Lucie

When her dedanya had called, Lucie hurried to respond, going upstairs quickly, a little stab of fear in her heart that her worst suspicions would be realized and one of the little ones had been inadvertently killed, or worse deliberately so. Scaling the stairs, she paused at the top. “Where are you?” she inquired, looking in each direction not knowing which way led to Madison’s room.

“Down here child,” Adelina said.

Gliding down the hall, Lucie stopped at the door, peering into the room.

Madison held up a hand, “He could be anywhere in here, so be careful where you step,” she advised, eyes on the floor. “Michael?” she called, “Come on out now, we both know there is nowhere to hide,” she added.

Lucie looked to the floor, then to the bed where Mirielle, curled into small fetal ball, was lying on a pillow on her side facing away. The blankets and sheets had been stripped away and piled on top of the chair in the room. Adelina was sitting on the bed beside Mirielle, a fingertip on Mirielle’s calf. Thank goodness Lucie thought, noting the rise and fall of the tiny unconscious woman’s chest.

Madison got down on her hands and knees, head low to the ground as she scanned the floor.

“How did he get away from you?” Lucie asked.

Madison paused, sitting back up on her knees and shrugging. “I had him on the bed and didn’t think he could get down when Mirielle and I started our play, but somehow he did,” she said with a subtle nod.

Turning her head to the hall, “Could he have gotten out of the room?” Lucie asked before looking back at the blonde girl kneeling on the floor.

Madison chuckled, “Given what Mirielle and I shared and the time it took, it’s entirely possible,” she conceded, “but I don’t know.”

“Speaking of Mirielle,” Lucie said, eyes drifting to the small form of the nude woman on the pillow.

“Resting, she’ll be fine in a while,” Adelina interjected with a smile, patting the woman’s tiny calf.

Lucie nodded, she was glad her concerns were groundless.

“I think she understands,” Madison said, nodding to herself and then to Adelina.

Adelina cocked her head, “Is it your intent to release her from the curse?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

Madison seemed to think about it a moment and then nodded.

Adelina nodded slowly, “after we have found your wayward brother then,” she said, nodding. Turning to Lucie, “Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to lend Madison a hand finding him?” she asked.

Frowning, she shook her head and said, “I’ll help, on the condition I have some assurance the curse will be removed from him as well.”

Madison exchanged glances with Adelina then looked at Lucie, “I can’t make that guarantee,” she said plainly.

“I don’t necessarily mean right now, but I do wish to know that your intent is to see him eventually returned to normal,” Lucie clarified, frown lines deepening.

Madison shrugged. “A lot of different things could happen between then and now, so I don’t want to make a false promise to you to gain your support. What I do know is that, at the moment, he is running free, either somewhere in this room, or,” she paused, hands on her thighs, “somewhere else in the house.” A slow grin spread across her face. “Clever boy,” she remarked, nodding slowly.

“What?” Lucie asked, arching an eyebrow.

“He’s not in here. Tiny as he is, given the duration of our play,” she started, indicating Mirielle, “he still had plenty of time to get down from the bed and out of the room. He is somewhere else in the house. Now I’m pretty sure he’ll think I would think he went to his room which means he more than likely isn’t there either. Not the bathroom, too stark, not enough places to hide, which means he is either in dad’s room, or he might have tried to get downstairs,” she suggested.

“We were in the foyer downstairs, I didn’t see anything,” Lucie replied honestly, shaking her head.

Madison grinned, “But none of us were really looking for him though,” she countered, cocking her head slightly to the side.

Adelina said nothing, dark eyes gleaming with amusement at the situation unfolding in front of her

Seeing the look, “I see you are not helping,” Lucie said, frowning and nodding sharply at her dedanya.

Adelina looked to Madison, “Did you want me to assist you girl?” she queried, tone pleasant.

Madison looked at Adelina and frowned, “As much as I want Michael to be punished, I don’t want to see him fall prey to misadventure. If there is some way you can help locate him or get him to surrender himself, sure,” she replied.

Getting up from the bed, Adelian walked over to the Madison’s vanity, plucking out a picture of a tall mature looking blond woman.

“What are you doing?” Lucie asked.

Madison too watched, curious.

Holding the photograph of Madison’s mother in her hand, Adelina tapped it and smiled “I have an idea,” she offered, raising an eyebrow.