5
Bound by Blood and Oath
"No, I… I can't do… it," Francisca mumbled as she slumped against the wall. She had been using a hand to trace their path throughout the abandoned section of the palace. Now she slowly slid down to kneel on the floor. She put a hand in front of her mouth as bile rose up.
Francisca would have been of average height, but she was short from the constant slouch afflicting her. Her long purple hair fell past her waist with loose drills at the end. It now surrounded her on the floor which hadn't been properly cleaned in months. Her face would have been a pleasure to look at if it wasn't hidden by her bangs or affected by her malnourishment.
Vashti looked down at her with cold eyes. Her first response was to tell her, 'What sort of princess kneels to anyone but a king?' However, this would do little to help the recluse. Vashti knelt in front of her and gathered Francisca's head to her breast. She gently stroked her head to calm the royal down.
"Do not fret. No one lies within these halls." Vashti's first order as Francisca's knight was to send away the minimal staff that had taken care of the princess. Not even her nursemaid had remained, long sent away from the palace once Francesca had proved herself useless to the crown. "Only you and I are here."
Francisca looked up at Vashti with wide eyes. Her green pupils were dilated in fear and anguish. Her hands grabbed at the knight's arms, taking comfort in the fact that she was an unwavering presence. Then her bile rose up into her mouth and she spewed it all over Vashti's dress.
Vashti's dress had been of a middling value. The pale blue cloth was neither coarse nor soft. Given the ever-dwindling amount of gold she had in her possession and the fact that the royal coffers were closed to anyone working directly for the fourth princess, she had settled for a dress of lower quality than she was used to. Much to her own derision.
Andrews, the unassuming captain of the guard, had gone to the tailors himself to get this dress for her. He had been appointed as a sort of watchdog to keep an eye on Vashti. Given that Vashti was now part of the Lescatie royal court in some capacity, she was from a foreign land. Her motivations and background were unknown aside from the few snippets she left behind in conversation.
He stood well away from the pair of women around a corner to keep a careful eye. Normally he wasn't one to see the royals of Lescatie but he had been chosen to watch over Vashti, as he was the one who had brought her in. He supposed that the reason the king had allowed the errant knight to stay as the fourth princesses knight was to keep her close, so as not allow her to cause undue trouble in his kingdom.
Her power had been full on display the other day, for all its strangeness. To his eye, the church was now interested in her, not that they could get to her now that she seemed not willing to leave the halls of the palace. Instead, she paid full attention to the princess.
He saw the moment that the fourth princess of Lescatie puked onto the front of Vashti's dress. He winced at what Vashti's reaction might be. He had been given her sizes and a few gold coins to pay for a dress and he had found one. Albeit a used one at the tailors. Vashti had pointedly ignored any and all implications about the dresses origins and wore it without a raised eyebrow that he could see. All in all, she had accepted it with due dignity.
Francisca began to dry heave from the stress of staining her knight's dress. What had she done? Vashti would leave her. She would abandon her like all the rest had. All because she couldn't walk in a hallway.
Vashti, for her part, began to rub the princesses back. She cooed softly to the princess, holding her hand all the while. Every time Andrews saw this tender side of Vashti, it took him for a loop. She had shown little emotion other than bloodlust and boredom before coming to serve the princess.
She stood the princess up on shaky legs and began to walk back down the hall towards Andrews. With the barest glint from Vashti's eyes, he made himself scarce in one of the alcoves dotting the walls. He wasn't hiding from her; he was hiding from the fourth princess by the request of Vashti. Although calling it a request was stretching the truth a fair amount.
Vashti gently led the quivering Francisca down the hallway slowly. The smell from the vomit didn't bother her, the possibility of it staining the cloth however was a different story. It would need to be cleaned out at the soonest possible convenience. There were no maids to take care of such things. She had dismissed the two that had been assigned to Francisca. They had done less than the bare minimum in keeping Francisca healthy and clean.
Vashti had become the fourth princess's knight. As well as her nanny, governess and tutor. The most important role that she had taken on for Francisca was that of a mother figure. Which wasn't a role that Vashti had ever imagined that she'd take in her lifetime. The closest role that she would have thought she would have taken would be a squire's master.
In Castle Cainhurst, blood is what had mattered. The moment one entered the service of the queen, they would take her blood as their own. As such, every night she would give Francisca blood to cure her of her illness. Her body had grown stronger, but her mind still remained weak. In due time her mind would become strong under Vashti's influence and the blood. Patience was the key to setting Francisca loose.
Once they were back in Francisca's rooms Vashti checked over her charges dress. The dress had been bought at the same time Vashti's had been. Its purple material clung to her malnourished body. In due time, she would fill out and enter a normal weight and muscle mass. Francisca's dress was of a higher make than Vashti's which was a point she had insisted upon. Even if it had drained her personal coffers to lower levels.
"Your dress looks to be free of any stains," Vashti commented. "That's good. If you feel the need to throw up, then strip to your undergarments." It really was a shame. The small amount of food that Vashti had managed to get Francisca to swallow was now all over the front of her dress.
"I'm sorry," Francisca repeated again as she hesitantly reached out a hand towards Vashti's ruined dress. Vashti gently grabbed her hand and put it back by Francisca's side.
"Leave the clean up to me, your highness," Vashti said soothingly. "Your hands should never have to touch things such as this."
"But, but I…" she struggled to get out.
"Rest calm. For I will take care of it." She turned slowly from the princess, as sudden movements only served to send her cowering. She went to the washroom with Francisca following behind like a dejected puppy.
As the city of Lescatie was the forefront of Order cities, they had been sent many engineers to build life improvements for the royal family and the church. Vashti's favorite was the crude piping that led the river water into the castle. Even those that could use magic to create water marveled at the innovation.
Francisca watched as Vashti turned on the water for the bathtub and undid the dress's many strings on the corset without looking. It was a simple dress that allowed the wearer to adjust it without the need for maidservants. She was careful on how she took the dress off so as not to spread the vomit.
She took off the undergarment she wore to check if there was anything that had gone through the dress's fabric. Seeing nothing she hung it up and dipped her dress in the rapidly filling tub. She turned off the water and began the long arduous process of cleaning.
Francisca watched her silently. She was fascinated by Vashti's back. Her back wasn't broad, but it had corded muscle. A few scars that didn't look out of place on her pale skin were placed here and there. She would have expected it to mar her beauty, but it only enhanced it. She suspected the front was more of the same.
Francisca, realizing that her mouth tasted foul, washed it at the nearby sink. She felt sick all over again at the thought of throwing up. She hurriedly stripped off her clothes and remained in her undergarments. She threw up in the toilet, spewing out liquid. Vashti paused in her cleaning to watch her silently.
