#lucia answer an ask concisely challenge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

skvaderarts · 3 years

Text

Hiraeth Chapter 31: Reinstate

Chapter Thirty-One: Reinstate

Masterlist can be found Here!

Note: Sorry for the upload being a few hours late. I had one of those days where something happens and it just pisses you off, so you take a nap and when you wake up, it’s 8pm. SMH.

(-~-)

One week Later…

Stretching on and on for what felt like miles, the looming, almost oppressive structure towered over them like some sort of vast Eldredge monstrosity. Clad with dark brick and even darker windows, there was no clear-cut indication that the residence was even occupied, aside from the immaculate condition in which the grounds were kept. Although slightly overgrown in regards to the thick ivy that clung to the top of the high wall that bordered the corner lot, and the equally thick secondary, almost blue variety of foliage that crawled up the grey and red bricks that covered the home, it seemed deliberate. All of the hedges were cut, all of the thick cypress trees had been pruned, and not a single blade of grass was out of place on the side of the fence they occupied. Even the flowers themself that stood tall, basking in the glow of the mid-morning sun seemed to be too well-shaped. It was as though someone had meticulously plucked every petal in order to force the buds to form a certain shape, or that had been purposely bred to do so automatically. All in all, a very strange sight.

Admittedly, the top of the gate and walls were no different. In addition to being a frankly overkill solution in regards to keeping out unwanted visitors, every wrought iron spike and delicate curl stretched upwards in perfect uniformity, abnormally clean, and clearly under the care of someone who was more than slightly obsessed with the upkeep of the environment around the manor. It was one thing to clear away debris and old plants, but to polish the gates in an attempt to keep their natural shine for as long as possible? That was something else. That would literally take forever, and it would have to be done constantly. Who had the time or the inclination to do something like that?

Nico had insisted on coming, certain that she would have some new and exciting stories to share with Rock the next time she talked to him. Maybe she could send him pictures? She felt like he might be into that, but with everything going on at the moment, it probably wasn’t wise to start contacting members of her family. Who knew who might be watching. The last thing that the plucky young gunsmith wanted to do was unknowingly contribute to the death of one of the people she cared about most, especially when they were family. She just knew that she would never be able to forgive herself for doing something like that, even if it hadn’t been her intention.

On either side of the gate were what seemed to be guards. They stood there like statues, unmoving sentinels with a clear and defined purpose: to keep outsiders from entering the grounds unless explicitly permitted by someone from within the building. And by the looks of it, they were nowhere near that lucky. Despite the fact that they had now walked the distance of the entire wall, no one from within seemed to have noticed their presence yet, more than likely mistaking them for simple passers-by. It was an easy enough thing to do, considering how gloomy it was. The cool breeze and light rain hadn’t helped their odds of being noticed sooner rather than later. Umbrellas tended to block your line of sight.

Peering through the gate from afar, not much more than the stone path that led to the front gate was visible from this angle. What looked to be a front door was present a few yards away towards the left of the property, but they couldn’t be sure from here. The cypress trees that lined the half-circle driveway made being able to discern these things from as far back as they were challenging. Still, they needed to gain entry to the property, so they were apparently going to have to bite the bullet and give up the element of surprise a little. How unfortunate. They had been hoping to maintain that for as long as they could.

Approaching the gate, Magnolia stopped for a moment and took a long, slow breath before proceeding to press the call button on the gate. Vergil noticed, but said nothing. It wasn’t his place to, and he knew that better than anyone else here probably did. Only once had he walked the halls of this establishment, and it had been so brief and so long ago that trying to recall the specifics felt like trying to remember the details of a dream you had experienced decades ago. He had been an entirely different person then, but coming here had been a decisive move on his part that had proven to be a positive decision despite the path it later sent him down.

When no one responded, she cleared her throat before turning to one of the guards. Perhaps one of them would hold the answers to why she was still standing here without a response of any kind to fall back on. “Excuse me kindly, sir. Surely someone is home? I’ve never seen this place empty in the four decades that I’ve walked this earth.”

The tall man turned to her, seemingly dismissing her existence outright. He didn’t seem at all pleased to have her standing anywhere near the gate. “I’ll have to ask you to move away from the property line. The lady of the house isn’t accepting guests. The property is on lockdown, you see.” He paused for a moment, seemingly distressed by something that he had just said. After adjusting his collar, his tone became sterner, more than likely a direct result of him noticing the fact that she had company for the first time. “Don’t trouble yourself with the details. They aren’t important. Just vacate the premises, ma’am.”

She got the impression that he had said more than he was supposed to, and that in of itself was enough to pique her curiosity. It was very rare that something like this happened, but now she got the distinct impression that she understood why seemingly no one was home. They were all safely inside of the confines of the manor, guarding themselves against some unknown threat. That was worrisome. They didn’t tend to hide. “Lockdown? Whatever for?”

