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[thewritingsandwich]

After an accident means that one of the rooms in Portland Row has to be decorated, Lucy, Lockwood and George hunt down wallpaper identical to the one originally on the wall. And they end up stripping the wall back to remove all the original and highly damaged paper. Lucy suggests to the boys they leave something under the paper so anyone who does up the house next knows they were there so they cover their hands in paint and press them to the wall. And then they cover the bottom of Skull's jar in paint and press that to the wall too.

Years later, Lockwood is stripping back the paper so he and decorate the place up to be a nursery for his and Lucy’s baby when he finds the handprints and the base of Skull's jar and decides to leave that part of the wall uncovered, fitting a piece of glass over it instead, so Lucy can be reminded of Skull.

[thewritingsandwich]

The Chiming Lady - Part 6 (Last Part)

A Lockwood & Co. Fan Fiction

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Summary: The agents of Lockwood & Co. are invited to the Halloween-Party of a former client.

A/N: This is the last part of the "filler episode". I hope you enjoyed this series and thank you for all of the support :) <3 I originally wrote this for @ savelockwoodnco on instagram's filler episode theme. But I'm a month too late... anyways this takes place after 'The Empty Grave' but there are no major spoilers for it. Originally I wrote it in german, but I translated it for the internet with the help of DeepL.

Tag List: @ahead-fullofdreams

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, brief mentions of su***de and mu**er

Our plan was probably one of our stupidest, but we didn't have much choice. We carried the rusty ladder up and positioned it in a way that would allow easy access to the beams above the bell. I volunteered to climb up, even though Lockwood would probably have been better off up there. But I wanted to do it; I had to do it.

I climbed the rusty ladder, which I didn't trust for a second, and wrapped my arms around one of the support beams. It creaked loudly as I pulled myself up. The others told me to keep going.

My small torch was enough for this narrow space and I shone it around once. A few spiders had taken up residence in the tower. And there! In a niche beneath the roof of the tower was a dead body - at least that's what I thought. A white, stuffed sheet lay squashed into the niche and looked very much like a corpse.

"Shit," I heard George shout and I looked down. A mistake. Not only did my heart drop into my pants because of the height - but also because Felicity's ghost was there, fighting the others. Just at that moment, the beam I was standing on creaked and sank down a little. Panic began to rise inside me.

I wasn't quite sure whether it was fear or ghost lock that prevented me from moving. My whole body was trembling, but I took a step back and another and another. Until I was as far away from the corpse as possible.

I had no silver net with me. Nothing but a load of 'Greek fire', the use of which was actually strictly forbidden indoors. But was I really indoors? If I had been in my right mind, I probably wouldn't have detonated the bomb, but at that moment, filled with fear and ghost lock, I saw no way out. So I detonated the bomb, threw it towards the corpse and jumped off the beam.

The landing dragged on my knees, but there was no time for pain. The bomb exploded and with it the beam carrying the heavy bell. There was no trace of the others.

I rushed to the stairs as the bell hit the unstable wooden floor. The door downstairs was open and George and Holly were already halfway through when I arrived in the room below the bell.

The beams came crashing down and the bell followed through the ceiling as I crossed the room. Lockwood reached out his hand, but just before I could get a grip on it, I sagged as the bell also broke through this floor and pulled me with it. Burning pieces of wood and beams fell past me with the bell. Something must have hit me, because a sharp pain in my left leg shot through me out of nowhere.

I tried to cling to what was left of the floor, but it broke off too. I fell into the depths, but hit the floor much sooner than I thought. Apparently there were still some rooms inside the tower, through which the bell now crashed one after the other.

The impact knocked all the air out of my lungs as my head hit hard against the wood. Then everything went black.

* * *

An old radio was playing a familiar song, but I couldn't say exactly where I knew it from. I drew in air and each breath hurt a little.

I carefully opened my eyes. Cool light greeted me, just like the typical sterile white of a hospital. What had happened? Who had brought me to the hospital? How long had I been out? I was lying in a hospital bed, connected to some equipment and had a catheter in my left hand. My eyes wandered to my right hand.

On my right side, Lockwood was sitting in a chair with a gossip magazine on his chest and his eyes closed. He held my right hand lightly. I looked at him very closely. He had washed the red color from his face very quickly and messily, as there were still a few spots of red here and there. He was no longer wearing his costume, but his typical suit, while his long coat was hung on a hook directly opposite me.

Strangely enough, I was lying in a single room. Even though he was sleeping so incredibly peacefully, I lightly squeezed his hand and sure enough, it was sufficient. He opened his eyes and smiled with relief.

"Luce... how are you?" he asked.

"I think okay? Deep breaths hurt, but otherwise I'm fine, I think," I replied. He looked so incredibly tired. The circles under his eyes were even darker than usual and his otherwise tidy appearance was a complete mess. He straightened up slightly and put his hand on my cheek.

"I'm so glad you're okay. You gave us an incredible scare. I thought you'd learned not to use Greek fire indoors anymore." Then he leaned forward even further and kissed my forehead. "I'm so glad you're okay." He pulled back a little again and looked down at me. At that moment, when he looked at me like that, I really didn't care about anything else. His look was similar to the one he'd had when we'd danced at the Halloween party. Without thinking about it, I grabbed his tie and pulled him down to me. We kissed - despite my pain and the situation. Maybe it was the painkillers I was given that made me jump over my shadow. I didn't blame them.

"Lucy's feeling much better already." Lockwood and I immediately broke apart and I felt the blood rush to my face. George stood in the doorway of the room, grinning. In his hands he carried containers from restaurants and next to him stood Holly. They clearly didn't look as tired as Lockwood.

"Gosh, George," Holly replied, punching him lightly in the arm. Then she looked to me and gave me a thumbs up before mouthing the words 'good job'.

"Now please tell me what happened," I demanded as George passed around the food and they all sort of sat around the bed.

"After you detonated the bomb - which was a terrible idea, by the way - the bell fell completely through the tower and you went down with it. But you only fell one floor, while the bell made it all the way to the first floor. You were probably knocked unconscious by the impact. We had to stop Lockwood from jumping after you. Well, then Holly sprinted to Mrs. Pearson, who called an ambulance and DEPRAC. Barnes is a little upset, but no more than usual. What else? Oh well, Mrs. Pearson blamed herself entirely for the situation, which I have to agree with her a little bit because who invites guests into a haunted house? And who doesn't check an old house for ghosts? Also, because she felt so bad, she insisted on putting you up in a private clinic, hence all the gimmicks. Did I forget something? Oh yes, you did take out the source of the Chiming Lady, as I call her. Barnes sent other agents to the house the following night to deal with the stray, but it ended up requiring almost the entire lake to be pumped out. The tower's a mess, but I tell myself the bell was too heavy for the beams anyway, so it was only a matter of time," George said, eating Chinese noodles.

"No financial troubles?"

"No, Mrs. Pearson is feeling too guilty," Lockwood replied, sitting back in his chair next to my bed.

I nodded. "How long was I out?"

"Two days. You weren't really gone. You kept waking up before drifting off again. The doctors say you were lucky. You only have a few minor burns on your arms, some bruises on your ribs and you came in with a concussion. Oh and a cut on your left leg. You should stay here for a few more days to be checked out for your ribs," Holly explained. Lockwood held my right hand again and kept stroking it lightly. "So you should... I mean you should take it easy." She winked at me and I blushed again.

"And was it at least worth it? The party and our display of talents?"

"Actually, yes, we already have some new cases from former guests," she said. "I think the destruction of the tower became more of a minor detail that no one really cares about."

[thewritingsandwich]

I kinda wanna write a fic about Lockwood & Co. meeting the Winchester brothers?? Because they're sort of in the same business, but I know it'll be chaotic.

[thewritingsandwich]

Lucy inspires 💙 And of course I like Skull in the jar :D 💚

[thewritingsandwich]

The Chiming Lady - Part 5

A Lockwood & Co. Fan Fiction

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4

Summary: The agents of Lockwood & Co. are invited to the Halloween-Party of a former client.

