Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Penny had grown quite used to the feeling of bone-deep exhaustion over the last couple of years. 

First, it came after the death of her uncle, Ben. For months after that fateful night, Penny found herself staring up at the ceiling most of the time wondering if she would ever know true rest again. Her bloodshot eyes burned as she fought through her days just to end up in the same spot at night. Sleeping would only end in violent nightmares where her mind found every way imaginable to blame her for everything that went wrong, and she was left more tired than if she were to have just stayed awake.

Then, once she finally was able to sleep a solid 4 hours a night uninterrupted, a certain playboy, billionaire, philanthropist swept into her life – changing it for the better and the worse.

She loved Tony and never, for a second, could possibly regret having met him. However, the endless amounts of trauma that followed that fateful encounter did nothing to help her already suffering mental health. 

Because then, she was crushed by a building.

And then she died.

And then she came back.

And then Tony died.

And then Penny just felt lost.

And then Mysterio came around and destroyed her life.

And then she made the stupid choice to trust magic and ended up killing the most important person in her life while simultaneously shattering the multiverse.

Just add that to the long list of things Parker-Luck has ruined throughout her life. But, she’s trying not to think about that too much right now. Instead, her gaze is shifting between the fracturing sky above her and the wizard that’s trying to hold reality as they know it together. Unfortunately, her spidey-sense is informing her that he is failing miserably.

“What if everyone forgot who I was?”

The wizard’s eyes snapped to Penny. He looked frantic and frustrated and like he had no answers for how they could fix this mess. Penny knew though.

“What?”

“They’re coming here because of me, right?” Penny’s eyes were desperate. “Because I’m Penny Parker?”

Strange was silent. She could see the moment that the puzzle pieces started falling into place – the moment that he started to understand Penny’s line of thinking. The lines around his eyes deepened as his face pulled, taught with grief.

“So, cast a new spell. But this time, make everyone forget who Penny Parker is. Make everyone forget…”

She couldn’t breathe. She didn’t want to finish the sentence, but what other choice did they have? If doing this would fix the literal multiverse, what right did she have to deny that? Especially after she was the reason this was all happening to begin with.

“...me.”

Strange’s head immediately shook. “No.”

“But it would work.”

“Yeah, it would work.” It hurt Strange to say it. “But you’ve got to understand, that would mean that everyone who knows and loves you, we… we’d have no memory of you. It would be as if you never existed.”

Her eyes burned, but she refused to let the tears escape. This was what she had to do. This was her duty.

‘With great power, comes great responsibility.”

“I know.”

In that moment, a look of understanding and acceptance was shared between the two. Both of them could recognize a shitty situation for what it was. But both of them also knew that was the life of a hero. That was the life of somebody who sacrificed themselves for the greater good. It’s a life that neither of them necessarily chose, but what both of them accepted once the weight of their circumstances settled.

Strange’s lips pressed together, his eyes hard and glassy.

“Better go say your goodbyes then. We don’t have long.”

The words sat heavy in the back of Penny’s throat as she choked them out. “Thank you, sir.” 

Strange winced, “Call me Steven.”

Her lip quivered, a grimace falling over her features. “Thank you, Steven.”

Strange huffed, “Yeah, it still feels weird.”

She couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her before she turned to say her final goodbyes. “I’ll see you around!”

As she swung away through the wreckage, she pretended not to hear his response. If she acknowledged it, she doesn’t think she would be very successful in continuing to hold herself together.

“So long, kid…”

It was all a whirlwind after that. She couldn’t ruminate on it too much. Saying goodbye to Ned and MJ, knowing damn well that her two best friends would still be around, but would just have no memory of her. Thanking Peter 1 and Peter 2 for helping her – for bleeding for her – when they had nothing to gain, simply because “that’s what we do, Penny”. Watching as the fissures above began to weave themselves back together as the sun rose over a new day in a city that would no longer know the identity of the person who gave everything to protect it.

And then something changed.

Right when Penny thought ‘that’s it’ and was ready to swing back into the city to figure out where she was going from there, a thundering, pulsing energy echoed throughout her whole body. Her head spiked with a pain sharp enough to disorient her, sending her to her knees amongst the wreckage of Lady Liberty. 

“Wha-” the words died in her mouth. All of a sudden, the pain was all encompassing. All she could think of was the pounding in her skull and the throbbing echoing throughout her entire body. 

She knew she was injured, but this didn’t feel like a normal injury.

And then her spidey-sense started screaming.

And then she knew no more.

Chapter Text

Awareness crept back slowly, and with it came the unmistakable ache of cold. Wind whipped around her as the smell of petrichor permeated throughout the air. 

She was also wet. Cold and wet. Why was she cold and wet? Wasn’t she…

Her eyes fought to stay open. When she was finally able to focus her vision, she was met with the sight of mud. It took her a few minutes to put two-and-two together and realize that she was currently face-down in the dirt. In her peripheral vision, she could make out the distinct sight of trees flowing wildly in the wind around her. Her breathing was slow, and she couldn’t find the strength to lift her head up, let alone her body.

She was confused.. Besides the dull pounding in her head, her memories were fully intact. At least she thinks they were. After all, the last place she remembered being was near the Statue of Liberty right after…

She groaned loudly. A sharp stabbing pain nearly split her head open. The sound was eaten up by the howling of the wind and the thrumming of the rain. As much as she wanted to figure out where the hell she was, she still felt incredibly hazy and disoriented.

She needed to find some sort of shelter. Staying cold definitely isn’t going to help her right now, and staying wet and cold was a recipe for disaster with her spider DNA. 

So, with all the remaining strength she had left in her sopping, beaten, and bruised body, she dragged herself into a sitting position and tried to assess her surroundings. From what she could see through the rainy fog, she seemed to be on some sort of path. It didn’t look very well-maintained, but it was distinct enough that she could follow it with low-visibility. 

It was her only real option. She needed help, and distinct trails usually lead to some sort of civilization, right?

With those thoughts loosely floating around in her mind, she used a nearby tree to hoist herself up off the muddy ground and began walking. She felt herself fading fast, but did her best to stay lucid as she played the same mantra in her head over and over again.

“Just one foot in front of the other.” 

Something in the air shifted one night within the castle.

Every being within the walls of the castle felt it, but none of them could pinpoint what it might be. It was very odd, and nothing that any of them had ever felt in the many years of being confined there. They were all curious – wondering if maybe there was finally some change coming their way. 

“It feels like something is about to happen.”

“What if our time is up early?”

“What if it’s her?”

