98 The Rest Of The Pieces
A/N: I was so joyous at the appreciative feedback the Fey-T pairing got from my readers! It is heartwarming that guys and gals alike appreciate sweetness and romance! I promise you there will be more of that in the story once I get past this angst part!
“Sometimes, the brightest smiles hide the deepest secrets, the most beautiful eyes have cried the most tears and the kindest hearts have felt the most pain.”
Maya Fey and Longines Beaugosse
Berlin, Germany
May 8, 2025, 12:30 PM
Maya was slowly getting accustomed to the many different customs and lifestyles of Europe, and daily, found herself marveling at how vastly the food, culture, and architecture contrasted with America.
Before arriving in Germany, she’d only had only stereotypes to go on. She’d gotten exactly what she’d expected as far as the trains running on time, the engineering being world-leading, and the architecture being indomitably beautiful. What she hadn’t expected was how warm the people were, once she got past the somewhat guttural way the language sounded, and how their natural generosity of spirit stopped her homesickness in its tracks.
Of course, it also helped that the Kurain Master found this country’s traditional fare, such as Schnitzel, Spatzle, and Apfelstrudel to be a vast improvement from the authentic cuisine she’d been forced to endure in both England and France! Not only was the food a comparatively far cry – hell, German food was verdammt köstlich on its own accord, even when not in favorable comparison to bloody meat, animal innards, and amphibian limbs!
The topography surrounding Berlin was picturesque; an area of low-lying marshy woodlands with a mainly flat bailiwick and a series of the deepest blue lakes Maya had ever seen. It was truly nature at its finest.
Then there was the capital of Germany itself.
Berlin was more than just a lively cosmopolitan city. It was a fascinating, vibrant mix of international artists, immigrants, and young visitors from all over Europe, attracted by its progressive cultural scene, easy-going attitude, and buzzing nightlife. Maya had gotten a heaping dose of all of the above the night before.
On their first evening there, after taking her to the enchanting and enthralling Berlin Philharmonic, she and Longines had boogied until dawn at the clubs, where he’d burned up the dance floor and nearly worn down her stilettos to kitten heels while trying to keep up with him!
On top of all the marvelous things to see and do, Berlin was a city steeped with a fascinating, universally renowned history! Maya had enjoyed a whirlwind couple of days enjoying the local sights while Longines tended to business matters in the daytime. She had loved exploring the historical, world-famous landmarks, such as the Brandenburg Gate, where she’d noticed a row of white crosses lining the road. Yes, the tour guide had confirmed, those were memorials to people who had died trying to cross the Wall. Then he’d led the group to the double row of cobblestones in the road that now marked where the Wall had once stood, before taking the tourist group to see the somber Memorial of the Berlin Wall.
Truly, Maya found the city’s culture was something to behold, and that Berlin was so much more than just a landmark for historical tragedies! Some of Europe’s finest museums were clustered on the Unesco-listed Museum Island in central Berlin, all within easy walking distance, so Maya didn’t even need to use the excellent public transport system. She had managed to check all five institutions: The Altes Museum (Old Museum), The Neues Museum (New Museum), The Bode Museum, and the Pergamon Museum. Her favorite by far was the Bode, which exhibited the sculpture collections and late Antique and Byzantine art.
Today had been her final day of touring Berlin, as she was now due to visit her old friend.
For lunch, Maya and Longines dined at a quaint local restaurant, where he’d assured her not to take it personally when the server didn’t immediately return her reflexive sunny smile; apparently, folks in Berlin found such displayed actions unnecessary and superficial. He went on to elaborate that in Germany, it was a compliment if asked how you were doing, because it meant the person cared to know, as opposed to making inane small talk.
Whatever you want to say about those plain-speaking Germans, Maya noted wryly, there isn’t a fake nor pretentious bone in their bodies!
She found herself famished from their earlier visit to The East Side Gallery, a 1.3 km long section of the Berlin Wall, consisting of 105 paintings by artists from all over the world, and therefore dove in headfirst by the time they finally sat down to their heavenly meal. The sublime eats consisted of Schweinenbraten, a delicious roast pork dish, served with braised sauerkraut and dumplings, called Knoedel, and a side of pilsner beer.
