Hellamorgue

Chapter 20: Backup Plan

A white car entered the gates of an enormous and fancy mansion. It's gate automatically closed after the vehicle reached the garage. The door opened, a young woman flounced out of the car. Butlers were still behind her to escort her inside the mansion.

"I can walk on my own! Go away!" the bunny hissed while looking over her shoulder.

"We are not leaving you until we made sure you entered your room, ma'am." one of the butlers said.

"Urgh! You are not my parents!" she hurled.

"It's your father's order." the other one calmly said.

Dolly glanced at the butler, her eyes were fiery. The butler didn't break an eye contact. He remained silent. The bunny girl clicked her tongue in exasperation.

"Tch. Whatever."

She turned her head forward and continued walking. The maids in front door bowed their heads and greeted the heir. Although, contrary to what Dolly usually do, she didn't greet the maids this time. With her mood being unpleasant and completely annoyed by almost everything. The young woman hopped inside ignoring the servants. Unexpectedly, she bumped into her mother who was just about to leave the mansion. The butlers bowed and greeted the chief's wife. The lady raised her eyebrow with a puzzled face. She narrowed her eyes into the furious bunny flouncing in front. Dolly ignored her mother and passed behind her. The lady in elegant dress stopped from her tracks. She turned her head and stared at the mad young girl. Her face was crinkled.

"Oh, hey. Didn't you see anyone, young lady?" the mother scolded.

Dolly ignored her once again. The mother cannot believe the disrespect her daughter showed to her face. Her lips curled. She felt mocked. The lady turned her whole body and glared at the young girl approaching the stairs. She called for her for the second time.

"Dolly! Didn't you see anyone?!" she squawked.

Dolly jolted, but her fuming temper didn't fade. She was on the fourth tread of the stairs. Her eyebrows were still curled. She closed her purple eyes for a brief moment. Then, she opened it and slowly faced her mother. Dolly turned her body and rested her arm on the handrail. She stared at her mother with an irate face. Her mother didn't like the look on her face.

"Why did you walk passing me like you saw nothing?" she asked, her voice was quite low and annoyed.

Dolly raised both of her eyebrows and made a silly expression. The young girl shrugged.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you." she spat in a sarcastic manner.

The lady's eyes widened and gasped. Her jaw was left open. The mother was stunned by what she heard. She didn't expect a sarcastic remark like that would came out from her precious and graceful daughter's mouth. Dolly was always been polite to everyone. She would never say such things, especially to her beloved mother. It was an unbelievable moment her mother witnessed. It felt like it was just an act, but it wasn't. Then, her wide opened mouth curled into a snarl. Her eyes narrowed at the bunny standing up on the stairs.

"Where did you learn that, little woman?" the lady hissed.

"From you. Duh!" the bunny girl spat.

Dolly immediately ran upstairs. One of the butlers followed the young girl upstairs, and the other one was remained in front of the mother. The lady was speechless. She wasn't her daughter she knew. The butler beside her told her what happened in the office. The mother scoffed and looked upstairs.

"Sandertown? Why would she even want to go to a place like that?" she scorned. "Now she's grounded for talking back against her father. Heh, suits her right."

The lady clicked her tongue and shook her head in disappointment. She turned around and walked towards the doorway. The butler escorted her outside. The maids near the enormous door bowed their heads as a sign of goodbye. The old woman had left the place. The maids thoroughly closed the door.

Meanwhile, Dolly scurried on the house's second floor. The butler followed her to make sure she'll enter her room. The young bunny twisted the doorknob and entered her huge quarters. She banged the door that made the butler behind her flinch. The young man stood there for seconds. He ambled his way near to the girl's room. The lad rested his ear against the pink door. His breathing slowed and tried to focus his hearing inside the room. He heard little muffled squeaks and sobs. The girl inside was definitely crying. The lad's eyebrows curled, he felt sad as he listens. The butler sympathized with the bunny. He personally thought what her father did was not right, but as a servant, he had to adhere to his orders. He darted his eyes around while listening. Suddenly, the door opened and the young man fell on the floor.

"Wah-!" the man abruptly screamed.

He tumbled down on the ground. His right arm hit the floor. Dolly watched him fell with an impassive expression. The young man groaned and rolled over. He laid his back and stroked his right arm. His eyes slowly opened and saw the heir looking down at him with a blank stare. Her cheeks were wet from her tears and her nose was red. The butler's eyes widened. He immediately stood up and dusted off his uniform. Dolly and his eyes met.

"M-ma'am!" he blurted.

"I know you're eavesdropping. I can hear you." the young woman said, implying that she has a good hearing as a rabbit.

The butler composed himself. He cleared his throat and looked at the heir, "I am not eavesdropping. I am just making sure you're inside." he reasoned out.

Dolly rolled her eyes, "Excuses." she spat.

The human purposely coughed. He wanted to avoid any more interaction with the chief's daughter. He turned around and bid his goodbye.

