Chapter 4: Blood

After the incident in the courtyard, things became slightly tense in the palace. Through Agnes, Henrietta discovered Mazarin's involvement in the affair and his repeated attempts to kill Pariah. To say that Henrietta was furious when she found out was an understatement.

After having her guards arrest the Cardinal, she had him brought before her, where she demanded that the crestfallen, kneeling Cardinal explain to her why he did what he did. The Cardinal, with regret, tried to explain the reasons that had led him to commit those acts that, in Henrietta's opinion, could almost be considered acts of treason against her.

"Your Majesty, I am not going to apologize for something that I think was necessary to ensure your safety." Mazarin said, with more aplomb than he really felt. "That... being that you have summoned is not the most suitable for you. He is dangerous, we do not know anything about him, and as if that weren't enough, he has already attacked you for no reason."

"He didn't attack me, Cardinal. After the engraving of the rune of the familiar, he... considered it appropriate to mark me in his own way."

"He marked you! You, the princess! How many more proves do you need to see...?"

"He is not! ... a threat, Cardinal" Henrietta said, trying to tackle her anger. "From the moment that Pariah set foot here, he has not once shown a violent attitude towards anyone... At least, for no reason…" she added, looking sideways at Agnes, who stood still at the side while looking forward. While she tried to remain calm, it was clear that the matter had affected her quite a bit.

"What about when he beat up the whole body of knights as soon as he arrived, and when he barricaded himself in the tower, seriously damaging several knights and musketeers, and what about the state of Lord Wardes?" exclaimed the Cardinal, exposing in no uncertain terms each and every one of the faults he saw in that familiar. His abilities were nothing like those of any other being they had seen before. He was... he was like a demon. A seemingly unstoppable demon.

"Pariah was confused coming here" explained Henrietta. "He had spent many years in seclusion, from the very moment of his birth, and the sight of him being suddenly dragged out into the open confused and frightened him greatly". Henrietta looked sadly at the Cardinal, but she quickly recovered. "Far from trying to understand him or know what was wrong with him, we chased him with swords and cornered him in a tower, as if he were an animal. How, Cardinal, did you expect him to react to such treatment? You say you know what he really is, but have you bothered to talk to him, to find out what he really is like and why?"

Henrietta approached the Cardinal, who felt the weight of the young woman's gaze undermining her courage, unable to look her in the eye.

"I have, Cardinal Mazarin, and I have discovered many things about him. I know that, despite having lived apparently longer than me, he had never before set foot outside the cell in which he was locked up. I know that he has been treated like a monster by the same people who separated him from his mother, locked him up, and tortured him for over thirty years. I know that he is scared, confused, and that everything he sees or is surrounded by is new to him, and that he still doesn't know how to live with other people like a normal person, because no one thought it was necessary for him to learn how to do it".

Henrietta knelt down in front of Mazarin. He looked up slowly and was surprised to find that, despite the princess's angry and hurt look, she had tears in her eyes.

"I... I know that despite all his abilities... despite his strength... he's... he's just a kid! A child who has no one else. He... only has me now."

For the first time since Pariah's arrival, Mazarin regretted a little what he had done. He had acted out of fear of the unknown, and had not bothered to truly understand the young familiar before acting.

"Your Highness...I..." Mazarin said, in a broken voice. "...I'm...I'm so sorry".

"It's not me you should be apologizing to... "she said, looking at the wall next door. Following her glance, Mazarin was surprised to see two feline-looking eyes appearing from one section of the wall. Those eyes moved, and the air around him moved with him, blurring a vague silhouette attached to the wall like a salamander. Suddenly, the air changed colour, revealing the shape of Pariah's body, which descended nimbly from the wall and went with a calm step towards the surprised Cardinal, without stopping looking at his eyes for a moment.

"Ah... you see, Mr. familiar... no, Pariah" said the Cardinal, bowing his head to the young familiar. "I must apologize to you. I may have treated you unfairly, believing I was right, when you haven't given us no reason to do so yet". Pariah's face still did not reflect any emotion, only his eyes showed a slight interest and curiosity in the words of the old man. "I know that you are still a mystery to me, and although it is true that I still don't trust you too much to leave you alone with the princess..." Henrietta was about to say something, but Mazarin was quicker. "... I am... willing to give you a chance, and this time it is for real. If the princess says you can be trusted, then I'll have to see it for myself. I promise won't try to attack you no more, and to give you the opportunity to prove your worth. Once again, I'm very sorry about what happened".

Henrietta allowed herself to relax a little when she heard the Cardinal. Looking at Pariah, she waited to see how he would respond.

PARIAH... didn't understand what was going on. I mean, he knew what an apology was, but no one had ever apologized to him before. He had heard insults, threats, cruel comments, even the occasional plea from some of the scientist he had eaten before he got them... but never before an apology. PARIAH looked at the princess out of the corner of his eye, wondering what she wanted him to do, and saw that the princess was looking at him somewhat expectantly. From what he could understand, the old man was important to the princess, even though she had been upset with him for trying to harm him. But... considering many people had tried (and succeeded) in hurting him before, at least he had done it for a good cause... sort of. He was still not entirely sure.

Shrugging his shoulders, PARIAH gave Mazarin a couple of pats on the head, as if he were a little dog that had done something funny.

"I forgive you" said PARIAH, surprising the Cardinal and making Henrietta smile.

"Thank you very much, young Pariah" said Mazarin. "I promise you things will change between us. I mean it".

PARIAH didn't say anything. He still didn't fully understand the issue. Why did he have to forgive that old man, when he wasn't the one who attacked him? Suddenly, Henrietta stood next to him and gave him a hug.

