The two stared at each other in silence; one cross-legged atop a throne, the other standing below with a blackened umbrella over-shrouding her presence. Yet, even as she stood staring upwards, the petite figure below seemed to stand powerfully with her crimson eyes gleaming below the handle of the umbrella--staring at the other's ruby eyes.
Indeed, this two were currently locked in confrontation as moments trickled by without pause.
Eliza Chrown sat atop the throne of red and glimmering gold, her pale long legs crossed --and the white dress she wore revealing her thighs, not entirely in full as a white stocking dropped down below and reached to her heeled footwear of velvet. Her long purple hair draping and falling to both sides of the throne in which her left arm gently rested to support her. In return to the glare of the person below the blackened marble stairs--she was expressionless, like a doll, her ruby eyes simply staring at the 'small' figure before her.
In return, Iu [i~u/i~ew] gave a scrunched brow.
She held a petite build, hidden by her blood red dress, but still clearly defined by her height as seemingly a young girl of 12 maybe 13. Under all that, her skin was the color of ash white, unlike the counterpart before her, she was truly white in full. The soft silky hair of the same color as her skin draped down her back and reached to her hips. Crimson eyes lunged towards Eliza Chrown.
All this features she held was clear as day towards the seated figure---this girl before her was of the royal descendants of the ancient Vampires. Even as she stood so petite, it wouldn't be off to say she had lived for far too long.
After another trickle of time...the petite girl finally spoke her words.
"Again, failure."
It sounded naught of someone young, it sounded bitterly cold, and it mixed within it a sneer of all things before her. It was not emotionless, It held with it the true persona of the speaker.
Eliza closed her eyes, a moment trickled past once more.
Finally, her voice rang.
"We have taken care of the failure..."
This voice was otherworldly; it was emotionless, unfeeling, and certainly twisted beyond belief. Above all, it didn't seem to resonate with a human nature. It carried with it a beastly desire that would shake the soul of all who listened. Naturally, however, Iu was not affected in the least.
"She won't see the light of day for a long while,"
"Another has bee--"
"I am not deaf nor stupid," The petite figure replied back as she shook her head.
Eliza narrowed her eyes as her dull voice rang out once more, "Do not be mistaken, you are simply a messenger."
Iu nodded, "Indeed, nothing more than a simple messenger."
"However, I carry with me your fate and future. With me, you can reach new heights. Without me, you will fall as you are."
"No." Eliza shook her head.
"I do not need you, I simply need him."
However, that served nothing more than a light sneer from Iu.
"And you believe he needs you?" She asked with a venom-coated tongue.
"Yes."
There was a pause, the atmosphere crawled in pace.
Another moment trickled by as the two engaged in another bout of staring contest. They both knew the other's strength, and they both knew they were almost evenly matched. If a fight was to break out between them; not only would this base be destroyed, the entire terrain may turn inside out as well. As much as they hated each other's presence, it was inevitable that they would see the other—.
Iu swerved around as her flat footwear clinched against the marble grounds.
"Yes, I am simply a messenger. Though, do keep in mind..."
Eliza closed her eyes.
"I am also the connection between you two."
She took one last glance at the person sitting atop the throne, "I will return once more in ten days."
And so, leaving the base of Crow's Nest, Iu turned to return to the demon realm.
And that time, Eliza relaxed onto the throne.
It was time to try a differing approach.
***
A cove of bluish light illuminated the area from the center of the table. The almost bowl shape crucible, save for the almost hand like studs of brown, held the spherical glimmer of the orange sized orb. It was impossible to tell its original color but, currently, it shined in an azure light. This item before them was a Light Orb...well, at least, a variation of it.
And, naturally, the first thing Arthur asked as he relaxed onto the chair gathered towards the table was certainly...
"Why blue light?" He raised a brow and curiously glanced at the orbs.
And in response, the answer that Mash gave was certainly...
"It was on sale; well, a discount depending on how many we buy, up to 50% off. So naturally, we bought enough to place on each table."
"Because no one would buy it when there is already a perfectly white light source option." Adam finished for her as he received a death stare in return.
"What?" He shrugged, "it's true."
Unamused by Mash's glare, he seemed to have an 'eh?' look written boldly on his face. To him, it seemed perfectly reasonable to assume such, as they were so many unsold of the item within the store they had gone towards. Yet, he sighed, Mash was rather unwilling to talk about it.
"Why do you need to worry about whether it's on sale or not? Didn't my father give you a lump sum of reward money for your merits?" Maria raised her brow, looking directly at Mash from across the circular table.
