"Good morning."
"…"
"…No good huh. Maybe tomorrow…"
"Good morning."
"…"
"Still no response… …Angkor, when will she wake up?"
"…"
"No response from you either? Haa…"
"Good morning."
The girl slowly opened her eyes, blinking multiple times as her vision sharpened.
"Oh good. You finally woke up."
The girl raised her head to meet the familiar-sounding voice. A man. A tall man, wearing a long white coat. She could not see his face. Her eyes were too… What's the word? The girl was unsure, but no matter. She just wanted to close her eyes and rest again. She was tired, yes, but at the same time, somewhat curious. What would this life have to offer?
Her eyes drooped lower. …No matter. She'll find out another day.
"Good morning."
The girl opened her eyes, raising her head to look at the figure before her. She blinked multiple times, clearing away the water that blurred her vision. A man. A tall, familiar-looking man, still wearing the long white coat from the previous day. She could see his face this time. Messy strands of violet-colored silk that covered his face, but revealed his vibrant, similarly shaded eyes. Bright purple eyes. The girl could not help but stare at them. How peculiar, these sharp, round eyes that looked like sparkling amethyst gems…
The man with amethyst eyes. That's what she'll call him.
She tore her gaze away from the man's eyes, observing her surrounding, absorbing every little detail into her brain. She could not see very far – it was all black, like looming shadows. She glanced down. The floor was black and gray, arranged in a checkerboard-like pattern. Her small body, dressed in a simple, dark purple dress, was seated upon a tall and comfortable red-velvet throne. Her seat was a silvery color, but the girl did not know what it was made out of. No matter. It had no importance to her anyway.
She raised her right arm and waved it around slowly, her movements stiff and unnatural. But it did not bother her. She was merely tired, still waking up after all. Her hand brushed against a foreign object, though it did not surprise her. She waved her arm around, flicking the foreign object – strands of soft violet bunched together like loose rope. How strange.
The girl closed her hand in a fist, grabbing onto a few strands. She pulled gently, feeling her head move in the direction of the pull. How strange indeed.
She heard an unusual noise, and turned to face the man with amethyst eyes, seeing him raise an arm to cover his U-shaped mouth. The noise stopped. The man looked at the girl, unclenching her fist and lowering her arm as he spoke.
"That's your hair; it's attached to your head, and is a part of your body."
He moved his arm to the left of the girl's head, gently pulling along similar-looking strands of purple.
"Your hair is tied up into pigtails." He said slowly, releasing his grip on the girl's hair.
"They look like this."
The man moved his hands to the sides of his head, picking of tuffs of hair and waving them about. The girl looked at the man curiously, the corners of her lips rising slightly. She saw the man's mouth shift in a similar fashion.
The girl suddenly closed her eyes and opened her mouth, releasing a large breath of air. She opened her eyes again, but with more difficulty this time. She looked at the man. His mouth was upside-down…
"I suppose that's enough for today…"
He took a step forward, and gently patted the girl's purple head.
"Good night."
The girl felt her eyelids grow heavy and her head fall. She nodded multiple times, blinking rapidly to try and stay awake. No good. She was falling asleep. How strange…
"Good morning."
The girl opened her eyes, meeting with the amethyst eyes of a very familiar figure. The man looked the exact same as before, but his mouth was no longer upside down. Her surroundings, however, remained the same. The man opened his mouth.
"Good morning. Try saying that."
The girl opened her stiff mouth.
"Goo… …Morin…" Her words came out disjointed.
The man's mouth grew wider. He patted the girl's head.
"Good job!"
The girl felt the corners of her mouth rise. She liked being praised by this man.
"Goo morin." She repeated. "Goo morin!"
The man laughed.
"Good morning."
He bent down on his knees, looking up at the small girl, and pointing a finger at himself.
"I am 'Father'. Try saying that."
"Fa…Sa…" The girl scrunched her face. Her words sounded strange, but the man with amethyst eyes was not displeased.