Cogsworth listened to all of the gossip as it floated as whispers through the halls. Nobody wanted to say anything outright. They’ve all learned not to get their hopes up after a decade of waiting and waiting only to be disappointed in the end.

Well, all except for a certain candelabra, that is.

“My dear friend, what if this is the universe telling us that our time has come!” His french accent thickened as his passion echoed through his words.

“Oh no, do not involve me in your ridiculous delusions Lumiere. And do not let the master hear you speaking this utter nonsense. His wrath is already never-ending. We do not need to add to his anguish.”

“But, this feeling – you cannot tell me that you have not felt it too. We all have! Something is going to change. I just know it…”

Cogsworth ignored him as he continued to clean the main entry room. Master had always made it known that none of them are required to keep up with chores around the castle anymore. Master had lost all hope for himself and the rest of the members of this castle long ago, but he was alone in that regard. They all secretly still held out hope that the woman of their Master’s dreams would swoop in and save the day. She would fall in love with him – despite his gruff demeanor and even gruffer personality – and in turn, break the curse and set them all free.

None of them would willingly admit this out loud, though. The few times those types of day-dreams slipped in the beginning, Master lost himself to his anguish and destroyed a large portion of his personal quarters.

They learned their lesson after that.

“Lumiere, you must stop speaking of this so freely! If Master-”

He was suddenly cut off by the distant sounds of metal crashing. Only, it wasn’t coming from Master’s personal wing like they would have expected it to.

It was coming from outside.

Somebody was on the castle grounds.

Both castle inhabitants looked at each other in shock. Neither moved, straining to listen for any further signs of life. The weather was brutal tonight, so it could have just been a particularly sharp gust of wind or even a wild animal trying to seek shelter from the storm. After all, there was a pretty active pack of wolves in the area that made their appearance from time to time.

But then the sound of slow footsteps trudged up the path to the front door, sending both cursed men into a panic. 

“A person?! What did I tell you, Monsieur? You never listen to me!”

“Be quiet! Oh dear, what are we supposed to do? They can’t know we’re here.”

“Why not? What if it is our dear Prince’s, Princesse charming?”

“Don’t be ridiculous Lumiere. What if it is a thief coming to steal the Master’s valuables?!”

“Tu te fous de ma gueule? Why would somebody come all the way here in this weather to thieve?”

The footsteps finally reached the door, and Cogsworth dragged Lumiere beside him so that both of them were side-by-side on one of the entry tables across from the front door .

“Shhh, be quiet.”

Before Lumiere could respond, there was a knock at the door. Both froze once again. Having a visitor here at all was so far out of the realm of possibility for the members of the castle, and for them to be knocking?

“I did not know thieves knocked. That must be something that has changed since we've been stuck here.”

“Shh!”

It was silent – no more knocks on the door, and no more footsteps. Just silence.

They collectively held their breath as the door opened into the quiet, dark room. The only light was coming from the moon that peaked through the thick clouds raining down outside and the few lanterns lit for visibility throughout the castle. 

The figure that leaned into the doorframe was short in nature. Their body was lean, and whatever they were wearing was skin-tight, silhouetting them against the minimal light coming from outside. 

It was hard to make out any distinguishing features on them. While distinctly petite, their body looked fairly androgynous, and the way they were hunched over into themselves – arm wrapped protectively around their ribs as if that alone would hold them together – didn’t help their case either. All they could make out was shoulder-length, messy locks of hair falling limply around the figure’s face, but even then, with how dark it was, it still could have been anyone.

As the two continued to scan the figure for any signs of a threat, the person took one more step into the castle, only to fall promptly onto the tiles of the entry-way with a wet Thump!.

“Oh my…”

Penny blacked out a few times on the way over, but somehow she managed to find a castle (a literal freaking castle) in the midst of this dense labyrinth of a forest.

She had to have been walking for a couple of hours. Each step she took drained a little more of her already empty energy reserves, and by the time she came stumbling through the large metal gates of front entrance, she didn’t even have the mental capacity to question if this would be considered trespassing considering she was only 10 minutes away from succumbing to the cold.

She desperately needed help.

All she knew was that her body had stopped shivering some time ago, and her brain was beginning to get foggy in a way that scared her. 

Despite all of that, she still remembered her manners and knocked on the giant, ornate front door. The entry-way was some-what protecting her from the weather, but her skin still felt like it was vibrating after being under the constant thrumming of the rain for the past who-knows-how-many hours.

After hearing no response, her sense of pride and respect fell short to her subconscious need for survival and she just decided to go inside and deal with the consequences later – preferable when she wasn’t five minutes away from hypothermia settling in.

The door gave way with no problems, but her vision was going patchy as she tried to step inside.

She blacked out for a few moments, waking up face-down on the tile of the castle’s entrance. 

A rattled groan escaped her. She couldn’t focus. It was dark, but she could make out a candle and some lanterns strewn out around the room. Otherwise, the room was cold and nearly empty.

Not that she could feel the cold anymore, anyways. Her body was starting to go numb in all the wrong places. It was getting harder and harder for Penny to keep her eyes open and her brain active enough to try and find safety.

She just needed to get warm. If she couldn’t do that…

After fading in and out of consciousness a few times, Penny’s nose twitched as the pungent smell of something ashy and warm floated across her senses. 

Even in her half-conscious state, she was able to recognize it for what it was.

A fire.

Penny felt almost detached from her body as it began moving towards the source of warmth. It was almost like she was on the outside looking in. Her muscles flexed and shifted on auto-pilot as her arms stuck to the tile, practically dragging the rest of her nearly lifeless body across the floor. The more she moved, the more she could feel the energy of the fire. It was calling to her – telling her to ignore everything else. 

Ignore the short breaths and pain in her chest every time she inhaled just a bit too deeply.

Ignore the blood trickling down her face from the previous battle she faced.

Ignore her spidey-sense warning her of the predator lurking nearby, watching her anxiously as she pulls herself into a big armchair that’s perched conveniently right in front of the warm flames.

Ignore it all and rest. It will warm her now.

She may heal.

And then she was gone.

Chapter Text

The figure lay motionless before them. Both Cogsworth and Lumiere stared at the lump of black fabric on the floor in wary shock.

“Is it dead?”

Cogsworth’s clock arms waved up over his wooden head in frustration. “They are not just an it, Lumiere! They are quite visibly a person!”

“Okay…” Lumiere drew out, the sarcasm lacing his voice causing his french accent to thicken. “Are they dead?”

“I do not know, Lumiere! Why don’t you go look for yourself? Actually, do not touch them! I must inform Master of this… visitor at once! Yes, he will know what to do.”

