Alice felt the corners of her eyes twitching against her will as the Crown Princess spoke. Her gaze wanted to narrow so that she could glare at Abigail. White-ish hair and violet eyes, she knew of one such person, she knew him well even. He had followed her here after she made a demand to the duke, he was going through his own ceremony at a different pond. And he was the person who brought a candle to her dark room.
He also happened to be the reason that her eyes didn't actually narrow right now. She asked herself, if Gabriel was faced with this situation, what would he do? He'd already shown the answer before, when Leonardo came raging like a storm. He didn't curse, he didn't protest, he knew that it would only worsen the situation. So Alice did the same.
"White-ish hair and violet eyes, was it? Okay, I'll watch out for them, and I'll make sure to keep a veeery close eye on any that I end up finding."
There was a smile on her face, Abigail still clasping her hand sincerely. Alice was curious. What did Abigail know? How did Abigail know? Gabriel had seen her treatment first-hand so it made sense for him to warn her against Leonardo and Francis, but this was the first time Alice and Abigail met so how did she know. And the way she spoke about the person she was warning her against… At first she tried to make it sound generalised, as if she was speaking about a group of people, but her words twisted later on and made it clear that she was speaking of one person in particular.
"Yes, yes, that's good, Ally. Can I call you that? Ally, it's a cute nickname, isn't it?"
Abigail was even bubblier now that Alice seemed to have listened properly, her dimples sliding back as a wide grin spread on her face. She let go of Alice's hand and took a few light steps back, leaning forward while her hands clasped behind her back.
"You must find it strange to hear such things from me. But I've actually been wanting to meet you for a long time, longer than you can imagine. And while I can't tell you everything now, I swear on my name that one day I will tell you everything over a nice cup of tea, perhaps we can even bring along our husbands and have our children play in the garden."
Abigail still smiled, her dimples stretched out. But Alice saw something familiar in that smile. The times she looked in the mirror when she was alone in her room, the times she walked by a polished window after getting scolded and saw her own reflection. Abigail's smile held a shade that was similar to the one hers had at those times. She looked like she wanted to break down. But Alice hadn't allowed herself to break down, and neither did Abigail.
"But I will tell you this, Alice, my dear Ally. I just want you to be happy. You've cried enough, you've been hurt enough. It should be time for you to be happy, and I will do everything I can to make sure that the future that greets us is one where you can smile without a care."
Abigail looked genuinely sincere as she spoke, taking small steps back to approach the milky white pond. Alice only got curiouser as she looked at Abigail. Why did she look like she wanted to cry? Why was she so set on making Alice happy, as if she was supposed to be miserable right now?
Should she consider herself lucky, that people who seemed intent on making her happy gathered around her? Or should she be worried because said people also happened to be rather strange by most standards? Her answer was… biased. When it came to Gabriel, she considered herself to be in the first category. But when it came to Abigail she considered herself of the second category. Why was that? Why did she take their good intentions so differently?
"I'll go ahead and make a contract first. You can watch me and use it as a reference, I know you'll make a contract with something awesome."
Alice couldn't find an answer to her question before Abigail stepped into the pond, the water quickly drenching her robe-like dress as she waded deeper into it. The already silent room felt a bit quieter as Abigail walked deeper, as if a curtain had been drawn over the world.
"Mic check, testing, testing, one two three, one two three. Hello, Spirits, can you hear me? My name is Abigail, I've got some last names too, but they don't matter much to you I guess. I'm looking for a good companion who can help me in the future, the empire is starting to fester and if left unchecked them I'm certain that it will lead to a lot of deaths. I want to borrow your strength to prevent those deaths, I think those people deserve to live long and happy lives instead."
The Spirit Awakening Ceremony, despite the name, wasn't actually about awakening a spirit. It simply carried that name because the people of ancient times believed that spirits resided within people and simply needed to be awakened. Nowadays it was more common knowledge that spirits roamed the worlds as they pleased so the purpose of the ceremony was to make yourself more attractive to a spirit. And from the looks of things, Abigail succeeded in just that.
The air within the hall began to shimmer and twist, the same scenery reflecting a thousand times in on itself before it cracked and scattered. The fragmented reflections came together in the air in front of Abigail, forming a small featureless fairy.
"Oh my, aren't you a cutie. Can I pinch your cheeks?"