"Of course," Adam nodded "but my wife here decided to save on money whenever possible."
Mash smiled calmly in response as her soft voice drifted out, "Indeed, even with such a lump sum of money, it will be spent fully if we are not careful. Naturally, that's also why we decided to start this inn in the first place."
Suddenly, however, her voice chilled a bit as her hazel eyes narrowed at Maria, "and, more importantly, why are you here in the middle of the night. And all ruffled no less?"
'Oh,' Maria thought 'she's still quite good at changing the subject and even more so at stopping me in my tracks. Hmm, maybe even better at noticing some small details.'
She was just about to answer when her brother cut in.
"Can we tell you later? Please?"
"We are all not only hungry but extremely tired as well."
At that moment, Maria too realized, she was both hungry and tired simultaneously. Coincidently, she also felt she should take a moment to relax. Looking at Mash's inquiring gaze, Maria turned a bit awkward.
"My brother is right, we are tired and need both food and sleep." She smiled slightly.
"So..."
Mash sighed, shifting up from her sit, she spoke. She had already learned, there was no getting something from the mouth of her if she didn't want to say it. As someone who had once been a maid within the castle walls and directly positioned to attend to the princess; Maria Springfield, she was more aware of this than anyone else.
"Fine, I will wait till tomorrow, but you will tell me; right?" She asked.
"Indeed," Maria hummed a nod.
"Good, then..."
"I will go remove some food saved within the Freezer Cabinet, and heat it again for use."
As Mash walked away and towards the kitchen, at the back of the cream-colored counter, Adam took the moment to observe the new face. The girl with crazed black hair that wallowed behind her and dauntlessly crimson eyes. She seemed calm, and throughout the entire fit, she hadn't so much as said a word. However, he realized this was much different from Ais's nature. It seemed more as if she was displaced. Unlike Ais who appeared to be naturally uninterested in much and unaffected by curiosity; this girl before him, he could tell by the way she had glanced towards his missing arm on numerous occasions, she was indeed curious--but it would seem she was much more attuned to staying quiet.
At that moment, their eyes locked--a pair of blood red eyes and one of pale emerald.
The old royal guard smiled lightly, "Name?"
There was a scrunch of brows before the girl finally produced an audible word, "Ashe."
Adam nodded and spoke his own, "My name is Adam Colt, I was once the personal guard of your friend here."
Ashe briefly glanced at Maria who sat at her right but could not glean anything more than a tinted smile. However, that smile of her's seemed oddly--strange. It didn't look forced nor fake, however, encompassing it in its entirety was an atmosphere of awkwardness.
However, even more so, the usually jumpy Arthur was silent as can be. His arms folded and his eyes closed, looking as if he was in deep thought.
Taking in all the information she could glean, Ashe turned back towards Adam.
At that moment, the familiar voice of the beast rang: [Interesting, they all behave so strangely. Is it due to the missing arm of the man?]
'Shut up.' She snared in her mind.
Why had she not spoken this entire time? Why did she not speak much? Quite clearly, it was simply because, as she observed the world, she had to listen to Ain's comments. As a beast that had only ever saw the top of the dungeon he once ruled, it was not wrong to say he was curious about the world. And thus, this was the reason for Ashe's so-called uncaring attitude-aside from the aspect of her own personality of course. She simply had to be so in order to tolerate Ain's observations and narrations.
[Ashe, question him about the arm for me.]
However, even so, the two now shared a body. There was no way to escape it.
Plainly, she forced herself to ask "your arm...?"
"Interested are you?" He kept his smile.
"However, I cannot tell you as I do not fully know you." He was blunt.
"Yet, if you were to grow closer to them, I'm sure they would be likely to tell you." He pointed towards Maria and Arthur.
Ashe simply did not bother to so much as think deeply about it anymore. She simply nodded quite plainly and instead...
'Are you satisfied now?' She asked, almost condescendingly towards Ain.
[No.] Was the simple reply she acquired in return.
At that moment, Maria's voice traced over.
"It would seem she is done."
And indeed, looking, Mash was already bringing back the plates of steaming food.
***
The group walked along the corridor. There was nothing more than the small orbs of light attached above the wooden doors guiding them through the entirety of the oak wood innards. Leading the group, Maria peacefully held a black iron card with the number 9 printed in white on its smooth surface.
However, as she walked on, the once quiet voice suddenly resounded in her head.
