MERRY CHRISTMAS GUYS!

Sorry for the lack of update but College turned me down and more of that crap. But I´m ok now, just chilling. I got a WACOM TABLET, freaking Christmas present!

I don´t want to talk much, so you can read the chapter which is the main point here. I just want to say Black Water´s third chapter is in my deviant art page for those who are interested and haven't read it yet. You´ll also find more bios and an awesome sketch-dump I uploaded three days ago.

I hope you all got what you wanted for Christmas, and I also wish you have a Happy New Year!

Chapter 25: The Rascal and the Bookworm

There was too much air in my lungs… or maybe none, my throat was dry and the sensation was familiar, too familiar. It was like that dream I had before I met Van for the first time, and I was starting to wonder if it had really been a dream in the first place.

But of course, I wasn't in the type of circumstance were thinking too much would get me anywhere. I was trapped between Jacko (who still looked like Asch) and the purpled haired harpy. I found myself unsure on which way to look. Either way, I was doomed.

I turned my head away from Jacko for a brief second –just too make sure the harpy wasn't about to stab me from the back–, enough time for him to snap his fingers. The sound made me turned to him almost automatically; he had gone back to his real form, with the mask in its usual place. Between his long, gloved fingers he held his mirror, however, this time he had place it in front of me. Seeing my own reflection startled me for a moment.

It only took me half a second to realize he was whispering something behind his mask, he was verbalizing too low and quickly for me to understand the chant rolling out his tongue. The whole situation was odd; odd enough for me to just stand there questioning if there was something - anything I could do at that point, not to mention how silent and usual the atmosphere was in that instant. I was surprised that the harpy had spared a couple of invaluable seconds of 'murder time' in behalf of her partner's concentration.

And then… another familiar sensation bloomed, one that I wasn't wary of either. My left eye was burned and I could feel how my eyeball was scorching my eyelid and eyelashes, like hot, red coal. I fell on one knee, a vociferating screech scaled out from my throat, full of profanities and threats. The shriek rasped my throat, but the pain was too strong for me to care. I slammed a palm over my eye –which projected a golden beam of light whenever I tried opening it, looking through it was like having a damn kaleidoscope glued to my eye.

My scream died abruptly when a loud thump shook the floor, and that's when I registered another scream, not of my own. In fact, the scream belonged to a man and I realized that it was Jacko, who had collapsed a few feet away from me. He was in as much pain as I was, he was also projecting a gold light, thought his came from the contours of his mask, not just one area, but all of his face was glowing.

The harpy walked past me and stopped in front of him, I was pretty sure her intentions were to help him, but she looked too serine to say that the current situation was unexpected to her. She balled her hands into fists, almost painfully and turned on her heel to avoid looking at how her partner was being tortured by… whatever was causing our pain.

"Damn it Jacko…" She hissed regretfully. Jacko responded with more screams, I didn't stay behind either.

"What the fuck is going on?" I sobbed, the pain had forced me to curve into a ball and shut my eyes closed as my fingers tangled through the smoky darkness breathing out from the floor. I don't think my question was caught unaware, but the harpy decided to ignore it.

She looked down at me from beneath her cloak, her mouth contorted with disdain and she threatened me with her weapon. "Builder saved you in our first battle, but he isn't here to save you now."

"B-Builder?" I choked painfully as I stood up. An evil smile curved in her lips, she was about to say something, however…

"Caba! That's enough!" Jacko snapped, staggering to his feet. Helpless and weak as I was, I could care less about the harpy's name. "Besides, orders are orders, we must retreat now."

As soon as his last words resounded through the darkness, the dull particles that formed the hallucinating labyrinth and blackness around us started to disperse like dust. A large, brown figure broke through the blackish masquerade from above, dissipating the rest of the darkness in a blink of an eye. Jacko jumped away from me when said figure swept me off my feet after skydiving toward us, strapping me to its back who-knows-how.

I instinctively shut my eyes closed as –whatever the figure was– grabbed me and carried me away on its back. Surprising enough, when I opened my eyes, an aerial shot from above the buildings of Belkend welcomed the dizziness, followed by a loud screeching sound that slammed into my ears, the cry of a bird, of a hawk to be exact.

The brown figure I was now riding was actually Kogamaru, who had obviously used his ability to turn into an enormous bird, but he wasn't alone.

