Hey guys, sorry for the late update again. I've just been really sick and it's been hard for me to type and I just really don't have the energy sometimes to pick up my laptop and type out a chapter of this story. I'm really sorry and I don't know when this will be released, but hopefully Wednesday or at the latest Thursday. I hate winter. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter though! And also, thanks for the review rikusp2002! You don't know how happy that makes me! Enjoy the chapter!
The night was rather peaceful for Yuri, pleasant dreams accompanied her as she laid soundlessly on her soft bed. That was until she was awoken by a loud yell and heavy breathing from her bed partner.
Yuri shot up from her sleep, quickly looking over at Natsuki who was curled up in a little ball, shaking and crying quietly, trying to calm down her breathing.
She instantly climbed over the pillows and wrapped her arms around Natsuki's small frame, holding her and allowing her to hold onto her as she calmed down. Yuri ran her hand down her silky hair while Natsuki was holding onto hers for dear life.
She slowly pulled away, seemingly composed now as she wiped her eyes and sniffled a few times, "S-Sorry if I woke you..." She muttered, still a little shaken up.
"N-No... It's quite alright... I needed to wake up anyways... Was it another nightmare?" She asked quietly, receiving a small nod from Natsuki. Natsuki had always had rough nightmares ever since she came to the castle, usually causing her to have a small panic attack like she just did.
Yuri asked her once, what the dreams consisted of. Natsuki explained in gruesome detail about all the things she had seen her father do, from taking advantage and stealing from the poor, to brutally murdering someone in cold blood. She'd seen her father do everything, and he didn't seem to mind his child was witnessing such awful acts.
"D-Do you need something, Natsuki? Water?" She asked and Natsuki shook her head, sighing as she looked out the window, where the bright early rays of sunshine were peering in.
"No... I'm okay Princess... Just... Need to calm down... I guess..." She said and got up, and stretched her back and arms.
"O-Okay..." Yuri responded, also getting up and heading to her closet, "I'm going to go change now," She informed Natsuki before entering her closet and getting dressed for the day.
"Okay," Was all she got from Natsuki, until she heard some shuffling and footsteps heading towards the doors, "Hey, I'm going to go eat breakfast and change, I have to work soon," Natsuki said, and got a small giggle out of Yuri.
"What are you laughing about Princess?" She snapped, sticking her tongue out when Yuri walked out of her closet, dressed in a simple dark blue dress.
"Well, today is Sunday Natsuki, you don't have work today," She reminded her with a sweet smile, causing Natsuki's face to go red.
"I-I knew that! I-I was just making sure that uh... YOU remembered! Yeah!" She said confidently, crossing her arms snidely.
"Mhm, sure..." She said and poked her friends forehead as she walked by her, which in turn got her a swift kick in the calf, "Ouch!" She yelped, turning around to see Natsuki smiling in triumph.
"Just because you are a princess doesn't mean I can't kick you!" She smirked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Ah... Whatever... I'll forgive you if you go and make us breakfast," Yuri said, plopping down on her bed.
"What if I don't want to? I don't have to today!" She said defiantly.
"Well... You can do that... Buttt I'll be mad at you for kicking me and I won't allow you to sleepover with me again!" Yuri shot back, receiving a wide eyed look from Natsuki.
"Y-You aren't serious... Are you?" She asked fearfully.
Yuri shrugged and didn't reply, just grabbed a book from her nightstand and started reading, "Ugh... Fine! I'll make us breakfast and bring it back!" She groaned and rolled her eyes in annoyance, knowing fully she couldn't really say no to her best friend.
"Thanks Natsuki!" Yuri exclaimed, shutting the book and smiling a little too much.
"A-Ah... Yeah, no problem..." She said and cleared her throat, waving before she left the room.
...
Sayori sighed as she walked with Vida through the streets of Erieloth, the morning crowd buzzing around as people made their way to churches and others going to the market to buy breakfast foods or whatever else they needed.