“The storm has soaked them to the bone, Cogsworth. We cannot just leave them here while you run off to find Le Maître! We must get them by the fire at once! Their life could very well depend on it.”

“And how would you like to accomplish that? Do you propose we attempt carrying them there? Huh?”

“Don't be smart with me now Cogs-”

A sudden crackle of fire echoed from the hallway to their right. They both turned to see their master’s main sitting-room fireplace ablaze, its light bleeding past the tall mahogany frame and illuminating a path from the entrance toward the waiting heat.

The rolling of a cart sounded against the empty walls of the entrance, a warm voice following close behind. 

“If you boys wouldn’t mind saving your useless arguments for another time, I believe we need to figure out a way to move our guest towards the fireplace, yes?”

Lumiere jumped off of his previous perch and hopped over to the tea cart that was now sitting between the slumped body and the sitting-room's entrance. “Ahh, Madame Potts! Just in time – as always – to light some sense onto our otherwise senseless lives! Where would we be without you?”

Mrs. Potts looked at him, unimpressed. “You should know by now, Dear, that flattery will get you nowhere with me.”

A soft groan interrupted him, returning everybody’s attention to the mysterious person passed out on the floor. Only, they were no longer fully unconscious. Their head was now lifted, eyes eerily half-lidded, and pointed in the direction of the fire's warm embers. Cogsworth followed his friend onto the floor,  joining the others as they all watched in both horror and mild fascination as the body began to drag itself towards the flames.

“Oh my… this is quite sad to watch. Is there any way we can help them?”

“Oui, c'est ça.”

“I should be retrieving the Master so he can take care of this intruder before they wake up and decide to act out whatever foul crimes they came here to commit!”

“Cogsworth, do you hear yourself right now?”

“Yes, this lad doesn’t look like he could hurt a fly. In fact, the poor thing looks to be on death’s door.”

"Then how would you explain the odd clothing they are wearing? The lad looks like a spy for heaven's sake!"

"What spy would wear such bright colors?"

Ruff! Ruff!

“Ah!” Lumiere exclaims. “Sultan, perfect timing! We need help transporting them to the fireplace. Do you think you could help us out before we really do have a dead body on our hands?”

Sultan barked happily, wagging his tassel in excitement. He ran over to the body on the floor and pushed himself underneath it as the person continued to try and drag themselves forward. It took a few tries, but eventually, the person had subconsciously caught onto the fact that whatever was trying to crawl under them was indeed trying to help them. So, they spread their hands out across the fabric of Sultan’s back and didn’t move an inch as Sultan quickly pulled them the rest of the way to the warmth of the other room.

“Oh no, no, no. This is not a good idea. Not at all. This is Master’s favorite sitting-room. They should not be in here!”

Once reaching the room, Sultan dragged the figure as close to the fireplace as possible, which just so happened to be…

“No! No, no, no. Not the Master’s chair.”

Ruff! Ruff!

The figure released their hold on Sultan’s back before crawling into said chair and curling into a tight ball. Lumiere and Mrs. Potts had followed Sultan into the room, and were watching closely as the figure wrapped their arms tightly around their knees, pulling them deeply into their chest. They hid their face in their arms in what looked to be an attempt at preserving body heat, but ultimately prevented any of the residents of the castle from catching a glimpse of their current guest.

“I’m not seeing this. I’m not seeing this.”

“Shh! You are disturbing our guest’s beauty sleep.”

Chapeau, the coat rack, hobbled over to said guest and wrapped a thick blanket around them – to which they immediately snuggled deeply into.

“No! Do not allow them to get more comfortable than they already are! They are not allowed here.”

A child-like chuckle came from the tea-cup sitting beside Mrs. Potts. The tea-cup, Chip, hopped as close to the ball of mystery as they could without hopping off of the serving cart, a look of wonder in his eyes. “Who’s this Mama? They look like a cat curling up for a nap!”

BOOM!

The sound thundered throughout the castle. The door to the sitting-room flew open and struck the wall with a thunderous crack, causing a violent gust of wind to sweep through and snuff out every last flame. The room fell silent, not a single occupant willing to make a noise that could catch the attention of the one who just entered the room.

Their Master. The Beast. 

A threatening growl permeated through the air. If any of the beings in the room still had a human body, it would have sent goosebumps down their arms.

“Uh oh…” Chip muttered before being shushed and pushed gently behind Mrs. Potts. Sultan whimpered and cowered away under the chair that their guest was currently curled up tight in.

Standing in the door on all fours was their Master and the owner of the castle. He was truly a sight to behold. His large, beastly form stood seven feet tall when fully erect, but even crouched down, ready to attack, he was still bigger than any animal one would see in the wild. His sharp canines glimmered in the light as his narrow, blue eyes spat vitriol at anyone who dared meet them. He sniffed the air aggressively, seemingly trying to find the source of one specific scent.

“There’s a stranger here.” The deep voice snarled. The others in the room looked nervously between each other. Each of them were silently trying to convince the next to step forward and explain the situation, but none of them wanted to deal with it.

Eventually, Lumiere hopped forward.

“Master, allow me to explain. This gentleman arrived at our door only to immediately collapse. We believe they may be injured-”

The Beast roared.

Lumiere’s flame burned out as he flinched backwards.

Cogsworth took this as his opportunity to intervene. “Master, I would like to take this moment to say I was against this from the start. It was all his fault. I tried to stop them. Would they listen to me? No, no-”

Another thundering roar cut him off. He jumped in fright and dived under the decorative rug for protection.

They were all in so much trouble.

“Who are you?! What are you-”

The Beast leaned over the armchair menacingly. A rumbling sound was caught in the back of his throat as he stood - ready to attack - but then he noticed something that stopped him in his tracks. 

The lump in the chair – covered fully in one of his blankets – wasn’t moving. 

Despite how loud he had been. Despite the resounding Bang! of the door as he made his entrance – ready to snuff out whoever dared to trespass on his castle grounds – or the animalistic growls that emanated from his chest as he prepared himself to fight and protect, the figure curled up in his armchair did not move an inch.

He huffed in frustration, turning back to the other occupants of the room who all jumped at his sudden attention, their figures growing stiff. “Why aren’t they moving?”

Lumiere, once again, was the brave soul who decided to shakily hop forward. “Y-you see sir, we were trying to tell you. T-this person had knocked at our front door, only to collapse on the floor. They’ve been unconscious since. We don’t know who they are.”

The Beast’s anger waned slightly as he looked back at the person below him. The blanket completely covered them, so he couldn’t make out any defining features other than the fact that they were small – small enough to curl up perfectly on the cushion of his personal armchair without spilling out the sides. 