"When are you going to start thinking before acting?" Asch scolded, wrapping his arms tighter around my legs and back as Kogamaru kept circling around, the creature was probably waiting for the redhead's next orders.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking!" I growled, giving him a stern look.

"Pffff!" Asch grinned. "That statement would have work if your eye wasn't bleeding and shining like a damn light bulb." I tapped my eye carefully, and scowled when I notice my fingers were tinted with the thick liquid.

"Shit!"

"Imprudent as always." Asch mused.

"Ugh, why am I even discussing this with you?" I snapped. "Now, let go off me!" In that instant, we were attacked by the so familiar tentacle blades from below. Kogamaru struggled as he did his best to dodge the attacks.

"Come down here, you little rats!" Caba, the crazy woman yelled. I wrapped my arms around Asch's neck tighter than before since our flying friend was performing all kind of pirouettes to keep away from said harpy's reach.

"I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU LET GO!" I yelled into Asch's ear. He pulled away and squeezed his eyes in reaction to my outburst.

"What a lady!" He spat, obviously annoyed.

"Shut up!" I hissed. "And where the hell is everyone else?" He immediately gestured me to look down, titling his head a little. Right below us –standing in a fighting stance, in the middle of the alley I had found not so long ago– were the others, facing Jacko while Caba was too far from their reach as she jumped from roof to roof, trying to cut us in half.

"Thunder Lance!"

It took us all by surprise when a shining projectile with the speed of an arrow hit Caba in the back. She turned around gritting her teeth in pain; her attacker was just three roofs away from her, with an impish smile…as always.

Jade looked at her from above his glasses before another casting circle could spread underneath his feet.

"Builder…" She hissed, in a threatening but sinister way. I was pretty sure I lost track of whatever that was supposed to mean because Jade definitely took that as an insult, I had never seen him so pissed in my entire, short life as a replica. For some unknown reason, that word had inspired him to cast 'Icicle Rain' upon the harpy over and over again until particles of hail could reach us up in the sky, not to mention that the roof Caba was standing on was severely damaged.

The purple haired harpy had fallen to one knee as Guy and the others had tried stopping Jade by demanding him to –at least– leave some of the atmosphere's fonons for them to use against Jacko, who wasn't actually attacking anyone. He just kept dodging arrows, blades and Tokunaga. Actually, now that I think about it, I have never seen that guy fight or perform a spell, not even a healing incantation. That's…odd and terrifying at the same time, I mean, does he know how to fight or does he think we are no match for him?

I had to put those thoughts aside as Caba stood up with a pained smile on her face. I looked at her in horror as I understood what her plans were. Having Jade use spells on her had brought up all those fonons considerably closer to her. That's the first thing that came to my mind when she started swinging her urumi above her head like the first time we encountered her. She was now trying to absorb all that bunch of fonons that Jade had showered upon her.

She shouted something, I didn't understand what it was but her weapon grew larger. Her huge tentacle blades fell over several building with a smashing force, destroying and pursuing the others like a worriless child killing ants in the backyard.

"Kogamaru, get us out of here!" Asch commanded, I looked at him in disbelief.

"What the hell are you doing? Jade and the others need our help!"

"Jude, if we stay here they'll keep destroying the port until there is nothing left!" As if the harpy had heard what he said, she targeted us again. This time, Kogamaru could barely avoid the huge blades that kept appearing from all directions.

The blades contorted around us as they tried forming some sort of cage, but Kogamaru was quick and intelligent. As soon as he found the opportunity, he skydived; it was the best option when you are just a few inches away from running into a tower.

My stomach sank with so many pirouettes, and it sunk even more when I realized Caba's tentacles were still after us, following through the alleyways as our flying friend tried to leave them behind. Being that close to the ground, I could finally hear the screams of the town folks, for a moment, I had forgotten that it wasn't only our lives that were now at risk.

"Damn it, that whore is stubborn as fuck!"

"No shit!"

I screamed and wrapped my hands tighter around Asch when the tentacles brushed Kogamaru's tail, cutting the tip of his feathers. Another scream followed when our flying friend abruptly gained altitude once more, at this point I would end puking all over Asch.

Hell no.

The mere thought of more embarrassing moments with Asch was enough to trigger what was coming next. Out of nowhere, my left eye was burning again. Without a second thought, the grip I held on my rapier tighten and I faced the tentacles with an unfamiliar air of fearlessness, a feeling I had never experimented before during a dangerous situation. I felt powerful and unstoppable, god-like.

