"..."
He gonna come back, wight?
Slam!
Oh! He back now?
The Dark Elf girl crawls towards the door but remembers something Harue had said before leaving.
"Don't come out or make a sound. Even if you hear the door."
She pauses momentarily, then slides back and covers herself with the blanket.
Stomp, stomp
"!"
Those awe... Heaby. Like...
Thump
Are dey getting.. Cwoser?
Hearing the heavy footsteps from the man who has abused her for months, she forgets all about Harue and the sense of safety he left her with.
"N-no.. Pwease no..."
Bang!
Slam!
Tap tap
"Hm? What was that?"
The man standing in the hallway looks toward the slamming sound.
"Wait, the only thing down there is.."
That Elf bitch.
Tunk.
The count sets down the metal box he is carrying and clears his throat.
"Ahem, SIMON, GET OVER HERE!"
Moments later, an average-height, decent-looking man in a suit enters the room, gets down on one knee, and lowers his head.
"Your orders, sir?"
"Get that hall cleared, everybody out, and bring me my sword."
"Very well, sir."
Step step step
Creak
Tap tap
Swish
As the Count turns his back to perform a quick search of the room, the butler quickly faces the door and leaves.
"Hm, so my suspicions were correct. Someone has definitely been searching around here."
Swoosh
"Your sword, sir."
The same man appears in the room almost instantly and presents the sword to his master.
Clink
"Good. Have you seen anybody searching this room recently? Or perhaps a new maid doing a bad job?"
"No, sir, only you and the head maid have entered."
"And what about that Elf kid?"
"His dinner was just served, sir. He should still be in his room. Would you like for me to go check on him?"
"No, don't worry about it. Focus on your work. Oh, and don't forget to write that letter to the king."
"Of course, sir."
"That's all. You may leave."
"Yes, sir."
Tap tap
Creeeak.
Click!
Tap tap tap
The man waits for his butler to leave, then proceeds to slide open the cabinet door, sheathed sword in one hand, lantern in the other.
Ssssh
Thump, thump, thump, thump
"A missing torch..?"
Whoever it was, not only had they searched, they found the entrance. I need to get to them before they leave.
Ssching!
He draws his sword from its old scabbard, making a loud, reverberating sound of metal on metal.
Whump, whump
His footsteps get more rushed, more impatient as he hurries to the room which she is locked inside.
Thump.
As he reaches the room, he notices that the door has been knocked open and that the lock, which is unreachable from the inside, has been broken and is lying on the stone floor in a pile of rusty metal.
"Did you think you could hide from me? I know you can't walk."
He shines the lantern into the room, illuminating the surroundings and allowing him to see inside.
BAM!
In a fit of rage, he slams his fist into the wall, leaving a large visible crack.
"Where... DID SHE GO!?!"
Tap tap
Bang!
Tap
I slam open the door and rush down the stairs, almost tripping about halfway down.
"Damn it, I should've carried her if I had to."
I didn't move her far. If he has time to search, he will find her.
Crash!
Where is he?
As I reach the bottom of the stairs, I hear a loud noise coming from the direction of the room where I found her previously.
Tap tap tap
"Haa, haa"
I sprint towards the direction of the sounds, paying attention to avoid lights or stepping on objects which could break.
Huff
He's not here.
Boom!
"Arghhh!"
From that direction.. That's where she is!
"Haa, hoo"
"No, please."
It was going so well! Why did I leave her there, just after giving her hope!?
I rush towards the room I had carried her to before leaving, a secluded room which looks like it was designed to be a cellar before it was seemingly abandoned.
If I can just get there before him!
"Ah!"
Seeing the light ahead, radiating from the same room I am searching for, makes my heart drop.
Badump...
Badump...
"This can't be happening..."
Whump
Losing hope, I fall to the ground and stare emptily into the open door.
In those 26 long years, I never once helped another person. I was so focused on myself that I never loved, I never had close friends, and I never sacrificed for another. I spent my whole life just trying to survive, to be able to eat today, to be able to work tomorrow.
"I just wanted to, for once,"
Have someone rely on me.
"Grrrr~"
It's not over yet... I could just kill everyone here, take her and leave...
I grit my teeth and, almost as if preparing for what I'm about to do, my body flexes and my eyes sharpen. I feel light, powerful, and agile.
"Right..."
It's not the first time I have killed someone. I just need to-
Crash!
"Where are you!?!"
"He.. hasn't found her yet?"
Damnit, what was I thinking?! Kill everyone here? Snap out of it. I'm barely over two years old, for fuck's sake.
"Huu"
Tap tap
Ssh
After taking a moment to calm down and relax my body, I quickly and stealthily enter the room.
I didn't just pick this room at random. Out of all of them in here, this one is the largest and most crowded. I just hope that it's good enough for him not to have found her yet...
As long as I don't get into his light, I should be able to sneak by.
Shing
Splash!
At the other end of the room, the Count slices an old wine barrel in two, sending the wine pouring out onto the cold floor.
"Okay, I can do this."
Step step step
I rush towards the northwest corner of the room.
Bump
While running, I bump into a small cabinet storing rations, knocking it over and spilling them all over the floor.
Crash!
"Who's there!?"
I freeze in place, making sure not to make a single sound.
"I know you're in here, you little bitch."
Oh shit, I need to hide.
As I hear him coming closer and closer, I look at my surroundings for a hiding place.
Come on, where the hell is it!?
I look to my left, nothing. In front of me, nothing. But then, I recognized something to my right.
