Episode 7: The Mask Within
Since that day, Flonne observed Laharl when he came home every night. Nothing seemed different, he always came back tired, but still as his prideful, arrogant self. This helped Flonne think that everything was going to be fine, but as he turned around and she could see his back, the wound was always there, just almost covered by the scarf. It was there, and that always brought her down.
It was this wound that worried her. It could've been an old battle wound, yes, but it seemed unnatural. While the wound was hideous, the thing she was worried about was the purplish veins that came from the wound and seemed to have spread from there. It looked rather painful, and Flonne wondered if this was the reason he didn't sleep on his back; but on his side instead. Where did he get it from in the first place? "…Laharl always looks fine in the end, no matter the situation. Doesn't he feel depressed about things, and just want to break down?" Flonne said to herself, not even realizing that it was aloud.
Etna just happened to hear her. She thought about Flonne's words, and slowly made her entrance. "The Prince…is complicated in many ways, as far as I know. Sometimes he hides things he believes others don't need to know. I think he was planning to completely hide the Mishao thing the whole time, but we found out anyway." She said; a rather serious tone in her voice. Flonne looked up at her in wonder, acknowledging. "Etna…I noticed a wound on Laharl's lower back. Do you know where he got it from?" She asked her.
Etna winced somewhat, and then gave a very deep sigh. "Well…That would be digging into the past, Flonne. I don't know all the details, but I DO know some. It probably couldn't help you much." She said, almost hesitant to pick up what was dropped years ago. Flonne nodded, and smiled. "Please do tell what you know, Etna. Even a single clue can lead to something." She prompted her.
Etna looked away as she sighed, her eyes half-open in a thoughtful way. "Well…It was 1310 years ago. I was still a little girl about that time, but much older then the Prince was. I first met him when he was 6 years old. I didn't see him anytime before then, because I was just a lowly vassal working in the castle. Like I said, everyday was frustrating…Until then. The Prince, when I met him, was as he is now, but much kinder and considerate. Prideful and arrogant, yes, but he was sweet none the less. When he met me, he helped me stand up, taught me to fight…Everything seemed like they were going better for me…" She paused, thinking hard. "Well…I thought it was gonna get better, but as the Prince grew to be about…21, I think…He was required to go to "Maritsu Evil Academy", a school made as a social community for heirs and those alike." She paused, thinking hard inside of her head for more details.
"Despite his protests, he went." She continued. "After he came back, he changed. Not only did he refuse to accept any affection from anyone, including his own mother, but he was badly wounded. Only the late queen, with her magic, could heal them. Her power wasn't enough to heal it all. The Prince was merely given bandages for the time being. Everything healed from that incident, except for that one wound, which became a scar. Even now, that wound hurts him, I'm sure. He's been dealing with it for more than 1000 years. He used to sprawl all along the coffin, until then. Now, he curls up. I think it might be a defense mechanism or something like that, and he always seems to have nightmares about it. …But that's all I know." She finished, taking a deep breath to catch her train of thoughts again.
Flonne was on the verge of crying. "Laharl had to go through a terrible time in the PAST, too?" Tears rolled down her cheeks. "That's too sad…Poor, poor Laharl…If only there was someway I could help…So far I've been able to do nothing except make everything worse for him. Just more burden for him to deal with…" She allowed the tears to fall, just spouting everything that came to her mind. Etna sighed, Flonne was at it again…crying again and again…But it was sad. The Prince never had much luck to begin with. He always had someone try to kill him, or he ended up in a bad situation…He tries to hide everything, even NOW…It must be frustrating for him when we pull pranks, making everything harder for him.
After Flonne had her little drama moment; the two set back to work, Laharl's past still lingering inside their minds. They both wondered what happened over 1000 years ago back at the academy. Therefore, because of this, neither of them could work properly until their minds were satisfied with the answers they had to seek. Etna gave a long sigh as she rested against the wall, Prinnies lazing about on the floors. She hadn't given so much dedication to her work since the whole Mishao fiasco STARTED…
They wondered about many things, but they didn't take action to find out the truth of the matter. They were actually afraid to.
Meanwhile, at Mishao's palace, Laharl was stuck working hard. It had just passed lunchtime and he was clearing the dishes from the snack he had to make for Mishao off the table. He really didn't like to clean up another's mess, but he had no choice in the matter. Work was work. That did not mean that he didn't hold a grudge afterwards…
After all cleaning was done, he allowed himself to fall right onto the floor, deciding that now was a good time, to take a short break from his work. Besides, the old hag hadn't given him anything ELSE to do since he was finished…Mishao walked into the room, noticing her exhausted slave curled on the floor. She thought it would be amusing to place her right foot on his side. As soon as her shoe came in contact with his side, Laharl looked over, and got up in a flash. He did NOT like her touching him in any way!
Mishao blinked and settled down. "Well, you shouldn't have been on the floor in the first place. It's your fault for being too careless again." She pointed out, trying to change the person responsible. Laharl just grinned, his pride overflowing through him. "Well, if YOU hadn't thought of it in the FIRST place…Doing it anyway would just make you a bully." He pointed out, causing Mishao actually allow her jaw to drop. "Oh, and close that mouth. You look like an idiot." He finished, Mishao slowly recovering herself. "Grrr…" She grumbled. What did it take to BREAK this kid?
