Chapter 2: Meeting
Until then, Henrietta could not complain about how her day was going so far.
She had gotten, tidied and dressed up, enjoyed her breakfast and attended her private lessons as usual. Once she finished, she had to deal with a couple of matters and treaties that, in theory, the queen regent had to approve. But since her mother was unable to lead the nation at the moment, this task had ended up falling on her daughter, the princess. Up to this point, Henrietta had no complaint. It was tedious, yes, and very tiring, but at least she was already used to this routine.
Then, before the meal, the moment came when Henrietta would perform the invocation ceremony, for which she herself had been reviewing each point to avoid mistakes. It was probably there, she supposed, when the day began to twist.
What happened to make it go wrong? Well... Maybe it had to do with (just maybe) the fact that she had summoned a strange boy stained with blood and tied with what appeared to be a mixture of leather bands and chains, stretched out in a pool of blood, who then hit such a scream that had destroyed more than half of the panes of the palace, along with some eardrums.
Yes. On second thought, that was exactly the moment when the day begun to twist slightly.
After roaring for what seemed like minutes, when in fact it had been only ten seconds, the mysterious boy started to run, moving swiftly through the courtyard towards the guards. Seeing him charge against them, many were those who casted spells and fired their weapons at him, but his inhuman speed made him a difficult target, and none succeeded in hitting him. One of the knights tried to cut the boy down, sword in hand, but in one leap he avoided it, landing with both feet on the chest of another knight several meters away, and used it to slide on the ground until he came down. Zigzagging among the knights, the mysterious boy dedicated himself to giving strong kicks to those who could not get away in time, sending them flying through the air and against the ground with tremendous violence. Several of Henrietta's men managed to avoid the advance of the young boy by means of their spells, invoking great tornadoes and flames that forced him to retreat several times. On one occasion, a particularly strong knight tried to split him in two with his huge axe, which the boy managed to catch with his teeth. Before the amazed gaze of everyone, the boy finished closing his mouth, splitting the edge of the axe into a thousand pieces, and sending the enormous body of the knight flying through the air with a kick in the stomach.
"What the hell is that thing!?"
"Protected the princess!"
"Over there! It's over there!"
The chaos in the courtyard was increasing, as that little boy ran everywhere he could without a clear destination, knocking down as many knights who tried to stop him. Henrietta, still protected by Agnes, could not detach the eyes of that child. What ... what was he? How could he do those things? Despite going barefoot, his feet crushed the rock where he stepped with ease. Her knights could barely keep up with him, and even the strongest of her men were no match for his abnormal power. Had she exceeded herself by asking for a "powerful familiar"?
Little by little, the knights of Tristain began to regain control of the situation. Using an improvised strategy to push him back as they surrounded him, the knights finally managed to lock the young runner at the centre of the courtyard, pointing him from everywhere with his wands and weapons, while he tried to find a crack, growling like a wild animal to whoever tried to approach him. Henrietta noticed that, in spite of his human aspect, his eyes were ... like those of an animal: completely red, and with pupils torn like those of a feline, without iris.
"Now we have it, do not let it escape!" Exclaimed Wardes, the captain of the Griffon Knights, while receiving medical assistance from one of his subordinates. That kid had managed to sneak away from his thrust and, jabbing his teeth hard on his shoulder, had shaken him like a doll before throwing him as if he weighed nothing against other knights, bleeding profusely from his arm.
"Do not move!" shouted one of the knights, not knowing if the kid was understanding him or not. Instead of responding, the boy continued to watch them all with a threatening gesture, before looking at the ground with great interest.
Glancing up while looking determined, he half bent down, raising the immediate suspicions of all the knights. What was doing? Did he mean to jump over all of them? If that was his plan, he would become a perfect target for the members of the Order of Musketeers, who had already adopted positions with their characteristics muskets along the walls, looking for a direct shot at him if necessary. Whatever it was that was planning, it would not work. He was trapped.
The boy jumped, as expected, but unlike the surprising jumps he had already demonstrated that day, he barely exceeded a meter in height, being the lowest they had seen him do since he had appeared. However, what Wardes did notice was that, unlike the others, in this jump there was something else: the boy had raised his right knee a lot, almost as if...
Then, Wardes understood that he was trying to do.
"Everyone, GET BACK!" he exclaimed, too late. Falling hard, the boy stomped his right foot, burying it completely in the hard stone of the courtyard and generating a tremor that shook every stone of the courtyard, unbalancing everyone and throwing to the ground several knights. To make things worse, numerous black and red thorns began to sprout, like grotesque wolf fangs, from his location, advancing rapidly toward the stunned ranks of soldiers. Just when the wave of fangs was going to reach the closest knights, who luckily for them had quickly undertaken the retreat, the place where they had previously been exploded, as a result of the appearance of larger spines that sent flying through the air. Henrietta watched with increasing fear the destruction that was happening in front of her. That child, or whatever he was... he was incredible. He was facing alone a large number of his knights, and not only had he not received any damage from them, but on top of that, he seemed to be wrecking them without any effort at all. And those spines ... How had he done that? Was he really not human?