She snuck glances over at Vida every once and awhile, looking at her long bright blue hair bounce on her shoulder, seeing the way the way her eyes shimmered as the early morning sunlight reflected off of her. Her black tunic clung tightly to her slim body, her bright white long sleeved undershirt hung loosely at her wrist, and her black tights held firm against her legs.
She wearily looked down at her sword, which was bound tightly to her hip, covered in it's black sheathe, golden engravings on the dark leather that spiraled out like a rosebush seemed to gleam in the sunlight.
"Hey Vida..." She said quietly, gaining the girls attention as she looked over at her.
"Yeah? What's up Sayori?" She asked casually, sighing as she popped her neck, Sayori could see that she was still half-asleep.
"Um... What is that thing hanging off you shoulder?" She asked, pointing at the white cape like thing that hung off her shoulder, covering her arm and entire left side of her torso.
"Oh! This? It's just something King Tomah want's us captains to wear whenever we're out in public, so the citizens know who to come to if there is something going on," She said and let Sayori examine it.
It was a plain bright white, just like her undershirt but in gold in the middle was the royal crest, a shattered sword being repaired on a bench, it was supposed to signify coming together even after hard times, but it always just looked really ugly to Sayori.
"Ah, that's kind of cool..." She muttered, looking back forward and seeing the large castle as it came into sight.
"Wow... I can't believe I am actually going inside of that!" She exclaimed excitedly, causing Vida to giggle and shake her head.
"I must say, I was also pretty excited to walk into the castle for the first time myself, there is a lot of fancy furniture and decorations, and a BUNCH of paintings on the wall, and al of them are actually super pretty, I think you'll love it," Vida explained, only adding more fuel to Sayori's excitement.
They walked the rest of the way, soon, they reached the large castle doors where there was two guards standing outside of them. Of course, they weren't quote on quote working, they were "Volunteering" with pay... Vida rolled her eyes as she thought about it and cleared her throat.
"Excuse me, do you mind opening the door for me?" She asked the guard on the right, who scoffed and shook his head.
"Why the hell would I allow two random women to enter King Tomah's castle?" He asked in a snobby tone, Vida growled, walking over to him and grabbing his face, making him look her in the eye.
"Excuse me soldier, but maybe if you looked at me for two seconds you'd know who I am. I can tell from the symbol on your chest you are Division 8, and I know Captain Uther well enough to know he wouldn't like you denying access to the castle from a captain," She scolded, and the mans eyes widened.
"Y-You're... Captain Vida...?" He asked, his bravado now diminished, "S-Sorry... I-I... I'll open the doors immediately Ma'am!" He said and him and his partner opened the doors, after Vida had let him go.
She ushered in Sayori and sighed when the doors closed, "Sorry... I'm not usually like that... I just hate it when men talk down to women like that... Like we're nothing or something..." She muttered and Sayori nodded, rubbing her hands against her thighs nervously.
"T-That's okay... I... I kinda liked watching you stand up for yourself..." She said and blushed, Vida doing the same.
"Well... Thanks... I have to do it often..." She replied, quickly smiling again and taking her wrist, "Come on! Lemme show you around!"
Sayori instantly smiled again, nodding, "Yeah!"
...
Natsuki grudgingly walked to the kitchen on this side of the castle, still a tad bit shaken up from her nightmare from earlier. 'God I thought I'd get over them by now...' She thought shaking her head before hearing someone talk in the distance.
"... This is the west wing, this is where Princess Yuri stays in the castle, also it's the most decorated portion of the castle," A woman's voice echoed through the halls, and Natsuki raised an eyebrow.