"Thank you" she whispered, and Pariah understood that, fortunately, he had done well not to crush the old man with a stomp (which had been his first impulse). And his reward wasn't bad. He liked the hugs.

"And now, you, knight de Milan" said the princess, turning to Agnes. Seeing that the princess' attention was focused on her, Agnes tensed up, squaring up as best she could. "I've had the opportunity to hear the Cardinal's motives. Do you wish to say anything in your defence to justify your actions?"

"Your Highness, with all due respect, the captain only followed my orders" said the Cardinal, trying to defend Agnes. "I'm responsible for..."

"Cardinal Mazarin, sir" said Agnes, interrupting him. "While I followed his orders, I am solely responsible for my actions" she added, resolutely. "I will accept whatever punishment Your Majesty deems appropriate for my crime".

Henrietta's gaze, which had previously been one of harsh indignation, had become one of sorrow and indecision. She really didn't want to have to punish anyone, especially the captain. From the very moment they had met, the captain had been a faithful member of her entourage, and more than once had protected her from dangerous situations. Punishing her for trying to keep her safe, even if it was behind her back, seemed wrong. However, she had made an attempt on hurting Pariah, and that she could not ignore either.

While trying to find a solution to her problem, Pariah advanced towards Agnes. She, seeing the deadly familiar approaching her with his usual neutral gaze, tensed, though she did not dare move from her seat. Somewhat frightened, though she forced her face away from him, she stood firm in her place, following with the look of the one she was sure would be her executioner. Not only had she tried to kill him, but in part she had almost... well, succeeded, or so she thought. She had shot him in the face, pierced his heart, plunged a dagger into his eye, and half severed his head, and not even that had stopped him. Resigning herself again to her fate, Agnes said nothing.

Henrietta watched nervously as Pariah approached the captain. She saw that the familiar seemed to be watching her with great interest, circling around her like a raven trying to decide where to start eating a tasty carcass, sniffing at her from time to time. For a moment, she wondered if Pariah would attack her. Mazarin had been forgiven, but it was Agnes who had attacked him directly, and he himself had tried to kill her. Despite his promise, he was partly entitled to take revenge, although Henrietta wished he would not. Henrietta noticed something else: Agnes was tense. Despite trying to keep her face expressionless, you could tell she must be terrified inside. No wonder: an unstoppable being that had attacked her was hovering around her like a predator. If Pariah decided to take revenge and attack…

"Pariah..." said Henrietta, trying to get his attention. However, Pariah ignored her.

Pariah stood behind Agnes, out of sight. "That's it, now he'll finish me off" thought Agnes, resigning herself to her fate. "I guess I deserve it. Princess... I'm sorry. I hope you live happily for the rest of your life..." Agnes closed her eyes, preparing for the final blow.

A squeeze on the back.

A prolonged oppression.

Agnes opened her eyes, surprised. If that was his coup de grâce... it wasn't a very powerful coup, all being said. Turning her head, she saw that the princess's familiar had rested his head on her back, rubbing it against her. Soon, a slight purr began to emerge from the bottom of his throat, as his head moved to the hand of the surprised knight. For their part, Henrietta, Mazarin and the other guards watched the scene with surprise and amazement. That... they didn't expect that.

Pariah continued to rub up against the lady like a kitten trying to get her owner's attention. Finally, he managed to slip under her arm, his head resting between her ribs and her waist. Not knowing exactly what to do, Agnes slowly lowered her hand, until it was placed on the head of the strange familiar, caressing him somewhat fearfully. Soon, the purring gained intensity, while Pariah closed his eyes and changed his expression to one of satisfaction, yet without smiling. Agnes couldn't help but blush a little. Seen that way, with his slight blushing cheeks, his placid expression of innocence and that little face...he was kind of cute. Almost like a little kitten, one of those that she loved to pet so much, but tried not to let anyone caught her doing so. She had an image to take care of.

"You are strong" said Pariah, suddenly, still cuddling with his eyes closed. "Would you fight me another time?" The question caught Agnes off guard.

"You're not... you're not angry with me?" she asked, somewhat hesitantly. "I mean... I tried to kill you."

"I can't die. Or at least, I don't know how to do it" he said. Agnes, who didn't know what to do next, kept on petting him.

Agnes looked at the princess, asking with her eyes if she was going to punish her in his place, or if she wanted to say something at all. Henrietta smiled, however, and shook her head. Relieved, Agnes started scratching him Pariah under his chin with her other hand.

"Understood. We'll fight another time."

By now, Pariah was already writhing in pure delight, clenching his fists in an attempt to control himself. Agnes, on the other hand, had suddenly lost her hesitation. Petting cats had always relaxed her, and for some reason that familiar was like a kitten, only bigger and more adorable.

Although surprised, Henrietta could not help but smile as she looked at the scene. Not only did Pariah seem to have forgiven the captain, but she seemed to have recovered from her shock as well. In fact, Henrietta didn't remember ever seeing her like this. She had seen her smile from time to time, but that happy and relaxed expression on her face was totally new to her. Even the guards in the room breathed a sigh of relief that Henrietta noticed, surely glad to see that her superior would be spared punishment.

Agnes stroked Pariah behind the ear, and he opened his eyes, startled, his cheeks suddenly red while his purring turned into a short moan of surprise and a chill visibly ran through his body. Before anyone could do anything to prevent it, Pariah parted from Agnes, and jumped out the nearest window, breaking the glass with his body. Agnes ran to see what had happened to the familiar, but she didn't see him fall.

"Hmmm..." she groaned, pitifully. Soon, Henrietta joined her by the window.

"You really wanted to keep petting him, didn't you?" she asked, faking innocence. Just as Agnes was about to answear yes, she seemed to recover and turned red as a tomato.