A/N: I originally wrote this for @ savelockwoodnco on instagram's filler episode theme. But I'm a month too late... anyways this takes place after 'The Empty Grave' but there are no major spoilers for it. Originally I wrote it in german, but I translated it for the internet with the help of DeepL.

Tag List: @ahead-fullofdreams

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, brief mentions of su***de and mu**er

The ascent of the tower was a steep spiral staircase, the steps of which were completely uneven. The bells started ringing again, but at a tolerable volume. In addition, I heard someone sobbing. This someone was running up the stairs, as it sounded to me as if they were running past me over and over again.

We reached the room directly under the bell. We would only get to the top floor of the tower, where the bell hung, by climbing another creaky wooden staircase. But for now we stayed here. Thick wooden beams ran along the ceiling and the pale moonlight shone through the thin slits in the floor above us.

George lit the room with a small petroleum lamp. A few spiders had taken up residence here - an unfavourable sign in this day and age.

"Before we go outside," Lockwood pointed to the wooden staircase, "Lucy, please listen and see if you can hear anything other than the bells."

The bells were becoming a constant background noise by now. I tried anyway. I closed my eyes and listened into the darkness.

First a heartbeat. A heart pounding wildly against the chest where it lay. I was overcome with fear. The panicked heartbeat was joined by matching rapid breathing and muffled sobs.

"Oh God, what have I done?" It was the same voice I heard from the lake. The nanny who killed Mr Pearson's brother. She paced wildly up and down the room before stopping abruptly. After a moment of silence - her sobs stopped, but her heartbeat remained wild - I heard a pen scratching across a piece of paper. Judging by the scratching, it was a felt-tip pen. She walked across the room again and lifted a plank. Then I no longer heard anything.

Before I even gave the others a chance to ask me about what I had heard, I went to the corner where the nanny had gone. I searched for loose floorboards and quickly found what I was looking for. There was a little note hidden in the floor.

But just as I was about to grab the note, the ghost of the nanny materialised in front of me and I fell back. She looked really awful. She was still wearing her uniform and her arms and legs were sticking out in unnatural directions. The white accents of her uniform were covered in blood.

Immediately Holly and Lockwood were at my side, fending her off with their rapiers as I tried to get to my feet. But with the loud ringing of the bells, the numbing pain in my ears returned.

Nevertheless, I crawled across the floor away from the ghost. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Holly and Lockwood give the ghost a cut that made it disappear and the bells disappeared with it. I stayed on the floor for a moment before George appeared above me and offered me his hand. I refused and stood up on my own. My goal remained the same - the note.

This time the ghost didn't appear and I was able to read the note, which the others only noticed when it was in my hand. But it wasn't just a note. It was the nanny's suicide note that she had signed with Felicity Williams. But it was more than that. It was also a confession. She had killed the boy. Thrown him in the lake without realising he couldn't swim. She was ashamed of what she had done and harboured such deep remorse that she could find no other way out than death itself. The Pearson family had made her life hell, she wrote, and yet she had written down what she had done. But how much was the confession worth if the note would never have been discovered without us? The remorse and shame were strong enough to make her take her own life, but not to actually admit what she had done.

I explained to the others what I had found and they listened intently.

"If her confession can be found here, I can guess how she took her own life," George finally replied. The tower was high enough for that. "But is this the source?"

"There's one way to find out," Lockwood replied, opening a lighter in his hand. Immediately, I extended my arm in his direction to stop him.

"No." He stopped and tilted his head slightly to the side. "She didn't write that confession for us to burn." His expression darkened.

"Luce... This is not the time to be communicating with ghosts." But he didn't sense what I was feeling. Her remorse and her shame. Her despair that drove her to do this in the first place. Her story needed to be told, but I needed proof.

"Give me the silver net. I'll put the letter in there and we can assess whether it's actually the source." His shoulders relaxed and he put the lighter back in while he dug out the net. It was far too big for the small piece of paper. Reluctantly, I finally handed him the parcel so that he could put it in his rucksack.

We looked around tensely. The bell didn't ring and the ghost didn't turn up either. But could it really be that simple?

The answer came quickly when George turned to the door, but even after shaking it, it remained locked. It didn't even have a keyhole.

"Question answered. The note is not the source," he said. It made me angry that he only saw the letter as a simple piece of paper; this ghost as just one of many orders. But where this anger came from, I didn't know.

"Holly and George, you search more floorboards to see if they're loose and if there's anything hidden under them. Luce, you and I will go to the bell."

* * *

The creaking sound accompanied us as we climbed the old staircase with drawn rapiers. The room we entered was spacious and square, with round-arched openings on each side. Above us swung an imposing bell, so low that I could pass under it effortlessly, while Lockwood had to duck slightly.

I approached one of the openings and took a look outside. The bottom edge of the opening started at the level of my stomach. My first thought was that it was quite easy to climb onto the ledge and make the long descent in a short time. I shuddered at the thought, which was not my own. Nevertheless, the fear of heights remained.

"Everything looks so beautiful from up here," Lockwood said as he stepped up beside me, and he was right. The tower was high enough to overlook the forest and see the beginning of London, which was just a sea of lights.

But we weren't here to enjoy the view. I turned back into the room and for a split second I thought Lockwood was looking at me instead of the beautiful view.

"Okay, you know what to do," he finally replied. I didn't like the look on his face. He looked pained. I nodded and listened into the darkness.

First there was thunder. Behind my closed eyes, I saw flashes of light that I wasn't sure were really there. Pouring rain could be heard and between the thunderstorms I heard a person sobbing. She put her sturdy shoes on the edge of the opening and looked down.

Her fear gripped me and I couldn't move. It was as if I was her. Like I had to make this difficult decision. I don't want to. It can't end like this.

Another person climbed the bell tower. I heard the creaky stairs and just as Felicity was about to step back down from the ledge, the stranger stepped behind her.

"No, what are you doing? It was an accident. I've changed my mind. Please," she shouted and I joined in. The stranger pushed her and Felicity screamed as she fell. I was snapped out of my trance by her impact. I felt miserable. But more importantly, it wasn't suicide. She had changed her mind. Maybe it wasn't her who had hidden the letter, but her murderer.

But before I could share my discovery with Lockwood, Felicity's ghost appeared behind him. Fortunately, he noticed it by himself and we fended it off with our rapiers. We couldn't do this all night though - we had to find her source.

We, or at least I, needed a quiet place to think about where the source might be. It had to be up here. Or could it be down there? Had her body just been left there? No, the distance was too great, I thought.

"We need to find the source, Lockwood," I said as we swung our rapiers through the air.

"Any ideas?"

"No, I just know it wasn't suicide. She was pushed."

Felicity pushed us further and further back. When I tried to take one of the many steps backwards, I stepped into the void and tumbled down the stairs. But I picked myself up again.

In the meantime, George and Holly had pulled some wooden planks off the floor, but they hadn't found anything yet. 'Where are you Felicity?' I asked myself.

My gaze flitted around the room. Has that rusty metal ladder always been in this corner?

Lockwood came down the stairs. The colour in his face was also running through his sweat.

"We need a plan. Where could the source be?" He was out of breath and his otherwise perfect hairstyle was completely dishevelled. He had lost the headband with the horns somewhere. I kind of liked him a little more that way. I quickly told the others about my vision after they said that the door was still locked and there was nothing under the floorboards.

"Wait... The source must be up here somewhere. Otherwise the ghost wouldn't put so much emphasis on the tower. We've already taken everything apart down here. Where else could you hide a body?" George explained, looking at us expectantly. My eyes lingered on the ladder once more, but it was George who put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Whoever killed the nanny could also have hidden the letter. This letter would have exposed the Pearsons as inhumane employers who were indirectly responsible for the death of their own child and four other employees because of the way they treated their employees. Killing the nanny and dismissing it as suicide was perfect. At the same time, the Pearsons made the death of their son look like an accident. However, hardly a dying word is said about the nanny, as if she had simply resigned and disappeared. No death certificate, nothing. So I'm assuming that her killer hid her death. The suicide was just another cover in case she was found. And where in this huge tower could you hide a body?" George pointed his finger upwards. "I'm sure there's plenty of room in the beams of the bell." A mischievous grin spread across his face.

