At Your Service

Chapter 37- Game

 As the next couple of weeks passed, Ansel's insides began to feel like they were back to life, matching the healing being done on the outside, while the world outside withered into winter. The incision scarred successfully and the pain inside ebbed away, but menopausal symptoms began, as they no longer had ovaries that were producing estrogen, testosterone, or progestin. Dr. Hahn put them on dosages of each hormone to replace what the ovaries would make if they were there; however, Ansel was given a higher dosage of testosterone and a lower dosage of estrogen in the context of them being transgender. As far as the testosterone went, it was a low dosage compared to those that other transgender men get because 1.) Dr. Hahn needed to see how all of the hormones would affect them as they continued recovering from surgery, and 2.) Ansel did not want to have such quick or intense effects from the testosterone, as they did not identify as entirely male.

If Ansel was honest, although they were happy about being able to obtain a more androgynous appearance and form, they were not necessarily excited like they felt they should have been; their mind and emotional capacity felt a bit shattered, like their body, mind, heart, and soul, spent all of their energies within the last month, from the fire to the surgery and the recoveries from both.

Every day, the master and the servant worked on some form of magic or spell for the benefit of Carlisle's education. He grew more powerful and in tune with his magical self with every new thing he practiced or perfected. He practiced by himself quite often, which made Ansel a little suspicious, but they didn't mind; every witch had to learn on their own, they reminded themselves.

One day, Ansel had just come in from bringing hot chocolate to Finn, who was out shoveling snow, and headed to the study. Upon opening the door, they found Carlisle standing in midair about fifteen feet off the ground, putting a book away. "Ansel," Carlisle looked down and smiled, "I am glad you are here." He slowly floated down and walked over as Ansel came in.

"One thing I can't say I miss about having feet is the cold in your toes in the winter," the witch chuckled. "Why are you glad I'm here?"

Carlisle raised his eyebrows, appalled. "May I not be excited to see you?"

His master rolled their eyes. "Well, you said it like you have something for me to do."

"Well," the demon smirked, "I do."

Ansel rolled their eyes again as they leaned against the stone altar. "What is it?"

"Well, let me explain first," Carlisle said, "because you will want the explanation before you just... do it." Ansel folded their arms over their chest and crossed one leg over the other. "You're going to want to sit down." Ansel shrugged as they hoisted themselves up to sit on the altar, legs dangling and their crutches clattering to the floor. Carlisle shrugged and shook his head. "Fine." He ran a hand through his hair as he began. "I told you about Ashley's wife, and her gifts with infiltrating the minds of others, causing hallucinations, looking into thoughts, and having control of their bodies." Ansel could see where this was going but let the demon continue. "I think I have perfected the art of causing these hallucinations, but I need to test it on someone." Ansel thought he was done, but he continued, "I am going to induce a maze of sorts for you, an obstacle course. It is likely that the hallucinations his wife could induce will leave you trapped, and you will have to escape in it to leave it. So, that is what I will do to you."

"So, you're going to give me something to escape from in my mind?" Ansel guessed.

Carlisle nodded as he said, "Yes: me." The witch's jaw dropped. "If I distract you, you lose."

"I have to escape from you?" The demon nodded again. "Uch, that's hardly fair!"
"We can put a spell on you that will hide your location from me to make it a bit more fair, if you wish," the butler suggested. "I will be in your mind, however, so I will be able to find you more easily than if this were to occur in reality and I wasn't your butler. I will, in part, also be hallucinating, but I will be controlling it, like a programmer." He walked over and rested his hands on the witch's knees. "It'll be fun, like a little game."

Ansel's eyes narrowed as he stared up at the demon, who grinned softly despite the mischief in his eyes. "This is your payback, isn't it?"

"Of course," Carlisle chuckled. "Will you do it for me?"
"What is the point of knowing how to do this?"

"Well, I hope to use it on Ashley or his wife, or anyone else who crosses us," the demon explained. "I could even cancel them out, block them, if they try to use it on either of us."

The witch nodded slowly. "I see."

The demon's eyebrows knit together. "So..."

"Yes, I'll do it," the witch said with a slightly nervous chuckle.

Carlisle smiled. "All right. Lie down." He cradled the back of Ansel's head as the witch laid down over the altar, his hand acting as a pillow. He set his other hand on their diaphragm, his index and middle finger resting against their sternum. "It will feel like you're falling asleep, then waking up again, but it will all happen in the blink of an eye."

"So... I'm escaping you..."

"While trying to escape the maze, yes," Carlisle reaffirmed as his fingers played with the buzzed hair on the back of the witch's head, which they'd recently gotten freshly shaved. "Whenever you're ready, darkling."

Ansel blinked up at the ceiling and took a deep breath before nodding and saying, "I'm ready." The demon kissed their forehead, and it felt as though anesthesia had been injected into them once again, just without the burning arm. One moment, they were going under, losing their sense of self and consciousness, but, within the very next moment, they were completely jolting awake and alert.

Ansel was lying on their very own bed, staring up at its very own canopy. He sat up and grabbed his crutches from where they laid on the left side of the bed, where Carlisle slept and slid off of the bed before heading to their bathroom, just to see if there was anything off. The safe step tub and shower combo and the vanity were how Ansel left it. They looked in the mirror to see their reflection. They were still wearing a black turtleneck tucked into grey plaid trousers with thick black socks over their fake feet. They walked back out into the bedroom before leaving and heading into the hallway; this was not the same. Everything was bathed in red light, as if a light bulb had been covered in blood.

"So, it begins," Ansel whispered as he started heading down the corridor in the direction they knew as the quickest way to the front doors of the mansion.