Violet and Yellow
(An Epic Conquest Fanfiction: Louisa and Zerav)
Disclaimer: I neither own the Epic Conquest game nor its story and characters. I only own this fan fictional story.
Chapter 8: Cage
What would it be like to be free?
I have always wondered about that.
This place has given me the answer.
When Zerav arrived at the Roscent dukedom, all eyes were on him. The burning gaze he received from the knights guarding the perimeter and main gate, the curious gaze of the gardeners and stable keepers, and the uneasy and distrustful gaze of the rest of the people, were all bearable because of Alaster and Edna at both his side. The two were not even bothered by the annoying stares, just happily chatting with each other even when he is in the middle. They seem to treat this place as their own home. Sometimes, they would include him in a certain topic but he would just nod his head or let out a grunt that was why the two would rather talk to each other than with him. Zerav is not good with words, after all.
Alaster's Mother, Miss Sophia, was startled when they suddenly appeared in the living room.
"Mom, is the bath ready?" Alaster immediately asked his mother.
"Wait. Let me check on it one more time." Miss Sophia immediately put down her unfinished embroidery and went to the bathroom. "Yes, it is ready!" She shouted from the bathroom.
"Great! Now, come on!" Alaster unstrapped his sword and shield then put them on the table while pulling Zerav into the bathroom.
"Wait. What the hell do you think you are doing, Blue?" Zerav asked while pulling back his hand but Alaster held on.
"We are taking a bath." Alaster replied firmly.
"We?!" Zerav countered back almost in a shriek.
"What? Is there any problem? We are both males!" They are at the bathroom door now, still pulling at each other.
"We are both from a different species." Zerav growled.
"I do not care." Alaster growled back with the same intensity.
"What is wrong boys?" Both flinched at the menacing voice. "You are not going to keep the water waiting, are you? I worked hard maintaining the water temperature of these two baths in the house so that you males can bathe peacefully and we females can bathe peacefully on our own, too. Edna has already started in hers. Would you like my help or would you be all right on your own?" Both swallowed the lump in their throat as chills went down their spine.
"We will be all right on our own!" Both immediately replied. Miss Sophia beamed at them.
"Good boys!" She said while ruffling their hair making them go stiff. "I have put both your change of clothes in your room, Alaster."
"Yes, thank you Mom!" Alaster said in a knight-like manner. Miss Sophia just went past them while humming happily then went back on her embroidery. Both let out a sigh of relief.
"Your mother is scary." Zerav commented under the silence.
"All females are." Fortunately, the bath went on without any problems.
The changing session had a minor problem, as Zerav refused to wear such stifling clothes. After seeing Alaster wear one and having no choice in the matter as he is going to Louisa's estate, he forced himself to wear the clothes and Alaster taught him the proper way to do it. Upon descending down the stairs and into the living room, they found Edna in a beautiful red dress and Miss Sophia was putting her hair in an elegant bun. Some strands of her hair were let down in order to frame her face.
Edna was wearing a robe à l'anglaise gown in red and pink vertical stripes. Both Alaster and Zerav wore the typical outfit consisting of a full-skirted knee-length coat, knee breeches, a long waistcoat, a linen shirt with frills and linen underdrawers, silk stockings, and leather shoes with stacked heels of low height. Alaster was in a combination of blue on the outside and white on the inside while Zerav was in a combination of black on the outside and violet on the inside.
"Keh. I cannot believe you wear clothes based on your hair color. I was right to call Mr. Knight here Blue. Should I call you Red, Edna? Edna the Red Witch?" Zerav was expecting her to get angry with his tease but all he got was a smile making him frown.
"Suit yourself, Zerav. You are going to meet Yellow a.k.a. Louisa's parents later therefore, you must be perfect so that they will approve of you." Edna shoved him into a chair and Miss Sophia draped a white cloth in him, tied around his neck and covering his whole body.
"What the hell-?" Before he could finish his sentence, he heard the snip of a scissor.
"Stay still, my dear. I need to tame this wild hair of yours." Zerav immediately went stiff while Miss Sophia gave his hair a proper makeover.
"That was a tease earlier, right?" Edna whispered to Alaster.
"Yeah. Apparently, the soul freak knows how to make jokes." Alaster whispered back. Edna let out a giggle.
"This is great news! It turns out he is not as cold as an ice." Edna said while stifling a squeal.
"I guess he really wants to be with Louisa again." Both nod their heads in agreement.
"I can hear you both." His glare stopped the whispering but Miss Sophia's clearing of the throat made him go back to being stiff again.
After double checking his overall appearance, they taught him basic etiquette such as how to greet properly, how to dine properly, and the right and wrong. Outside the house, a carriage was waiting for them.
"Ha! First my clothes, then my hair, and now this?! I can teleport us there in an instant or even fly us with my wings or just ride the damn horses. Why bother with this?" This earned him a smack in his head by Miss Sophia.
"I will have you know, my dear, that this carriage, your clothes, and every other preparations made today was taken from a whole month's earning of our family restaurant. Do not make light of it." Zerav just frown at the statement.
"And Zerav, what we taught you, is the daily life of a noble. If you really want to be part of Louisa's world, you need to learn these things." Edna calmly explained while trying to hide her worry.