Before I could realize what I was doing, violet glyphs started to circle around my feet. And words that in that moment came out spontaneously from my lips, began distort with each syllable I verbalized.

"O disturbing power now unleashed, mete thy judgment upon the evil before me! Violent Pain!" Tendrils of energy rose into the air and stroked down on the tentacles, arches of dark energy piercing them from above.

I stared at the destructive scene, quite shocked I must say; although the blades were supposed to be unanimated objects, they writhed in pain like a wounded animal. I had to look away when the pain increased and began scorching my eye, it was bleeding again.

The pain was melting all my senses, one by one. First was my sight and vision followed by dizziness. Hah, and I thought I was never going to feel those symptoms again.

"Hey! Jude! Are you ok?"

Before my brain could form a coherent sentence, everything turned black; I was in the darkness once again…

"You shall hear my call, sister of my last blood. Bow down to me, your king, the King of the Abyss."

-0-0-0-

Memory Fragment: Fabre Manor Part 1 (age: 10)

"Combed hair?"

"Checked."

"Selenias?"

"Checked!"

"Sandals?"

"Checked!"

"Lovely dress?" Van raised a brow with a grin. He was definitely mocking me.

"Ugh… Checked." I replied glaring down at my little white dress and throwing my arms to the air in exasperation. I'd never been fond of dresses and for rightful reasons, may I say. Back in Yulia City Danny was recognized for being one of the best wedding dress designers of the city, as part of her job she would also tailored any type of clothing, including children clothing. And yes, that included dresses for young ladies.

So, whenever she found the opportunity, she would force me into one of her latest creations –most of the time, dresses. She definitely had a thing for dresses– and I would have to deal with hours and hours of just standing there while she fixed the flaws. Occasionally, she would also talk about making me a wedding dress when I were older, which made it even more annoying since I was not interested in boys at that age.

Still, Danny died and my intolerance to dresses decreased, just a little.

Nonetheless, I was now standing in front of the Fabre Manor –property of the retired soldier, Duke Fabre– dressed with a white back-bow dress with pink laces, white sandals and my hair caught in a high pony tail while I held a large bouquet of selenias between my hands.

I know… ridiculous.

The selenias were a thank-you gift for Duchess Fabre; she had succeeded on convincing her husband of welcoming a poor orphan girl who had been marked as one of the worst of Yulia City's rascals… Tch, bunch of morons living inside a Christmas glass bubble ball.

"Now Jude, remember what I told you." Van crouched to look me in the eye. "Be polite, no elbows over the table, salute with a bow. No fights, no frowning, hair pulling or tongue sticking, don't play with the food-"

"Say thank you and please, make your own bed, don't ruin the garden!" I burst out, "I know, I know! Ugh, you are worrying too much!"

Van frowned and placed my suitcase on the floor before putting his hands on my shoulders. "Jude, the services I offer to this manor are as important as my position in the Order of Lorelei. I could even lose both of these jobs if something goes wrong. Promise me you'll behave."

I shook my head, up and down. "All right, I promise. I won't let you down!" He smiled in response.

"Good, now, shall we?" He offered me a hand; I took it gladly, holding the bouquet of selenias in the other hand.

Van guided me towards the main gate. There, he saluted the guards and explained them the situation at hand. The guards gave me a quick inspective glance before opening the gate for us, and Van had to give me a little push to go through since I was a little nervous.

Actually, I had been nervous all the way from Yulia City to Baticul, everything was so new to me, and even the people were different… kind. The different types of flowers and animals was inmense and incredible. The weather too, I was quite impressed that the selenias Van told me to cut were still alive and fresh-looking when we had to go from Daath Bay to Port Sheridan and then to Port Belkend. A long trip indeed, yet, I wasn't tired at all.

Van opened the main door and I walked in timidly, a few feet away from us were a man and a woman, both with long red hair. The woman gave me a sweet smile while the man remind calm and collected, still he didn't look happy at all, it made me feel a little bit uneasy.

Van approached, just in time for me to remember I had to grab the ends of my dress and make a little, gracefully bow. "Duke and Duchess Fabre, thanks for your hospitality."

"Awwww, isn't she adorable?" Duchess Fabre giggled. Hah, if she only knew Van made me say "hospitality" a billion times until I said it right.