Taking advantage of the fact that the perimeter had been broken, the boy withdrew his spines and took his foot out of the hole. With great strides, he went at full speed against the doors of the palace, guarded by a good number of armed knights. When they saw him approaching, they prepared their spears and set out in formation with their shields facing forward, ready to face that thing at all costs.
Surprisingly, the boy did not tried to reach the door. Instead, he changed his course, heading without slowing down against the palace wall. Several knights and guards watched it, believing that the boy had gone mad. Did he pretend to break through the wall with his body? The walls of the palace were especially thick, so it was impossible that he succeeded...
When he reached it, instead of crashing against the wall, the boy started running for it, ascending as if it was on normal ground by the vertical surface of the building, cracking the rock where his feet passed. Stunned, the knights and numerous witnesses could only contemplate with amazement as that child continued its uninterrupted ascent through the castle, until having reached the highest point of the tower overlooking the courtyard, the sound of a window breaking indicated to everyone present that that being had gotten into the palace.
"Griffin and manticore riders, keep an eye on the tower and make sure he doesn't get out!" commanded Agnes, quickly organizing her troops to take care of the many wounded and to go in search of whatever that was. "Musketeers and all remaining forces, with me! Let's go find that thing. You two, stay with the princess". After that, she headed to the inside of the castle, followed closely by many knights and musketeers.
"Princess, are you all right?" asked the cardinal, alarmed and visibly upset by what happened. "Quick, we must take you to a safe place!" he said, giving the order for more soldiers to come guard the princess. She, however, refused to move.
"I'm not going anywhere," she said determinedly, challenging with her gaze to anyone who dared to contradict her statement. "That… child my knights are persecuting is my familiar, and I refuse to just run and hide while this situation is not resolved".
"But… princess! Please, be reasonable! We do not know what that is, and it is clear that it is not a normal human being. Might be better if…"
"I said I will not leave, and I intend to comply, cardinal," Henrietta said firmly, turning in the direction of the castle, as she clutched her skirt firmly so it would not disturb her as she walked. "I will see this solved myself. You are free to follow me if you believe that that's what you should do". And after her proclamation, the princess went with determined step where Agnes and the rest of the knights had gone, while a couple of bewildered soldiers rushed to follow her.
"Sometimes I wish she wasn't always so noble" Mazarin thought, watching the princess go. "It would be much easier to protect her if she were a bit more cowardly and selfish, like the rest of the nobles of the court." Moving as fast as his old bones permitted him, the venerable cardinal hastened to reach the princess.
Yes, sometimes having such a magnificent princess could be a real headache.
Top of the north tower, moments later:
Finally, Henrietta reached the top of the tower, after raffling and having to repeatedly order her knights to let her pass and try not to stop her. After climbing the last step, Henrietta found herself facing a tense situation.
The staircase gave way to a short corridor, composed by a wide wooden floor, stone walls with small windows through which the whole city could be seen, and a moderately high ceiling consisted of several wooden beams. At the other end of the corridor, a solid wooden door gave way to one of the many disused rooms in the castle, a door that at that time no longer seemed so solid, considering it was currently lying on the floor after seemingly being torn from the wall. Faithful knights and musketeers huddled on either side of the doorway, led by Captain Agnes who, being closest to the door, tried to peek inside discreetly, pistol in hand. Next to the stairs that Henrietta had climbed were two of her knights, sitting on the floor while receiving medical attention from a healer.
With a cautious but decided step, Henrietta approached Agnes, imitating her knights and trying not to face the dark hole in the adjoining room. Seeing her approaching, Agnes came quickly to her, while she trying not to raise her voice too much.
"Your majesty! Please, go back. This place is too dangerous for you!" She half-exclaimed, half-whispered, trying to prevent Henrietta from coming closer to the door.
"Is he in there?" Henrietta asked without raising her voice, apparently ignoring the captain's petition. Before she could respond, a roar similar to the previous ones, although this time shorter and less intense, came out of the room, followed by the body of a knight, who flew through the room and crashed hard against the wall from the other end. Quickly, two other knights approached him to check his condition.
"Yes, it's in there," Agnes said, looking with rage and impotence at her wounded knight and the dark shadows inside the room. "That thing is cautious. It has entrenched itself inside, and since we do not fit all through at the same time, we can only go individually or in small groups. In addition, it is hidden in the shadows and we cannot follow its movements. Even I have not been able to see it move ... "Agnes confessed, and then Henrietta noticed that the captain did not look so well, seeing that she was leaning her right hand on her side, where her steel armour seemed to have suffered a deep dent. "Unless we use smoke to make it come out, I do not see how ..."
"I'm going in," the princess informed her, surprising Agnes and all the knights present, who quickly tried to dissuade her from committing such recklessness. However, the princess just silenced them with a wave of her hand. "I understand your concern, but this is something that I must solve myself. I was the one who summoned him here, and therefore I must be the one who takes care of this."
"But your majesty, that's ...!"
