Diamonds Are A Girl's Worst Enemy

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 35, Post Number 868

-Outside Sombras Manor, midnight-

Wearing her typical outfit of gray long-sleeved shirt, long white pleated skirt, and brown boots, Lucia was glad she had worn this outfit because of the temperature. The night air was more than a little cold and the wind was blowing somewhat forcefully, adding to the cold. However, her choice of outfit had spared her from the worst of it and as a result she was only mildly inconvenienced by the weather.

"So we're here to find some diamonds, huh?" Will asked Lucia as the pair stood five meters outside Sombras Manor. Lucia looked at her companion and nodded.

"Yes. A pair of diamonds called the Elpis Diamonds." Lucia answered. She had been hired by a wealthy private collector in Capital Crocus who had had the diamonds stolen from them less than a day ago. Lucia had been hired to retrieve the Elpis Diamonds since the thief had been tracked to the manor before disappearing and she had experience dealing with supernatural threats.

"They must be something special, huh?" Will asked.

"From what I've been told they're fist-sized diamonds that are finely cut. It's safe to say that they're worth a lot of money. A lot." Lucia replied. Will laughed a little.

"All right then, Lucia. Let's go inside and start looking for those diamonds. I'm sure that we'll easily find them." Will said to Lucia and started walking towards the manor. Moments later he stopped.

"But before we go in there, I've gotta tell you something. I can fight walking corpses, but against ghosts I'm about as much use as harsh language." Will informed his partner of what he could and could not handle.

"Don't worry, Will. I'll deal with any ghosts we encounter." Lucia assured him. She had both a Holy handgun and a magic that could harm the supernatural with ease. Anything that Will could not deal with she could handle.

"Great. Let's get going, Lucia. Diamonds might be forever, but we don't last nearly as long." Will said and started walking towards the double doors of the manor. Lucia followed behind him and Will reached the doors first. He opened one of them and went in first, then Lucia followed close behind.

-Inside Sombras Manor-

"Great. Lights that are blood red. That's totally not threatening." Will commented on the lighting inside the manor. Lucia looked around and saw that her companion was right. The Lacrima lanterns hanging inside the hallway were all blood red and were glowing brightly. It seemed like someone was trying to send them a message.

"I see what you mean." Lucia calmly replied. She was a little wary of the choice of lighting, but she could not let it stop her from finding the Elpis Diamonds. She had been through worse before. Lucia took three steps forward and heard the laughter of a little girl.

"Do you hear that?" Will asked Lucia. Lucia nodded.

"Yes. It sounds like a little girl." Lucia commented.

"Great. It hasn't even been two full minutes since we stepped in here and we're already dealing with ghosts." Will said sarcastically. Lucia felt a sensation like someone was standing right behind her and then felt the belt of Shining Light's holster being loosened. Lucia reached down with her hands to try and stop it, but by the time she could react the belt had been undone and Shining Light was floating away down the hall.

"Wait!" Lucia called out and started chasing her weapon as more laughter filled the air. Will hurried after her, but Lucia stopped about two meters down the hallway. Chasing Shining Light was useless because she was not going to catch up to it in time to take it back. She helplessly watched it float towards a staircase that led up and disappear up the stairs.

"Great. Just great." Lucia remarked on the theft of her Holy handgun with obvious displeasure. At least she still had her magic. She turned to face Will, who was standing only two feet behind her.

"Well, we're not getting it back any time soon. Let's get to work finding those diamonds, Will." Lucia said to her partner. They could look for Shining Light later. Right now they needed to focus on the job and start searching the first floor of Sombras Manor for the Elpis Diamonds. If the worst had happened and she had lost Shining Light for good then she could just go out and buy a new Holy handgun after this job was finished.

[Post Word Count: 752]
[Total Word Count: 752/11,000]

Having had her Holy handgun stolen from her by an unseen entity, Lucia was not happy with it, but there was nothing she could do about it right now. She had to find the Elpis Diamonds. Thankfully there were only two of them to find, but Sombras Manor was huge and there was no predicting where in the manor they could be.

"Well, where do you want to start looking, Lucia?" Will asked the blonde.

"We're gonna have to search this entire floor, so let's go back to the entrance and work our way around." Lucia answered her companion's question.

"Works for me." Will casually replied. Together the pair walked back to the entrance, then turned a right to head down the hall. They came upon a door to the left and opened it, then entered the room.

-Inside the art room-

Lucia and Will entered the room to find that it was an art room of sorts, only really dusty and really creepy. Something felt off about the room because the easel in the right corner had a new canvas on it and the canvas had an old canvas with the words "GET OUT!" painted in red letters that was facing the door. Lucia was pretty sure that the message was intended for them.

"I really like that message. It makes you feel right at home." Will commented sarcastically on the message. Lucia ignored her companion's wit and searched the room for the diamonds. A quick glance around did not turn up any diamonds, so Lucia was going to heed the message on the canvas and leave right after she searched behind some paintings of people dressed in clothing from at least two hundred years ago who looked to be quite wealthy. Lucia walked over to the paintings resting in the far left corner and searched behind them but came up with nothing but a few dust bunnies for her trouble.

"OK, they're definitely not in here. Let's leave here and keep looking." Lucia said to her partner. Together the pair left the room and returned to the main hallway.

-Inside the main hallway, four minutes later-

"OK, that didn't work out. I see another door to our left down the hall near the bend to the right, so let's look there." Will suggested to Lucia.

"Good idea Will. Let's look there." Lucia agreed. Together the pair walked down the hall to the door pointed out to her and opened the door, then entered that room.

-Inside the reading room-

The pair entered what looked like a small library, an impression reinforced by the tall bookshelves placed around them in any space that a tall bookshelf could fit. In the center of the room and facing the left corner was a brown leather chair that looked to have been recently used. Lucia and Will looked at it simultaneously.

"That chair's oddly clean and I don't think it's because housekeeping's diligent." Will remarked on the unusual sight of a fairly clean chair in an otherwise dusty room. Lucia kept her observations to herself and searched the room for what she was after. A search of the bookshelves and under the chair did not turn up the missing diamonds, so Lucia took a deep breath and turned to face Will.

"I see you didn't find anything. Let's go back to the main hallway and see if there are any other rooms we can search." Will suggested. Since there was nowhere else in here that could reasonably conceal the diamonds, Lucia was receptive to that suggestion. Together the pair left the reading room and returned to the main hallway to find another room to search.

