Chapter 13
The first night Zarracen spends the first night walking around the Crystal Mist Mansion. The place was like a maze but she's good enough with directions to remember her way around. It was huge but desolate. She's been in enough noble homes to know that there are usually guards keeping watch, a bunch of maids, butlers, gardeners, and cooks.
But it seems like Fiella was the only servant here aside from a gardener. There were no guards, no maids, and no butlers. It was as if Fiella did everything herself but that couldn't be so. The place, although dreary, was spotless. Not even the rafters above held a piece of lint.
Given Fiella's videle aura it's likely that she has the physical capabilities to keeping up the mansion herself, but it would be too time consuming to even follow Zarracen as she did most of the day. The interior garden and exterior garden held the most life to it. Likely because of the presence of actual people.
The main residence just felt lifeless. Zarracen could admire the opulence inside but still note the lack of personality in the place. Her stroll around the place leads her back to her room. Her room was beautiful, and it seemed full of life. A warm fire there in case of a drafty night.
A four-poster bed with satin purple sheets. The walls a warm inviting color. Tables set up for in-room guests. A place on the couch to just lounge on and read. A bookshelf set up with numerous books both fictional and educational for her to peruse.
The place was made as if it had been decided months in advance that she would stay in this place. Zarracen should feel put out about this but instead she decided to do what's necessary to increase her strength. She's still not the strongest and if anything happened to Isabella while she was short on manpower she'd be on the run or strung up like a murderer.
She settles down on the couch to meditate. The fire sac she had eaten earlier has finally settled. The energy had combined properly with her oddly enough she felt it shoot up to her brain which has her pause. The fire sac turned some aura into red and white mana.
The videle was being compressed into mana in her mind. Something she has never been able to do which is why she could only do simple physical enhancement magic and the occasional protective barrier. Now her mind's eye was beginning to open.
Excitement thrums through her. Her body feels electrified. Magic she could properly learn it now. It's not like she cared about magic but most people even pure magic users like Annitta sublet into aura use of videle for fighting. It's why the Empire of Ixmtaraza has the best military might on the planet.
Sword masters and martial masters of enemy nations would think to get close to a mage only to find out them capable of utilizing aura martial techniques to gain space between them and fire a barrage of magic towards them.
The reason her fight with the dragon of Arcus almost killed her is because she couldn't erect powerful enough barriers with her aura or mana to delay his attack. As a tier 1 she could create an aura of videle outside her body as an outward protection, but it would not beat an actual spell designed to protect.
Having to speak few spells is fine and dandy for her but she's now able to do more. Be more. And it's great. She smiles softly as she comes out of her meditation. She stands up stretching ready to rest. She has a long day in the morning.
After washing she lies in the bed and drifts off to sleep.
Zing!
Videle. Like a torrent of black energy washes over Zarracen. She shudders. It's coming from the direction of Princess Isabella's room. She moves her feet carry her like the wind to the room. The door slams open.
"You're late," a soft silky voice carries over from the bed.
Zarracen doesn't even look at Isabella. She looks at the blood splatter that painted the walls. The assassins slaughtered in the dead of night. Spires of black impaled them.
She steps forward entranced by the familiar energy thrumming from it. It felt like her amulet. She reaches out to touch it only for a soft hand to guide her away from it. Isabella pauses in shock as Zarracen looks at her.
All of this Videle. She needs a knight? No she did not. Isabella was powerful. Her magic if she was a mage Zarracen could sense Isabella's mind's eye. All she feels is the videle and all she sees is death. The princess did not have a wound or a speck of blood on her.
"Your eyes glow," Isabella remarks after the two stair at each other for a moment.
"What?" Zarracen blinks on confusion. "My eyes don't-"
She stops herself short seeing her eyes reflected in Isabella's. They did glow. She saw everything perfectly almost from the dark videle coming from Isabella to the figure crawling away from them.
She steps back unsure of what to say. Isabella releases her hand and with one motion of her hand the black energy breaks apart like ice and the bodies hit the floor. Zarracen approaches the figure crawling away. She lifts them up by their throat. They were trembling.
She unmasks them revealing a woman.
"Who sent you?" Zarracen questions. Despite her fear the woman mockingly opens her mouth revealing a tongueless mouth and a glowing insignia at the roof of it.
Before anything else could be said her head exploded.
Teeth and chunks of brain matter splatter Zarracen. She grimaces as she wipes off the gunk and clunks of bloody hair that's not on her body. She tosses the body away.
"Do you have someone who can come get these bodies?" Zarracen questions the princess.
Isabella raises her eyebrow and tilts her lips in a smirk.
"Oh, I'd think the knight can get rid of a few bodies, can't she?" Zarracen sighs as she remembers that no one works here but Fiella.
"Fiella can't?"
"She's...busy." Isabella grins.
"I'll be back to discuss things."
"My garden has a nice plant that's hungry for blood."
Zarracen gets rid of the bodies inside of the enclosed garden but not before checking each one for any markings that could reveal where they could possibly be from. There were none of course the head exploding screamed that they were professionals at the very least and slave assassins at the most.
So, it matters not when a large extremely beautiful plant with a kaleidoscope of colors ripped the bodies apart and appeared to drink it. It was disturbing to watch but no worse than watching a murder happen or a cognifiend devouring something. When the feast is done Zarracen returns to Isabella.
