Crunch-!
My mouth opened.
Squelch.
And blistering hot, viscous liquid thrust out my throat. It gurgled and splurged into the toilet, mixing into the clear water and turning it a vile, dark red. Spots of bck marked the coaguting blood, oozing and churning with Curses.
Lightly gripping the toilet bowl, I kept my head over the toilet.
Ridiculous volumes of blood filled the toilet, piling up like a murky volcano.
The cracks in my vocal cords and throat had yet to heal; due to that complication, the already damaged sections began cracking back open.
Which then forced me to use more Curses to fix the issue-
Which then spurted out more blood.
...
A relentless cycle.
"Hey! Little Alora! Come out already!
Bang! Bang!
Hilda's impatient voice seeped through the cracks of the toilet door.
Little dummy transformed into little Alora; even Lily had to relent and allow her to keep it that way.
After the one time she called me 'Lady'...
Well...
She may have exploded with boiling rage only a couple of minutes after saying those words. It was certainly an interesting sight.
...Urgh!
My grip tightened slightly while my breath began to run out. I was starting to show signs of hyperventition from the relentless puking.
"C, Coming!"
Rushing the word out during the brief downtime, I heaved in air through the stench enveloping my mouth. My nose stung of iron and blood whilst my tongue struggled to pick up on anything other than the bitter taste of crimson drowning my throat.
"Ptew."
I spat the residues threatening to clog my mouth as the fit of blood came to a gradual stop.
Slugging myself over to the tap, Squeak, I twisted the cold water open and ran my head beneath the tap. The frigid liquid cooled my boiling head; it cleansed and dealt with the blood that had yet to coagute.
But, for the blood that had coaguted...
I raised my head.
At the mirror.
This wasn't my bathroom.
So.
Break-
I had to stop myself from smashing it into bits, not to mention, I needed the reflection to clean off any remaining pieces clinging to my skin that the running water had missed.
Those pale eyes-
I scrubbed away at my skin, practically peeling it off.
That golden hair-
The reddish mixture of water doused the sink in crimson.
That thing-
Squeak.
Shutting the tap, I pulled my eyes off the mirror, off the creature staring back at me through the mirror.
"Piss off."
I muttered.
"Stop with the bullshit."
I held back my hand from smashing to my right at the snarky bastards. Instead, I used those urges to shake the water off my hands.
Sure, there's a towel right next to me, but...
This thing shouldn't dirty the knights' items.
"Come on! Little Alora! I'm! Waiting!"
Hilda's impatient voice came through again.
"Coming."
Rinsing my mouth a couple of times and flossing to get the smell out, I gave my hands another quick wash, making me question why I dried them in the first pce, and turned to leave the bathroom.
But first, I put my mask back on.
Tightening it on my face, I pnted my hand on the doorknob.
Click.
Unlocking the door, I exited to the sight of Hilda's face sitting a mere centimetre away. She was bent over with her hands on her hips. The smooth, pudding-like white skin glistened from this distance; the faint scent of roses wafted from her hair, crushing the pungent scent of blood still lingering in my nose.
Hilda's petite nose twitched from this close distance.
Then, she tilted her head to the side and:
"Blood?"
My blood chilled.
She sniffed my neck, then my colrbone, and my chest.
"Hmm? The smell is coming from your face." Her head tilted upwards, her molten-red eyes glistened with intrigue as she gazed at me. The few strands of red hair that were loose from her half-up hairstyle tickled my neck.
My heart rate sped up.
"What's wrong?"
I could feel my heart pounding in my ears.
I can't let her learn or see any more, not if I want her to retain the remnants of sanity she has left.
This is my punishment.
I must manage her.
Put her back together.
Fix her.
"Nothing."
Her eyes bore into my frigid white eyes.
"Liar. The little dummy is lying." Hilda's words retraced back to what she was most comfortable with.
And I:
"Let's go."
I put my finger on her forehead and redirected it to the side. Pushing past her, I walked out of the vatory corridor to where Lily was waiting; I stationed her outside just in case, but I didn't expect Hilda to be just as problematic.
Hilda, who was now behind me, rushed to my side with a skip in her step.
"Okay, nothing is wrong." With a pin smile, she followed me out.
...I was expecting her to hound me with questions.
Exasperated, I let out a long sigh;
I don't understand this girl.
At time's she's impatient and violent; at other times, she's willing to dutifully listen, and now she's letting me get away with the smell of blood.
She's weird.
Yet.
Even as I thought that.
I couldn't restrain the smile leaking onto my face.
-----
The grounds are, as previously stated, massive.
The main mansion, the Sanctified Knights' training grounds, the main mansion's servant quarters, and other such establishments sat at the southernmost section of the pace grounds; the remainder of its pace was sprawled out like a miniature city.
