Jezebel placed a few fingers under Lucy's extended wrist, elevating it.  Her other hand kept Lucy's arm straight. She rotated Lucy's palm and checked her fingers. The adjustments continued until she was satisfied.

"Remember what this feels like, it has to be exact Lucy. Now try again."

Lucy took a deep breath and concentrated on how her arm was feeling, mindfully going muscle by muscle and taking stock of the sensations. It reminded her of learning to put on the maid dress. The exact way Jezebel wanted the bow to look, the exact distance between the skirt and garters, and even the alignment of the buckles. The attention was all too familiar to Lucy. It was as if Jezebel had been preparing her for this. All that was left now, so she had been told, was to want it. She held her palm flat, facing up. Her fingers were flexed and spaced carefully. Lucy looked towards a fountain pen in its stand on Jezebel's desk. Small flames sputtered from her palm and licked her fingertips. The pen flung flames of its own in response. A pentagram, glowing as embers, seared itself into Lucy's palm, though it was painless. The pen could no longer be seen behind the fire enshrouding it, but without warning, they died back. Wisps of white smoke lazily drifted from Lucy's hand and the pen. Lucy sighed and dropped her arm.

"Let's take a moment, Lucy. You nearly had it."

Lucy followed Jezebel to an alcove at the rear of her office. Jezebel had put some tea on before the session, and it was ready now. The tea, cups, and saucers sat atop a ceramic serving tray. It was indigo-stained. The tray sat atop a small rectangular wooden table, which sat in front of a small backless bench, upholstered in scarlet. The wood of the bench and the table were lacquered black and inlaid with gold to accentuate the edges and corners. It appeared like a void past the bright white and blue tea set. They sat down next to each other and Jezebel poured their tea, and a lavender aroma filled the air.

"Your posture was correct, you lost focus," Jezebel said, taking her tea in hand.

Lucy nodded and was already sipping hers, back straight as a board and shoulders high. Yesterday she made the mistake of slouching, which came with a swift hand to her backside.

"You've got to learn how to covet things, I understand that's difficult in practice but that's the whole trick. You're a demoness in case you've forgotten. Everything you need is what you are."

"Yeah, my thoughts drifted alright," Lucy sipped her tea again. She wanted to explain why she'd lost concentration, but Jezebel was intolerant of excuse-making. "So like, I've seen you and Foras do this and you don't, well you're not as stiff. Why do I have to hold my arm out like that?"

"Strictly speaking, you don't. However, you need to learn the sensation, and to do that we have to set a baseline. It will let you separate the correct sensations from the incorrect ones. If your posture is all over the place you'll have trouble grasping it. It's second nature for Foras and I. A hundred years would be too soon to do it as casually as we do."

Lucy nearly spit her tea out as Jezebel watched intently. Lucy knew if she let so much as a drop escape she'd get some sort of correction. Lucy gathered her composure.

"With all due respect ma'am that sounded like something I'd read in a manga."

Lucy saw the corner of Jezebel's mouth lift.

"Did it?"

The sensation of the warm tea going down her throat was soothing to Lucy. Jezebel started bringing Lucy hot cups while she was recovering. Sometimes it was tea proper, sometimes it was just honey in lemon water. Lucy craved the warm sensation now, and Jezebel seemed pleased to indulge her. Their tea was soon finished. Lucy stood and pressed her skirt. She was in uniform today.

Lucy took her place, took her position, and wanted more than anything for this chore to be over. This was just the preliminary training, and she'd been at it all morning. Jezebel needed her to master more complicated forms of summoning. They both needed her to grasp these techniques before either of them got what they wanted. Lucy hadn't known these things were available to her by birthright, and she was eager to learn what she needed to take Fae and leave. Lucy hardly noticed that the pen was already in her hand, the flash of flames accompanying it already flickering out. Lucy was so startled she nearly dropped it.

"Well done Lucy, you'll be good to practice that on your own now."

"I wasn't even thinking about the pen though. How? I don't understand."

"Not surprising, let's hear it then. What were you thinking about?"

"I just wanted to get it over with you know? I just wanted to be done."