Yes! Thank god I've always been a fast runner.
Tap tap
I walk over to a little pile of boxes and barrels shaped so they would not look suspicious but still have enough room to hide inside.
"Hup!"
I lift one of the boxes, revealing a small room large enough to sit in, even leaving some wiggle room.
A good fit, except...
In the spot, I see a pair of shining yellow eyes staring back at me.
"Haru?"
Better than nothing, I'll have to find a way to fit in with her.
Bam!
"Where did you go, you little shit!?"
Oh, crap.
"We gotta hurry this up. Help me push this open, please."
"Hrrrr!"
Woosh, tap
Using all her strength, she barely manages to push open the side, allowing me to pull her out, slide in, and put her on my lap.
"Wha awe you do-"
"Ssh."
I put my hand over her mouth and, with the other one, pulled up the box on the side and covered the top, leaving us inside a small pitch-black room.
"Mmph!"
Bang!
"Yaaagh!"
"I know it's uncomfortable, but we can't do anything before he leaves."
"M-Mhm."
I slowly recede my hand from her mouth, allowing her to speak again.
"I-I sowwy."
"It's okay, let's just talk quietly."
Huh? Something soft and fluffy is touching me..?
Brush
It's so soft... What is this?
"U-uhm... My tail-"
"Oh! I'm sorry, did it hurt?"
"No, no, it nice."
"Do you want me to brush it?"
"No.."
Ahh, I'll have to resist brushing it for now. At least until she trusts me more.
"Okay, I'm sorry,"
Her tail is pretty warm, but she's freezing.
"Are you cold?"
"N-No, me okay."
"You can be honest with me."
Crash!
"Haa."
We'll probably be here for a while, so it can't hurt to try this. I have been working on it for some time now, so I'm pretty confident in it.
Fsh.
Upon seeing the fire appear, she jumps and tries to get away from it.
"What y-you doing?"
"Just watch. It will be something you have never seen before, promise."
"Kay."
Okay, I have the fire. That's step one completed. Next, I need to find somewhere it won't get extinguished.
"Watch out, It's hot."
I carefully avoid burning her with the fire as I set it on a piece of metal which won't catch on fire, at least not with a fire of this temperature.
Rrrip
Thankfully, they also gave me clothes when I came here, so I don't have just my old ones.
I rip off a small piece of cloth from my shirt and place it below the fire.
Now for the hard part. I learned that items can be used as catalysts for magic, like enchantments in novels, but slightly different. Instead of just putting power into something to make it stronger, this is like if you were to substitute the item for a magic circle without sacrificing it. This is useful as some items have magic-boosting capabilities, but sadly, not this.
I guess I found a use for this after all, huh?
Clink
Behind the fire, I place a small metal trinket.
I stole this from one of the maids about a week ago. I think it's supposed to be some kind of insignia.
I need perfect concentration to pull this off.
"Haa..."
I take a deep breath before sliding my hand behind the fire and onto the insignia.
Imagine it, perfect it, the image of a constant breeze pushing air out. A wind that is typically cold, but the fire makes it nice and warm. Yes, that's perfect. Now, replicate it again and again. Repeat it endlessly until it's all I can think about. And once it's everything but simultaneously nothing, manifest it, transform it from fiction to reality. Gentle Breeze.
"Wooow~"
Woosh
After casting the spell, the breeze and the fire mix, setting out the fire and instead having a warm wind coming from the insignia.
Yes! That's great.
"Oh, warm now!"
"Ssh, remember he's still here, but it's nice, right?"
"Yesh."
Now that the hard part is over, It's time for the hardest, smoke disposal. Even though the spells merged, it was far from perfect and is still producing smoke out of the back.
To be honest, I don't exactly know how to do that yet.
"Hmm.."
Ah, I know. I'll just make a hole for it to escape through and disguise the smoke. If I use another spell to hide the smoke as oxygen, he won't notice it so long as he doesn't stay too long.
"There. How are you feeling?"
Ugh, this takes much more mana than I thought, but I'll do it for her.
"Me okay, little hot."
"Why don't you take off that blanket, then?"
"Okay~"
She slides off the blanket, uncovering her entire face, and allowing me to see her clearer.
Wait, those ears..?
On the top of her head is a set of black cat ears. They twitch as the blanket runs over them.
Those ears, and her tail too, is she a hybrid between a Dark Elf and a Catish?
"Hm? Oh, me ears... Dey awe bad, white?"
She puts her hands on her head and hides her ears, seemingly saddened by their presence.
"No, please don't hide them, they're cute."
"Buh, angwy man say..."
"Forget what he said. He doesn't know what he's talking about."
"O-tay."
She lowers her hands, trying to hide her smile as she does.
Oh my god, she's adorable.
The next few hours are mainly fun, me and her talking about various topics, with the rare moment where we have to fall silent as the count comes close. After hearing him leave, we wait a few minutes to ensure he doesn't come back inside.
Harue's Journal, Page 1, Lomasian year 983
"It's been two whole years since I arrived in this world, and since then, a lot has happened. After being sent to this prison-like mansion, I've been training in magic during the day and searching around at night. I decided to start writing things down in this notebook as it seems like a good way to pass the time and write things to remember. As I write this, I have a cute Dark Elf-Catish hybrid girl locked in with me, so there isn't much else to do but talk. Anyways, that's enough for today, gotta get back to my little guest."
There is a paw print drawn at the end of the last sentence.