After they were both done with the washroom, and Vashti's dress was hung up to dry, they sat in the sitting room together. Both were in their undergarments. The chairs were moth bitten and Vashti had yet to replace them. She was considering ordering Andrews to take a few from less used areas of the castle but that would have to wait.
Francisca kept peeking over at Vashti who was reading a book from the palace library. She opened her mouth and shut it over and over. Vashti turned a page and decided to wait until Francisca built up the nerve to ask her what she wished. After several minutes of silence, she finally managed to speak her mind.
"Wh-why do you hav… have scars on your ba… back?" She looked exhausted from the short sentence. Vashti placed the book on her lap and faced Francisca with her closed eyes.
"When I was in the lands of my previous queen, I acquired some from training and some from hunting beasts." Her lips turned upward for a moment. "And some from hunting men and women of the church."
Francisca's eyes grew wide with fear as she looked furtively around. "You… hunted pe.. people from the chu-church?"
"A church far different from your Order. It was called the Healing Church. They had an… objection to the blood of my family. I would have more scars if not for the last night I was in Yharnam."
"Wha.. What happened?" Francisca stammered out.
"I entered a dream where I could kill as much as I would ever want. I decorated the streets of Yharnam with the bodies of both hunters and beasts alike." Vashti leaned back into her chair, lost in thought. "During that last night, the worst night of them all, I died many, many times."
Francisca clenched her hands together on her lap. She died? That couldn't be right. Died internally? Spiritually? She wrung her hands together, not sure what Vashti meant. She barely knew of the place Vashti talked about. Were these beasts different from Musume? But before she could ask a question Vashti continued.
"I can say with all certainty, I enjoyed it. I entered many dreams and nightmares before in other nights of the hunt but that one, was the last. Both the church and Cainhurst layed low to each other and the beasts. I've long been trapped in dreams and nightmares that would make lesser men go mad. Was there even a real world to begin with?"
Francisca shrank in her chair. All this stuff about dreams, nightmares and the real world didn't make sense to her. But this world was real, why else did she feel all this pain and suffering?
"It's real," Francisca whispered. "The world is real."
Vashti looked at Francisca with slightly opened eyes, surprised at the sentence. She hadn't stuttered or been hesitant. She could push more without breaking her. "If you say it is so, your highness."
Something nagged at Francisca's mind. Something that Vashti had said. It also went back to why she decided to be her knight. Why cure her and stay by her side? She looked back up at Vashti who had begun to hum again. She did that often and it calmed Francisca's heart and mind. She put those thoughts away, it didn't matter why, only that Vashti was by her side.
Later that evening, Vashti once again cut herself open to give her blood to Francisca. She drank it greedily and began to spasm from the pain. The blood flowed through her, changing everything within. It burned through her weakness and slowly drew her ever closer to a catalyst.
Vashti held Francisca in her arms as she contorted in agony. After several minutes the blood ceased to burn through her body, and she lay still. Vashti gently moved Francisca from her lap and onto the bed. She kissed her forehead and slowly walked to the door of the bedroom.
"Don't go." Francisca's voice cried out pitifully. "Stay with me." Vashti turned to find the princess looking at her with an outstretched arm. This was the first night that Francisca had managed to stay awake and not pass out from the pain of receiving the blood.
Vashti considered leaving her but thought better of it. Francisca consistently had nightmares. Abandonment being a major theme. She would whimper out into the night calling for anyone to help her escape the ever-rushing loneliness. Besides, being able to bear with the pain now was deserving of a reward.
Vashti had been sleeping in a small room with an almost hidden door in Francisca's rooms. It was made to be out of sight so that it would be out of mind. If Francisca had ever needed a maid quickly then that room would have been the one used for that maid. That is, if Francisca had ever been a proper princess.
"I'll be back in a few moments, my princess." Vashti left the room, closing the door with nary a whisper. She gathered her Chikage from her small room. She had left it there so that the princess would be less nervous in her presence. However, the Blade of Mercy was always on her person, hidden by her dress.
Francisca clutched the blankets weakly and held back on her sobs. Vashti, her knight said that she would be back in a moment but even so, the fear of her leaving and never returning stayed with her. Vashti was the only one who cared what happened to her. Not like her parents, her sisters and the two people she played with when she was little.
When Vashti reentered the room, she found Francisca biting her lower lip on the verge of tears. Francisca stopped biting her lips when she heard the sound of the door click shut. Vashti blew out the only lit candle in the room and darkness fell upon the room. The only light came from the moth bitten curtains sheltering the closed window.
"Be at ease my lady," Vashti whispered just loud enough for the princess to hear. "I will stand at your side, even while you sleep." She leaned her Chikage against the wall, next to the bed for quick access. She delicately climbed into the bed, slipping in between the sheets she had appropriated from lesser used areas of the palace.
Francisca, with the last of her strength wrapped her arms around Vashti and cuddled up against her. Vashti smelled like old iron left out to rust and unknown flowers. Her skin was soft and pleasant to the touch. All of this calmed Francisca enough to settle her ever restless mind.
Vashti slowly stroked Francisca's hair as she slowly drifted off into sleep. Vashti looked at the almost still form of Francisca and wondered, was this part of the reason that Queen Annalise so desired a child? To have an heir yes, but to have someone depend upon you to the extent that they forget everything else in the world.
It was an odd feeling to have someone depend upon you for everything. Her Queen had depended on her as a knight, a tool to fight and defend. Days that she took to with relish. Now, it was no more than a half-forgotten dream. Her Queen was out of her reach. Far away in the realm of dreams and nightmares.
Vashti watched as Francisca breathed rhythmically in deep slumber. What dreams was the child experiencing? Her life will only grow more tumultuous in the coming days ahead. Vashti softly stroked a finger across Francisca's cheek. The girl mumbled softly and buried her head in Vashti's breast.
"Ouch!" Francisca yelped, as a riding crop slapped against her back. She arched her back again and stood up straight.
"What sort of a noble, a royal no less, slouches?" Vashti admonished. "Until you master the art of authority, you will forever remain in squalor." She gestured to the Princess's quarters with the crop. "Just because you have overcome your illness does not mean that they will find you useful. You are still the forgotten and abandoned princess."
Francisca wanted to sniffle. For the past few days Vashti had been teaching her how to be a noble. She was a strict teacher. Wasn't a knight meant to stand by her side and not use a crop on their master?
Another smack with the crop against her back sent Francisca back to standing straight as her thoughts bent her forward. She wanted to protest about this treatment, but she didn't have the courage.
Vashti circled around Francisca slowly, keeping an eye on her posture. Francisca would often go back to her consent slouch which would do nothing but weaken her authority. Due to her being abandoned before such good habits were made, she was more than just far behind other nobles.
Vashti tapped a finger against her waist. It was too early to place books atop her head, the majority of her strength would need to be saved for night. When she was fed the blood of Cainhurst. This is what the past few days have been like. Training her to be able to do the bare minimum to have the bearing of a royal and feeding her blood at night.
