal that Lucy discovered last night was resting on Jezebel's desk. When Jezebel arrived at the office, she immediately identified it as an aquamarine. She also experienced the same curious sensation Lucy did. Her eye caught something in the clear gemstone that she couldn't quite see, which drew the eye into it rather than through it. That's when Jezebel instructed Lucy to resume her exercises and that they would stay in the office for this session. Lucy had explained to Jezebel how she found the stone and they both agreed it was likely Morgen had stolen it from Foras.

Lucy took another sip of her tea. It soothed her throat and she felt herself sinking into her seat.

"So I'm curious, what was our bonded name? Fae and I."

"Feeling nostalgic are we?"

"Well yeah! Like, you just told me we had a shared name like of course I'm gonna be curious."

"Oh if you insist," Jezebel gazed at the document for a moment, "Saturnalia, directly translated."

"Gotta say, that's not what I was imagining. I was sorta thinking they were just like, stuck together like if you knew the bonded people you might be able to just guess it or something."

"There's a reason you do not casually guess at true names, Lucy"

Lucy raised her cup to her lips. The cup was warm, but it was empty.

"Oh, Jezebel may I have a refill?"

"Of course Lucy, I could use a spot myself. I have to say, feeding a tea habit with a subordinate was not on this year's bingo card."

Lucy offered her empty tea cup to Jezebel, who was soon back with fresh refills. She took her seat and stowed the list of names. Lucy could hear a locking sound underneath the desk. Jezebel took up her cup and turned her gaze to the large aquamarine on her desk.

Lucy took a sip from her fresh cup, it was too hot to drink quickly. She followed Jezebel's eyes to the blue-green stone. It was eerie to look at. It had a presence that didn't seem to fit, like looking in the mirror and seeing a different face. That's when Lucy saw the figure move through it, gone as quickly as it appeared. Lucy put her tea cup down and swallowed.

"You saw that right?"
"Lucy did you see it?"

Jezebel rose from her seat and retreated to the rear of the office.

"I'm going to my study. I'll be back directly."

Jezebel left through the door to her private quarters. Lucy got up slowly, if the list was stored in her desk, maybe the key was there too. That might give her enough time with it, she could summon it from that point forward. lucy was careful not to budge her chair when she left it or hit her knees on the desk. She crept around to Jezebel's side of the desk and tested the drawer she saw Jezebel pull the list from. It wasn't locked, and she brought it out slowly to make as little noise as she could. There was the list, but no key. She closed the drawer and started opening others. It was taking a while, and there was no luck finding her key. One of the drawers contained a pile of SIM cards, and Lucy wondered if hers was amongst them. Lucy thought she was already pushing her luck, Jezebel would be back at any moment.

Okay, last chance, let's go.

Lucy pulled the drawer open. She heard the sound of a doorknob turning, but it wasn't Jezebel's study, it was the front door. Lucy sprung to her feet and slammed the drawer shut, she could have sworn Jezebel had locked that door. The door swung open at an even and elegant pace. The first thing she saw was a white glove, then the sleeves of a grey suit coat. Lucy had just made it back to her chair when she saw Foras' face clear the door. Her blood turned to ice. Lucy climbed to her knees in the chair's seat and tried to hide her naked body behind the chair's back. She was safe in Jezebel's office, right? How did this man keep catching her at vulnerable times? Foras' eyes met hers, and it made her feel small, frightened, and excited.

"Pardon me, Lucy, professional obligations require I speak to the headmistress. I apologize for catching you in a compromising position. Rest assured I am a professional and gentleman."

Yeah like when you scraped those pictures of my spread-ass pussy right? How do I say that without saying that?

"Yeah, I suppose Sir," she straightened her back, her breasts were exposed from behind the chair, "seen it before I guess."

Foras walked forward without responding, his nose twitched. Foras approached the chair and stopped just short of it, towering over Lucy. It was uncomfortable looking up at him but she dared not look away. He raised his left hand and removed the glove from it. He seemed to be looking past her. Foras bent over and stuck his naked fingertip into her tea. He brought it to his mouth and tasted it. His eyes rolled upwards, he was clearly fixated.