"These are for you!" I beamed, giving her the bouquet.

"Oh, they are so beautiful. Thanks darling!" Duke Fabre stepped back when her wife hunched down to hug me.

"Suzanne!"

"Oh, I'm fine, you are worrying over nothing!" His wife complained. Van did mention Duchess Fabre's health wasn't stable, and that she was forbidden to leave her bed. But apparently, she wasn't the type of woman you could hold back easily. "So," She turned to me. "What's your name sweet heart?"

"Jude Haefner…" I replied, stepping back to grab Van's hand again. By the expression she made I could tell she thought that was adorable.

"Van, she is so cute! You should have told me before; we would have met this young lady years ago! " Suzanne beamed, enjoying the smell of the selenias for a second.

"Well… You know the reasons why I brought her; she needs to keep her mind away from that." Van gave me a little nudge before looking up. "I don't think Dannywould have agreed with the whole idea of this trip if she was here… but now that she's… you know…"

Suzanne nodded. "Don't worry; one of our maids will take her to her room. We'll do what we can to make her feel comfortable. Isn't that right, love?" Suzanne turned to her husband; he tilted his head a bit even though he was giving me dirty looks ever since I came in.

After a little bit of chitchatting, Van and Duke Fabre left to his studio to discuss some matter about I don't know what. I stayed with Suzanne for a while, until a maid with pigtails appeared from one of the halls and told her she would take care of me from now on.

The maid picked up my not-so-big suitcase and gestured me to follow her down the corridor at the right. I sprinted after her while admiring the many decorative paintings, antics and vases that adorned the manor; I had never been in a place so impeccable in my life. Even the air of that place felt cleaner and fresh, it was odd.

The swords and shields that decorated the regal walls of the manor called my attention the most. Weapons were common in the Outer Lands, but not in the Qliphoth, even when Van had a sword of his own –which he would use to practice back at Yulia City– he had to get permission from Mayor Theodoro to use it.

A huge garden –huge for a ten year old– appeared through the other side of the window panels. Types of flowers I had never seen before adorned it along with the bushes and vines that seemed so esthetically localized –obvious traces of a gardener's work– around the place, while the center had been stylish with stone, forming some sort of training area.

I was quite shocked at the vivacity of that place, it was so beautiful and unusual… unusually bright. The smell of cut grass reached my nostrils when we passed by an open window, it came with another wave of amusement because the smell was something you could perceive in Yulia City, at least, twice a year since the Qliphoth was not a place where greenery could grow easily.

The maid opened a random door and took my things inside. She explained me that breakfast was served in the kitchen at seven A.M; lunch was at twelve and supper at seven P.M, every single day. She also mentioned some rooms no one was allowed to go in –including me, of course– and that I could go to the garden every day except Lunaday and Sylphday in the morning because blah blah blah, didn´t hear that part.

Once she was done explaining she said she had a lot of work to do and that she had to leave right away, however, she did told me I could call her if I had any difficulties, too bad I couldn´t remember what was her name.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I considered if taking out my things from the suitcase was a good start… It wasn´t… I preferred taking a look around the place. First was my room, at least five times bigger than my room at Danny´s house, god that room was so claustrophobic. My room here was tidy, and it had a huge bed and a bathroom! Oh Yulia, a bathtub!

I quickly moved on to the garden, my room was great, but such a big room for one little girl didn´t have as many attractions as the garden in front of it. I rushed outside and grinned at how the turf snapped underneath my feet, the smell of cut grass reached me once again. The extravagancy of the flowers called me like a workaholic bee looking for pollen.

I was scrutinizing the petunias carefully when I caught streaks of red from the corner of my eye. At first it was only a blob behind the tall bushes, but as I quietly made my way through them… It became into something more… interesting.

I stood on my toes as I caught a glance at the back of a bench, one of those filigreed benches made of wood and metallic details. Sitting in said bench was a boy with red hair, which was quite a surprise since Van forgot to mention there were other kids in the manor. The boy was looking down at something; I couldn't tell what it was from my hiding spot. So, I tiptoed towards him as stealthily as possible. I got close enough to realize he was holding a book, a thick one; I leaned on the back of the bench to see the content of the book. A mess of tiny letters but with big words –at least for a boy his age– like "primogeniture", "interregnum", and "coregengy" . Hell, I could barely pronounce those words at that age.