Francisca's constant stutter was also a problem that Vashti was trying to eliminate thoroughly. Every time Francisca stuttered, Vashti's hand would strike out like a whip and grab onto her tongue and hold onto it. The first time, Francisca had panicked when her tongue had been grabbed and very nearly bit it off.
Vashti had no tolerance for it and had told her to breathe before speaking. Even if Francisca had to speak slowly, it would be far better than the stuttering. However, in time she would need to speak without speech impediments or else no one would ever take her seriously in court.
Francisca had much to catch up on if she was to ever stand in the presence of her family. But this presented a problem for Vashti, for which there was no immediate fix. She was in a foreign land with little knowledge on the current politics. What she did know was from the books that she had taken from the palace's library.
Lescatie was a powerful kingdom that served under a religious organization called The Order. King Castor Bisoa Lescatie ruled alongside the high priests of The Order. Such as the Noscrim family. There were nobles who were a separate power from The Order and "served" their king, such as the Blondell family.
But that was as far as her knowledge went on the subject of the kingdom of Lescatie. There were surely shadows that lay within, and she only need peel back the curtain. She hadn't had the time to wander around the city since becoming Francisca's knight, but she had seen the slums, which reminded her of the forgotten areas of Yharnam.
Andrews was a source of information just waiting to be used, but his loyalty to the crown might prove to be a hindrance. Perhaps Francisca needed to take a tour of her city to find out what lay in its streets. It was high time to take her out of these walls. Her mind should be stable enough to withstand a carriage ride at the very least.
Vashti glanced over at Francisca who was still walking a circuit around the room while trying to stand straight. Small twitching indicated that she wanted to bend forward back into a slouch, but her face showed a determination that had been absent the first few days that Vashti had been with her. Yes, it was time for the child to take in the world from outside her window. Otherwise, this would hold no meaning at all.
"You may take a break Francisca," Vashti said much to Francisca's relief. Francisca didn't quite sag her shoulders, but she did retreat to sit on a chair in the corner of the room. Vashti tucked the riding crop into her sleeve, out of sight, out of mind. "I have a change in plans for us today, your highness." Vashti turned around to look at herself in a mirror in the corner of the room. In one of the cracked corners, she kept an eye on Francisca.
Startled, Francisca looked up at Vashti who had her back to her. It had been years since she had left the palace. Not since her childhood friends had been with her. She hunched her shoulders and drew into herself. She looked down at her feet and started to mumble before catching herself when Vashti turned slightly with a thumb and forefinger ready at her side.
Francisca took several deep breaths and put a hand on her chest to calm herself down. Her heart beat rapidly against her hand. She wanted to make Vashti proud but had no faith in herself to do what she asked. She took in a breath and opened her mouth and spoke in a calm, measured voice. "I do not think I can do that."
It was more than a small victory for Francisca to be able to speak without stuttering. Vashti relaxed her fingers and was silently proud of the progress that was clearly showing from her effort. Not that she would praise her, as she still wanted to stay within the prison of her room.
Francisca watched closely as Vashti walked towards her. She stopped just in front of her and she cupped Francisca's cheek with a soft touch. Vashti's red eyes were open and stared straight into her green eyes. A slight smile traced Vashti's red lips as she whispered to her liege. "You don't have to go outside my dear Francisca, it is your choice, and I will not force you to do something you don't want to do.
"However," Vashti continued. "If you don't want to go outside then I'm afraid that I won't be able to do anything for you." She withdrew her hand, letting her fingers brush past Francisca's lips. Her smile faded and she closed her eyes again. "If I have no purpose here, then I might as well just leave you here, by yourself."
"No!" Francisca burst out as she wildly grabbed for Vashti's retreating hand. "I'll go! I'll go!" She breathed heavily as she tried to recover from her outburst. In her panic she forgot the techniques to calm herself so that she could speak, but she also forgot that stuttered from her timidity. "I'll do whatever you want as long as you don't leave me alone." Tears welled up from her eyes to fall to the floor.
Vashti let Francisca grip her hand and used the other to wipe away her tears. "You don't have to do whatever I want. Only what you wish to do." She leaned over and kissed Francisca on the forehead. She drew back and smiled. "Nothing would bring me more joy."
"I want to go outside! I want to learn! I want to be by your side!" Francisca shouted with all of her being. Vashti was her last chance at having someone by her side. If she left, then she would truly be alone. No one at the palace would pay her any mind. And this time, she might jump out of the window that she had gazed out of so many times.
This was a step in the right direction, Vashti thought to herself. But someday she wanted Francisca to have more mobility in her thinking. If she was ever to become a queen, then she needed to be so much more than the scared little girl she was now. Vashti pulled back her hand that Francisca had been squeezing and she reluctantly let go.
"We shall have an outing today but know that there will be one other aside from us two." Vashti contemplated the dresses the two wore, they were the same ones that they had worn when Francisca had thrown up on her in the hallway. "He is a man who is trustworthy enough to be allowed into your presence, although," Vashti tapped her smiling lips with a finger. "Normally a man of his status would never be allowed to see your majesty, unless he had done a deed of great valor."
Francisca wondered who this man that would be joining them would be like. She was scared since she had only seen Vashti since she had become her knight. Would she be treated with derision since she was the sickly princess, the forgotten one. Her fingers interlaced with one another until her knuckles turned white.
"Let your heart and mind be at ease my lady," Vashti said as she placed a hand on top of Francisca's. No torment shall fall upon you. I will deal with them before they even have a chance." Francisca looked up at Vashti's closed eyes and took comfort from that. Vashti had always honored what she promised.
"Okay," Francisca whispered as she drew her eyes back down to stare at her feet. Vashti nodded to herself and left the room to enter the hallway. Vashti could have used a sedative which had been in her small bag when transported to this dream, but it was made of human blood. Vashti didn't need a concoction from Byrgenwerth to achieve what could be done with her own two hands. Additionally, Vashti would prefer Francisca not come to an addiction of blood menstruation. Those in the Healing Church often turned into the beasts which she so loved to hunt from their addiction.
Andrews was just down the hall in a small alcove. It contained a chair and a small table that he used as a drink stand. As soon as Vashti was in sight, he placed the book he was reading onto the table and faced her without standing up. He was a man who was easily overlooked in regard to his appearance. He had black or brown hair cut close to his scalp, but his face, height and build were all ordinary in a casual glance. Even under heavy scrutiny, one would be hard pressed to point anything out of the ordinary.
His redeeming qualities was his sense of duty towards the kingdom he served. His sense of justice was uncompromising but that did get him into conflicts with his leadership quite often. Which was why he was on this post now. Before coming to this post, he had heard rumors of the fourth princess but like many, had thought that she didn't exist anymore. Or had never existed in the first place. Seeing the dire straits, the princess endured angered him to no end. Not that he was of any position to take any action.
