Disclaimer: I do not own MODR.
Chapter 2: And whence has the child gone?
mor·tal·i·ty
\mȯr-ˈta-lə-tē\
noun
: the quality or state of being mortal
A shrill, happy voice announces the arrival of the unexpected guest, shrouded in a cloak of slowly disappearing smoke.
"Good evening. I'm sorry to interrupt you conversation~!"
How polite... for someone who had just blown up an entire room that is.
The smoke around the man clears, revealing a rather androgynous man with baby pink eyes and hair. What was most eye-catching, apart from his outlandishly garish outfit, was the fact that the bottom half of his wavy hair was a strange purplish-blue- the colour of healing bruises.
Without skipping a beat, Baphomet politely replied, "It's you... Gilles de Rais. Unfortunately, my master isn't here."
His voice had carried a certain undertone to it... Had it been panic?
The flamboyant intruder merely shrugs his shoulders, putting an expression of faux sadness on his countenance as he threw a terse glance in the direction where a human boy and girl sat.
"Ah is that so? That's too bad~" It was ironic how he didn't even sound the least bit disappointed.
A half-second pause.
"I thought I'd be able to take His Excellency's soul and raise my status today!"
Gilles de Rais... where have I heard that name before?
The man cocks his head back as he studies both human children with avid interest, the malicious grin still set upon his face.
"Oh?"
He saunters over to their side in a relaxed, cheerful sort of skip, continuing to observe the both of them as if they were some rare zoo specimen.
"You're human. A human... It's been a long time." The way he stresses the word "human" makes Anise's skin crawl.
"Isn't he human too?" a voice at the back of her head whispers.
His smile has thinned considerably, eyes gleaming with a dark sparkle as he asks the poor, poor human children a question in a low rumble of a voice. "Why are you here?" The question that they are both dying to know the answer to as well.
He doesn't wait for a reply, only continuing to shoot questions which seemed to be directed to no one in particular, a slightly taunting edge to his voice. Just who was he trying to rile up anyway?
"Has the leader of the Nephilim, Dantalion, become homesick?"
Nephilim? Wasn't that-?
"Who are you?" William's curt question cuts through all Anise's thoughts about the classification of demons, bringing her back to the current situation at hand. She should really stop spacing out.
"A new kind of terrorist?!"
The smile, or rather, smirk on Gilles de Rais' face seemed to have been wiped clean, his eyes narrowing upon realising the identity of the boy.
"Well it can't be helped if he's not here." The man spins around abruptly, giving up almost far too easily... as he directs his gaze skywards in contemplation.
"I'll take the boy for a while." He says it in such a nonchalant tone, as if talk of kidnap was as mundane as him addressing the weather.
What-?
As the words leave his mouth, some mysterious power that defied both the laws of logic as well as gravity lifts the blonde boy off the surface of the ground, causing his feet to dangle a good few feet up in the air.
William's startled shriek had alarmed her, jolting her body to move on its own as Anise instinctively jumps, trying to reach for his right foot... but alas, she had missed it.
What had she expected? She wasn't an athlete.
Gritting her teeth with renewed vigour, she tried again. Anise would be twice damned if she let some creepy pedophile kidnap her closest kin.
Meanwhile, Gilles had been far too preoccupied with the resistance a certain goat was putting up to notice her futile attempts of rescue... Not that it would make any difference whatsoever.
Tired and helpless, Anise could only look on as the situation slowly unfurled before her eyes. She hated that. Balefully training her cerise eyes on her cousin, she glared at the floating boy in frustration. Why, oh why couldn't he be within reach?
XXXX
As Gilles was dodging an attack from the black goat, the girl suddenly turned up in his peripheral and he was struck with a sense of déjà vu. Where had he seen her before?
His moment of carelessness had cost him as he was suddenly struck by a blow from the other demon, forcing him to turn his attention back to the fight at hand.
While this was happening, William was roughly dragged down by an invisible force, the hold that Gilles had on him seeming to have been considerably weakened. Anise quickly leapt up, successfully grabbing his blasted foot... but had only ended up levitating ten feet above the ground with him instead.