Well, the fairy was only featureless to Alice, Abigail could see it just fine, fawning over it almost immediately. Alice could only look on as the 'face' of the fairy split open down the middle, each side moving a few times as it seemed to say something, Abigail responding after a short moment of deep thought.
"Hmmm, can we cut it down to something like 40% instead? There's gonna be a lot of things to do in the future so I need to be in tip-top shape for them. But ah, once everything is over then I don't mind if we go back to the suggested contract. I can take it easy at that time so I won't need as much."
The saying that you signed a contract with a spirit wasn't just for show. 95% of the time, you really did sign a contract with the spirit, it gave and you gave. The details of the contract were only known to the involved parties, and breaking the contract allowed either party to cut all ties with the other one.
The 'face' of the fairy split open a few more times as it chattered with Abigail, new shattered reflections constantly floating in and out of it. In the end, that cracked facade and Abigail exchanged a smile.
"Alright, I can live with that for now. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, I look forward to working with you in the future."
Abigail stretched out her hand and offered her finger, the fairy shaking it as they signed the contract. The kaleidoscope-like figure collapsed into its base reflections again, each piece fluttering over to Abigail like butterflies before they sank into her body. A dragonfly-like wing mark formed on the base of her neck as a sign of the contract, the hall returning to normal.
"See? You just have to do things like that. Speak of nice things and nice spirits will appear, but if you speak of things like revenge and murder then bad ones will show up and cause chaos so you have to be careful."
Abigail turned to Alice with the same smile as earlier, a hand unconsciously tracing the mark on her neck. Alice didn't know what rank that spirit was, but the way it toyed with the reflections, and seemingly chose its own shape, meant that it was likely of a fairly high rank.
"I have to go outside and show Papa the spirit now, I was already breaking conventions a bit by bringing you in here with me, the arch-bishop may have a heart attack if I continue to break them by staying here. But I'll be right outside that door so don't worry, you won't be totally alone."
The milky-white water clung to Abigail's dress as she stepped out of the pond, her gaze flickering towards the door. This was supposed to be a rather holy ceremony, one done alone, so she could already imagine the scolding she would get for dragging Alice in here with her.
She didn't immediately leave the hall, but it wasn't because she was afraid of getting scolded. She looked at Alice for a bit as she pondered over her words for a bit before she spoke.
"Ally, your family recently took in some new servants, didn't they? Children from an unmarked orphanage located outside the borders of your duchy's capital."
She phrased it like a question, but the tone of her voice made it clear that she already knew the answer. Naturally, Alice knew exactly which children she was talking about, Gabriel was one of them.
"Please… Be nice to them. They are pitiful and have lived hard lives, I would like to eventually save them so that they can be included in the happy future."
Gabriel never spoke of his time in the orphanage so Alice naturally didn't know what sort of life he lead there. But just looking at his stature and the state of his body when they first met told her enough. As she had suffered, so too had he, probably worse so even. This request… Was one Alice could fulfil with all her heart.
"Don't worry. I will definitely make sure that they become part of the happy future. They deserve it, and more, so I will give until there is nothing left to receive."
She could speak the words with complete sincerity. The one who came from that orphanage, the one who brought light to the world. If it was for him then she could give until the world had nothing left to hand over.
"Thank you. Really, Ally, thank you."
Abigail smiled widely, the light shade of sorrow that tinged her earlier grin gone for now. She held Alice's hand tightly for a moment before she left, looking back a final time before she stepped out of the hall. Now that she was alone, Alice's gaze slid towards the milky-white pond that beckoned her softly.
The water was warmer than she expected, a bit above her own body temperature so it was actually quite comfortable. She felt the same sensation as earlier, a dull silence, as if a curtain was drawn over the room. But now, the rope controlling the curtain was in her hands, she just had to speak to move it.
"Ah, Spirits? Hello, can you hear me?"
Her voice bounced between the walls, echoing within her own ears. She wasn't sure if the spirits could actually hear her, if they could they certainly weren't responding yet. She thought about what Abigail and Gabriel had told her. But the words, they wouldn't come out. She knew what she could say to coax some spirits to flock around her, but the words wouldn't leave her throat. No, there was something else to say.
