The Black Bastard Story: Part I

PART I: A Town Called Nowhere

"Oi."
The voice seemed to come from behind him – and Lucias turned at the sound, only to be greeted by nothing but the same dark, grimy street he'd just stepped off.
It was late, and getting darker with every moment more he spent standing around on the cobblestone curb, and so he turned back, took the concrete steps up to the massive archway, and reached for the heavy, ornate brass knocker on the doorframe between the towering double doors. The whole street, or as much as Lucias had seen of it, was beginning to blur from view as a light, misty fog coiled around each tall, brick building. Chilled, he was keen to find somewhere to stay for the night.
"Oi!"
He whirled, startled at the sound of the voice again. But what startled him more was the scarecrow standing right behind him – grinning its stupid, carved-pumpkin head off.
"Aaah!" Lucias yelped, stumbling back and falling over his own suitcase as the scarecrow cracked up in hysterical laughter. Hay spilled from its sleeves and clothes, and it doubled over with maniacal mirth. Lucias' head had knocked against the wooden door, and for a moment he was seeing stars, and hoping the scarecrow was just a figment of his imagination, too. It was just a scarecrow – or, more precisely, a Guy Fawkes – that's all it was. But Guy Fawkes' normally weren't supposed to be moving; let alone cackling, for that matter.
"Uh…" Lucias held his head in one hand as the dizziness of the contact with the unforgiving wooden door passed, and then fumbled for his thick-framed glasses, which had fallen from their perch on his nose during his frightened fall.
"HOO-BOY, that was classic, friend! Simply classic! Do it again!! AGAIN!!" the Guy hooted, and Lucias attempted to compose a comprehensible reply. But this had never happened to him before – the dark street was so unfamiliar to his home of downtown London, although it did look rather the same. Only…only it appeared to be set back in time by about twenty years. He was distracted from the architecture, though, as the scarecrow continued to dance joyfully from foot-to-foot in front of him.
"What?!" it yelled cheerfully, bending down to Lucias' height where he was still sitting on the steps. Lucias swallowed hard – there was something obscenely wrong with how the scarecrow was bent in half like that.
"Um…you're a…a…" words escaped him again.
"A Guy?"
"Uh-huh." Came Lucias' timid response, and the Guy Fawkes reared back and roared with laughter.
"Nu-uh!" it crowed. "NU-UH!!" It's odd laughter seemed to ricochet around the empty street, seeming to hang in the slowly growing fog, filling it with and eerie echo that made Lucias feel even more alone than ever with this crazy piece of pumpkin-and-straw-crow-scarer. He'd never been here before, and was becoming more and more afraid as the night grew colder and darker. And the giggling scarecrow in front of him wasn't helping.
"Uh…then, what…what are you?" Lucias asked slowly, and the Guy began to chuckle uncontrollably.
"I'm a GUY!!!" it hollered, and then burst out laughing again at the sight of confusion on Lucias' face. "I'm a Guy Fawkes!"
"Um…yes, I see that…" Lucias said slowly, climbing to his feet, standing but not daring to take his eyes off the creepy eccentric hay-man before him.
Suddenly, a loud gunshot cracked the air, and instinctively Lucias' hands flew to cover his head and he cowered – a screech escaped the Guy Fawkes' carved head – it could have been screaming in pain, or it could have been the air whistling through the brand new hole in it's pumpkin head. The scarecrow collapsed, crumpling into a rustling pile on the steps at Lucias' feet like a deflated balloon.
Shock was officially beyond him as he heard the footsteps approaching.
"You'd be wise to stay off the streets at this time of night," a polished, feminine voice said softly. Lucias looked up to see a young woman, elaborately dressed in a garment of ruffles, lace and deep black material, stepping forward with her arm linked in that of a tall, stoic-faced man in a butlers uniform. Both looked like they were stepping out of the past – dressed in gothic Victorian era clothes.
"You must be new to Nowhere," she purred, and Lucias swallowed. New and terrified seemed to be the more appropriate description.
