SOUTHEAST OF CENTRAL, A SMALL VILLAGE
Lujon stopped and stared.
The bucket that he was hauling clattered to the ground, splashing water over his shoes. He barely noticed.
She was back!
"Lust!" He yelled, rushing to her as she came out of the edge of the forest. Her face smoothed over into that faintly nervous expression that he remembered so well, and he wrapped his arms around her, smelling that faint scent of lilacs and copper that followed her, as always.
Flowers and blood… Something whispered in the back of his mind, but the thought was gone before he could wonder at it.
She'd stiffened in his arms, but hadn't hugged him back. "Hello Lujon," she murmured in his ear. Reluctantly, he let her go… And stared straight into a tiny green face, inches from his eyes. The face was grinning.
"AAAaaah!" He yelled, backing up quickly.
"WAAAAAHHHH!" The face yelled back, as the tiny figure it belonged to leaped from Lust's shoulder and sped away on gossamer wings…
…Sped away to hide behind a tall, brawny man in black, just now striding out of the forest.
Lujon bllinked, looking back and forth from Lust, to the man in black, to the small head peeking over the man's shoulder.
"Oh… You must be an elf…" He said, taking off his spectacles and rubbing them.
Lust, and the two strangers stopped. "You know about elves?" The little green sprite piped up.
"From old legends… Old books. I read through a lot of old books when I was searching for alchemical healing techniques. Not all the books were accurate, some were pretty far-fetched." He looked at Lust. "It's funny, though. Remember that book you tore up because it was full of errors? That's the one that taught me about elves..."
Lust looked back evenly, and shrugged. The motion made her bosom move in a way that stole Lujon's breath, and he fought to keep his eyes on her face. "Well." She said. "I suppose that I've learned more than I knew back then. If you live long enough, it's surprising what you see."
He blinked, and nodded. So modest…
"Well. You've probably been on the road a long time to get here. Why don't you come inside? I'll see about getting you some lunch."
And with that, he took Lust's unresisting arm, and led her toward his house. Behind him, Guts and Puck looked at each other, and shrugged.
"Just don't drink the water." Puck whispered.
"Huh." Guts said, eye moving back to follow Lujon, as he escorted Lust down the street.
Neither of them saw the brown-haired girl staring out of the window above, with a look of abject horror on her face…
-
Lust hadn't touched her crumpets. Or her sandwich, or any other part of her lunch. She hadn't taken a drink of the juice that he'd poured her. In fact, she was listening to Lujon natter on with a faintly distracted look on her perfect face.
Lust was doing her best not to drown in memories.
It wasn't him. She told herself, over and over again. But her mind would not listen…
Even if it wasn't him, the build was too similar… The face was too alike… And the glasses were the crowning touch. The voice was close enough, and his attitude… He stirred memories in her with his mere presence. Memories from the time before, when she had been someone else. Someone with a soul.
She closed her eyes and grimaced.
If Pride hadn't used that rib bone against me a week ago, I wouldn't be able to withstand these memories. I wouldn't be able to make sense of them. As it is, it still hurts… But not so much, compared to the torture he put me through.
She cracked open her eyes, as his stream of small talk stopped.
"…what's wrong? Lust?" He hurried back from the cupboard that he was pulling dishes from, and moved back to the table with a worried expression on his face. A somewhat familiar expression…
No! She thought. This is NOT him!
Beside her, Guts paused with a mouthful of bread to watch the byplay with a bemused look on his face. Thoughtfully, he chewed and swallowed. Across from him, Puck paused from dunking his head in his overlarge cup of tea, to stare.
Anxious, concerned, Lujon stretched out a hand towards her bare shoulder. "Are… you alright?"
No! She did NOT want to let him touch her. She forced a subtle smile onto her face, and brushed his hand aside with one gloved wrist. Keeping skin from skin helped, and no more invading memories were forthcoming.
I need to find a way to keep this stupid man off of me.