”I’ve said more than enough already. Off with you.” The man said, clearly miffed. The guard on the other side of the gate seemed to notice the situation, turning around to face them both. It seemed that if she needed to be removed from the premises, then he would be part of the solution. But upon noticing who his partner was talking to, he stood at attention, motioning for the other man to stop speaking. He stepped forward and looked at her closely, tilting his head to the side slightly before standing at attention again, mouth agape.

“Pardon my intrusion… but are you… It is you!” The man recoiled in surprise, motioning for the other guard to stand aside. Clearly confused, the other man did as he was instructed, but gave his compatriot a skeptical look as he did so, clearly not comprehending what all the fuss was about.

“We were told not to allow-” The first guard started, looking between his partner and the strange woman at the gate, the latter of which was giving him a fierce look of disapproval in regards to his treatment of her thus far. The older guard shushed him, clearly not entertaining any further interruptions on his behalf. This conversation was over.

“Belay that. Do you have any idea who you just disrespected?” The older guard asked as he unlocked the front gate and slid it to one side, nodding politely to Magnolia as she and the others entered the front gates. Vergil didn’t pay the man any mind, but Dante, Nero, Nico, Lucia, and V were thoroughly perplexed. Didn’t Magnolia’s family live here? How did no one here recognize her? Sirrus didn’t seem surprised by their reaction, but he did seem slightly agitated.

“Forgive him, Lady Ludwig. He is new here, and he has no idea who he is speaking to. Please, you and your guests are welcome to enter. I will alert one of my benefactors to your presence. Please, enjoy your visit.” He stepped out of her way and moved to close the gate again, much to the ire of the other guard who was clearly still out of the loop as to what was going on. “It has been quite a long time, has it not? Not to be insensitive, but I thought you long dead! When you approached the gate, I thought I had just seen a ghost!”

“Think nothing of it, Briar. Family affairs drove me away, and family affairs have brought me back. That is simply the way things work around here.” Magnolia bowed politely, a tired but happy smile on her face. This was going to be a long day, wasn’t it? “It is good to see that you are well, however. Seeing you here after such a long time… it was a pleasant surprise. I trust that my little sisters are here?”

He nodded, gesturing towards the front door. “That way, ma’am. Lady Aluta is out of town, but Madam Willow should be back shortly. She had to step away on an important business trip. I can’t imagine she won’t return before dinner. She never misses it.”

“Of that, I have no doubt. That would be unlike her.” Magnolia’s face was plastered with blatant discomfort at the prospect. There had been a part of her that had hoped to run into her youngest sister. Aluta was concise and brutal at times, but she was logical and level-headed above all else. Utterly ruthless and cunning, but able to be reasoned with. On the other hand, Willow could be very…

Just then, the doors to one of the third-story balconies above them flew open, and out stepped a young woman with soft brownish-gray hair. It trailed down towards her waist as it and her long gray robe blew in the wind, her eyes traveling towards the gate. After a moment, they settled onto Magnolia, and she gave a surprised gasp. “And just when I thought my day could not become more interesting! Tantine, is that you?! At last, you’ve come home!”

Magnolia gazed up at her before her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth with her hands, clearly taken aback by the sight that unfolded before her. “Hydrangea is that you, ma chérie?! Surely it hasn’t been that long?! Little lady, when did you get so… tall?!”

Without warning, the young woman vaulted over the railing, eager to meet up with them. Alarmed looks crossed the faces of both Nero and Nico as they watched her plummet towards the ground, while V starred on in hesitant expectation. He had the feeling that she knew what she was doing, but it was still alarming to watch her vault over the edge like that. But surely someone her age knew how to not fall to their death off of a tall building like this? There was no way that she would have done that if she didn’t think she’d be able to land safely. At least he hoped so. He would find out soon enough either way.

V’s assumption proved to be correct a moment later when about two-thirds of the way down, her fall slowed somewhat, and she was able to come to a gentle stop on the gravel coated pavement, the young summoner noticing for the first time that she was barefoot. Dante and Lucia shared a curious look, but said nothing, seemingly just along for the ride at this point. Sirrus snickered, shaking his head. Oh yes, he never got tired of this place. He needed to visit more often.