The blonde boy pulled her up to eye-level, wrapping his arm her waist firmly to support her, his mind still far too stunned to truly process all the things that he had seen.
Anise, on the other hand, was more preoccupied with trying not to look at the ground. She did not do well with heights at all.
Trying to diffuse the tense silence, the girl blurted the first thought which just so happened to flash through her mind- "Well, it seems that physics doesn't exist in hell."
She was sure that her cousin would have approved of her sudden rationality had he been less appalled with everything that was going on at the moment. Yet contrary to her expectations, William had still managed a light snort. Trust his cousin to make such a logical observation only when faced with a situation where they could potentially plunge head first to their deaths.
"At least we won't die from falling." she muses, upon reconsidering her previous words.
The blonde boy only snorts in response, "I wouldn't count on that." Dream or not, he certainly didn't like to entertain the thought of dying.
XXXX
"A newcomer who's only been dead for 400 years has to collect some points!" Gilles shrill voice seemed to have cut through the chaotic situation that had befallen the dining room.
The girl's lips seemed to have a mind of their own, mouthing the words, "400 years..." as she continued to search her mind for the answers buried beneath the numerous historical facts and records... until it all began to click.
400 years.
The Hundred Years' War.
England. France.
Jeanne of Arc.
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval. Baron de Rais.
Gilles De Rais.
The mass murderer that had brutally sodomised and killed hundreds of children.
Her thoughts froze in its tracks, the cold seeping right through to her bones. She was sure that Giles de Rais had been trialed and convicted, no, executed for his crimes.
So... who was this man, who bore the same name as the deceased serial killer that was standing before her?
.
.
.
However, one thing amongst all the uncertainties was clear. He couldn't possibly be human.
XXXX
"You may be an Earl, but you're no match for me when you haven't slept in 700 years."
With that, Gilles knocks Baphomet out as he flies to William's side, giving both humans a brief look before sending the shuddering girl a predatory grin.
He didn't like to deal with the hassle of bringing back an extra but the girl's identity was rather... questionable. Besides, if push came to shove, all he had to do was kill her. It wouldn't be too hard, probably even easier than squashing a bug, he supposes.
William tightens his grip on Anise in response to Gilles' menacing gesture, a stern expression on his face. He had hoped that his small act of comfort had somehow managed to reassure her that everything would be fine or so he hoped anyway.
No, everything would be fine. He would make sure of that himself.
"If you want to get them, or just the boy back, tell Dantalion to come to Cocytus!" Gilles gleefully called out as he clutched both of their arms in a vice grip, preparing to take off.
"Let go of them."
Each word was punctuated with the loud sound of the concrete ground. Hostility and anger as evident as day in the speaker's tone of voice.
All attention was shifted to the man, no "demon" who had just entered the fray.
Shortly after the words left "demon's" mouth, the invisible threads that had held both Twinings in place had been cut, causing them to spiral to their supposed doom.
"AHHH!"
Nevertheless, it is regrettable but this near-death experience had only served to further cement Anise's fear of heights. She was utterly convinced that Death by falling from high places was definitely the worst way to go.
XXXX
Thankfully, their savior appeared in the form of Dantalion, who was there to catch them both as they fell. Even if it resulted in the both of them being unceremoniously slung over his shoulder.
Who named their child after a demon anyway? Anise shuddered, deciding that it was better if she didn't know, but if she would have to hazard a guess- she supposed his parents were named after demons too. What a strange thought that was.
"Are you okay?"
The girl blinked, snapping out of another reverie as she took in the slightly apprehensive scarlet eyes that bore down on her. She tilted her head to the side inspecting the "demon" curiously- why did he look so put off? Almost as if he wasn't sure of how to interact with her…
"Ah, are you socially awkward by any chance?"
Her words befuddled him- it was easy to tell from the way his brow furrowed in bafflement- annoyance- or was it exasperation- and his tightly pursued lips.