The others watched cautiously as their Master continued to inspect the person before him. They watched as his nose lifted minutely, sniffing the air for any indicators as to whether this person was a threat. 

After just a moment, his eyes narrowed again before he leaned forward and inhaled deeply where the blanket was covering the person’s head.

“I smell blood – a lot of it.”

Mrs. Potts gasped, tucking Chip further behind her so that he couldn’t see the scene in front of them. Lumiere leaned closer, his flame bursting to life again in response to his curiosity. Cogsworth peaked out from under the rug, his eyes now shining with a sense of concern that hadn’t really settled in until now.

Nobody said a word. They all waited with bated breath to see what their Master would do next.

The Beast leaned back from where he had been investigating with his sense of smell. It was stronger ever since he had been turned into this monster, but he never really had a use for it until now. After all, they haven’t received any “guests” at the castle in the past ten years.

He reached a claw out to pull the blanket away from the person’s face, finally allowing everybody to see who had made their way into their home..

The Beast’s breath caught in his throat.

Curled into a fold in the blanket was the face of a young woman. She couldn’t have been any older than he was – in fact, she looked a few years younger than him. Her brown hair – matted with dirt and blood – fell in slick waves around her face. Her fair skin was covered in scrapes and debris, and a large cut ran across her freckled cheek, curving onto her forehead. Her eyes were closed, but upon closer inspection, they moved frantically behind her shut lids. Her face was sewn into a painful expression, and if the state of her face was any indication as to what the rest of her body looked like, he could understand why.

The rest of The Beast’s anger bled out of him quickly at the woman’s current state. 

The longer the blanket was stripped away from her, the more she began to shiver. He cringed as her teeth began to rattle, the sound a reminder of the fire that had burned out upon his entrance.

He was stuck though. This woman clearly needed help. Nobody had been to this section of woods, let alone this castle, for over a decade now. The fact that this woman just appeared out of nowhere - and in such a poor state - makes him believe that she could have either been abandoned out here or was running away from something. Although, that's not even taking into consideration the odd clothing that clung tightly to her figure. Maybe she was some sort of spy sent by the town, or hell, even the witch, to destroy The Monster once and for all.

Or...

Maybe this could be the woman he’s been waiting for. 

Maybe she is the one who is supposed to finally break the curse.

He didn't linger too long on that last option. The part of him that held out any sort of hope for such fantasies had died a long time ago. He needs to focus on the facts, and the fact is: this person trespassed onto his property and into his home. They are a possible threat to him and to the only people he has left to protect. And what kind of protector would he be if he let an unknown person remain unguarded before he could figure everything out?

He wouldn't take any chances. 

Sounds of shock and excitement rang out around the room. Chip was the first to voice his thoughts as he tried hopping out from behind his mother.

“Is that a girl?!”

“Yes darling, it seems to be.”

“A girl! It’s a girl! She’s here to break the curse!” Lumiere chanted joyously while still being respectful and keeping his voice down, as to not wake her. Although, if The Beast’s roar wasn’t enough to bring her out of whatever catatonic state she was in, he doubted that a little bit of chatter would do the trick.

The Beast scoffed and picked up the woman. Despite his fears and frustrations, he was gentle with her – more gentle than he probably should have been. The blanket fell away, but at the last minute, he made the decision to grab it and bring it with him. After all, the sound of her teeth chattering all night would drive him mad.

“Um, Sir? Where are you taking her? We can get a room cleaned up for her rapidement! I have just the room in mind too. I just need to find Mademoiselle Plumette and I’m sure we can have it ready-”

“She’s going to the dungeons,” he cut off Lumiere, sending his jaw to the ground. 

“W-what do you mean, sir?" Cogsworth interjected, also quite baffled at the Beast's declaration. "As much as I do not trust her, it is clear she is hurt. You cannot simply throw her into a cell. She won’t make it in there.”

Mrs. Potts nodded slowly, “He’s right, Dear. She needs to have her injuries tended to and a warm place to sleep. She doesn’t seem to be handling the cold very well.”

Lumiere finally broke out of his stupor, jumping forward, and trailing after the Beast. “Monsieur! Please, think about this! This could be her: The one to break the curse! I don’t think locking her up will be a good start to this relationship, wouldn’t you agree?”

The Beast’s teeth clenched as he kept walking towards the stairs that lead up to the dungeons where he would leave his prisoner until she awakens. Then, he will find out who she is and why she’s really here.

He ignored the many protests slowly faded behind him.

He no longer has the time or energy for false hope.

Chapter Text

“Oh my, that didn’t go well, now did it?” 

Mrs. Potts was the first to break the silence. Sultan slowly came out from under the chair, his tassel tucked between his legs. After confirming that there was no longer any posing threats, he scurried off to his bed, having officially had enough of tonight’s drama.

The others didn’t notice his absence as they stared off down the hall their master had taken the young women down.

“What are we going to do? There is une jeune femme magnifique right under his nose and he is about to throw her into the dungeon! Our Master has gone crazy!”

“Oh, stop that Lumiere. He’s not crazy, he’s just scared and protective of us. You can’t blame him. Her circumstances are a bit suspicious after all.” Mrs. Potts sighed sadly. “Although, one can’t help but feel terrible for the poor girl. She’s injured and clearly far from home. I don’t know how she is supposed to recover in one of those dingy cells…”

They sat in silence for a moment, all contemplating different details surrounding this peculiar situation.

“Well,” Cogsworth dusted his hands off, “looks like there’s nothing left for us to do here. Master clearly has it handled, so lets-”

“You’re right, meilleur ami! We must go help the mademoiselle!”

Cogsworth stopped short, an expression of disbelief pointed at the candellabra. “I said no such thing! We are not-”

Before he could finish, he was dragged off by an enthusiastic Lumiere. Mrs. Potts watched the struggle until both of her close friends were out of sight. She sighed and looked down at her son. “I have a feeling things are about to get a lot more lively here, Chip.”

Her only response was her boy’s sweet laughter.

When Penny started to come to, it was with a splitting migraine and a strong feeling of disorientation.

The pain in her head, however, barely had time to linger as it was soon drowned out by the excruciating agony that flared across her abdomen.

She hissed as the pain radiated and pulsed, cursing under her breath.

Her eyes blinked open. It took a few tries. She must have been out for a while. She was expecting the blinding sensation of bright lights that has been a hindrance to her ever since the spider bite, but was pleasantly surprised when, instead, she was met with a dim darkness.

