A staggering leather stiletto boots clicked towards the quarters with two empty bottles of alcohol at hand, she struggled opening the main door. She sighed and threw her bottles at the side. It crashed and created a loud sound in a deep silent night around the block.
Serene cupped her pockets to search for her keys and when she did, she opened the door wide and screamed to an empty and dark residence, "The queen has arrived!"
Serene laughed at what she did.
She headed straight to the kitchen as soon as she entered the dormitory.
"Alcohol, alcohol!"
She sang happily as she galloped towards the cupboard to take the liquors she hid away a week ago. When she saw nothing inside, she dropped to her knees, mouth hanged open.
"My wine," she wheezed.
She had been excited to come back home with the plan of drinking her alcohol in peace. Sir Robert has been giving her an earful every single day at the pub so to calm him down, she helped them for a bit before running back to the elite quarters and being reunited with her beloved liquor.
"No, no," she sniffed.
The rubies who are sleeping comfortably upstairs heard the commotion she's making and decided to check things out. Lance was the first one to witness the state the redhead is in as he was the fastest to react.
"Serene?"
He was hoping everything was just a dream; a sobbing redhead in an all-black clothes sounds pretty scary in the middle of the night, most especially someone who is making a fuss in the kitchen. This is the most popular horror stories he would hear from pubs and inns during missions, it's always long haired women in the kitchen.
'Why does it need to be kitchens?'
He slowly walked towards her, on his guard; trying to see what she's doing as she has her back on him.
When she heard his voice, she immediately bawled her eyes out and looked at him, "my wine."
"What?" he could not make out what she's saying due to her ragged breathing.
He himself is trembling from fear.
"MY WINE! MY WINE! WAAAAAAAA!"
Lance gulped, a grown up drunk woman throwing tantrums in the middle of a night. What should he do? No. More importantly, is she the real Serene and not a doppelganger or a shapeshifter?
"Hey, hey," he tried to reach her shoulders to make her look at him. But before he could tap her shoulders, she turned around and screamed, scratching his face while hissing at him.
"Hey, it's me! I'm Lance. It's Lance!" he tried to catch her arms. He wanted to avoid hurting her, he still has no idea if she's a ghost or the real person.
Once Serene calmed, she pulled herself away from him and cried once more.
He blinked.
Lance's face is filled with scratches, his sleep wear tore, his hair disheveled.
'I hate my life.'
"What the heck is going on?" This time, Verin, Lithea, and Lars arrived. They don't know what is happening and just heard Serene's screams.
Lance sighed, looking defeated but still managed to stand up, and brought himself back to reality, "she's looking for some wine."
The only jade rank in the group had his mouth hang open when a light struck his head; he remembered something.
"Oh, those from the cupboards?"
Serene's ears perked up and eyes twinkled, "yes, yes! Have you seen it?"
"Oh, well," he took a step back, scratching his head, "I handed them to Dash?"
She blinked.
'Uh-oh.'
"What?" she whispered.
"Well, he said he needed one. I thought those are for—"
"NOOOOOOO!"
Their ears bled with her high-pitched screams; they all backed away while covering their ears.
"My drink!" she demanded. Serene glared at Lars.
"Dash already gave them to the council this—"
She didn't let him finish again.
Serene crawled towards Lars and clung on his leg, she looked at him with eyes widened, veins popping on her forehead.
"GIVE. ME. MY. WINE."
Lars trembled at the sight of Serene going crazy, "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"My wine. My wine. My wine!"
He shook his leg and tried to run away from her, "get away from me! Go go go go! Let go!"
"Why would you give away her liquor?" Verin asked calmly as he yawned while leaning on the wall.
"I didn't know it was hers!" the jade cried.
"You might want to run far far faaaaar from here, Lars." Lance leisurely drank some water.
"Shouldn't you tell me that before all of this?!"
Lars got big tears on his face.
The two kept running around the dorm; Serene throwing things to Lars, leaving everything in total chaos.
"Hey, hey! STOP!" The poor guy avoided her advances like his life depended on it.
"Spare me!" his snot dangling, "Please have mercy!"
"WINE STEALER!!!" Serene growled and summoned her lasso, thickened it and added big chunks of seed.
"Oi, oiiiiiiii!"
Lithea went pale watching the whole thing.
The next morning, Serene woke up feeling her head about to split in two. But what baffles her was why she was sleeping in the kitchen with a very chaotic house; Lars dizzy beside her.
Somehow, she has a feeling she's responsible for all of it.
"Serene," a fuming Verin was stomping his feet in front of her.
She whimpered.
"You have a lot of explaining to do."
Serene immediately bowed in front of him, clapping her hands together, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
"Lithea did her best to clean the dorm yesterday and you just got back home. Just to what? Create a mess," he leaned towards her, "AGAIN."
Serene gulped.
"Clean all of this and don't stop until everything is polished!"
"I WILL!" she cried and then puked at his shoes.
Verin dropped his head, "ugh."