"No, I... I... no!" she exclaimed, babbling in shame. "Your Highness..." she complained, looking at how the princess seemed to find her reaction amusing.

Henrietta laughed a little at the beleaguered captain. At least things had been resolved with no more injuries than her window, something easily replaceable.

"Calm down, captain de Milan, it's all right. If Pariah has no objection, we can both share him from time to time. Come on, let's see if we can find him. Where'd he hide this time?"

And just like that, calm returned to the palace once again.

After the Cardinal's suspicions about Pariah had been partly dispelled, he agreed to remove the escort he had on the door of his room, and to allow him to leave whenever there was someone watching him. Henrietta, while still not entirely happy about it, agreed just to get the Cardinal to stop insisting on the subject. Besides, Pariah didn't seem to care. From time to time she received complaints from his escort, who expressed their displeasure when she was informed that Pariah had given them the slip by climbing the wall outside the castle, or by becoming invisible when turning a corner. Apparently, Pariah found it amusing to see his escort spend hours looking for him in vain, and he had made a game out of that activity that he never seemed to tire of.

Henrietta, for her part, continued her daily tasks with her family. She attended her classes with him, accompanied her everywhere when she had to go around the castle, and played with him in the brief moments she had free in her schedule. From time to time, Agnes herself was invited to this "private sessions", in which the princess would sit on the bed, lay Pariah's head on her lap, and have a good time petting him like a cute little animal. Although Agnes refused at the beginning, too stubborn and proud to show how much she liked to participate in those sessions, in the end she always ended up giving in, being together with Pariah the one who enjoyed those moments the most.

The days passed calmly, with the occasional isolated incident...

One day, Henrietta went to Pariah's room, and discovered that the walls and floor were covered with a strange black and red substance that was very sticky and hung around like thick cobwebs. When Pariah was asked what it was all about, he just shrugged his shoulders and took a crunchy bite of one of those things, as if it were an appetizer. Henrietta decided not to make any more comments or questions about it.

Another time, Henrietta came across a scene... quite interesting. As she was walking through the corridors, she heard a strange little sound, and by following it, she ended up in front of one of the castle's bedrooms. When she opened the door, she found Agnes sitting on a small stool visibly contented, and with Pariah behind, focused on stroking her head as she used to do on him. When the princess entered, she and Agnes were frozen, too surprised to know how to react. Pariah, on the other hand, continued with his task, provoking a new shudder to the knight and making her let out a weird moan. In the end, both Agnes and Pariah ended up kneeling in front of the princess, one with a gesture of shame, apology and regret, and the other without fully understanding what was going on. Henrietta, puffing up a cheek, scolded Pariah for distracting the captain from her duties, and Agnes for hoarding Pariah for herself.

One night, Pariah managed to sneak into Henrietta's room and get into her bed without waking her. The next morning, Henrietta found him beside her, curled on himself and breathing placidly. That day, Henrietta woke up in a good mood.

And finally, an event occurred that Henrietta, though it was alarming at first, would forever remember as one of the most fun receptions of her life.

A few days before, one of the nobles of Tristania had requested an audience with the princess to discuss a matter of land concessions, which, although it did not please the princess, she had no way of convincing the nobleman to give in. That particular nobleman had not ceased in his efforts to get an audience until he had finally got his way, much to Henrietta's dismay, who was forced to make use of her free time to receive him. As always, Pariah hovered on the roof of the throne room, hiding in the shadows and mimicking a corner, watching everything without anyone knowing where he was.

The nobleman had made an appearance wearing an elaborated fashionable suit, a little overdone for Henrietta's taste. His shoes and tights had many unnecessary ribbons, his vest was brightly coloured and striped, his cloak had elaborate embroidery, and on his head rested a hat with so many feathers that it looked like a bird in itself. In fact, Henrietta couldn't help but smile when she saw that it was indeed shaped like a bird. As the nobleman approached her, the long edges of the hat moved up and down, like the wings of a raven. A slight growl echoed through the room, drawing the attention of both Henrietta and the nobleman, but failing at finding out what had provoked it. Although the nobleman shrugged his shoulders, Henrietta managed to recognize that sound: Pariah had found something interesting.

The only question was… what was it?

"Your Highness" saluted the nobleman, bowing to her and taking off his hat. Every time he shook it, some feather fell from it, while its wings continued to sway up and down.

"Count D'Oren, thank you very much for coming. What...?" Out of the corner of her eye, Henrietta saw that Pariah had started to descend the wall face down, looking with his bright red eyes at the count's hat. By the time the count turned to see where the princess was looking, Pariah had already disappeared, mimicking once more the wall. "…to what do I owe the honour of your presence here?" she asked, smiling somewhat nervously at her guest. The count turned again, somewhat puzzled by the princess's behaviour.

"Your Majesty, I have come on the subject of the granting of land from the villages near my borders" he explained, causing Henrietta to sigh slightly, though not enough to show how tired she was of having to repeat the same thing to that man over and over again.

"As I have already stated, my dear count, I simply can't grant you the lands you demand from me…" Pariah appeared again, crouched to one side and underneath the Count, following with his head the movement of the hat in the hand of its inadvertent owner. Henrietta looked nervously at the feral interest that her familiar seemed to have in that hat, which she kept watching with her slit pupils almost completely dilated. Pariah disappeared once again "...those...those lands were bestowed to Baron Isírol, and without a compelling reason, I simply cannot..."

"Your Highness, with all due respect" he interrupted, "those lands should belong to my family. Our military achievements are greater, and our genealogy extends beyond that of a simple baron, and more so in the case of one with such...humble origins...as those of baron Isírol" he commented, the disdain clear on his voice. "I must insist that you see reason and transfer its property to me."