Not that she didn’t appreciate Mr. Stark’s medical staff and all their hard work at keeping her… well, alive. But hospital lighting sucked when it came to super senses.

Looking at her surroundings now, she could safely say that she wasn’t in any sort of medical facility. Unless that medical facility was a secret lab with shady scientists that were planning to cut her open to experiment on. Otherwise, no licensed medical facility was passing any sort of OSHA inspection in these conditions.

The walls and ceiling were made out of a dark, sturdy dry stone that fit together like complex puzzle pieces. The only light was that of the moon streaming in through the small hole in the wall – assumingly a window – and the two lanterns hanging by the entrance of the…

Cell. This dusty, tiny room enclosed by nothing but a wooden door with some metal locks on it was a cell. She was locked in a cliche-looking, dungeon-esque cell.

God, not again.

She let out a low groan as she forced herself up into a sitting position. She had been placed on a mattress of hay with a thin blanket covering her trembling form. Ever since the final battle at the Statue of Liberty, her suit’s functions were no longer working properly. Something must have gotten damaged during the whole “multiverses colliding” situation, because Karen was nowhere to be found and her suit’s heating function all but left the chat.

Not that her suit would remember her anyways…

Penny shook her head. No need to think about that right now. One problem at a time. And right now, that problem is that she somehow ended up in what looks like a medieval prison cell with absolutely no memory of how she got there. All she can recall was Strange - sorry, Steven, casting the final spell. Then, there was the cold rain, trees, and darkness. She remembered aching pain and then warmth.

And then she was here.

So really, she knew absolutely nothing.

Taking a glance around, she figured that her only option was to either crawl out the window or break out of the room through the door. And considering her entire side felt like it was on fire, she didn’t think it would be the safest idea to try wall-crawling down the side of a building at this current moment.

Through the door it was then. 

Slowly, she pulled herself onto her feet. She moved slowly, giving her body time to adjust to the new position. She didn’t feel it during the big fight, but she had to have broken a few ribs or something. Or maybe she was stabbed by a piece of shrapnel that she hadn’t noticed before. Either way, the pain in her abdomen should be healing itself by now, and since it isn’t, something had to be wrong.

She really needs to take a look at it soon.

First, she needed to get out of the cell.

She shuffles quietly over to the door and carefully tests its strength. There’s a square carved out of the bottom of the door with metal bars preventing any sort of escape, but allowing for some sort of connection to the hallway outside the cell. She should probably crouch down to take a look and see if she spotted anything that could be of use to her, but she was in too much pain to think clearly. 

So instead, she took a quick listen for any signs of life nearby. She thought she heard some faint whispering, but there were no distinct signs of a heartbeat, so she figured it was probably her pain-riddled mind playing tricks on her. Ignoring her possible delusions, she grabbed the door at the first points her hands could find purchase on and pushed with just enough of her strength to snap the metal locks and pop the door off its hinges.

She remained still for a half a minute or so – waiting to see if anybody heard her escape. When she heard nothing but silence, she continued to step into the hallway of the… dungeon? She really didn’t want to say dungeon, but this very much felt like a dungeon. She looked back and forth down the dimly-lit hallways before sighing and deciding to head to the left. Realizing she still had the cell’s door in her hands, however, she gently placed it back in its spot before wrapping her arm around her aching abdomen and slowly creeping off in the most logical direction she could think to go in.

Surprisingly, her spidey-sense was basically non-existent right now. This made her a little more confident in the fact that whoever had locked her up in here was probably gone at the moment, making this the perfect time for her to escape.

She made it about ten steps from the cell when she heard the whispering again. Only, this time she was able to make out what it was saying. 

“Tell me I imagined that, Cogsworth, because to me it looked like that tiny mademoiselle ripped a reinforced dungeon door right off its hinges,” a heavily accented voice whispered in a panic. A distinctly British voice responded.

“Shh! If you keep speaking so loudly, she will hear you!”

“She won’t hear us- hey! Stop pushing me!”

“Then stop making so much noise! We shouldn’t even be up here.”

“I told you we needed to help her-”

Taking note that her spidey-sense was still as quiet as a mouse, she cleared her throat, “Um, hello? Is someone there?”

Both voices went quiet.

A minute passed with no response. Penny’s side suddenly flared with another wave of pain, sending her careening into the wall. She heard a faint gasp, but all she could do was curse, taking a deep breath in hopes that the pain would subside enough for her to confront whoever was hiding in the shadows.

It took her a moment, and fortunately, nobody used that moment as an opportunity to hit her while she was down. She was grateful for that at least.

After the throbbing dulled to a quiet pulsing, she was finally able to gather herself enough to speak again.

“I-I know you’re there. You’re not exactly as quiet as you think you are.”

It was silent again. And then, the sound of metal hitting the stone floor had her practically breaking her neck to turn and see who was there in the room with her.

“What are you doing?! She’s going to see you!”

“That is the point, Cogsworth. Don’t be dense.”

“I’m no- the Master will be angry if he finds out what we are doing!”

“And what are we doing? Taking a stroll through the dungeons? From how I see it, meilleur ami, we just so happened to be walking by when we heard a noise, and that noise just so happened to be the mademoiselle making a quick escape! We did nothing wrong.”

The two voices continued arguing in a low whisper-yell. 

Meanwhile, Penny – still holding onto the wall for dear life – was stood, wide-eyed. Her body had ignored both her fight and flight reflexes and went straight to freeze. Her brain felt like it was doing cartwheels trying to make sense of what she was seeing.

Maybe she hit her head and all of this was some wild, delusional hallucination. Or maybe, she had died (again) after the battle at the Statue of Liberty, and this was some sort of pre-death dream to welcome her into the after-life.

Because how else would one logically explain away the existence of a talking candelabra.

Yes. That’s exactly what she was seeing: a candelabra… with eyes... and a mouth… speaking…

Right.

She clenched her eyes shut and slid down the wall until she was sitting with one leg out and one tucked to her chest. Her arms pulled the leg into her chest and she tucked her face into her folded arms. “Oh my god, I’m going insane…”

“Ahh, non, non—do not trouble yourself, ma chere. You are quite sane. It is we who are… exactly as you see.”

She slowly pulled her face away from her arms and looked back towards the… candelabra. Yep, she wasn’t imagining it.

It- he was staring at her with a smooth, sly look in his eyes and a wide, cocky smile spread across his metallic features. Then, before she had time to fully process one talking household item,  there was suddenly two of them.

A small clock had now joined the mix.