"George Karim, you're a genius," Lockwood replied at the same time as I asked: "How do you know all this?"

"Thanks, I know and do you really think Lockwood is the only one who came prepared for this? I found my costume quickly and spent most of my shopping trip in the archives. I took a closer look at the house and the Pearsons," he grinned proudly.

[thewritingsandwich]

The Chiming Lady - Part 4

A Lockwood & Co. Fan Fiction

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Summary: The agents of Lockwood & Co. are invited to the Halloween-Party of a former client.

A/N: I originally wrote this for @ savelockwoodnco on instagram's filler episode theme. But I'm a month too late... anyways this takes place after 'The Empty Grave' but there are no major spoilers for it. Originally I wrote it in german, but I translated it for the internet with the help of DeepL.

Tag List: @ahead-fullofdreams

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, brief mentions of su***de and mu**er

"Would it be terribly inappropriate to think that this is a perfect situation to show the guests our talents?" Lockwood whispered to Holly, George and me. All the guests had gathered in the ballroom. We stood in the front row in front of a man dressed as a sad clown.

"Please, explain to us what happened," Holly replied, suddenly holding a pen and paper in her hand. The clown took a deep breath.

"I went outside for a smoke. I saw a person by the lake. He was one of the caterers and he was moving towards the lake. I tried to speak to him and stop him, but he was in a trance. I couldn't stop him and then he was in the lake. He sank like a stone. I wanted to go back to the house, but I suddenly had the feeling that I urgently needed to get into the lake too. I only came out of my trance because the ash from my cigarette got on my hand." His shoes and trousers were definitely wet.

"Do you really want to fight a possible stray and who knows what else when we only have our rapiers with us?" George whispered to Lockwood. But he was already grinning. It was unavoidable. Anthony Lockwood had made up his mind that we would solve this ghost problem, so we would. However, I had to agree with George. This situation was not ideal.

Unfortunately, the sad clown couldn't give us any more information either, so we made our way outside while the rest of the guests took flight.

A light mist shrouded the small lake on the grounds. A few reeds grew here and there and some water lilies floated on the surface of the water. A single, sad willow stretched across the lake and a lonely little boat could be found under its branches.

Without any equipment, our approach was slightly different. Without stepping too close to the lake, I listened into the darkness. The bell rang again. But there was also a female voice.

"You wretched brat," she whispered and a child's cry rang out. Sounds of fighting followed, as well as the wild splashing in the water. At first it was loud and uncontrolled, but it became less and less until the water finally stopped.

"Oh no, what have I done?" the female voice murmured and I felt her remorse. It hit me like a big wave and I was in danger of drowning in the feeling. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have done that. Why did I do that? He was only supposed to be quiet for a moment. Now I'm losing everything - absolutely everything.

The bell rang again and I opened my eyes. I had just been a few metres away from the lake and now I was ankle-deep in water. I quickly scurried back ashore and looked around. Where were the others?

I turned round searching. It was almost impossible to recognise anything in the fog and darkness. I could only vaguely recognise the lights of the building. Then a child's laughter. The boy was playing with us.

There was a hiss, followed by a bright, reddish flash from the north-east. I ran to the light and caught sight of Lockwood, rapier drawn and flare fending off the shrivelled manifestation of a small boy. Neither Lockwood nor the ghost had recognised me. So I took the opportunity to run my rapier through the ghost from top to bottom.

"Where are the others?" he asked me. But I just shook my head.

"But I know what happened - or at least I think I do." He nodded at me and prompted me to continue. "I think the nanny drowned Mr Pearson's twin brother in the lake. I heard everything." The bell rang again, this time even louder and almost deafening for me. I covered my ears, but the ringing didn't stop, it just got louder.

Lockwood looked at me and said, "What do you hear?"

"Bells," I got out, probably shouting, whereupon Lockwood turned to the tower in the grounds. The ringing stopped abruptly.

"There's another ghost in the tower."

"Are you sure?" He turned back to me.

"Yes... 90% and I've already made decisions I was more unsure about."

"But what are we going to do about the stray? I'm pretty sure its source is at the bottom of the lake, and let me remind you that the lake doesn't count as running water."

He glanced at the lake and paused for a moment. The harsh light from the torch made his sharp face look even more sharp. The red colour of the light made him look almost normal again.

Before he could reply, Holly and George arrived - both panting mightily. George's make-up was all runny from his sweat.

"What's the plan, boss?" he asked Lockwood immediately. It would certainly have been smarter to find out more about the estate and come back later with more equipment. But you can imagine that if that were the case, I wouldn't be telling you this.

I saw Lockwood start to speak, but once again the bells rang - this time so loudly that they completely drowned out Lockwood's plan. The dull thuds grew louder and louder, so I desperately covered my ears, but the ringing continued. I fell to my knees and screamed because the pain was unbearable. A draft of air made me feel someone walk past me.

Then someone grabbed my hands and I slowly opened my eyes again. The ringing continued. Holly was crouching in front of me, saying something, but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. She looked at someone else and out of nowhere a silver net fell over my head. The ringing ended abruptly. Through the fine mesh I could still make out Holly helping me up, as well as Lockwood and George.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" George and Holly asked in confusion.

"I keep hearing the bell ringing." I pointed to the bell tower, where another person could be seen. The others followed the direction of my finger.

"Then it's settled. We'll deal with the ghost of the bell tower first. I think this is the one tormenting Lucy. Whatever it is, it's cunning and clever," Lockwood said. Something warm ran down my neck and I carefully touched the strange liquid. The fading light from the torch made the little part on my finger look jet black. What the hell was that?

We returned to the estate and Mrs Pearson was waiting anxiously in the entrance hall. When we asked her why she was still here, she replied that she didn't want to leave us alone. Even if that was meant kindly, it was extremely stupid. We would see a ghost coming - she wouldn't. But we definitely didn't have the time or the energy to argue with her. She was a grown woman who knew the Problem, so she had to know the dangers.

In the foyer, I put the silver mesh back down and looked at my finger again. It was blood. I briefly bled from my ears.

"Where did you get the net anyway?", I asked before the others noticed the blood.

"I took a small selection of our equipment. The likelihood of us dealing with a ghost was pretty high and I wanted to have equipment with us to showcase our talents properly," Lockwood replied. That's probably the reason for the rucksack.

Mrs Pearson explained to us the way to the bell tower. We walked through the house, past lots of furniture covered in white lacquer and many old paintings. I kept hearing the sounds of children playing or a nanny scolding. Lockwood handed out a few bombs along the way. I ran behind, trying to contain my panic at the blood in my ears.

"Don't act like I haven't already seen the blood coming out of your ears," Lockwood replied, dropping back and now walking beside me.

"I'm fine." He raised an eyebrow and I didn't believe myself.

"One word, Luce. One word from you and then we're out of here." I probably should have said something, but at that moment my curiosity about what kind of ghost was hanging around up there on the tower got the better of me.

"I'm all right. Let's keep going."

[thewritingsandwich]

The Chiming Lady - Part 3

A Lockwood & Co. Fan Fiction

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Summary: The agents of Lockwood & Co. are invited to the Halloween-Party of a former client.

A/N: I originally wrote this for @ savelockwoodnco on instagram's filler episode theme. But I'm a month too late... anyways this takes place after 'The Empty Grave' but there are no major spoilers for it. Originally I wrote it in german, but I translated it for the internet with the help of DeepL.

Tag List: @ahead-fullofdreams

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, brief mentions of su***de and mu**er

Norridge Mansion was surrounded by a dense pine forest, in the darkness of which I could make out all sorts of things. It was a clear night and the stars were already visible in the sky.