"Far too much honey, Valerian Root, Chamomile, California Poppy, and..." Foras straightened up, "Ms. Pyre are you having difficulty sleeping? Is that what invited your presence he--"

The sound of Jezebel's study door bursting open and slamming against the door stop interrupted him. Jezebel ran up to the desk eyes wide and intense. Lucy turned around and shrank in her chair again. She was in between the two of them and she thought there couldn't be a worse position right now.

"Foras! Well, this is unexpected. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Jezebel said through her teeth.

"I am here to inform you that servant staff will be present at the dorm level this week. A plumbing incident requires our attention, you'll find the bath water supply currently unusable as a result. Your staff will need to relocate bathing activities to the north dormitory. I understand your preference is for servant staff and maid staff to interact as little as possible so you may consider alternate boarding arrangements as well. Nevertheless, my staff will be present for the duration of repairs."

Foras turned his head to the aquamarine. He hadn't waited for Jezebel's acknowledgment, he wasn't asking. Foras kept his gaze locked onto Jezebel's face as he approached the desk, side-stepping Lucy and her chair. He picked up the aquamarine from the desk.

"I assume you confiscated this specimen from Morgen? It happens to be one of my belongings and I will be departing with it. Ladies."

Foras gave a slight bow from the waist and excused himself from the room. Considering the look on Jezebel's face, Lucy thought that was a good idea. Her jaw was clenched so firmly that Lucy thought she might break a tooth. Her eyebrows were down in the middle but her eyes were wide open. She was gripping the desk so hard her knuckles were white. Lucy excused herself without saying a word.

The next half-hour was a chaotic whirlwind of rounding up maids, enduring withering verbal assaults from Jezebel, and preparing to move to the north dorm. Many of the maids, more than didn't, were openly flirting with the servants present in the dormitory. The servants, for their part, were well-behaved. Occasionally they'd get caught stealing glances at the maids who would, being more than used to their nakedness, taunt them verbally or via some vulgar gesture. Some would merely slap their asses with a 'like what you see?' while others would straight up fondle themselves to solicit a reaction.

The trip to the north dorm was more orderly. Sections of the palace had been cordoned off so guests wouldn't see the parade of undressed demonesses on their way to their only working showers. On the way, Lucy caught up with Lydia and her gang. It wasn't long before they were discussing locating Fae. Lucy wondered if this would be the last she saw of the gang and tried to enjoy the levity. Her mind kept pulling her back to her encounter with Foras. It was a nagging sensation, the kind she got when she had to leave her room knowing she had forgotten something.  When they arrived at the wash hall, Fae was nowhere in sight. They quickly worked out that if Fae had the morning shift, they were about halfway through it by now. The atmosphere in the room was rowdy for the same reason. While much of the morning shift in Lucy's dorm had already gotten to their tasks before the wash hall shut down, many were caught in the middle, and the whole day's schedule was upended. Deadlines having been missed by wide margins, the sense of urgency and orderliness had evaporated. The lack of Jezebel's presence added fuel to the fire.

Lucy found herself underwater several times, but she was getting her dunks in on Lydia's crew too. They were all better built than she was. Every time she got one over on them felt like a major victory, even though it was few and far between. Lucy was closer to a bath toy than a competitor for those girls. Lydia's voice overpowered the splashing.

"There she is!" Lydia called out.

Lucy turned her head, Fae had arrived with her new partner. News must have gotten around. Lydia rushed off after Fae, who was in full uniform, and Lucy followed close behind. Fae's eyes bounced around between all of them, she didn't seem to know who to greet first. She didn't get the chance. As soon as Lydia was close enough she grabbed Fae's hands and pulled her into the water.

"No no no you dumb bitch!" Fae screamed on her way down.

