All three of them left Errot's current room and started walking through the never ending corridors with Flare leading the way. It didn't take long for him to realize that they were actually in a quite modern skyscraper. Judging from Oda's not surprised expression, Errot is the only one that didn't have a clue of where he was the whole time, making him feel a bit like an outcast. Errot thought he was walking forever, suddenly feeling very lost. He's almost positive they've changed buildings without even actually realizing it.
" Damn. Is this a skyscraper?" Errot wondered.
" What does it look like to you, muffin?" Flare replied without turning around to look at Errot.
" It looks like a weird skyscraper if you want me to be completely honest"
A small side smile creeped up at Flare's face. " It is actually a very large and wide building on the sky, meaning you are actually surrounded by clouds right now."
" And how are we breathing? Errot and I are humans." Oda frowned.
" His Majesty actually took care of it. You're fine. No worries."
" King Elian?" Oda asked.
Errot snorted.
"King Elian" He mumbled ironically. Unfortunately for him, Flare heard that and finally stopped walking and turned to look down at Errot.
" Is there a problem with our King, boy?" Flare's face was calm but serious, indicating that she wasn't amused.
Oda glared at Errot while he just stood calmly at the corridor, his hands buried deep into his pockets. " No, not a problem at all. We are just ..not used to people ruling over us"
" Obviously you aren't. Mere mortals like you, only know chaos and destruction."
Oda's gaze met the ground while Errot stayed staring deeply into Flare's eyes.
"Which brings me to my next task." She moved a bit forwards and pushed open an extremely big door made out of steel. She stepped inside and moved a bit to the side to let the guys walk inside. " Welcome to the central library of Moccasin Blood! The biggest library in all of the blood dimensions. All of our information is in here buried in books, files and computers while our immensely talented team of researchers are working every day and night to provide you with all the data you need. It's currently ten storeys long and we are doing everything that we can to raise the number to fifteen by the end of the year."
Errot and Oda walked inside the library, already feeling overwhelmed by the sight before them. Oda's eyes were open wide while Errot was looking around surprised . Everyone here literally step on crystal clear glass making all the other nine storeys pretty much visible if you glance down at your feet. All the bookshelves and excessively large windows on here are also made of glass, making anyone that enters this library feel like they are visiting heaven.
It's very evident now that they are surrounded by white and pink clouds giving the atmosphere this angelic aura that the Moccasins are supposed to represent. Groups of angels - researchers as Flare called them- are gathered at random desks, discussing among them, working on their computers or going through their books. They all seem busy enough not to notice two humans walk inside their work place or they simply don't care.
" I refuse to believe that this five star hotel in front of me is a freaking library" Oda voiced out loud.
Flare looked content enough by their reactions, her wide smirk giving her away. "Well, folks, I'm very proud to say that this is indeed one of the best creations in the world. No one, not even the greatest criminals or the exceptionally rich royals can top this masterpiece."
Errot assumed that the 'greatest criminals' were the Inks and the 'rich royals' were the Teals. It made sense too. Merlots can also be considered criminals but they are far from great. On the contrast, they are wannabe Inks. The pitiful version of Ink Blood. And there is only one dimension that swim in wealth and billions of dollars and that is the Teal Blood. The Teals are all actually a different kind of fae creatures. Some of them have tails, some of them are blue or green skinned, few are mermaids and some are goblins. All of them though, own pointed ears exactly like the Inks. Two of them also wear the crown of the fae world, the King and Princess of Teal Blood, his royal highness King Quentin and Princess Cressida. Siblings by blood, ruling the Teals for a couple hundred years now, Quinn and Cress are extremely powerful and very, very luxurious. But that's as far as Errot's knowledge goes.
"Fascinating, isn't it?"
Flare immediately turned at the sound of the voice and gifted Elian a small bow. "Your highness."
Errot and Oda both glanced at Elian and awkwardly followed Flare's steps.
"Thank you Flare, I can take it from here. Please go and bring our guests the elf ears and clothes I asked for."
Flare bowed her head at Elian with a small smile playing on her lips " Of course, your majesty" . She briefly nodded at the guys and walked out of the library.
" So, even though you are not our king we are required to bow to you too?"
Oda gasped and elbowed Errot on his side, bit of panic showing on her face.
"What? I don't think that's fair at all. It's like not believing in God but still pray everyday."
Elian on the other hand, didn't even look an ounce shocked or bothered. Instead, he sent Errot his usual playful grin. "You better get used to it, handsome. Sooner or later you're gonna stand in front of king Canton and I sure hope your 'God' will help you if you dare not to bow to him.".
Errot snickered. " You're making him sound like he's this big buff scary guy when in reality he's just another criminal with the difference that he has a crown on his head and ugly pointed ears"
At that, Elian let a big laugh out while shaking his head in disbelief. "Please do say that to him and have someone record this whole thing. If you get to live another day, I will personally make you my knight."
Errot opened his mouth to speak but Oda cut him off. "Don't worry, I'll make sure Errot behaves properly". She shot Errot a warning glare.