"Do not worry, my faithful Agnes" said Henrietta, resting a hand on the knight's shoulder and smiling warmly. "I promise you I'll be fine. If I see that the situation becomes too dangerous, or if I think I will not succeed, I'll get out of there as fast as I can." Henrietta stood in front of the room, facing it with a feigned air of confidence and decision. The dark depths of the room, from which came the threatening growl of the monster that was waiting for her inside, seemed to return the stare.
"But do you have a plan, or ...?
"Don't worry, my brave knight" Henrietta repeated with a determined smile whose objective was to mask the nerves that were gripping her inside. "I do have a plan, and what is more important ..." Henrietta put her hand in the little bag that hung around her waist. "... I have this." The idea had occurred her halfway, causing that she stopped on her way to go find that particular bag from her room.
"Even so, I insist that you at least carry this," Agnes said, holding out her faithful firearm. Without being entirely sure, Henrietta accepted the knight's weapon, and cautiously stepped into the darkness, while her faithful knights watched helplessly from the door, each of them silently praying to Brimir for the safety of his princess. If something happened to her, they would never forgive themselves.
Henrietta walked in a straight line, going through the cold shadows and the motes of suspended dust that inhabited the room, until suddenly she saw that in front of her there was a small clear of light, light that came from the only small window in the room, located near the roof. Standing in the middle, she tried to see if she could see or notice the presence of her familiar, but could only hear the echo of his growl and his creepy hiss, like that of a furious feline or some kind of snake. Looking back, she saw that her knights followed her every move from the door, about five meters from where she was standing. The shadows hid the presence of the walls and the high ceiling, higher than that of the corridor through which she had arrived, and only the creak of the wood and the clouds of dust descending alerted her of the advances of her familiar. Slightly frightened, Henrietta breathed deeply, and exhaled unhurriedly, counting mentally to calm the accelerated throb of her agitated heart. Deliberately, Henrietta raised her hand with the gun, causing the grunt to take strength, and without hesitation, she let it fall, the sound of wood and metal hitting the ground with an echo that seemed to sentence the fate of the young woman. Seeing her throw her weapon, Agnes tried to run towards the princess, only to be stopped by the arms and grabs of three other knights, who were trying to explain her that doing so could put the princess in greater danger. Ignoring the bustle of the entrance, Henrietta grabbed the bag from her waist, fumbling inside. The object she drew caused both the knights and Agnes to be mute in surprise. Was that... what they thought it was?
Giving it a bite, the princess confirmed their suspicions. A cookie. The princess was eating a cookie. She had thrown away her gun, in the presence of an unknown and potentially dangerous creature, and had started eating biscuits. The absurdity of the situation was borderline lunacy. What the hell was the princess thinking? Did she wanted to die? Just when several of her knights prepared to imitate Agnes and try to enter in order to drag the princess out by force if necessary, she gave them a discreet signal to keep them still. Trying to control their impulses to disobey, the knights stayed at their post, watching with increasing nervousness as the princess quietly finished her cookie, humming to herself a cheerful little song while she wiped the crumbs from her face. It was only at that moment that the knights noticed something. The growls hadn't stopped, but… Now it sounded like a purr, kind of like a cat, only several times more serious and beastly. From time to time, they could hear the sound of someone sniffing loudly from different parts of the room, closer and closer to where the princess was.
Henrietta felt the presence of her familiar behind her, and without looking back she knew that he was looking over her shoulder to see what she was eating, sniffing curiously next to her ear. Quickly, Henrietta turned around, hoping to see that, naturally, that gesture caused the little creature to retreat to the shadows. Despite the tense situation, Henrietta could not hide her smile. In a way, he was like a curious puppy. Maybe he would like to play.
"Do you want one?" she asked to anybody in particular, taking out another cookie and lifting it over her head. "Come on, don't be shy. They are very tasty" she assured him, speaking in a sweet and calming tone. Something passed swiftly over her head, and Henrietta found that she was missing most of the cookie, torn off without having almost realized when he had bitten it. The sound of the crackle of the cookie being chewed and the unmistakable sound of someone swallowing told Henrietta that she had managed to get the attention of that little beast. Smiling, Henrietta threw the rest of the cookie into the shadows of the ceiling, without it falling back down. Instead, only cracking and crunching came again, proof that the creature had caught it in the air.
Pulling out another one, Henrietta picked it up again, trying to discern where the "attack" would go this time. A crack at her back caught her attention, causing her to turn around quickly, only to feel a tug in her fingers when the cookie was snatched. Turning again, the princess managed to glimpse the shape of a strange tentacle full of thorns that, with the cookie pierced at its tip, went back into the shadows. "Oh, you little rascal…" muttered Henrietta, fairly amused. At least, he hadn't hurt her. Progress. Again, Henrietta heard the sound of the cookie falling apart, and saw how a few crumbs fell in front of her from the ceiling, telling her where the little thief was.
And, sure enough, there he was, hanging from one of the beams held only with one foot, as if he was a bat. The creature licked his lips, and fixed the two points of red light that were his eyes on those of the princess, who just held his gaze and took out another cookie. Apparently perplexed, the creature jumped up onto the beam, and disappeared again in the shadows, the echo of his footsteps and growls sweeping the entire room.