-Inside the main hallway, ten minutes later-

Will and Lucia returned to the main hallway and looked down the hallway in front of them. Up ahead was a stretch of hallway with a door to the right and a space that looked like it went to a staircase that led down a flight of stairs. The two faced each other.

"So, do you want to try the room first or do you want to go down the stairs first?" Lucia asked Will. Will shrugged his shoulders.

"Let's check out the room first." The gray-clad robot answered.

"All right. We'll check out the room first." Lucia said to her partner. They walked down the hallway in front of them until they reached the room door. Will placed his left hand on it and opened it for Lucia, who peered inside before entering.

-Inside the storage room-

Lucia entered the room followed by Will, who was clearly unimpressed with what he was seeing.

"This room's a dump." He said sourly. Will's assessment was not too far off the mark. The wallpaper was so filthy and so badly peeled that determining the color was impossible. Lucia did not see anywhere where anything valuable could be reasonably hidden, but she felt obligated to search the room anyway.

[Post Word Count: 826]
[Total Word Count: 1,578/11,000]

-In the storage room, six minutes later-

Despite Will's statement that nothing of value was in here Lucia had searched the room with the rocking chair and very old wallpaper, but nothing of value was in it other than dust. She had searched it anyway just to be certain that she was not overlooking any potential hiding places, but Will's earlier assessment was right. This room had nothing special in it.

"All right, Will. We've searched this room and there's nothing but dust here." Lucia stated to her companion.

"Well, we gave it a shot anyway. The diamonds weren't here. Let's move on." Will said to Lucia with a strong "I told you so" tone on his voice. Lucia ignored it and turned on her heels to face the door, then left the storage room with Will walking just behind her.

-In the main hall, the first floor-

The pair were back in the main hall of Sombras Manor. They looked around them in case any hostile spirits decided to show up, but so far the hall was clear.

"Well, searching that room was a waste of time." Will sourly commented to Lucia.

"Maybe, but I couldn't rule out the possibility. That kind of room would be a good place to hide anything valuable because not too many people would suspect something valuable being hidden there." Lucia defended her choice to search the room to Will. Will folded his arms across his chest.

"I think you're giving the diamond thieves too much credit, Lucia. They wouldn't be smart enough to try a trick like that." Will commented.

"Why's that?" Lucia asked her partner.

"They came here to hide the diamonds despite knowing the rumors surrounding this place. That's not a very smart move." Will replied sourly. His assertion made sense, but Lucia had a logical counter to that.

"Maybe the rumors are why they chose to hide the diamonds here, Will. Think about it. Not too many people travel to Sombras Manor because of what's said to lurk inside the manor." Lucia calmly made an assertion of her own to the gray-clad robot. Will tapped his right boot on the floor a few times while looking towards the wall in front of them, then faced her.

"Hmm... you have a point there, Lucia. If the diamonds really are here I'm thinking maybe they're hidden in a room upstairs." Will replied and gave a possible location for the Elpis Diamonds. Lucia nodded.

"I think you might be on to something, Will. Let's go upstairs." Lucia agreed to his suggestion. Once they felt it was safe to move on they moved on, retracing their steps back to the entrance and then proceeding straight down the hallway Lucia's pistol had floated down when it had been stolen from her by the invisible thief. Will walked to their staircase ahead of Lucia and paused in front of it.

"I'll go up the stairs ahead of you, Lucia. If there are any enemies upstairs I'll handle them for us... unless they're ghosts." Will told her.

"Sure thing, Will." Lucia gave her approval to his plan. He turned away from her and walked up the stairs first. Once he was a few steps ahead of her Lucia started going up the stairs herself.

-On the second floor-

Will had went up the stairs first and was standing a short distance away from them when Lucia arrived on the second floor. Lucia looked around her and saw a short hallway in front of her with eight doors on each side of the hallway and a dusty old chair sitting along the wall to the right of the first door. To the right was a long hallway that led to another staircase.

"I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary ye- wait a minute, I see something." Will said to her. He pointed down the short hallway in front of them with his left hand. Lucia walked to his right and saw what he was pointing at. It was a shiny object that was lying on the floor.

"Do you think it's one of the Elpis Diamonds?" Lucia asked Will. Will shrugged his shoulders.

"It could be. I'll go and check it out." Will said, then began to walk towards the shining object while Lucia looked around them for any ghosts or zombies. The gray-clad robot walked over to the object and bent down, then picked it up with his left hand. He turned to Lucia.

"You said that the diamonds we're looking for are both fist-sized and finely cut, right?" Will asked Lucia.

"Yes, Will." Lucia answered the question about what the stolen diamonds looked like. He began walking towards her with the object in hand until he reached her. He stopped and held it out where she could clearly see it.

"I think we just found one of them." Will opined to Lucia. Lucia looked at the gleaming object and saw that it was indeed a diamond. Lucia balled her right hand into a fist and put it up against the diamond. Both it and her right fist were about the same size.

"I think we just found one of the Elpis Diamonds too." Lucia informed her partner.

[Post Word Count: 872]
[Total Word Count: 2,450/11,000]

"This is a nice-looking diamond. It's no wonder our client wants it back." Will commented on the gemstone. His statement was accurate. It matched the description of the Elpis Diamonds she had been given perfectly... it was a finely cut diamond that was the size of a human fist. It gleamed in the light with an otherworldly beauty.

"I agree." Lucia said succinctly. Will hung onto the diamond with his left hand.

"We've found one out of the two diamonds, Lucia. Let's keep going. When I first got to this floor I looked down the hall to the right and saw a staircase." Will pointed out where they could go to search for the second diamond. Suddenly the yellow scarf around Will's neck started to undo itself. By the time either Lucia or Will could react the scarf was floating down the hall and went right while a child's laughter sounded.

"Stop! My creator gave me that scarf!" Will shouted to the invisible thief. The declaration did no good... the scarf disappeared around the corner as the laughter continued. With the yellow scarf gone the gray-clad robot turned to Lucia with a facial expression that showed anger.

"I really hate ghosts." Will declared to Lucia. As if to rub salt in the wound the laughter sounded one last time. Will groaned in frustration.

"Let's get moving, Lucia. I don't think we'll find the other diamond on this floor. I'll guide us to the staircase." Will said to her. He led the way towards the staircase he had pointed out and Lucia followed close behind him. She could tell that the gray-clad robot was not too happy about the theft of the scarf given to him by the late Dr. Howard Abel. After a minute or two of walking down the hallway they reached the staircase and Will turned to face her.

"OK, same plan as last time. I go up the stairs first and you follow behind me." Will told Lucia.