"Lucy you don't need to be thinking about the object you're summoning directly, you just need to desire it. I urge caution with using impatience as a motivator. That's gotten you into a heap of trouble already."

"Yes ma'am. So what about my phone?"

"Your phone indeed."

"Pardon?"

"I might have caught it the first time I checked your logs after I caught you out, but I didn't. I wager that's why you got away with it so long. That was Morgen's phone, Lucy, though you seem none the wiser. Care to tell me how that happened?"

"I uh...I owed her a favor. She said she needed to borrow my phone overnight. I didn't know why but I let her do it. I guess she must have swapped the phones out."

"She knew. That has to be it. She knew Foras was going to make a move on her, or suspected it at least. That explains your access, that's stored with the phone, not the SIM. So Foras has your phone instead of Morgen's. I bet he's worked this out since you got into that vault of his. I told you to keep that phone on you before, I'm not so sure that's a good idea anymore."

"Shit, what should I do?"

"I think you should just keep it in your room. Keep it powered off. Foras sometimes has pretense to come into my office but that's not the case with your dorm room. Let us keep it that way. Keep it off, Lucy."

"Alright, well that's disappointing. I guess I'll have to keep stuck to Gisele like a lost puppy."

"You will. I'll see you tomorrow Lucy. It's time for your shift. Show me your progress tomorrow I want to see some control of what you just learned today."

Lucy tailgated Gisele into the wash hall the following morning. Wet footsteps echoed around the tiled floors. Only a few showers were on. They were some of the first maids here this morning. Gisele had already gotten rusty, and Lucy was in a rush to give them as much time as possible to get dressed. Lucy cut on the shower without adjusting the temperature and took the nearest available source of soap. As she scrubbed herself down she heard the bath water slosh close behind her. She turned around to see Fae's old clique standing around her. Their gazes were stern, arms crossed to a woman. Lucy felt like her older self, her timid self, under the pressure of so many scowls.

"C...can I do anything for--"

"Can it, Lucy. What the fuck did you do?"

After their last encounter, Lucy made a point to learn this demoness's name. She was always in charge of and spoke for the group, even when Fae was around. Her name was Lydia.

"What do you mean?"

"Quit playing stupid you know what you did. Tell us."

Lucy didn't know what they could be talking about, but the annoyance of being interrupted helped her find her confidence.

"How about you fucking shut up and let me fucking talk if you have so many fucking questions! Shit! What the fuck are you talking about? I have no idea!"

"What happened between you and Fae? None of us have been able to reach her for days, so what did you do bitch?"

Lydia closed in. Lucy's confidence left her. She had no idea why Fae stopped talking to them, but she feared it was related to her confession. A pit formed in her stomach. She thought the worst, fearing that Foras had managed to collect her. She shrank against the wall. Lydia slammed her hand against the wall and loomed over Lucy.

"I knew it! It is your fault! I'm going to fuck you up!"

"I...I confessed! I'm sorry! That's all I did though alright. That's all I did."

Lucy winced, her eyes shut and she braced for the worst.

"What do you mean you confessed? You still haven't told me shit! Spit it out!"

Lucy opened her eyes again, thankful she'd managed to avoid getting hit.

"Y--you know, a confession like," Lucy's voice became a squeak and she turned her head to the side to avoid Lydia's piercing stare, "I told her I love her. Fuck that's embarrassing, are you satisfied? Are you fucking happy?"

Lydia stood up straight, and her scowl melted into a puzzled-looking stare.

"That doesn't make any sense! Well? What did she say Lucy?"

"She didn't say anything, she couldn't, I er. My phone is broken again. It happened right after--I sent like, a message, but my phone broke right after. I am so dumb, I am so fucking stupid."

"Huh? How did you break your phone? You know what never mind. So you're saying you told her you loved her, and that basically you disappeared after that?"

"Yeah, that's basically it."

"I don't get it. She coulda just asked us to look for you. So Fae wasn't acting weird the last time you spoke to her or nothin'?"

"No, look, can you tell her I'm alright? Like text her or something? Just say that. The moment you get a chance just send her that message okay? Maybe she'll start talking."

"Yeah, sure thing Lucy. Forget this happened, I'll go back to my locker right now."