"Since when do they give tours?" She murmured, shaking her head and walking to the door of the kitchen, fishing for her keys in her pocket. She searched through her pockets and soon her face went red in embarrassment as she realized she left her keys on her nightstand. And since no one would be here this early on Sunday, she'd have to go to the maids quarters, sneak through, and get the ke-
Her thoughts were cut off as someone bumped into her, causing her to stumble back and land on her bottom, "Ow! Hey! Watch where you are g-g-going..." She trailed off as she got a look at the woman who ran into her, she wore the royal crest... That means she was a captain.
She looked down and her eyes widened and she went extremely white as she saw the sheathed sword at the captains side. She could feel herself shaking as she fearfully stared at the deadly weapon so close to her.
"Oh my goddesses! Are you okay?" Vida exclaimed in worried tone, holding her hand out to help Natsuki up, but Natsuki just kept staring at the sword, Vida saw this, and quickly put her hands up, "Hey, I'm not going to hurt you, okay?" She assured her, which made Natsuki feel a tad bit better.
"S-Sorry Captain... Vida right?" She asked and stood up, dusting her self off and curtsying.
"A-Ah yes... That is my name, may I know yours?" She asked and bowed to Natsuki, which completely threw her for a loop.
Did this Captain just bow to her? And ask for her name? Although she was terrified of the sword, she felt safer around this woman.
"My name is Natsuki... I'm Princess Yuri's personal servant," She introduced herself, now noting the girl standing timidly at Vida's side, hiding behind her and clutching onto her tunic.
"Lovely name, Natsuki," She said and nodded at her, sighing and pulling Sayori out from behind her and placing her in front of her, "This little gumdrop right here is Sayori, she is a... Friend of mine that I am showing around the castle," She said and the girl blushed, waving shyly, holding onto Vida tightly.
"Oh, cool. Um... I'm like, a little busy, so I have to get going... Um, hope you have fun!" She exclaimed and ran off quickly, wow! She was SO going to have to tell Yuri about this!
...
Natsuki rushed through the door, carrying a tray with two separate plates on them, covered with a sliver top to keep them warm, "You'll NEVER guess who I saw!" She exclaimed quickly laying the tray down in front of Yuri, who had a book open on her desk.
"Woah Natsuki, calm down, who did you happen to see?"
"I saw Captain Vida! You know? That super young captain who is a woman?" Natsuki sat down on a stool by Yuri's desk, padding her feet against it excitedly.
"Oh? Really? I've never actually spoken to her in all honesty. I just saw her once when she was inducted as a captain and knighted by my father," She explained, looking at the food as her stomach growled. She blushed and looked down, "But erm... I'd really like to talk as we eat..." She murmured, slightly embarrassed.
"Jeez, see if I ever listen to YOU when you are all happy and stuff because something freaking awesome happened!" She said and stuck her tongue out at Yuri, removing the silver tops and giving the princess her plate and utensils.
"Thank you, Natsuki."
"Yeah yeah yeah, go on and stuff your face Princess, I'm going to tell you how awesome I feel right now!" The got a loud giggle from Yuri as they eat their breakfast together.
...
"Hey Sayori..." Vida said as the odd acting maid scurried away, out of sight, "Why were you holding onto me like that? Were you scared?" She asked a tad bit confused, if anything the other girl seemed terrified of Vida at first.
"I-I... I just... People scare me..." She admitted, her face a slight shade of pink as she looked down at her shoes.
"Well? What about me? Do I scare you?"
"Um... A little... I see you as more... Intimidating... You are super beautiful, successful, respected, and extremely nice and caring... I'm just... Not any of those things..." Sayori responded, stopping as she kept her gaze on the floor below her.
"Sayori..." Vida cooed, walking back to her and picking her face up, looking her into the shimmering ocean called her eyes, "You may not be successful, or very well respected... But, you smile more then I think I've ever seen anyone I have known before, and I've only known you for half a day. And the fact that you can smile, even though I know very well that you are in so much pain and smiling is the last thing you want to do, you do it anyways. That shows me that you are very, very strong. Hell, probably the strongest person I know. And although others may not see it like I do, it damn well earns my respect," Vida explained to her, receiving a wide eyed look from Sayori. "Also, you are freaking gorgeous, so don't think for one second you aren't."
