Mendacium Speculorum

Chapter 3: Longed

Right after the ceremonial breakfast, Lambdadelta was expected to prepare for her departure to Featherine Augustus Aurora's domain, to which the Endless Witch proceeded to help her senior and friend in her preparations. Gowns, dresses and accessories were strewn everywhere on the bed and the marble floor of the room, which Lambdadelta herself was surprised at finding that she owned so many of them. Books were everywhere as well, but Lambdadelta didn't need to take those; Featherine's abode was a library in itself already. And right outside the tall, ornate doors of Lambdadelta's room, there was a gathering of forty nine witches from the Council to serve as an audience and Lambdadelta's personal entourage before her departure from the Senate of Witches. However, Lambdadelta had strictly wanted Beatrice to attend to her that morning, and permitted no one to come in her room.

Now despite Lambdadelta's rather serious (yet occasionally amiable) nature, she made many friends and patrons, even more so than a socialite would. Her abilities, powers and sheer charm had earned her the respect of territory lords, great witches who have retired from the previous generation of the Senate of Witches as well as the mediocre creatures known as humans. You could say that Lambdadelta was a rather influential witch, but in a perspective, you could imagine her being the apple of the Council's eyes or the black sheep among the herd. Of course, there were people who disliked her. As Beatrice brushed Lambdadelta's hair, Lambdadelta pondered over a contract of sorts while twirling her quill expertly using her fingers.

"What do you plan on doing?" the silver haired witch asked, putting away the brush. The Witch of Certainty bit her nail despite having her gloves on, set the quill down on the table and stood up, raising her arms left and right towards both of her sides to let Beatrice dress her. Her undergarments were removed one by one, until the mandatory ones were left on her to ease her movement for the time being. Fetching some underskirts, Beatrice fitted the underskirts and a new pink gown on Lambdadelta, and just when the Endless Witch thought that her question would be best left unanswered, Lambdadelta nodded her head as a sign of thanks, walked towards her dressing table and signed the contract right on with her forehead creased, signifying that she had made some sort of difficult decision that leaves her no choice but to do it.

"Something," Lambdadelta replied, magically waving the contract away. "I can't tell you what's on my mind at the moment."

"You never tell anyone what's on your mind at any given moment," Beatrice aloofly said with a smile, adjusting the ribbon behind Lambdadelta's dress as she tugged it gently and carefully. "But I do not wish to pester you about it for long. I know that you have your reasons, so for my safety, I shall refrain from whining about it."

"You're such a nuisance sometimes, but I guess it can't be helped. When you assume that I might fly into a rage, you start caring." Lambdadelta tutted, and as she made her belongings vanish to Featherine's abode with a snap of her fingers, she slipped on her shoes and looked at her friend with a tiny smile on her face. "I do hope you can handle yourself when I'm gone. The witches around here tend to disregard you, and I do wish that you would have some sort of skill to give off a good impression of yourself. Your rank is a considerably good one, so live up to your expected reputation."

"Yes, of course. I will try my best." Beatrice curtsied in respect, but instead of thinking over what her senior had advised her to do like she always did, she was thinking about something else. The tense atmosphere reminded the Endless Witch of something that had happened in the past, and when she looked at her friend's face, it made her remember a tragic memory that had made her try and understand Lambdadelta even more than she should.

Two years.

It had been two years since Lambdadelta was absent from the council.

And that's all it took to completely change Lambdadelta for the worst.

Lambdadelta was the type of witch who believed in happy endings, love, compassion and joy. She would always look at the positive side of things with a cheeky grin to match, and being an experienced witch, Lambdadelta wasn't afraid of anything. Her games were masterfully handled, her connections were solid and her bright smile could encourage anyone who believed in her certainty. She brought hope to many, and instilled faith in the weak all just to achieve that sense of personal happiness in seeing others achieve their own happy endings and desired results. And even if things didn't work out, she'll just try again and again, being a witch who is certain of her own abilities. She wasn't someone who was selfish either, and when Beatrice was rather ostracized from the council, Lambdadelta was the one who had offered a hand to befriend and teach her. Lambdadelta found happiness in the little things in life, and she had hopes and dreams of her own.

Beatrice doesn't know all the details, but she knew that Lambdadelta went to master one of her own games and had to leave the Senate of Witches for a while. And right after that, it slowly occurred to the witches in the council that she wasn't present for two weeks. Then it escalated to a month, five months, almost a year, and being someone who had frequently spoken to Lambdadelta on a daily basis, Beatrice was naturally worried. Her friends didn't know where she went, her acquaintances couldn't contact her and even her abode was apparently empty. Two years had passed, and one day, the familiar sounds of little clicked heels made its way in the Senate of Witches, revealing it to be Lady Lambdadelta herself with a tired expression on her face.

