Work Text:
Curiosity killed the cat.
“You can play outside, you can play in the forest, or you can play outside. But be home for dinner and don’t go snooping around the manor again. If I get one more complaint from mister Gleeful that he spotted you on his terrain uninvited again, you will be grounded for the rest of the summer. Did I make myself clear to you this time, Gideon Charles Pines?” His mother sounded strict, and Gideon looked up when he heard her use his full name. Whenever she did that, he knew she was tired of his antics. “Yes mom, I get it.” He looked away, his mind already made up about it. He was willing to risk being grounded if it meant finding out the truth about that place. There was something going on there, he just knew it. But his mom interrupted his thoughts. “And don’t think you can convince me with your stories about conspiracies and magic and monsters. Breaking and entering is bad and you will end up in jail. I am looking out for you, honey. I know you think there is something going on, but I am sure the police will handle it if mister Gleeful is involved in that kind of things.” She sounded friendlier now, but Gideon just huffed. Yeah right, the police would do something about anything anyone in that household was doing. He’d seen the cops on the front row of the Tent of Telepathy enough times to know they wouldn’t even start an investigation, even if those twins were caught dragging away a dead body. No, if he wanted to know the truth, he’d have to find out on his own. Maybe Pacifica wanted to help though, she was nice.
Sadly, she was also busy today, and half an hour later, Gideon stood in front of the gate on his own, looking up. Physical exercise wasn’t his strong suit at all. He was rather short and a bit on the chubby side. But the many hours being chased by things in the forest around her had done wonders for him, and he thought he should be able to climb the fence now. But perhaps not here. He’d better find a less obvious spot to climb over the fence. He looked left and right and eventually started walking along the fence, staying on his guard to hide if he thought anyone could see him. Gideon had no idea how big the property truly was, but hopefully there would be a place where he could get on without being seen. He found out that there was a relatively easy way to get on the property when he reached the edge of the forest. Due to the density of it, there was no more wall, and he could slip through. Strange, he would have thought that mister Gleeful would want to protect himself against the strange things that lived in the forest. Gideon took a journal from his backpack and flipped through it for a bit, only to find out that there wasn’t much to be scared of this close to the manor. This only made him more convinced there was something weird going on there. So, to be safe, he stayed between the trees, but made sure he could see the open space that marked the gardens. The kid didn’t even know what he was expecting to find, but he did feel something in the air that made him very, very careful.
Then Gideon Pines heard something he had not expected: singing. He heard a light voice sing in a language he had never heard before, and when he peeked around a tree, he spotted a figure pulling weeds from a flowerbed of marigolds. The sound and the words made the hairs in his neck stand up, and he made sure to not move a muscle as he watched. It dawned on him that this figure couldn’t possibly be human, no matter how much it looked like one. The blue hair was a clue, but that could have been dyed. No, it was just something about the way the figure moved, or the vague, tingling sensation on his skin the words of the song gave the boy. He’d felt it before: in the Tent of Telepathy when the twins performed their tricks. He’d written it off back then as a figment of his imagination, but now he felt it again. It almost felt like magic, in a way. So, he was right then, the Gleefuls really did use real magic in their shows, and probably in their house too. That alone would be enough to start some sort of investigation, right? Maybe he needed proof. Gideon carefully moved, taking a camera from his backpack to take a photo of the being. It wasn’t enough to convince everyone, but it would be a start. Sadly, the sound of the camera click was enough to make the being look up and around. Upon seeing Gideon, he froze, his one blue eye wide in shock. The other was covered with an eyepatch. The boy backed away, suddenly scared. This figure was a Gleeful, who knew what they were going to do to him now. In a panic, he grabbed the journal again, trying to find something to save him. The fact he was going to be so grounded suddenly seemed like a blessing. If he made it out of there alive, he would happily stay in his room for the entire summer. Gideon had truly gotten himself in trouble this time.
Weirdly enough, the sight of the journal made the being look up and raise his hands a little. “Who are you?” He asked. “Where did you get that journal?” Gideon frowned and looked up, then recovered. “Stay back, or I will use this.” He spoke up, sounding braver than he felt. It worked though, and the blue haired being backed away. “Please don’t hurt me.” He pleaded. Despite the fact Gideon had seen this creature use some sort of magic just minutes ago, here it was, scared of him. The boy was taken aback, but knew he had to use this reaction to his advantage, or he’d be in big trouble. “I won’t hurt you if you stay back.” He promised, and the being nodded, keeping his hands raised a bit. “Who are you?” The being asked, sounding careful but curious. Gideon hesitated. “I’m just a kid from the town.” He started. “But who are you?” The being hesitated too, but this kid had the journal, and who knew what he found in there. “I’m Will. Will Cipher.” He then said, shifting his gaze to the ground. Gideon studied him now that he had gotten over the initial shock. It struck him that besides the hair and eyepatch, there were more strange things about this being. Will wasn’t dressed in the same fashion as the Gleefuls for example. What he was wearing could best be described as a uniform. Fit for a butler maybe? “Are you one of them?” Gideon asked, and Will understood what he meant exactly. “Yes and no. I am part of the household, but not of the family.” He answered, and the boy relaxed just a little bit. “You work for them, don’t you?” He asked, and the other just nodded silently.