Serene cleaned the whole thing with no one to help her. Lithea wanted to help so it could get done fast and properly but Verin told her to let her be since she caused all of this and that it was a punishment. Although it's against her to just let someone be, she can't disobey a senior's order.
The redhead mage is now mopping the floor, she's finally almost done after a whole day of intense sweeping and fixing what she broke. But it is better than to pay for the damages she caused since most of her money goes to her favourite beer.
While she was doing all that, Thenea arrived in the quarters with Viv tagging along. The light mage happily entered the quarters only to spot a gloomy Serene mopping the floors.
"Good afternoon, Serene!" she waved.
Serene's eyes sparkled at the sight of a friendly face, "yay, you're here to help me clean?"
Thenea giggled, "No."
The smaller mage cruelly walked past her to go to Verin who's polishing his sword at the yard; Serene fussed.
"Thenea!"
Thenea only laughed at Serene's reaction.
"Oh, hey!" Verin notices the two arrived and Serene is pestering Viv to help her.
"Hi Verin," she sat next to him.
"What's going on?"
She showed him the envelope with the guild's seal, "we have a mission, where's Lance?"
"Oh, that."
Thenea nodded, "Mhm?"
"He's out with Lithea. They're meeting the council."
"Hmm."
Before Thenea and Viv arrived at the quarters, both Lance and Lithea had just arrived inside the guild and were greeted by a knight who had been waiting for the two.
"Please, this way."
The followed the knight going to the back of the front desk. From there, they entered a secret door going downstairs; the door closed behind them when they all walked inside.
It was cold and damped, like a way towards the dungeon. The torches mounted on the wall cannot warm the entire area. It was deep.
Lance glanced at Lithea, worried she might be frightened with all of this but to his surprise, and she was just following calmly. He can't help but think about what kind of training they do in the temple.
The knight stopped midway and he was confused, "what's wrong?"
"We are here," he informed.
"But there's—"
Lithea tapped Lance's shoulder and pointed at the wall to his side, when he turned, he couldn't clearly see how it warped and slowly changed to a big metal door.
The knight who escorted them pressed the door and it opened, "please."
Lance entered first and when they both entered the portal, the knight closed the doors.
"This way," another knight stepped forward to escort them.
"How much further it is to arrive at the destination?" His question did not earn a response, the knight just continued his duty on escorting them.
Lance sighed.
Not far from where they are, he can see a bright light, he thought it must be it.
It should be.
They have been walking around for minutes, if he timed it properly, they could at least be walking for 15 minutes already.
"We have arrived," the knight said and stepped to the side, "please go inside."
Lance hesitated but Lithea moved without thinking, so he followed.
The room is dark with only four torches for each wall to illuminate them. It is hard to distinguish who they are going to be meeting with but due to their white robes and white mask, they can see where they are all seated. In the farthest left corner, Dash sat with confidence within the council.
Luckily for Lance, the Vancouv family had long since withdrawn from the position and to focus on the royal knights. He doesn't have to watch everything he does to avoid issues.
"Sit here," the knight pointed at the two chairs at the very end of the table, just across a big empty chair. They suspect it is for the head of the council.
When they were all settled down, someone from the room began.
"Let's get straight to the point," a loud booming deep voice of a man was the only thing that could be heard, "I heard this the other day. A one day old adventurer with the rank of a ruby?"
Everyone murmured.
"How true is this?"
"It is indeed true, sir," Dash answered. Lance can hear him grin from his answer.
"How did this happen?" he followed.
"What was Calla thinking?" another one raised his voice.
"If Rego allowed this," a soft yet authoritative voice joined them, "all we can do is ask for the report why that person is deserving of the status."
Lance slowly held on one of Lithea's armrests, it is his way of letting her know he will be talking and he got this all sorted out.
"Aren't the ones who joined that rank are those only who have acquired the number of S rank quests?" another one asked.
Lance heard Dash snicker.
He looked at him and could see his eyes penetrating his, he was probably the person who sold Lithea to the councils for them to ask a meeting. He's going to make his life miserable again. What will he have to do to make him stop targeting people close to him?
"We must wait for our mistress and hear what she has to say," a younger voice spoke.
"This is outrageous!"
"How can we just sit here and make them do whatever they want? We have a council!"
"Aren't they feeling high and mighty?"
The council's voices started overlapping except the one female who spoke earlier. Lithea hated this kind of chaotic scene; it lacks discipline and they just let their proud self talk.
"Oh my," a very light footstep tapped inside the room, "what a sight."
Everyone stopped and immediately stood at the sight of the person who just entered.
"Look at all of you," she sighed.
"Mistress."
All of them saluted and bowed their heads down, even the stubborn Dash did so. Lance tapped Lithea to follow them and they both did.
The woman walked like there was water inside the room with how light her footsteps were. She wore the same robe as everyone but her mask is in vertical half.
Lithea recognized that face.
"Shouldn't you all be embarrassed with how you are acting in front of that very rookie you spoke of?"
One by one, each council turned their heads towards Lithea.