“Lumiere, enough of this! We must find the Master this instant! The intruder has escaped her confinement with nothing but her bare hands and you are speaking to her like she is our friend! Do you think anything through?!”

‘Intruder?’ Penny internally questioned. Alarm bells were starting to ring in her head, but not in a spidery sort of way. It was more of a “what sort of huge misunderstanding did I get myself involved in this time?” sort of red flag.

“Wait, intruder? You guys literally had me locked in a cell. I didn’t ask to be there.”

Both objects turned to her. The clock looked to be incredibly stressed, and the candle just seemed a bit shocked to hear her voice at all.

The candle snapped out of it fairly quickly though, as he hopped over to stand a few feet in front of her. “Mademoiselle, I must offer you my deepest apologies for how you have been treated ever since arriving at our estate. Such treatment is unworthy of a guest. Please, let us make it up to you.”

Her mouth fell open to speak, but then remained open as the candle bowed deeply to her. 

‘What the hell is happening right now?’

“No!” the clock cut in, hopping forward to plant himself squarely in front of the candle. He pointed an accusatory metal arm at Penny. “You were placed in that cell for a very good reason! You trespassed upon our property, arrived in a most suspicious state, and then had the audacity to collapse in our entrance hall—covered in blood, no less! No doubt you stumbled upon our land while committing some sort of heinous crime, and are now trying to use our home to seek refuge. We will not accept this!”

Penny winced. Yeah, she wasn't going to lie - that sounded hella suspicious. She'd probably throw herself in a cell too if she were in their shoes.

“Well, when you say it like that-” She pulled herself up to face them properly. “I'll admit, that does sound pretty bad. I don’t really remember much of what happened to lead me here, but I promise I'm not up to anything shady. I think I’m just a bit lost, so I would be more than happy to just be on my wa-”

“Non!” the candle interjected. “You are hardly in a condition for dramatic exits, and outside there is a storm that shows no mercy. Stay here, rest, be warm—and later, we talk, yes?”

The clock pace-palmed (well, he did whatever a clock’s version of a face-palm would be) before muttering to himself, “Why do I even try?”

“I really don’t think-”

“Please, ma chere, I insist! The members of this household would be honored to welcome you as our guest! Let me show you to your room.”

'My room?' She hesitantly glanced back at the broken door that leaned against the entrance of her previous cell. Before she could voice her question, however, the candle started moving away from the cell and towards the direction she had previously assumed led to some sort of exit. 'Did he mean an actual room?' Penny couldn't think of a single reason for these beings to be so accommodating to somebody they barely knew and who they had just previously assumed to be an intruder. Although, the clock still seemed to not trust her as far as he could throw her. The candle was being suspiciously nice to her.

As skeptical as she was about this whole situation though, she couldn't deny that a nice bed to sleep in sounded heavenly right now. She was in so much pain, and was sore in places she didn't even know existed. She could definitely use a good night's sleep to re-set and recover a bit...

She had two real options here. One, she could deny his offer and leave. This would probably be the sane thing to do, considering she was holding a full conversation with a talking house-hold appliance from the early 20th century. However, he was right. She was injured – her side was still on fire and her head was still pounding quite intensely behind her eyes – and the weather, from what she could remember of her trek over here, was not desirable in the least.

Leaving and trying to traverse those kinds of conditions without her suit functioning properly would probably kill her. 

And, while the clock seemed to have a major chip on his metaphorical shoulder, both seemed friendly enough. Plus, neither set off her spidey-sense.

She had some questions though before she agreed to anything.

“How many of you are there here?” She asked.

The candle smiled brightly. “Ah, there are not many of us left, it is true. But introductions can wait, hmm? For now, you must rest.”

“Wait,” she interjected. “I have some more questions.”

The candle seemed to tense at her statement. She could assume why. However, she wasn’t planning to touch that delicate subject right now. It was one thing to have a conversation with a sentient object in a medieval looking castle in the middle of nowhere. It was another to try and wrap her head around the history of said object and how they came to be trapped inside anything other than a sack of flesh like the rest of the human population.

Yeah, she didn’t need to open up that Pandora’s Box of trauma right now.

Instead, she asked, “Are you the owner of the castle? If not, I would like to speak with them directly.”

It was very clear by the dumbfounded looks on both the figures' faces that they were not expecting this question. Penny, however, did not falter as she looked at them expectantly.

It was the candle that spoke first. 

“Non… we are not the owners of the estate. Our Master, however… Maybe it’s best that you rest and wait until tomorrow for introductions.”

She immediately shook her head in disagreement.

“No, I’m sorry but I was raised better than that. I’ve already seemed to cause a lot of stress for you all. I am not going to just make myself at home in somebody else’s house without their permission. Considering I was literally locked inside of a prison cell less than 5 minutes ago, you have to excuse me for not believing that my presence is welcome here.”

The clock finally spoke again. “I can’t believe I am saying this, but I agree with the young lady. I’ve been telling you this whole time, Lumiere. The Master is not going to like the fact that she is outside her cell wandering around without him knowing.”

The candle – whom she now knew to be called Lumiere – contemplated this before groaning. With a loud sigh, he threw his lit hands up in the air in exasperation. “Ah, tres bien! I was hoping to give the Master’s anger some time to cool, but – how do you say – such is life. Come, come. I did mean it when I said you needed rest, you know? You look three steps away from keeling over where you stand.”

Penny nodded firmly. She used the wall for balance as she pushed herself back onto her feet.

Now, to meet the “master” of the house. Hopefully, once she explained her situation a bit he would be understanding. Both of the beings in front of her seemed to respect him a lot, so he couldn’t be that bad, right?

Chapter Text

As Penny followed Lumiere and his clock friend (Enemy? Frienemy? Lover? She really couldn’t tell) out of the dungeon and across the castle grounds, she took this as her opportunity to observe her surroundings and get a lay of the land.

And man was she lost on where she could possibly be.

The architecture surrounding her has a very strong gothic, European look to it. The dramatic height of every room, heavy presence of stone-work, and pointed, dark arches lended to this idea spectacularly. It reminded her of some of the historical points she got to see on her trip to Europe…

So the building itself made her think that maybe she ended up in some European countryside. But then, the people in front of her were not actually people – at least visually they weren’t. They were definitely sentient. They had thoughts, feelings, and were able to express themselves just fine. The only thing that was off about them was that instead of having the body of a human-being, their conscience seemed to be confined to those of household objects.

This had Penny’s mind racing. 

Was she in some sort of mirror dimension? Was this like the place Doctor Stra- Steven had brought her to? No, there weren’t any other people there, so that didn’t make sense. Was this some sort of weird, magical multiverse where people were objects and objects were people? 