"Good, good!" He pointed to the girl.
"And you are 'Aisha'. A-i-sha."
"Ai…Sha?" The man nodded enthusiastically.
"Good morning, Aisha."
"Goo morin… Fas… Fatha."
The man stood up and patted the girl's head once more.
"That's enough for today. You did well, Aisha. I'm very proud of you. …Good night."
The girl closed her eyes, feeling an odd sensation resound throughout her body. She felt… Pleased. Her awakening was sooner than she had anticipated…
"Goo nigh… Fatha."
"Good morning, Aisha."
The girl opened her eyes, blinking quickly multiple times as her vision sharpened. She spoke slowly, returning the greeting.
"Good morning, Father."
The man smiled.
"How do you feel?"
The girl rocked her head from side to side, her movements gradually becoming more natural.
"…I don't know."
Her response displeased the man. He started to mumble under his breath.
"…not there yet… …sacrifices for energy…"
Aisha continued to stare at the man. She understood his words, but was unable to comprehend them. No matter. They were of no importance to her.
She glanced down, noticing that her outfit had changed. Today, it was a fancy, dark purple and magenta dress, with a frilly white skirt and yellow ribbons all over the place. Clothes did not interest her, but she liked this dress more than the one before. She started to fiddle with the dress, observing every little detail. The man noticed this.
"Do you like this dress, Aisha?"
The girl raised her head to meet the man's amethyst eyes, and nodded, smiling. The man smiled in return.
"That's good. Father will make lots of pretty dresses for you okay?"
The girl nodded cheerfully.
"Thank you, Father."
Her smile quickly faded as an overwhelming force overcame her delicate body. Like she was drowning in a sea of clouds. She raised an arm, and started to rub her right eye, trying to remove the sleepiness from her body.
"Are you tired, Aisha?"
The girl raised her head and nodded slowly, with half-lidded eyes. The man smiled, though he did not seem happy.
"I see… Good night then, Aisha. Sweet dreams."
The girl closed her eyes, feeling her mind slowly fade to darkness.
"Good morning."
The girl quickly opened her eyes, smiling at the familiar amethyst eyes that greeted her. No, that's wrong. The amethyst eyes looked duller than usual… No matter. He was probably just tired. Like she was when she first woke up.
"Good morning, Father."
The man smiled in return. He pulled out a wooden stool from the darkness and sat down, facing the small girl.
"Today we're going to meet some friends."
"Friends?" The girl asked, the word sounding foreign to her little brain.
"Yes, friends. People that like you, and that you like in return. They will help you if you are nice to them. And you, in turn, should help them if they are nice to you."
The girl scrunched her face.
"But what if they don't help me? Even if I'm super nice to them?"
"If they don't help you out once or twice, then it's fine. They may be busy with something. But if they never, or rarely help you out, or are mean to you, then they are not your friends."
The girl nodded slowly, listening intently to the man's every word.
"Now then, these friends I want you to meet…" The man pulled out a staff from the darkness – a simple dark purple and magenta staff, with the tip shaped like a rounded, two-point trident – and handed it to the girl.
"You will need a staff or some sort of medium to communicate with them. Once you get better, you'll be able to call them without a medium."
The girl took the stick gingerly, rotating it as she observed its bland features. The man continued to speak, though the girl did not take her eyes away from her new gift.
"I'm sorry Aisha, that staff is not very pretty, I know, but it was the most controllable one I could find for you…"
The girl shook her head quickly.
"All of Father's gifts are very pretty." She smiled, earning a tender smile from the man with amethyst eyes.
"I'm glad you think so. …Alright then, let's meet these friends shall we?" The girl nodded her head enthusiastically.
"These friends are separated into six main categories – Fire, Water, Air, Nature, Light, and Darkness. There are many more subcategories, but these six are the ones you must always remember. Do you understand, Aisha?"
The girl nodded, etching every syllable into her brain.