An avenue of bare trees led to the old mansion and ended at a dried-up well, its white colour completely weathered - as was the rest of the house.

The house was one of many mansions I have seen in my life, even though I probably couldn't even afford to spend one night in them. Behind the house loomed a large tower, which was probably connected to the house. The large bell hanging at the top of the tower could be seen from afar.

In addition to the limousine we stepped out of, there were other cars in front of the property. Both expensive vintage cars and the familiar night taxis in which the drivers sat. Old music was blaring from the house itself, encouraging us to dance the night away.

We climbed the grand staircase leading up to the house and were greeted with an unexpected warmth (most of the big houses we visited were freezing cold, you know). Just beyond the front door was the decked out and decorated foyer. There were pumpkins, fake ghosts, green witches, zombies and other typical Halloween imagery everywhere. I overheard George comparing Lockwood to one of the pumpkins.

Thanks to the music, we were quickly able to find the location where the party was taking place. The large ballroom was decorated similarly to the foyer. Apparently, the party was already well underway, as some "monsters" and other costumes could already be found on the dance floor.

At the sides were white-covered tables with all kinds of finger food and sweets.

"Ready to mingle with the crowd?" asked Lockwood, while George was already on his way to the buffet. "We should also find Mrs Pearson to thank her for the invitation. But otherwise... have fun."

Lockwood also made his way to the buffet, with Holly and I running after him. You should know that my party experience is quite limited.

I looked further around the large room and spotted a gallery on the 2nd floor with some vampires and 20s flapper girls. There was also a live band, which explained why the singers sounded the same for all the songs.

Armed with some small cakes, I went to the wall of the hall with Holly and watched the action. George and Lockwood also joined us.

"Shall we dance?" asked Holly. Surprisingly, Lockwood and George joined her, but I kindly declined. I didn't feel well enough yet to shake a leg without worrying. So for now, I just watched Lockwood, George and Holly dance together. Lockwood's clothes clung to his body as he performed light dance moves that resembled his fencing moves. Despite the red make-up on his face, he still looked as charming and handsome as ever. Lockwood and Holly initiated a few conversations with other guests while George danced his heart out.

I, on the other hand, was still too caught up in the memories of other Halloween evenings. Or the lack of them. I kept thinking about where I would be if I hadn't ended up at Lockwood & Co. or hadn't become an agent. About all the experiences and moments that I didn't have because of the problem. Where would I be if the problem didn't exist? I would still be at school; having to think about my professional life; going out with friends; still living in the North of England; not having lost Norrie; never having met Lockwood. I would be a different person and sometimes, even though I didn't know any different, I couldn't help but mourn that Lucy. All the experiences and memories I couldn't make.

Tears welled up in my eyes, so I moved away from the dancing crowd. I stepped out of the ballroom into a slightly lit corridor, where there were some bookshelves and pictures hanging on the walls.

I wasn't too far away from the ballroom, so I could still hear the music muted a little. But in addition to the lively jazz music, something else could be heard in the darkness of the night. A bell. It had to be the bell from the tower, but something about it made me think that the bell had been silent for years.

I finally stopped in front of a portrait of two boys. They were obviously twins and their black hair was neatly gelled. Judging by their clothes, the portrait was probably from the 60s. Next to the oil painting, there were other photographs that also showed the two brothers. But at one point, the pictures only showed one brother. The apparent nanny, who could also be seen in some of the pictures, also disappeared. I walked down the corridor to see if the boy and the young woman ever reappeared, but they were simply gone. Looking back, I wasn't particularly interested in the pictures. I guess I was just clinging to some distraction.

"You're Lucy Carlyle, right?" Mrs Pearson stood next to the oil painting a few feet away from me.

"That's right. Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I just saw the painting and was interested."

Mrs Pearson was a lady of advanced years. She was dressed as the Wicked Witch of the East today. Her normally brown skin was hidden under green paint and a black witch's hat was perched on her grey head. Her costume was great.

"Oh well. No problem. Pictures are hung on the wall for people to look at, aren't they? That's my late husband, Edwin Pearson," she pointed to the boy in the painting who was in all the other pictures, "next to him is his twin brother Kingsley. He unfortunately drowned in an accident in the lake, poor boy. After that the family moved out and never returned until today. However, I couldn't turn down such a good party location."

I listened to her intently before curiosity got the better of me. "What happened to the nanny?" I pointed to one of the pictures of the young woman.

"Edwin never talked about the staff. I know he was brought up by a series of nannies and servants. He was alone with his brother almost every day. Their parents were usually away. But although they were a big part of his childhood, he never talked about them. He also never denied the rumours that servants worked themselves to death. But he was just a very quiet man."

"My condolences on the loss of your husband." It was the only thing I could think of to say. I felt silence was inappropriate.

"Thank you. Enjoy the party, Ms Carlyle." Mrs Pearson turned away from me and as quickly as she had disappeared, it briefly gave me the impression that she had just been a ghost.

I looked at the pictures a little longer and at some point closed my eyes and listened. I heard the laughter of children - but also a young woman shouting that "the boys should behave themselves". There was an argument. I wanted to find out more, so I took a step towards the apparent noises. But the voices began to overlap and got louder and louder. I tried to get away. I tried to get out of the ban.

"Luce, are you all right?" It was Lockwood who finally called me back to reality. "I thought you might like some company. Besides, I wanted to see if you were okay." How long had I been standing here? I was still holding a little cake in my hand as I nodded slowly. The music stopped.

"The big crowd didn't do me any good. Besides, the music was too loud."

"Yeah, I can understand that. It's really crowded there. I wanted to ask you something." He was interrupted by the band. But I couldn't hear anything more specific. They were talking - I guessed that something had been announced.

"May I have this dance?" Lockwood finally asked. He held out his hand and I instinctively grabbed it. In the end, it was the light pressure he applied to my hand that brought me completely back to the present.

Hand in hand, we walked towards the music, but stayed outside the hall. Carefully, almost as if I was fragile, he placed his hands on my hips above my belt, while I placed my hands on his shoulders. We swayed from right to left to match the music.

His eyes rested on me and I kept mine on him as well. He moved his lips as if he was silently singing along, but I couldn't read what exactly he was saying - let alone hear exactly what the singer was singing.

In this dim light, his eyes seemed almost black and even though blue or green eyes had been romanticised in so many poems and songs, it was this pair of eyes that I could gaze into for perhaps hours. They were captivating and I could read so much into them. I didn't know if I had learnt to read them or if Lockwood allowed me to - whatever it was, I felt so uplifted when I saw them.

I studied his face again. He was still singing along and I saw him studying my face again and again.

"Till the wells run dry / And each mountain disappears / I'll be there for you..." he murmured. I felt him move his right hand away from my hip and place it on my cheek. I looked into his eyes that said, "You can stop me any time you want." But I didn't think about that for a second. Gently, he pulled my head towards his. I drew in air through my nose when our lips were only a few centimetres apart.

 "GHOSTS," someone shouted across the ballroom and the music stopped. "THE HOUSE IS HAUNTED." Immediately Lockwood and I broke apart and for a moment I envied his red make-up. I was certainly as red as a poker as I screamed inside. I almost kissed Lockwood. I almost kissed Lockwood.

[thewritingsandwich]

The Chiming Lady - Part 2

A Lockwood & Co. Fan Fiction

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Summary: The agents of Lockwood & Co. are invited to the Halloween-Party of a former client.

A/N: I originally wrote this for @ savelockwoodnco on instagram's filler episode theme. But I'm a month too late... anyways this takes place after 'The Empty Grave' but there are no major spoilers for it. Originally I wrote it in german, but I translated it for the internet with the help of DeepL.

Tag List: @ahead-fullofdreams

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, brief mentions of su***de and mu**er

I'm not quite sure what to think about the fact that I can only really celebrate Halloween this year. In the past, the last day of October was just that - an ordinary day. For many years, October was the start of a stressful time, as the early darkness meant that even more ghosts appeared and caused trouble.