Lucy followed closely behind her would-be assailants as they left the wash hall. Lucy noticed that all their faces were shades of red, and she felt like hers had to be as well. More people had arrived during their argument, and they were all staring. Everyone that was already in the wash hall had stopped what they were doing to look at the commotion, and now they were all watching them leave together. It wasn't the first time Lucy had drawn gazes like this, but she disliked it all the same. She thought Fae's friends must have been feeling the same way.

They all crowded around Lydia as she retrieved her phone from her locker. She sent the simple message, that Lucy was alright. They collectively held their breath as they waited for a reply. Nothing. Lydia looked up at Lucy.

"Look, Lucy, we've got to finish getting ready. I'll come find you if I hear anything."

Lucy nodded.

"Thanks, Lydia."

Lucy approached Jezebel's door that evening, only to find her standing in front of it waiting expectantly. Lucy stopped in front of her, waiting to be addressed.

"We won't be practicing in my office today Lucy. You were practicing I trust?"

Lucy nodded. She had used her phone for practice last night. It went smoothly, it was easy to want the phone. She wanted her freedom to roam around back. She wanted to be able to talk to Fae again. Lucy assumed her posture, and the pen was quickly in her hand again. Jezebel took it from her.

"Good, today will be more difficult. Follow me Lucy and stick close."

Jezebel took her through the dressing hall, up to the elevator, and when the doors closed behind them she did not use her phone to authenticate. Instead, she summoned a key. The elevators had keys for some floors, but she had never seen them used. Jezebel put the key in and turned a cylinder from the off position to the on position, which was a quarter circle to the left. She pressed the sixth-floor button. Lucy hadn't been on that floor in years. She'd only been there once in fact. Never up to it, only down from it. It's where she was summoned for service, summoned in for her stint here. She hadn't left that floor via elevator. They were paraded down a large staircase to the fifth, where they went through orientation, and were bonded.

"My end of the bargain Lucy. I'm going to show you what you need to know to get out of here."

Lucy snapped her attention straight to Jezebel's eyes, and she couldn't control the smile that came.

"Settle down, knowing it won't let you do it. Not right away."

The elevator arrived at floor six. Jezebel withdrew her key and sent it whence it came. The corridors up here were dark and narrow. They hadn't been updated to the more contemporary styles of the floors she was accustomed to working on. It had an odor about it, the kind of odor that only came from old wood and carpet. Everything was covered in a thin layer of dust. Lucy realized letting maids up here to clean it would be risky. This area was off-limits, perhaps more than the fourth floor. Lucy wondered if the servants came in this way. She hadn't recalled seeing any when she was summoned. It was all demonesses. Oil lamps provided the lighting, and Lucy realized why Jezebel needed a key. She didn't see any signs of the tech she was accustomed to. They came to a set of heavy wooden doors, which Jezebel opened promptly. The room before her, this one was familiar. The patterns in the black marble floors, the open space, the dim lighting, the banistered grand staircase that went to the fifth floor. This was the first room she had ever seen in the palace.

"Do you leave the way you come in?"

"Good girl Lucy, that is correct. When your time is done here, you're brought back to this floor, and your summoning is reversed. That normally requires my involvement."

"You're going to show me how to do it instead."

"Yes, not forgetting that you want to leave here with Fae, it shouldn't be a problem. See, I haven't unbound her yet, and you know what happens if you try to leave with her before I do that."

"Right, loud and clear, I'll hurt her if I try to bail early. Will this be difficult?"

"I told you before that everything you need comes with being a demoness itself. It won't be easy, mind you, but it will not be beyond you. Let's get started shall we?"

Lucy followed Jezebel to the center of the room. The sigils carved into the floor were difficult to see, but she could feel them on her bare feet. They weren't wide, but they were deep enough she nearly tripped. Jezebel stopped in the center of the pattern and turned to face Lucy.

"This is where you came in, this is where you leave. This is a universal summoning circle, I can pluck you from anywhere with this, and you can return to anywhere from it, within reason."

"Within reason? What do you mean?"

