Marius Manor, Berelun, Athens.
Elanor Marius stood quietly on the balcony just outside her room, her ruby eyes scanning the scenery beneath with a disinterested gaze. Close to a dozen meters beneath her, her youngest brother was engaged in a wild chase with one of the family's hunting hounds; a friendly onyx dog by the name of Stan.
Skrrrk, skrrk.
A few flakes fell to the ground as Elanor scratched the hardened skin on her right hand. Taking out the elegant white glove she had built a reputation of wearing, she covered her unsightly deformity and took a seat at the balcony table. Just then she heard the light sound of footsteps approaching.
Mother…She thought, the distinct elegance of Lady Agea's steps having long been engraved in her psyche. Forcing a smile, Elanor turned to the small entrance that separated her room from the balcony.
"Yes?" She asked in a measured tone. For a second her mother's glance fell to the white glove on her daughter's hands between shooting back up. She took a few steps forward and delicately sat on the chair opposite to Elanor. Every move she made was of an unimaginable elegance.
"Have you heard news of your brother?" The question was not meant to be answered, it was to serve as a simple conversation starter. Lady Agea knew that Bane Marius's well being was the only reason her daughter hadn't run away years ago. The Marius estate was the only place where Bane knew to send letters, meaning that leaving it would be the equivalent of cutting all ties with her eldest brother.
Keeping herself from using the arsenal of unwomanly words her brother had taught her, Elanor shook her head. "Not since that last letter before he entered Eastern Meriany." To this her Lady Agea replied with a slight nod before turning to look into the distance.
"You come of age soon." She said, finally getting to the point of her visit. "Due to your.. Let's call it malformity, we've allowed you to go this long without looking for a suitable suitor, but that time is coming to an end.
"You will do as you have done so far and continue to hide that blight of yours. Once you come of age, you will find yourself a suitable match and work to elevate the status of this family. Only then will you be able to erase your brother's sin and allow him to reclaim his spot as this family's heir.
"Am I understood?"
So that's why you're here, why had I thought you'd gained a heart? You're still the same monster you were back then. What did I expect from some who got to her position because she was good at sucking-… Elanor chose not to finish the thought, she looked at her mother and nodded.
Lying b**ch! She mumbled as her mother finally left. You're the only reason Bane isn't here!
Letting her anger cool, Elanor decided to take a trip to the manor's pigionary¹ to check if her brother had sent anything. She lightly jogged to the small dark room in one of the manor's towers where she found a kind old man sorting through letters.
"Hello, Lady Elanor," he said with a smile, "I have something for you"
…
Before the skull could let out its first words, it was shushed by the Butcher. He looked down to his left hand and felt that something was missing.
He was sure that he had brought the crowman's corpse with him.
Had he forgotten? Had it slipped from his hands? Slowly Bane eliminated possibility after possibility. He couldn't have forgotten or allowed it to slip from his hand, his special anatomy would have sensed something amiss and warned him. There was a chance it had been lost in the shadow travel, but that would've been the first time, nothing had ever been lost in shadow travel.
Closing his eyes, he allowed his supernatural senses to take over.
Fsh! His ears twitched.
There was something in the room with him, something that wasn't the talking skull on his bed. It was watching him, grinning from ear to ear at the fact that it had been noticed,
"Speak." The Butcher commanded, a faint trace of mysticism in his voice. Slowly it spread until the whole room was bathed in an illusory golden glow. This was one of the 22 mystical arts he had learned on his travels, techniques taught to him by several different masters of the arcane in hopes to take him as a disciple.
Sensing the authority placed on it, the existence stalking Bane spoke.
"Hello," It began in a horse voice, a pair of black lips appeared in the air before Bane.
"SEER!" The beige skull, which had been quiet up until now, let out a loud screech as it pounced at the pair of lips.
¹: Place in charge of messages sent via pigeon, dove, or other flying creature