"There are some friends that fit into two main categories, like Water and Air, forming a hurricane. Each one of these friends are different. Some are very friendly, and some may require a bit more kindness than others. Today, let's call one of the more friendly ones – Fire. Raise your staff Aisha, point it like this."
The man opened his left palm, spreading his long fingers apart. With his right hand, he grabbed a plain, wooden stick from the darkness and hovered the tip over his left hand. The girl mimicked his movements, staring eagerly at the man's open palm.
"Now repeat after me, Venit, lumen de Rosso."
Come, light of Rosso. The girl understood the man's words, though she was unable to comprehend them. No matter.
"Venit, lumen de Rosso."
As soon as the words left her mouth, a small red flame slowly formed in the girl's open palm. She gazed at its flickering colors, mesmerized by its warm light. The man laughed, waking the girl from her little trance.
"That is one of the friends from Fire – a guide light. You can tell it where to go by slowly waving your staff around."
The girl waved her staff gently, watching intently as the flame dance from her palm to her forehead, and back to her palm. She laughed cheerfully.
"I like this friend."
The man watched with a serene gaze as the girl continued to play with the small flame, its bright sparks dancing around the duo, though the surrounding darkness did not fade or even grow dimmer.
"Shall we call another friend?" The girl stopped, calling back her flaming friend and turning to face the man. She nodded, smiling.
"Let's call forth a friend from Water then. However, we'll first need to say goodbye to our Fire friend." The girl frowned, evidently upset that she had to part with her new friend so soon. The man noticed this and patted her head, smiling reassuringly.
"Don't worry Aisha. You can always call back this friend. But not with a Water friend around. Fire and Water do not like each other. This is the same with Wind and Nature, Light and Dark. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Father..." The girl nodded reluctantly.
"Good girl. Now repeat after me, Vale, mi amice, bene facis."
"Vale, mi amice, et bene facis…"
The small flame flickered brightly, as if responding to the girl's farewell, before curling up and dispersing in a soft glow of orange light. The girl relaxed her hands and looked at her father, patiently awaiting his next words.
"Excellent. Now then, place your staff over an open hand, just like with Fire." The girl straightened up, preparing for the next incantation.
"Now repeat after me, Venit, amplexus de Denif."
"Venit, amplexus de Denif."
Come, embrace of Denif. Like with Fire, a small light flickered in the girl's open palm before revealing a small, floating sphere of blue water. She moved her hand slowly, watching intently as the waters rippled and crashed against an invisible wall, as if it were inside a glass orb.
"Good job Aisha. You're a very fast learner." The man patted the girl's head, earning a light laugh. He retracted his arm, handing his wooden stick to the darkness, and asked hesitantly,
"How are you feeling? Are you tired?"
The girl shook her head, smiling energetically.
"I'm fine."
The man sighed, relieved.
"Then let's continue, shall we?"
The girl nodded cheerfully.
"Yes, please!"
~ x ~ x ~ x ~
The man stood up, stretching his arms as he let out a loud yawn. He turned to face his daughter, surprised that she did not seem fatigued in the least. Perhaps he was getting old? He laughed at the thought.
"Let's stop for today."
The girl frowned, clearly wanting to learn more more about her new friends.
"Are you feeling tired, Father?"
"Yes, a little bit. I'm sorry Aisha." He smiled sadly. "I promise I'll teach you more tomorrow."
The girl flashed a bright smile at the tall man.
"Don't worry! I can wait until Father's not tired anymore."
The man blinked multiple times, surprised at the girl's response. His face softened into a smile.
"Is that so? Thank you then, Aisha."
A yawn escaped from his mouth, followed shortly by a second one. The man rubbed his amethyst eyes, feeling unusually exasperated.
"I'm sorry Aisha, good night."
"It's all right. Good night, Father."
The small girl closed her eyes, and started to dream about her newfound friends.
"I'm a little worried… …She seems to be becoming a little rebellious…"
"I'm sure it's fine. She's almost ready to go to the human realm, isn't she?"