Everything changed from there on out.

For starters, Lambdadelta didn't smile that much anymore.

She rarely talked, unless it was necessary to.

Her sense of time was horribly distorted, and she didn't seem very aware of herself.

She became more ruthless, more cold, more knowledgeable.

In other words, the Lady Lambdadelta everyone knew never resurfaced again.

'How time flies, how many centuries has it been?' the Witch of Certainty had asked. 'The Senate seems to still look the same after all those years.'

The Endless Witch slowly came to know that a Logic Error had happened, and had tried speaking to Lambdadelta about it in an effort to alleviate her internal suffering, but it failed many times. It would take someone who had experienced a similar or worse fate than hers to fully understand, and she realized that she could do nothing to help her friend. The best that she could do is serve her whenever she was needed, and tried to be of service as much as possible to repay her senior's kindness, but Lambdadelta didn't need that from Beatrice at all. She needed nothing from nobody.

But when she smiled, looked at her friend and said the words, 'Thank you for confiding in me,' that was all it took to make Beatrice realize that she helped in a way.

It made her happy.

So she started confiding in Lambdadelta more, started to hone her skills and started to make herself into an independent witch.

A witch Lambdadelta would be proud of.

And a witch the little Princess would be proud of even more.

She will be an accomplished alchemy counselor, and she will drive herself to do so.

But apparently, that too required a long journey to partake.

Beatrice didn't mind, really. Knowledge is infinite, and as the Endless Witch, she would learn more and more as she matures. And when she thought she was doing all this just to make Lambdadelta a bit happier, it came to pass that she was doing it for herself instead. But in an ironic twist, it made Lambdadelta happier in a way, even though it's just a measly 1%, because she loved to see people work hard to aim for their goals. Assuring the younger witch that her Certainty would be with her, they found themselves to be closer than before, like inseparable best friends in a school. They were like equals, and treated each other as such sometimes.

And now, she's leaving again.

Everyone knew that Featherine Augustus Aurora's games were mind-scarring, and none of her opponents came back the same again.

Why was this happening?

She didn't deserve this.

She didn't want this.

She didn't-

"What are you doing just standing there, Beatrice?"

"A-ah...o-oh, did you want something, Lambdadelta?" Beatrice snapped out of her thoughts, quickly composing herself as the Witch of Certainty sighed and did her ribbons herself. Two small, dark pink ribbons tied at one of her strands of blonde hair on the right. Like usual. Nothing extravagant, since extravagant things pull her right to the ground, and she's already small to begin with. It was about time to leave, and knowing that she might not see her friend again for a long time, Lambdadelta took Beatrice's hands in hers and looked up at her with a senior-like air. Strict, commanding, yet gentle.

"Take care of yourself, okay? Don't end up to be an old hag like me," Lambdadelta smiled, standing on her tiptoes and patted Beatrice's hat-donned head. "You'll have to be on your own now, but keep working hard. You have a pupil to teach and a reputation to keep. Don't throw them away just because I'm not here. And I don't want you relaying information to me about the mechanics of Lady Aurora's game anymore. It's too risky, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"...Won't you let anyone help you, Lambdadelta?" Beatrice asked in a pained voice.

"Don't waste your life on a pitiful witch like me. It'll just bring you unnecessary pain." There was a whimsical giggle escaping Lambdadelta's lips, but it was apparently strained. It was pretty obvious that she didn't want to leave her behind either. Tears slowly formed in Beatrice's eyes, and when she attempted to hold them back, her face turned painfully red and her eyes stung. It hurt, it simply hurt, and the second hand on the clock didn't help either.

Three seconds to ten.

She was going to lose her mentor, but she'll have to believe in her.

Two seconds to ten.

She will lose her friend, but she'll have to hope that she's fine.

One second to ten.

She will be alone again, but she'll have to be strong and take it upon herself to be more experienced so that she can teach the little Princess more efficiently.

Ten.

And all the Endless Witch could do was fall into the smaller witch's gloved arms and cry her heart out.

The ceiling of the council's palace was glorious.

