The small candle flickered on the table between them, weakly bathing their surroundings in a small glow and casting tall and malicious shadows from the two individuals who sat on either side of the table.
Anzu breathed out nervously, the thin walls surrounding them was chilling the temperature of the room, each time she exhaled small clouds would form in the air in front of her. Other than the creaking sounds coming from the small stool she was sat on and the rustling of the man sat opposite her, she could make very little of her surroundings, obscured as they were in the darkness, the single weak candle providing the only light in the room. She tried to keep her breathing steady, but in truth the man on the opposite side of the table scared her. He sat completely still, a mask obscuring his features, yet more unnerving than anything else was his unnatural stillness. He was sat in silence opposite Anzu, the only telling signs of his character being the inscribed mask and the strong smell of incense that hung around his person. The candlelight played across the sloped shape of the mask, obscuring much of it in shadow, the tree engraving being the most immediate and obvious sight that jumped out at her.
They sat in silence opposite each other, Anzu desperately trying to focus her attention on something. Anything else to keep her mind away from thoughts of just how bitterly cold it was with. The thin walls offered no protection against the cold of the night. She looked at the priest's robes with jealousy, they were thick and hung off his person, particularly around his arms, where they almost reached the floor. All she could hear was a brief shuffle every time the priest moved, these sounds would last only a second. Otherwise the priest would hold his pose at all times, completely mechanical as he sat still without a single outward sign of emotion.
Her own clothes were completely unsuitable for the conditions, her dress was torn and dirty, worn down by the conditions it had been through. The fairy tales never quite mentioned how the princess would be bitterly cold as she sat in the castle. She couldn't help but think about Rapunzel freezing in her stone tower, a quick respite from the pit of worry she had in her stomach. Despite the gravity of her situation, she smiled.
The brief respite of a positive thought soon passed, and she returned to her nervous state, who was this man? What did he want? Those questions were only surfacing now that she made a concentrated effort to try and think about her situation. Prior to this, she had just felt a great pit of unease in her stomach, clouding the majority of her conscious thoughts, paired with the constant longing to escape the frigid conditions she was sat in.
She soon become aware of a new sound that took her mind off the cold, a second set of swishing sounds, this one much more active and agitated, coming towards the room at a rapid pace.
Anzu turned her head to the sound as it got closer, she was almost glad for the arrival of the second individual, the change in circumstance offering a welcome distraction for her exhausted mind. Yet her body was also gripped by a further sinking feeling, had they come all this way just to be interned here?
The second figure appeared out of the shadows with a rustle of robes. Anzu shrunk further in her chair at their unannounced entrance, the only tell-tale signs of their approach had been the soft rustling she had identified earlier. The second figure was clad in the same long robes as their counterpart, but from their narrower physique Anzu thought maybe this second arrival was a woman, it was difficult to tell, seemingly inhuman as they were.
In her arms she was holding a large archaic type-writer, it was scuffed and marked, the metal old and stained, something dug out of storage after a long time. She placed it before her counterpart, and to Anzu's surprise he began to move out of his chair, giving it up to his companion.
As he drew himself up to his full height, Anzu couldn't help but feel like it was much worse than when he'd been sat down, the full imposing size of the unemotional, unflinching figure was now stood before her, looking down through the mask.
"Iyojima-san?" he asked, his voice as uncompromising as his figure.
Anzu nodded, rendered completely speechless by the voice coming from behind the mask. It was flat yet demanding, a voice that she felt completely unable to not answer with a small gesture.
"You've come a long way to us, do you know who we are?"
Anzu shook her head. She kept her eyes low, gazing at the floor, unable to look up into the face of the mask, to look back at the tree marking.
"We are interested in your journey here, tell us what happened what in the last week."
'Tell us', it wasn't a question, it was a demand. Anzu shivered, both from the cold and the sentence. She was silent for but a few seconds, and yet the man before her continued.
"We are prepared to wait until you are ready to speak."
Although the words were friendly, spoken in his flat tone of voice they simply came across as uncaring, as if Anzu was a mere object of curiosity rather than a guest. Anzu found herself still unable to speak, to tell them about the story. She didn't want to remember any of it herself, what they'd been through to reach this point.
"We're speaking to your friends about this as well," he further added, neither impatient nor considerate about Anzu's lack of a reply.
Anzu perked up a little at the mention of the friends who'd come with her. She struggled to find her voice at first, but she had to make sure they were okay. The mention of them had inspired a little courage inside her, the desire to ask how they were, yet at the same time she felt afraid to demand something of this figure before her, unknown as his motives were.
"W-where are they?" she asked, her own voice sounding small in the tiny room, giving away just how afraid she was
"They are telling us about the events they saw."