"Uh…'Nowhere', ma'am?" he repeated numbly. His night had taken a definite turn for the strangest – he was supposed to be on a boat to Ireland right now, to stay with and care for his ailing grandmother. But the taxi had broken down and he'd gone in one direction to search for the nearest house while the taxi driver had gone in another. How he'd ended up here was just another memory of this whirlwind night of weirdness.
The woman smiled softly, and patted the arm of the man walking next to her as they drew level to the bottom of the steps on which Lucias was still standing. Lucias suppressed a gasp as he realized that in the butlers other hand was a large, ornate revolver – a silver plated Smith and Wesson. At the touch of the ladies gloved hand, he slid the gun into a holster at his hip. There was something odd with the man's face – but Lucias couldn't place it.
"That's right," she confirmed, and Lucias reached down for his bag. She beckoned him to join them down on the cobblestones, and he stepped down cautiously, glancing over the dead scarecrow between them. He stepped over it, and joined the odd pair on the sidewalk. "This is Nowhere," the lady announced, gesturing around her. "And that – " she pointed over Lucias' shoulder to the double doors he'd been so close to knocking on, "that is one place you do not want to go."
"Oh…" Lucias said meekly. "Um…why not?"
The lady smiled, and then pulled from a satchel that hung over her shoulder and rested at her waist, a book. "This," she said, leaving the butler's arm and stepping boldly up the stone staircase and over the scarecrows body to the doors, "Is the Library."
"Library, ma'am?" Lucias repeated dumbly. The young woman turned back to him briefly, gave him an odd look, and then turned to the door and put the book she was holding through the silver slot in the doorframe under the brass knocker – Lucias hadn't even noticed the slot.
"Yes, the Library. The one place you honestly do not want to be knocking at the door of at such a ridiculous hour of the evening. Come, young man," the woman didn't seem to be chiding him – just warning. "Come – I insist you stay with me the night if you need accommodation."
"Oh – really? I mean – I don't want to impose…" he started as the butler whirled on his heel and started to walk back towards the fog. Soon, he was out of sight and it was just the young woman clad in the black dress and Lucias' good self standing on the cobblestone sidewalk. "Um…ma'am? Your butler…"
"Oh, G'Bacchi is quite all right," she smiled, linking her arm purposefully in Lucias' and beginning to lead him in the same direction as her butler had gone. "He's gone to fetch the horses – they don't like coming this far down the street. The like of him – " she nodded back at the dead Guy Fawkes behind them, "scare them something dreadful, the poor dears."
"Ah," Lucias replied. "Um…are you sure it's quite all right? I honestly don't mind finding somewhere else…"
"Nonsense, boy," the woman laughed softly. "A guest to Nowhere is a guest in my home. I welcome you to stay for as long as you need."
Lucias allowed himself to be guided by the woman through the fog – she didn't seem afraid in the slightest – it was obvious she'd been here for a long, long time. How long, though, Lucias couldn't guess.
After a few moments of quiet, he plucked up the courage to attempt conversation.
"Um…ma'am?"
"Yes, young man?"
"Could I be so impolite…as to ask what I may address you by?"
She laughed softly, and only a little way away Lucias could hear the clip clopping of horses hooves, and the rattling sound of iron wheels on the cobbles. "You may call me Blue – or Lady Blue, if you wish."
"B-blue? Why Blue, ma'am, if you where black?" Lucias curiosity got the better of him and he couldn't stop himself from asking. Lady Blue chuckled again.
"It's really a very deep blue," she said. "But I suppose it does appear to be black, in the darkness of the night." She looked down at herself, frowned slightly, and then nodded in satisfaction. Just then a black carriage drew up, drawn by a couple of dark grey horses. They blew puffs of fog as they snorted, and Lucias could see their obvious tension – the way they held themselves, as if ready to take flight at the slightest notice. G'Bacchi the butler, however, seemed to have complete control of them as he perched on the stool on the carriage's front behind them. Lady Blue smiled up at the nervous animals and blew softly on their muzzles, whispering reassuringly to them and stroking their nostrils with her gloved hands. They seemed to calm slightly, and Lady Blue turned back to Lucias.