Lucy joined in as soon as Fae's head was above water Lucy got behind her, put her in a full nelson, and fell over backward, taking Fae with her. That's a move she learned in the last five minutes. She let go when she was sure Fae had gone under, and when they both came up she found her gasp for air cut short by an impassioned kiss from Fae. Lucy didn't mind that Fae had put them both back underwater to do it. When they came back up for the second time they were both giggling breathlessly. Lydia jumped into the fray, tackling Fae around the neck. Fae withstood the tackle and picked Lydia up out of the water. Lucy ended up entangled with the others, once again being on the losing end of several tussles. Fae's new partner departed shaking her head and exclaiming how she wasn't going to risk getting wet.

After the initial bout of roughhousing, they all took up a spot on the edge of the bath. Fae caught up with her old group, they swapped gossip and stories. Despite her urges to the contrary, Lucy stayed out of their way. If Lucy and Fae got what they wanted, they'd be losing contact soon. These were Fae's friends from nearly the beginning, and despite the separation their chemistry as a group seemed to be intact. Fae took Lucy's hand and held it for the duration of the conversation. They were on the same page. The electric energy in the wash hall slowly died down and the maids started getting down to their normal business. Everyone seemed to know just how much murder they would be able to get away with today.

"Time to get clean Lucy," Lydia said as she collected pre-lathered soap from the dispenser.

Lucy looked to Fae.

"Oh sheesh Lucy is that the look I think it is? C'mon girls it's time to get Ms. Pyre here clean."

"Wait, what? I uh, oh no."

The group came after Lucy with their sponges as if they were descending on her with daggers. Soon she was kicking and screaming. It tickled. She had hands all over her. Fae wasn't participating beyond watching and laughing and cheering her friends on.

"Make sure to get those ear flakes real good girls," Fae teased, "I gotta go get into some dry clothes, make sure you clean her all over."

"Wait! Fae? Fae!" Lucy called out.

Fae left the wash hall, leaving Lucy's fate to Lydia and her friends. Cleaning certainly wasn't the only thing on their minds. Lucy tried to relax, Fae had asked them to, told them to. It was an experience she wanted Lucy to have. Lucy thought of it as both an initiation and a goodbye, she also wondered how aware Lydia was of the situation. She was intimidated. Even though there were so many hands on her, it also felt intimate. There was hardly a part of her that wasn't being touched, and they made sure to linger on her sensitive areas. Lucy closed her eyes as she started to accept what was happening, and that's when Lydia planted a quick kiss on her lips.

"Alright girls, I think she's done. Welcome to the gang, Lucy."

"Fuck, do you, do you always do that. Is this some sorta sex club or something? I mean. It sounds like I missed out."

Lydia laughed, "No, not quite, but believe me if there was an actual opportunity I think we'd give that a go. We're pushing our luck, Lucy, let's get ready everyone."

The group got back into the dress hall in time to help Fae get back into uniform. Fae couldn't stop smiling, and it got toothy every time she caught Lucy's eye.

"Have fun sweetie?" Fae asked.

"I uh, how do you like, I thought I was done being embarrassed with you, shit! I won't lie I liked it. I liked it, yeah. Damnit Fae are you just trying to get me as horny as possible."

"Duh."

"I hate you sometimes."

"No you don't."

"Alright lovebirds are you done yet we gotta get out of here. We still have the whole walk back," Lydia butted in.

Their trip back to their normal dorm was a jovial one. For the first time, Lucy felt like she was amongst a group of friends. This was no longer a group of girls that only helped her because Fae called in favors. She had friends. It stung Lucy to know she'd not be spending a lot of time with them. The closer they got to the dorm, the quieter they got. No one had seen Jezebel in the north dorm, and they all thought it was likely she was still fuming over here, overseeing the maintenance and everything that came with it. 

Lucy didn't see Gisele when she got back to the dorm. She went up and down the corridors and checked the dress hall. Lucy couldn't remember seeing Gisele in the north dorm, or on the way over. She wasn't exactly looking for her either. Maybe she had gotten out in the morning before the wash hall shut down. She went to her room and when the door closed behind her she looked it over slowly. Why had she come here? She had already checked for Gisele here just a minute ago. Fae wasn't around. Was she saying goodbye to her bedroom too? It felt too early for that. Lucy left, realizing there wasn't a reason to linger. She backed out of the door before shutting it. She turned around only to bump straight into Foras.