Even if he had a right to be angry with Vashti for being given a dead-end post, he was grateful. Vashti was taking care of the princess, something that was worthy of praise. That didn't mean he wasn't wary of the woman. No, she was capable of such violence to kill a man in an instant. Even standing up to a hero and drive him to his knees. She was an unpredictable card and couldn't fault his superiors for stationing someone to watch her movements.
"Andrews, I'm taking my lady outside the palace walls in a carriage." Vashti didn't leave any room for objection. "You are to come along with us, to protect ladies who have never picked up a sword."
He wanted to object but held his tongue. She wanted to go out incognito with the princess. She had to know that he was reporting her every move, so this was a short-term deception. He stood and bowed. "It would be my pleasure."
Francisca sat next to Vashti in the carriage, across from Andrews. Francisca at the beginning of the ride had wanted to crawl into Vashti's pockets, if her dress had any. She had pointedly ignored Andrews and only after ten minutes had passed; did she look out the window. They were passing through the section where the wealthy made their homes, and as such, splendor and opulence were on full display.
To Francisca's eyes, it was made up of beauty, something that had been out of her reach. Her rooms and area of the palace were empty of wealth and had been that way for a long time. For a brief moment, she forgot that the men and women who lived in these houses were the ones who shunned her.
Andrews watched the princess as she stared out of the carriage in wonder. It was a pleasant change from the ashen face she had worn when entering the carriage. Vashti sat back in her seat; her eyes closed as was her way. Andrews glanced out the windows of the middle-class carriage they were riding.
"Vashti," Andrews said, getting the woman's attention. "That mansion on the right is the home of the hero you fought to a standstill." As well as the young man you killed, he added silently.
"Is that so?" She smiled wryly without looking out of the window. The view she was missing was of a large mansion filling a large area of the city. Not that it was the only one. The Blondell mansion sat in front of a square with a large fountain in the middle. It was of a large breasted woman with a thin cloth barely covering her body. Many nobles walked the streets, showing off themselves. Others rode in carriages much grander than the one they sat in now.
"Andrews," Vashti said. "Have the carriage driver take us through the middle-class section of the city. The shortest route to the slums."
"Are you sure that's wise?" he asked, looking pointedly at the princess. Vashti opened her eyes a sliver to look at him. He held out his hands in defeat and gave the driver their instructions. When Andrews sat back down, Vashti had drawn the princess's attention to her.
"You've seen the wonders of your city my dear princess," Vashti said. "But never forget that the men and women who lived in those grand houses lifted not a finger for you."
"I know," Francisca replied slowly. Her face was much healthier than it had been, but she still looked the same when downcast. "I won't ever forget."
Andrews paid careful attention to what was being said. Vashti had the full ear of the fourth princess and could influence her in any direction she saw fit. She was trying to stoke the fires of resentment in the princess and that could be dangerous, even if she had no power to speak of. If it ever turned into anti-kingdom sentiment, he would have to take action. Even if it led towards his own death.
They quickly traveled through the middle-class district and came to where the lower-class lived. Vashti pointed Francisca towards the window again and the princess's eyes looked out in shock from the stark contrast. Then they reached the slums and the princess's eyes filled with horror.
"What is this?" asked Francisca without any trace of the slowness. "Why is this here?" They passed by buildings with their roofs caved in. The street was missing cobblestones. The people walked with empty eyes and silently watched as the carriage passed them by. "How?"
"Is it truly any surprise?" asked Vashti. "Your family let you slowly rot away in rooms the farthest from them."
"But all those nobles have enough wealth to help, don't they?" She pointed the question at Andrews who nodded reluctantly. "Why are they not doing anything?"
"Those who hold power and wealth will rarely share with those beneath them," Vashti said, a hint of a smile on her face. "What purpose is there for them to share with lesser beings?"
"They are people!" Francisca shouted, almost rocking the carriage. "My father is the king; he should have done something about this!" But he had all but abandoned her. "My sisters are mighty heroes with powers beyond my imagination!" But had she ever seen them once since being a child?
"It is their right to crush those that lie underneath them," Vashti pushed on with a large smile on her face. "After all, is it also not by your god's will that the weak be trampled?" She looked outside where children were playing in the crumbling street, surrounded by broken buildings and people. "At least the children here are not being used for experiments by your church." She nodded to a shoddy church that contained an orphanage.
Francisca lifted her hand and slapped Vashti across the face. Andrews stared at the two in shock, frozen in place. He vaguely recognized that the carriage had stopped moving. Vashti fully opened her crimson eyes and met the princess's fierce glare.
"There is no right that the weak should be crushed under anyone's heel!" Francisca's face was twisted with anger and none of the broken princess could be seen. "If that is the will of the mighty then it should be changed! No one should have to go through this! No one should have to go through what I went through!"
Vashti smiled widely, baring her teeth. Francisca recoiled, likely aware of what she had done. Vashti grabbed Francisca's still raised hand that had slapped her and held it against her cheek.
"You have a strong heart my lady," Vashti said as she bent her head down. "Forgive my words, for I was testing you. You have exceeded my expectations." She moved Francisca's hand to the top of her head. "Punish me as you see fit."
Francisca looked at Andrews, pleading with him on what to do next. He shook his head and held his hands out in front of him. This was all on Francisca, the fourth princess of Lescatie. She turned back to look at Vashti's bowed head.
"I… I will not forgive you," she said with a slight stutter at the beginning. They would be the last as the little girl lost and alone stood behind her. She wouldn't be forgotten but she couldn't be her anymore. Francisca looked up at the carriage's roof and a tear escaped, it was time to move forward. To leave behind who she was, for she was someone new.
Something rushed through Francisca's body at this revelation, snapping her into focus. Her body jolted for a brief moment before righting itself. She looked down at Vashti again, different but the same. "For your transgression, you are to obey me until the day I release you from my service. You are my limbs, my teacher, my sister and you will stay by my side."
Francisca lowered her hand from Vashti's head to her lips. Vashti gently held it and kissed it, cementing her vows. "I exist to serve my lord."
"Andrews," Francisca said as she turned to the unassuming man. "You serve the best interests of this kingdom, do you not?"
"I do." He didn't want to be in front of these women right now. Something was changing and he didn't know if it was for the good of the kingdom.
"Then as the fourth princess of Lescatie I command you, do what will be best for this kingdom, always…" she trailed off and sat back into her seat heavily, emotionally drained from everything that had happened today.
Do what is best for this kingdom. Her words echoed around his skull. She had no political power, and until this day, had no presence. She hadn't asked him to betray his oath, although he felt in his bones that Vashti had been hinting towards treason all this time. But this created a different sort of conflict within him. He banged his fist on the carriage roof and the driver obediently drove the horses forward once more.