"Anywhere demonic influence is reasonable enough for it to work. I couldn't pop you into New York, say," Jezebel raised her chin every so slightly, and her eyes drifted to her left for a moment, then returned to Lucy, "Well, not all of New York anyway."

"Does that mean if I get out it would be better to get topside if I don't want to be yoinked back?"

"If you really want to be sure yes. That's what I'd do. Keep in mind I can dismiss maids at any time of my choosing, and that It's my responsibility to summon maids as they are needed. If I were in your position, however, I'd find those assurances of little comfort. Yes, I'd try to get topside were I you."

Lucy walked a wide circle around Jezebel as she took in the patterns on the floor. She recognized most of them. She did understand how locating sigils worked in theory. Lucy never put that into practice though, and she was perplexed by how they were laid out together.

"These don't seem to point anywhere in particular. Am I stupid?"

"Yes."

"Hey! You weren't supposed to go along with that. I wanted you to explain what I'm seeing!"

"Lucy, dear, don't ask questions you don't want answers to, it's unbecoming and I taught you better. Speaking of, when it comes to general infernal knowledge, you are wholly uneducated. I don't know what passes for curriculum in the fifth circle but I have to imagine you slept through a great deal of it. I just told you this was a universal summoning circle. The location sigils do not point to a where, they point to a when. They are arranged so that the when is always now, and as far as when's go you are always here."

Lucy stared at Jezebel with a blank expression as she desperately tried to grasp what it was she had just been told. Jezebel crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"These are not easy circles to draw Lucy. The important thing is you understand the concept. The hard part has been done for you. That's why this room exists. I could teach you to do a simple one. A here to there. An anchor for someplace familiar, to use at your leisure. We're not here for that. The circle grants us the ability to pick from anywhere, what else do we need?"

"The who."

"You're on a roll tonight. I take it you'll recognize this."

Jezebel whipped her right hand forward, and the list of names appeared in it and unfurled to the floor. Lucy gave pause. She could have gone without seeing this document again.

"How could I forget? Wish I could."

Jezebel beckoned Lucy to her with a gesture, and Lucy joined her in the center of the circle. Lucy looked at the document that had caused her so much heartache. Lucy recognized the infernal letters, but they floated around the page in a dense soup. Some of them were a bit different than how she normally saw them, like a different dialect.

"Touch it Lucy, and think about yourself."

Lucy looked up at Jezebel and then looked back at the swarm of letters. She gently took the paper by the edge, between her thumb and forefinger. It was course, and she could see whole fibers here and there. Lucy turned her thoughts inward and watched as much of the letters scattered away, leaving only a sentence behind.

The graceful flames light.

"Okay so if I think about myself it shows me what my name means?"

"Not quite. You almost had it. When the meaning of your given name is represented in the first language, that is called your true name. Do not speak it. Where you are right now, holding this list, speaking it would take you away from here. I'm not even sure where you'd end up, it would be the first thing you thought of or the place you're most attached to."

Lucy drew her hand back to herself sharply, and the sea of letters closed back around themselves in turbulent waves that erased any evidence of order that had been there. Lucy was afraid she'd accidentally leave Fae behind if she kept hold of it.

"Well would you look at that, respecting the power you hold. That's a first," Jezebel snickered. 

The list vanished in a burst of flame that Lucy was becoming familiar with. Jezebel looked down at her and spoke a phrase in the first language. Lucy realized it wasn't her name being spoken, instead, it translated to playful spirit in the wind.

"That's Fae's true name isn't it?"

"Memorize that, this is the hard part I was telling you about.  It's not enough to slur your way through it, you must deliver the phrase exactly, perfectly intonated. This is an older and deceptively different form of infernal than you're taught. It's no accident either."

"Okay okay slow down. So like, when the time comes, I have to speak both our true names here. We have to be together. Do I have to reverse her summoning before I go? That makes sense right? And they have to be said exactly right or, I don't wanna think about that, that's scary."

"You will have to learn to speak both yours and Fae's perfectly. You shall practice this here, we have an hour. Let us move out of this circle first, it's dangerous to practice true names inside of it, even without the list."

