(BL) The Villain wants a Divorce!

Cass learned from the girls that the new staff were being told a rumour. A rumour based in some truth, but had clearly taken off in the wrong direction and had landed Cass in this strange situation.

It was something that Sir Forsythe hadn’t picked up on because no one would have brought it up to him, and no one would have brought it up to Sam, either. All that the older staff who had remained after Cass had cleared out the spies told the newer staff to respect the master of the house.

Then, when no one had seen the master, the older staff had said to avoid his eyes when they did see him, and then things had only spiraled after that. Cass was at a loss at what to do, and now he was faced with two fairies who had been convinced not to look Cass in the eyes without any context.

Fucking hell.

Cass didn’t have it in him to explain why and the reasons not to, because they shouldn’t. Plus, he’d look like a psycho if he said that they might feel lust for him if he said it to two kids.

So, he just went with it.

"The older staff were right to warn you not to look me in the eyes." Cass growled. "For now, it’s in your best interest, and it’s why I wear sunglasses. To protect everyone else." Cass told them. The girls seemed relieved just to have more information, which didn’t make Cass feel better, but whatever.

Cass wasn’t sure what he’d do with this absurd, yet somehow helpful, rumour. He was sure that there was more to it than what the girls were saying to him, especially since they had literally been trembling when they stepped into his office. They stopped trembling once they spoke to Cass, but again, he was worried if they would be able to help him while being so scared of him.

Either way, he had brought them up to see if they were capable enough to brew him a cup of tea and help him out, they said they had wanted to be here, so now Cass just needed to actually...let them do that.

~

Cass was actually impressed with how the girls fared. By the end of the quiet, and long day, they had managed to not make his day even harder, which was pretty much all he could ask of people who were terrified of him at their first meeting.

Gideon had tried to leave a couple of times, and Cass let him, but he had to take Edgar with him.

He would be back within half an hour, Edgar clinging to Gideon the whole time they were gone and leaving Gideon a confused mess when he found his way back to Cass’ office. Was it wrong of Cass to use Edgar’s disrupted mental state to keep Gideon on a short leash right now?

Cass wasn’t as conflicted as he thought he would be because if Edgar had been more aware and less distressed right now, he had a feeling that he would agree with the use. Of course he would apologise to Edgar once he was more of himself, but in the moment? It was a very effective method to keep Gideon from doing stupid, dumb brain shit.

Sir Forsythe was rather busy again, taking over for what Edgar, Sam and Gideon would normally do for Cass, while also having his own duties. The only thing that Cass didn’t feel guilty about giving Sir Forsythe this heavy burden for the day was the fact that it was the weekend. Hypothetically, that meant that there were less things to do.

Hypothetically.

Cass did help him out by decreasing what he was doing that day, but then again, he had originally planned not to do a lot that day anyways. He was supposed to have a day off, but with everyone gone, Edgar not doing well, Gideon sleep-deprived, and Cass in a surprisingly good mood, he needed to do something to take his mind off of the situation he couldn’t help with.

He just finished up the work he hadn’t been able to get to the day prior, worked away on a few other tasks that he had left for today, and then when the sun began to dip closer to the tree line outside, Cass called it a day.

Cass asked Edgar and Gideon to go to the bedroom for the moment so that he could speak to the two girls alone. Gideon wanted to argue, since Sir Forsythe wasn’t around at the moment and he didn’t have a guard right now, but they were two fairies. Cass was also far more adept at wielding his magic now then he had been before, so he would be fine. Plus, they were only a few doors down. Edgar would be able to hear him if something bad happened, and Edgar, the sad, torn up man, heard that he could be useful and latched onto it.

He swore he would alert Gideon if something happened, and Cass, his heart aching for the man who hadn’t really stopped crying all day, kissed him on the forehead and told him that they would be able to cuddle after this. Edgar looked flustered at Cass’ words, but didn’t argue with him either.

That told Cass that the man really needed some gentle love and care. Maybe they could get a bath together? Cass would do that once he was finished with the girls, maybe order another bottle of the bloodwine up to their rooms, along with their dinner for Gideon and Cass.

Just have a nice, quiet night in. That would be nice, even if there was again, a big, dragon-shaped hole in their lives.

He would be back soon. Everything was going to be fine. Nothing bad would happen. Lucian was a miracle-worker and Byron and Sam were going to be okay. This was the only amount of panic that Cass was going to allow himself because he needed to be the strong one right now. For everyone. For himself. For Gideon and Edgar. They needed to know that they could rely on him when they needed to. Cass knew that they probably hadn’t had anyone that they could rely on outside of themselves, or maybe even each other, but Cass wanted to be that for them.