"OK." Lucia agreed to the plan. Will turned to face the stairs and went up first while Lucia hung back a few seconds. Once he was halfway up the stairs the blonde followed behind him.

-On the third floor-

Lucia followed behind her companion and soon stepped onto the third floor, which had a layout that was largely the same as the second floor minus the hallway to the right leading to another staircase. In front of them loomed a slightly more decorated hallway with a brown cloth sofa situated between the second and third doors on the right side of the hallway. Speaking of doors, the fourth door on the right side of the hallway was open.

"Oh look, an open door. How convenient." Will commented sarcastically.

"Do you think it's where we need to go?" Lucia asked Will. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Maybe. But it could be a trick. You know there's ghosts here and they could be leading us into a trap." Will cautioned his owner on the peril of walking into a room with a door that had been left open like that. Suddenly a yellow scarf and a pistol inside a holster floated out of the open door and into the hallway. The two objects bobbed up and down like a cork attached to the line of a fishing pole sitting on the surface of a pond.

"My scarf!" Will exclaimed.

"My pistol!" Lucia exclaimed. The two objects floated in midair and bobbed up and down again before disappearing into the room with the open door. Will looked at Lucia and Lucia looked at Will.

"It looks like the only way we're gonna get back our belongings is to go into that room." Will said to Lucia. Lucia nodded.

"It looks that way. But you're right. It could be a trap." Lucia replied to him.

"Still, we don't have much of a choice. I'm not gonna walk away from my scarf and you're not gonna walk away from your pistol." Will summed up their situation to her. Again Lucia nodded.

"Exactly." Lucia stated. Will looked towards the open door.

"Well, let's go in. I'll go first." Will told her. He began walking towards the open door and Lucia followed him. After a few seconds of walking they entered the room, which had tall bookshelves that were full of books.

[Post Word Count: 728]
[Total Word Count: 3,178/11,000]

-Inside the library-

The room the two had entered was practically a library. It had wall-to-wall bookshelves that were so tall that ladders on rollers were required to reach the top shelves. There was a rectangular wooden table in the center of the room and a literal red carpet under the table. Will looked around at the room for his stolen scarf and when he did not find it was moved to comment.

"I get the impression that someone really liked books." Will commented to Lucia. Suddenly the sound of a child laughing filled the room.

"Great. It's that annoying ghost again. I hate ghosts." Will sourly remarked. Suddenly their stolen possessions materialized above the rectangular wooden table in the center of the room and bobbed up and down. Will looked at Lucia.

"I'm started to get really annoyed by this." Will said to Lucia. Suddenly a gleaming object appeared to join the yellow scarf and the pistol in its holster. It did not take long for the pair to recognize what the object was.

"THE SECOND DIAMOND!" Will and Lucia exclaimed simultaneously. They had to get it so that they could leave this place and return both diamonds to the client in Capital Crocus for their reward. However, a problem arose.

How were they going to get it away from the ghost?

"Look, they're floating to the top of the bookshelves!" Will pointed at the objects with his right hand. True to his word they ascended to the ceiling, then each object drifted to the top of a bookshelf, where it landed and kicked up a small cloud of dust.

"OK, how are we gonna do this? Who goes after what?" Will asked Lucia. Lucia looked at Will.

"I get the diamond. You get your scarf." Lucia told Will how they were going to approach this problem. The gray-clad robot looked at her.

"Are you sure?" Will inquired.

"I'm sure, Will. I can always go buy another pistol, but you can't get another scarf from your creator." Lucia replied. She could always go to another gun shop and buy another Holy handgun. While she liked Shining Light because it was easy to use and packed a punch, it was just a handgun. It could be replaced.

"OK then. I'll look for my scarf while you look for the diamond." Will said. He began to walk towards a ladder on the far right of the room while Lucia walked to a ladder in front of her to search for the second Elpis Diamond. Lucia reached her ladder at roughly the same time Will reached his.

She began to climb the tall ladder and climbed past dusty shelves full of dusty old books with titles on the spines she did not recognize due to the print being either partially or totally faded away. She continued to climb and soon reached the top of the ladder. On top of the bookshelf was the second diamond.

"I found the diamond!" Lucia called out to Will. She reached for the diamond with her right hand and was just about to grab it when it rolled to the right, moving just out of her reach. A child's laughter sounded as Lucia reached one last time, then gave up on trying to reach it from her current location before she overreached and took a potentially fatal fall from the ladder when she lost her balance.

"I got my scarf back!" Will called out to Lucia. Lucia climbed down from the ladder, then pushed the ladder a foot or so to the right. She then climbed back onto the ladder and climbed to the top, where the diamond rested. She reached for it again and again it rolled just out of her reach, causing the blonde mage to frown.

"I'm still working on getting the diamond. It keeps rolling just out of reach every time my hand gets near it." Lucia informed Will as she reached for the gemstone again. This time it floated up into the air and moved to another bookshelf as the laughter sounded again just to her right. Lucia sighed and climbed down the ladder and met Will when she reached the bottom.

"That ghost is giving you trouble, huh?" Will asked a rhetorical question of the blonde mage as he wound the yellow scarf around his neck. Lucia nodded.

"Yes. A lot of trouble. This might take awhile." Lucia told Will as she walked towards the ladder belonging to the bookcase that the diamond now rested on.

"Good luck." Will wished his partner as Lucia began to climb the ladder. She carefully climbed the ladder and when she reached the top she spotted the gleaming diamond sitting right in front of her. Maybe this time she could get it without the ghost moving it just out of her reach. Lucia reached for it and right when her fingertips touched it the diamond rolled to the left and a child's laughter sounded from right behind her.

Getting the second Elpis Diamond was going to take a lot longer than Lucia thought it would.

[Post Word Count: 850]
[Total Word Count: 4,028/11,000]

-In the library, twenty minutes later-

For the past twenty minutes Lucia had tried to get her hands on the second Elpis Diamond and for the past twenty minutes she had failed. The blonde was starting to get tired from climbing a ladder to the top of a bookcase and then going back down it when the diamond floated out of her reach. She wondered how much longer this game was going to last.

"Are you OK, Lucia?" Will asked his owner. Lucia nodded.

"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all." Lucia replied to Will. Will looked up and saw the diamond floating just above the blonde mage's head. He pointed towards the object with the index finger of his right hand.