"I'm fine. Just a long day on the road." She lied. Lujon nodded, barely satisfied. "Ah, well…" He slapped his forehead, just remembering something.
"I've been completely remiss. Who are your friends?"
"Ah, well. This is Puck." She gestured, and the elf grinned, mulberry tea dripping from his head.
And then, a wonderful, awful idea burst full force into her mind, and she fought to keep her smile from expanding into a wicked grin. It was too good NOT to use.
"And this is Guts."
"My husband."
-
Guts froze, the last crumpet halfway to his mouth. Lujon didn't notice, the slim, spectacled man was frozen staring at Lust for a long moment. Puck, on the other hand, had fallen into his tea cup in shock and was churning up one hell of a mess, trying to extricate his coughing, spluttering self.
Guts put the crumpet into his mouth and rearranged his face as best he could. He chewed slowly, thinking things over while Lujon's gaze swung from Lust to him. For a split-second, he saw horror and jealousy mixed in equal parts… Then Lujon smoothed his own face out. He still swallowed hard, before he spoke.
"Oh. Ah, congratulations. I didn't know…" He extended a trembling hand.
Guts shook it, trying not to squeeze too hard. "Smfll'rght." He muttered, through the crumpet.
His eye narrowed as he swallowed. What game is she playing? For now, I can play along.
"So… how long have you been… married?" Lujon glanced at him, sizing him up for the first time. If the wrinkled nose was any sign, he didn't like what he was seeing.
Guts didn't care. "Couple years," he grunted.
"Oh. She didn't mention you when she arrived here, last year…" Lujon's eyes were narrowing slightly…
"Yeah, that was when I was first dealing with this." Guts pushed back from the table, and put his leg up. Rolling up his trouser cuff, he showed the automail that was his right leg, now.
Lujon stared, then shook his head, managing to look a little ashamed. "Ah… I'm sorry, I didn't know. Must have been… I mean…"
"It's all right, dear. At least he didn't call you a cripple." Lust purred, weaving her fingers together.
Guts grinned back, mirthless. "Yeah. Good of him, huh?" He dropped his cuff back down, and put his leg on the floor. "Shit happens in war." He said to Lujon, who had grace enough to stop talking, and busy himself with collecting the empty plates.
"Ah. Really, no insult meant. I was just surprised…" Lujon said, placing the plates next to the sink.
"Well, I'm sure the two of you have a lot to talk about. I feel the need for some fresh air. Would you care to join me, Puck?"
Finally free of the teacup, the little sprite wrung his wings out, as he stared at her. "Me? Ah, uh, I mean…" He looked over at the nervous Lujon, and the grinning form of Guts.
Guts gave a slight nod. Whatever she's doing, it's probably no danger to Puck.
Puck relaxed slightly. "Yeah, sure… You'll have to carry me, though. Can't fly with my wings this soggy."
She scooped him up in one crooked arm, and made her way out the door without a backwards glance.
Leaving Lujon and Guts looking at each other, sitting in awkward silence…
-
"What the heck was that all about?" Puck yelled, pulling himself to his full six-inch height, at the same time forgetting that he was standing on slick pseudo-leather sleeves.
"Whoop-whoa!" He flailed, and grabbed onto new purchase, before falling to the ground. Then he looked up, as whatever he was gripping wobbled, and realized just what he was hanging onto.
Lust didn't break stride, reaching up a hand to grasp him, and gently tug his hands away from her neckline.
"I needed to get out of his sight. I can't remove the poison with him watching, or I would have to explain it. It's simpler this way."
"Simpler? That poor guy loves you! And you just broke his heart?"
"Love is a human conceit. It doesn't exist, it's just an excuse for weak-minded fools that are afraid of being lonely."
"WHAT?"
"It's an excuse to gratify animal instincts, and get someone on your side who will ignore your pettiness, or lack of ego. End of story."
"You… You honestly believe this…?"