"Pardon me, Lucy, the error is mine."

Lucy instinctually looked around to see if anyone was watching them. To her dismay, they were alone. Foras was also searching, but he seemed to be searching for something near Lucy.

"I was curious to the whereabouts of your partner. That's twice I've encountered you today in her absence."

"I. uh. I haven't seen Gisele since the announcement," Lucy said trying to slowly back away.

"Gisele? Pardon? Is your partner not Fae Gale?"

Lucy stopped in her tracks. The look of confusion on her face must have been apparent because Foras put both his hands up with palms forward. Lucy noticed servants had come around the corner on either side of the corridor. She was surrounded. She swallowed and prepared herself to scream if they made a move.

"I have clearly made some sort of error. I will keep myself appraised of your current assignments before speaking to you again Lucy."

Why, why the first name?

The servants closed in. Lucy looked between them for a gap, but saw none. Maybe she could just push past one? Foras furrowed his brow, a rare departure from his stoic expression. Then servants began speaking. They started to tell Foras about the progress of the plumbing repairs, he waved a hand at them, and they went silent.

"Gentlemen please make room for Ms. Pyre to excuse herself. We've delayed her inappropriately."

The servants backed up to the other side of the corridor, giving Lucy a glance that resembled confusion.

"Eyes forward," Foras said.

The servants took a rigid formal posture, and their eyes stopped wandering. Lucy didn't know what to do, but there was a clear path for her to leave and she started to take it. At first, she walked backward to keep an eye on them, to see if they'd follow her or otherwise come after her. A few feet became a few yards and then a few yards became half the corridor.  They hadn't made a move. Reluctantly, she turned her back and headed towards the dress hall at a light jog. Occasionally she'd look behind her. There was no sign of Foras.

As she rounded to corner to the double doors, she saw Jezebel waiting just outside her office. She perked up when she caught sight of Lucy. She still looked cross.

"Lucy get your uniform on, we haven't much time."

"What about Gisele? I can't find her anywhere. I didn't see her in the wash hall or anything. I can't find her."

"She's probably still on shift, she got ready and out on time. Her uniform was a dreadful mess. It's as if her partner wasn't present."

Lucy shrank under Jezebel's scowl. She skipped over to her locker and donned her uniform. She found other maids who had come in late to help her with the tricky parts. Jezebel was still waiting for her at the office doors and as Lucy passed through she felt Jezebel's hand land on her shoulder and stay there.

"We've got to make our move now Lucy, our window is closing, I have no idea if Foras knew what we were up to or got lucky but we have to act now."

Jezebel led Lucy into her study. Her hand firmly and steadily ushered Lucy forward. The study was larger than it appeared from the outside. Lucy wondered just how large Jezebel's private quarters really were. The room was approximately twenty feet by ten feet with vaulted ceilings and books lined every square inch of wall between the entrance and the back of the room. At the rear of the room was a small old elevator with golden manual accordion doors.

"Ma'am, what are we going to do? He took our only bargaining chip. What do we do?!"

Jezebel produced her key and unlocked the accordion doors, soon they were in the elevator. It was so old it had no sort of security mechanism outside of the door lock. It smelled as musty as the books.

"We're going to take Morgen back by force while Foras is preoccupied here."

Before Lucy knew it they were heading downward. She felt a draft just below her knees where her boots ended. When the elevator came to a rest and the doors came open, she realized where she was. A thought was nagging her, but it refused to form. Lucy led Jezebel down the spiral staircase and felt relief that her maid uniform was on this time. It was doing a pretty good job keeping the cold out. When they came up to the vault door Jezebel placed her hand on Lucy's shoulder again. Jezebel held up her phone as casually as you'd pay for a cup of coffee and Lucy felt the familiar vibrations of the heavy steel door starting to open.  An uneasy feeling crept into Lucy's stomach. Just as Lucy thought to turn around she felt Jezebel's fingers dig painfully into her shoulder. Her knees buckled and that's when she felt the shove. Lucy tumbled over the threshold into the vault. Her shins caught the lip and Lucy cried out with a shriek. She landed hard on her shoulder against the frozen lake. The cold bit her through her dress immediately. Lucy tried to scramble to her feet but her clothes were already sticking to the ice, causing her to stumble. Lucy managed to peel herself off the floor but it was too late, she heard the door seal behind her just as she stood upright.