"Dear Count, I..." Pariah appeared on the other side of the count, stretching out both hands in an attempt to remove his hat. Henrietta tensed..." DON'T!" Pariah was startled by the sudden scream, and he blended in again. Relieved that her familiar had been stopped, Henrietta looked at the surprised count, who obviously had not expected that shout either. Henrietta quickly recovered her composure. "…don't expect that by simply demanding that I change my mind, I will do so. The lands shall remain under the Baron's rule, and that's that."

Obviously the Count did not seem pleased, but he bowed nonetheless, and put on his hat, throwing more feathers by waving it furiously.

"So be it, but hear me now, Your Highness" he proclaimed, vehemently. Henrietta looked at him with a neutral expression, tired of having to hear the same thing repeated over and over by that man. "Now he will say that he won't stand this outrageous decision, and that he'll come back another day to demand justice and for what's rightfully his..." she thought with a mental roll of her eyes.

"I won't stand this outrageous decision!" Henrietta had to resist the urge to smile once seeing her prediction was right. "If it is necessary, and it is clear that it is, I will come here again..." Henrietta seemed ready to let the Count expatiate all he wanted again, but then, she noticed that Pariah had appeared once again, hanging from the ceiling with his legs abnormally stretched as if they were made of those strange red and black fibres of his, and with his hands up and ready to grab the count's hat. Henrietta tried to dissuade him with a slight gesture, but having the Count watching her every move prevented her from catching her familiar attention without being noticed. "…and I will claim what by blood shall had been min- eh?" he asked, finally noticing the presence of the familiar, just as he was going to reach the hat. Fast as lightning, Pariah tried to grab it, but failed when the count fell to the floor, shocked. Frustrated, Pariah jumped with a turn in the air to the ground, crouched like a panther and staring at the count, who in response acted according to his noble disposition and his nerves of steel, typical of someone born in a house as noble as his own.

"Yiiiiaaaaaaah!" he exclaimed, an octave above his usual voice. Quickly, the count started running all over the room, while Pariah followed him running on all fours like a predator, jumping from the wall to the floor and from the floor to the wall while preventing his prey from reaching the door, and forcing him to run around the room under the astonished look of the princess, who could not help but laugh a little at such a comical and unexpected spectacle.

"Please, for the love of Brimir, take him away from me" shouted the frightened count, as Pariah grabbed his cloak with his teeth and pulled it back, shaking it as a dog would do with a toy. The count managed to get rid of the cloak, which Pariah quickly discarded as soon as it stopped moving, resuming the chase. Finally, Pariah passed over the count with and athletic feline jump, and managed to catch the count's hat while in the air with his teeth. Although the count tried to retrieve his hat with both hands, his strength was no match for the power of Pariah, who refused to release his prey. Finally, the count gave up on it, and decided instead to ran to the door, through doing so without addressing the princess again, who by then was already laughing at ease, trying in vain to calm down.

"Well, I doubt I'll be back any time soon" said Henrietta in a funny tone, wiping away the tears that had been brought to her eyes for laughing so much. Getting up from her throne, she went to where Pariah had sat, still on all fours like a cat, while chewing on his price as it was a toy. "That was not very nice of you, Pariah" Henrietta scolded him, trying not to smile too much so that Pariah would understand that what he had done was wrong. Although at first he looked at her as if he did not understand what she meant, in the end, the serious and determined look of the princess made Pariah submit, looking down at the floor with the hat still in his mouth. "On the other hand..." Henrietta bent down beside Pariah, and gave him a kiss on the forehead, surprising him. ... now we can play for the rest of the hour" she finished with a smile. Pariah got excited again. Playing, that he understood. Amused, Henrietta watched as her familiar jumped around the room, running through the walls and ceiling with ease. So energetic!

Days passed, until the day Henrietta had waited for so long finally arrived: the Tristain's Magic Academy Familiar Exhibition. The day she would finally meet her beloved childhood friend, Louise de la Vallière.

Everything was ready. Palace business? Fixed. Route? Supervised and monitored. Scheduled? Checked out in detail. Academy reception? Ready and willing to go. There was only one thing left to deal with...

"What am I going to do with you?" Henrietta asked Pariah with a tired sight, giving him another of his favourite cookies, herself eating one and sitting on her bed while Pariah sat on the floor in front of her.

"Have you thought of leaving him here?" asked Agnes, kneeling behind Pariah as she caressed him, her cheek resting on the head of the familiar. "Cardinal Mazarin would be more than happy to keep an eye on him in your absence."

"Yes, I'm sure he'd love to..." answered Henrietta in a scathing tone. Although the Cardinal had agreed to leave Pariah alone for most of the time, he still did not trust him completely. Every time Henrietta said to take him out of the palace, or leave him to his own devices, the Cardinal always strongly opposed it. If she left Pariah there alone with him, he would surely try to lock him up again.

"Well, bringing him with us is not an option either" said Agnes, despite the fact that she was quite comfortable caressing Pariah.

"Yes, I know. I know I can't just show up there with a kid and say he's my familiar. At best, they'll think he's a slave! But..."

"Also, we don't know how he'll react out there. If it makes him nervous enough to go out in the yard, I don't even want to think about what will happen if he were to get out of town."

"Captain de Milan, Pariah is a child. I just can't have him locked up inside the castle's walls forever!" replied Henrietta, determined. "Besides, whether I want to or not, Pariah is my familiar, and the duty of every familiar is to its master wherever they go. I'm not leaving him behind."

Agnes sighed.

"Well, I guess we're back to square one..."

Pariah immediately noticed the dejection of the two young women, and looked at them with his usual gesture of curiosity.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, causing Henrietta to smile sadly at him and kneel down beside him too, running her hand over his head and over his cheek.