"Well, since I made sure you're here... I am going now-"

Before even leaving the room, Dolly pulled his arm, and dropped him inside the room. The human landed on the pink furry carpet. It was made in pile fabric and really soft. Dolly immediately closed the door and locked it. The young man jerked and lurched forward. He glided his eyes upwards and looked at the bunny.

"What are you doing?! Ma'am I need to leave."

"Quit calling me ma'am! Act normal, Emmett!" she squeaked.

Emmett was quiet for a second. He closed his eyes and sighed. He stood up from the floor. Dolly was staring at him. Her eyes were moistly and her lips was shuddering. Ears were down. She was about to burst in tears again. The young man look at her with pitiful gaze. Dolly hopped forward to the man. She shoved her face against his chest. The bunny wrapped her delicate arms around the lad. Dolly cried, her voice was muffled by the human's clothes. Emmett raised his hand and patted the girl's fluffy hair. He gently stroked it with his manly fingers. The butler comforted his partner. The two of them have been together for three years now. Although, their relationship was kept as a secret from her parents. Roger and Cherie were known as strict and control-freaks, not just as a parents but as people as well. They don't want her to be in a romantic relationship until she fulfilled her duty as the new chief executive officer of the Cotton Castle. Only a few trusted servants knew about their relationship.

Dolly let go of the young man. She shuffled her feet weakly towards her soft bed. She sat on it. Emmett followed the girl and sat beside her. The bunny girl was facing down. Her eyes were tired from crying.

"Why you didn't help me earlier? ....with my Dad? " she asked softly. Her voice was cracking and weak.

Emmett stared at her, then, looked away.

"You know I can't do that, Dolly. He is my boss, I have to obey him." he replied.

Dolly raised her head. Slowly, she turned it and faced the man beside her. Her eyes were gleaming.

"But I needed you that time."

The butler looked at her with his side eyes. He went silent for a second.

".... I'm sorry. I can't... and I didn't. I might get fired in no time." he apologized. Emmett faced his girlfriend. He cupped her soft cheeks. His thumbs gently stroked them. "And then, I would never see you again." he said. His voice was soft and sincere.

Dolly just sighed. She knew the butler was right all along. It would be harder if he got fired. He wouldn't be allowed to enter the mansion again nor met with the young woman. It was the best choice to obey her strict father. The young girl touched the man's left hand. She caressed it. Dolly looked at her boyfriend's eyes. She smiled gently.

"You're right. This is the best way." she said.

The young man smiled back warmly. Out of sudden, Dolly's warm smile curled into a sly smirk. Emmett knew what that smirk meant. He knew that Dolly was up to something. The bunny removed the lad's hands off her face. She wiped her tears and hopped to her desk. The butler's eyes followed the rabbit.

"I absolutely know that would happen. That's why I prepared for a backup plan!" she proudly spelled out.

"W-what?! Wait. What backup plan?" the young man interjected.

Emmett quickly stood up from the bed and walked in the bunny's direction. He loomed over her petite body. His attention was caught by the journal resting on the pink desk.

"What's written in there?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ufufufu." she deviously snickered. "My brainstorming apparently." she replied.

Dolly opened her fuchsia journal. There, a very well articulated insights and informations about magic wielding was written. Her handwriting was also neat and pleasant to look it. It was very easy to read and completely resembles a printed file. There were also colorful yet informative sticky notes inside the book. The butler thoroughly read what's written. He mouthed and whispered every words.

"Magic wielding was a popular practice back in the early age. When mages began to migrate inside the Earth, enchantment and sorcery was introduced." the young man read in a whispering manner.

"You did a research about magic?" the lad asked and looked at the girl.

"Yes. Of course. That is a must. I'm not messing up with something I don't have knowledge about." Dolly stated.

"Mess up? Hey, don't tell me-"

"Exactly, Emmett." she interfered. "I am learning magic." she proudly said.

"Wait. But how? Is that even possible? You and your family aren't mages." the man bluffed.

"Heh. Then I shall tell you something interesting."

Dolly turned the pages. She stopped after a few turns. She showed the contents to her boyfriend. Emmett narrowed his eyes to the writing.

"I did a very heavy research about magic. I spent most of my break time reading books, articles and searching for reliable sources. I jotted notes and even write multiple paragraphs in my journal." she narrated.

Dolly's eyes were locked on the journal's pages. Her boyfriend was carefully listening to what she says.

"Magic practices aren't that common and frequent these days anymore. At least, not outside the Sandertown. But! Back then, it was a highly anticipated and habitual practices! People who weren't born mages did their regular and heavy practices in order to achieve a spark of magic in their hands." she continued, her hand swayed in the air as she demonstrate her narrative.

"Did they achieve the enchantment though? Can a non-mage creature create spells?" Emmett asked with full curiosity.

Dolly looked at the butler and smirked. She continued telling her research.

"Apparently, there are multiple rumors about people born without magic were able to cast on their own." she answered.

"Rumors... so it wasn't proven." the lad mumbled and stroked his chin.

"It wasn't proven, yes. Unless you've seen it with your own eyes." she retorted.

"What do you mean?"