Vashti had moved to comfort the exhausted princess. Francisca looked out the window vacantly, thinking of what had changed. Far off in the distance she could hear a soft melody just out of reach. As the carriage rolled by her sight fell upon a young man and woman walking together.
The elf woman wore clothing reminiscent of leaves in spring. She had a longbow and quiver on her back. Her long green hair was tied up in pigtails and they waved softly in the wind. She chatted with an annoyed expression at the man.
The man had shockingly bright red hair, tousled by sleep. He had a tan from working under the sun and lean muscles from swinging a sword which was at his hip. For a moment Francisca saw the boy who had played with her long ago, before she had been forgotten. She moved her eyes forward and didn't look back.
For a moment Elt felt eyes on him. He turned towards the carriage that rolled on by, much to the anger of Pimera. The half-elf hated humans and hated it even more when she was ignored. Given that she was a hero blessed by god, her punches hurt and he really didn't want to be a target for 'practicing' her archery skill again. He turned away from the carriage and tried to calm down the ever-rising temper of the elf woman.
Francisca hadn't changed from her personality all at once. She was still the unsure young maiden but with less hesitation. More of a drive to move forward. However, she still made Vashti sleep in bed with her, as loneliness and the dark still scared her beyond measure. Which made it slightly difficult for Vashti when she snuck out the night after Francisca's new will came into being.
She had found a book, hidden away among the shelves in the royal library called the Monster Girl Encyclopedia. It detailed the world's monsters to Vashti's great disbelief. Gone were the flesh-eating beasts from Yharnam, in their place were monsters that lusted after the flesh of man. If this was true, all she could do was laugh. What was the point of this dream?
She had silently slipped away from Francisca's bed to don her knight garb, her sword at her waist. Through the silent corridors of the palace and through the walls, no more than a ghost to those who patrolled. From the streets to the roofs, she hopped from one to the next, easily leaving the city walls to the grassland beyond.
In the forest she should be able to meet these Mamono. She hoped that this would be a good hunt. If it was anything but, then all that remained were the heroes of the church. There truly would be no other purpose to this dream other than to follow Francisca.
Banu led a small scouting squad of Orcs and a Kunoichi that kept watch from the shadows. Banu was a High Orc and carried a large axe on her shoulder. She wasn't happy with scouting ahead of the main army or making a camp so close to the city. The Sabbat was too confident in their magic to hide the army and to dull the sense of those who stumble upon it.
It did ease her mind slightly that there were supposedly insiders within the city they were taking. Those within the church no less. She smiled in amusement but let it fade as she reorganized her thoughts back to the task at hand. She once more glared at the tiny, diminutive form that had insisted upon coming with her warband.
Myrtle was a Devil who had wormed her way into coming. She floated in the air, the soft moonlight highlighting her blue skin. She looked like a human child and Banu was never sure if Devils minds were that of a child as well, or something else. Myrtle would often wander off and come back whenever she felt like it, completely ignoring the chain of command.
Banu ignored the Devil as she floated off into the forest again. Instead, she urged her party on, defusing their desires to rampage. If she hadn't been here to control their urges, then they would have attacked Lescate long before this night. Banu huffed as she realized something that she would have to bring up to the higher ups in command. They were patrolling along a set path too many times, the forest floor was starting to get used to their presence.
She felt the wind shift through her long rough white hair. She flicked her furred tail which was longer than a regular orcs and sniffed the air. Something had changed in the air. There was someone else here. Then the screaming began behind her.
Vashti had cut down several pink skinned humanoids in quick succession before the troupe had realized she was there. They had pig-like ears and tails. They wore little to no armor and the majority had small rough hammers. They somewhat reminded her of the large boars that were found in Yharnam and the chalice dungeons. However, they weren't nearly as strong as they had been. Her blood wasn't singing.
Several of them managed to raise their weapons before Vashti sliced through them. The element of surprise was gone. The only danger that remained was the possibility of getting swarmed. She stepped into the trees away from the path and slipped in and out of their view. Several of the Orcs screamed in panic and tried to go after her, their fear breaking their minds.
Then a roar shook the forest, reorganizing the Orcs into a squad. Banu slammed her axe into the ground and stood tall, a pillar of strength for her warband. Vashti saw the tall High Orc and raised it on the threat level. She changed course and slammed into the side of the Orcs, slashing through them like butter.
The Orcs tried to put up a fight, but they moved much too slow with their weapons. Their bellies were sliced open, their throats slashed through, or their limbs severed. Banu knew she couldn't save those that had gotten in the strange woman's way, so she yelled out an order for the rest to retreat. She raised her axe as the white-haired woman danced in front of her.
She blocked the first strike and Vashti stepped back for a moment. This monster was tall, brown skinned with furry ears. She had a tail like the rest of the pigs, and she wore mismatched leather and armor made of animal bones.
Banu stepped forward and swung her axe at Vashti who dodged under it to strike out with her sword. Banu used her arm guard to deflect the strike and found that the bone simply did nothing to stop the sword. Her eyes widened as it sliced through her arm. She hurled herself to the side to save her arm from being cut off.
Vashti let her get away, utterly bored with the turn of events. Her blood refused to sing, these were worthless creatures and were hardly worth the effort put in killing them. She looked up at the moon through the trees and lamented the turn of events that had led her here.
Banu sat up and broke the haft on her axe so that she could swing it faster. She rushed forward, unleashing a flurry of strikes upon Vashti. Vashti parried them with her blade halfheartedly. Banu let loose with a few kicks and one managed to get through Vashti's guard. She flew across the forest until she slammed into a tree.
Banu realized that this strange woman wasn't fighting her at full strength. Even her strikes which should have blown away any normal human knight simply caused the woman in front of her to slightly brace her arm. She was outmatched in terms of skill and possibly strength. The Kunoichi was nowhere to be found, probably watching to report back to the main force.
The strange woman stood away from the tree, blood trickling from her lips. There was only one option for Banu: buy time and try to show the true strength of this unknown hero. If she had been a Mamono who could use magic she could simply turn the mana within the hero to that of pleasure and the Devil who could have done that was nowhere to be found.
"Is that all you got!" Banu shouted at the hero, baiting her. "You certainly flew quite far." She picked up the broken haft and welded it with her other hand. Banu's blood boiled, reminiscent of the days when Mamono were simply monsters. This was a fight to the death, even if the Demon Lord's commands were always whispering to her people, 'do not kill humans. We are to love them.'
The strange woman's eyes opened to show a startling red. Rage filled them as she stalked forward. "You dare to imply that you are stronger than me?" The woman's voice was low and was tinged with murder. "If you want a challenge, I shall give one to you."
Vashti sheathed her sword and tied the cloth to the guard. She held the sword with its sheath towards Banu. That was an insult of the highest degree, and it enraged Banu. Even if she was far weaker.