Of course, she hadn't changed.
"I apologise, I don't mean to offend- but to answer your first question: I'm fine and thank you for the help. It was much appreciated. Very much appreciated."
Well not all that much anyway, he noted mentally. She still blabbered when she became nervous and spaced out indiscriminately. Unlike that ungrateful brat who was the total opposite of Solomon himself... Speaking of which, how was he doing?
"Get your filthy hands of my cousin, you fiend!"
The other brat was actually quite an amusing sight to behold at the moment- finding the right words to describe him would be rather challenging though… let's just say that he vaguely resembled a bristling cat waiting to be fed.
Baphomet's call briefly took his attention away from the furiously gesticulating blonde and the spacey brunette who was currently asking after her cousin to the ruins of his destroyed manor, and Dantalion sighed. What a bother indeed- doing whatever he wanted while the master of the house was gone, that imbecile!
And what happened next was indescribable- unexplainable and dare I say it, absolutely-
With a snap of his finger, the records of time spun, rewinding the present back to the past as the empty space which had once been the dining room distorted. The faint outline of the walls shimmered once, twice and then again- as the walls started to painstakingly rebuild itself- piece by piece, shard by shard- from the crumbling remains of what once was. In less than the blink of eye, the dining room had been restored to its pristine condition.
It was magical.
The spectacle, which had been nothing short of a miracle, left the girl breathless and her cousin, speechless- no doubt far too desensitized from the recent events to truly comprehend whatever had just happened.
And although it was probably an inappropriate notion, Anise couldn't help but wonder what logical explanation would William come up for that.
XXXX
Like the skeptic he never fails to be, William began to prod and poke at the doors that had materialized out of thin air, all the while commenting that, "It should have been impossible for a door to appear all of a sudden!"
Meanwhile, Anise's attention is on the source of these strange events, namely the person who had claimed to be the "Grand Duke of Hell that commanded 36 armies", and she just had to ask if-
"Mr Dantalion, are you truly a demon?"
The demon in question blinked, noting that the girl must have seriously wanted a proper answer if she had resorted to being so polite- or perhaps, her upbringing was the cause?
How frivolous!
Why was he even comparing the two?
"I am. And please, just Dantalion is fine."
Cerise eyes, a shade lighter than magenta, sandy blonde hair, an odd coloration that was not-quite-blonde yet not-quite-brunette, rather an odd in-between, paper-white skin, an almost unhealthy pallor dusted with the faintest tinges of pink, a button nose and a heart-shaped face- the girl could no doubt pass off as her twin sister, save for the height difference and the trace amounts of baby fat still present, but…
Anise simply hummed in response, a contemplative look set upon her face.
"Nonsense! There's no way that demons exist in these times-"
A blast and a merry voice interrupted the trio as Gilles had popped up yet again, destroying the floor in the process. "Oh I assure you, they do exist!"
His sudden reappearance had caused the female Twining cousin to duck behind the Grand Duke, obscuring herself from the creep's view. In no way did Anise consider Dantalion an ally, but she surmised that he was probably more trustworthy than the pedophile who had attempted to kidnap William and her. It seemed as though her cousin had come to the same conclusion, for William promptly positioned himself next to her.
She hoped that the both of them would just fight it out and leave William and her alone. Hopefully.
XXXX
"I thought it was strange that you had brought a human here… but now I understand." Gilles pauses briefly to throw a cold smile in the direction of the cowering children before continuing. "He is the Elector, the descendant of Solomon who has the power to choose the next Emperor. Am I right, Your Excellency?"
To add insult to injury, the pink-haired demon mock-curtsied as he addressed Dantalion.
"Shut up!"
Baring a feral grin that made him seem more beast than man, Gilles barked a laugh.
"If I bring him to Prince Balberith who wants the next Emperor to be one of his followers, I'm sure that I'll be rewarded handsomely." A pause. "Oh and on the matter of the girl, I just so happened to recall an awfully interesting rumour-"
"Gilles de Rais!"