“Sure beats frog legs and cow brains, huh?” Longines teased as Maya ordered a second serving of Kartoffelpuffer, shallow pan-fried pancakes made from grated or ground potatoes mixed with flour, egg, onion, and seasoning. The hair heir had enjoyed his fare as a salty side dish alongside his meaty main course; the ever-gluttonous psychic snarfed hers as a sweet treat, opting to douse them with blueberries, sugar, and cinnamon.
The Master paused in the act of spooning applesauce onto her fourth sugar and cinnamon-coated German flapjack and blushed slightly at his knowing smirk.
“Was my aversion to the food in Cannes that obvious?” She asked sheepishly.
“Well, I wasn’t about to point out that I noticed your supposedly birdlike palate magically vanished the minute we left France and England,” Longines deadpanned. “But since you brought it up, it is hard to pretend not to notice that you are not a major drinker in any way shape, or form, and have barely touched your beer. Yet despite that fact, the night of the film festival, when you claimed you had no appetite, you were filling up on the champagne as though it was going out of style!”
My barely touching this swill they call beer is hardly evidence of anything! Maya made a face. The stuff tastes like piss water! Even the British serve a better pint!
“Those are some powerful observation and deduction skills you’ve got there,” She responded innocently, with barely suppressed laughter. “It’s no wonder you and the Professor got along so swimmingly!”
“High praise indeed, being compared to a brilliant, and knighted, world-famous archeologist!” His cerulean eyes twinkled with mirth. “With regards to my astute deductions to your notable healthy desire for food, my initial observations kicked in on our trip over here. I noted that although your cousin barely had a bite on the jet ride over, you had no qualms about eating her share of fodder as well as yours! By putting the pieces of this mystery together, I have deemed that indeed, Sir Layton is right, and every puzzle has a solution! It seemed the obvious elucidation to ensuring your sudden dainty appetite only remained a temporary thing was to switch countries!”
“Couldn’t fool you for a minute, could I? I confess, guilty as charged!” She shrugged and flashed him a mischievous smile, void of any remorse or shame. “I made Nick nearly go broke back in the day with my legendary six stomachs! To this day, I have no idea how he afforded me!”
“Luckily for you, I’m a billionaire!” Longines chuckled good-naturedly, waving the waitress over to pay the bill. “Or should I say, luckily for me that the one thing I needn’t fret about is you eating me out of house and homes!”
“So tell me, something.” She batted her eyelashes coyly at him as they hopped into a cab. “What is something you do need to be concerned about then, Monsieur Beaugosse?”
“Oh, that’s easy!” He flashed her a disarming smile. “Even as we now speak, I am already worrying myself sick about dealing with how desperately I shall miss you when I drop you off at your friend’s place, ergo losing the pleasure of your divine company for nearly a week!”
Just like with Pearl’s defecting, Longines had been most understanding about Maya’s desire to stay with Franziska instead of touring Germany for the rest of their stay and hadn’t even protested about it cutting into her bonding time with him. Instead, he’d benignly smiled and stated he would be happy to have her back to himself when he whisked her to Rome for a spell before heading back to London to collect the love-struck Pearl, who, after a fortnight with Luke, they’d undoubtedly need to drag back onto the homebound jet plane, kicking and screaming!
“Quite the sweet talker, aren’t you?” She laughed and nudged him playfully in the ribs.
“Yet I meant every word of it, Maya Fey.” He tapped her lightly on the nose and regarded her with a serious expression. “I couldn’t have asked for a more fabulous traveling companion if my life had depended on it! Although I’ve been to Europe many times in my life, these stale eyes of mine have brought a completely new perspective by making me look at things through your refreshing point of view. This trip has truly been riveting and incredible, and I cannot thank you enough for it.”
The sincerity in his tone made her blush slightly and turn her head to look out the window, unsure of how to respond.
It was true that she had been enjoying herself immensely for the past week or so with the world’s most amiable and congenial tour guide. She thought of Pearl daily, of course, but her daily phone calls to the Professor had fully reassured her that Luke and Pearl were safe and having the time of their lives, so she had nothing to worry about there. Consequently, she was happier than she thought she ever could be, considering the still recent breaking of her heart.
On the other hand, said heart was still in no place just yet to move on entirely. As wonderful and charming as the billionaire was, you couldn’t compare a mere month of friendship to six years of romance; liking to loving; warm affection to endless blazing passion which had known no bounds.
By day, with the handsome, laughing blond man at her side, she could titter and smile and fall into the role, even genuinely enjoying his company. What woman wouldn’t? Longines Beaugosse was the epitome of worldly sophistication. He spoke at least half a dozen languages fluently and was so well-traveled and cultured that he didn’t even need a tour guide to know what the best places for them to see and things to do were. When he’d offered to show her the world, he’d meant it, and done it in spades!