"Well, well… Looks like someone else likes these cookies apart from me "commented Henrietta with a jovial voice. "You see, it turns out that instead of being sweet like the other cookies, these are salty, so few people prefer them. But… I think they are a particularly delicious appetizer, a…whim, if you know what I mean. From what I see, you probably think the same, right?" A tentacle suddenly came out of the shadows, its sharp end ending in a bright pincer that stood out in contrast to the blackness of the long appendage, covered in red veins. Henrietta, making use of reflexes that even she did not know she had, managed to keep him from snatching the cookie. "Ah, ah, aaaah ~ ... Not so fast" she crooned, wagging her finger playfully saying no. "If you want this cookie, you're going to have to come out where I can see you." The creature ceased its grunt, remaining mysteriously still, while Henrietta looked sideways trying to locate him. "Understood… If you do not want it, I guess I'll have to eat it… "She commented, making the gesture of taking the cookie to her mouth. In response, the creature let out a wail of surprise, and then a roar of anger that surprised the knights, but that only managed to make Henrietta smile, covering her ears. He may not be entirely human, but it was pretty clear that he was very much like a child. Only a brat could throw a tantrum for such a small thing.
"If you want it, then come out."
A deep mix of purring and grunting above her caught Henrietta's attention. There, right above her head, was the creature, hanging again vertically from one of the beams, as it slowly descended to the ground, his two bright red eyes fixed on her. His right leg, with which he had grabbed the beam, stretched like jelly, showing strange black fibres throbbing more than those bright red veins. Henrietta backed away, leaving room for the creature to reach the ground, without either of them ceasing to observe the other closely. When his shoulder touched the ground, the creature let go of the beam, quickly folding its leg and spinning nimbly on the ground, standing up without difficulty.
Now that the strange boy was in the light in front of her, Henrietta could notice several more details that she had not seen before. To begin with, he saw that the boy's body was quite small, his head barely reaching under her chest. His eyes, which in the courtyard were completely red and with the pupil widely torn, had changed to a more human aspect, leaving aside that the iris were red and that the pupils were still torn like that of a feline. His peculiar attire was stained with what was obviously blood, and quite recent judging by his appearance. His arms were bound to his body by several binds and chains, and as Henrietta noticed before, he was barefoot. How he could have kicked her knights and smashed the ground with his bare feet without suffering any kind of injury was something that escaped her understanding. One more mystery to solve. Judging by his half-crouched posture, his fierce look, and the snarl that escaped from his half-open mouth, riddled with sharp teeth, Henrietta felt that the strange young man did not trust her yet. Smiling warmly, Henrietta bent down and handed him a cookie, which caused the young boy to jump back.
"Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you" she assured him in a calm and friendly voice, keeping still while waiting for the boy to take the first step. Little by little, the young infant approached him, looking suspiciously and alternately at Henrietta and at the cookie she held. When he was close enough, the kid threw himself headfirst into the cookie, snatching it on one bite and backing up several steps, eating it with his back to the princess like a crouching animal.
While the child was busy with the cookie, Henrietta took the opportunity to approach him little by little, trying not to make any sudden movements or too much noise. Her plan ... well, it had worked somehow. That was good. The bad thing was that her plan only went until there. From that point on, she would have to improvise and adapt.
When she was about to reach the boy, he suddenly turned around, looking totally alert to Henrietta and growling menacingly. Seeing that, instead of retreating, Henrietta raised both hands and showed him her palms, in a gesture that she hoped the child would understand as her not wanting to hurt him. Taking another cookie out of the bag, Henrietta broke it in two, eating one half and holding out the other to the child. Seeing it, he stopped grunting, changing his gesture of rage to one of surprise and desire. Turning towards Henrietta, the little boy approached the princess, with all his attention focused on the appetizer she was holding.
This way, Henrietta finally managed to meet her elusive familiar, both sitting quietly on the floor of the room sharing some cookies. Although at first he had been rather distrustful of the princess, he had ended up relaxing thanks to the cookies, devouring one after another eagerly. Henrietta, on the other hand, smiled when she saw that she had managed to calm the previously upset kid. Up close, ... he was not that scary. Aside from his curious hair colour, pale skin and bloodstained clothes, he almost looked like a normal human child, enjoying the cookies that Henrietta was giving him like they were the most delicious meal he had ever tasted. Without realizing it, Henrietta's free hand ended up resting on the young boy's head and began to caress his white hair, which felt like the finest of silks. The boy, who was at that moment nibbling a cookie, looked surprised at first and tensed, contemplating surprised as she stroked his head while smiling. His expression of confusion denoted that this child was not very used to people caressing him, looking her suspicious for a few seconds, until finally he relaxed and continued eating cookies while allowing the princess to caress his head. Henrietta noticed, amused, that the boy had begun to purr like a kitten, although she had to admit that it was a somewhat sinister purr. It sounded like the cavernous growl of some dark creature, which was quite out of place considering the childish aspect of its creator. Henrietta decided to ignore it, and passed him another cookie when she saw how the previous one was swallowed.
...