I can still vividly remember a Halloween night when I was still working at Jacobs. Together with my friends, we watched old scary films and ate so much sweets that our bellies would burst. I spent all the other nights of 31 October either at home or in a haunted house. After all, parties and good humour seemed to be reserved for the rich who could afford a good security system and didn't have to chase ghosts at night.

It was the first time I'd ever been in a costume - or at least I couldn't remember any other time. I was wearing brown trousers and had wrapped a top over them with different fabrics. Over the wrapped top I wore a loose-fitting corset made of fake leather. On my back I wore a quiver with fake arrows and I had made a real belt with Holly with lots of storage space. I had painted on fake freckles with a little make-up and braided my hair into a braid. My ears looked pointed thanks to plastic prosthetics. I wasn't really happy yet, but I guess I could only disguise myself as far as my resources would take me - I still looked too much like Lucy Carlyle and not like Eobyn Truewood Heroine of Thalore.

I smoothed out wrinkles in my costume as the stairs to my attic began to creak. I turned to the opening in the floor and saw Lockwood climbing the stairs in his costume.

"Hello, I was wondering if you could paint my face red? George was actually going to do it, but he's locked himself in his room." He was holding a make-up sponge and red face paint in his hand. On his head he wore a headband with little devil horns.

"Sure, but can't you do it yourself?"

"I've already tried that. It looked terrible." He laughed briefly.

So I gestured for him to sit on my bed (the only acceptable seating up here). I sat down next to him and turned to face him.

The colour was really pigmented, but I left a few streaks that I had to painstakingly touch up with the sponge. In the meantime, I was just as red as Lockwood - if not more. I was just getting incredibly warm in this room, in my costume - next to Lockwood.

But we were finished. There were still spots here and there that someone with more knowledge of make-up could perhaps have improved, but Lockwood was happy, so I was too.

We waited together in the kitchen over a cup of tea for Holly and George.

Holly's outfit was truly stunning. She wore a long, loose pastel green dress and fake pointy ears too. Her make-up matched the pastel colour palette she had chosen for her character. Her dark skin made the colours particularly vibrant.

Just before the driver arrived, George finally made an appearance. And his costume was many things.

He had painted his skin chalky white and dyed his hair black. In his mouth, from which (hopefully) fake blood was running, pointed fangs were visible and behind his glasses he had red eyes. His costume resembled the suit of a Victorian gentleman with a long cape and a few pieces of armour.

The three of us knew that George was no ordinary vampire. He was Lord Glethin, a nefarious vampire who had taken control of a country and was now spreading fear and terror with the undead. He was the main villain of our campaign and had spanked us mightily a few times already.

Holly broke the silence that prevailed shortly after his arrival with a round of applause, which I joined in with, as did Lockwood. He looked impressive.

A car horn signalled us to leave and we ran to the front door. I had stowed all my essentials in my belt bag, while Holly carried a fashionable handbag and Lockwood slung a rucksack on his back - I didn't really want to know what he was up to.

Just as we were out of the amazement again, the next surprise greeted us outside our door. In the faint light of dusk and the greenish glow of the ghost lamps, an Austin Healey saloon was parked outside 35 Portland Row. And no, I don't know anything about cars, I just understood George's mumbling.

The driver, an old man with white sideburns, greeted us and opened the door to our seats. Even then I was sure that this was going to be a night to remember.

[thewritingsandwich]

The Chiming Lady - Part 1

A Lockwood & Co. Fan Fiction

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Summary: The agents of Lockwood & Co. are invited to the Halloween-Party of a former client.

A/N: I originally wrote this for @ savelockwoodnco on instagram's filler episode theme. But I'm a month too late... anyways this takes place after 'The Empty Grave' but there are no major spoilers for it. Originally I wrote it in german, but I translated it for the internet with the help of DeepL.

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, brief mentions of su***de and mu**er

Even though letters are still commonplace in this day and age, we at Lockwood & Co rarely expected to receive letters that were not from DEPRAC or in any way related to a case. So you can imagine how surprised we were when George presented a letter from a former client at breakfast.

Mrs Aminah Pearson's case was several months ago and if she hadn't written us a letter, I would probably have forgotten about it. Okay, I had forgotten about it until she wrote us a letter. In my defence, we were only dealing with a simple lurker in her house, but for her it was "at least as bad as a poltergeist".

Before we opened the letter, I checked my memory for at least something about Mrs Pearson, but apart from the fact that she was incredibly fond of us, I couldn't think of anything else. I am very sure, however, that she had got us a cake at the time.

Over eggs and toast, Lockwood grabbed the letter and opened it before George could object. It was a single sheet of paper through which the ink had bled slightly. Lockwood skimmed the letter once before sitting up properly and reading it again, now more carefully. George and I exchanged glances expectantly, but neither he nor I could interpret anything from Lockwood's gaze.

Mrs Pearson is inviting us to her costume party," Lockwood finally said and placed the letter in the middle of the table. George was quicker than me and read the letter aloud.

"Dear agents of the Lockwood & Co agency, due to your impressive work last March, I would like to kindly invite you to my costume party at the end of October. I have enclosed an envelope in which you can send your acceptance (or cancellation). If you accept, a car will come to pick you up on the evening of the party and take you to Norridge Mansion outside London. There are a number of night taxis available to get you home safely later. Please come in costume. Yours sincerely, Aminah Pearson." George put the letter aside. "That sounds great. I've always wanted to go to a costume party."

"Mrs Pearson is very wealthy, if I remember correctly. A party like this is an easy way to socialise and get the Lockwood & Co name out to the other rich people of London," Lockwood replied, "but a costume?"

"We've been asked to dress up, Lockwood. It's daft if we don't come in costume," George replied, causing even more discomfort on Lockwood's face. Although it wasn't discomfort. I think 'disinterest' describes it better.

"What are we supposed to dress up as and still look serious? I would like to use this party to make the guests aware of us. We shouldn't turn up in tights and a cape." Lockwood knew George well. After all, the likelihood that he would have suggested costumes from his comic books was very high. Offended, George leaned back in his chair and shoved a piece of toast with jam into his mouth.

"Okay, then what?"

Personally, I wasn't against the idea of costumes, provided they were the right ones. I had to agree with Lockwood that characters from comics were off the table. I've seen the women in George's comics, or comics in general - the costume choices were 'way too much skin' and 'skintight jumpsuits'.

I gazed at the thinking cloth in thought. Between conversations, insults and several scribbles, something peeked out between the orange jam and peanut butter. I pushed almost everything on the table aside and cleared a drawn-on grid. Some time ago, we started playing Dungeons and Dragons - a fantasy role-playing game - on free evenings and the thinking cloth served as a map.

"What if we dress up as our Dungeons & Dragons characters?" I just threw the idea into the room. Personally, I would love to dress up as my character. I played a little halfling girl who hunted fairies as a ranger, and even though the game wasn't really for me at first, I took a liking to Eobyn Truewood.

George's eyes began to sparkle and believe me when I say I've never seen him like this before. He straightened up, braced his hands on the table and looked at the exposed, drawn grid.

"That's a brilliant idea, Luce. You go as Eobyn the Ranger, Holly as Brythyra the Bard, and Lockwood as Arris the Rogue." Arris was Lockwood's character - a charming half-devil who came from a rich family but gave up his wealth for adventure and arcane magic. Brythyra was Holly's bard, who supported Lockwood's character and my character with music and magic after protecting her own home village from orcs.

"And you?" George was the game master and therefore responsible for all the other characters, the world and the story. He was truly absorbed in the role - perhaps because he could finally boss us around.

He paused for a moment before replying: " That's a surprise. I already have the perfect idea."

"Hold on a second. Arris has bright red skin and horns. That's not serious enough for me," Lockwood intervened.

"Or your costume is so good and impressive that you'll definitely be remembered," I replied. If Lockwood was going to this party for work reasons, then he might as well make a lasting impression. Even if he didn't seem particularly convinced yet. "And in this form, we can easily take our rapiers with us. I'd hate to go into an old building without our weapons."