"Believe it? I've seen it for all of my existence, even before I knew what I was. Having a body like this, I've seen the worst that men have to offer. And each one is the same, no matter what lies they told themselves, or others. Men or women, they each drop what they're doing to be beasts at the slightest opportunity, then justify it by excusing their actions with Love."
Puck didn't respond. Still in her hand, she felt his wings flex. Finally, he piped up in a thin, wavering voice.
"But… Lujon's not like that… He's such a nice guy! He wouldn't…"
She sneered.
"Three days. Last year I came to this miserable little village for three days. I did not encourage him. I did not show interest in him, beyond helping him train his alchemical skill. I did not one singlething to lead him on."
"And on the third day, he called off his wedding with his childhood sweetheart, and begged me to stay with him, forever."
Her face hardened, as she recalled the memory.
"Three days. She had known him all her life, and he her. But the second he had the chance, he left her behind, for an inhuman monster in a pretty shell."
"For me."
She heard liquid dripping onto leather, and looked down. Puck was crying, his eyes huge and his lips wavering. The tears were hitting her gloved hand.
"That's… That's so sad…"
She opened her hand, and his now-dry wings buzzed, as he moved up to her shoulder. He cried, the tears running down his legs, and dripping off her shoulder like a gentle morning rain.
She let him sob, as she made her way to the town's well. This time of day, the streets were deserted, all the farmers out in the field.
There were no children out playing today. Fossilitis struck the young first. They would be up in their beds, trying not to move too much.
She leaned over, and looked into the heart of the well. It was mostly dry, there hadn't been much rain, recently. Fortunate, she thought.
"Hey." Puck said, leaning against her neck. His voice was steady again.
"You didn't encourage him back there. And you said you didn't lead him on then, either, right?"
"Not once." Lust murmured, eyes searching for one particular stone.
"You could have, you know. He would've helped you with whatever you needed him for a lot more, right? You could've used him, and thrown him away later."
"Yes. Like I've done before with others, what's your point?"
"Well, you didn't. You didn't have to, so you didn't."
She closed her eyes. "Are you going somewhere with this?"
"I don't think you're a monster. Maybe you used to be, but you weren't to him. Maybe he did see something in you to love. And you can't love monsters."
Lust sighed. Then, her eyes snapped open. "There." She whispered.
"What? But look. Seriously, I think you're too hard on yourself. I think you're afraid that he's right, that you're worth loving. And maybe, just maybe, you're afraid of that. Because if you're not a monster, then all these bad things you've done... You'd have to face them. And I think you'd feel REALLY bad about that."
Lust's eyes opened wide. "Nonsense." She turned her head away, lips set firm.
"Is it? Why?" Puck stood up, hands on his hips, and tugged on her cheek. "Tell me why it's nonsense, c'mon."
Lust looked back at him, then down the well.
"Do you see that discolored stone, near the waterline?"
"What?"
"That stone. Do you see it?"
"Well, yes! What does that-"
Lust threw him down the well.
SPLASH!
Coughing and spluttering, he swam to the surface, flailing as he got a hold on the rocks, and glaring up at the smiling homunculi above him.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT-"
"The poison's behind there, in a sealed sack. It's designed to seep into the water over time, you should be safe as long as you don't open the sack. Move the stone and bring it out… It's at the wrong angle for me to reach from up here."
Grumbling, Puck did what he was told. "Is this it?" He tugged out a small, rotten cloth sack.It was stained an unnatural shade of white.
"Yes. With that gone, the fossilitis will stop spreading, and Lujon will be able to permanently treat the existing cases. Just don't drop it, whatever you do, or the well will be unusable for years."
"Okay! Coming up now..."
"Good." Lust smiled, and turned away from the well…
…To see Lydia standing ten feet from her, a horrified look on her face.
"You." The small, brown-haired girl shook with rage.
"You're the one who brought this disease to us?"
And Lust's arm started to come up, her fingers aligning into their ready positions…