"It's all right. We were just wondering how we were going to manage to take you with us without people noticing who you truly are, that's all."

"Why?" he asked, somewhat flushed by the caresses.

"Because... they wouldn't understand. There has never been a familiar like you before, and people would be surprised to see you." Suddenly, he stood up.

"And if they didn't know it was me" he asked Henrietta, "then would there be a problem?" The question puzzled Agnes and Henrietta.

"Well... No, I guess. not If they did not know who you were, then there would be no problem at all" replied Henrietta, who did not know what her familiar was up to.

Turning to Agnes, Pariah instructed her to stand up too. Somewhat suspiciously, Agnes did so. Suddenly, Pariah raised his right hand as much as he could, drawing the attention of both Henrietta and Agnes. For a few seconds, nothing happened.

"Ehm… what are you- AUCH!?" She exclaimed, raising her RIGHT hand. As they both were focused on his right hand, neither of the two young women realized that Pariah had turned the forefinger of his left hand into a dagger, until he quickly plunged it into the back of the captain's hand, causing it to bleed a little. Before they could say anything, Pariah licked the drop of blood that stained his finger, walking resolutely to the full-length mirror that rested at the side of the room. Wondering what Pariah was up to, Agnes and Henrietta watched as he stood in front of the mirror.

Suddenly, Pariah's body began to change. His skin began to curl, as it broke into numerous red and black tentacles that twisted frenetically everywhere. Before either of them could understand what was happening, Pariah began to re-shape himself. His body became longer, and its basic structure changed. His hair, formerly white and dishevelled, became blond and more upturned. His clothes turned into a musketeer's uniform, and his face became completely different. Finally, by turning his abnormal eyes into more human ones, Pariah's body returned to normal...more or less...

"It..it's…" Henrietta tried to say, as he watched Pariah turn around and observe his new appearance, too stunned to complete her sentence.

"…it's me…" said Agnes, completing it for her. To everyone's surprise, Pariah had become a perfect replica of the captain. With evident curiosity, Pariah began to look at every part of his new body, from his now long legs to his new hair. He waved his new cloak in delight, looking at himself in the mirror as Henrietta and Agnes looked at him with their eyes big as plates. They've never seen anything that it before. The only beings capable of such a thing, the dopplers, were thought to be extinct by poaching for centuries.

Transformation, strength, resistance, regeneration... How many more surprises did that child hide?

Pariah turned to the stunned pair, posing with a smile on his face and winking at them, the other eye so bright that it seemed that little stars were coming out of it. While Agnes was gaping, completely in shock, Henrietta had to make real efforts not to laugh out loud. She had never seen the captain with such a feminine expression on her face or such a casual pose. Skipping protocol, Agnes looked sideways at Henrietta with an expression so serious and fulminating that the princess suddenly lost all desire to laugh (though she couldn't help but do so in her mind).

"Well, that's…that's a good try, Pariah, but... don't you think people will be suspicious when they see that there are two captains?" Pariah blinked a couple of times. Clearly, that hadn't occurred to him. Turning his attention back to the mirror, he began to reflect on it.

Before the attentive look of his companions, the height of Pariah changed again, growing an inch or so. With his hands on either side of his head, Pariah began to squeeze, deforming his skull until it took on a slightly more elongated shape. With his fingers, he stretched his eyebrows, making them longer and thinner, and changed the colour of his eyes in two blinks, changing the dark green of Agnes' eyes to a more golden, honey-like colour. Grasping at the hair, he stretched it out until it reached the middle of his back, and darkened the original golden hair of the captain, passing to a dark brown that suited the colour of his eyes, though he retained a lock of the original yellow, which hung rebelliously in his fringe. Finally, he transformed her musketeer outfit into a maid's outfit, like the other palace maids.

Satisfied with the final result, Pariah turned around, posing again.

"Yes…yes, this could work" Agnes commented, thoughtfully, examining Pariah's new look. "We can say that she is His Highness' new personal maid, and thus avoid the rest of the service asking her too many questions. As long as he stays close to you, there shouldn't be any problem."

"Great! Problem solved" clapped Henrietta, happily. Just when she was about to ask Pariah how he did it, she noticed something.

Pariah, though he had been cheerful after the change, had changed his expression to one of childish anger, pouting as he placed his hand on his chest. Although he hadn't actually changed that area, it had grown along with his body, so his breast had increased a couple of numbers over the captain's.

"Is something wrong?" asked Henrietta, seeing him suddenly upset. To her surprise, Pariah put both hands on his breasts with a determined expression and squeezed them, making them disappear inside his chest. "Pariah, what are you doing?"

"It's heavy. It bothers me" he complained, making use of a female voice which sounded too young for his new body.

"But, Pariah... You were already ok just like that..." The princess's comment made Pariah think again, and catching his breath quickly, he held it on his cheeks, squeezing. Like ballistic missiles, his breasts seemed to explode and grew enormously in an instant, far exceeding size Q. Henrietta and Agnes' eyes almost popped out of pure surprise, somewhat flushed and gaping at the sudden change.

"Pariah, that's too much!"

"Change them back! Smaller, smaller!"

The confused familiar began to change, growing his chest and then shrinking it, trying to follow the confusing instructions of the two young women. At one point, Agnes tried to help him by grabbing his chest directly, which caused Pariah to feel a chill and run around the room, being chased by Agnes, who kept trying to catch him and calm him down. The chaos, the laughter and the commotion in that room could be heard from the corridor, Henrietta's laughter being the most heard.

Somewhere else in the castle:

It wasn't getting any better.