Any further objections from Lockwood were successfully met with his reasons for going to the party in the first place.

With nothing else on the agenda for the rest of the day, I turned to my sketchbook and drew up ideas of exactly what Eobyn's outfit could look like. The ideas flowed out of me, so I was glued to the table in the kitchen for several hours while George and Lockwood were busy elsewhere. After a while, Lockwood joined me and once again expressed his doubts.

"I think it'll be fun. We'll dress up, make a good impression and get free food. Nothing can really go wrong," I replied and leant forward a little. Lockwood was sitting at the head of the table as usual.

I gently placed my arms on the table so that my hands were only a few centimetres away from Lockwood's. For a moment, we both just stared at our hands, which came closer and closer together, until my pencil rolled off the table and startled us.

I felt the blood rush to my face as I bent down to grab the pencil. Back above the table, I saw Lockwood peering into my sketchbook. So I pushed it closer to him and told him I was thinking about Eobyn's clothes.

"That looks great, Luce. And I don't even know what Arris looks like," he replied and, as always when he complimented me, I felt a little warmer.

But he was right. The portrait on his character sheet was a smiley face with little horns. Mine, on the other hand, was a detailed drawing of my halfling. I was passionate about drawing her by now, but my sketchbook was still dominated by someone else.

"If you want, we can work on the look and clothes together," I suggested. He leant back in his chair.

"I don't have any more plans for today. George threw in the acceptance earlier. I don't think anyone could have stopped him. But as soon as a job comes in, it has priority, all right?" So he took off his suit jacket and hung it over the chair behind him.

Over tea and the remains of a lime pie I'd baked for yesterday's client, who had cancelled without notice, we tinkered on Arri's look together.

During the afternoon, Holly joined us and we explained our plan to her. Surprisingly, she loved the idea of dressing up as Brythyra and told us in detail what her costume would look like. Brythyra was a high elf and according to Holly's description, she would look even more elegant in the costume than she already did. She also offered to bring her sewing machine tomorrow and take on the task of tailoring our costumes.

It was already evening when George returned through the front door, laden with a few bags from department stores.

"Did you buy a whole shop empty? And where did you get all the money from?" Lockwood replied.

"I had saved up quite a bit myself and my piggy bank was waiting for just this moment," he replied proudly, "oh hello, Holly."

She waved to him before he disappeared from the kitchen and went to hide his bags.

"What's George wearing?" she asked as he audibly climbed the stairs.

"He won't tell us," I replied, looking at the designs for our costumes. It was hard to imagine Lockwood in Arris's costume, but it was harder to imagine me in Eobyn's. I rarely, if ever, experimented with my clothes, so it was difficult to imagine myself in something I would never actually wear.

Shortly after George disappeared, I quickly ran up to my attic to grab some coloured pens so the three of us could decide what colours our costumes should be.

As Eobyn has spent a lot of time in the forest and nature, I chose lots of natural colours like brown and green for her costume. Arris was very good at hiding in the shadows as a rogue, so he was given a suitable dark colour palette so that he would blend into the darkness through his clothes. Holly told me that she had pastel colours in mind for Brythyra's costume and I already knew that she would look amazing in it.

Holly and I went fabric shopping the next morning to get the costumes made as early as possible. We returned with several metres of fabric. Holly set up in the kitchen and put her sewing machine on the dining table. She also brought some sewing patterns with her, which we used to start sewing the costumes.

[thewritingsandwich]

@neko-chan-13

Field of Dahlias

Would flowers be able to bloom in an environment designed to harm one's mind? Would flowers be able to bloom in a place like hell? 

The answer might be obvious to some but the king of hell tried nonetheless. It was foolish of him to try. Even some demons started whispering about the mental state of their boss behind his back. He was known for his judgmental look. He barely talked with any demons, because he knew one look would be enough. They didn’t respect him. Most of the demons feared him, but this was good enough for him. Despite his reputation, his servants started to talk about him behind his back and wondered if he was going insane. Who would try to plant flowers in hell?

He admitted his defeat to hell quickly and then at one point, he was just gone. No one came looking for him at first. Everybody knew that he was Lucifer and there wasn’t a single situation he couldn’t free himself from on his own. He would be fine and certainly didn’t need the help of some demons. 

Though the demons didn’t understand. There was a time in which flowers were able to bloom in hell. But after his attempts to bring them back, he doubted they ever bloomed at all. 

Lucifer knew exactly what he wanted, but he wasn’t quite sure how he could achieve it. For his first step, he needed flowers; Dahlias to be exact and since he wasn't able to grow them in hell, he had to visit earth. He has barely visited earth ever since… ever since he had so much work to do in hell, so he had no clue where to look for them. If the world didn’t change that much within the last centuries, he thought that maybe the Netherlands would be a good starting point to look for flowers. Fortunately the Netherlands were still blooming just as beautiful as he remembered. 

While he was looking for the flowers, the last conversation between him and her replayed in his head over and over again. He knew it by heart. He could tell somebody what he and she said word by word and tell them all of the mistakes he made that day and all of the days before. 

“Sir? Is there something specific you are looking for?”, an employee of the flower shop he was at pulled him back to reality. He didn’t even remember coming here.

“Yes actually… I’m looking for Dahlias. Black and red ones if that’s possible”, his voice was soft. Not one thing about his looks and appearance hinted at the fact that he was the devil. 

"Ah, I might have the perfect ones for you… Are you looking for a bouquet or just single flowers?" 

"A bouquet would be perfect." His smile was genuine. Even though he fell out of heaven due to his burning anger towards humans, he neglected his anger and hatred towards them after many years. He learned that not all of them are bad and the world was in fact a more beautiful place than he first thought. Of course he didn't make this discovery by himself. It was his wife who introduced him to the wonders and beauties earth had to offer and more than one time humans could be credited. 

The young woman guided him through the shop to a display of red and black bouquets. Just shortly after their arrival she picked up a beautiful bouquet with black and red dahlias. 

"I think this would be perfect. Is it meant for your girlfriend?" 

"It's complicated between us but I hope I can win her back." Girlfriend. A term that didn't feel appropriate for him. She used to be his wife. The queen of hell. She was certainly not just the girlfriend of the devil. 

He didn't pay for the flowers, instead he convinced everybody in the shop that he had already paid. He vanished before they even realized their mistake. 

Lucifer traveled to Cluj-Napoca in Romania. Right outside of the city was the Hoia Baciu Forest, a well known haunted forest. It was famous for one clearing where no plant or tree was able to grow and bloom. Little did everybody know that this particular clearing was the exact location of Lilith's mansion. But then again, how could anybody know that the former queen of hell lived in their forest? 

    He knew where to go almost as the way was imprinted in his mind, without ever visiting her. He didn’t know what he was going to say. He didn’t even know what he would do once he saw her again. He just wanted to see her; make sure that she is alright, happy, finally content with her life. Immortality and eternity was after all the biggest curse of their kind. 

The leaves crunched as he made his way through the partially dead forest. He knew he was on earth, but it already felt different. Like neither earth, hell nor heaven. A feeling of emptiness overcame every mortal who found this place. This effect was strong enough to even influence angels or demons or archangels. But for these immortal beings it was merely a scratch and nothing to worry about. But on mortals this was a deadly effect. Almost like the effect on the doomed soul in hell. Destined to work and almost lose anything that ever made them a real person.   

The dead forest, the fog and the house always reminded the man of hell – an environment that is meant to harm your mind, if you stay long enough. There were countless incidents of mortals losing their minds here and even more stories, legends and myths about this ‘Rotten Forest’. Some mortals returned, some didn’t. Those who stayed in the forest became servants of Lilith, losing their memory and serving her until they died. 

Only a certain kind of people were able to see the house and you wouldn’t know where exactly it was until you stood right in front of it. 

After a while, he finally spotted the big mansion. It looked like a ship swimming in a dark sea. He reached the dark, massive door. Pictures of demons as well as angels were engraved in it. But none of these pictures were meant well. He lifted up his hand to knock, as he saw the pictures. His hand slowly sank and he sighed. 