And don’t even get her started on the accents. While Lumiere spoke in a thick, French-accented English, his buddy (still don’t know if that’s accurate or not) was very clearly British. Both spoke in a dignified, posh manner. Their tone and word-choice was completely different to Penny’s. She would even go so far as to say that it reminded her of the way Thor and Loki would speak.

Or is she in her same universe, but somehow ended up in an area that hasn’t aged? Maybe this castle is cursed and everybody in it is frozen in time. Or maybe she somehow end up in the past.

She really needed some answers. And considering she was technically a freshly escaped convict, she doubted these people would be willing to give her any. Despite Lumiere’s unfounded enthusiasm to keep her here for the night, she could tell they didn’t necessarily trust her.

Maybe that was an understatement. They definitely didn’t trust her. Lumiere, maybe? The clock and the “master” however? Yeah, not a chance.

“So,” she starts, her voice feigning nonchalance. Might as well try to get some intel before she meets her jailor. She knows absolutely nothing about this guy, yet she was about to try and convince him to let her stay over as a guest in his home for the night. Safe to say, she wasn’t feeling too confident going into this meeting. “This master of yours… is he also- um… like you? Or is that – sorry, I’m not sure how to ask that. Was that rude? I’m sorry.”

‘God, that couldn’t have come out any worse. Great job, Penny.’

The clock just sighed at her blunder. Lumiere, on the other hand, let out a hearty laugh.

“Ah, no mademoiselle. The Master is not exactly like us. His circumstances are unique, but he is still very much himself… just not as you’d expect.”

‘Yeah, that’s not cryptic at all.' She didn't have the brainpower to try and unpack that right now.

The clock clears his throat. “I should probably mention, miss, that it may be wise to err on the side of caution during this meeting. As I have already made abundantly clear, the Master is not fond of surprises… or strangers.”

“Trying to scare her off already Cogsworth, dear? Really, you should be ashamed of yourself.”

A new, warm, gentle – also distinctly British – voice brought Penny’s attention to one of the doorways they had just passed. Rolling out was a dull, aged, silver cart. On the ornate cart sat a beautiful, hand-painted, glass tea-pot and fine china tea-cup… which also had faces and mouths.

And, there were more of them. Well, at least she knew the clock's name now. Calling him “the clock” was pretty rude.

“I’m just telling her the truth. If she’s going to stay here, she should know that he can be rather… severe.”

Penny raised a brow. “You guys really know how to hype a guy up. Really, A+ wingmen.”

She got a few confused looks before the tea-cup started excitedly jumping up and down. The only thing preventing them from falling off of the cart was the tea-pot intervening, pushing them back from the edge with a fond look in her eyes. 

“You’re the pretty misses from earlier, aren’t you? My name is Chip! What’s your name?”

Penny softened. Nothing like a cute kid to bring down one's defenses.

Penny kneels slowly – still being cautious of her side – to be at eye level with the Chip. “It’s very nice to meet you Chip. I’m Penny.”

“Penny,” he tested her name out. “That’s a very nice name! It suits you.”

Penny smiled. “You’re really sweet, thank you.”

“And please, call me Mrs. Potts. I’m Chip’s mother. I apologize for him, he gets easily excited. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Penny tries not to flinch at the familiar name. Instead, she focuses on keeping her smile up at the introduction. “Oh, no need to apologize. He’s a sweetheart. Nice to meet you though.”

“Ah! Chere, perfect timing! We were just bringing our lovely guest to meet The Master.

"Yes," Cogsworth interrupted. "Naturally, she insisted that if she were to stay here with us until the storm passes, she would want to receive approval from The Master herself. I personally think it is a terrible idea, but nobody wants to listen to me.”

“Oh, enough of that. You’re going to scare the poor girl off before she even has a chance to meet the young Master. Don’t listen to them dearie. He is a bit rough on the outside, but once you get past that, he’s a real soft one.”

Penny smiles. She can’t help but admire everybody she’s met here so far. Based on how they address the head of the household, they seem to be the staff of the house, yet they all respect and care for their “master” like family.

“Don’t worry about me,” Penny says with a reassuring smile on her face. “I don’t think there’s much he could do to spook m-”

A chill suddenly ran down Penny’s spine. She froze. Her head snapped back towards where they had come from.

Back where the dungeons were.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as her spidey-sense started to buzz. It was low and faint. Whatever was setting it off wasn’t anything life-threateningly dangerous, but it was still dangerous none-the-less.

“Is everything right, mademoiselle?”

Before Penny could respond, all of the lanterns that lit the hallway simultaneously blew out. They were left in darkness as a frigid, ominous air swept through the room.

Immediately, Penny stepped in front of the four she had been conversing with. She made sure to place herself between them and whatever was coming their way. And from the growling huffs of air and rapidly thudding heartbeat she could hear barreling towards them, whatever it was, was angry.

And she could safely assume that it was angry at her.

‘Shit.’

“Now you’ve all done it! I refuse to be involved in this. I tried warning you.”

“Cogsworth, now is really not the time-”

“Oh no, he’s mad again mum.”

Oh, so this is the-

“WHERE IS THE PRISONER?!”

…master.

It was dark, but that didn’t matter with Penny’s enhanced senses. Coming from the hallway was a massive figure. The silhouette stood around seven feet tall. It was so incredibly massive, it could put Hulk to shame. While she couldn’t quite make out any details, she was still able to gather one thing.

This man... He was not human.

The figure pouncing through the shadows looked more like the werewolves depicted in pop culture. Lean, canine-like legs propelled the rest of the broad, built, vicious body forward, causing Penny to tense with anticipation. Logically, she knew that with how the rest of the staff spoke about him, there was no way he would injure the four placed strategically behind her. 

But everything was happening so quickly, and her body was moving on instinct.

Before she had the chance to make a move, however, the figure stopped short inside a particularly dark corner of the hall. It air was silent, which only made the feral growl that came from its shadowy depths that much more intense.

“What is she doing out of her cell?”

A shiver ran down her spine at the deep, gravely voice. She wasn’t necessarily scared. She just knew that she was not in peak condition at the moment, and unless she got some food in her and a good night's sleep, she probably wouldn’t make it one round against this guy.

Normally, though, she could totally take him.

The only thing preventing her from fully freaking out was her spidey-sense. There was still a faint buzz in the back of her mind, sure, but it wasn’t screaming “IMMEDIATE DANGER!”  like it had with all the other baddies she’s gone up against in the past. Hell, even Captain America had set off a stronger warning signal when they “fought” at the airport in Germany. There’s no way this guy is actually gonna do anything to her.