"Do... Do you really mean that... Vida?" She asked as she looked into her midnight blue eyes that sent shivers down her spine. She has never heard anyone call her strong before. Everyone just called her weak, stupid, worthless, ugly, or whatever insult they could think of at the time. She had heard them all so many times she started to believe them, they piled onto her like trash into the waste bin, and she never bother to empty it.
But, suddenly she felt as if all of that trash had been burned, right at that moment. And it was burned by someone who was a complete sto tranger no more then 10 hours ago.
"Of course I mean that silly, I'd never lie to you!" She assured her, petting her hair softly, "And hey, don't be afraid of people, okay? As long as I am here, no one will hurt you. And that's a promise!"
"A promise...?" Sayori bit her lip, nodding as a smile crept onto her lips, this time she was almost certain this wasn't an empty promise like so many she had heard before, "Then I will hold you too that Vida!"
...
Drips of water could be heard through the dark, dank dungeon under Erieloth's magnificent castle, it's only light was the dim torchlight from the torches hung firmly against the walls. The cells were all mostly empty, as most criminals got sent to the jail in the middle of the city, only the criminal's who committed horrific crimes came down here. All but one cell was empty, and currently, the occupant had a visitor.
"For the last time, I don't know anything else..." A feminine voice echoed throughout the dungeon.
"Well, as I said last time, you were sent as a spy to Erieloth, the Demon King specifically sent YOU. So for me to expect that you know barely anything at all, is understandably not believable," A male voice spoke leaning against the wall, her wore a dark robe with the kingdom's crest in the middle, hood up to conceal his face and sleeves rolled up to reveal his mutilated arms, black runes covering them. These specific human runes were used to amplify the magical power of the user, they were smooth and graceful and gave off a pleasant view.
The woman, who sat on the floor, her ankles shackled to the ground as she was wearing nothing short of rags that barely covered her torso and thighs. Her long crimson hair that reached to the middle of her back was frizzy and messy, her crimson eyes dulled in the everlasting darkness of her cell. Runes covered her arms as well, but seemingly had no physical effect to her body, unlike the man who's arms were covered in welts and burns. These human runes were used to absorb magical power from their user, so that they could no longer use them, they looked quite a lot alike the runes on the mans arm.
"They caught me fairly quickly, apparently these humans don't really like spies, or demons... Or demon spies for that matter..." She mumbled, shrugging as she felt exhausted from the runes constantly stealing her energy from her.
"I see. Well then, Astara of Purity, once you come to your senses and want to help me take down this wretched excuse for a kingdom, then talk to me the next time I am down here. I must go, people may be wondering where I am," He said quickly.
"Hey, wait," The demon woman, apparently named Kastara yelled, "Tell me, Mr. I'm so full of myself, how do you think you are going to usurp the throne of Erieloth? You're just a lowly human mage, those captains would cut you to pieces," She said in a taunting manor.
"Ah, well, I have a very good idea, but, I'm afraid I can't tell you, but, I will say that it all starts with the king," He said vaguely, before leaving the dark dungeon.
"The stupid fool... In what world is he living in?" The girl muttered, laying down to attempt to get some sleep.
A/N: Hey guys, so, I know what you're thinking, "REALLY?! YOU'RE GOING TO BE TWO DAYS LATE THEN GIVE US THIS GARBAGE?! I'M NEVER READING ANYTHING YOU WRITE AGAIN YOU *insert insult here*" And before you say that, I want you to know that I've been super sick, and I had to deal with some family issues, so getting this up wasn't the easiest thing to do. But! Next time I SWEAR that it will be absolutely freaking awesome! And if you got the gist from the last section, I think you may have a clue about it! But, I think it's about time to go! Thanks for reading! Please review and follow the story if you like it! Byeeee~!