"Lucia, above you! The diamond!" Will informed her. Lucia looked up and saw the diamond floating at arm's length above her head. Lucia jumped up to grab the diamond and it floated up just out of reach. When it lowered itself again the blonde mage jumped for it only to float up again, this time followed by a child's laughter. Lucia watched as the diamond was lowered again and she jumped up to try and grab it a third time only to fail a third time.

"You can quit jumping any time now, Lucia. You're not gonna grab it. If jumping didn't work the third time it's definitely not gonna work when you try it a fourth time." Will commented sourly as Lucia jumped a fourth and a fifth time and failed each time. Lucia looked at Will and wanted to say something back but realized he had a point and kept her mouth shut. The blonde chose to sigh instead.

"It's so close yet so far." Lucia commented on her situation and put her hands on her hips. The child's laughter started again and the hair on the back of Lucia's neck stood up. Moments later she felt a sharp smack to her backside that caused her to yelp in surprise and move forward two steps.

"What just happened?" Lucia asked Will as the former felt her face get very warm from embarrassment.

"You were hit with the end of your own holster belt. Look." Will told her and pointed behind Lucia with the index finger of his right hand. Lucia turned around and saw her pistol in its holster floating behind her at waist level. The end of the belt moved up and down as if waving at her before floating out of reach up and towards the ceiling. Lucia turned to look at Will and sighed.

"This is getting to be annoying." Lucia commented about the situation to her partner. First the diamond kept floating just out of reach whenever she reached for it. Now she was getting a sharp smack to the backside with the belt of Shining Light's holster. How much longer was this going to last?

"You said it." Will agreed with Lucia. He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his right foot on the library floor a few times. Lucia stood with her hands on her hips and took a break from all the physical activity she had had to do. About two minutes later Lucia saw the diamond float down and hover inches from her face.

"Are you gonna grab it?" Will asked Lucia.

"Sure." Lucia answered in a weary voice. She was pretty sure that the ghost was going to pull it away from her at the last moment and laugh at her again, but she would try to grab it anyway. She reached out for it and this time actually managed to grab the gemstone with both hands. Lucia was so happy that she could not help but to grin at Will.

"I got it!" Lucia said in excitement. Now that they had found and claimed both of the Elpis Diamonds they could finally leave this place.

"Um, Lucia, what about your pistol?" Will asked Lucia what they were going to do about reclaiming her handgun. Lucia looked at Will for a moment.

"I want it back." Lucia said to him. She walked over to the gray-clad robot and handed him the second diamond, which he took into his right hand.

"I'll get it." Lucia stated. She felt another sharp smack on her backside with the belt and yelped as she staggered forward two paces and almost bumped into Will. Will stood in place as she recovered and saw Shining Light float to the top of the bookshelf behind her partner.

"Look after the diamonds for me, Will. I'm going after Shining Light." Lucia ordered him before she walked to the ladder a short distance behind Will and climbed onto it, making sure that she had a secure grip before beginning her ascent.

"Good luck, Lucia." Will wished her as she began to climb the ladder. She hoped that she could reclaim Shining Light without any more difficulties, but she was not holding her breath on that. The ghost seemed to delight in playing games with Lucia and Will and did not show any signs of getting bored. Lucia did not know how much longer she would have to spend in the library trying to retrieve Shining Light.

[Post Word Count: 874]
[Total Word Count: 4,902/11,000]

Lucia climbed the ladder to the top of the bookshelf where Shining Light sat in its holster. She carefully reached for it while watching for it to move away from her at the last moment. Fortunately for her it decided to stay where it was for a change and she grabbed the end of the belt, then pulled the weapon to her. She left a trail where the holster belt had been dragged through the dust, but she did not care about that.

"I've got it!" Lucia exclaimed triumphantly, holding the belt in her right hand where Will could see it.

"Great!" Will called out. Having regained her weapon, Lucia began to slowly climb down the ladder. Since her right hand was full she was going to be careful to reduce the risk of falling. One minute later Lucia was back on the ground without incident.

"I've got my weapon back. Let's get out of here, Will." Lucia said to her gray-clad companion.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here and get back to Capital Crocus so that we can give these diamonds back to our client." Will agreed with her. They turned around from the ladder and began walking towards the door. Seconds later Lucia opened the door for Will and once he went out she followed, then shut the door behind him.

-The third floor, outside the library-

Lucia dusted off the back of the holster belt and put it around her waist, then tightened the belt. It was nice to have Shining Light at her side again. She looked at Will, who was still holding both diamonds.

"I can take one of the diamonds if you'd like, Will." Lucia said to her companion. Will handed her the diamond in his right hand and she took it into both hands.

"Thanks, Lucia. Now if we have to fight I can use my right hand, which has my arm cannon." Will said. He retracted his right hand into his arm and a red arm cannon appeared in place of the hand. Moments after the demonstration the arm cannon disappeared and his right hand returned to where it had been.

"I'm glad I could help, Will. Now let's get going before we get stuck playing more ghostly games." Lucia said to Will.

"You said it. I'll lead us down the stairs and you follow." Will recited the plan that had gotten them this far without incident. He began walking towards the stairs and the blonde mage followed behind him with the Elpis Diamond clutched in both hands. Will entered the stairwell moments ahead of her and they began the descent to the second floor.

-On the second floor-

The pair emerged from the stairwell and looked around them for ghosts or other threats. No threats had appeared on the second floor since they were last here, so they turned left and began walking down the hallway towards the staircase that led to the first floor. Will and Lucia walked in silence with only their footsteps to break the silence.

"I'm glad that we'll be out of here soon. I really hate ghosts." Will said to Lucia.

"Don't celebrate just yet, Will. We've got to get through the front door without-" Lucia was warning Will that they were still in Sombras Manor when she felt a forceful shove from behind that sent her sprawling to the floor. She landed on top of the diamond and groaned because the hard gemstone had been forced into her stomach by the fall. Will heard what happened and turned to face Lucia.

"What happened?" Will asked the blonde mage before a child's laughter answered the question. Will frowned.

"A ghost shoved you. It figures. I can't wait to-" Will said before Lucia cut him off.

"Please don't finish that sentence." Lucia pleaded with him. She suspected that the ghost overheard him the first time and decided to teach the robot a lesson in respect.

"OK, I won't." Will agreed to the request. He walked over to Lucia and helped her up. Lucia brushed off the front of her shirt and skirt and faced Will while clutching the diamond.

"Thanks." Lucia thanked Will for his help.

"No problem, Lucia. Let's get going." Will said to the blonde and turned in the direction of the staircase. Will walked ahead of her and Lucia followed close behind. With any luck they would get out of Sombras Manor without further incident, but Lucia was not holding her breath on that. It seemed like the ghostly child still wanted to play games with them whether they wanted to play or not.