Errot rolled his eyes and Elian kept grinning while staring down at Errot. Errot caught his glimpse immediately and he turned his head away not being able to bare the eye contact any longer. He instantly felt uncomfortable and maybe remotely self conscious.
" Never forget that you are posing as elves. You need to be exactly like them. That includes saying the right things or.. ideally not saying anything at all" Elian pointed out while still looking at Errot indicating that it was mostly meant for him.
" So, we should basically keep our mouths shut and obey to every ridiculous thing 'King whatever' says"
"Exactly, see? You're already getting the hang of it!"
" I was being sarcastic"
" Fake it till you make it, handsome" Elian got further into the library and stopped before one of the various glassy bookshelves. His eyes carefully scanned the books until he found two of the ones he was looking for and pulled them out. He dropped them on the table next to the bookshelf, sat down at one of the chairs and urged the guys to do the same. Once everyone was seated he pushed the books towards them and looked at them.
"Very well. Now, let the class begin. You'll take these books with you, along with a few more, and you're gonna go through them thoroughly. They contain all the information we are gonna give you verbally but with a whole lot of details."
Oda beamed excitedly catching Elian's attention who raised a surprised eyebrow. "Fancy reading tomes in your free time?"
"You know it bro! It's one of the few things in life that gives me serotonin"
Elian raised both of his eyebrows, feeling now astonished.
Oda's eyes widened at the sudden realization of her choice of words. " oh- I- I mean, my apologies, your highness. That was very inappropriate of me" She lowered her head, shame taking her over.
"Did you just say serotonin?" A small smile started forming on his face.
"Yeah..Serotonin is one of the hormones also referred to as a body's chemical messenger that is known for its ability to help people feel joy or experience pleasure"
"That's word perfect the meaning of Serotonin." Elian looked at Oda as if he just saw her now for the first time. " Oda, was it?"
Oda respectfully nodded at King Elian.
"Well, Oda that was oddly impressive. Forgive me for looking so shocked, Merlot Blood is the only dimension I actually know very little of. All I've heard about Merlots all those years that I'm alive is that you are survivors, fighting fiercely every day for your life, which allow me to admit, is exceedingly brave. I wouldn't be able to do what you guys do and I certainly could never imagine that you get to educate yourselves profoundly amongst all this chaos."
A proud side grin started making it's way into Oda's lips when Errot interrupted the conversation. " A great way to offend someone politely"
Oda furrowed her eyebrows at her best friend. " Did the truth offend you, E? Cause it certainly didn't offend me."
" The guy just called all of us stupid, in case you can't read behind his posh words."
" You are stupid indeed if you refuse to understand that he also called us brave and survivors"
"Oh, I'm deeply sorry if I offended you with my ignorance on the matter, Errot. I never close my doors to knowledge, so please feel free to educate me. It's about time we happily add Merlot Blood to our files."
Errot rolled his eyes. " Why are you always so damn polite?" He mumbled.
"Excuse me?"
Errot looked Elian in the eye. "You are always so polite and nothing gets to your skin. Why can't you just get pissed off? I've disrespected you so many times and instead of getting mad you just ..smile."
Once again, as if proving his words, Elian gave his signature smile to Errot.
"See? That's exactly what I mean"
"Hm..lashing out on people is not my expertise. If you want to get yelled at, you should try that attitude to king Canton. I'm sure he will appreciate your efforts into getting him to show negative emotions and behave accordingly. Which reminds me, we have to proceed with the lesson"
Elian cleared his throat and continued. "Inks. The greatest of all evil. They are cruel and wicked elves and they are ruled by the most villainous immortal creature in probably the entire world, King Canton. They do whatever it takes to terrify you and use that fear of yours to their advantage. They are morally grey and they don't show any mercy or pity, therefore you need to be extremely careful with your actions or words because once you say or do something, you can't take it back. You are doomed.
Darker than the night sky, colder than ice, everybody knows they aren't to be messed with. They are criminally brilliant, always breaking the rules, never following them. Well, except from the rules the King makes. Those are blindly followed. Every rule we could find is written down on the books we just gave you so I advise you to read them carefully." He gave a knowing smile at Oda. "King Canton is...not an ordinary person. He despises eye contact so much, only his seneschal is allowed to look him in the eye for more than three seconds. Her name is Elvina and she's always been by his side. Some claim she occupies other positions as well apart from being his seneschal but it's yet to be confirmed."
There was a small pause at that and Elian quickly added "Please, confirm or deny this rumor to me if you ever find out. It's not really important, it's more for my own satisfaction."
Errot scoffed amused. " Wow, didn't know the Moccasin King cared about what another king does on his bed"
"Being immortal means you finally run out of things to entertain yourself with." Elian smirked.
"Understandable. How old are you?"
" King Canton is precisely one thousand ninety-nine years old but he got stuck at his twenty one years as the rest of us. Do not let his baby face fool you."
Oda almost chocked on plain air and Errot remained unfazed but definitely more intrigued. "Yeah but I didn't ask about his age."