"Join me?" she gestured to the carriage, and Lucias opened the door for her – he'd only been young when he'd last been in a carriage – ever since the war, horse-drawn carriages were going slowly out of favour – but there was no sign of a car anywhere in this street. Lady Blue thanks him and stepped inside, and he followed suit, taking the seat opposite.
"So, young man," she said, seemingly more comfortable in the velvet interior as they began moving. "Do tell me – what do they call you, where you're from?"
"Oh – uh, Lucias, ma'am," Lucias said, startled a little by the sound of her voice carrying over the sound of the moving carriage over the cobbles. "Lucias Sven."
"A charming name for a charming young man," she smiled, appearing thoughtful. "If my memory serves me correctly, it means 'light' in Latin; first derived for the name 'lux'."
Lucias blinked – he'd never heard that before.
"Really?" he asked, intrigued despite his nervousness.
"Indeed," Lady Blue nodded. "However not as popular a name as its female counterpart, 'Lucy'. Still – a fitting name nonetheless."
Lucias was about to ask something else, when the coach stopped suddenly and the horses whinnied anxiously outside. Lady Blue looked out the carriage window.
"G'Bacchi?" she called. "What's wrong?"
There was a muffled mumbled from G'Bacchi's seat, and Lady Blue sighed and opened the door. Lucias followed her back onto the street – they'd gone a fair way since the Library, and he was now completely lost. And very thankful that Lady Blue had been so kind to him. Following her around to the front of the carriage, he looked up to G'Bacchi, who pointed to something a little way down the road.
It was then that Lucias had the sickening realization of what exactly was wrong with G'Bacchi's face – his mouth was stitched shut in an eerie, creepy grin. But the butler's eyes were insistent, and Lucias followed his line of sight to the body lying on the road.
Lady Blue sighed again, also seeing the figure lying motionless in their path, and tapped her booted foot impatiently on the cobblestones.
"Well, if it's not the mighty monster-hunter himself!" she hollered loudly, catching Lucias by surprise. She continued to yell to apparently no one. "Taken down at last! What beast could have done such a deed? A monument should be erected in honour of his memory, for we have lost a most careless, undignified – "
Lucias suddenly caught on to what she was shouting about. She was making it obvious that she was paying the corpse absolutely no attention, and she began to blatantly insult it, mocking it and patronizing it. Why she was doing it, Lucias didn't understand until it's head rolled over to look at them, a scowl plastered all over it's face, it's eyes glaring at Lady Blue.
"Uh – ma'am – the corpse!" he stuttered, pointing at it. Lady Blue rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"That's no corpse, Lucias," she replied, and she led him over to the body. It's eyes were closed and there was no sign of the scowl. Lucias wondered momentarily if he had imagined the entire head-roll and glare. Lady Blue took the liberty to kick it gently, but the body remained motionless. She sighed in exasperation.
"He always does this. Ever since he was young – he never wanted to get out of bed in the morning. Gave one of my maids a heart-attack once, made her believe he'd died in his sleep." She gave Lucias another eye roll. "He's just very good at holding his breath. Only not when insulted, poked, prodded or, inevitably, left to be found by the real monsters."
"R-real monsters?" Lucias quickly looked around, but there was no sign of any more scarecrows anywhere he could see.
She nodded. "Yes, there are creatures out there far worse than some old Guy Fawkes," she said. "But that's not the point. This boy is nothing but my nephew, Sebastian, undoubtedly attempting to set a trap for one of those far-worse creatures. He's always trying to impress some girl with how big a monster he traps, tames or kills."
"You can tame the monsters?" Lucias blinked, but Lady Blue shrugged.
"Only if you're the Black Bastard. So if you do capture one of them, all they'll do is eat your other animals. Then you'll have nothing left but a very fat, very lazy creature that you can't do anything with."
Before Lucias could ask who the Black Bastard was, the body on the cobblestones lifted a single finger in defiance.
"Hasn't stopped me trying."