[Post Word Count: 770]
[Total Word Count: 5,672/11,000]

-On the first floor-

After Lucia had been shoved to the ground by the invisible ghost child on the second floor she and Will had walked down the stairs and reached the first floor without further incident. They were so close to getting out of here with both of the Elpis Diamonds, but whether or not they could escape without being forced to play more games by the ghostly child remained to be determined. They were not particularly optimistic about their chances.

"We're almost out of here." Will said to Lucia.

"Yes, but I'm worried about what might happen next." Lucia said, deliberately ending her sentence there to avoid tempting fate any more than she already had. Will had already tempted fate once on the second floor and Lucia had been shoved to the floor for it. She was doing her best to avoid a repeat performance.

"Just keep going for the door, Lucia. Keep going as fast as you can go." Will advised her. Lucia did not say a word and kept moving towards the door at a brisk walk while Will led the way. The pair was fueled by the hope that they could leave Sombras Manor without further incident, but they were not banking on it.

The pair had almost made it to the door before Lucia was shoved from behind so hard that she landed on her stomach, accidentally dropping the diamond. Will turned around and looked at Lucia.

"Did you get shoved again?" Will asked Lucia.

"I got shoved again, but never mind that! Get the diamond!" Lucia urged Will to secure the diamond before they had to chase it down again. They were so close to getting out of Sombras Manor without any more ghostly shenanigans only for that hope to be snatched away by invisible hands. Lucia sighed as she got off the ground and heard a child's laughter.

Will ran towards the diamond and almost grabbed it with his right hand when it was snatched away from him. Lucia saw the diamond float down the hall to the right of the entrance while laughter sounded.

"Damn it!" Will shouted. Lucia frowned at their misfortune.

"I'm sorry, Will. I shouldn't have dropped it." Lucia apologized to her faithful robot companion for losing the diamond while just a few paces away from the exit. She should have clung onto it with both hands, but for some reason her grip weakened at the wrong time and now they were stuck in Sombras Manor a bit longer.

"Here we go again." Will said in a frustrated tone. Whether he was frustrated with Lucia for dropping the diamond, frustrated with the ghost for the hoops it had made them jump through for its entertainment, or frustrated with both of them was unknown. Lucia was not going to ask because she had more pressing concerns, namely trying to convince herself to keep going long enough to chase the diamond down and retrieve it.

"If we found it once, we can find it again. We can do this." Lucia said to her companion in an attempt to boost Will's spirit and her own. Will simply shrugged.

"Don't waste time with a pep talk, Lucia. Let's just go look for the diamond already." Will replied caustically to Lucia's words. Lucia was taken aback by Will's tone of voice, but she did not offer a retort. She could tell that Will had had just about all he could take of the ghost and its antics.

"OK." Lucia said calmly. She walked down the hallway the diamond had been taken down and turned right at the corner in front of the reading room while Will followed behind her. The moment the pair rounded the corner they saw the diamond disappear down the stairs into the basement.

"Oh great. We've gotta go into the basement." Will commented sarcastically on where they would have to go to find the stolen gemstone. Lucia did not like the look of it either. She peered into the darkness and saw light at the bottom, possibly created from Lacrima lanterns hanging on the walls.

"Well, if we've gotta go into the basement, we'll go into the basement." Lucia remarked. While she was not thrilled about having to go into the basement of Sombras Manor, there was no choice in the matter. They needed the second Elpis Diamond back so that they could complete the job Lucia had taken, which required that both diamonds be returned to the client.

[Post Word Count: 750]
[Total Word Count: 6,422/11,000]

-Sombras Manor, the first floor-

"OK, Lucia. We'll go into the basement, but I'll lead us." Will said to Lucia. Lucia had no problem with that arrangement. It was an arrangement that had gotten them this far without any real problems, so why fix what was not broken?

"All right." Lucia consented to Will's taking the lead like he had earlier. Without further delay Will began walking down the stairs and a few seconds later Lucia followed after him.

-Sombras Manor, in the basement-

Will had reached the bottom of the stairs and was standing at the bottom facing Lucia as she walked down the stairs. She was eight steps from the bottom when she felt a forceful shove from behind. She went flying down the stairs and would have suffered a serous injury had it not been for Will thinking on his feet and catching her in his arms. As a result the only thing that got hurt was Lucia's knees when they hit the hard floor.

"You got shoved again, huh?" Will asked Lucia as the latter was helped back onto her feet. Lucia's heart was beating so fast that it threatened to burst out of her chest, but otherwise she was all right. Once she was calm and focused enough to speak she replied to his question.

"Yeah. There wasn't any laughing that time, so I think that ghost wanted to really hurt me." Lucia told Will. The gray-clad robot frowned at her.

"I think you're right, Lucia. I guess we made it angry somehow. Maybe it doesn't appreciate what I said about it." Will said to her. Lucia looked down the end of the hallway and saw the diamond lying on the ground. She pointed towards it with her right index finger.

"Look, Will! The diamond!" Lucia pointed out the gemstone to her partner. It gleamed so brightly in the yellow-orange light of the Lacrima lanterns hanging on the walls that it was impossible to miss.

"I see it too, but don't go running towards it just yet, Lucia. I see some doors on both sides of the hallway." Will observed, pointing towards the doors with the index finger of his right hand. Lucia looked where he was pointing and saw the doors in question. That gave her pause.

"There's no telling what might be behind them. There might be ghosts waiting to ambush us. Or there could be nothing at all. The point is I don't want you going first, so I'll go get it." Will said to her. Lucia got what he meant and did not try to argue with his point.

"OK, Will. Do you want me to hold onto the diamond you're carrying in your left hand so that you can use both hands to get the other diamond?" Lucia asked her partner. Will wordlessly handed her the first Elpis Diamond.

"I'll go get the other one. You stay here." Will told Lucia. Will then walked towards the floating diamond while the blonde watched him and clung onto the diamond she had been entrusted with using both hands. She was not going to repeat the mistake that led to them ending up down here. She watched Will continue to walk towards the diamond and watched for the doors on both sides of the hall to open at any moment.

Will continued to walk and the doors continued to remain closed. Maybe their luck would hold and Will could grab the diamond without anything bad happening to him. Lucia was not terribly confident that that was how things would play out. Less than a few minutes ago a ghost had shoved her down the stairs in an attempt to seriously injure or kill her and only Will's intervention saved her from disaster.