"Yes… Just a few more days if all goes well. I'm running low on energy though. Even with Specka's help, I'm just a little bit short…"
"Haha! Don't worry about that. I'll help out a bit too. The girl is slowly becoming the perfect vessel. It'd be a shame to let all your hard work go to waste."
"…Yes. Yes, of course. Thank you, Angkor."
~ x ~ x ~ x ~
"Good morning, Aisha."
The girl opened her eyes.
"Good morning Father…" She trailed off, noticing a strange bat-like creature resting on the man's raised arm. It had a plump and purple body, with a white face and belly-underside. She gazed at its bright golden eyes, then back at her father's dull, amethyst-colored ones. The contrast in luminosity was more than obvious. She glanced back at the bat, noticing a grin had formed on its mouth, as if taunting her with a secret she badly wanted to know.
"This is Angkor. He's been watching your progress, and is very proud of how fast you've been improving." The man spoke with a rough voice, turning to cough into his left arm every so often. "He wanted to reward you with a gift."
The bat flew off the man's arm and in front of the curious girl. He opened his mouth, lowering his jaw until his mouth was larger than his body. The girl gazed at the black pit before her, eyes wide with amazement as a staff pulled itself out of the small bat's mouth and into her arms. The bat puffed out its chest, seeming pleased with itself and returned to its armrest.
Assuming the staff was for her, Aisha raised it, turning it around as she observed its features. The staff was very tall, almost 3/4s her height. It was a dark purple – almost black – with a magenta-colored heart-shaped gem at the top, followed by a tip shaped like the bat in front of her. A pink gem shaped like a diamond rested in the center of the bat, and its right wing faded into a white steel, imprinted with three more, smaller, diamond-shaped gems. She glanced down. The bottom of the staff was shaped into a handle of sorts – made with dark purple and intertwined with a white, bone-like material. She smiled, facing the bat to express her thanks.
"It's very pretty! Thank you Mister Angkor."
The bat flitted its wings and grinned haughtily at the girl, his golden eyes gleaming mischievously.
"Well then…" The man sighed. "I'm sorry Aisha, but Angkor and I have something to discuss. In private." He added. "Do you remember how to access a dimensional storage space?"
The girl nodded, proceeding to chant a short incantation, opening a small swirling portal of purple and black near her. With extreme cautiousness, she placed her new staff into the portal, sealing it with a second incantation. As the portal closed, Aisha turned to face her father, beaming proudly. The man patted her head, mumbling out small praise to the girl.
"Good job Aisha. I'll see you tomorrow, good night."
"Good night Father. Good bye Mister Angkor."
The girl waved to the bat as she slowly closed her eyes, feeling his golden eyes pierce through her eyelid and stare at the back of her brain. How strange…
"Good morning."
The girl opened her eyes, blinking multiple times as her vision sharpened.
"Good morning Father."
She gazed at the smiling figure before her, wearing the same white lab coat as usual. His once beautiful purple eyes had faded, dulling to an almost gray color. She didn't like that, but hid her displeasure.
"Today, Angkor would like to take you to the human realm. He has also…" He hesitated. "…Requested that you wear one of his designs. I know you might not like it, but please wear it just for the day, okay?"
The girl nodded, excited about finally leaving her little area within the shadows. She leapt off her seat, bouncing up and down eagerly. The man smiled, and offered his hand.
"Follow me. Don't get lost now."
The girl grabbed the man's larger hand, skipping along as he led her away from her silvery, red-velvet throne and into the everlasting darkness.
~ x ~ x ~ x ~
The girl stepped into a small, spotlighted area of the darkness, noticing the same bland, tile flooring her throne sat on. She looked around – like her previous occupied area, it was small and fairly dim, with only two objects lying around, like antiques in an old storehouse. The first object was a short, murky purple hand statue that seemed to have protruded from the floor, its long, bony fingers spread out as if it were reaching for the sky. Resting on this little statue was a familiar bat with cold golden eyes. Aisha felt a smile creep onto her face upon seeing her little friend.