"You are quite nosy, aren't you?" His voice startled me and I jumped back.

"Y-You knew I was here?" I stammered.

"Not until you started breathing over the back of my neck." He replied, without taking his eyes off the book.

"What are you reading?" I walked around the bench until I was in front of him. He closed the book with an abrupt thump, his verdant eyes looking down at me with the iciest glare I had ever seen.

"Look, I´m in the middle of my mandatory reading period right now. I don´t care if you are Master Van´s friend or whatever, just leave me alone!" He hissed. I merely raised a brow.

"So, you knew I was coming?" The boy rolled his eyes in exasperation. Then, he placed the book over the bench and jumped to his feet. He took a short strand of his own hair and stepped closer.

"Doesn´t THIS tells you anything?" He growled. I took a few seconds to find a valid answer to his question.

"That you are… a ginger?" I said tentatively. He smacked a palm over his face, obviously frustrated.

"Apart from the obvious…" He scowled. He didn´t get any sort of verbal answer this time, I simply shrugged. "Look, the only people here that have red hair –beside me– are my parent, which means MY parents are the lords and owners of this manor. Do you get it?"

"Duke and Duchess Fabre?" I chuckled. "That makes sense. But what kind of person has a mantory reading hour?"

"Its mandatory, not mantory." He protested. "And apparently, only important people like me have that kind of habits, which means you aren't important at all."

I frowned. "Sheesh, who wants to be a nerd anyway? You act like Tear when she is studying, bunch of bookworms…"

"What did you say?" The boy snapped.

"You heard me bookworm!"The tension was rising quickly between us.

"Are you looking for a bruised eye you midget?" I looked at him in disbelief.

"You're not even THAT tall! We are almost the same height!"

"Whatever you say… MIDGET!" He scoffed, crossing his arms with a confident, arrogant smile. I glared back at him, my hands balled into fist until my knuckles turned white. "Pffff, I didn't know blue-haired people could be so dumb either."

"Shut up!" I roared.

"What? Did I kick your ego in the butt?" He laughed, turning around and picking up his book before flashing an evil smile.

"You can shove that book of yours up your-"

"JUDE!" Van´s roar almost gave me a heart attack. I looked around desperately until I found him walking toward us from behind me. He looked… quite upset. "WHAT were you about to say, young lady?"

"Me – No, I wasn't – That's not – I was just – NOTHING!" Of course he didn't fall for it, not after that miserable attempt to save my own skin.

"Apologize to Luke… now." He commanded. I turned around and looked at "Luke", the annoying redhead, who waited patiently with a cocky smile.

"But he- he started!" I protested.

"Jude…" Van shook his head. "You promised. You promised you would behave; you promised you would be polite!" Now I was regretting having promised such thing in the first place. I bit my lip, almost remorsefully. I took a step towards Luke, rubbing my heel with the front of my other feet as my tongue refused to say THAT word.

I looked back at Van for an instant, like waiting for him to change his mind before the sound of my own voice could kill me by just pronouncing that horrendous, forbidden word, at least in my own dictionary. Van frowned, which meant he insisted.

I turned to Luke, who kept waiting like he had all the time of the world.

"I´m – I´m sssssssss…" The word stuck in my throat. Did I mention I had never apologized before? "I´m sooooo…."

"Jude…"

"I´m sooooooorrrrrrrrryyyyy." I finally spat. Luke snorted, turning his back once more. Still, he was considerably close to me when he whispered. He obviously wanted me to be the only to hear what he said.

"What kinds of parents give the name of a boy to a girl…?" I can't describe with details what happened next. The sudden rush of emotions was stronger than any little girl´s self-control.

"I´M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Before Van could react, I jumped of Luke´s back, tackling him to the floor in less than a second. No fights, no frowning, hair pulling or tongue sticking… it all went down the toilet.

Sweet chapter with mini Jude and "Luke", Ive been planning this scene since forever, I was finally able to put things together!

IMPORTANT NEWS, the plotbunnies have take over Seal of Oblivion, I´m not even sure how long this story is going to be now, probably shorter than I expected but with a lot of surprises!

Random music cuz I like sharing:

Masters in France - Mad Hatter

The Weeknd - Wicked Games

Guster - Two points for Honesty

Childish Gambino - Heartbeat

Awesome songs!