" You should have. The deal didn't include a special package with information about my personal life or anything that has to do with me. On the other hand, I can tell you every single detail about king Canton. Did you know he is a scorpio? Even though, I do not believe in the astrological signs, I must admit that if they were valid it would explain ..a lot."
" He is one thousand ninety- nine years old??" Oda eyes were still widened in pure shock.
Elian turned to Oda and gave her an odd amused smirk. "What did you think 'being an immortal' meant?"
" I don't know..I..-I imagined something like..closer to five hundred ."
"Is it too old for you?"
" His age is irrelevant to us. It's not like we are gonna marry the guy or anything." Errot exclaimed.
"Fair enough. Moving on, he is not the only one that is bothered by the eye contact. If you stare at an Ink longer than five seconds they perceive it as a threat and they would gladly place a knife against your throat. Like every other creature, they have an achilles heel which takes away the blessing ability to lie from them. But be careful. They can efficiently mix their words and alter the truth. By doing that, they present you with a wonderfully convenient truth that might not be a lie but its not entirely honest either.
Inks are shapeshifters. They can take the form of any immortal or mortal creature they want, alive or dead. And i'm saying dead, cause even though they are immortal, they are not invincible. Never forget that. The only time they can actually lie is when they shape-shift . It gives them the ability to act like the person they've copied and that unfortunately includes lying. In that case the best you can do is notice the details. The way they move, talk. If something feels unusual its probably because it actually is."
"Oh crap." Oda uttered.
"That sounds...-" Errot started.
"Dangerous? Scary? Unfair ?" Elian questioned.
"Interesting. Is there more to their abilities?" Errot looked interested enough for the first time since they entered the library.
" Yeah, there are a few more things I have to tell you and you can study the rest on your own. King Canton holds the skill of making himself more...charming than he physically is. He has the power to wake the desire and lust on people, make them dig deep and expose their biggest cravings and hopes. He knows all the right ways and words to do so, his voice alone can drive anyone crazy. He can compel you just by using it in the right way. It's not like anyone would have the courage to oppose to him or his needs but either way he always gets what he wants. He's had a lot of relationships in the past, more like flings. Whether those flings are males, females or people that do not conform to a gender role, he doesn't care. The rumors surrounding his sex life right now are awfully silent. The only rumor related to that, that is still going strong all those years is just like I told you before, his relationship with Elvina.
Elvina is the same age as Canton and apparently she has a very active sexual life as well. She's basically his advisor and one of his best knights, 'The Devil's right hand' as some would like to say. She has great fighting skills and she is absolutely obsessed with her knives. All kind of knives. She doesn't hesitate to use them and she knows damn well how. She's fierce and dark so she matches her king perfectly.
The King's team also consists of two other people along with the rest of his knights and guard. Santos is Canton's personal spy. He has the ability to move like an actual shadow. In that case, he can make himself partly invisible whenever he wants. The only thing giving him away is his shadow so you better have the lights open constantly, especially in your room. Anything that he does is guided by the King's orders except if he thinks Canton is in immediate danger. Then, he acts on his own accord. He has an incredible love for arrows and excellent target. He only misses if he wants to miss. Do not get to his bad side.
To finish this off, the elves love revels as much as they love committing crimes. And there is only one elf in charge of all these parties and celebrations, who gives his entire soul to make them work and that is Adan. Adan is the life of the party and I couldn't be more literal about it. He's extremely social for an Ink and he always seeks the fun into everything. But there is a catch. The fact that he is an extrovert, does not mean that he is nice too. A lot of creatures fall into that trap. He's as evil as it gets. Do not trust him. Do not trust anyone that belongs to Ink Blood. There is one last thing about Adan that you should take into consideration. He has an odd thing for fires. From causing them to just watching random things - or people- burn, he loves anything that has to do with it, so be cautious around him. His passion for fires is exceptionally questioning since the heat is incredibly toxic for every single Ink. In fact, high levels of heat for a long time, can easily lead to death. It gets very hard to breath and it feels like their skin is melting and their internal organs are in flames. In conclusion, you need to avoid fires at all costs."
"Suddenly, going back to Merlot Blood sounds like fun" Oda muttered.
" Well, you do not have that choice anymore, kids"
" We know. Oda is just being dramatic. We got this."
" I sure hope you do." Elian stood up and checked his phone for the time. "Now, I believe you are aware of the basics so I'm gonna leave you on the hands of my seneschal because I'm incredibly busy at the moment. You can stay here and study until Flare comes back. Any questions you might have, I'm sure she will be happy to answer them for you."
" Thank you for the help. We appreciate it" Oda smiled while Errot just nodded in agreement.
Elian's wide grin was back on his face. "Give and you shall take. Have a lovely rest of the day."
" Likewise, your highness" Oda said while Elian was already heading out of the library.
As soon as he was out of sight, Oda's smile fell and she immediately turned to Errot while sporting a horrified expression. " We are totally screwed."
♛