The other object in the space was a large mirror right beside the hand statue, a little less than double the girl's size. The rim was a dull gold color, shaped into various, elegant curls around the oval-shaped glass. The girl stepped closer, eyeing her reflection.
As per requested, she had donned one of Angkor's personally designed clothes – a revealing two-piece of dark purple and magenta silk. Her shirt was a tube tank top that barely covered her chest, with a white cross in the center. Her neck was covered with a silvery, metallic choker that connected with her sleeves – long purple sleeves with a large, intricate sigil woven with bright pink thread. The sleeve openings were excessively large and baggy, and were embroidered with soft white lace – an odd feature when compared to the rest of her outfit.
Like her shirt, her purple miniskirt barely even covered her thighs, though the waist accessories helped cover up most of her lower body. Two large ribbons of intense pink wove behind her waist, clasping together at the front with two circular, metal bindings embedded with a large purple stone in the centers. Beneath the bindings, four black tears of fabric, shaped almost like a bat's wing, spread out to her ankles, forming a unique overskirt over her shorter miniskirt, often hiding the two silver crosses that hung from the hem of her dress.
Her shoes were of another matter. The purple boots reached up to her thighs, the top laced with two, thick ribbons much like her belt. A white and pink zipper-like pattern ran down from the front to her toes, connecting with the strange wing-like designs on the shoes. The increase of white fabric certainly stood out against the rest of the dark-themed outfit.
The girl turned around, glancing over the smaller details in the mirror. The outfit wasn't too bad, she supposed. It was certainly very comfortable to move in, albeit very tight and airy. She stopped moving, and turned to stare at her reflection. Her long violet hair was tied up into her usual high twintails, and her face looked young and brave. What bothered the girl however, were her light, lavender-colored eyes. She furrowed her brows. Her father had beautiful dark amethyst eyes, so why didn't she? Had she not fully woken up yet? Hearing approaching footsteps, Aisha quickly relaxed her face and turned to face the newcomer.
"Hello Father!"
The older man smiled.
"Hello Aisha. You look really nice in that dress."
"Thank you."
The man walked over to the mirror, whispering a few words to the small king of demons. He turned to face the girl – his smile slightly faded from his pale lips.
"Come here Aisha, get your staff."
The girl listened obediently, summoning her axe-like staff and skipped over to the duo. She faced her father, gripping her staff tightly as she awaited further instruction. The man began to ramble on about the dangers of the human world – prohibitions, what the girl should avoid or be cautious of, etc. The girl soon tuned herself out, nodding every so often as to not further worry the older man. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her father's reflection in the mirror – faded, translucent. It was like a ghost compared to her bold, solid reflection. How strange.
"…cause too much trouble. Do you understand, Aisha?"
The girl nodded quickly, unable to contain her excitement. She will finally be leaving this dark prison cage…
The man started to chant an incantation, mumbling the words quietly under his breath. Soon, the mirror's bright, clean surface twisted and swirled around, forming a watery surface of dark blue and black. The girl felt something touch her right shoulder, and turned to meet with the golden eyes of a familiar bat. She smiled.
"Are you ready?"
Finished with his spell, the man turned to face his daughter, his amethyst eyes overflowing with worry. The girl nodded cheerfully, replying with a reassuring tone.
"I'll be fine, Father. Mister Angkor's coming along too." She glanced at her bat companion, earning a proud huff of sorts.
The man chuckled lightly, running his thin hand through his messy, violet hair.
"Yes, yes, of course…"
He patted the girl's head. "…Take care then. Be careful."
The girl nodded, and turned to face the swirling portal. She took a step forward, reaching her empty left arm out towards the large mirror. As her finger touched its surface, a jolt of black electricity emerged, shocking the girl's delicate hand. She quickly pulled back, surprised at the unexpected greeting.