They had been examining Captain Wardes' condition for days, but he showed no signs of improvement. Fever, pain, strange bumps on his arm... They had tried to use magic to heal him, but whatever had infected him showed no sign of disappearing.

The old healer who had been caring for him returned to Wardes, wiping his sweaty brow, as he squirmed in an uneasy sleep in his bed. From his robe, the healer took out a small vial containing a very bright golden liquid. When it was uncovered, the smell of wildflowers and rainwater filled the room. "Essence of the Forest Spirit," a powerful healing potion.

"I really hope this works" he thought, unwrapping the bandages around the captain's injured arm. He really didn't look too good...

The captain's left arm... didn't look like much of an arm at that point. His flesh had swollen and reddened, though it was very soft to the touch. Numerous green and yellow pustules had appeared all over its surface, hard and impossible to explode. His fingers were so swollen he couldn't even move them anymore. Interestingly, the skin around the place where he had been bitten was white, with his veins very marked.

Little by little, the healer started pouring the liquid down the captain's arm. However, the moment the first drop touched him, the captain let out a roar of pain, the area where the liquid touched him being burned and releasing a peculiar white smoke, while the pustules twisted as if something was moving them from within. Wardes stirred, throwing a punch at the healer who, although he managed to avoid it, could not prevent him from breaking the flask in his hand, making several cuts with the glass fragments. In pain, the healer tried to step aside, clutching his wounded hand. Nothing, that didn't work either.

"Agh! Uhm… It's a shame, really..." he mused, heading for a closet. He took out some tweezers and bandages, and after sitting down at the side of the roomk, he started to heal his own wounds. "If he doesn't get better soon, we're going to have to amputate his arm."

Unnoticed by him, a small tentacle came out of Wardes' arm, slowly stretching until it touched the ground. From there, it began to crawl towards one of the bloody glasses that had fallen to the ground after the bottle broke. On contact with the blood, the tentacle absorbed it in a hurry, retreating and retracting to the arm again.

"Anyway. I hope that..." Just then, the healer noticed something. Captain Wardes... wasn't moving. He had spent the previous days churning and grunting, so that as soon as he stood still and quietly, the healer feared the worst. Ignoring the wounds on his hand, he ran to the captain, wishing with all his strength that it was not too late.

"Captain Wardes!" he said, hurrying to his side. The captain stood as still as a grave. "Captain Wardes! Can you hear me? Captain...!" Wardes' swollen arm shot up, grabbing the alarmed healer by the neck. Wardes' fleshy fingers clung with surprising force to the frail neck of the healer, who tried in vain to free himself, and before he could gasp or try to say anything, they snapped his neck. The body of the healer fell forward on Wardes, from whom thousands of tentacles came out and surrounded the body of the deceased old man, tearing it apart and fusing it with his own. In a matter of seconds, there was nothing left of the old healer, not even the tiniest drop of blood. Wardes' arm, surprisingly, had returned to normal, only a pale scar marking the place where PARIAH had bitten him. For the first time in many days, Wardes was breathing at ease.

He opened his eyes, momentarily revealing a greyish red in his irises that quickly faded to his usual grey.

Standing up, Wardes examined his left arm in surprise, unable to believe what had just happened. Although for him it had been like a dream... he knew it had been real. He could feel it. He could remember every sensation he felt during the attack, how that man's neck snapped like a twig in his hand, how his body tore him apart and feasted on his flesh, restoring his health. He remembered... the feeling of ecstasy that shook him for every second that it lasted. And he felt... strong. Very, very strong.

"More..." he said quietly, for yes...He needed more.

Two days later, royal road:

"Princess, a question, if you please" said Mazarin, sitting on the other side of the wagon in which the princess was travelling. When he heard that she was going to travel with her familiar, he had insisted on traveling with them, determined to keep watch over Pariah. Despite her protests, Henrietta had finally given in.

"Go on, Cardinal."

"You haven't seriously considered having your familiar participate in the Exhibition, have you?" he asked, looking at the princess. Instead of responding, she looked out the window with a thoughtful air.

The landscape outside was charming: a long meadow of tall grass, bordered by a lush forest and with the mountains in the background. The sky was clear, with some clouds decorating the blue vault as the sun warmed the earth. A group of royal knights travelled around their carriage, together with a group of musketeers leaded by the captain de Milan. And then there was Pariah, although...

As soon as they left the palace, they had encountered the first problem. The horse they lent Pariah to ride simply ran away in a panic. The second soon followed, and the third fell to the ground, dead from a heart attack. While Pariah joyfully accounted for the remains of the beast (where no one could see it, by Henrietta's own order), the princess had decided that she would travel with her in the carriage until they reached the Academy. There, he would mingle with the group of knights, musketeers and the rest of the service, so as not to attract attention.

Afterwards, Pariah had spent most of the way with his face glued to the glass of the carriage, beholding the changing landscape outside with his eyes big like plates. Although they had tried to contain him while the entourage had been leaving the city, passing through a parade organized in her honour (more than one had wondered who was the mysterious maid in the princess's carriage, stuck to the glass like a limpet while the Cardinal pulled her in vain), since they had reached the royal road they had left him to his own devices. And there he was, with his body back to its original appearance, looking with great interest at the outside world.

"The truth is, as much as it weighs on me, I have to agree with you on that. I mean, it's not an easy subject to deal with, precisely" said Henrietta. Mazarin nodded.

"My thoughts exactly. So it's better that you don't..."