Banu threw the broken haft like a lance and charged after it. Vashti dashed forward under the haft, letting it shatter into the tree behind her. She met Banu's axe on her sheathed sword. Vashti didn't budge when Banu tried to push her back. The blood rushed through her veins, strengthening her body.
Banu leapt back and roared, shaking the trees. Her roars wouldn't reach the camp, too far away but hopefully it would reach the wayward Devil. She unleashed a flurry of strikes at Vashti, each swing going faster and faster until it was no more than a blur. Vashti deflected each strike until Banu threw a quick punch at Vashti's gut.
Vashti let go of her sword in midair, letting it fly above their heads with Banu's last axe strike. She quickly drew the Blade of Mercy and split it into two and shedded Banu's arm up to the elbow as it connected with her stomach. Vashti skidded back as Banu screamed in agony as the skin fell to the ground, no more than ground meat.
Vashti sheathed the Blade of Mercy and rushed forward at the retreating Banu. She grabbed the Chikage as it fell from the sky and unsheathed it, it's cloth coming undone with a slight pull. She unsheathed it; its blade clean of blood. Vashti's rage finally came to the forefront and slashed towards Banu.
Banu used the axe to block the incoming blow and her axe shattered, its shards embedding into the trees surrounding them. All of Banu's cards were gone, her left arm was next to useless, and she had no weapon. The fallen Orc weapons were too far away, she could only hope that the Kunoichi would take this information back to the main forces.
Banu blocked a slash with her right arm that would have killed her if she hadn't. Her forearm fell to the ground, and she clenched her teeth as even more agony invaded her adrenaline. She would die soon, and she didn't want to die. All she wanted in this conquest was to feel the skin of a man against her flesh. She didn't think she would die so miserably, without even a man in sight.
"Is that it!?" Vashti exclaimed angrily as she kicked the High Orc back. "Is that all the threat that brought down so many heroes of this land!?" Banu backed up, stumbling, frantically trying to find some way to survive. Vashti's blood finally sang, in tones of disappointment. "Is this all you are!? Where is the worthy hunt! I thought you were monsters!"
Vashti finally tired of this and backed the High Orc against a tree. Banu felt her back hit the hard bark and knew that it was the end. Vashti's sword sank through Banu's shoulder and into a thick tree trunk behind. Banu screamed in agony and tried to use her immense strength to remove it from the trunk. Her shredded left hand grasped onto the blade, and she desperately tried to pull it out, failing due to the numbness spreading throughout her body.
"Where is the threat!?" Vashti raged. "Tell me!" She released the handle of her sword and punched the High Orcs head to the side. With her other hand she withdrew the Blade of Mercy once more and stabbed it into the High Orcs stomach, digging it around. "You are nothing like the beasts of Yharnam!"
Banu screamed in agony and threw a feeble punch back at her attacker. Vashti let go of the Blade of Mercy and caught her fist. She squeezed until the fist began to creak under the strain. Tears of pain flowed from Banu's eyes as she looked into the vengeful red orbs that looked back at her.
"You wish for a challenge?" a voice called out from behind. Vashti turned to find a child floating in the air. Her blue skin that reflected the moonlight, uncovered by the blackened blue clothing she wore. A small thong covered her pelvis and a small leather chest piece extended from her collar at a purposefully failed attempt at modesty. She held up a black gloved hand to her mouth in an expression of delight. "I can give you what you desire, oh dear maiden."
The newcomer gently flapped small bat-black wings that came out from her lower back and smaller versions flapped high on her forehead. A black spade tipped tail lazily grazed the air behind her. Her eyes had black sclera while the irises were red like Vashti's. Her smile was smug as she looked down upon the noble.
"I sincerely doubt you could prove to be a challenge," Vashti stated as she plucked her sword from the High Orcs shoulder. She put away the Blade of Mercy as Banu fell to the ground, with blood staining the grass around her. Her weakness overwhelmed her and, in that moment, she knew that the Devil would have no chance of winning, even with magic.
"Don't…!" Banu cried out before Vashti stepped on her head and slowly applied pressure. Banu's face slowly sank into the dirt, and she began to lose air. She flailed around, trying anything to breathe.
"We can't have that now, can we?" The child-like creature smiled evilly and extended out her arms towards Vashti. "Come into my embrace!" A dark aura emitted from her body towards Vashti and enveloped her. The devil slowly descended towards Vashti, ready to bring her into her arms.
"Is that it?" Vashti asked and the Devil stopped. It flew backwards, confused that its prey didn't turn into a mindless beast that was filled with lust. Vashti stepped forward and asked again, "Is that it?"
Myrtle looked at Vashti again, looking for the mana that lay within her body, except there wasn't any there. There was nothing. There was a woman standing before her but she was empty. She shouldn't exist.
"What are you?" Myrtle asked, while backing up in fear. She saw the state of Banu on the ground and knew not to let the human woman get close to her. "Even corpses have mana within them."
"I am Vashti, Knight of Cainhurst. I am a holder of forbidden blood." She stepped forward again, her glare piercing through the minor devil. "I am a Vileblood and I find this hunt to be pitiful."
The two of them locked gazes for a moment. It could have been an eternity for the minor devil but for Vashti, who's rage at being thwarted of a halfway decent hunt, it was nothing special. The Devil looked into Vashti's eyes and saw half-forgotten madness drenched in blood. Death is what stood before her.
The Devil screamed in terror and blindly flew away into the forest, towards the grassy plains. Vashti ran after the fleeing demon. The Devil looked back and found that Vashti was gaining on her. She conquered up balls of fire and threw them at the enraged knight. Vashti weaved by them and continued her chase.
Annoyed that the Devil was only fleeing she let the blood rush though her even more. She braced herself against the ground and readied her sword to throw like a spear. She threw it with her blood enhanced strength, it sliced through the air and through the body of the Devil though the back.
Myrtle didn't even realize that she had been pierced through until she was on the ground, screaming in agony. The sword slipped out of her, and she was roughly turned over. Vashti placed a boot on the Devil's chest and looked at the Mamono.
Through coughing up blood Myrtle managed to form a sentence. "You wouldn't kill a child, would you?"
Vashti's eyes widened and Myrtle thought she had a way to escape this monster, until she bent her head back and laughed. Myrtle lay there, stunned by her reaction, almost forgetting to use her magic to heal herself. Vashti looked down at her with a grin filled with glee.
"I have killed many children before. I had no qualms doing so then, nor will I this time. Besides," Vashti leaned down to look the Devil in the eyes. "I doubt that you are a child." Vashti took a small vial filled with red liquid from her belt and opened the stopper. She dripped a small amount into the shocked open mouth of the Devil. Myrtle swallowed it instinctively as Vashti injected the rest into her body. She sighed as the inferior blood coursed through her, healing her internal bleeding.