Five minutes later, the knights at the doorway saw their uninjured princess approach them, smiling calmly despite having confronted alone a monstrous child ... WHO WAS JUST BEHIND HER! At once, all the knights seized their swords, pistols and wands, while the boy tensed and seemingly prepared to attack.
"Everyone, stop!" Henrietta ordered her knights, then turning to the boy and energetically raising his forefinger in front of him. "No! Behave yourself, or there won't be any more cookies!" Obviously horrified at the idea of a future without more cookies, the boy looked at Henrietta and the rest of the audience, confused and hesitant, until finally he looked at Henrietta resignedly and nodded slightly. More relaxed, Henrietta smiled again, putting a reassuring hand on his back and accompanying him to the stairs, before the attentive and rather impressed look of her knights, who could not believe what their princess had just achieved. It was as if she had managed to tame that violent creature with just a handful of sweets, easily accomplishing what any of her knights and musketeers could do together. Just when the couple were about to reach the stairs, the boy quickly hid behind the princess, who looked at him with a perplexed and confused gaze. At that moment, a wheezing Mazarin reached the top of the stairs, followed by a group of guards.
"Princess… Henrietta!" He exclaimed when he saw her, between gasps and trying to catch his breath. "I feel ... I am sorry for the delay ... I am very glad to see thaAAAAAHH!" The cardinal shouted alarmed, as he saw that behind the princess the same being who had shocked the whole palace in such a short time was timidly peeking at him as if he was a normal child. Stepping back as far as he could, the cardinal pointed at him in fright, gasping for coherent words despite the impression, while the boy hid his head behind Henrietta, clinging to her body as if he did not want to be seen.
"THAT ... THAT ... THAT ... THING! IT'S BEHIND YOU, PRINCESS! G-guards, arrest him ...!" He ordered the guards who were following him, who were not particularly happy to have to approach that child, having seen the result of their previous attempt to capture him. However, Henrietta was not going to allow the boy to be pursued any longer. Putting him in front of her, she hugged him protectively from behind, earning a look of surprise and confusion coming from the child, and many others on behalf of Mazarin and the guards.
"You will not do such thing, cardinal! This child is not dangerous, not for me and not for anyone else."
"B-but Princess, haven't you seen how ferociously he attacked the knights at the courtyard?! It is more than obvious that this…thing is not a normal child!"
"Maybe, but where you see a monster I only see a small child who is scared and confused, and I will not allow him to be chased like an animal without giving him the opportunity to prove that he is not a threat to us." Once she had spoken her mind, Henrietta took the boy down the stairs, leaving behind a rather perplexed group of knights, guards and her counsellor.
...
"Are you confortable?" Henrietta asked the boy, sitting facing each other on the princess's bed, in her private chambers.
Henrietta had taken him there after coming down from the tower, having been briefly pursued by Mazarin and the rest of the guard, and having agreed to the terms of what Henrietta had called "a formal mandatory presentation between master and familiar in order to avoid more misunderstandings and chaos". Mazarin had insisted that the meeting should be carried out in the dungeon, with the child locked in a cell and fastened with chains to the wall, while the princess could talk to him through a small window. The princess, horrified, had insisted on talking to him alone in her bedroom, without anyone bothering them. After having discussed it for a long time, they had come to an agreeable resolution: Henrietta and the child would talk in the princess's bedroom, but they would be kept apart for most of it and there would be several knights present to ensure her safety at all times. So, Henrietta had allowed Mazarin to choose a small group of guards, since both Wardes and Agnes were in the infirmary at the moment, being attended by healers. Placed on both sides of the doors and windows, the armed protectors kept an eye on the child, while the old cardinal sat in a chair next to them, contemplating uneasily the meeting between the princess and her... familiar.
He, from the moment he had seen the bed, had not stopped moving around. After patting it briefly with his foot, he had jumped on top of it with cries of amazement and laughter, bouncing happily as if he had never seen a bed before. Henrietta had let him play for a few minutes, smiling at seeing him enjoy something as simple as the softness of her bed, though she could not help but wonder how such a small body could make the bed creak so much with each jump. After playing to his heart's content, calmed once again, the boy had stretched upside down, sinking his face into the soft mattress.
Coughing a little, Henrietta caught the attention of her familiar, who still stretched turned his face to be able to face her, with the same gesture of curiosity that had presented all the way to her bedroom.
"All right, before we start, I need to ask you something" Henrietta started to say. Pointing to herself, she continued. "Can you understand me?" The boy nodded. "Good. And you, can you talk?" she asked, pointing to him. Sitting up cross-legged, the boy nodded again. "Wonderful! My name is Henrietta Enriqueta Ana Estuardo de Tristain, although you can just call me Henrietta. Can you tell me your name?"
For a moment, the boy looked at the ceiling thoughtfully. His name? His name ... That was a tricky question, considering he had no real name. Nobody had ever bothered to give one on him. The closest thing he had to a name was his code name, PARIAH, so that would have to do.
"PA ... PARIAH ... "he managed to say, with a childish voice that was sounded somehow raspy and insecure. In his thirty-four years of life, he had barely said a couple of sentences in total, due to Blackwatch researchers never been willing to teach him to speak. Armed only with the memories and experiences of previous victims who he had consumed in the past, PARIAH had learned to do so, among other things.