Lucia watched as Will made it to the end of the hallway and bent down, then reached for the diamond with both hands. The blonde held her breath as Will got his hands around it... and nothing bad happened. The ghost did not play any games with them this time. He picked it up, turned around, and showed it to her.

"I've got it!" Will exclaimed to Lucia. He quickly jogged over to Lucia with the diamond clutched tightly in his hands.

"That's great!" Lucia exclaimed happily. Lucia was feeling a little optimism return to her, but she was not going to be truly happy until they were safely outside Sombras Manor with both diamonds in their possession and on the way to Capital Crocus. The blonde would start to celebrate only when all of those conditions were met.

[Post Word Count: 768]
[Total Word Count: 7,190/11,000]

-In the basement of Sombras Manor-

"We've got both the diamonds again. Let's go!" Will said to Lucia. He then walked towards the stairs while Lucia followed close behind him. She wanted to get out of the basement and off of the stairs as quickly as she could. Another shove down the stairs could end in disaster since Will was not in a position to catch her should it happen.

Will made it up the stairs without incident, but Lucia was halfway up the stairs when something shoved her from behind and caused her to fall forward. She landed on the stairs and began to slide down them for a few steps before finally stopping. Having learned from her previous mistake, Lucia held firmly onto the diamond with both hands despite losing her breath when the impact of the fall had driven the diamond into her stomach. Will turned around to find Lucia getting up slowly from the stairs.

"Again? Someone must really hate you." Will said to Lucia as he began going down the stairs to help her up. Lucia took a deep breath and felt her stomach hurting. She was not sure if she had injured herself or not, but she could deal with that later. Right now she really needed to get up the stairs before she was shoved yet again.

Will helped Lucia to her feet with his free hand, then began to guide her up the stairs, keeping his free hand on her arm to hang onto her in case she got shoved again or she slipped and fell without supernatural "help" as they ascended the stairs.

-On the first floor of Sombras Manor-

Will and Lucia had remained silent as they climbed the stairs out of the basement with both of the Elpis Diamonds in hand. Once they reached the top of the stairs the pair walked away from them and stopped ten steps from them, then took a few seconds to catch their breath. Lucia was glad that she was off of the stairs now... having the diamond driven into her stomach when she had fallen on the stairs had really hurt.

Once the minute-long break was over they walked forward until they reached the bend in front of the reading room. They turned left at the bend and began walking down the hall towards the front door. They moved at a brisk walk and held their breath because both of them were expecting something bad to happen that prolonged their time in Sombras Manor. They reached the end of the hall and turned right, walking to the front door. Will walked up to the left door and put his free hand on the doorknob, then turned it.

To Lucia's great relief the left door opened without any trouble whatsoever.

"The door's open. You go first, Lucia!" Will told the blonde to exit the manor first. Lucia did not bother to say anything and hurried through the door with the diamond clutched in both hands. Lucia was not going to repeat her mistake from earlier and let go of the diamond if she could help it. She hurried out of the open door and made it outside without further incident. She stopped and turned back.

"C'mon Will!" Lucia urged the gray-clad robot to get out of Sombras Manor before his diamond got stolen or his scarf got stolen and they had to go back into the manor to retrieve them. He wordlessly shut the door behind him and made sure that it was firmly closed, then walked over to Lucia.

-Outside Sombras Manor-

"I think... I think we're safe now. No more ghosts. No more ghostly shenanigans." Will said to Lucia as the wind picked up and blew his scarf about. Lucia made eye contact with him before speaking.

"We'd better get far away from here before we celebrate, Will." Lucia suggested to Will. He did not argue with her.

"I agree, Lucia. Let's go." Will said to her. Without further delay he started walking towards the path that led away from Sombras Manor. Lucia followed close behind him, making certain to keep both hands firmly on the diamond as she walked. After everything they had went through to get it back after the ghost took it to the basement of Sombras Manor she did not want to drop it again. She was not sure what could happen to it if she dropped it again, but she did not want to find out.

Maybe now that they were away from Sombras Manor and its mischievous spirits the trip back to Capital Crocus would be long but uneventful.

[Post Word Count: 774]
[Total Word Count: 7,964/11,000]

-Capital Crocus, outside the collector's house, ten hours later-

It had taken Will and Lucia eight hours to get to Capital Crocus plus another two hours to wind their way through the bustling city to an upscale part of the city called Monarch Lane. Now they were standing outside the front doors to the collector's house and were about to ring the doorbell. The house in question was a two-story mansion that was painted white and featured double wooden doors that looked to be made of oak. The numerous windows all had white curtains to block out the sun and the impeccably green lawn had been impeccably cut.

"So, who's gonna ring the doorbell? You or me?" Will asked Lucia.

"I'll ring the doorbell for us." Lucia replied.

"OK. Works for me." Will said. The tired Lucia took a quiet breath and walked to the doorbell located on the right side of the doorframe, then pressed it once. A soft chime sounded and Lucia walked away from it to rejoin Will.

"I've rung the doorbell, Will. Now we wait." Lucia informed him. Will did not say anything as the pair faced the door and waited to be let inside the mansion. It took about two minutes before the door opened and a young black-haired woman wearing a traditional black-and-white maid outfit answered the door. She looked at the diamonds in their hands.

"Welcome to Page Manor. I see that you have business with my employer, Mr. Page." The young woman said to them as if she already knew what they were here for. Will looked towards Lucia and the blonde started the conversation.

"Yes. We're here to return the Elpis Diamonds to him." Lucia informed the maid. The dark-haired young woman looked at the diamonds in their hands, then looked at them again.

"Please come in. Mr. Page will be delighted to see you." The maid gave them permission to enter the mansion and stepped back. Lucia entered first and wiped her feet off on a mat just inside the door. Will followed suit and entered seconds behind Lucia, wiping his feet off at the door as well. When both of them were inside the door was shut behind them.

-Inside the Page Mansion-

The pair were now standing in the foyer with the maid and what a foyer it was. On both sides of the door stood a set of medieval armor on a stand with a weapon in their hands. The left suit held a longsword and the right suit held a mace. Beneath their feet was the mat on which they had wiped off their feet and beneath that was gray marble tile floor. In front of them was an area which had two doorways, one leading left and the other leading right.

"Mr. Page is keen on getting his diamonds back. They were stolen from him less than twenty-four hours ago and he's been worried about them ever since. They cost him quite a bit of money to purchase." The maid told them. Lucia and Will listened without comment. The maid walked a few steps ahead of them and stopped.