Barracks and training grounds for other knight orders and infantrymen, commercial zones, residential zones, industrial zones-
It had it all.
A city within the capital city; that's its pace.
That personification of madness's pace.
And our home.
I'm saying this because I must emphasise how rge this pce is.
Why? You might ask?
Because I have to search for it.
The Canaries.
The source of our demise.
Where is it?
How do I find it?
Where do I start searching?
I don't know.
But.
I am sure of one thing.
I have time, years, in fact, before what they warned me comes to fruition.
But is that enough time?
To explore the entirety of the Domain of Light?
To figure out the secrets of The Dark World?
The Sunless World?
Can I?
Can this thing?
Can it do it for her?
...Yes.
Of course I can.
I have to.
"Lady Alora, it is lunchtime." Lily stood beside the spiral staircase with an embellished letter gripped in her fingers.
Bowing, she held the letter out towards me the moment I exited the vatory corridor;
"This is an invitation by House Parsimen, the Duchy. The young Miss Yulei humbly extended this invitation for your presence at her dining table."
...?
Who?
Picking up my confusion, Lily crified, "Miss Yulei is the girl with the pale-beige coloured hair you met previously during breakfast. She is one of Lady Esme's six friends."
"...I see."
It's the girl from that breakfast...?
...
Nope.
I don't remember her in the slightest.
While I was attempting to remember the faces of the kids from that table, Lily was in the middle of teaching Hilda how to accept invitations and the method with which she should pass them along to me.
Lily's voice was almost hypnotic to the ears, pulling both Hilda and me into a drowsy state. But it seems like Hilda, as odd as she was, was still learning well.
Yulei...?
Pale-beige hair...?
...?
I remember green.
Silver.
And bck.
The girl who shouted out loud first, no, not her...
...
Yeah.
I can't remember.
...
Who?
...
That's...
...
I see...
"We should go."
I interrupted Lily's mini training session, I had to go meet this Yulei.
"Yes, Lady Alora."
"...!!! Thank you!"
Lily gred at Hilda's unnecessarily happy face, "You got away this time."
"Eek-!"
Hopping away from Lily, Hilda tucked her rger body behind mine. A tail could practically be seen wagging from behind her.
...Anyway.
I need to go.
If what they say is true...
Then, she, Yulei of House Parsimen, a Duchy, might also be a victim.
And-
And-
If she is-
...
69,222,222doicare?69,222,223
-----
Even with Blessings and Curses;
Perhaps even within the artificially lit Land of Cinderblossom, North of the Uclidian mountains;
Thud.
The road beneath the carriage's wheels caused them to bump and rattle; carriages were still in use for some absurd reason, and no matter the world, they remained prevalent.
Inside the carriage's innards...
"She's asleep-"
Lily, exasperated, stared at Hilda's defenceless posture. The girl slept peacefully beside me, her mouth wide open with drool dripping down the side of her mouth.
"My apologies, Lady Alora. I will increase the intensity of her training."
...Ideally, not.
"...No need." I struggled the words out of my throat.
I don't want another dozen hours of Hilda's explosive outbursts.
"...? Lady Alora, would you like some honey tea upon our arrival?" Lily picked up on the strain in my voice.
"...Yes." My scratchy voice gratefully accepted her proposal.
...
Don't say that, that sounds weird.
"Hic!"
Hilda's voice abruptly shot out with a hiccup, her dazed face awakened as her ruby-red eyes gnced around sluggishly.
"Where...? Mommy...?"
"Hilda, watch your nguage." Lily remarked.
Hilda's eyes regained their lustre.
"Yes!" She gave a military salute, thumping her rger chest with gusto.
And~ she's back at it again.
...
I know.
...
I've always known.
...
It's always me.
-----
The 6 Duchies of the Domain of Light.
Their primary residences are elsewhere in the Domain, but each holds an estate within the pace grounds and another within the capital city.
Currently:
Ahead of our rolling carriage, decorated in boisterous colours and endless jewels, representing the wealth and vanity of a powerful Duchy, was the entrance to the Parsimen Estate.
Tightly armed guards stood beside the cave-wide, bejewelled metal gate. Their hardened eyes and packed muscles embodied the demeanour of a Duchy.
...Meaning I'd have to switch to etiquette mode.
Ugh.
It makes my skin crawl—acting as though how you eat, stand, and the order by which you talk matters.
Ofcourseifmotherwerehereiwouldshownothingbutimpeccableetiquette-
Nofaultsnoliesyesmotheryesmotheryesmother-
Perfectionnothingbutperfectioniamperfection-
But this is Parsimen.
I don't care about Parsimen.
A deep breath ter, a sembnce of humane rationality reignited within my eyes.
I'm Human.
I smiled.
...
Yes, mother.
