The Blue Faerie:
A substance of unknown origins, presumed to be remnants of a fairy princess' dust. The dust allegedly contains properties that grant life to anything it touches: from the inanimate rock to the infinite dead, it was dubbed as the alternate philosopher stone, and the key to the Elixir of Life. It produces light and energy that can rival the power of all steam engines or electrical conductors ever to exist.
There are purported stories that the substance was first discovered around the early 1400s before Nicholas Flamel's supposed death. Up to this day, the rumors surrounding Flamel's disappearance is a mystery; with most scholars of the underworld believing that the alchemist roams all over Europe in search of the missing piece to perfect the Blue Faerie substance.
Known effects of the Blue Faerie:
Generally harmless when in human is in contact. People of ill intent however, are susceptible to madness and hysteria. Demons, being of a generally darker background, are more susceptible to addiction, impulsive behavior, corruption, and untimely death. No research has proven how the Blue Faeries has caused the abovementioned effects, but one can guarantee that when exposed to the dust, all sense of self is lost, and the eagerness to possess it becomes an unhealthy obsession.
Me and my sisters have been in contact with it recently. Strangely, the substance did not affect us as much as I thought it would. It was tame, quelled into a spherical globe of light powering an automaton of the Lord of Aster's keeping. Its vessel was like a child, innocent and naïve to the horrors of the world, yet held a wisdom and maturity beyond her years—or what seemed her physical years. Strange things surround this particular doll, and it is only right that we, the Seer Sisters, must keep watch of her and observe her.
With that being said, I am happy to report that the lord is well and good. He is still the same prick as he always was.
We will continue to keep watch over him and all of the Faelore manor.
... ... ...
Jennie watched as the child tried her stay beside the lord, despite the obvious discomfort. But it seemed she'd rather stay close to the lord than be anywhere near them now with their elongated fangs and heavy breaths.
The moment Samantha made mention of the Blue Faerie, Jennie snapped free from her trance and held the lord by his collar, not minding the impropriety.
"You. Brought. A Blue Faerie. From London? To us?!" Jennie hissed angrily. "What is wrong with you, Lucian?"
Lucian stood, pulling the girl behind him. A wicked smirk painted his face, his red eyes shimmering with unconcealed mirth. What was so amusing that he had to wear that stupid smirk all the time?
"Would you, pray tell, explain what a Blue Faerie is, dear cousin?" he hissed. Jennie couldn't tell whether he was pissed or amused.
"It's a dangerous little ball of death, you annoying little prick in the arse, that's what it is!" Samantha spat. Very rarely did Sammie ever let loose against the lord.
"Only Luci would do something so reckless!" Mary Anne whined.
"Precisely." Samantha agreed.
Lucian scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why do you berate me when I know nothing of some Blue Faerie, or whatever it is."
The sisters shared looks with one another, expecting one of them to disclose. After a few moments of awkward silence, Jennie sighed in exasperation. She decided she'd be the one to make the exposition—as always.
"The Blue Faerie is a stone that came from the many dust particles of Titania's magic," she began. "Its original purpose is unknown, but it is rumored to have granted immortality to anyone who has ever laid hands on it."
Lucian didn't seem so impressed. "Ah, so it is just another one of those elixirs of life Nicholas Flamel popularized?"
Samantha shook her head. "No. It is far worse."
"Consider it as an opium to demons." Mary Anne stated.
"Many are attracted to it," said Jennie.
"Aye." Samantha affirmed.
"Why?"
"Because... it's energy in its purest form. Perhaps more ancient than the fairies themselves." Jennie explained.
"What would demons want to do with immortality? They're already damned into eternal existence." Lucian reasoned. He plopped himself against his seat, crossing his arms like a child. "What am I to do with such a thing?"
"It gives power, and feeds demons' hunger. In fact we're surprised that you seem rather immune to it. I wonder why." Samantha said, her cat-like eyes narrowed in contemplation.
"Is that the reason why you sent us here? To tempt us into submission to the substance?" Jennie accused.
Lucian planted a hand against his face, sliding his palm across his skin in exasperation.