"W-What?" The man staggered towards the girl, checking her hand for any injuries, sighing when he saw none. He turned towards the bat, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. "How… Why was she denied? Angkor, what is the meaning of this?"
"It seems she's still incomplete." The king of demons replied dryly.
"I-Incomplete?! That's impossible! She's perfect in every sense!"
The bat gave an amused snort.
"Well, she's clearly missing something."
"But… But what? What is it that—"
"I know what's missing."
The man turned to face the small girl, surprised at her sudden remark. The girl smiled.
"I know what's missing, Father." She repeated.
"You do?" The man asked hesitantly.
The girl nodded, reaching her left hand up to her father's face, as if she were grabbing his eyes out of their sockets.
"You have really beautiful eyes, Father."
The man suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He licked his dry lips.
"I-Is that so? Thank you—"
"I want them."
"…Excuse me? Aisha are you feeling un—"
The man closed his mouth, unable to continue speaking as the girl's stare intensified. The girl narrowed her lavender eyes, boring them into the quivering amethyst orbs before her.
"I don't like my eyes. They're not as pretty as yours, Father. So I'll be taking yours. That's all I'm missing."
A menacing smile crept onto the girl's face as her fingers brushed against her father's forehead. A dark, misty aura formed around the girl's delicate fingers, slowly swirling around her left arm and gathering around her axe-like staff, dissolving slowly into the largest pink gem. As soon as the mist dispersed, the man dropped to his knees, collapsing onto the floor like a broken punching bag – his eye sockets black and empty.
The girl started to twirl around, laughing innocently.
"My, my. I wasn't expecting you to drain his entire soul."
The girl stopped, facing her flying, batty companion. She smirked.
"He was about to die anyway. You were transferring most of his soul to me after all."
"Keke~. So you could tell? I guess all those sacrifices were worth it then. An immortal body, an infinite access of knowledge and skill, and a total of six hundred sixty six pure souls - the perfect vessel."
The bat flitted over to the hand statue, sitting down as he patiently waited for the girl to step into the portal. He gazed at her bright amethyst eyes.
"You have your father's eyes Aisha. They're very beautiful."
"Hee-hee! I know. Father has very pretty purple eyes, like shiny amethyst stones."
She glanced at the soulless body behind her.
"What should we do with him?"
"I can still use the body. I'll recycle it, and maybe he can join us as a wandering spirit." He chuckled, earning a light-hearted laugh from the girl.
"I'd like that." Aisha turned to walk towards the mirror, beckoning her companion to follow. "Let's go then, I'm sick of waiting around in this damp, ugly prison."
The bat whimpered silently, crestfallen that his infinitely vast kingdom was heavily degraded. He flapped his purple-black wings and flew over to the girl, seating himself down on her right shoulder.
Readjusting the grip on her staff, Aisha stretched out her left arm, slowly bringing her hand to the swirling portal – just like before. An arrogant smirk formed on her lips as her fingers passed through the portal. She glanced over her shoulders one last time at her fallen father, her amethyst eyes shining haunting, calling out in a sweet voice as she stepped through the portal.
"Good night, Father."
~ Author's Notes ~
...I have no idea where I was going with this. The original idea was that Aisha was a doll who was gradually stealing the life force of her owner, but since I'm already working on a short-story, I decided to cut this one short and turn it into the oneshot. Not the best I've written, but probably the best I'll ever write for Aisha, lol. /shot
VP is used because the theme suited her better. And plus, it's always EM this, EM that. And with DW just being released on the NA servers... Come on guys? What happened to our amazing dark, Gothic, twin-tailed lolita? /shot
Anyhow, I mainly wanted to get this idea out of my head, so I could focus on Journey of Thousand Fathoms a bit more. /shot for making an excuse
So yeah! Apologies to anyone who was waiting for chapter 3 of JTF (wait, there's actually people *interested* in it?! /shot). You'll be getting your chapter (hopefully) soon~.