"If you'll kindly follow me, I'll take you to Mr. Page's office." The maid requested.

"Certainly." Lucia said as Will kept silent. The maid took the lead and the pair began following her as she walked through the right doorway.

-Inside the right wing of the Page Mansion-

Will and Lucia followed behind the maid as they walked on a red carpet with gold borders through a long hallway with brown wooden wall panels on the walls. On the walls hung paintings that were almost as detailed as the ones that hung inside the Haunted Castle. On the left wall were framed paintings of individuals in clothing from at least one hundred years ago and on the right wall were framed paintings of people hunting. Lucia wondered if the people in the portraits hanging on the left wall were members of the Page family, but the maid did not offer any comment on them, so Lucia decided to not ask about them.

They reached the end of the hallway and were guided to some stairs with dark wooden railings on both sides that they went up. They walked up the stairs and reached the second story, then went left and began to walk down another hallway with red carpet, wooden wall panels, and more framed paintings hanging on both sides of the hallway. They walked until they reached a set of double doors, where the maid paused and Will and Lucia followed suit.

"And here we are. Mr. Page's office. I'll see if he's available." The maid said. She opened the left door and went inside, then shut the door behind her. Will and Lucia waited patiently outside with the diamonds in hand. Their job was almost finished... once they handed the Elpis Diamonds over to the client and received their pay this job would officially be completed.

[Post Word Count: 832]
[Total Word Count: 8,796/11,000]

-Inside Mr. Page's Office, ten minutes later-

After a brief wait Lucia and Will were standing inside Mr. Page's office facing Mr. Page himself. The office was a medium-sized one with fancy wood paneling on the walls along with a few painted portraits that were exactly like the ones in the first floor hallway. The desk Mr. Page was sitting behind was a dark wood like mahogany and it looked to be hand-made, not mass-produced in a factory. The chair he was sitting in was a dark wooden chair that also looked to be hand-made.

Mr. Page himself was a young brown-haired man who looked to be in his mid-twenties. He wore a gray suit with black tie. To his left sat a half-empty bottle of a strong-smelling and dark-colored alcohol and a half-empty shotglass filled with what might have been brandy. He made eye contact with the maid who had escorted Lucia and Will into the office.

"Please tell me there's some good news, Amelia." Mr. Page pleaded with the maid.

"The mage you hired to retrieve the Elpis Diamonds has retrieved both of them from Sombras Manor." Amelia reported, then pointed to Will and Lucia. The brown-haired youth leaped up from his desk.

"FINALLY!" He exclaimed in a joyful voice. He hurried out from behind the desk and walked over to Will and Lucia.

"Do you have them? Do you? Please tell me I'm not dreaming!" Mr. Page asked the pair for his diamonds. Will and Lucia held up the diamonds where the young man could see them.

"Here you go." Will said, offering his diamond to the client. Mr. Page took it from Will and set it on his desk, then went to Lucia.

"Here's the other diamond, Mr. Page." Lucia offered up the other Elpis Diamond. Mr. Page grabbed it quickly and pulled it away with such force that he almost snatched it from the blonde mage. He set the second diamond on his desk, then walked over to Amelia, Will, and Lucia and hugged each person.

"I can't tell you how happy I am that you managed to find the diamonds! When that thief took them I was beside myself with worry. When I heard they had been taken to Sombras Manor I was afraid that I had lost them for good, but now they're mine again!" Mr. Page told Will and Lucia after the celebratory hugs had been doled out. Will and Lucia listened in silence to the client talk.

"...Speaking of that thief, did you manage to find them anywhere inside Sombras Manor or anywhere around it?" The client asked them. Will and Lucia shook their heads.

"We didn't see anyone else in the manor, Mr. Page." Lucia told him. Mr. Page laughed.

"It doesn't matter whether you found that awful person or not. I just wanted the diamonds back and here they are, right where they belong!" Mr. Page told them. He then walked behind his desk, reached down into one of the drawers, and produced three more shotglasses.

"This calls for a drink! Who wants some brandy with me?" Mr. Page asked the trio.

"No thank you, Mr. Page." Amelia politely declined the drink.

"I don't drink, Mr. Page." Will declined the drink as well. Lucia was sure that Will was turning down the beverage to pass as a human who was a teetotaler instead of an android who could not drink.

"I don't drink either, Mr. Page." Lucia politely declined the drink. Years ago she used to enjoy an occasional drink of wine, but after dying from drinking poisoned wine over four years ago her fondness for alcohol had disappeared. Now she could not stand the stuff no matter what form it took.

"Oh, that's no problem. I'm so happy that I'll drink for all of us!" Mr. Page exclaimed, his joy undiminished despite the fact that no one else was drinking with him. He grabbed his half-empty shotglass and poured himself another shot of brandy, then quickly drank it. He poured another shot and drank that one too before setting the shotglass down.

"I'm glad that you two found the Elpis Diamonds for me. My parents gave them to me before their untimely passing three years ago and I've become fond of them. They're such beautiful gemstones that I can't bear to part with them despite each one being worth a small fortune. Were I to sell them both I could get enough money to buy another mansion like this one and have money to spare." Mr. Page told them the value the diamonds had beyond their monetary value. Will and Lucia listened patiently as he continued to talk.

"I don't care about the money, though. I'm a collector and I'm particularly fond of gemstones. When that thief made off with the pride of my collection I couldn't sleep at all, not even for a few minutes. Now I have the final gift from my parents and that's worth more than another mansion." Mr. Page elaborated on how the value of the Elpis Diamonds was not tied to what he could sell them for but instead to the fact his parents gave them to him. Will and Lucia said nothing in response to that statement. Lucia supposed that there was just some things that money could not buy and fond memories of dearly departed family members was apparently one of them.

[Post Word Count: 902]
[Total Word Count: 9,698/11,000]

After silence filled the room for a few moments Mr. Page spoke to Will and Lucia again.

"I'm so glad that you two managed to find the Elpis Diamonds for me! I've spent hours upon hours worrying about whether I'd get them back or not, but thanks to you two I have them back!" Mr. Page thanked them again.

"No problem." Will replied calmly with an economy of words.

"It's no problem at all, Mr. Page." Lucia replied. The young man smiled at them again.

"You two probably have other things you'd like to do instead of stand around and listen to me go on and on about how valuable the Elpis Diamonds are, so I'll let you two go on your way. I'll keep you two in mind should any of my other valuables go missing. Thanks again!" Mr. Page said to them. Will and Lucia took that as their cue to leave so that Mr. Page could get back to collecting valuable gemstones or whatever it was he did for a living. Before they could turn to face the office door Mr. Page turned to face the maid.