"Pariah… That's a really fancy name!" said Henrietta happily, visibly rejoiced that she had managed to summon a familiar who could speak, even if it was one as strange as that child. "It is a very pretty name. I'm very pleased to meet you, Pariah."
"I've never heard of a familiar who could speak" commented Mazarin curiously. Hearing him speak, PARIAH turned to the cardinal, looking at him suspiciously and growling slightly at the old man. The cardinal, startled, shrugged slightly in fear, retreating as far as he could within the limits of his chair.
"Of course he speaks, cardinal. He is a child after all. Why shouldn't he be able to? "Henrietta answered, not that happy about the cardinal interrupting her conversation.
"And that's the weirdest thing of all, princess. When has it occurred, that a magician summons a human being? The only creatures that are usually invoked in these cases are animals, spirits or ..." he said, glancing sideways at PARIAH. Understanding quickly what the cardinal was insinuating, Henrietta hastened to come out in defense of her familiar.
"He is not a monster, cardinal, nor is he a demon!" She replied, quite scandalized, to which PARIAH simply nodded.
"Yes."
"Yes? Yes, what? "Henrietta asked, frowning a little.
"Yes, I'm a monster" he clarified. Upon hearing it, Mazarin's suspicions grew, while Henrietta approached him slightly and looked worriedly.
"No… No, child, you are not a monster ... Who ... said that you were?"
"The Blackwatch scientists."
"The ...what?" Mazarin asked, confused.
"The ones who had me locked up" PARIAH spoke as if such a thing, an imprisoned child, was something quite mundane. Henrietta, on the other hand, began seriously worry about the child.
"They… locked you up? Where, why?" the princess asked, determined to bring to justice those who would dare to do that to an innocent child.
"Does it have to do with what you are?" Mazarin asked, earning a disapproving look from Henrietta, who saw the truth behind that question. PARIAH simply nodded.
Henrietta sighed.
"Ok, let's ... Let's ... let's start from the beginning" said Henrietta, getting closer to PARIAH, who had turned around and was contemplating the ceiling while waving his feet in the air. "Let's see, where do you come from? Do you know that? "PARIAH shook his head. "I see ... And family? Do you have family?" PARIAH shook his head once again. "What? Neither mom, nor dad ...?" PARIAH, again, answered no for the third time. Henrietta was running out of ideas. In a way, she was feeling rather uncomfortable about the way they were interrogating the little one. "Ehmmm ... How old are you?"
"Your majesty, with due respect, I think there are more important issues that should be accounted as soon as possible, instead of these trivial questions" said Mazarin.
"Wanting to know more about him is not trivial, my dear cardinal. At the very least, its mere courtesy, and in fact, I do really want to know more about him."
"Well then, ask him what he is, which I think it's the most important thing to know right now."
"One thing at a time. Right now, he is scared, confused, and I do not want to press him into talking about certain things without reason" Henrietta answered, contemplating how PARIAH continued tossing and turning in her bed, apparently oblivious to the conversation between the two of them. "It's obvious that he has a complicated past. Let's go step by step... Pariah, how old are you?"
PARIAH seemed to meditate on that question. He had never really thought about it. How many years had he been locked up? All he recalls is the cell he lived on till that day, and the experiments. Quickly delving into the memories extracted from the scientists and Evolved he had absorbed, PARIAH found the number he was looking for (or, at least, the closest thing he had to an answer).
"Thirty-four" he answered decisively, glad to be able to answer one of the questions of that beautiful girl. The way she treated him was different from how everyone else had been treating him in all his life. There was no pain, no cold indifference, not even a false kindness, like the strange woman who came one day and pretended to "educate" him, until he finally ate her. It was ... nice, or so he though. He had trouble defining what "nice" was exactly, never having felt it before.
Henrietta and Mazarin squared at the child's response. Thirty-four? How the hell was that boy thirty-four years old? That would mean he was almost twice as old as Henrietta, and just over half the age of the cardinal.
"Ha ... hahaha ... ha, so… thirty-four, huh?" Henrietta laughed awkwardly at what she thought had been a little lie from the child, or maybe a mistake of his own. It was a joke that she was not going to believe, that this child could be older than she could. For Brimir's sake, she tamed him with cookies! "Well, that is… That means you're much older than me, since I'm only seventeen."
While Henrietta tried to take that as a joke, Mazarin could not help but suspect that the child's words may be more literal than the princess could imagine. His abilities, his behaviour, ... Everything in him indicated that he was not, in the slightest, human. If only he could make the princess understand, then he would be able to adopt the appropriate security measures!
"Well, I'm sure you are now wondering where you are, and how you got here, right?" Henrietta asked, and PARIAH stared at her with his usual blank expression, although listening attentively to each of her words. "To begin with, you are in the royal palace of the kingdom of Tristania, located in its capital, Tristain, on the continent of Halkeginia. What country are you from?" PARIAH shrugged. "You do not know? Hmm..." That might be a problem. Henrietta was pondering about how she will get the answers she was looking for, when suddenly something occurred to her. "Hey, how about we remove those straps first? You might find yourself more comfortable without those. Eh, what do you say?" PARIAH, very excited all of the sudden, nodded several times vigorously, putting a smile on Henrietta's face at seeing him so happy. Mazarin, of course, had to intervene.