"Oh love…", he whispered and slowly ran his fingers over the image of a falling angel. He formed a fist with his hand and knocked on the massive door a few times. 

Shortly after his knock, the door was opened a few inches. A demon with black eyes looked at the man. It took them a while until they noticed who was standing in front of them. Their eyes widened and the door flew open. 

"Master Morningstar", the demon said as they bowed down in front of the man. 

"There's no need for all of this formality, you can call me Lucifer", the man replied

and lifted up the demon by their chin. 

"I want to see Lady Lilith", he said and the demon instantly rushed away from him. 

The entrance hall of Lilith's mansion was massive. A huge, golden chandelier was hanging from the high ceiling. The floor and walls were made out of marble. A beautiful red carpet led to the sitting and dining room in the back. Two black staircases, one on each side of the room, dominated the room. Upstairs were three doors. 

The left door opened and a woman stepped out of the room. Her hair was as white as snow. Her eyes, without any pupils, looked down on the visitor, who bowed down a bit to show his respect while he hid the bouquet behind his back. She slowly and carefully approached him, walking down the stairs and revealing her beautiful black bridal robe. She was followed by the demon, who opened the door for Lucifer. Was it possible that she became even more beautiful in the last few years?

“Hello, Lucifer… What exactly are you doing here?” Her voice was raspy as if she hasn’t spoken within the last few hours. 

“Hello, I came to see you”, he went over everything he wanted to say to her and now when he was standing in front of her, he couldn’t say any of it.

“To see me? Well you certainly took your time”, she answered. Yes, it has been a couple of decades or even centuries. Time was different in hell than on earth. He never knew if it was passing slower or faster than here. Time was after all a strange concept to the king of hell.

“I know. I thought about everything a lot and I came here to apologize.” She looked genuinely surprised. Was it the fact that someone other than a servant apologized to her? Or was it the fact that she didn’t expect him to come back? She was a woman who knew what was going to happen before it happened. She was witty and cunning and was even harder to surprise. Though, even Lucifer himself was surprised that he was finally standing here. 

She hasn’t aged a day. How could she? He was sure that he could spend an entire day just admiring her beauty, but that wasn’t the reason why he came to see her. 

“I wanted to apologize for everything I did that upset you”, he took a deep breath, “I know now more than before… than when we fought and you left. You escaped heaven only to lead a similar life in hell. I knew about your wish to lead an independent life, but I never gave you a chance to actually live such a life. I wanted to keep you close, because you were important to me. Finally, I wasn’t alone anymore but I was selfish. I only thought about me and not once about you or what you want. Like the humans would say, I was an asshole to you and I hope you can forgive me.” He presented the flowers to her. 

“You came all the way from hell and got me a beautiful bouquet of my favorite flowers just to say you’re sorry and ask for my forgiveness?”

“Yes. A while ago, this incredible guilt washed over me and I needed to tell you that I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me after all this time. I just want you to know that I am sorry and I still care about you deeply.” He wanted to say more. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her; how much she still meant to him; how much he loved her. But he couldn’t say any of it. He hoped that his eyes would tell her what he couldn’t say.

Lilith took a step closer to him. Carefully she placed her right hand on his left cheek and looked into his dark eyes. There were stories and legends by humans that these dark eyes were the most seducing eyes in the world, but he begged to differ. Lilith’s eyes were. Nowadays she could ask him to burn down the world for her and he would do it without question. 

He wanted to pull her closer, as close as it was possible with these bodies and he wanted to stay close to her. Would he be able to leave hell? Could he lead a similar life to her? He thought about it a lot in the last few days and he still didn’t know the answer. Hell was his. He built that place and he made the rules. His endless anger and hatred towards humans built the place; the place that would punish those humans who deserve it; but what if his hatred and anger slowly faded? 

“I forgive you, darling. But I will not return to hell with you, if that’s what you want to ask me next.” He didn’t want that, because although he couldn't think of anything better than her returning to hell with him, his desire for her to be happy was bigger than his feelings. 

“I wouldn’t ask you for such a thing. I know that you would decline. I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry, because I know that not enough people tell you that. And I believe that I know you well enough to know that you are hurting because of that. After you fell you built these walls up around you, thinking they would protect you from anymore harm and when you finally opened to me, I gave you even more reasons to build them up again. I hope that my apology can help you to heal as much as it helps me to heal.” He touched her hand on his cheek. “And I love you. I love you so much that even though I want to be by your side, leaving you alone is the best option for you. I don’t think I can make you happy. Not when you think of all the cruel things the archangels had done to you, everytime you look at me. I get it now. You don’t want to be part of this celestial thing anymore, you have found other things that give your life meaning. You had to leave to achieve this.” For a brief moment which felt like an eternity to Lucifer they just looked at each other. Thinking about what to say next, what to do next. He has never been the type of person to reveal his emotions, yet here he was standing. He stripped down every layer that he built up to protect himself. 

“I love you too and leaving you was everything but an easy decision. But like you said, I had no other choice. I won’t ask you to stay with me, because I know you can’t do that. Maybe despite our love for each other we aren’t meant to be together, not without hurting each other over and over again.” She moved closer to him and kissed him. Although both of them wished for this moment to last forever, they had to seperate. They leaned their foreheads against each other one more time, before they silently parted ways. 

A long time he believed that they were soulmates. After they parted ways for the first time, he didn’t think that soulmates would separate. But now, he knew better. They were in fact soulmates, but they weren’t meant to be. Maybe they would long for each other forever, but she was right. They couldn’t be together without destroying each other. 

[thewritingsandwich]

Field of Dahlias

Warnings: None

Characters: Lucifer Morningstar (not the one from the show) x Lilith

Would flowers be able to bloom in an environment designed to harm one's mind? Would flowers be able to bloom in a place like hell? 

The answer might be obvious to some but the king of hell tried nonetheless. It was foolish of him to try. Even some demons started whispering about the mental state of their boss behind his back. He was known for his judgmental look. He barely talked with any demons, because he knew one look would be enough. They didn’t respect him. Most of the demons feared him, but this was good enough for him. Despite his reputation, his servants started to talk about him behind his back and wondered if he was going insane. Who would try to plant flowers in hell?

He admitted his defeat to hell quickly and then at one point, he was just gone. No one came looking for him at first. Everybody knew that he was Lucifer and there wasn’t a single situation he couldn’t free himself from on his own. He would be fine and certainly didn’t need the help of some demons. 

Though the demons didn’t understand. There was a time in which flowers were able to bloom in hell. But after his attempts to bring them back, he doubted they ever bloomed at all. 

Lucifer knew exactly what he wanted, but he wasn’t quite sure how he could achieve it. For his first step, he needed flowers; Dahlias to be exact and since he wasn't able to grow them in hell, he had to visit earth. He has barely visited earth ever since… ever since he had so much work to do in hell, so he had no clue where to look for them. If the world didn’t change that much within the last centuries, he thought that maybe the Netherlands would be a good starting point to look for flowers. Fortunately the Netherlands were still blooming just as beautiful as he remembered. 

While he was looking for the flowers, the last conversation between him and her replayed in his head over and over again. He knew it by heart. He could tell somebody what he and she said word by word and tell them all of the mistakes he made that day and all of the days before. 

“Sir? Is there something specific you are looking for?”, an employee of the flower shop he was at pulled him back to reality. He didn’t even remember coming here.

“Yes actually… I’m looking for Dahlias. Black and red ones if that’s possible”, his voice was soft. Not one thing about his looks and appearance hinted at the fact that he was the devil. 

"Ah, I might have the perfect ones for you… Are you looking for a bouquet or just single flowers?" 

"A bouquet would be perfect." His smile was genuine. Even though he fell out of heaven due to his burning anger towards humans, he neglected his anger and hatred towards them after many years. He learned that not all of them are bad and the world was in fact a more beautiful place than he first thought. Of course he didn't make this discovery by himself. It was his wife who introduced him to the wonders and beauties earth had to offer and more than one time humans could be credited. 

