What Would Rhys Cadwallader Do? (cymru) wrote in disorderic, @ 2018-03-22 20:07:00 |
|
|||
"... and another thing. You had better not be expecting to charge me extra for that paltry meal this morning. I won't pay an extra sickle!" Albert Grimblehawk was in fine form this afternoon at check-out. The last guest to leave that day and, of course, the loudest. Nora's customer service smile was forced. "Of course not," she said, thinking back to the enormous meal the man had fashioned for himself. He didn't have any complaints about it then. "It's a bed and breakfast, sir. The breakfast is included." Pea plodded his way out of the office door behind her, and Albert Grimblehawk scoffed. "You shouldn't let those disgusting mops wander around, either. Think of your guests!" "Will that be all?" Nora's abruptness caught the man off guard, but enough was enough. If he needed to rant at her about the inn, their service, even herself, that was one thing. But no one got to insult the puffskeins. "Well! Yes, I suppose it will be. I shan't be coming back here again!" He signed off on his paperwork and paid his bill in a huff and stormed out the door. Nora smiled after him. When the door finally closed behind him, she went back into the office where Rhys was working on the accounts. "I need a pillow or something because I am going to scream." Rhys gave her a sympathetic look. “Is that bastard Grimblehawk gone, finally? I hope the door hit him on the way out.” he grumbled. "He called Pea a disgusting mop!" Nora crossed her arms and gave an exaggerated pout as she collapsed into the empty chair. "And he's probably the type to run home and give us a bad Welp review." Rhys scowled. “What kind of miserable asshole do you have to be to insult a puffskein? And one of the best puffskeins, at that?” he huffed, offended. He set his quill aside. “He can write all the bad reviews he wants, he’s never allowed to come back.” "We should ward him out," Nora suggested, at least a little bit serious under the guise of a joke. "Just make sure he never steps foot inside again." Albi, the resident house elf, popped in to the office. "Mistress?" he began, a title Nora still wasn't quite used to but one Albi refused to shake. "Carrot has gotten Carrot's self stuck in the side-table by the sofa again." Nora sighed again and glanced over at Rhys. "Do you want to go this time, or me?" Rhys sighed along with her. “How about we both go? I think we could use a puffskein break.” He pushed away from the desk and grabbed his crutches, pulling himself to his feet. He stopped to give Nora’s shoulder a squeeze on the way to the door. “Maybe we should get rid of that side-table,” he wondered out loud. Rodolphus had been standing near the wall, not quite leaning on it, slowly taking his hat off. It was a bitter enough day, bright but chilly, and the Welsh wind had livened him up somewhat. He grinned at the Cadwalladers as he saw them, keeping a close eye on their expression as he said, “Maybe you should get rid of it. It’s not altogether appealing. Second hand?” Nora stopped just outside the office door and stared at the man. How long had he been there? Had he seen her whole previous interaction? Had he been invisible somehow? "It came with the inn," she answered, defensiveness lacing her tone. Then, not particularly hospitably, "What do you want?" “I was just passing through,” Rodolphus said, mildly, as if they were old friends. “I thought I’d stop by and see how everyone was doing. Is the inn all set for Easter?” “Yes, we're all booked up. Not a single vacancy,” Rhys said quickly, limping out to stand defensively in front of Nora in case the Death Eater tried anything. “Hmm,” Rodolphus said, waving his hand almost dismissively. “That could, of course, be fixed. What is the inn doing? Something special?” His mouth twisted, slightly, not a sneer but near it as he said, “Perhaps with bunnies?” Nora looked at Albi, behind the registration desk with them. After last time with Lestrange, they put a plan in place in case he ever came back. She gave the house elf the smallest nod and he popped away, off to warn their guests and get them out of the inn through one of the passageways they'd discovered. Just in case. She cleared her throat and looked back at Lestrange. "Eggs, actually." She should be scared, she knew, but somehow she was just angry. “I don’t suppose they’re going to do anything interesting,” Rodolphus said, and he almost sounded sad. “You’re rather tedious in this part of the world.” “We're very boring,” Rhys agreed. “I'm sure you have far more interesting places to visit.” There was a brief pause as Rodolphus moved, leaning finally against the desk. He crossed his arms and regarded the Cadwalladers with a steady, clear gaze, a flat smile on his face. It looked completely devoid of anything approaching warmth. “What if I wanted to wait until then? You know, I’ve heard that patience is a virtue.” "Wait … until Easter?" Nora asked. Her tone was less accommodating than her husband's. "What, just stay here in the lobby until then? What do you want?" Rodolphus shrugged, a shoulder moving lightly underneath his coat. “Entertainment,” he said, as if it was obvious. He thought it was. It had become his primary hobby after years spent between four walls pressing in on him. “It’s part of my human right.” Rhys took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from making one of many snarky remarks that were currently on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he said, “Well, I don't think you'll find it here. I believe you've ensured my lack of entertainment value for the foreseeable future.” “Please,” Rodolphus said, his lip curling slightly. His distaste was obvious, despite the fact his overall expression was still fairly genial. “You never had much value in the first place, former Auror Cadwallader.” Nora bristled. "Don't talk to him like that." “Or what?” Rodolphus raised an eyebrow. “You’ll sternly tell me not to?” Rhys placed a hand on her arm. “Nora love, it's fine.” "It's