"Princess, please, I must ask you to reconsider! Having seen what he is capable of with only his legs and teeth, I do not even want to imagine how dangerous he would become if, on top of that, we released his arms!"
"And what do you expect me to do, then? Shall I left him tied up the rest of his life? Treat him like a slave, or as an animal which must be chained even before understanding why he did what he did? Is that what you are suggesting to me, Cardinal Mazarin?" exclaimed the princess, rather angrily, forcing the bewildered cardinal to shrink back into his chair. Determined, Henrietta seized her sceptre, and before anyone could even think of stopping her, freed PARIAH from his restrains with a quick enchantment. Once the chains fall to the ground, PARIAH began to release himself on his own with by stretching his remaining strains, battling against them. While he was on that, Henrietta could not help but notice that, despite the obvious wear and tear on the leather over the years, it did not seem that anyone had loosened those straps in a long, long time. The princess clenched her teeth, imagining enraged the severe punishment that she would apply to anyone who let this happen to a child, even if it was one as strange as him.
Finally, the last bind fall from her familiar's body, and PARIAH released his arms. Once he was free, PARIAH looked with amazed eyes his own hands, as pale as the rest of his skin. Flexing his hands and arms with a flexibility that Henrietta could not help but contemplate slightly impressed, PARIAH stretched the numb muscles in ways only possible for expert contortionists, causing his bones to pop several times. While Henrietta contemplated the obvious relief on the young boy's face, Mazarin did nothing but keep an eye on him with renewed suspicion, trying to assess the degree of danger that PARIAH now represented.
"All right, let's continue ... The reason you are here, Pariah, is because I have summoned you to become my familiar. Do you know what that is?" PARIAH shook his head. "A familiar is a creature that we magicians summon with our magic so that they become our companions for life. The summoned familiar is usually the creature that, supposedly, best matches the wizard, which ... " she explained, examining the young boy up and down, remembering all the problems he had caused since his arrival, while PARIAH stared undaunted at her, only slightly tilting his head as if he was wondering why she had such an odd look on her eyes while looking at him. "…I do not know what exactly that means on my behalf, but let's not waste any more time in such frugal details. What I'm trying to say is ... "Henrietta took PARIAH's hands. He watched as his little hands were wrapped around the soft hands of the princess, and looked at her with renewed astonishment. Nobody had ever held his hands before. "…would you like to be my familiar? Since you're just a child, even though you claim to be thirty-four years old, " she said with a smile "and are so powerful, I will not force you if that's not what you want, nor force you to go back to that horrible place you've managed to escape if you answer me no."
PARIAH meditated on it for a few seconds. Judging by Henrietta's tone, she seemed to be telling the truth. However, her eyes reflected something else. It seemed like she was kind of... desperate, and scared, but not because of him. Maybe ... maybe she really need his help. And she had been very nice to him so far, unconsciously pulling him out of that bad place and treating him like no one had done before, even if she somehow was a little wary of him. PARIAH did not fully understand what he was supposed to do, but decided not worry too much it either. Once he made his mind, PARIAH looked at Henrietta and nodded.
"I'll do it" The princess, after hearing that, smiled with eyes shining with joy.
"Se…seriously? You will? That's wonderful! Thank you, thank you, thank you! "She exclaimed, hugging PARIAH sudden and tightly. PARIAH, finding him surrounded by the arms of the young woman, tensed almost instantaneously, believing that to be some sort of an attack. However, noticing that not only it did not hurt, but that it was quite pleasant, the infected young man began to relax, enjoying that new sensation quietly.
Once released from the hug, PARIAH found himself staring directly at Henrietta's shining eyes, which almost gleam with joy and pure happiness.
"All right then, let's begin the sealing ceremony. This may hurt a bit, so try to remain still, okay?" Seeing PARIAH nod, Henrietta began to intone the spell, the last part of the ritual. "Holy founder, you who keep the key to the power of the five elements, bless this creature and make him my familiar..." After saying these words, Henrietta kissed PARIAH's forehead, leaving him completely stunned after receiving the first kiss of his life, so warm and soft that he could not even believe it. As soon as the princess's lips left his skin, a sensation of quite disturbing heat erupted from the inside of his right hand, and a strange mark appeared on his palm. As engraved with fire, there was a strange symbol on his previously spotless palm, similar to a complex circle of runes with a rose on its centre and a crown on top of it, shining with great intensity. After a few seconds, his hand returned to normal, leaving behind the mysterious drawing. "Ok, then that's it. You're already officially my familiar, Pariah" Henrietta declared, running her finger over the mark on PARIAH's hand. He stood looking with great interest at the drawing, observing it from all angles.
Taking advantage at seeing that PARIAH was distracted, Mazarin took the opportunity to approach the princess.