"I have a knight. He's just a little kid, just like me. But he tries his best and works harder than anyone else. He gives up on his own sleep to take care of me, to train for me, he eats less so that I can eat more, he takes time out of his day to cook for me and teach me. He reads to me when I can't sleep, he makes tea for me when I'm tired."
Alice wasn't blind, she could see how hard Gabriel worked. He always went to bed later than her, and always woke up earlier than her. He was just a little child, but his hands were already becoming calloused. He worked harder than anyone she had ever met or seen, but he never complained.
"Recently, my brother beat him really badly. Well, my brother actually wanted to beat me, but my knight stepped forward and took the beating for me. I… Couldn't do anything at that time. I could only stand behind him, clutching his clothing as he bled."
She could still taste it. The blood that splattered on her face, the drops that ran into her mouth. They were bitter, as sour and bitter as all the lemons and grapefruits in the world combined. She raised her head to look at the sky that was hidden behind the ceiling, as if the answer would come from there.
"I don't have great dreams like the Abigail that just spoke with you, the current me can't think about the prosperity of the empire or my family. I just don't want to stand there dumbly while my knight bleeds for me, I want to protect him as he protects me, until both of us can no longer be touched by others. Is there anyone among you that would be willing to help me?"
She uttered her simple wish, born from the helplessness of a lonely child. A petty little dream that couldn't be compared to the one who wished for the happy future of the entire empire. But it was hers, and hers alone. The first thing in this life that she could proudly call hers.
The hall suddenly trembled. The pond shook violently as the earth rumbled, the walls of the room cracking as everything seemed to turn upside down. And then the ceiling shattered like broken glass, a bright light filling Alice's vision as something fell.
———
The room holding the Spirit Pond was brighter than Gabriel expected, torches and lamps attached to every wall so that a bright light filled the entire hall. The room was practically empty, save for the milky-white pond resting quietly at the centre.
The priest that brought him here had already left, standing outside the door so that he could guide the child back once he was done. Gabriel had seen how the Spirit Awakening Ceremony went and what you had to do so he wasted no time, stepping into the pond.
The water was cold, it felt like ice as it splashed against his ankles, the chill piercing straight through his clothing. But he couldn't pay attention to the temperature, the colour drew his entire attention.
It should be milky-white, almost like liquid ivory. But a deep black colour spread across the water as he stepped into it. It seeped into the water from his legs, twisting like ink as it dyed the water black. With the third step, the entire pond had become dark and thick, bubbling like tar while still remaining as cold as ice.
Na…Me.
The bubbling of the water became a drowned gargling, a barely audible voice leaking through. The darkness spread beyond the pond itself, creeping along the floor and up the walls of the hall. Rows of white flashed by occasionally, several circular sets of teeth emerging from the darkness. He felt as if he was standing in the jaw of a lamprey eel with at least six too many sets of teeth.
Normally, people would call out to spirits and sign a contract with them, that was the norm in 95% of all cases. But sometimes, there would be a case where a contract wasn't needed because the spirit willingly sought out the contractor and offered themselves.
Na…me
The rows of teeth spun around Gabriel but never touched him, the gurgling that came from the bubbling darkness a bit clearer now.
Me… Name
Parts of the bubbling tar rose like tentacles as they stretched towards him, some collapsing as they touched him and others falling apart before they reached him. A buzzing came from the collapsed tentacles, each one turning into black spots that buzzed around him like flies, the fluttering of thousands of wings filling the empty darkness.
Name…Me…
The darkness gurgled at him, the rows of teeth danced around him as the flies buzzed. He had held a sliver of expectation when he saw the magic affinity this body had, but he was still a bit surprised when it actually played out. A spirit had chosen him. And it asked for only one thing in return for its service, a name.
Gabriel's knees bent slightly as he placed a hand upon the bubbling tar, his fingers sinking into it. When he pulled his hand back, the drops that fell from his skin turned into buzzing flies that joined the droning chorus. The rows of teeth filled the entire hall, creeping up the walls and even the ceiling. They wanted more space, this little room was too small for the maw.
Name
Another buzzing and bubbling tentacle stretched towards Gabriel, but this time he took hold of it as he would a hand. Since it sought him out, there was no need to hesitate, it was better than betting on what sort of spirit would answer his call after he failed to give a sufficiently grand ambition.
"Alright. Then rise… Nergal."