Gideon noticed how tall Will was. The being towered over him in a very strange way, and he knew he should have been intimidated, but somehow, he wasn’t. Will seemed scared of him, or at least scared of something. “What do you know of this Journal?” The boy then asked, and the being looked up. “I’m not allowed to tell you. I’m not even allowed to say my name. I’ll get in trouble.” He muttered, which only put Gideon more at ease. “Oh, that’s okay. If anyone knows I’m here at all, I’ll get in trouble too. Maybe we can keep it a secret?” It was a long shot, but worth a try. Maybe this was a way in? Maybe this was the way to find out what secrets the Gleeful family was hiding? Will nodded. “We tell nobody about this.” He agreed, then lowered himself to his knees again to continue pulling weeds. “But I still don’t know your name.” He muttered. “Gideon Pines.” The answer made Will look up again. “I should have known. I heard Mason talk to the master about you. He said you were nosing around.” He mentioned. “Why are you nosing around? Isn’t there enough to do in town?” Will seemed curious again, but Gideon shook his head. “I’ll talk if you talk. What do you know about the journal?” He tried again, and Will looked at the sky for a second, letting out a sigh. “You’re lucky the master is out today, or he would have known you were here already.” He told the kid and folded his hands in his lap.
“The journal you have there is one of three. They are written about thirty years ago by my master. One day, someone broke into the manor and stole them. Over time we managed to trace down two of them, as they seemingly could not leave the town. The third one, the one you have there, was never recovered. My master would do a lot to get it back from you. There are many secrets about the strange events around the town and the manor in there.” Will had to admit he liked Gideon. The kid was curious in a much more innocent way than the twins were, and it was refreshing. He didn’t know how much harm he could do by telling him this anyway, a lot was already written down in the journal. All he had done was provide some context. Gideon flipped through the journal, Will’s single eye scanning over the pages. Then a page came up with an image of himself in his triangle form. He froze, and Gideon paused, his eyes on the name at the top of the page. “William Cipher. So, this is you? You don’t look like this.” He mentioned, but Will nodded. “It is me, yes.” He whispered, looking away. “You’re a demon?” Gideon gasped, backing away. The blue Cipher raised his hands. “Yes, I am. But don’t fret, I won’t hurt you. I can’t. Not unless the master allows me.” He spoke reassuringly, but Gideon remained wary. “How much power does he have over you?” The kid narrowed his eyes. He had read about demons, and they were trouble all the time.
“A lot. You asked me if I was one of them earlier. I said I was part of the household, and I am. I am bound to Stanford. I only have as much freedom as he allows me to have. My powers are heavily controlled, I cannot hurt you. Even if I wanted to.” Will brough his wrist together and for a brief second, Gideon saw blue shackles glow up around the demon’s wrists before they faded again. “You are their prisoner.” He concluded, and Will shrugged. “Servant. But more or less. You have nothing to fear from me. Fear the ones who control me.” He gave a soft smile, and Gideon nodded. “I already did. But people have to know about this, they can’t just hold you against your will.” He sounded offended by the idea alone, but the demon was quick to shut that down. “Please, don’t tell anyone. If the master finds out, and he will, we will be gone before the investigation can even start, and I like this house. I don’t want to go anywhere else.” He pleaded, and the kid hesitated. “But Will, this is against the law. He can go to jail for this.” He was unsure what to do now. “According to those laws, I do not exist. Even if you succeed, what will become of me? Humans would misuse me further. My best option is to stay now. Please.” Will was very much trapped in this situation; Gideon could see that too. “Please, just keep my existence a secret. I will help you learn more about the secrets in that book?” Oh, he was getting himself in so much trouble, but what else could he do? Every side of this situation had him trapped more.
Then he heard voices approaching, and the demon turned. “Run. Get out of here. I will stay quiet about you; you have my word.” He promised, and Gideon did as he was told. Will watched the blue cap disappear between the trees before turning his attention to the twins, who came to get him for the show. Of course, how could he forget? Today would be the first day he would be on stage, as their assistant. Will groaned silently as he saw the collection of daggers attached to rings on Mabel’s belt. At least her aim was getting better and, and he didn’t think Stanford would allow her to impale his chest on stage. But this was not going to be pleasant. Maybe Gideon would be in the audience? It would be nice to be able to look at a friendly face while this was going down. Will kept his head down as the twins took him to the tent and set him on a chair backstage. “Do you remember what you have to do?” Mason’s voice sounded sceptical, but the demon nodded. “Follow every command, speak to nobody.” He answered, and Mabel set a hand on his shoulder, digger her long nails in his flesh. “Good boy. Great uncle Stanford had a stage uniform made for you. Get dressed, and if you are nice and quiet, I won’t get to remove your tongue. So, feel free to talk to people.” She giggled, but Will just shivered, determined to keep his mouth shut at all times. He did not feel like having tongue removed. It would heal overnight, but Stanford got very irritated with him when he could not answer questions right away, even if that was not the demon’s fault.
Ten minutes later he was in his new uniform, being called on stage for the first show. The twins already announced him as their assistant, and usually the townspeople didn’t ask questions, so that was what he was then. And as promised, he did not say a word the entire time. He could have been a mute for all they knew. Even when they strapped him to a cork board for Mabel’s knife throwing act did, he stay quiet. One of them pierced the board right next to his ear on his left side, where he could actually see, but still he only flinched. Will took Mabel’s threats very seriously. Even if Stanford did not give her permission to go through with them, she usually found a way to do it anyway. So yes, no matter how bad this would be, he would not make a single sound. And Gideon was indeed in the audience, which only made him more determined. While the demon sometimes loved the idea of getting out of that manor, he knew that getting authorities involved would land him in something much, much worse. But this new thing as being an on-stage assistant and target practice? He could go without it. It was horrible, and the constant adrenaline would come back to him later, leave him exhausted. Hopefully, he would be able to hold on until Stanford returned home. That was all he needed to do. And maybe, Gideon might come back some other day? Maybe Will found a friendly face to talk to sometimes?