[Are you truly going to speak with the girl called Mash about what happened?] Mar spoke with the same tone of looking upon the world as she had always. As if she had grown beyond it and simply wondered at the games of children.
However, Maria had already grown accustomed to this in a strange way.
'No.' She shook her head.
'I've worried them far enough. You know...'
She stopped for a moment, her eyes tranced into slight glares.
'His missing arm is due to me.'
[He was simply doing his job.]
'Indeed.' She nodded.
'Wait...' Maria suddenly creased her brow, 'you were watching at that moment? You were there?'
[Indeed, I have existed here since you were born. We simply didn't meet till you used the skill 'God' etched into your soul. While, in the process, unlocking your Soul Sanctuary.]
'Why do I feel as if I have the short end of the stick? Not only can you take over my body at a call, I also wouldn't be able to see your actions if you were to do so. Yet, here you are, able to see my every move.'
[Everything is in balance, when the time comes, you will see the benefit you can attain. Just the same as that friend of yours, I can lend you a part of my power.]
'Hmm...' Maria was in thought.
Since she realized that Ashe also possessed a remnant soul within her, it had been on her mind for a bit. Naturally, she didn't miss the chance to ponder about the strength the girl would always gain whenever she began to stray away from herself--or much more so, now that she realized, whenever the remnant soul within her lent its power.
However...
'When can you lend me your power?' She asked.
Having more cards in hand was always useful. Even more so, she realized with the last fight, she couldn't be considered strong.
[In the meantime, not now. After all, we have only begun to know each other, I believe we still require at the least a few more shares of memory before then.]
'So you are saying the reason Ashe can gain the boost in power is due to the connection between her and her remnant soul?' Maria asked.
[Indeed.]
Maria nodded lightly in an 'I see' expression as she turned her body directly right and came face to face with a wooden door. It held no handles and it's entire brown exterior was smooth as can be. At the place where the handle would have been, It was instead just the white imprint of the number 9.
Maria took the seamless card in her hand that corresponded with the room and placed it directly in front of the number. There was a low radiance of light, and she could briefly see an intricate connection of glowing mana lines on both the card and the small area of the door before spreading towards its entirety. However, as quickly as it came, the light died down just the same.
Finally, there was a low click followed by the door beginning to slide leftward and into its respective hollow coaster.
Maria was quite used to this sight by now, this wasn't the first time she had came here and was largely unaffected. However, there was a slight change. Before, she had no idea as to how this contraption might work. Now, she also had no idea as to how it works but at least she knew what made it work.
Unhurriedly stepping inside the room with the group, the door slid to a close.
They looked around; a single bed at the mid centered angle of the room, a desk and chair on it's right with a small orb of light currently glowing in a low blue light, and finally, a giant wooden chest positioned by the wall at the left of the bed with the same number '9' where the lock would usually be.
There was silence within the room for a moment before Arthur was naturally the one to break it.
With folded arms, he nodded quite plainly; "Yup, it is only right that the few remaining rooms would be single bedrooms."
However, that comment only served to institute a lazy glare from Maria.
"So, how will we solve this situation?"
His voice had just dropped when Ashe had already begun to make her way forwards. Arthur watched in slight disbelieve as she proceeded to do the unthinkable.
"I will sleep here." She folded her arms as she sat atop the curved head of the chest, her back to the wall, rested her head, and closed her eyes.
'The heck?' Was the next natural thought process of this heir to the throne. His brain taking a moment to comprehend what he had just witnessed.
His eyes narrowed slightly and he was about to ask if she was sure when Maria had already completed the work for him.
"Are you sure you want to sleep there?" She tilted her heads.
"I have slept in much more uncomfortable places and situations, if anyone was to sleep while sitting, it would be me." Was the natural reply she got in return.
While thinking the girl might need a bit of 'help', Arthur shrugged exaggeratedly with raised arms, "Welp, suit yourself."
Quite naturally, next, Ais moved and sat on the chair without a word.
And at last, It's left to two.
Arthur nodded calmly as he began to walk towards the bed.
"And where might you be going?" Maria asked.
"To sleep." He replied calmly as he entered into the bedsheets of the bed and gently closed his eyes.
"I see," Maria walked forwards just the same, the card having already been placed in her space ring.
"Shift over a bit." She said.
"Huh?" The boy had a look of confusion as he watched his little sister join in the bedsheets.
Not caring much, Maria pushed him back a bit, drew an imaginary line with her hand.
"Don't cross this line." Said calmly and closed her eyes.
And so, with that, Maria immediately fell into slumber.