"Amelia, please show our guests the way out." Mr. Page bade the dark-haired maid to take his guests to the exit.

"Of course, Mr. Page." Amelia replied. She then turned to Will and Lucia.

"Please follow me." Amelia bade them. Will and Lucia wordlessly fell in behind her and the maid began to escort them to the mansion's exit. She guided them out of Mr. Page's office and shut the door behind them, then guided them towards the staircase that would take them back to the first floor. Will and Lucia effortlessly kept pace with the maid as they followed her to the exit.

-Outside the collector's house, ten minutes later-

After being escorted to the door by Amelia and let outside Will and Lucia were standing on the street in front of Mr. Page's house. They had managed to successfully return the diamonds to their owner despite the ghostly child costing them valuable time by stealing Will's scarf and Lucia's pistol and playing keep away with their valuables and the second Elpis Diamond in the manor's library. Lucia had also managed to persevere despite the ghost shoving her down the basement stairs on the way to reclaim the second Elpis Diamond when it had come out of her grip after a ghost shoved her to the floor only feet away from the front door to Sombras Manor and stole the diamond from her. Lucia had managed to get it back thanks to Will's help and had survived a painful fall up the stairs when another ghost had shoved her again after recovering the diamond.

"Now that we've completed the job what do you want to do from here? Go get coffee or something?" Will asked Lucia.

"Do you drink coffee?" Lucia asked Will. Will shook his head.

"No, Lucia. I can't eat or drink anything because I'm a robot. I was just asking if you wanted coffee because I'll be glad to wait outside the coffee shop if you want to get a cup or two of coffee." Will answered the question and repeated his offer. Lucia gave it some thought.

On one hand, she was always up for coffee.

Lucia looked at her right shoulder and noticed that she did not have her purse, which contained any spending Jewels she took with her whenever she went to Capital Crocus or another place where she needed to buy something.

On the other hand, she did not have her purse with her, so she would not be able to pay for the coffee if she ordered it.

"I'd better wait until later to get that coffee, Will. I don't have my purse with me, so I can't pay for it." Lucia informed him. Will gave a thumbs-up with his right hand.

"Good idea. We'll come back later when you have your money with you. Coffee shops don't give away coffee." Will said to her. With their course of action decided the pair immediately began the long walk towards the outskirts of Capital Crocus. They would return to Luminous Rose Guild Hall and spend the rest of the day there, then return to Capital Crocus some time soon so that Lucia could get a cup or two of coffee.

[Post Word Count: 728]
[Total Word Count: 10,426/11,000]

-The next day, Capital Coffee, 11:00 A.M.-

The day after completing the job for Mr. Page Lucia was back in Capital Crocus getting the coffee she had wanted yesterday but was unable to get because she did not bring her purse with her. Today she had brought her purse and enough Jewels for a few cups of coffee and had purchased a double espresso. She looked out into the seating area and saw that all of the seats were taken, even all of the white pod chairs at the window facing the mall so she was going to take the coffee to go. At least that was her intention.

"Hey Lucia!" A female voice greeted her. Lucia turned around to find Angela Helton looking at her. Angela was wearing a white Crocus Magicka University t-shirt with the logo printed in pink, a black skirt, and white tennis shoes.

"Hello, Angela." Lucia calmly greeted the brunette.

"How's it going?" Angela asked Lucia.

"It's going all right. I'm just here to get some coffee." Lucia replied. Angela smiled.

"Me too, Lucia. I've got a few hours before my Literature class, so I'm here to get some coffee before I have to go to it. It's... well, it's not the most interesting class on campus." Angela told the blonde that she too was looking to get some coffee.

"Say, have you heard anything from Diana lately?" Angela asked Lucia. Lucia shook her head.

"I haven't heard from Diana at all, Angela. I guess she's been busy with her career as a Guildless mage." Lucia replied. Angela gave the blonde a sympathetic glance.

"I haven't seen her lately either. Normally I see her at least once a month, but I haven't seen her in at least a couple of months. Maybe she's just out of town a lot." Angela told Lucia that it had been some time since she and Diana had made contact and put forth a possible reason as to why they had not met lately. Lucia thought that that hypothesis was plausible. When she was a Guildless mage Lucia had to do a lot of work to keep the Jewels coming in and she frequently went out of town for work.

"I think you're right, Angela. Diana's probably just going out of town a lot." Lucia commented on the brunette's suggestion. Angela smiled a little.

"We're probably wasting our time worrying about Diana. She's doing her thing like we're doing our things." Angela said to Lucia in an optimistic tone. A few seconds passed before she spoke again.

"On a lighter note, how's your keyboard working out for you? Do you still like it?" Angela asked Lucia.

"I like it a lot, Angela. It works perfectly and it sounds amazing... it sounds almost like a real piano. I've been playing it whenever I get a chance, which is every few days. I've been kinda busy doing jobs to earn Jewels to save for a vehicle so that I don't have to walk everywhere I go." Lucia replied that she adored the keyboard Angela had bought the blonde for her birthday but confessed that she had not had much time to play it lately. Lucia worried that Angela would feel that she had wasted the money, but to her relief Angela smiled again.

"So you're looking for a vehicle, huh?" Angela asked the blonde, changing the subject from the keyboard to Lucia's goal of one day buying a vehicle. Lucia nodded.

"Yes, Angela. I don't want a sports car or anything really fancy. I just want something decent to drive so that I don't have to walk everywhere I go. That gets pretty tiring." Lucia answered and gave the brunette some idea of what she was looking for. That idea was vague, but it was all she had right now. Angela smiled again.

"I might be able to help with that. I know a friend of my father's who works at a car dealership..." Angela informed Lucia. Angela then pointed towards the seating area. Lucia looked where the brunette had pointed and saw a few tables that had just opened up.

"Would you mind grabbing one of those tables for us and when I get my coffee I'll sit down and talk to you about the car dealership?" Angela requested of the blonde. Lucia had no problem with that.

"I don't mind at all, Angela. I'll wait for you at the table." Lucia said. She turned to the left and walked over to the seating area while Angela got her coffee. Lucia claimed a table in the middle of the seating area and sat down in the seat facing the counter. Once seated at the table the blonde waited for Angela to get her coffee while taking a sip of her own drink. This promised to be an interesting conversation.

[Post Word Count: 808]
[Total Word Count: 11,234/11,000]