The young woman guided him through the shop to a display of red and black bouquets. Just shortly after their arrival she picked up a beautiful bouquet with black and red dahlias. 

"I think this would be perfect. Is it meant for your girlfriend?" 

"It's complicated between us but I hope I can win her back." Girlfriend. A term that didn't feel appropriate for him. She used to be his wife. The queen of hell. She was certainly not just the girlfriend of the devil. 

He didn't pay for the flowers, instead he convinced everybody in the shop that he had already paid. He vanished before they even realized their mistake. 

Lucifer traveled to Cluj-Napoca in Romania. Right outside of the city was the Hoia Baciu Forest, a well known haunted forest. It was famous for one clearing where no plant or tree was able to grow and bloom. Little did everybody know that this particular clearing was the exact location of Lilith's mansion. But then again, how could anybody know that the former queen of hell lived in their forest? 

    He knew where to go almost as the way was imprinted in his mind, without ever visiting her. He didn’t know what he was going to say. He didn’t even know what he would do once he saw her again. He just wanted to see her; make sure that she is alright, happy, finally content with her life. Immortality and eternity was after all the biggest curse of their kind. 

The leaves crunched as he made his way through the partially dead forest. He knew he was on earth, but it already felt different. Like neither earth, hell nor heaven. A feeling of emptiness overcame every mortal who found this place. This effect was strong enough to even influence angels or demons or archangels. But for these immortal beings it was merely a scratch and nothing to worry about. But on mortals this was a deadly effect. Almost like the effect on the doomed soul in hell. Destined to work and almost lose anything that ever made them a real person.   

The dead forest, the fog and the house always reminded the man of hell – an environment that is meant to harm your mind, if you stay long enough. There were countless incidents of mortals losing their minds here and even more stories, legends and myths about this ‘Rotten Forest’. Some mortals returned, some didn’t. Those who stayed in the forest became servants of Lilith, losing their memory and serving her until they died. 

Only a certain kind of people were able to see the house and you wouldn’t know where exactly it was until you stood right in front of it. 

After a while, he finally spotted the big mansion. It looked like a ship swimming in a dark sea. He reached the dark, massive door. Pictures of demons as well as angels were engraved in it. But none of these pictures were meant well. He lifted up his hand to knock, as he saw the pictures. His hand slowly sank and he sighed. 

"Oh love…", he whispered and slowly ran his fingers over the image of a falling angel. He formed a fist with his hand and knocked on the massive door a few times. 

Shortly after his knock, the door was opened a few inches. A demon with black eyes looked at the man. It took them a while until they noticed who was standing in front of them. Their eyes widened and the door flew open. 

"Master Morningstar", the demon said as they bowed down in front of the man. 

"There's no need for all of this formality, you can call me Lucifer", the man replied

and lifted up the demon by their chin. 

"I want to see Lady Lilith", he said and the demon instantly rushed away from him. 

The entrance hall of Lilith's mansion was massive. A huge, golden chandelier was hanging from the high ceiling. The floor and walls were made out of marble. A beautiful red carpet led to the sitting and dining room in the back. Two black staircases, one on each side of the room, dominated the room. Upstairs were three doors. 

The left door opened and a woman stepped out of the room. Her hair was as white as snow. Her eyes, without any pupils, looked down on the visitor, who bowed down a bit to show his respect while he hid the bouquet behind his back. She slowly and carefully approached him, walking down the stairs and revealing her beautiful black bridal robe. She was followed by the demon, who opened the door for Lucifer. Was it possible that she became even more beautiful in the last few years?

“Hello, Lucifer… What exactly are you doing here?” Her voice was raspy as if she hasn’t spoken within the last few hours. 

“Hello, I came to see you”, he went over everything he wanted to say to her and now when he was standing in front of her, he couldn’t say any of it.

“To see me? Well you certainly took your time”, she answered. Yes, it has been a couple of decades or even centuries. Time was different in hell than on earth. He never knew if it was passing slower or faster than here. Time was after all a strange concept to the king of hell.

“I know. I thought about everything a lot and I came here to apologize.” She looked genuinely surprised. Was it the fact that someone other than a servant apologized to her? Or was it the fact that she didn’t expect him to come back? She was a woman who knew what was going to happen before it happened. She was witty and cunning and was even harder to surprise. Though, even Lucifer himself was surprised that he was finally standing here. 

She hasn’t aged a day. How could she? He was sure that he could spend an entire day just admiring her beauty, but that wasn’t the reason why he came to see her. 

“I wanted to apologize for everything I did that upset you”, he took a deep breath, “I know now more than before… than when we fought and you left. You escaped heaven only to lead a similar life in hell. I knew about your wish to lead an independent life, but I never gave you a chance to actually live such a life. I wanted to keep you close, because you were important to me. Finally, I wasn’t alone anymore but I was selfish. I only thought about me and not once about you or what you want. Like the humans would say, I was an asshole to you and I hope you can forgive me.” He presented the flowers to her. 

“You came all the way from hell and got me a beautiful bouquet of my favorite flowers just to say you’re sorry and ask for my forgiveness?”

“Yes. A while ago, this incredible guilt washed over me and I needed to tell you that I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to forgive me after all this time. I just want you to know that I am sorry and I still care about you deeply.” He wanted to say more. He wanted to tell her how much he missed her; how much she still meant to him; how much he loved her. But he couldn’t say any of it. He hoped that his eyes would tell her what he couldn’t say.

Lilith took a step closer to him. Carefully she placed her right hand on his left cheek and looked into his dark eyes. There were stories and legends by humans that these dark eyes were the most seducing eyes in the world, but he begged to differ. Lilith’s eyes were. Nowadays she could ask him to burn down the world for her and he would do it without question. 

He wanted to pull her closer, as close as it was possible with these bodies and he wanted to stay close to her. Would he be able to leave hell? Could he lead a similar life to her? He thought about it a lot in the last few days and he still didn’t know the answer. Hell was his. He built that place and he made the rules. His endless anger and hatred towards humans built the place; the place that would punish those humans who deserve it; but what if his hatred and anger slowly faded? 

“I forgive you, darling. But I will not return to hell with you, if that’s what you want to ask me next.” He didn’t want that, because although he couldn't think of anything better than her returning to hell with him, his desire for her to be happy was bigger than his feelings. 

“I wouldn’t ask you for such a thing. I know that you would decline. I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry, because I know that not enough people tell you that. And I believe that I know you well enough to know that you are hurting because of that. After you fell you built these walls up around you, thinking they would protect you from anymore harm and when you finally opened to me, I gave you even more reasons to build them up again. I hope that my apology can help you to heal as much as it helps me to heal.” He touched her hand on his cheek. “And I love you. I love you so much that even though I want to be by your side, leaving you alone is the best option for you. I don’t think I can make you happy. Not when you think of all the cruel things the archangels had done to you, everytime you look at me. I get it now. You don’t want to be part of this celestial thing anymore, you have found other things that give your life meaning. You had to leave to achieve this.” For a brief moment which felt like an eternity to Lucifer they just looked at each other. Thinking about what to say next, what to do next. He has never been the type of person to reveal his emotions, yet here he was standing. He stripped down every layer that he built up to protect himself. 

“I love you too and leaving you was everything but an easy decision. But like you said, I had no other choice. I won’t ask you to stay with me, because I know you can’t do that. Maybe despite our love for each other we aren’t meant to be together, not without hurting each other over and over again.” She moved closer to him and kissed him. Although both of them wished for this moment to last forever, they had to seperate. They leaned their foreheads against each other one more time, before they silently parted ways. 

A long time he believed that they were soulmates. After they parted ways for the first time, he didn’t think that soulmates would separate. But now, he knew better. They were in fact soulmates, but they weren’t meant to be. Maybe they would long for each other forever, but she was right. They couldn’t be together without destroying each other.