My absolute favourite TWST character gets introduced in this one so I am very excited.

"Here." A soldier presented your clothes to you. They were folded neatly and stacked one on top of another. You took the bundle from him, avoiding eye contact.

"Thanks."

"Crowley will be here in ten minutes. Be ready by then." The soldier said before he exited the room. Then you were alone.

You immediately collapsed into a chair and placed your clothes on the table beside it, sobbing. The rain poured outside.

It was too much. It was all too much. You had held it in for as long as you could in the court, but now you were alone it came crashing down upon you in a tidal wave.

In less than 24 hours you had been caught committing the crime of the century, thrown into the dungeons, taken to court, sentenced to death, had a stranger appear and debunk everything you knew to be real, found out you were betrayed at only 4 years old, had been deemed unsafe for society, and your fate pawned off to the hands of a stranger.

You were scared. You were tired. You were overwhelmed. You were alone.

You sobbed harder. Your chest hurt. Your heart hurt. You felt your breathing becoming shallower, and you gripped your hair as if it would grip you to reality.

You almost died.

You were alone.

You didn't know what was going to happen.

Your chest felt tight.

You couldn't breathe.

Your heart pounded.

You struggled for air.

You were going to die.

You trembled, gasping for breath, but you couldn't seem to fill your lungs between your sobs. You squeezed your eyes shut.

I'm going to die and I'm alone there's no one to help me there's no one who cares-

Your body heaved, desperately trying to get a breath of air.

"It's OK." A vaguely familiar voice reassured you. "This may be scary, but you're OK."

Opening your eyes, you looked up. Though your vision was blurry with tears you recognised the person.

"Do you see me?"

You mustered up enough energy to give a nod.

"Good." He gave you a soft smile. "Describe me. How do I look?"

You tried to get a breath to answer but failed, another sob racking through you.

"Shh." He hushed you softly. "It's OK. You can do this."

"You're... blonde."

"Go on."

"You have blue eyes. And... golden shoulder pads."

He smiled with mirth. "Thank you for noticing."

You wheezed out a small laugh. "You're welcome."

"What else?"

"Green gloves."

"Good," he encouraged. "One more thing?"

"You have a long cape?"

He smiled at you tenderly. "How are you feeling?"

"...not good."

"No?" His eyebrows raised in amusement. "I thought the golden shoulder pads would have kicked in by now."

You gave a tired nod. "Try something collared next time."

He chuckled before his face fell. "I came in here to let you know that Crowley's come to collect you. I did knock, but there was no answer and since I heard crying-"

"It's OK." You assured him shakily.

He smiled at you. "I'll give you a moment to get changed and then take you down?"

"Sounds good." You took a deep breath and stood up, wiping the tears off of your face. "Thank you for... caring, I guess. Especially after... you know."

"Of course." He smiled at you. "After all, I can't just leave a lady in distress. Especially one who owes me a dance."

Before you could respond, Prince Elson gave you a cheeky smile and left you to change.

Elson took you down to meet Crowley once you were in your clothes: a simple brown capelet, a flowy white shirt that had a mandarin collar and was tied with a string, baggy black pants, and brown leather boots.

Crowley greeted you when you came down the stairs. "You look positively pulchritudinous!"

"I look what?" You were unsure whether or not to be offended.

"Thank you for bringing her down, Your Highness. Let's be off then!"

"Wait." Prince Elson walked down the stairs towards him, you following behind him. "I want your word that you will take good care of Y/n."

"Who?" Crowley gave a funny look. "Oh, you mean Ms. L/n. Of course. We'll be off now."

"I expect updates on your progress and her well-being." He told Crowley sternly.

"Yes, of course... now we really must be-"

"And if I suspect anything is wrong, I will be down there before you can-."

"Yes yes of course... with your Father's permission of course." Crowley smiled.

Elson clenched his jaw.

"Let's be off then!" Crowley said to you merrily and held out his hand. Hesitantly, you took it.

"It's been a pleasure to see you, Your Highness," Crowley told him. Elson only nodded unenthusiastically and then faced you.

"If there are any problems, write to me." You nodded.

"Bye." You said thankfully and gave him an awkward wave.

Elson opened his mouth to respond but you didn't hear it. Crowley waved his free hand, and the scene dissolved. The furniture seemed to fly around the room and the next thing you knew a tree flew in. You felt dizzy as you watched the room spin around you like you were falling down the fabled rabbit hole. A moment later, the spinning slowed to a halt.

You stood in front of a large cabin-like building with trees looming over you on either side. It had a cold stone pathway that led up to its ominous double doors.

"Welcome to Ramshackle," Crowley said conversationally as if he were introducing you to a new friend. He twirled his hand and his cane appeared, which he set on the ground with a click. You eyed it wearily. "Come inside! It's only a bit haunted."