"Your majesty… A word, if you please."
"You may."
"Are you sure about this? I mean, we have no idea what he is, other than that he is several times stronger than a normal human being, and that someone locked him up and held him up for it. Also, you need to think about what the people and the court may think once they see him. They might believe that you have enslaved a child, among other things."
"You think that I didn't gave this a thought, that I acted on impulse? I might not know what the rest of the world will think of this, cardinal, but what I do know is that I performed the summoning ritual and Pariah answered my call. What I do know, is that he has the kind of strength I was looking for in a familiar, the kind of strength I need at this moment. And what I do know above anything else is that, although he might not be a normal child, I refuse to get rid of him just because we don't completely understand him at the moment. I refuse to abandon a poor child who has nowhere else to go or anyone to take care of him, no matter what the court nor you may say." Henrietta spoke decisively, contemplating sideways as Pariah still seemed fascinated with the mark that had appeared in his skin, sniffing it with feral curiosity and even giving it a couple of test licks. Mazarin, who remained unconvinced, simply sighed with resignation.
"Understood, your majesty."
Henrietta seemed contented enough. It was expected that the cardinal would remain unconvinced, but at least it seem that he will listen to her and let her do as she though. That will have to do.
Looking at Henrietta, PARIAH reclaimed her attention and pointed to the mark that had come out of his hand.
"Mark?" He asked, studying Henrietta's hand.
"What? Oh, you mean... No, I do not have a mark. The mark only appears on the familiar, not in the summoner" Henrietta explained. Frowning for a bit, PARIAH seemed to be doing some thinking, when suddenly something occurred to him. Taking Henrietta's left hand, under the watchful eye of every guard present and the princess's confused look, PARIAH took a bite on the back of her hand, tearing a short cry of pain from her. Watching as the princess was seemingly attacked by her familiar, the knights quickly drew their swords, with the intention of pouncing on the being who had dared to attack their princess. She, however, made them stop with a silent gesture, obviously containing the desire to scream in pain and with slightly watery eyes.
After a few more seconds, PARIAH released her, revealing that his fanged teethes had left a bloody bite mark on the side of the princess's palm, with small trickles of blood still flowing from it. To everyone's surprise, the holes in the princess's flesh closed quickly, leaving only pale round scars arranged in a circle that ran along both her palm and the back of her hand. The pain dissipated after that, leaving behind only the faint traces of her blood, which quickly dried up.
"Mark" PARIAH said again, raising his hand as if he wanted to show Henrietta his rune. At first, Henrietta looked at him not understanding what he meant. "Mark!"
Warily, the princess also raised her marked hand, and little by little, joined it with her familiar's, their palms of different sizes pressed against each other. Then, PARIAH smiled widely, obviously pleased with the final result.
"Now, we both have a mark" he declared, his face the living image of happiness and innocence. Henrietta relaxed a little, understanding what he did and delighted to see her little familiar so happy, smiling broadly as only a child could. Nobody would have distinguished him from a normal child, seeing as he was at the moment. She knew that there still were a lot of mysteries and questions regarding her strange familiar, but… they could wait until another day.
A tremendous and sudden grunt echoed throughout the room, alerting Mazarin, Henrietta, and the knights, who believed that the princess's little familiar was about to attack them. However, that sound had not come from his throat, but from his stomach, in which PARIAH rested one of his hands, again with his usual neutral expression and some discomfort.
"That is… Well, I think it's time we eat something. Don't you agree, cardinal?" Henrietta asked, emerging from the stupor into which she had fallen when she heard such a strange and reverberating sound coming from the stomach of such a small child.
"Yes, that... that might be the best" the cardinal commented, somewhat stunned too.
"What do you say? Want to go get something to eat?" asked the princess, getting off bed and holding out her marked hand. Nodding innocently, PARIAH jumped of bed too, taking the princess's hand with his own, and both left the room to the dining room. The guards wasted no time in following them, still wary, but keeping their distance for the moment.
Mazarin saw them leave, still pondering about everything that he had witnessed. Albeit his previous words, he still though that this… "Pariah" was a dangerous creature that needed to be dealt with. The summoning ritual was a sacred ceremony blessed by the founder himself, but even then, Mazarin refused to think of Pariah as nothing else but a ticking bomb, ready to explode and catch the princes in its path. That creature was a mystery, it was dangerous, and unfortunately the princess refused to attend to reasons.
Thus, the task of protecting her from that strange being, while trying to determine whenever it was a real threat or not, should fall on his shoulders. "So be it…" he thought with grim determination. If he deemed it necessary, Mazarin would not hesitate to eliminate that being, no matter how much it may look like child… or what the princess though about him.
May the holy founder forgive him for what he needed to do.
Chapter 2 completed.
As I already said, I work mainly with Google Translate, then reviewing and correcting and re-writing what needs to be reviewed, corrected and re-written. Even then, some errors may have managed to elude me, so any kind of review and/or correction will be appreciated.
Also, I've changed the way dialogues are shown, as stated by one of you. I don't know if this was what was meant, but at least I've tried. If not, feel free to tell me.
Chao, chao.