Lucias yelped as the young man before them began to peel himself up, hands and knees, all the way up until he was standing up straight. Lady Blue didn't look surprised – she just looked bored and unimpressed.
"Very old routine, Sebastian," she said as the boy bowed to her. He had blonde hair framing his face and pulled back into a small ponytail, and he wore a black sleeveless vest over a white shirt, black pants and matching boots.
"Yes, but should a beautiful lady like your good self be passing by, you always stop for me," he grinned slyly. Lady Blue swatted away his attempt to kiss her hand, and ended up slapping him lightly on the cheek. Lucias was so unused to seeing an aunt and nephew act this was – things like this didn't happen in London.
"What were you hoping for, nephew?" Lady Blue chided. "A monster or a ride to my manor, where you'll undoubtedly want to stay the night?"
Sebastian didn't seem at all phased from the slap, and he merely smiled charmingly and retorted, "Well, your recent trips up and down the street do seem to have frightened away any creature I may have been setting a trap for –"
"A very pathetic trap, Sebastian." Lady Blue interrupted.
"– Granted. But if you are offering accommodation, I don't wish to impede but I most certainly will as your beloved, delightful nephew." He grinned, and Lady Blue groaned as Sebastian cackled and went to skip passed her and Lucias, only to stop when he saw Lucias standing there like a bit of an idiot. "Ah – I thought I heard another voice," Sebastian said, tapping his chin with a finger. "And who might you be? Another plaything for my dearest, darling aunty?"
"Uh – I'm Lucias…"
"Oh! A plaything with a name! Even better!" Sebastian chuckled, and put a hand on each of Lucias' shoulders. He was a little taller than Lucias, and broader in the shoulders ever so slightly, and he had a more masculine build, whereas Lucias was slender and almost petite. Sebastian's green eyes winked down at him. Lady Blue's eyes, on the other hand, were not amused.
"If we may, Sebastian? I'd like to be home before the monsters do come back." She said, and Sebastian clapped Lucias on the shoulder before letting him go.
"Very well, aunt. Let us away."

.:.

The carriage ride was short after that, and Lucias glanced out the window to find the at the entrance steps of a large manor house, set in the middle of a lavish courtyard. When the carriage stopped, Sebastian stepped out before Lucias and Lady Blue, and made an extravagant sweep of his waistcoats coattails as he held the door for his aunt and Lucias to step down. He bowed low, a mocking smile plastered on his face as his aunt sighed in irritation at him and kept going. G'Bacchi led the way up the stone steps and opened the large, carved-oak doors for Lady Blue and Lucias, and then bowed graciously and backed down the steps to take the horses and carriage away. Sebastian followed him.
"Please, Lucias, make yourself feel at home," Lady Blue said kindly, opening her arms wide as they stepped through the foyer. She removed her overcoat and hung it up on the coat stand, before offering a hand out to Lucias for his blazer. He shrugged out of it, surprised to find the air inside the large manor house was fairly warm – he had expected it to be slightly colder, but even in the dark hallway he could see a flickering light reflecting off the polished mahogany walls – the promise of a warm fire in a large hearth made his spirits rise a little, and the events of the night began to melt away as Lady Blue led him into a sizeable banquet hall, a large hearth set into the far wall. Several armchairs, a couch of matching colours and a coffee table stood around the blazing log like a huddled family of beggars around an old burning oil drum.
Lady Blue snapped her fingers, and a small boy in a white shirt and bottle-green pants appeared from the shadows with a tray of teacups of a small pot of brewing tea. Lucias blinked as he watched the boy set the tray down, bow to Lady Blue, who smiled and patted him on the head, and then the boy darted away again, hardly flicking a glance at Lucias.
"That was Elliot," Lady Blue explained, a vague wave of her hand in the direction of the shadows where the boy had disappeared. "He doesn't mean to appear rude – it's just hard for him to communicate."
"Oh?" Lucias sat when Lady Blue gestured for him to, and she poured the steaming tea into one of the cups and then offered it to him. "Thank you."