Lucy closed the door behind her and looked at her empty bed, then at Gisele's. Lucy closed her eyes trying to remember Gisele's schedule. They were partners in name only now. Lucy thought anyone paying attention would have realized it already. Lucy remembered Gisele was on laundry duty tonight, and wouldn't be in until close to lights out. She thought about getting more name practice in. Jezebel had warned her not to speak true names in front of anyone else, that the things you could use those for extended beyond summoning. By the end of their session, Jezebel said she felt pretty good about Lucy's ability to recite the names, but that they'd need to meet some more to make it stick.

Lucy's thoughts kept drifting to Fae. It concerned her deeply that Fae had gone silent to her friends. Lucy collapsed onto her bed and held her pillow to her chest as she rolled to her side. She pictured herself running through the palace, finding Fae, and leaving. She went over the corridors she had discovered, the closets. She sat up and opened the singular drawer in the nightstand and looked at the useless phone inside of it. She thought about turning it on long enough to take a look at the palace maps she had saved there. She remembered Jezebel's words about her impatience, and how it had gotten her into so much trouble, and shut the drawer.

Lucy remembered all the plans she and Fae had made and how she indulged Fae in her scheme to leave. It was pointless. Knowing what she knew now, that plan was always doomed to failure. Her fate, their fate, had rested with Jezebel the entire time. The other maids that seemed to have escaped, had gone missing, they were all modern art sculptures in Foras' vault. She recalled how proud Jezebel sounded when she would talk about being able to dismiss any maid at her whim. It occurred to Lucy that Jezebel had let some maids go early before. Maids that had done her large favors. She wondered if Morgen was going to be dismissed early. Maybe, after their plan to rescue her had been completed, she still would.

Lucy imagined the final scene of their previous scheme. Their doomed gambit. In one, she was alone, in another, with Fae. Seducing Foras, only to be collected and locked away with the others. The texts about their photos. His help after her run-in with Apollyon. Lucy wondered how much of that he'd planned. She remembered Jezebel said it was his decision explicitly to split them up. Lucy realized they were never pulling one over on Foras, if anything, he was grooming them both.

Lucy hadn't felt this unsure of herself since she stumbled into becoming Fae's lover. She felt like a child just being carried along by the movements of the world around her. Whatever happened from here on out, Lucy was determined to take what actions she could to steer things in her direction. She went over the scenarios again in her head. How to leave the dormitory, who she could tailgate through chokepoints, and routes that the passages she found might open up. She imagined herself walking through the palace on repeat, taking advantage of these areas while figuring out who and who wouldn't care if she followed them through a door, and what was safe to do at night.

Lucy's door flung open without warning and she sat up with a shriek. Lucy shot a glare towards the door, she prepared to bite Gisele's head off.

"Lucy she responded!"

It wasn't Gisele. Lydia had burst into her room and was practically on top of her already. Lydia had her phone in Lucy's face. It suddenly occurred to her what was happening. Lucy reached for the phone but Lydia pulled it back.

"Lydia it's hard to fucking read when you're moving around like that! What'd she say?!"

"She says she wants to talk to you. She also told me she was sorry for ghosting me. I don't think I've ever heard her say sorry to anyone. Anyway Lucy, I think I'll leave you two alone for a bit, don't break my phone klutz."

Lydia tossed her phone to Lucy. When Lucy looked at the screen, she saw it was already dialing Fae. She heard the bedroom door close, and then Fae picked up. Lucy brought the phone up to her ear and tried to recall the last time she used the phone part of a phone.

"Hey, Lydia? Is Lucy there?"

"Where the fuck have you been?! Christ Fae you had everyone fucking worried. I thought Foras got you!"

"Bitch look who's talking! Damnit Lucy where do you get off saying that to me after what you pulled."

"Oh I've been getting off anywhere I can," Lucy started giggling before she was finished delivering the line, "Sorry, I guess we've got some important things to talk about huh. Not gonna lie I'm a little terrified about what you're going to say. Just, if you're gonna let me down do it easy."

Lucy heard Fae stifle a laugh in the background while she was talking. It came with a sniffle too. Fae's voice had been cracking when she was dressing Lucy down.

"Slow down Lucy, you're all over the place. Are you okay? What's this Foras thing? What are you talking about?"