However, on the inside, she still felt listless and empty.
In all the years of her existence, in the many worlds, she had seen, there was one thing that had always been true: people only see what they want to see. This thing with Longines was no different.
Since the breakup, and especially since coming to Europe, Maya despaired that it seemed it would never get easier. In this case, here she was, among new and exciting people, in beautiful places anyone would give their eyeteeth to see, and yet somehow, she still felt utterly alone.
It pained her to have everyone around her believe in the lie she was living; in the happy façade that was completely a false veneer to mask her true pain. The burden of that often weighed heavily upon her soul. It was her thing to put on a happy face and dance for the sake of her little girl; she’d had nearly a decade to grow accustomed to putting on a strong front for Pearl’s sake.
It was still quite another to do so in such a convincing manner with a completely unassuming, kind-hearted stranger, and hence endear herself to him so soon.
I am known as a smiler, greeting friends, strangers, and even foes with a smile. However, this doesn’t mean that I am always fine on the inside. Nick, my sister, and my mother once knew this, but they are no longer here; they’re all gone. People who meet me, including friends who don’t know the real me, often praise me as being “such a happy person,” “a real gem,” and “one of a kind.” However, inside, I feel like the love I have accumulated over the years is disappearing faster than the dwindling rainforests.
It was her fault. She had chosen the path that had led to having to weave herself into his life. Naturally, the newly orphaned and lonely traveling businessman had come to have a tendre for her and if she continued down this path, could even come to love her, and once he loved her it would become her burden to bear the terrible truth, which was he would only be loving her lies and the character she played.
With this truth crept a dark feeling, cold, and void of hope. It made every word that slipped from her lips feel sullied. Soon her smiles were reflexive and her eyes were dull, so empty. When she laughed, it sounded hollow, like the laugh of a woman about to die.
And poor Longines didn’t know her well enough to know the difference.
Nighttime, alone in her bed, was always the worst. It reminded her that in this crowded world, even this magical, whole new world that Longines had brought her to, Maya was alone. A hellish kind of isolation where her only company was loneliness, which seemed it would never leave.
When would it stop? Her broken heart was slowly healing, but would it ever truly mend?
At that moment, Maya was dying to see her old friend more than anything in the world, and at last be able to have someone she could fully trust and confide in with utmost confidence, to help sort out her daily tumultuous and conflicting feelings about everything.
Maya Fey and Franziska Von Karma
Von Karma Estate, Germany
May 8, 2025, 12:55 PM
As the taxi pulled up at the 36-foot-high fountain in the massive driveway of the enormous, 19th-century Neoclassical manor, the village leader couldn’t help but marvel at the splendor of her friend’s residence.
While her own home, the grand and sprawling Fey Manor had its regal, albeit traditional Eastern influential style, this particular European mansion was just about the most resplendent, majestic one she had ever seen, and even from the outside, looked fit for royalty.
Maya turned to Longines with a bright smile then, finally speaking for the first time since his last statement, which had lapsed the rest of the ride over in silence.
“You didn’t have to see me off here personally, you know. I could easily come here myself!” She chided. “I know you have busy matters to attend to in Berlin today, what with over a dozen salon openings here in Germany alone, most of which are in the capital city!”
“Don’t be silly!” He brushed away her protest with an airy wave of his hand. “I’m going to be gone for a good few days, so you ladies have your privacy and time to catch up, but it would be so rude of me not to at least come to the door and say hello to your friend. I’ve heard so much about her; it will be nice to finally meet the woman, who up until this point I’ve only heard of by reputation alone.”
“I’m sure Franziska will be thrilled to know you’ve done your homework on her,” Maya joked. “Tell me, did you do a background check on everybody in my life since we met?”
“Of course not!” He retorted with mock indignation, flashing her a disarming grin. “I did all the preliminary stalking before we even met! There was nearly a month from our initial correspondence until our first meeting, you know!”
Maya just giggled as she exited the taxi and smiled pleasantly at the driver as he grabbed her bags and carried them up to the main entrance. Longines spoke a quick smattering of German to him, as rapid-fire as any of the locals she had encountered since they had arrived two days before, and she couldn’t help but marvel at her friend’s flawless execution of a language she was no closer to mastering than any other she’d encountered. After all, despite the crash course in diverse cultures, her unilingual ass still only spoke English, and she barely even got that right half the time! Thank heavens for her cunning linguist friend to swoop in and save the day whenever she got herself in hot water by saying something that could get lost in translation!