"No," he groaned. "I just want to find the doll's damned maker. Damn it!"
"And what have you against the maker, Luci?" Samantha asked. "What kind of trouble did you put yourself into now?"
Lucian grumbled, looking away to the side.
"What was that?" Jennie asked. "I didn't hear."
"I signed a..." Lucian mumbled the last part of his statement, "contract I couldn't read."
Ah. The imbecile finally got served.
"It's not funny!" Lucian yelled at the laughing Jennie.
"Only you, Lucian Mircea, would sign a contract you couldn't read from some bauble!" Jennie cackled.
Samantha however frowned, leaning toward Lucian in interest to what he had to say.
"What do you mean you could not read it?" Samantha asked.
"What happened exactly, Lucian?" Mary Anne added.
"How exactly have you come to acquire Celeste?"
Lucian let out a long and tired sigh, closing his eyes as he leaned back on his chair, forgetting his proper posture. "It's a tale too long to tell."
"We have the whole day," Jennie said with a deadpanned glare. "Entertain us please."
Celeste finally moved, letting out a breath (do dolls even breathe?). Jennie had almost forgot that she was there.
"My ladies do realize that I am still here, don't they?" she asked, an underlying sarcasm in her tone.
Lucian opened an eye and stared at her.
"Hard to ignore you with your heart out in the open, Celeste," he remarked in bored fashion.
As if realizing her state of undress, Celeste quickly worked the buttons on the front of her blouse, fastening her ruffled bib in place. She shot the lord a dirty look before seating herself on the chair from across him. Her eyes were shiny and her lips were pursed into a pout. If Jennie hadn't known any better, she'd think that the child was actually human with how realistic her distraught look appeared to be.
"Luci," Jennie urged Lucian, reminding him of where they were at with their conversation. "Could you at least recall what was written in the contact?"
"Like a memory of the calligraphy or typography?"
"Or an image, if you could?"
Lucian raised his head, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "You speak as if you've seen this particular contract before."
Jennie pressed her lips into a hard line. Why couldn't their annoying cousin be cooperative from time to time?
"No, we haven't, but we have a suspicion that we might be able to read it," she said. "The fact that we are dealing with the Blue Faerie inside Celeste means we're mostly dealing with ancient magic..." and after a pause, Jennie added, "or science."
"Like the Arcane," Mary Anne nodded sagely.
"Well then," Lucian stood up. "If I could find a blasted piece of paper here..."
"Why not ask Mr. Matthews for some?" asked Mary Anne.
"I'd rather not bother Mr. Matthews," Lucian replied coldly.
"You and Matthews not in good spirits?"
Lucian snorted in reply. "We are never in good spirits."
"No wonder you two get along so well." Mary Anne remarked. "I'll accompany you then," she stood, going beside Lucian and snaking an arm into his own. "And perhaps get a good look at all the redecoration you did for our visit. You definitely followed my advice regarding creams and ecrus."
Mary Anne threw a meaningful look at Jennie, as if to say, this is your chance. A look that Lucian hadn't missed.
Lucian shook her off. "I'm not leaving Celeste with you three," he said coldly.
"We won't harm her," Samantha promised. "In fact, I believe she'd be in safer hands with us than with you."
Lucian hissed, fangs bared, eyes dilated. Jennie flinched in surprise. Lucian had been angry at them before, but never that angry.
"Why don't I just carve the blasted symbols into your skin and that answers your question?" Lucian hissed. A low gurgle vibrated through his throat—tell tale signs of his transformation, which he never did.
Lucian had always been possessive of his little toys, but never like this.
"Luci, we're not fibbing with you," Samantha reasoned out, "and we have no reason to. I'll be honest with you and say that we do need to be alone with Celeste in order to find the answers you seek."
"Fine!" Lucian relented. Turning to Celeste, he said, "If these hags ever attempt to lay a finger on you, I give you full permission to exterminate them."
Jennie observed the Celeste. The girl looked as if she wanted to shrink into herself the more Lucian argued with her sisters. She could not blame her, for being the object of one's discussion was a perplexing matter indeed.