"I'm still going to participate, though" she finished, alarming the Cardinal. Before he could say anything (or as he was surely going to do, criticize), the princess stopped him. "Before you say anything, know that I have a plan to deal with the problem. In fact, just yesterday, I prepared with Pariah the act we are going to present, and I can assure you that it won't consist on anything dangerous or suspicious. Be calm..." Mazarin was far from calm, but if the princess had already made up her mind, there was little he could do to make her change her mind. Sighing, he glanced sidelong at the princess's familiar, who had kept out of the conversation. He continued to look with feverishly curiosity at everything outside, shaking and moving restlessly in the carriage, so much so that on one occasion they had to call his attention to prevent him from overturning the wagon.

"Do you want to go outside?" asked Henrietta to Pariah. Turning around, she and Mazarin saw that, while his expression remained the same, his eyes shone with little stars of pure emotion, as he nodded vehemently several times. After ordering a momentary stop, Henrietta asked for the door to be opened. One of the guards approached and, with a bow, opened the door.

"Go ahead, Pariah. You can go out to..." Before the princess could finish her sentence, Pariah rushed out of the carriage with such strength and speed that the whole wagon was momentarily tilted on two wheels, shaking the Princess and the Cardinal, both of them evidently surprised. Under the astonished gaze of the princess and her escort, Pariah rushed out into the field, running so fast that he tore up pieces of ground with every step.

Recovering from the initial shock, Henrietta peeked out to watch her familiar run gaily through the countryside...tearing it up a bit in the process. He ran back and forth like an exhalation, several times faster than the fastest horse, while jumping several feet high from time to time, creating little earth tremors as he fell. And yet, he never stopped smiling for a moment.

Henrietta smiled as well. It seemed that Pariah was no longer that afraid of the outdoors, and it was great to see him so happy. He must have been really frustrated at having spent so much time locked up, and now that he had room to run she couldn't even imagine how he must have felt.

"Mazarin, let's rest here for a while" she said, sitting back in her seat.

"Are you sure? It's still a long way to the Academy."

"Of course. Let him enjoy this for a while." Mazarin bowed his head.

"As you command, Princess."

...

Several hours later, the entourage finally arrived at the gates of the Academy, where a large crowd of students had already gathered to welcome the Princess of Tristania. Smiling, Henrietta descended from the carriage with grace and elegance as soon as the doors opened, provoking great exclamations from the students, especially from the male sector. Even some girls reluctantly admitted that the princess possessed some fair and astonishing looks, who smiled at them and greeted them with politeness and kindness. Mazarin smiled, still in the carriage. Yes, the princess was very much loved by her people.

"Okay, Pariah. Now it's our turn. We are going to..." Surprised, he saw that the familiar of the princess, again transformed into a maid, had crowded into the back of the wagon, contemplating the noisy crowd with a face of terror. Mazarin was speechless. "… is something wrong?"

"Many...people..." he said, gazing at the scene outside. The royal guard had gone after the princess, while the body of musketeers waited behind. Agnes came near the door, steady.

"What is going on? You have to get out now!" she whispered without turning, trying not to move her mouth too much.

"I think the princess' familiar is panicking. He won't come out."

"What?" she half asked, half screamed in a whisper. Quickly, she got into the wagon, and grabbed Pariah by the lapel. "Listen, and listen closely, Pariah. We are already here, so don't come at me now with panic attacks! You are going to go out there, you are going to parade like I showed you, and you are going to nail it, IS. IT. CLEAR?"

Pariah, although he was not easily intimidated... he actually felt a little intimidated by the captain. Nodding, he followed her outside, imitating the same posture as the other maids by the carriage.

Henrietta looked back discreetly, seeing that Pariah had finally got out of the car. From his expression, it was clear he was having a bad time. Crowd panic... That…was something quite unexpected, yet not unimaginable. Although Pariah had become accustomed to his presence and that of her closest circle, he was still very suspicious of strangers and large groups of people. And there there were both. Slowly, the musketeers began to advance, followed by the service that had accompanied the princess on her journey. Although Pariah moved stiffly like a statue, sweating great drops of pure nerve and shaking like a leaf, he tried to mingle with the other servants, trying (and failing) not to attract much attention.

"Look, it's the Musketeers' Corps!" exclaimed one of the students.

"It's true what the rumours say. There are only women!"

"Such elegance…! Such presence…!"

"Yes, but... Did you see that maid? She doesn't seem to be feeling very well."

"Maybe she get dizzy during the trip?"

Smiling, though somewhat worried, Henrietta took an explicit look at Agnes to take care of Pariah. When she saw that she had understood it, she went to Principal Osmond, the head of the Academy, who, along with the rest of the faculty, had come out to receive her on one knee.

Unbeknownst to her, a certain rosy-haired young woman kept her eye on her.

"Hmmm, she's quite pretty" said the man beside her, a tall young man wearing green camouflage trousers and a black short-sleeved T-shirt that showed his muscular body. On his back hung an old sword, and at his waist rested a bulging belt and a peculiarly designed pistol.

"Keep quiet, familiar" the young woman ordered. Turning his attention to the princess again, the young warrior, named Saito, could not help but notice the happy expression on his young companion's face, Louise, where usually only her stubborn expression of perpetual anger was visible. Smiling, he looked with an eyebrow raised at the much adored princess. What was the relationship between those two...?

Several hours later:

"Pariah, how do you feel?" asked Henrietta in a worried voice to her familiar. As soon as she greeted the old director and the rest of the faculty, Henrietta had paid a quick visit to the Academy, while she was being updated on their activities. Afterwards, they had been taken inside the main building, to the alcove specially prepared for the princess' visit. Once she, Pariah, and a handful of guards, including Agnes, were left alone, Henrietta had seen that Pariah had curled on himself in a corner, with black clouds over his head and an air of depression that seemed to darken the room. Comical drops of sweat fell from everyone's temples when they saw him. What had become of that energetic familiar who had destroyed half a meadow just by running in it?