Mishao lowly growled, and reached over to grab Laharl's shoulder, impacting him against the wall. On contact, he gasped as he slammed against the wall, his back wound taking damage. Laharl looked up at her, hatred in his eyes. It made Mishao notice…That he was just defending himself since his punishment. Despite noticing that, she decided to knock some sense into him. "Why do you try to convince me AND others that you've taken NO permanent damage from me?" She questioned him, her shadow looming over him. Laharl growled and shook his head. "W-Why do you think I HAVE?" He answered back, his voice rather off from his prideful, arrogant, and annoying self. It seemed almost…scared.
Mishao gave a deep sigh, her cold breath making Laharl give a slight shiver. "…Forget it. It's a waste to question you. Make sure to clean up the castle, and then you can go home." She slowly unfastened her hands from his wrist, making the marks she had constantly created there visible. Laharl gave a small wince and then quickly stood up straight, his pride embracing him again. "Fine, you'd BETTER send me back home afterwards, though! Otherwise you might not live to see the light of day." He warned her as she walked away.
Mishao just rolled her eyes at the threat. "Yeah, yeah, whatever…I'm going to bed." She announced, her voice somewhat tired, exhausted. Laharl managed to catch her words with his sharp hearing, and he growled in response. "It's NOT 'yeah, yeah, whatever'! How DARE you mock me!"
As soon as Mishao was away from his sight, he slumped onto the ground, his legs giving out. He gave a short, sudden sigh of relief as he fell. He was about to let the rest of him fall to the ground, but he supported the rest of himself with the palm of his hands. "I…I actually thought she was gonna punish me again…" He said; his voice almost audible, and somewhat shaky. His hands turned into fists, and then he stood up. "Well, let's get to work…" He grumbled, his emotions quickly changing from what they were before. He wasn't going to allow anyone to see him like that…!
Mishao observed him through a crystal ball in her hands as she relaxed on her bed. "Hmm…So he hides his true self with a mask called "Pride"…Does this mean he's already most of the way broken?" She questioned herself as she observed him.
Back at the Overlord's Castle, Flonne decided to NOT let things sit like they were. His past connected with Maritsu Evil Academy, so it was obvious that to find clues, you would have to go there. She stood up from where she was sitting and headed towards the Industrial District. She ran towards Allietta, determination in her eyes. Flonne faced her. "Allietta…Please send me to Maritsu Evil Academy!" She begged her. Allietta, as if on instinct, was about to confirm the portal for opening the Heart of Evil, but then she quickly wanted to check. "T-The Heart of Evil, right?" She asked her.
Flonne shook her head. "No, this time I want to go to Maritsu Evil Academy. Please don't tell Laharl or Etna where I've gone." She begged her again. Allietta understood this time, and prepared the portal for the coordinates of Maritsu Evil Academy. "Please wait for a moment while the coordinates process."
Flonne nodded, and looked up towards the ceiling. Thoughts of Laharl and Etna came to her mind. 'What they must've felt back then…How much they suffered, and Laharl…' She looked towards Allietta, her thoughts interrupted by the opening of the portal. Allietta smiled. "Thank you for your wait. Please be careful during your trip…And please…I hope that you find out something about the Prince there." She begged her, Flonne gladly taking her wishes and placing them on her shoulder.
"It's alright. I'll try my best to find out something…" She hugged the worried Dimensional Gatekeeper and proceeded to enter the Academy. As soon as she stepped out, things would have never been the same. Flonne gulped as the infamous academy stood in front of her, the doors leading her in. She thought that maybe, as soon as she walked through those doors, she would never return.
Flonne took that step, and rang the doorbell. A Prinny opened it. Flonne looked down at the Prinny, sitting down to its height. "Excuse me, but can I come inside to observe something? I believe something happened at this academy over 1000 years ago." She kindly asked the Prinny. The Prinny, however, shook his head. "Nope, gotta talk to Lord Mao first, dood. Otherwise things could get ugly, dood." Flonne pouted and then quickly nodded. "Oh…Well, could you please take to Lord Mao, then? I beg of you."
The Prinny blushed as he nodded. This mysterious blonde was a beauty! If he had something like THAT on his case…His thoughts were interrupted when Flonne gave a bright smile. "Y-You will? Oh, thank you very much!" Her smile showed genuine happiness. It seemed like she really needed to talk to Lord Mao. The Prinny grinned. "Right this way, dood!"
Flonne gladly followed the Prinny, thinking that maybe, just maybe, she would be able to find out the key to unlock Laharl's secrets. All she had to do was talk to this Lord Mao, and then she could try to figure out something. The Prinny closed the door behind her, and began to escort her to Lord Mao. Flonne was cheerful and happy on the outside, but she was actually worried on the inside. She kept reassuring herself in her head, trying to tell herself that things were okay…
Everything will be fine…
Episode 7: The Mask Within-END
Mares-a-Mares: Flonne head to the academy alone! What will she find out?
Laharl: Why's she going there? Hey, what's going on?
Mishao: Of course we would be left out of this event…
Mares-a-Mares: Could there be a mysterious scandal from the past, and Flonne finds out the true relationship between Laharl and what's-her-face?
Laharl: Hey, I'm not involved in a scandal!
Flonne: Ah, Laharl!
Mares-a-Mares: Next on "A Foolish Bet"! "Tears of Dried Blood"! Look forward to it!
Flonne: I don't like the sound of that title…
Alright, sorry for the wait and ridiculous preview aside…I was trying to figure out how to do this chapter, even though I was looking forward to it. Anyways, it looks like you get a small history lesson from Etna, a spying scene from Mishao with the whole crystal ball bit, a naughty Prinny, and Flonne going on her own to the academy. Bad choice, Flonne…Please review and tell me how I could do better!
-Mares-a-Mares