Thank heavens for Longines, period.
The heir wasn’t entirely alone in his earlier sentiment, Maya realized then. He truly was a classy, valiant, renaissance gentleman, and delightful companion, of whom she too, had unwittingly grown very fond. She could now confidently call him her friend, and while this long overdue visit with Franziska was just what the doctor ordered, a part of her knew she was going to miss him, too.
Nevertheless, she was going to appreciate the next few days apart from him. She needed to clear her mind with some much-needed alone time to better sort herself.
“I told the cabby I would only be a few minutes in the keep the car running,” Longines told her as he thudded the brass knocker on the heavy wooden door.
A distinguished, silver-haired butler eventually answered, and smiled pleasantly at her.
“Guten Tag,” he greeted with a polite bow, then stepped aside so they could enter. “Willkommen im Herrenhaus, Gnädige frau Fey, Herr Wright.”
She nodded hesitantly in confirmation of her identity, but as she opened her mouth to advise the manservant that her companion was not Mr. Wright, they suddenly heard a shuffle behind him and saw Franziska walking towards them into the main hallway.
As the Kurain head at last set sight on her old friend for the first time, in the flesh, in six long years, she couldn’t help but gawk at Miles Edgeworth’s fiancée as though she’d never seen her before.
The woman, now in her late 20s, striding towards them had the same silvery hair, albeit longer than Maya last remembered, which now fell in silky waves just past her shoulders. Considering how big she’d looked only a few months ago on Skype, her surprisingly slender frame was outfitted casually in a pair of black skinny jeans and a loose-fitting, cream-colored, cashmere sweater. Her smooth, fair complexion made her full pink lips stand out, and while her face was free of any artifice, her cheeks looked nearly rouged as they flushed pink with pleasure at the sight of her.
Therefore, at first glance, the years indeed appeared to have been kind to Franziska von Karma.
Nonetheless, as one that was well-practiced in appearing as though all were fine on the surface, her scrutinizing gaze couldn’t help but take note that as her friend approached, her gait was halting, as though something was wrong. Maya couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
She’s almost walking normally, but there’s something off. Maybe one leg is stopping a little short or maybe it’s going a bit too far – it’s hard to tell! Despite this, when I see her warm smile, all my questions disappear. I guess the best way to describe it is that while she may not be conventionally beautiful to others, to me, she’s simply captivating.
As Franziska drew near, she placed a slim hand on her guest’s arm and went to give her the traditional European air kiss on the cheek, but froze in mid-gesture as she, at last, took in the sight of the tall stranger at her side.
“Was zur Hölle?” She blurted out, her huge gray eyes wide with astonishment. “Y-You are not Phoenix Wright!”
There was an uncomfortable silence. The butler quite mystifyingly chose that very moment to vanish from sight.
Oh dear, this is super awkward! Maya bit her lip anxiously. I didn’t mean to misrepresent myself when I emailed her a few weeks ago and told her that we would be coming to Europe. It never occurred to me to clarify…
Longines was the first to recover and treated the startled Frau to his signature megawatt smile.
“Indeed, I am not Phoenix Wright,” he agreed pleasantly. “Nevertheless, I am so pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Von Karma, that I shall not even take offense to that mistaken identity. Rest assured, I have certainly been called worse!”
The silver-haired Frau didn’t reply and continued to stare back and forth between her two visitors with a completely flummoxed look on her pretty face.
“You got me, Franziska! He’s not Nick!” The psychic said quickly, placing a hand on her companion’s arm and smiling sweetly. “Allow me to introduce you to Longines Beaugosse.”
“And who might he be?” The German queried, with what Maya had quickly learned was typical Deutsche direct bluntness. “I have already determined who he most assuredly is not the man I have long known to be your swain, the very one who, based on your email, I had presumed would be the one arriving here with you!”
Gimme a break! I never misled anyone on purpose! I never said Nick’s name! For all she knew, I could have just been referring to myself and Pearly, who, for the record, had she not fallen head over heels with the Professor’s former apprentice, would be here by my side right now!