"Alright," Celeste replied.
Jennie stood, walking with measured steps towards the child. "May I sit beside you, Ms. Portinari?"
The child seemed to think for a moment before nodding her consent. Jen let out a sigh of relief. It was best not to anger the child lest the Blue Faerie in her chest let loose and consume her.
He raised a brow at Lucian who still stood at the center of the room, stubbornly observing them with arms crossed over his chest. Mary Anne struggled to tug at his sleeve, urging him out.
It took almost two minutes before Mary Anne finally succeeded dragging the lord out.
"Your lord is quite childish, don't you think?" Samantha asked. The question was for Celeste.
Celeste hesitated before eventually nodding in agreement. "Yes."
"After all these centuries, Lucian remained an eccentric. Many things about him are absurd and irritating, and how he reacts to things are just," Samantha shook her head.
"Just confusing?" Celeste asked.
Jennie laughed, nodding in confirmation. "Yes. One could never tell what he truly thinks or feels. He is as random as a deck of cards shuffled for a gambler's pleasure."
"And yet..." Samantha trailed off.
"And yet..."
Celeste tilted her head. "And yet?"
Jennie smiled at her. "And yet his servants, his people... they kind of adore him, for some reason."
Celeste scrunched her eyebrows, disbelieving perhaps of Jennie's remark. "Do they?"
"If they hadn't, they would have left, wouldn't they?"
Celeste pinched her chin with thumb and finger, perhaps contemplating on what Jennie had disclosed.
Jennie cleared her throat, eager for a change in conversation. "Do you know of the Blue Faerie. child?" she asked her.
"No," the doll replied.
"But demons have been in pursuit of you for a while now, haven't they?"
Celeste hesitated. Jennie saw how she gazed at the Lucian's portrait, hung precariously across the wall, as if in fear of how he'd react. The way the lord was poised was as if he was going to kill should his enemy make a wrong move was both impressive and intimidating, yet Celeste didn't seem particularly afraid—just cautious.
"I don't know."
She was lying. Jennie could tell by the way she averted their gazes, how she fidgeted in discomfort under their scrutiny.
"Won't you give me your hand, dear?" she asked the girl. "You asked us to read your fortune, did you not?"
There was a noticeable change in the doll's demeanor. She nodded vigorously, placing her hand on top of Jennie's palm. "Yes, please."
"Jen, no!" Samantha exclaimed, rushing to Celeste's other side to swap away Jennie's hold on the doll. "It's too risky being in contact with a Blue Faerie's vessel!"
But Jennie was determined to know. It seemed there was more to Celeste than an automaton or a vessel for an energy source. Somewhere beneath the perfect façade, she could sense a broken spirit waiting to claw its way out.
"I want to make a direct reading," Jennie declared.
"We can use a safer method, Jennie," Samantha pleaded. "Don't risk it, please."
"Sammie," Jennie said firmly, stopping Samantha's progression into a worrisome rant, "if anything happens to me, if I should ever lose control, then summon Luci back here and have him kill me."
"I can't do that!"
"It will be fine," said Celeste, interrupting the sisters' banter. "I will be fine, and she will be fine. I can take care of myself. I don't need Lord Mircea to supervise me."
Well what did they know? A doll who had gusts.
"Alright," Samantha conceded. "But please do hurry. The moment Luci returns, you should be done. Ms. Portinari doesn't say it, but whatever it is that is in her fortune, she refuses for the lord to know."
"How did you..."
"We are seers," Jennie and Samantha answered in unison. "We know things."
Celeste pressed her lips together, and nodded. "Alright."
Jennie gathered the girl's hands in hers. "You might feel a slight intrusion of energy. Try your best not to resist, alright?"
Celeste nodded again. "Okay."
The energy surrounding Celeste seemed to flare to life, pressing against Jennie's intrusion as if anxious of her presence. Jennie persisted however, willing hers and Celeste's consciousness to calm themselves.
"Calm yourself child... calm yourself..."
Jennie closed her eyes and plunged into a world of darkness.