The response didn't help to calm Anzu's turmoil of emotions. Coming from the man before her she had no idea whether to believe him. Could she trust him to tell her the truth? There was nothing friendly about either of the figures before her. She shrunk back into her seat, the small courage that had appeared earlier had vanished, she was exhausted, cold and afraid. She just wanted someone warm to come and tell her it was okay, that she didn't have to worry.
She blinked, feeling tears forming at the corner of her eyes. Still the figures before her didn't move, didn't react to her feelings at all. They simply continued to watch, passive. They wanted to know about the past week. She was unsure if she'd be able to tell them in her current state. Retreating into herself, all she wished for warmth and kindness she remembered just where she had been at the start of the events, before everything had been torn apart and she'd been forced into the journey that had culminated with her arriving here, sat before these masked figures.
July 30th, 2015
It was a summer afternoon, and Anzu was finishing off the last illustration for her book review, adding the final touch of colour. She hummed to herself as she idly stroked with the pencil, immensely proud of what she'd created. She had never quite thought she'd put so much effort into summer homework, she was a diligent student, always making sure everything she did was neat and presentable, and done in good time. But when given the task of doing a book review she'd felt a burning desire to go above and beyond her usual standard, and to make it the best she possibly could.
Because more than anything else in the world, Anzu loved literature, her room was a striking testament to that. Rows of shelves stood lined against the wall, each filled with row upon row of books, neatly arranged by author. Following along the row of shelves one could see the irregular heights of books stacked next to each other, their myriad of spine artwork creating an exhibition of mysterious as far off lands and incredible people, as well as the impressive matching spines of the longer series which particularly stood out to the eye. Above Anzu's bed were more wall mounted shelves, further groaning under the weight of additional titles from all over the world, some of which were untranslated and completely unreadable to Anzu, yet they stood there amongst the others as she'd been unable to resist the urge to buy them and save them from languishing in the corner of a store forever.
It was a beautiful afternoon, sunlight streamed through her windows, gently lighting her room, and warming Anzu comfortably. She'd sat and written out the entire review in one session of several hours, making sure to prioritise her presentation and attention to detail in all aspects. She'd drawn a great number of cute, stylised illustrations to accompany this review and had even considered doing a second review in the excitement of doing the first. the entire time she had spent writing had been accompanied by a deep-seated excitement, turning the hours into a blur and seeing her completely lose track of the time whilst writing it. She also felt a great sense of shame and disappointment at she could only reviewed one book, there was a great variety to be found in books. Forcing her to choose a single title to write about out of her vast library had been the hardest part. It had kept her occupied for a long time just which title she wanted to write about.
In the end she was confident in her choice. She placed the pencil down, her illustration finished. Looking at the paper before her, she smiled with pride.
Even now, sat in this small room, Anzu could remember the glowing pride she'd felt about the review, as well as the room of her home. It was a very girly room, made of pinks and creams, fluffy rugs and delicate touches. Tama would hate it.
"Iyojima-san."
Although there was no change to his tone, his words told Anzu he was growing slightly impatient at her lack of a response. Feeling a little calmer now, the memories of happier times lifting her spirits a little, she dared to ask
"C-can I see my friends now?" Despite her inner sense of calm, she still stuttered slightly when gathering the words.
"You will see them after you have told us what you know."
"We intend no harm towards you," he added afterwards, a temporary lapse of compassion in his completely neutral statements.
Calmer now, Anzu thought more rationally about the time she had spent sat with the robed man, as well as when they'd been first brought into the castle. The figures then had kept their distance, as if afraid, or even reverent.
The robed figures words hadn't been gentle or compassionate, they'd been the same flat tone as they always had been, and yet they felt to Anzu like a slight concession, Anzu grabbed onto them, desperate to believe they were on her side. Maybe she could trust them? As soon as this thought crossed her mind, a floodgate of desires opened; she wanted to believe that these figures wanted to help her, she wanted to rid herself of the negative and doubting thoughts she'd had about them, she wanted to tell someone, anyone, about what she'd been through.
She decided she'd tell them what she had been through, perhaps they might know something about the terrible monsters and sights she had seen.
"We've come from Ehime," she said to no one in particular, it was easier to speak if she pretended to be talking to the air, it put her slightly more at ease, calmed her nerves a little. There was the clacking sound of typewriter keys as the second robed figure, who had been sat unyielding across the table from Anzu until this time, recorded her statement word for word.
"Continue," the man directed "What did you see in Ehime that made you leave?"
"What drove you to flee here to Marugame? Do you remember what it was you saw that day?"
She nodded.