“Don’t be silly, Franziska,” Maya forced her grin even wider, even though it was now hurting her cheeks to do so. “As you are surely aware, Phoenix Wright is a disbarred lawyer who makes no more than presumable minimum wage working as a second-rate piano player at a seedy bar! I’m certain even additional money made from being an undercover poker shark at said shady establishment still wouldn’t allow him to have the required funds to accompany me here, right?”
“I – I suppose I had assumed that you would have paid his fare,” Franziska stammered, clearly shaken anew at the unflattering summary of the man who, when she had last seen him on the webcam, had been happily by her friend’s side as her very much enamored lover! “I can see now that was quite foolish of me to do so…”
“I’m not paying anything of his any longer!” The Master informed her with false cheer, her fingers tightening on Longines’ arm with the growing tension of the situation. “Including his rent! He’ll just have to fend for himself, now won’t he?”
The billionaire looked like he wished he were anywhere but there at that precise moment, but once again smiled brightly at Franziska as he attempted to engage her.
“You know, you have fabulous hair,” he told her pleasantly. “Perchance, You Blo Me?”
Maya could have died of mortification right there and then.
Franziska’s shocked expression turned into one of customary righteous indignation, while her eyes narrowed dangerously.
“What new level of foolishness is this now?!” She spluttered, her hand reaching reflexively for her whip holster. “How dare you!”
Longines saw the action, and swallowed nervously, realizing belatedly that his nerves had allowed him to speak of his business in the most misunderstood and possibly offensive way, ever! Utterly lost as to how to remedy his last question, he spoke his next words in rapid-fire succession, not even pausing for breath as he surreptitiously began inching his way backward.
“Ah, the name of my famous chain of blow dry bars, Miss Von karma. No disrespect intended, heh heh. We are opening up several locations in this lovely country of yours, including Frankfurt and Berlin.”
He quickly patted his companion on the arm and carefully extracted her death grip from his other one.
“Oh, wow, will you look at the time! I must be off now, can’t keep that cabby waiting too long, you know! The meter’s running! This was a real treat! Maya, see you in a week! You girls have fun! Ta-ta!” With that, he hightailed it to the cab, barely closing the door shut as it sped off.
The two women stared after him for a moment, before looking at each other in disbelief.
“Was zum Teufel?” Franziska gasped, just as Maya at the same time began to say, “Mein Gott, I am so sorry!”
Suddenly realizing the lunacy of the situation, the friends burst into a fit of simultaneous laughter, so hard that tears of mirth came to both their eyes.
“I swear to you, he’s normally much more genteel!” The diviner giggled, removing her white and mint-colored sunhat. “I think you just made the poor man nervous! However, do you manage to make people so uncomfortable without even trying?”
The silver-haired beauty shrugged.
“It is a gift.” She wiped her eyes, which were suddenly sparkling pent-up tears of mirth, and gently tugged her visitor’s hand to lead her into the house. “That felt so good, you have no idea!”
“Tell me about it! Gosh, Franziska, this place is gorgeous,” Maya breathed as her appreciative gaze took in the high ceilings and exquisite wall paintings before settling back on her friend. “And look at you, all perfectly back in shape so soon after the baby like the perfect Von Karma you are! Where is little Carol? Asleep?”
The laughter died from the German woman’s eyes then, and she sighed heavily while closing the heavy door behind them.
“Come and join me for a drink in the study,” she said in response. “I’m in sudden need of one.”
“It’s just after lunch!” The spirit medium exclaimed reflexively, even though by now she knew Europeans liked to have their liquor more often than Americans typically did. She followed her hostess into the small private room with a liquor cabinet, where her friend was pouring herself a tumbler of some sort of amber liquid.
“Surely, it’s after five somewhere,” Franziska countered flippantly, taking a long swig from her glass and slightly gasping as it seared its way down her throat. “I realize you and I have a lot of catching up to do, but first off, I would like to state, for the record, that I very much like your new shorter hairstyle. It makes you look more grown-up and sophisticated.”
She lifted the glass again and paused to look at the spirit medium with slightly deadened eyes.
“Speaking of hair, how should we commence, Maya? Shall I go first, or would you like to commence the festivities and enlighten me to the truth behind the real identity of that strange man – who, incidentally, has a more glorious mane than you and I put together? Thus far, the only thing that has been established is that is not … Phoenix Wright.”
“On second thought, I’ll have whatever you’re having.” The necromancer sank onto the armchair behind her then and flashed a euchred smile. “I think I’m going to need that drink, after all.”
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