Lucy felt more on edge when Fae didn't mention her voice message. She felt like every non-answer was an answer in itself. She couldn't put it out of her mind, but she made it take a back seat to answer Fae's questions. She deserved those answers at least.

"Sorry, Fae. Yeah, I'm alright. I almost wasn't, that's why you haven't heard from me and I'm sorry. My phone isn't usable anymore and it won't be getting replaced any time soon. Maybe not ever, not in here anyway. Look Fae, our little plan was kinda stupid. We shouldn't be trying to get close to Foras at all," As Lucy started talking about Foras her tone grew assertive rather than apologetic, "In fact, don't be near the servants at all, don't be anywhere near them okay? I can't really explain right now, but I'm going to get us out of here, but you've gotta lay low."

Lucy hated lying to Fae. She wanted to be able to tell Fae what really happened. She thought Lydia might be at the door listening and didn't mind her hearing that she didn't like Foras, but she couldn't risk the reason getting out.

"How is it you always manage to get into the worst trouble? Whatever, I'm glad you're okay but I'm unhappy about it. You've broken your phone twice in a year. I was really worried sick you made it sound like you weren't coming back."

"I almost didn't Fae, that's what I'm trying to tell you, shit. I didn't want to...look I can't tell you about that part right now, that's an in-person thing I guess. I'm sorry Fae some serious shit is happening. I wanna tell you about it I really fucking do. Why'd you ghost your friends though? Lydia nearly kicked my ass. They thought I did something to you."

"Yeah well, I stopped using my phone too. I couldn't look at it anymore so I just turned it off and kept it in my room. My new roommate understood and she just did stuff for me. Every day I looked at that thing and there wasn't any news from you. It was too much."

"Wait then--"

"I checked it once a week since you vanished. Today happened to be that day."

"Lydia was pretty worried you didn't ask her about me."

"Look Lucy, that uh. That was a Lucy moment. I didn't consider it."

Lucy swallowed hard, "You have an answer for me?"

A silence fell over the conversation. Lucy dreaded the reply and the anxiety turned the seconds to minutes.

"I wish you'd known me before we got stuck here, it'd make this easier. I know a lot about lust Lucy. It comes with the territory. The stuff you're talking about, well, I have about as much experience with that as you had with sex when we met. I feel things with you and I just don't know what to call those feelings yet. I'm pretty comfortable with you saying you love me though. Actually, it makes me happy to hear you say that. I just can't say it back yet, I'm sorry, it doesn't feel right. If it's still what you want, I still want to leave here with you, and I still want to be with you after."

"Okay," Lucy took her turn at being silent, "I guess that's better than what I was afraid it was gonna be, yeah."

"I really didn't want to say that over the phone Lucy. I wanted to wait until you were here."

Lucy laughed at herself, "Yeah I forced it like a dummy didn't I?"

"So you said you were getting off everywhere? Was that a joke or have you been naughty?"

"Yeah let's just say going solo lost a little bit of its thrill compared to having a night with you. I've been chasing that rush you know?"

"You're welcome. Worst place?"

"The fucking kitchen. You know, the big one."

"Lucy!"

"Hey! You asked. Besides they've got like, sinks in there and stuff. There's soap. Hey, serious for a sec. Jezebel is going to let us go. I've gotta do her a big favor, but like, that's how we're getting out. She's been teaching me how to do the summoning stuff and when I get like, the thing she needs we're out of here. I really need you to watch your back until that happens okay? It's about Morgen, I know what happened to her and...I'll tell you more when I can see you okay?"

"You're sure about this Lucy? Since when did you get in good with Jezebel?"

"Yeah I'm sure. I don't think I'm 'in' with her either. I can just do a thing she needs done and it's not like she's gonna be losing the best cleaning lady or anything you know? What I am sure of is we don't get out of here without her okay? If she's playing us it's still better being on her good side than not and you gotta trust me on that one alright?"

"Yeah, alright Lucy. Probably time to give Lydia her phone back. I'm glad you're safe, really. If you need to get a hold of me bug Lydia about it, I'll do the same."

"Alright. Good night Fae, Love you."