The room is spotless upon reentry. Finding not a bit of blood or scratch marks that scarred the walls within the room. The princess was sitting idly on the couch drinking from a wine glass. The scent of fruit tinged with the nigh odorless scent of alcohol wafts into Zarracen's nostrils.
"Bodies done. You need staff," Zarracen bluntly remarks and plops down on the couch next to her. She kicks her feet up on the table, her dirt marred feet making a thumping sound as they hit the table.
Isabella gives Zarracen a look before waving her hand. Mana envelopes her feet and they are pushed aside with ease. Zarracen stumbles a bit before smirking. She'll keep pushing this limit with her until she can figure out what's going on. Why did Isabella decide to feel her up yesterday morning and why did she have Fiella stalking her?
"You need manners. I hope one of the people you plan to contact can teach you some." Zarracen scoffs at Isabella's derisive tone.
"If you cared you would have told His Majesty not to bother with someone from my background," Zarracen argues. Isabella laughs but it wasn't a that's funny laugh no it's I'm mocking you laugh that irritates Zarracen.
"Dad would listen to a beast before he takes counsel from his child. Besides," Isabella's looking at Zarracen again with those eyes.
Her chest feels cold and warm under it at the same time. An uncomfortable wave crashed down on her. She has to look away before she's caught. When she does her eyes see a light in Isabella's as if she was impressed by her looking away.
One thing Zarracen is good at is judging facial expressions and body language. It's why she hasn't cursed at the princess yet. Unlike other nobles she has yet to flinch in fear or disgust from being around someone from the slums. Nor has her eyes shown a hatred for her commoner status.
When she touched her, it felt like she was testing something. Zarracen didn't mind being tested, it meant they were interested in her capabilities which usually leads to better things for herself. What she minds is the fact that she doesn't know why Isabella is like this? Nor does she know why she feels like she should know.
Isabella finishes her glass and Zarracen's arm moves to grab the wine bottle and the extra glass on the table. She fills up both of them and Isabella smiles.
"What do you want from me?" Zarracen questions. Isabella hums as she drinks.
"I want power and I want the throne. But that's not something you can give me. One perhaps but not the other."
"Power? It seems you have all the power in the world."
"It's fleeting power that my father has and if my siblings get the throne that I'll lose. I'll be married off either to a foreign nation, a dukedom or a gravery and I want none of that."
Zarracen drinks from her wine glass her eyebrow shooting up at the delicious taste. The wealthy always have the best alcohol. She needs money.
"What's my pay like as a royal guard will it be an increase?"
"Not a significant one but you will have more freedom with your time to make your own unlike as a regular member of the army."
"I'll get a proper team together so you can sleep in peace." Zarracen informs.
She understands that Isabella will grant her a freedom of movement that she would not have had in the regular army. Even as a Grand Knight of Valor she would be still sent on month long missions. Most of her cognifiend kills went to resupplying the armory or being sold by the nation to keep the coffers running.
It kept them paid and fed. Knights were well paid in regards to normal commoners able to make at least half a Cedi a year depending on their rank within their specific order. As a Grand Knight she normally made nearly six thousand Star Vixtra yearly. That was being saved to buy land and a good house for herself away from the capital that she could retire on.
She almost had enough, and she was rather frugal with her money as well. Eating mostly within the barracks and utilizing the armory for her weapons instead of buying personal supplies. Having personal weaponry would have helped a lot in that fight against the White Dragon of Arcus. The only personal weapon was an Ethrite sword that did the most damage but ended up being mangled due to the power of the dragon and the armor she had on that was destroyed which was made from the Grand Lion of Sunmen that she had killed.
Kills like that are usually left to the ones who killed them which was why the Emperor graced them with the dragon. She had gave the flesh to some of the company men who stood guard in case she had fallen. The rest of the dragon she had stored like her fellows during the fight.
"Your highness-"
"Isabella," the woman bluntly demands. Zarracen blinks.
"Didn't you just say something about manners?"
"Manners are for the crabby uptight nobles so that look down on you. It's so they cannot find fault in you and me as your...mistress. When we are here speaking as colleagues you may call me Isabella."
Colleagues. Zarracen frowns. That word didn't feel right. She's still a princess and the descendant of an actual goddess. But it was her request, and she could not fault it.
"Princess Isabella," Zarracen starts only to find an unamused look being cast her way "Isabella...do you know of a good smith that could work dragon leather. I need to retrieve my corpse soon before the videle preserving it is gone."
"I do know one. I'll set you up with them tomorrow."
"I have to guard you during the day."
"Fiella will take over until you can properly assume your duties. Father made a decision in a moment that had little actual thought or preparation behind it. Normally a royal guard is put through a battery of tests for loyalty and sacrifice. Some are even trained from childhood for it. A royal guard commander as you are would normally already have members chosen from a batch of knights. Take the time to get ready but don't take too long."
"More assassins?" Zarracen catches her implication at the end. Isabella nods. The knight stands after finishing her drink.
"I'll stand guard."
"No go rest. It's been a long time since I've had to cast protections about myself."
Zarracen hears the order but cannot bring herself to comply. She leaves the room but stands guard the entire night outside the door listening to Isabella sleeping peacefully as Zarracen's aura swarms the surroundings as if a protective blanket that once disturbed will advise her of an intruder.