At the sound of his name, the demon ceased in his pretense of checking his perfectly manicured nails and turned to the speaker. In a voice filled with such derision and malice that it visibly shook both Twining cousins, Gilles declared, "You will never rule, Dantalion."
Eyes narrowing in equal parts of disdain and ire, Dantalion growled. "Bluebeard, you fool. I'll burn you at stake again- Just like your beloved saint!"
As soon as the words leave Dantalion's mouth, the expression on Gilles' face morphs from downright livid to downright murderous. In a guttural rumble of his throat, he promises Dantalion a pain worse than Death itself. And that, coupled with the rapid burst of energy from the tips of Gilles' fingers signaled the inevitable start of the conflict.
"Stay back, William!"
"Master William, over here!"
"Wait, what about Anise-"
"I- I'll be fine, Will!"
Muttering a small 'tch' under his breath, Dantalion throws the petite girl over his shoulder with much ease, looping an arm over her waist to keep her firmly in place.
"Whaa-"
The demon briefly averts his gaze to the squirming girl. "Stop struggling or you'll fall. It'll be over soon." Till this day, he wonders if the quick squeak of assent and thanks that he had heard from the dumbfounded girl was imagined. He sure hoped that it was not.
"That barbarian! How dare he treat Anise in such an uncouth manner! Why I-"
"Master William, my master was only ensuring Lady Anisette's safety."
At the next available opportunity, Dantalion set the girl down carefully beside his butler, making sure to emphasise his "civility" to the flummoxed blonde boy. It was really too bad that all he got in return was a mere 'hmph' from that brat.
Watching the Twining cousins, who were currently tracking the high-speed battle with disbelieving eyes, Baphomet had finally caught onto their confusion. Of course, they would be perplexed with the bizarre turn of events, and thus, he took it upon himself to explain what was going on- his master would have wanted him to do so anyway.
"His master is the Great Duke, Balberith. Well simply put, it would be easier to say that he's a political opponent. Still, it is a rather bold assassination attempt…"
Purposefully drifting off, Baphomet turned to assess the reactions of both humans- and was met with a fairly comic image of the young Twining male with an expression caught between dread and aggravation, and a thoughtful-looking female. Ah, at least one of them-
"So, it's something like the mafia?"
"Well that is a rather crude way of interpreting it but yes…"
Sometimes, Baphomet felt as though he hoped for far too much in life.
XXXX
"Oh you're already done?"
The answer to his question came in the form of a relatively wearied Dantalion, with pieces of plaster and dirt stuck to his clothes, rising from the wreckage. A raptorial grin crossed Gilles' face as he saw the staggering form of the Grand Duke. "Of course that can't be."
"Don't worry, I'll be devoting myself to you now!" Dantalion smirked as the force of his attack threw the other demon into the pillar, satisfied as he hit the pillar with a resounding crunch. Blood was successfully drawn from the insolent fiend.
"Hehe. Thanks for that, I do feel a little calmer." Gilles grunted as he tried to stem the bleeding using a hand, while pushing himself off the pillar with his other hand. "I knew you were strong. No wonder His Highness, Lucifer favours you."
"Cut the flattery-"
"But, just how much of your soul have you given to him to obtain this power, Your Excellency, Dantalion?" The sly smirk on Gilles' face soon turned into a mocking one.
"After all, you're another demon that used to be human. Just like me, you killed many humans and became a demon." Easily dismissing the low threat muttered by Dantalion, Gilles continues to taunt, eyes gleaming with a maniacal sort of glee, "So many that the sea was stained a brilliant crimson…"
The first sign of rage from Dantalion was not the loud "Shut up!" that echoed through the room but rather, the jagged fragments of the debris and shrapnel that flew erratically away from his still form. Only then, did he attack.
As he made sure that both of the human children were out of harm's way, Baphomet came to a sudden realisation. It was an unpleasant one.
"This is no good…" He muttered, turning to face the confounded faces of the Twining cousins. "Once my master starts using his full strength, the space will be distorted."
"And that means…?"