"Correct. One last thing, soul freak. Can you hide your horns or make them invisible, along with the features that signifies that you are a demon? I just thought that it would make Louisa's family comfortable." Zerav glared at the end of his statement.
"You are asking too much of me, Blue. I have already sacrificed a lot just to fit in. I am not going to hide who I am. They already know that I am a demon so what is the point?" Zerav reigned his anger by clenching his fists. Alaster and Edna looked at each other and shrugged.
That is how they find themselves inside a carriage towards Louisa's estate. Unfortunately, the carriage was only allowed access until the central garden so they had to walk from there to the mansion. Zerav does not know if this is because of him but as he saw the annoying stares towards him, this must be intentional. Alaster and Edna busied themselves talking to each other while Zerav committed the view of the place to his memory. He only ever saw this in a bird's eye view. Now that he was on land, it was more amazing. Soon the mansion came into the view. The Duke and Duchess were present along with the butler and head maid and various male and female servants. Knights are also all over the place.
Upon seeing the Duke and Duchess, Edna and Alaster took it upon themselves to start the greeting.
"Greetings to the Duke and Duchess of House Roscent!" Edna and Alaster both said as they curtsied. Zerav did not speak but did a curtsy to both their relief.
"Edna, Alaster, I told you to stop being formal around us. You are my daughter's friends therefore you are part of the family." The Duchess spoke and proceeded to hug Edna.
"Thank you, Duchess Marissa. We will be informal from now on." Both females shared a giggle.
"Good." The Duchess replied then went to Alaster.
"Alaster, you look dashing as ever." She cupped his cheek then hugged him.
"Thank you, Duchess. Your beauty never fades even if time went on." Alaster said after returning the hug and kissing the back of the Duchess' hand.
"Oh my!" The Duchess playfully slapped his shoulder. "You and your words. It seems you did not change. Is this how he got you, Edna?"
"Nah." Edna said then waved her hand signalling a 'no'. "It was not easy to get my approval, Duchess." Edna smirked.
"That is more like it." Duchess Marissa gave her a proud smile and then went over to Zerav.
"And who might this young man be?" At this, Edna and Alaster snapped their heads towards Zerav who remained silent the entire time. It dawned on them that he and the Duke are having a glaring contest.
"Oh, umm, this is Zerav, Duchess Marissa. He is our companion and well..." Edna trailed off then looked at Alaster for support. Alaster responded by squeezing her hand. An awkward silence filled the air but the Duchess broke it.
"Welcome, Zerav." Duchess Marissa said in a clipped tone.
"It is an honor, Duchess." Zerav gave a slight inclination of his head to which the Duchess smiled. Edna and Alaster let out a sigh of relief.
"Enough of this!" Duke Louis brought everyone's attention. "We have a lot to talk about demon but my daughter comes first!" He said then walked back inside. Duchess Marissa let out a sigh.
"Forgive my husband, young man." The Duchess said to Zerav. "He is distressed about our daughter's condition. But he is right. Let us all head back inside." And with that, the trio followed the Duchess to Louisa's room.
"Do your thing demon." The Duke said not bothering on masking his hostility the moment Zerav arrived. Zerav just growled at him and proceeded to walk towards Louisa's bed. Zerav found Louisa sleeping peacefully despite her ghostly white appearance and the puff of cold air as she exhales. A sign of being frozen from the inside. He knelt and held her hand while putting his other hand, the one he used to do the Soul Snatch, to her forehead.
"Edna." He called and Edna immediately stepped forward. "I am going to maintain a magic circle. If by chance it starts to flicker, you have to use your magic to stabilize it. It must not fade away before Yellow and I can open our eyes." Edna nodded despite her worry.
"What are you going to do?" She managed to ask.
"I am going to enter her mind or more specifically, her dreams." A collective gasp can be heard across the room. "She is dreaming right now and the longer she stays there, the more her soul will be frozen and she will be no more." At this revelation, Duchess Marissa started to cry. Duke Louis held her in a tight hug.
"You understand the situation, right? You are the only Witch currently present here. I need your help in case things go wrong. The magic circle must be maintained and my concentration must not be disturbed, understand?" Zerav looked at her seriously.
"Yes, I understand." Edna said with determination, ready to help her friend. Alaster offered his support by squeezing her shoulder. Zerav muttered a spell and a magic circle in pure violet glow enveloped him and Louisa. Zerav fell asleep beside her.
Zerav found himself in a castle made of ice. Everything was frozen solid and snow covered the ground and the sky. Fortunately for him, being a demon makes him immune to the cold. That was why he survived staying at the tower in Salju Ridge for a long time. However in this place, he felt a shiver and he puff out a breath of cold air. Wanting to finish this early, he walked towards the door but before he could touch it, it opened and then Louisa was suddenly hugging him.
"Zerav!" She exclaimed with happiness.
A/N: Phew! This chapter was quite long. I fulfilled my promise, right? Our OTP finally saw each other! Although it was at the end. Never fear, for in the next chapter we will have Louisa's POV and we will find out what was happening to her. But with the clue I gave, I know you have a gist of what it is. I hope I can properly portray it. See you again, minna-san!