Vashti stood up and kicked the Devil away. Myrtle got to her hands and knees as the wound through her abdomen healed shut. Vashti stood there and Myrtle thought that she was going to live until pain seized her body, throwing her to the ground again. It ripped through her body, and she started to change.
Vashti sat on a stump to watch the transformation. Curious to see what sort of beast would come from this little monster. The wings on the Devil rapidly lengthened and enveloped her body like a cocoon. Screams echoed through the forest and the sick sounds of joints popping and shifting accompanied it.
"That blood was used over many years through the streets of Yharnam," Vashti stated to the Devil, whether she was listening or not. "Constantly being refined by those addicted to it. It's nothing like my blood, but its potency is quite astonishing. If you had built up a tolerance such as the Yarnamites then you probably wouldn't be in this much pain."
Myrtle heard her words but didn't understand them. Her body hurt and felt oh, so good at the same time. Waves of pain turned to pleasure and she shuttered in ecstasy. She undid her wings to stand before the hunter. Her body was now larger with her wings being over twice her size, each tip of the bat-like wing now sharper than knives. The small wings on her head extended behind her body as large claws. Her tail was now a large spear that swung wildly through the air behind her. Small patches of fur grew on her body now, at her groin, chest and lower arms and legs. Her feet had each fused into a warped spike. Her mouth was filled to the brim with fangs and her smile spit the skin to show even more.
"What is this?" Myrtle asked as she looked at her hand, now embedded with sharp claws. "This pleasure, is as good as sex!" She turned her eyes to Vashti said, "This time I'll kill you." The instincts of the Devil before the time of the current Demon Lord came to the forefront.
"Maybe this time it'll be a pleasurable hunt," Vashti said as she stood, her Chikage pointed towards the evolved Mamono. Vashti stepped towards the Devil and slashed downwards. Myrtle easily blocked it with a wing and repelled Vashti, sending her skidding across the ground. Myrtle let herself float in the air with her magic and threw several fireballs in quick succession.
Vashti ran from them, and Myrtle followed her through the forest. She sliced her wings through trees, toppling them. Vashti darted in under the wings to cut an arm. Myrtle used her claws to try and stab her, but they met nothing but air. Myrtle enveloped herself in her wings and became like a missile, shooting through the forest and onto the grassland with Vashti close behind.
Myrtle expanded her wings and looked across the vast field and at Lescatie. She could take that city by herself now. Vashti sheathed her sword and drew it with blood encrusting its edge. She flew at the Devil's back and was met with the large claws of the forehead wings. She sliced through them, causing Myrtle to shriek and spin around. She lashed out with her tail and Vashti deflected it.
Myrtle used her wings as large cleavers to slam into the ground where Vashti had been a moment before. Vashti's blood sang with pleasure, it coursed through her body, speeding up her senses. Vashti turned to face the Devil head on and sliced through the incoming wing. Myrtle screamed in pain and withdrew the other before it was sliced through. Instead, she drew in close and slashed at Vashti with her claws and spiked feet.
Myrtle spun around unpredictably with one weapon always attacking Vashti. Vashti stepped back and took out her gun and fired. The bullet skidded along Myrtle's leg and went into her abdomen. She recoiled and Vashti pressed her offensive. She slid the gun away and leapt forward to slam her sword through the defending wing.
The wing parted like a tearing veil and Myrtle heard the singing of blood echoing in her head. She scrambled away, using her tail to keep the red-eyed monster away. She kicked out and the monster grabbed onto her leg and pulled. Myrtle clawed at the ground as she used her tail to strike again and again. The monster sliced through the tail, and it fell to the ground with a heavy thump.
The monster slid her crimson sword through Myrtle's leg longways, up to the hip. Myrtle bucked and screamed as fear and pain overtook her. Her claws lashed out again, but they went sailing across the grass to land far away. Those red eyes burned through her as the monster reached over to pluck out her eyes.
But the darkness didn't claim her, she saw red, dripping and splashing. It burned and scorched through her body. She wanted something, anything to stop the pain. Then her ears shattered and the howling of a violent wind shredded through her skull. The wind brought the icy cold of winter to her, and it froze her pain and fear in place. She stretched her arms forward, her fingers would have been outstretched if they'd been attached and welcomed the incoming darkness as it took her away from this nightmare.
Vashti let the blood drop from her sword as the head parted from the mutated Devils neck. The blood from its body was spread out across the grass far and wide from its thrashings and struggles. It's body parts lay scattered amidst the torn-up grass and dirt. She looked towards the sky and let her boiling blood calm. She turned to the two people who had followed her all this way and asked, "Your heroes fall to weaklings like that?"
Francisca had awakened due to her blood whispering to her. At least that's what it had felt like. Vashti was gone from her side, and she hurried to the main room to find that she was long gone, her sword and Knight's uniform missing as well. She had quickly changed into a dress and went out into the hallway, only to be stopped by Andrews.
"My Lady, what brings you out so late at night?" He had been sleeping in the alcove near the room every night since taking up this post. The princess was not a stealthy person, but Vashti was. So, he asked in case she was looking for her.
"Vashti's gone," Francisca said without pausing to speak. The stuttering seemed like a long-ago memory. "I want to follow her."
"Do you know where she went?" Andrews asked as he fell into pace with her. She walked with a determined gait. Dissuading her would be a dead end and he was supposed to be keeping an eye on Vashti anyway, not the princess.
"I just know," she said as she walked to a wall. She pressed a small area that clicked, and a small section slid away. It was half the height of a normal man and the darkness peered at them.
"How do you know about this?" Andrews asked, genuinely amazed. He always knew that there were secret passages in the palace but had never seen them.
"Before they fully discovered that I was useless to any kind of scheme, they showed me some of the secrets of the palace. Not all of them, just some." She didn't have to say who 'they' were. They both knew.
Andrews led the way, providing a small light in the way of a flame sitting on his forefinger. They walked through twists and turns, always heading down. It seemed like an eternity to Andrews, but Francisca always pushed him forward. Quite a different princess from when he had first seen her. They kept walking until they came out from underground beyond the city walls. It was an old passageway that most would have overlooked, simply hidden by the land without magic.
They both walked across the grass towards the forest. Andrews had his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready for any kind of attack. It was not unheard of to have a monster attack just outside the city walls. Even with the patrols.
Up ahead they saw trees falling within the forest and a large Mamono exploded out from the trees and looked upon the city of Lescatie. Vashti had rushed out after it and attacked. What followed was a short and violent battle between the Mamono and Vashti. Not that it could really be called a battle.
It was more of a slaughter as Vashti played with the Mamono and sliced its limbs off one by one. Francisca watched silently as her knight pushed the Mamono onto its last legs. Andrews watched horrified at the efficiency at which Vashti dissected the monster. He grew sick when the Mamono was on the ground and Vashti had plucked out its eyes and ruined its ears, until finally beheading it.