So, what does Penny do when tension is high and threat is low?

She opens her mouth.

“Hi!” she waves. “Yep, still here. Not escaped, just liberated. Also, I loved the dramatic entrance. Solid commitment to the bit. Ten out of ten.”

Crickets. Penny could hear crickets.

“I do have to ask though, do you always greet injured strangers like this? Or am I special?”

A choking sound came from behind her, followed by the muffled sounds of somebody (probably – no, definitely Lumiere) trying to hold in their laughter. She’s glad they were finding this entertaining, because she could not say the same for their master.

There was a moment of confusion and bafflement in his eyes, because that’s all she could really make out in the lack of lighting. Those narrow, angry, ferocious eyes gleamed in the darkness. But that confusion was soon replaced with frustration and, once again, anger.

Man, if she had a dollar for every time she pissed somebody off during first introductions, she would be a rich woman. 

“How did you escape your cell, Prisoner?”

She bristled at this. She could already feel the migraine settling in, but she was (unfortunately) planning to stay here for the night, so now was not the time to be making enemies. Now was the time to start playing goodie goodie with with the giant puppy-dog-man.

“Okay, don’t love the growly, yelling thing you got going on, but I get it. New people in your house, super stressful,” she relaxes her stance, trying to make herself seem more approachable and not like she was two seconds away from throwing a left hook. “Look, it’s been a long night. I promise you, I really didn't mean to do anything wrong. I don’t remember much of what technically happened, but I know it has to have been an accident or a misunderstanding.”

Silence.

“Ok, I know that sounds suspicious, but not ‘throw her in the dungeons’ suspicious. I am here by accident, and I know we probably got off on the wrong foot, but if I could just rest for the night in a room without a draft that’s hitting sub-zero temps, I should be able to leave first thing in the morning. It will be like I’m not even here.”

He growled again, his sharp canines gleaming threateningly. “You didn’t answer my question, girl. You have trespassed on my land and now you want mercy?”

“Uhh, yes? If I’m being honest, I don’t even know where I am right now, so if you could maybe just show some leniency here-”

“Leniency?!” he lunged forward.

She flinched. 

‘Shit, that was loud. He’s got some bass to his voice.’

She tried to rub away the slight ringing in her eardrum. One thing she hadn’t done well with ever since the spider bite was loud noises. Living in New York helped her learn to filter out some of the extra noise quite a bit (otherwise, she would have gone certifiably insane) – but when it was sudden, loud noises like somebody yelling, it tended to catch her off guard.

After collecting herself, she realized that nobody was talking.

She also realized that her captor had finally stepped into a strip of moonlight that found its way inside through a nearby skylight.

And… wow. 

Everything about him was impressive. His size, his presence, his… everything. In terms of looks, he really did look like a stereotypical werewolf. His body was covered in thick, auburn fur that continued up to frame his face in a wild mane. His massive, wide shoulders were ironically hunched forward just a touch – almost like he had learned to make himself smaller over time. Sharp, spiraling horns curled away from his head, lending to the vision of a predator standing before her.

Because that’s what he was: a predator.

Yet, this predator was stood frozen in place. His arm was half way out as if to reach for her.

And then, just as fast as he had moved towards her, he was back in the shadows. His arm snappws back into his chest as if he had been burned. 

‘Uhh, what did I miss?’

She glanced at the group behind her, looking for some answers, but all she was met with was a tea cup hiding behind his mother and three apprehensive looks that were all pinned on her.

‘Why are they all looking at me like that? You’d think I was dyin-’

Oh yeah, the flinch.

“Shit,” she mumbled, turning back towards the master of the house. “That wasn’t you. Well, it was you, but I wasn’t scared. You were just… loud, and my ears are kind of sensitive. Seriously, no harm no foul. It was nothing personal.”

The master remained in the shadows. He was silent for a few more moments before releasing a huff of air. It seemed like it was supposed to be angry, but honestly… it just sounded exhausted and a little bit sad.

Or maybe she was just projecting.

His voice was gruff when he finally spoke. His tone had lowered this time to his original steady timber. “You’re still bleeding.”

She looked down to her abdomen that was – wouldn’t you know it – still leaking blood. Fortunately, there wasn’t a steady stream anymore. It was mostly just oozing every now and then. She’s honestly shocked she hadn’t passed out again. The bit of sleep she was able to get in the cell was probably the only thing holding her together right now.

She waved her hand, “Oh, that wasn’t you guys either, don’t worry. Kind of had a bit of a disagreement with a couple guys before waking up here. No biggie.”

The sound of metal against stone turned Penny’s attention to the ground where Lumiere was hopping around her legs to look up at her. His expression was concerned as he glanced back and forth from her eyes to the hand holding her mid-section.

“Is… that how you ended up here, Mademoiselle? Were you running from someone?”

Penny’s mouth dropped open. Oh god, now they were all looking at her like she was a kicked puppy. 

“No!” she waved her hands frantically. “I mean, yes? Ugh, sorry. No, nobody is chasing after me as far as I know. Nobody will be showing up here to ‘finish the job’ or anything, so please don’t worry about the safety of your home. I promise I didn’t allow anything bad to follow me here.”

None of them said a word. They definitely didn’t believe her, and really, who could blame them? Looking at her current situation from an outside perspective, she would also find her circumstances shady at best. She showed up to a stranger's home covered in her own blood. That alone would raise some red flags for anyone.

“Look, I swear I’m fine.” She turns back to the figure lurking in the shadows. “Can I please just stay here for the night? I can answer more questions in the morning, and I promise I have no bad intentions. I’m just really tired…”

The Master contemplated her request.

“You saw me.”

“Uh…” she drawled. “What?”

“You saw me in the light. Are you not scared?”

‘Scared?’ She blinked. This giant beast-man who had locked her in a literal dungeon and tore through the castle like a rabid Batman was worried that she was scared of him. 

Penny really needed to stop getting herself involved with such dramatic individuals.

“Um… no? No offense, but I’ve seen much worse. Besides, you seem nice enough to me,” she shrugged.

She could faintly see his defenses fall. Shock widened his eyes, only for them to scrunch back together once he was able to collect himself. It was clear he didn’t know what to make of her, and she really had no energy to further explain herself.

Before anybody could say another word, the giant puppy-dog-man grumbled under his breath and then spun dramatically to exit the way he came. On his way out, the words that left his mouth sent shock into four of the five he was leaving behind. 

“Show her to her room. We will speak tomorrow over breakfast.”