Amy landed on the kitchen windowsill outside and pecked the glass.
She tried to peer through the stained glass.
From the outside, the house looked exactly how she remembered it.
It was as if barely anything had changed.
But the lights inside were dim. It felt quiet. Too quiet.
And so she waited.
She tilted her head to the side in question and tapped the glass again.
And again.
Then nothing.
She waited a little longer.
She knew she needed to be patient.
Just a little longer.
Then a flicker of movement occurred within the shadows, and a dark silhouette slowly moved closer to the window.
The window jolted as the handle was turned and opened.
A pair of piercing blue eyes met her red ones.
Disheveled black hair framed a tired face.
Never had she seen her dad look so hollow.
There were dark circles around his eyes.
He looked as though he had aged in a matter of days.
It was as if his shoulders carried a thousand burdens all at once.
Then for a brief moment, they both froze and stared at one another.
Prosper's expression softened.
"Amy?"
His voice almost broke the moment he realized it was her.
He quickly opened the window wider, and Amy flew inside, landing on the kitchen counter.
Her transformation occurred in a matter of seconds. Feathers retracted. Bones cracked and turned.
The owl disappeared, and sitting in its place upon the counter was the young woman he raised.
But before she could so much as utter a word to him, he pulled her into his arms.
Amy froze in place at first, but then she couldn't hold it in anymore and buried her face in his chest, holding onto the only thing that made sense in this godforsaken world.
"He's gone," her voice quivered.
"I know."
Prosper closed his eyes and held his daughter tighter.
Both of them knew that Engel was gone.
***
Time passed quickly, even though they felt still in place.
Amy pulled away, with her eyes red.
"I saw the news."
Prosper averted his gaze and stared at the floor in a daze.
"I know," he said softly.
And then he turned his gaze back to Amy.
"They all know."
"Who?"
His expression stilled.
"The police. The government. Everyone."
Silence followed - and then a hard knock at the door echoed through the house.
He scowled at the intrusion and glanced in the direction of where the front door was.
Then he looked back at Amy.
"Hide."
"What?"
"Now," the elf urged, leaving no time for them to argue.
Amy quickly transformed, adopting the form of a common house spider.
Prosper scooped her up into his hands and put her inside a plant pot, situated on top of an early 19th-century antique table next to the stairs. Amy stared up at him with her eight black eyes and watched him straighten his clothing before heading over to the front door.
He opened it, and a young man standing outside smiled.
"Agent Darkbourne."
"Detective Cross," Prosper's voice remained neutral and flat.
The man beamed again.
"I was beginning to think you were going to leave me standing out there all night."
The detective stepped inside without invitation and glanced around the home.
Prosper closed the door behind him.
"Hm."
The elf observed him carefully.
"Is something the matter, detective?"
Ethan looked around again.
"I expected something different," he shrugged.
"I don't know - considering who you were married to."
His eyes moved across the living room.
Family photographs.
Large wooden bookshelves.
Some may consider it rather homely.
"This is surprisingly normal."
Prosper didn't comment.
Ethan smiled at him.
"Please don't take offence. I just expected the home of the dreaded emperor to be a little more..."
He paused to search for the word on the tip of his tongue.
"Impressive."
"I prefer simplicity," Prosper said.
"Of course you do," the detective's grin turned snide.
Detective Cross walked further inside, taking in more of the rustic aesthetic.
"You know, with someone of your salary, you could update some of this."
The elf looked at the furniture and all of its memories.
"I prefer things the way they are."
The young detective chuckled.
"You really are different from him; I suppose it's like how the saying goes, opposites attract."
Prosper remained quiet.
Detective Cross studied his face.
"You really haven't slept much, have you?"
"I am alright."
"Sure you are," Cross remarked, seeming unconvinced.
"Can't say I blame you. Finding out your husband is the most wanted criminal mastermind in current history must be difficult."
Prosper's expression didn't shift. The detective's gaze wandered again and settled on one of the plant pots on the antique table.
He noticed a brown spider hidden amongst the leaves.
He tilted his head to the side.
"You don't mind spiders?"
Prosper followed his gaze.
"No."
"Most people hate them."
Prosper looked back at the detective.
"And most fear what they don't understand."
There was a brief pause between them.
A moment of tense silence.
The man continued to smile.
"I didn't expect a philosophy lesson."
"It was an observation," Prosper replied coldly.
The man laughed nervously, but he would remember this little exchange.
He reached into his folder.
"Unfortunately, I am not here to discuss what critters you choose to keep in your house."
Detective Cross handed him some papers.
"Your daughter, who also goes by the name of Fia Noir. Have you heard anything from her lately? She has been missing for over a day now."
Amy shrank further back beneath the leaves as the question hung in the air between them.
The elf looked into the detective's eyes and replied plainly.
"No, I haven't."
The lie came easily to him.
The detective's eyes searched the elf's expression for any hint of deception.
The man closed the folder.
"You know, Agent Darkbourne, everyone reacts differently when someone they love goes missing."
He turned on his heel and made his way over to the door.
Then he stopped.
"Some panic."
A pause.
"Some lie."
Prosper kept his expression even.
"And which do you believe I am doing?"
Ethan smiled again.
"I haven't decided yet."
The door opened, and he glanced back.
"Keep your phone nearby."
Prosper kept silent.
"We will be speaking again, sooner than you might think."
Then he left and closed the door behind him.
***
For several moments, which seemed to drag on for eternity. Prosper stood where he was. Not moving an inch until he felt for certain that Mr Cross was gone.
Amy slowly crawled out from the plant pot and reverted to her human form.
She looked at him.
"That was a close one."
Prosper sighed.
"Yes, it was. Too close for my liking."