Francisca walked forward with her hands in front of her, trying not to let them shake. She knew that Vashti would only do this to an enemy but the horror of this violence she couldn't help the fear that came over her. Vashti turned to face them with her crimson eyes and asked, "Your heroes fall to weaklings like that?"
"That was a weakling?" Andrews asked in spite of himself. Despite the fact that Vashti had killed it so easily, the kingdom's troops would have had a hard time to subdue it if they didn't get wiped out. A hero might have been able to do that but he wasn't sure. He'd never heard of or seen a Mamono such as this one.
Vashti sighed and let her eyes close. She sheathed her sword and walked over to Francisca, bowing to her. "Forgive me for my absence, My Lady. My curiosity drove me forward to see what the monsters of this land were like. I am sorely disappointed with what they have to deal with."
"Raise your head," Francisca commanded. "I'm not here to punish you." In a softer voice she added, "I just wanted to see where you went." In her heart she still feared being left alone. If Vashti left her, she didn't know what she would do.
"Thank you, My Lady." Vashti raised her head and moved to Francisca's side. "We're not alone, stand guard." Vashti stood between Francisca and an oncoming patrol of the kingdom's men.
Mimil Miltie was quite annoyed with the fact that she had to lead a patrol during the nighttime. Mersé would have said it built character. Which was why the twelve-year-old girl who was normally quite happy in nature was grumpy. She wasn't even officially part of the army, but a research institute called Magitec which was part of The Order. But she worked with the knights often because they were technically both working for the church.
The Order had forgotten to mention that she would be working a joint operation with the knights of Lescatie so she had woken up early in the day, only to find out later that she was to venture out during the night. She wanted to go to sleep and had planned to do the bare minimum of the patrol, but her magic had sensed a disturbance.
She had seen the trees fall and a large Mamono crash through the forest and out onto the fields. And the woman who had subdued it from far away. She had rushed her unit here to see what had happened. The men she was leading all gasped at the sight of the broken Mamono that had been scattered across the grass. Mimil was more fixated on the woman who had done the killing. She beelined towards her, almost using magic to get there faster.
Vashti saw the approaching child and made sure to keep Francisca behind her. The child was dressed in a small pink skirt, and she held a golden wand in one hand. Her pink hair was tied back with a vanilla ribbon that almost looked like ears on her head.
"That is Mimil Miltie, a child prodigy. She's a hero with a tremendous amount of magic power." Andrews said from behind Vashti. Vashti nodded and lapsed back into silence. Mimil stopped a few feet away and looked up at Vashti. This was the foreign noble who had sworn her sword to the fourth princess. She was covered in blood and stank to high heaven.
"Where did you come across this Mamono?" Mimil asked in her childish voice.
"In the forest, among a group of Orcs," Vashti replied.
"Do you know what kind of Mamono this was?" Mimil asked. She had hunted Mamono before, but she had never seen the like. If she had to guess it would be a type of demon.
"It used to be a Devil," Vashti said as she nodded over to the corpse where the knights now were. "I'm simply amazed at how weak it was."
"That's not a Devil. A Devil is small and looks like a child," Mimil explained to the idiot adult.
"Think what you want, child." Vashti turned to escort the princess away from the scene. "Andrews, pick up the tail that I cut off. It could come into use in the future." She nodded in the direction that it had fallen in.
"Excuse me," Mimil said, annoyed. "I'm still talking to you."
"Are you?" Vashti said without looking back. "You could care less for what I have to say and I have killed enough worthless things tonight."
Mimil was used to being treated as an adult and the only one who treated her as a child didn't treat her dismissively. No one just ignored her, so she decided to play a little prank. Of course, in the back of her mind she realized that she was just grumpy from the fact that the adults were forcing her to be awake at night and she was just taking it out on this Knight. She sent mana through her wand causing it to light up from the power coursing through it, just enough to send the Knight to sleep. She pointed it at Vashti and let loose.
Vashti swung around and unsheathed her blade to deflect the blast of power on the blood-soaked blade. The blast ricocheted off of her blade to blast apart a large patch of grass. Then Vashti vanished from Mimil's eyes, and the air was knocked out of her. She flew across the grass and rolled to her feet where Vashti was waiting once again. She grabbed the twelve-year-old by the neck and lifted her off her feet.
Mimil struggled before realizing she could use magic to escape. She lifted her wand before she was slammed into the ground. Vashti slammed a foot into the prodigy's wrist and the wand fell from her fingers. She lifted her sword to drive it into the child's stomach.
"Vashti! Stop!" Francisca cried out, running to her side. Vashti withdrew her blade and sheathed it. She met Francisca and bowed her head.
"Forgive me for losing my temper." Vashti looked down at the child who sat up shocked at how fast she had been taken down. To her she said, "Arrogant child, I will tell you this. I slaughtered a band of Orcs in that direction in the forest." She pointed a little to the right from the devastation of the forest trees.
Mimil looked at Vashti, really looked at her as the woman walked away, back towards the city. She really should have read the report on the errant knight but had tossed it off as the adults worrying over nothing. That woman was empty inside.
The Kunoichi had seen the battle between the empty woman and Banu. And of course, the battle with Myrtle. Her orders were just to shadow the patrol and report. Even if she had intervened, she would have been killed. It was regrettable about the loss of life, but she had learned something that needed to be known by her employers.
That empty woman had done something to Myrtle and transformed her into something. It felt like she changed from the Demon Lords influence and into something else. She was far too young to remember the Demon Lords of the past, but she suspected that Myrtle had somehow tapped into what the Mamono had used to be.
While the knights were surrounding the child with an amazing mana source she crept in to gather up a part of Myrtle's corpse. She left as she came and vanished into the trees, back to where Banu lay in the dirt.
Banu had taken some of the belt on her waist and used it as a makeshift tourniquet for her right arm. She had almost passed out from using her shredded left arm but had managed. She lay against a tree and almost flinched when the Kunoichi appeared in front of her.
"You're alive?" the Kunoichi asked, surprised. "You're stronger than I thought."
Banu looked up at her and wanted to say many things. Such as complaining about losing her arm, or the fact that the Kunoichi hadn't helped. But she just moaned in pain.
The Kunoichi found the High Orcs arm and carried it with her tail. She picked up Banu with some effort and headed towards the army's main camp. The leaders would be quite interested to learn what had transpired this night.
Hmmm, hmmm. I'm not too sure if I got Mimil's personality right. Little kid with an analytical mind, but she was very tired at the moment. I'm sure you guys will point it out if I goofed. I'm always glad when people help me out. Not sure if I should mention them by name or not.
And yes, this chapter is far longer than the other ones I have written thus far. I apologize in advance if I missed some of the capitalization of titles. Also, I hope this chapter flows better than the previous chapters too. Fun, fun.
Time for me to rest for a bit until the next chapter. It has… parts written.
Anywho, see you guys next time.