"No trouble," Lady Blue nodded, pouring a cup for herself before sitting herself back into one of the other armchairs. "Elliot is a little bit like his older step-brother, Grinspoon. He's a mute."
There was a few moments of silence, before they both heard a door swing shut and Sebastian's voice carrying through the halls – he sounded like he was complaining about something. Seconds later, he burst through a set of double doors set off to the side, with G'Bacchi close behind, ranting and raving, his hands up in the air.
"How was I to know it was there for a reason?!" he cried incredulously, and G'Bacchi answered with a series of gurgles and unimpressed mumbles through the stitches over his mouth. "For all I knew it was sitting there to catch rain from the leak in the roof!"
"Sebastian, please – do calm down," Lady Blue said irritably, and Sebastian sighed and flopped down into an armchair close by. G'Bacchi stood at Lady Blue's side, and she patted his arm and waved him away. He disappeared in the same general direction as the little boy, Elliot.
"Urgh," Sebastian groaned, an arm thrown dramatically thrown over his eyes. "I don't think I can handle your butler, aunt."
Lady Blue smirked at him over her teacup.
"That's why he's my butler, not yours." She purred. Sebastian moaned again and looked over to Lucias.
"So what's she been filling your head with since you got in?" he grinned, and Lucias chuckled nervously.
"Uh – tea, mostly," he laughed, and Lady Blue sighed in amusement and took a sip from her cup. Sebastian joined in the humour, before springing to his feet again.
"I was just telling him about the tea boy, Elliot, and his step-brother Grinspoon," Lady Blue said, looking up at her nephew, who nodded.
"Ah, yes – Grinspoon." He grinned, winking at Lucias. "With any luck, you'll meet him in the morning."
Lucias smiled politely and nodded, and the next few minutes passed in the soft conversation between the three before Sebastian finally stretched and yawned.
"Well, I think I'm going to turn in," he said, and Lady Blue and Lucias also stood.
"I'll have G'Bacchi set up a room for you," she said to Lucias, before clapping her hands to summon the butler. G'Bacchi appeared moments later, followed by the small Elliot, whose face was illuminated by the small candle stick he carried. G'Bacchi gestured politely for Lucias to follow, and Lady Blue budged him after the butler and the boy.
"Go on, he doesn't bite," she smirked, and her smile turned genuine for a moment. "I hope you sleep well, Lucias."
"You too, ma'am," he replied. "And thank you again for this."
"Not a hassle," she waved it off with a smile and a flick of her hand. "I'll see you in the morning."

.:.

G'Bacchi and Elliot led Lucias up two flights of stairs, and G'Bacchi would pause at each landing to borrow the candlestick from Elliot to light up the small oil lamps hung to the wall in order to shed more light in the darkened stairwell. Lucias followed them as they led him to a small room – not as small as an attic, but Lucias wasn't going to complain. G'Bacchi set down a fresh cup of tea he'd been carrying with him the whole way on the bedside table, and then both butler and small boy bowed to Lucias before leaving him and pulling the door shut behind them – Elliot left the candlestick on the small table by the door.
Lucias took a moment in the dim silence before letting out the breath he'd been holding in ever since he'd stepped foot in the mysterious town. He felt safe here – Lady Blue didn't seem that bad, and her butler may be creepy but at least he was polite. Lucias figured that if he was going to find a way out again, he'd need to go back to the Library – the Library would undoubtedly have maps and such that he could study and use to find his way out of the maze-like streets. A yawn swept away the thoughts for a moment, and Lucias sank down on the bed the stood by the window. Out the window he could see the moonlight reflecting off the cobblestones on the street below him – the garden in the courtyard illuminated by the night's bright bluish-white light. He took a few sips of the tea, grateful for the warm, sweet and soothing drink so late in such an eventful night.
Comfortable, tired and slowly relaxing, Lucias lay down on the bed – a little surprised to find the sheets were clean and fresh – as if they'd just been changed that evening – but let it be wiped away as sleep came over him, and took him by the hand.

The END of PART I.