"What."

"I'm only joking, Ms. L/n."

Despite its name meaning to "be in severe disrepair," Ramshackle seemed in good condition. When you stepped inside, it was clean and relatively modern.

"Now," Crowley said, heading up the stairs. "Let me take you to your room. We have a lot to discuss, but you need energy to do so."

As much as you wanted answers, you couldn't help but agree. You hadn't slept in the cells last night, and your earlier breakdown had left you exhausted. You trudged up the stairs after him.

"Here you are." He opened the door and you stepped inside.

The room had two floor-length windows with a fireplace between them. Above the fireplace was a mirror that was framed by two candlesticks and was beside a cuckoo clock. A green armchair and footstool next to a round table were beside the wardrobe on the left-hand side of the room, and a blank canvas on an easel was in the back corner on the right. A single bed was beside it, with a lamp on the headboard and a night table to the right.

"Why is that lamp so low?"

"Do you not like it?" Crowley lamented. "Ah, I suppose you'll just have to take the couch. I will be working downstairs-"

"I love this room!" You jumped on the bed.

"Ah, excellent!" He spread his arms and smiled at you. "I'll leave you to rest then. We will talk when you wake up." He turned to leave, closing the door behind him. "Sleep well."

You were out the second your head hit the pillow, dozing off into dreamland.

"Heh heh heh..."

You had never really been a deep sleeper. You had learned long ago that sleeping was when you were most vulnerable and had become sensitive to disturbance over the years, especially in unfamiliar environments. So when you heard an evil chuckle, you stirred almost immediately.

Still groggy from your exhaustion, you looked around. You saw nothing and rolled over to attempt to get back to sleep.

"Come inside! It's only a bit haunted."

You were awake.

With a screech you flew out of bed and ran into the hall, thundering down the stairs, and running into the living space.

"What's happening?" Crowley asked, appearing in front of you with his hands on his hips and a scowl.

"You said this place wasn't haunted!"

"It's not," He told you, baffled.

"Then what did I hear laughing?"

Crowley hummed and held his chin with his hand. "How peculiar. Where was this?"

"In the room you put me in!" You told him incredulously. "It woke me up!"

"Are you quite sure it was a ghost?"

"Well... no, but I heard something."

"I'm sure it's friendly."

"Not funny!"

Crowley didn't answer. He instead climbed up the stairs, leaving you standing in the living room feeling unsure whether or not to follow. You suddenly heard Crowley shouting.

"You pesky snollygoster! How many times must we repeat this until you give up?"

Curious, you slowly started to make your way up the stairs.

"Thought you had seen the last of me, eh? It's gonna take more than that to get rid of the Great Grim!"

You poked your head into your room fully expecting to see a six-foot-tall evil warlock who had appeared in your room, only to be met with what appeared to be a small grey cat.

"You talk as if I haven't successfully expelled you from the grounds twenty-six times already!"

"Who... what... is this?" You asked Crowley nervously, waving a hand at the furry monster. He sighs.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" It stomped his foot.

"His name is Grim. He enjoys breaking into Ramshackle with the misguided belief that I'll take him on as an apprentice."

"Oh." You moved to get a better look at him.

"Who's she?" Grim asked.

"This is Ms. L/n. She will be staying with me for the time being."

"Myah? You took her on as an apprentice?" Grim asked angrily. "I bet I'm twice the mage she is! No- three times more!"

"Actually, I don't have any magic." You admitted. Crowley looked surprised.

"Wha- and you took her on?" Grim complained.

"She's not my apprentice! I've wasted too much time with you already." Crowley scowled. "Away you go!" He waved his hand and Grim was lifted off the ground.

"Myah?" Grim shrieked. "Hey, no fair! Take this!"

You jumped back with a yelp as a wave of blue flames came closer. This is why you hated magic.

Crowley summoned a shield to stop the fire, before magically opening the window and defenestrating the creature.

"Waaaaaah!"

Crowley sighed. "Another problem dealt with..." He met your blank stare. "There is no need to fret, I cushioned his landing."

You nodded, now finding it a little humorous. "Oh."

"Regardless, it's good that you're awake. We have much to discuss!"

You groaned sleepily.

"You could do with a more upbeat attitude. After all, we're discussing your necklace first."

You nodded, tired but paying attention.

"Now as you have seen, your necklace is indeed imbued with magic. However, that enchantment does not control you."

Your eyes widened. "You mean-"

"That's right!" He grinned. "You've been in control all along! Isn't that wonderful? Now, what I wanted to talk to you about is-"

He stopped short after taking in your shocked expression.

"Perhaps we should discuss this over some tea. Do you prefer Earl Gray or English Breakfast?"