Baphomet pauses for a moment to deliberate between telling the human children the truth and watching them panic, or telling them a white lie and having them call him out on it. He decides on the former without much hesitation- it had been quite entertaining to see the blonde boy flummox around helplessly after all.
"Simply put, you might not be able to go back."
Anise, as expected, had a much milder reaction as compared to her blonde counterpart, with only a panicked "What?!" slipping from her lips in shock. Her cousin, on the other hand, had indeed lived up to his expectations- William had grabbed the front of Baphomet's shirt and proceeded to frantically shake him back and forth.
"Don't mess with me, you sheep!"
"No, I'm a butler."
"It doesn't matter what you are!"
Anise could have sworn that she caught sight of a slight quirk at the edge of the butler's mouth, no doubt the beginnings of an amused smirk, as he replied. Meanwhile, William found nothing about this situation remotely laughable. "He's your master, do something about it!"
"Unfortunately, someone of my level cannot stop them." This time round, Baphomet had sounded sincerely apologetic.
"But, surely that must be something that you can do?" Baphomet simply sighed, shaking his head dolefully at the panic-stricken girl.
"I won't stand for this! I'm not staying in this nonsensical place!" Desperately darting his eyes from place to place, it seemed as though William was trying to search for an escape from this madness.
Grabbing ahold of her cousin's hand to stop him from floundering about helplessly, Anise hoped that she possessed the confidence to back up the preposterous claim that she was about to make.
"We're going home."
Anise was grateful that these three words were simple enough to say, and that she had done so without stumbling over any of them. Otherwise, it would have lost its intended effect.
Nevertheless, it had achieved its aim as William was visibly less shaken, and appeared to be calmer and more collected. "Yes, you're right. We're going home, together."
XXXX
A bundle of red aura and flames had gathered in Dantalion's right hand as he prepared to finish off Gilles, but just as he was about to launch his final assault with a loud cry of "Die!"-
The fearless blonde boy called out, "Stop, Dantalion!"
And like a marionette with cut strings, the Grand Duke stills, halting in his movements; the flame in his hand had also dissipated.
Perplexed beyond belief with this strange turn of events, Dantalion himself is left to gape at his own right hand in disbelief.
"Will, what did you do?"
The surprise is evident in her voice but her cousin is far too annoyed to bother. Besides, he probably wouldn't be able to comprehend what he had done, even if he had tried to. And thus, his reply is but a gruff, "As if I'd know."
Inclining his head at an angle to address the demon floating a few feet away from him, William jabbed an accusing finger up at him, indignantly commenting that if he was going to fight, he should do it after taking the both of them home.
"I'm busy raising money for my school fees, and I don't have the time to watch you argue!"
Anise sighed, wondering if these were going to be William Twining's last words. Well at least they would be infamous, she mused.
Instead of mercilessly disposing of them with the flick of his wrist and a bout of his magic, Anise was pleasantly surprised that Gilles had simply chose to beat a hasty retreat whilst noting that he had some interesting things to report to his master. Of course, he had said those three dreaded words- "We'll meet again."
"He disappeared..."
Nodding in agreement, the girl simply chanced a glance at her dazed cousin. All the while as she wondered how much of whatever had just happened was only a dream…
.
.
.
.
After that one magical encounter with the supernatural or more specifically with demons, both the Twining cousins had neither seen nor heard, hide nor hair of them for the rest of the summer break. It came as a huge relief to both, more so for the blonde male as compared to the female brunette.
Nevertheless, it would be inaccurate to say that Anise hadn't felt a twinge of disappointment. Sure, she wasn't the type of person to go looking for trouble- and YES, demons are trouble. But, the demons had come and gone like a storm. An absurd storm that had brought colour and change, albeit the dangerous kind, to the stagnancy and monotony that was life.
It had been a nice breather, but she was not one to pursue such irrationality and so, she contentedly closes that chapter on demons.
On hindsight, it had probably been one big daydream after all.
All the visions that she had, which were mostly of her dream persona spending time alone, either preparing tea or reading, only helped to reinforce the conclusion that she had already accepted.