Lucy ran to the vault door and pounded on it. It was painful to simply touch it and she couldn't manage more than a few strikes.

"Jezebel!," Lucy screamed, "Jezebel you fucking bitch! You let me the fuck out of here damnit! I'll--I'll, I'll fucking peg you!"

Lucy had no idea whether her voice could escape the door but there was no reply from Jezebel. Lucy ran to and fro nervously. She didn't know where she was trying to go, only that she had to move. Only the fear of losing sight of the door kept her from running as deep as she could into the darkness. She shot glances around to the other maids. She checked on Morgen. She was encased completely now. Lucy could tell her maid dress was keeping her much warmer than last time but the cold was already creeping in. She had minutes at most. Lucy thought that if she wasn't wearing it, she would have refused to get so close to the door in the first place.

"Oh Lucy you're such an idiot. That's why she told you to wear it in the first place. God damnit. No wonder that didn't make any sense. If she could just badge in here and take Morgen in the first place we wouldn't have had to do all that other shit. Fuck!"

Wait. Badge? She badged.

That was when Lucy realized what that nagging thought was. The elevator that came down here. That was Jezebel's elevator. The person who was coming down in the elevator when she nearly froze here was Jezebel, not Foras. Lucy considered the implications.

"Oh god. Oh no, no no no. Foras didn't know about Fae leaving because he didn't do it. He didn't do it, it wasn't him! It was Jezebel. That bitch! Oh, she's so fucking dead. I need to get out of here. How do I get out of here?"

Lucy considered giving Fae the signal but Fae had no idea where she was. All that would do was have Fae head to the wash hall. After that, she'd have no idea what to do. Her fingers were starting to go numb. She was running out of time. Soon she'd start turning into an ice sculpture like the others here. These weren't Foras' prisoners, they were Jezebel's. She'd backstabbed them all. Lucy yawned. She thought the cold must be making her sleepy already.

"Okay, okay, calm down Lucy. Think. How do we get out of here? I am not going out like this!"

Lucy looked back at the vault door. Surely there was a handle or some other way to open it from the inside. Even Jezebel wouldn't walk in here if there was a chance she could get trapped inside. Lucy saw something, just past the layer of frost on the wall. It was an authentication box.

"Oh, that's just fucking great. Good job Lucy. Just pull out your phone and get out, so fucking shrimple."

Lucy's eyes went wide. She realized that if Foras wasn't the one that caught her down here then he never had a reason to check her logs or revoke her clearances. If she did have her phone she could just walk out of here. Did Foras even know what this place was being used for? Lucy thought to attempt to summon her phone. As a personal possession, it should be easier to summon than during the pen exercise and she certainly desired it right now. Lucy started to take her stance. She was shaking from the cold, and her fingers were tough to move or to keep still. It was hard to even feel her hands, much less come to the neutral feeling she had practiced. She concentrated on her phone, on wanting it, her panic and desire to escape this room, and how her phone would let her do it. Flames burst into her hand, delivering her phone to her. Just like the pen it had happened so quickly she didn't have time to anticipate it. She bumbled and fumbled and juggled her phone. Her hand would brush it and send it in a different direction. The impact stung her frozen hands. She crossed her arms and managed to bring it into her body. She was hugging it tightly now. Summoning it only to drop it on the floor and have it break would have been cruel. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, but the way the air stung her lungs reminded her not to celebrate just yet. She held the power button.

"Come on, turn on turn on. Fucking hurry. Turn on. TURN ON!"