It was a point of pride for him, especially now that he was willing to let them into his life. He might have small shoulders, but they were getting bigger. He could hold their worries and woes. It would be okay, because Cass wouldn’t hold his own issues forever either. Just until they were well enough that they could all share their burdens.

That’s what Cass told himself as he waved goodbye to the boys, sending them on their way before he turned, closed the office door behind him and stared at the two girls who were standing in the middle of his office. Not shivering and quaking this time, but clearly worried all the same.

"So," Cass began, "how do you think you did today?" He asked. The girls paused, frozen. This was not how these kinds of moments worked. Cass had the presence of mind to know that, but he wasn’t from this world. Not entirely, anyways. He had different work ethics, different beliefs, and he wanted to work with people who could adjust their line of thinking and adapt to who Cass was now.

He wasn’t just Cassian, he wasn’t just Caspian. He was Cass, and he wanted to be around people who could accept that, whether they knew the truth or not.

So, he watched them, curious to see what they would say or think.

Surprisingly, it was the bubblegum pink fairy who spoke up first.

"I think...our service was adequate." She said slowly. "I know that we are unable to meet the standards that aide Sam has set, but I know that we can improve." She was very optimistic, and while Cass didn’t want to profile, it did suit her. Her coworker or more probably, her friend, the magma fairy, looked a little more thoughtful.

"I agree. We have lots we can improve on, but I would like to think we didn’t make your workday worse, my Lord." She said, raising her eyes to glance at Cass, then dropped them again. They were taking ’don’t meet my gaze’ very seriously.

"So you agree that the level you provided wasn’t up to the level I expected." Cass said, and watched as the two girls flinched. He did feel bad for saying it in such an asshole way, but he needed to see if they could handle some pushback. Sam wasn’t a stick in the mud who went along with everything that Cass wanted.

Case and point, the man still dressed Cass up like a villain in a vampire movie if Cass wasn’t watching. He liked to dress Cass that way, even when Cass’ own personal preferences were not doom and gloom with hints of red. It was ridiculous, but as long as Cass had Sam as someone in his life, Cass would have to deal with the fact that he sometimes would be dressed up like Lord Cassian Blackburn.

That just came with the territory.

Did he expect the girls to be the exact same as Sam? No. He just didn’t want them to bend as soon as something shifted slightly out of their depths. That was Cass’ whole life and if they were going to be around while Sam was gone, they would need to be tested before shit hit the fan.

The girls seemed shocked, stunned into silence and it did not surprise him that the magma fairy spoke up first.

"M-My Lord, if I may, it’s our first day working with you. We acknowledge that we can’t replace Aide Sam. We know this position is temporary and that there are many who wish to serve you. However, we are strong, fast, and while we aren’t as skilled as Aide Sam yet, we can improve. We have room for improvement. If you give us this change, my Lord, our loyalty towards you would only grow." She said, bowing her head again.

"So you understand that two of you would be needed to replace Sam." Cass said. "Good." They looked ill. To them it must have seemed like Cass wasn’t responding to their words or pleading, but Cass was viewing it positively. They were fighting for their positions, not folding under Cass’ harsh tone.

Cass crossed his arms, staring at them quietly.

"What are the rumours about me that you’ve heard?" Cass asked and watched as they squirmed.

"M-My Lord, it’s not up to us to speculate." The bubblegum fairy stuttered. The magma fairy clenched her teeth. She reached over, taking her friend’s hand in her own and giving it a squeeze.

"There are rumours that you aren’t a fairy, aren’t a human, and are a demon." She said. Her friend gasped, jerking her head towards her friend. "However, my Lord, I know you are a fairy since our blood sings to each other, so I know that some of the rumours have to be untrue. We are also not the kind of fairies who spread rumours." She promised and Cass almost found that disappointing.

He would have liked to maybe have some henchmen that would do that. No matter, they were doing quite well.

"Only two of those rumours you suggested aren’t true, and I’ll leave you to consider what they are. You’re dismissed for the day. I’ll see you two here in my office tomorrow morning." Cass said, spinning on his heel and leaving the office. He smiled to himself as he’d caught the shocked looks on their faces as he told them their fate. They might think it was a blessing now, but Cass wondered how long they would consider it that way.