As soon as she stood all the way back up, she sprinted over to Magnolia, throwing her arms around her and hugging her tightly. Magnolia reciprocated the gesture, lifting the small structured young woman off of the pavement as she embraced her, clearly overjoyed to see her. It really had been that long, hadn’t it? Goodness…

I am so sorry that I have not come to see you sooner! I received all of your letters, and knowing your mother, it was probably quite the challenge to send them to me at all!” She shook her head as she lowered the young girl to the ground, clearly considering something that she hadn’t prior to that moment. But they would have plenty of time to take a trip down memory lane once they were inside of the house. The rain and wind were picking up speed, and it was starting to become unpleasant to stand outside in the cold, unwelcoming conditions. “Should you ever wish to stop by, my doors are always open to you, dear girl. Please know that.”

“Believe me, aunty Magnolia, I would never doubt that for a second. And now that I am old enough to make my own decisions, one of the first will be to visit you. I’m sure mother will be thrilled.” She shook her head, the sass in that statement evident. She then gestured towards the front entrance, surging forward in a sort of gliding sprint towards the front entrance, the ground barely moving under her feet. It was as if she were a skipping stone, skimming over the surface of a placid lake. “Hurry, let’s get inside. I hear there shall be a violent storm soon. Best to not be caught outside in it if you can help it. I don’t exactly know of a spell that can cure the common cold just yet.”

She stopped for a moment, turning in the direction of the front gate as she flagged down the guards. “Briar, I haven’t the slightest idea what you're doing out here at the front gate, but thank you. Please go inside and get out of these awful conditions. As for you, Benson…” She glared at the other guard, the man seemingly feeling the weight of his impoliteness crushing him in earnest now. A thousand different variations of regret and nervousness gripped him tightly as he awaited her decision. “... I’ll let the injured party decide what will become of you. We told you to watch the gate and turn visitors away. We did not instruct you to be inhospitable towards them. That’s my mother’s job.”

He nodded low, clearly not looking forward to Magnolia’s decision. “Forgive me, Ma’am.”

For a moment, Magnolia shook her head as she turned towards him, folding her arms across her chest. So this was her decision, then? There were so many decisions she could make based off of that kind of gifted authority, but there was no need to be sadistic or blow things entirely out of proportion. He was simply an overly loyal employee who had gone a bit too far in regards to his assigned duties. It wouldn’t be right for her to lambast him over it. “As you were, then. Return to your post.”

The guard looked relieved to still have his job, and eagerly returned to his station, more than likely going over how he had managed to get himself into a situation like that over and over again in his mind. He needed to be more careful going forward. As the group approached the front steps, Vergil turned his attention towards her, peering over his shoulder momentarily at the guard as though he himself had considered further action on her part. “You’ve decided to let it go. What a waste of a learning opportunity for him.”

Magnolia smirked, a light chuckle emanating from her closed mouth as she snorted through her nose. Vergil wasn’t entirely sure what she was so amused about, but he had the feeling that he had missed something pertaining to this situation. She was crafty. It was entirely possible. He didn’t verbally inquire as to what was so funny, but he did give her a curious look as they reached the steps that lead to the front door. She picked up on this and shook her head, realizing that he had misunderstood her intention.

“Let’s see if he feels that way after he stands in the rain for a few hours. You might change your mind, in that regard.” She said dismissively as they approached the front door, waiting for Hydrangea to open it. One could only hope that having spent as much time as he probably had around her family would have taught him not to get smart with strange women, but apparently, that was a lesson that had to be reinforced. “It won’t harm him, but it will absolutely give him time to reflect, and perhaps he will undergo an attitude adjustment.”

“Or perhaps he will be struck by lightning, and your dear uppity sister can hire a less openly hostile gateman. A net gain either way.” Sirrus said with a slight smirk as he passed her by, attempting not to laugh. His body had healed for the most part, but that didn’t mean that his ribs didn’t still hurt like hell whenever he laughed. It was best that he not push himself any further than what was necessary considering the state that he was in, even if he was positive that it probably wouldn’t do much.

A moment later, Hydrangea held out both hands and pushed them towards the front door, a loud clicking sound echoing through the space they occupied as the front doors flung open to reveal the entryway of the vast structure that they had been given such a hard time about entering. The young girl then turned to face them, a bright, proud smile on her face as she stepped back into the doorway and disappeared, only the sound of her voice remaining as the space occupied by the doorway rippled like water and overtook her.

“Welcome to Château Ludwig! Make yourselves comfortable. Tea will be out shortly.”

(-~-)

I hope you liked this chapter! This was a blast to write! I’ve been wanting to get a little time for Magnolia in, and I think this was probably the best way that I could accomplish that! Your comments on the last few chapters have been amazing, and they always make my day when I read them!

The cover art will be done within the next week, and then I will be getting the first test prints in to take pictures of! I hope you end up liking it!

#V #Vitale #Devil May Cry 5 AU #My Post Devil May Cry 5 AU #Magnolia #DMC #DMCV #DMC5 #Devil May Cry #Post Devil May Cry 5 #Devil May Cry V

0 notes