Lucy was having trouble focusing her eyes. The phone did turn on, but it was ignoring Lucy's pleas to hurry. The first thing it did, before it even started booting, was warn her about her low battery. From there it took the usual amount of time to come to the lock screen. It felt like an eternity to Lucy. Finally, she unlocked her phone and presented it to the black box. She'd never heard a more pleasant-sounding locking mechanism. The vault door began to swing open and Lucy squeezed out as soon as her body would fit through the gap. Lucy tripped on the way out and she and her phone came crashing down to the floor. She looked up from her prone position. She was seeing triple, and the room was moving, but she didn't see Jezebel.


Lucy heard the sound of a teacup hitting a saucer. The darkness fell away as she opened her eyes. It was warm, really warm. She was lying on her back. She was on something soft, and smooth. Her vision was still blurred, and she was still seeing double. It was better than triple at least. The uncontrolled movement was making her sick and her head was pounding. She started to sit up.

"Steady now, easy does it."

Lucy felt a hand on her back, assisting her upward. It was a man's voice.

"If you are able to stomach it, I suggest imbibing the remedy I've brewed for you. I'll assist if necessary."

Lucy suddenly realized where she was, and who she was with. This was Foras' office. She tried to jump to her feet. She threw up instead. She felt Foras' hand push her gently back into the seat after she was done soiling his floor. Her vision wasn't getting better, and her headache was getting worse.

"Easy Lucy, easy. You're unwell."

Something about the way her name sounded coming from Foras was relaxing and reassuring. She heard the teacup again.

"It is imperative you begin drinking. Here."

Lucy felt the warm ceramic push up against her bottom lip. Lucy became aware of the fact that she was still shivering, even though she didn't feel cold. Perhaps she was sick. Through her quivering, the pressure of the teacup remained even. It never left her lips, it never pushed into them. The teacup was steady even though she was not. She could feel the steam from it waft up her nose. It was soothing. The room's spin slowed just ever so slightly. Lucy nodded, and the cup was tilted up for her. She was able to sip. It was bitter, intensely bitter. It was difficult to drink, but she could feel her symptoms subsiding when she did. The nausea remained.

"I think. I think I might throw up again. Lucy might throw up."

"The tea becomes more efficacious the longer you keep it down."

Lucy nodded, once again indicating her readiness to drink more. She couldn't have gotten more than a half teaspoon down so far.

"Foras, I gotta say, Sir, if a brick could talk, it would sound like you."

"I shall interpret that as gratitude. Are you able to continue?"

Lucy shook her head, she could feel it coming up, "N--no I don't think--"

Her vision was clear enough now that she could see the mess she was making all over Foras' shoes. It didn't look like he was moving.

"Allow it to run its course. Inform me when you are able to resume, Lucy."

Lucy threw up several more times that evening. The odor had filled the room, which itself caused her to be sick a few times. Foras didn't move until her tea was finished. During the process, he only spoke to inform her of her progress and to urge her to continue. After Lucy drank the last of the tea he rose to his feet. Her headache was nearly gone, and she could see clearly again. She wished her sense of smell wasn't as keen. She still felt weak, and when she felt her boots being unbuckled she didn't resist.

"You've made an impressive mess of your boots. You still require rest, I will clean this directly."

"Foras what the hell happened," Lucy groaned.

"In short, you were sedated, at the concentration you seem to have taken, I'd call it poisoned really. You were fortunate enough to be discovered by one of my staff. You were found unconscious in the corridors on the main level."

"I don't even remember going up the stairs."

"I will repeat myself. You were sedated."

Lucy felt her boots being pulled off one by one. She looked at her feet. Foras, kneeling, had positioned himself so that he was looking down at her boots, rather than up from them.

"You know after stealing those phone pictures it's kind of insulting you go out of your way not to look up my fucking skirt."

"If you are referencing my warning regarding the content filter, then I'm afraid I must disappoint you. I did not see them, the content filter purges them automatically and alerts us to the activity. A new system. You and Fae were the first to trigger it."

Lucy's face turned red. The awkward silence that fell on the room after her accusation remained for the rest of the evening. Lucy offered to leave the office a few times but Foras insisted she stay. After he cleaned the mess she'd made all over his office floor, he prepared her another cup of tea and ensured she drank it. By that time it was late, and she fell asleep on the leather sofa, exhausted.