Just like Alice who had woken up after the Queen of Hearts had almost beheaded her, no trace of physical evidence was left behind for her to verify the truth of the matter, but only hazy memories that would fade in time.
It had, at the very least, been an interesting memory… Absurd, but definitely interesting.
The rest of the summer break had been spent with life, the life she currently lived- one ridden with the debts of her father. While ignoring the repeated protests of a fuming William, Anise had somehow managed to convince an unwilling Kevin to allow her to help him with simple tasks such as watering the flowers and washing the dishes. She didn't want to be a burden, and even though she knew that the both of them would never think of her that way, she still wanted to help- in any way that she could.
Although, the butler had begrudgingly acceded to her request, he was ultimately won over by the efficiency of her work, and, had even taught her a few new dessert recipes as a reward- much to the chagrin of her cousin.
Apart from the simple chore now and then, the girl mainly passed her leisure time in the Twining Manor with quiet reading and insightful conversations with her opinionated cousin, the most common subject matter being that of philosophy. Occasional sketches of certain objects or scenes that had caught her eye had also been added into her growing art collection- Anise had always held an inclination for, as well as an interest in the arts, though it was somewhat of a sporadic hobby, something that she would do only when she was particularly inspired.
As the short, week-long break finally drew to a close, the time for Anise's first day at Stratford had begun to draw closer...
XXXX
Upon arriving at Stratford and meeting the principal, the fidgety girl's tension had immediately dissipated into thin air. The principal, a kindly old man with a welcoming smile that highlighted his warm features, was well-versed in the art of making one feel at home.
He had actually been considerate enough to place Anise in the same homeroom class as William even though the subjects that they both majored in had been completely different. She was most grateful for that.
The man even went on to apologise for the inconvenience that the girl had to put up with seeing as how she was going to attend an all boys' school which was lacking in facilities catered to the needs of females, but to fret not for she would be granted special privileges such as access to facilities for teachers and a private bathroom in her room.
The brunette immediately interjected, saying that it would not be an inconvenience at all, thanking the principal for being thoughtful and understanding enough to accept her into the school despite her gender. He only laughed heartily in response, waving it off by saying that the pleasure of having another Twining attending the school was all his.
After the incredibly long chat with the principal, Anise hurriedly rushed to homeroom, hoping that she hadn't been too late. Spotting another student standing just before the entrance of the door, she exhaled in relief. At least she wasn't going to be the only one who was new. Lightly jogging to that person, the girl had already been mentally planning on how to strike up a conversation with him. He could very well be the first friend that she would make in Stratford after all, and first impressions were extremely vital to the beginnings of a friendship.
Seeming to have realised the presence of a person approaching him, the male student turned, allowing Anise to come face-to-face with the imaginary being, no demon that she had just convinced herself to be a mere figment of her imagination- Dantalion.
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.
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TBC.
A/N:
Hello guys, am still alive lol. Just caught up with eh life in general I guess. Will try to update this more frequently though! :D
Comments and reviews are much appreciated! I haven't been writing in a longgggggg time so I know that I'm rusty, will probably be coming back to edit this chapter after I'm done with my exams! :/
PS, I'm kinda worried about Anise's characterisation… she's kinda contradictory at times so she seems rather Mary-Sueish but her personality would be more um stable after you read more chapters? And if she's downright weird/bizarre (ie. all her irrelevant side comments) at times, well let's just say it's part of characterisation.
PPS, I do note that the POV switches are rather confusing at times but I WON'T signpost whose POV it is. Sorry but I really dislike doing that, but if you do have any questions, please feel free to PM me or post a review and I'll PM you back! ;)
PPS, Sitri appears in the next chapter and I'm so excited for that! But the update will probably be only after my exams (which is like 2 weeks away… sighs.)
ANYWAY TO THOSE PEOPLE WHO STILL READ THIS, THANKS FOR THE LOVE, STAY AWESOMESAUCE AND PEACE OUT! :)