"Probability is always a fifty-percent chance, Emmett. It's either true or not. There is no in-between." she vaguely answered.

"So what do you think about it?" he followed.

"Well, I think," she paused. Dolly raised her closed palm. She chanted unfamiliar words through her mouth in a whispering manner. Then, she snapped it open. A small combination of hot pink and purple spark of magic glistened in her palm. Emmett's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He was stupefied by what he witnessed. Dolly smirked.

"No," she shook her head. "I guarantee it's possible for a non-mage to learn magic."

The two of them watched the tiny wisp on her palm danced. Dolly closed her palm and the magic faded. She glanced at her boyfriend who was still frozen in his tracks. The bunny chuckled and closed his partner's mouth with her finger. Emmett blinked several times.

"Woah... am I just imagining things or was that true?" he muttered.

"It's true, silly." the young woman confirmed and chuckled.

"How did you learn that?!" the lad asked in amazement.

Dolly was quiet for a brief moment. She clasped her hands and playfully moved her eyes around her room.

"Well, my magic isn't that strong as you think. It's still limited. I've been practicing for years now-"

"Years?! And you didn't even tell me." her boyfriend pouted and crossed his arms.

"I did tell you though," she sassed. "Well, it's not just early as I could. I don't want to embarrass myself. I needed to figure things out first." she continued, hands on her waist.

"Heh. Okay. That's understandable." the lad sighed and shrugged off. "But how did you do it?" he followed.

"Well, I did try a lot of things.... And no, I didn't sell my soul to the devil!" she squawked and explained. She waved her hands and shook her head.

"I didn't say that." he gagged, tilting his head.

"Just a heads-up." she countered in defense.

Dolly walked and passed behind her boyfriend. She skimmed through her bookshelves and pulled out a mystical book. It was a book about sorcery. She go back to her desk and sat on her swivel chair. She laid down the book and opened.

"It was this book I bought from the archives. It was difficult to find this book but luckily I managed to get one."

Emmett ambled towards Dolly. He scrunched his knees and faced the book. The book was written in unfamiliar language. The lad squinted his eyes. He felt like his head was aching and his nose was about to bleed. He raked a hand through his hair and scratched it.

"I can't understand a thing. It's a different language. You can understand this one?" Emmett yammered.

"Yeah. I can." Dolly placidly replied.

"Wow. Now I admire your intelligence even more." he cooed in both admiration and endearment.

"If your parents put a great pressure on your back at a very young age, and strive for you to be perfect, I guess you'll learn a lot of things ahead." she satirically stated.

Emmett gave Dolly a dead stare.

"Why do you think you have to say that?"

"Haha deal with it." she sneered.

Dolly set all the jokes aside and continue her narrative. Emmett was all ears.

"I started to practice casting a spell the moment I found out my older sister was sent inside the Sandertown. I read that magic wielding was a normal occurrence inside." she lowered her head and curled her eyebrows. Her voice soften. "Of course I need to know what kind of place Taylor lives with." she said in caring tone.

Dolly turned the page and pointed out a line. Although, Emmett cannot read any of it. The bunny explained what she learned from what was written.

"In order to cast a spell, you need to focus your energy inside you first. It wasn't easy to fulfill these steps if you're born without magic. You need perseverance and concentration. And the most important is, a peaceful environment. Luckily the mansion was pretty empty most of the times. I got to spend my spare time meditating." she explained and clenched her fist.

Dolly looked at Emmett and pointed her finger to his chest. She pressed it against his clothes and tapped several times.

"Here," she paused. Emmett looked down to his chest. "You can feel the positive energy gathering in your chest. It was a hefty and burning sensation." she continued.

"Upon casting a spell, you needed to focus the burning energy from your heart and transfer it to any parts of your body. For a higher level mage, they didn't need to spell out the words through their mouth. They can cast it just inside their mind. But for someone who purposely learned magic, I needed to chant the spell first." the young woman explained.

"I see... I understand now." he muttered. His eyes and mind was enlightened by the young woman's words. Emmett immediately glanced at Dolly. "Your magic. How great it is?"

"Right now, I gathered an average amount of white energy. I can only do small spells such as teleportation and other tricks. But I know I need to use it properly. I have to conserve my energy." she stated while her palm was resting on her chest.

"How far your teleportation can reach?" the lad interrogated.

"So far from what I tested out. I can teleport here from my room to the comfort room downstairs. A bit of my magic was spent. But my intuition says, the farther you teleport, the more energy it'll cost."

"I suppose. That actually makes sense." Emmett nodded and crossed his arms.

Dolly closed her mystical book and journal. She hid it on a safe place through her drawers so no one can easily find it. Later, she faced her boyfriend and smirked.

"Now you know I can do magic... I need you to do me a favor." her tone was low and serious.

Emmett felt the solemness of the bunny. He stared at her with full curiosity. He straightened his back and walked towards the girl. Their eyes met.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I need you to help me sneak out the mansion."

The butler's eyes widened. His lips set apart a little. His breathing slowed.

"What?"