As Lambdadelta stepped into the main hall along with her entourage following her from behind, she took a long look at it, smiling rather nostalgically to herself as she concluded that she'll never see such a glorious thing again in a long, long time. White marble pillars held up the ceiling, and the floors had a red carpet connecting to the two entrances of the hall. If one had looked down to the floor, it would give the impression that the person could be walking on an invisible floor in space, with all the tiny glittering stars moving right below you. The ceiling was far more glorious as it displayed various glass shards floating everywhere with the stars and the various planets in any given galaxy. Those glass shards were called kakeras, fragments to be more specific, and it seemed that the witches spectating the kakeras could be considered gods. The very sight of the ceiling could calm anyone's soul, due to the sheer beatific beauty of it.

At the sides of the path in the main hall stood the Head Inquisitor of Heresy of the 7th District Repentance Enforcement Agency of the Great Court of Heaven, Ronald A. Knox, his daughter Dlanor A. Knox and the rest of his underlings and subordinates. Ronald Knox stepped forward and bowed before Lambdadelta, who curtsied equally to return the respect. From the corner of her eye, she could see Beatrice and Dlanor stiffly trying to keep formalities while attempting to communicate at the same time, for they were quite close friends who enjoyed each other's company very much. It was rather amusing, since they were so childlike it was almost hearty to watch.

"Salutations, Lady Lambdadelta. It is an honor to be graced by your presence this morning," Ronald Knox spoke, keeping every formality necessary to address a respectable witch such as her.

"Good morning, Archbishop Knox. It is an utmost honor as well, and thank you for taking the time to see to this event although you are very occupied," she nodded, doing the same. "How did you come to know about this?"

The man chuckled to himself. "Oh, I have my sources, Lady Lambdadelta. When I had heard that two great witches are set to duel, I couldn't miss this opportunity, and you know how droll it gets when you're stamping things, stamping things, sealing things, approving things and sometimes even signing things, hahaha!"

Ronald Knox was a heavily built man, dressed in blue robes and a mighty sword sheathed at his right side. He was a man wise beyond his years, and very much respected by many. Although his department concerns the heavenly protocols, Ronald Knox was also in mutual terms with the Senate of Witches, which answers the question of how he came to know about the duel. His daughter, Dlanor was following his footsteps one by one, abiding by every teaching and instruction. The man who had created the Knox's Decalogue stood tall and mighty before Lambdadelta, who was much smaller than him until she had to nod instead of bothering to tiptoe up to his height level. Featherine Augustus Aurora and her entourage was at the other entrance of the hall, smiling as she beckoned the first ranked witch of the council, Lady Lucinda to announce their departure.

The brown-haired witch nodded and announced at the top of her lungs. "We are gathered here today to witness the departure of Lady Featherine Augustus Aurora and Lady Lambdadelta from the Senate of Witches. Witness and remember; such an event might never happen again in another lifetime! Wish them well; your blessings are esteemed and highly regarded!"

As the witches curtsied simultaneously, Lambdadelta and Featherine walked majestically towards the massive circle at the middle of the hall. As they faced each other, they extended their right arms as they generated an amount of magic powerful enough to conjure a kakera-shaped item, shining brightly as it held the ability to teleport them to Featherine's abode. Dlanor winced at the bright light, but she forced herself to witness it despite it practically stinging her eyes. Featherine looked at Lambdadelta with a satisfied smile, laughing softly to herself as she spoke.

"Good luck to you, Lady Lambdadelta. I do enjoy a fun competitor, and I do hope that you will try your best."

Lambdadelta merely looked at Featherine indifferently, but replied nonetheless. "Good luck to you as well."

The light intensified, engulfing both of their figures as the strong surge of power brought strong winds in the hall, and the witches had to brace themselves due to the immense amount of power. The two witches stood rigid as they concentrated their powers subconsciously, and as Beatrice shielded her eyes, she thought of attempting to look at her senior one last time. Lambdadelta too wanted to turn back and have one last look at everything around her, since she might not be back for a long time, or worse, not at all.

But they chose not to.

They both checked themselves and told themselves not to look back.

Because they were entrusted a task to finish, and looking back would mean that they choose not to look forward.

And they promised themselves that they will finish what they have started or entrusted.

That was before everything happened.

A/N: Merry (belated) Christmas, everyone! :D

To those reading this fic: Thanks so much for reviewing and sharing your opinions! It's really great to know what you think of it, and thanks so much! And oh, oh, there's a little Ep 8 reference where Ronald Knox is saying "stamping things etc." :D If you're confused at the Virgilia/Lambda scenes, the relationship is strictly senior and junior, or senpai and kohai. No romance whatsoever. Tee hee.

RATED M.

I don't own Umineko. This is fanmade. I don't own Ronald Knox either.

-Densetsu-no-Maguro.