not fine," Nora said. Her eyes stayed on Rodolphus. "We're not here to entertain you. You can book a room if you'd like, or you can leave." An insouciant smile spread across Rodolphus’ face as he stood slightly, glancing between them. There was no way the Cadwalladers, timid as they often were, had decided to grow a backbone. “I don’t think I’ll do either,” he said. “It’s not in my plan for the week. This time is specifically allocated to doing what I like. Certainly not what you want.” "You'll have to find somewhere else to do that," Nora said firmly. "We're closing up to clean up before our next guests arrive later today. We do have a business to run." It was spite that fuelled the movement. One moment Rodolphus was looking at the Cadwalladers, surprise flaring distantly in him, and then he reached into his pocket for his wand. The movement was quick, second nature to him, a spark from the end and a wall crumbled at the other side of the room. It was a loud crack as it started to cave, the ceiling following it. “Yes, look at that mess.” He tutted. “Can’t have that.” Rhys flinched, alarm mounting. “Wait! Stop!” he said, instinctively reaching for his own wand. Nora's frustration was swallowed up then as she realized she'd started exactly what they'd tried to avoid for so long. "Stop! I'm sorry, I —" She ducked as the collapse in the ceiling crept closer to them. There was a light in Rodolphus’ eyes as he watched the ceiling fall in, more and more, the shift in weight causing more damage. He laughed and the sound was unmistakably buoyant, his delight in himself obvious. It radiated off him. “Are you sorry?” He turned his head back to them. “I thought you were already aware of what consequences could befall you. Still, I’m not sorry. I’ve rather wanted to do that for a while.” He swung his arms a little, loose, perked up by the destruction. “What else do you want to lose?” “Nothing. You've done enough!” Rhys said, reaching for Nora's arm in case they needed to make a hasty retreat. As the ceiling collapsed, some of the ancient spellwork holding the room together began to unravel as well; the area around the front desk began to splinter and crumble, seemingly of its own accord. Beneath their feet, the floor too began to tremble. "What are you doing?" Nora cried as the spell's effects kept reverberating around them. "It'll—stop, make it stop!" Rodolphus’ smile was more cruel now, the cut of it worsened by his evident glee. He hadn’t expected the Cadwalladers to snap: that didn’t mean he hadn’t wanted them to. “Do you know something, Mrs Cadwallader? I don’t think I will.” Instead of listening to them, Rodolphus aimed his wand at the ground, the words to the curse springing forth easily. He was a strong wizard, always had been, and he concentrated on the curse as a crack appeared on the ground, deep, wide, forcing the whole room apart. The floor was shaking. Rodolphus face shone and he looked almost youthful in happiness as he lifted his head. His specialty had always been runes — with a curse, he cut one into the ground. “I do believe,” he said, almost giddy, “I just rocked your world.” Nora's wand rose to aim something, anything at the man— Rhys eyes went wide as he saw what Nora intended to do. Without hesitating, he grabbed her by the arm and apparated them out of the Gentle Green, just as the ceiling fell. A tree blasted apart in front of them as Nora's apparated stunning spell hit it. She landed hard, jarring her knees and leaving her disoriented. "What—" She looked around, registering her husband's hand on her arm a second before the trees next to them and the Green some distance away. Even from there, she could see the damage as pieces started to fall. "Rhys, we have to—he's destroying our home—" “Our home's not worth our lives,” Rhys said gently, still not letting go of her. Off in the distance, a portion of the roof—just above where their kitchen had been—caved in with an unceremonious crash. “He'll get bored and he'll leave. We can see what we can salvage later.” Nora's free hand covered her mouth to mask a sob. Then, eyes widening with realization, she turned to Rhys. Carrot was still trapped in the side-table. And— "We need to see if everyone got out." Their tool shed (bigger on the inside) was only a few yards away, but the passage to it out of the Green was longer. Without even checking to see if Lestrange was watching somehow, she dashed toward it and uncharmed the lock. As she swung the doors open, Clarence and Sally were making their way up the last rungs of the ladder through the hatch in the floor as the other guests waited apprehensively. Nora wrapped Meredith in a hug. "Is everyone—are you all okay? Is everyone here?" Rhys quickly locked the door behind them, shooting one final glance over his shoulder to make sure they were not being followed. Once inside, he counted heads just to make sure everyone was accounted for. “...Seven, eight, nine… wait, where's Albi? And Pea and Carrot?” As if summoned, the house elf appeared with a pop, his tiny arms full of frightened puffskeins. Nora squeezed Meredith one more time, but then dropped to her knees and wrapped all three of them—the puffs and the elf—into a hug that clearly surprised the middle member. "Thank you," she said quietly. After a moment, she released them and rose, and Pea and Carrot were scooped up into Alan and Andrea's arms for comfort. The Spinnets—and everyone else—looked like they could use it just as much as the puffskeins. Outside, the sound of another large collapse traveled to the shed, and Nora cringed. “Is anyone hurt?” Rhys asked quietly, trying his best to remain as calm and as comforting as he could, despite the fact that their lives had just fallen apart, both literally and figuratively. There was a collective mumbling as everyone checked one another for injuries and thankfully, found nothing. “The only thing that matters is that everyone is safe,” Rhys assured everyone, then allowed himself a sigh. “We’ll figure the rest out. We always do.” |