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I think he's just a little nervous" said one of his knights. "I once had a cat who also seemed a little like this when I took him somewhere new, or with lots of people."

For a moment, Henrietta imagined her familiar as a kitten: soft palms, little white ears on his head, and two big, shiny, slanted eyes like... well, like his, but less threatening, as he looked at her tenderly and said: "Nyaaa~!"

Henrietta couldn't resist it. She threw himself on Pariah's neck, hugging him and rubbing his head with her cheek.

"Aaaah, what a cutie you'd be as a cat...! Hihihihi~" exclaimed Henrietta, causing Pariah to blush and her knights to sweat again. That... was a bit violent to witness. Agnes, at the mention of Pariah as a kitten, imagined Pariah stretched out on his back with his little cat's paws and ears, looking at her tenderly as if he were asking to be stroked on his tummy. Just the thought of it... Before any of the knights could caught her smiling somehow foolishly, she quickly tried to calm down, coughing a little to disguise herself.

KNOCK, KNOCK. Someone knocked on the door. Henrietta turned quickly, and Pariah took the opportunity to escape, mimicking the walls around them. Somewhat annoyed that he had escaped her, she stood up and stretched the hem of her dress.

"Come on in." The door opened, and a maid entered the room.

"Excuse me, Your Highness, but we've brought you a little refreshment for you and your knights. If we may…" she said with a bow. At the corridor, several servants were waiting with carts full of food.

"It's okay. You may."

With trained elegance and coordination, the servants arranged the different carts, all loaded with plates full of appetizers and drinks. Once they were done, they bowed politely, and left the room. Henrietta waved her knights off at lunch.

"Princess, but…!"

"You've been traveling all day, like me, and I'm sure you couldn't even eat properly while on horse. I insist, go ahead. I will eat once you've given the relay to those at the door" she said, not taking no for an answer. While the knights were thanking her and getting ready to eat, Henrietta went to her bedroom, at the opposite side of the room. Once there, she closed the door, taking a long, tired sigh.

"Pariah, are you there?" she asked in a whisper, taking a tentative step forward as she examined the ceiling. A section of it seemed to flicker, and Pariah made his appearance, hanging on all fours from the ceiling. Pariah jumped down and stood beside Henrietta as she opened her trunk and pulled out a long brown cape. "Listen, Pariah. I need to go somewhere, and no one can know I'm gone. I need you to stay here and pretend to be me until I get back, understood?" Pariah thought about it for a few moments, and finally nodded, becoming a perfect copy of Henrietta in a matter of seconds. Smiling, the real Henrietta gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you very much, Pariah."

Somewhat blushing, Pariah waved Henrietta goodbye, as she opened her bedroom's window and jumped out of it, performing a levitating spell in the air.

Thus, Pariah was left alone in the room, not really knowing what to do in the meantime. He started to wander around the room, opened every door and drawer he could find, tried the mattress of the bed, and spent almost five minutes bouncing on it, until someone knocked on the door. Startled, he tried to calm himself down and stood up, and quickly checked in the mirror that the costume was still in place.

"Who is it?" he asked, trying to sound like Henrietta. A knight's voice came through the door.

"Your Highness, your meal is ready. If you please…" At the mention of food, a loud growl resonated throughout the room, with its origin being the stomach of Pariah. Although the knight outside was stunned to hear such a sound coming from the princess's chamber, he had the good sense not to say anything.

"I'll... I'll be right there" said Pariah, smiling somewhat uncomfortably. Accepting the answer, the knight retreated once more.

Pariah breathed a sigh of relieve, looking at his image in the mirror. Pretending to be someone else was harder than it looked. If he had been able to eat Henrietta, he would have had enough memories to copy her so perfectly no one would notice the difference, but because he liked her so much, he didn't want to do so. So, he had to do it the old-fashioned way: using what he had seen and learned from their days together, and trying not to let it be known that "she" was actually "he". "Be like her, be like her, be like her,..." was repeated over and over again, in his mind, like a mantra. Breathing in decisively, Pariah opened the door.

Louise's room, moments later:

"It's been a long time, Louise Françoise" exclaimed Henrietta, hugging her friend tightly. It had really been a long time...

She and Louise had known each other since they were very young. Their mothers had been childhood friends, and when Henrietta needed a playmate her own age, her mother took her on a visit to the Vallière mansion. Despite her initial doubts, Henrietta soon discovered that Louise really wanted to be her friend, not because of her status as a princess, but because of who she really was. They had lived through so many happy days of games and mischief. They laughed, cried, fought and explored every corner of the property. As they grew up, their visits became less and less frequent, until finally they stopped seeing each other altogether.

In spite of this, Henrietta never forgot Louise, and she never forgot her either. Although they could not see each other as much as they wanted to, they both wrote to each other from time to time, catching up on important events or just talking about this and that. However, nothing matched the feeling of having her right in front of you, of being able to hug her and talk to her in person.

"Princess!" Releasing herself from the embrace, Louise ran to kneel in front of her. "You surprised me. I didn't expect you to come here alone."

"You don't have to kneel before me, Louise. After all, we're friends, right?"

"I am not worthy of such treatment by Your Highness" she said, though the smile on her face indicated otherwise.

Then, Henrietta noticed the man accompanying her friend. At first glance, he looked like a mercenary or some kind of soldier, with his tall muscular body, his strange clothes and his sword. Leaning sideways on the wall, he had watched the two young women reunite with a smile on his face.

"And who is he? Is he your lover, Louise~?" she asked with a mischievous smile, causing Louise to turn completely red and the man to laugh.

"W-What?! No! This... this is my familiar, oddly enough." The man parted from the wall, bowing politely to the princess.

"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Hiraga Saito." And he gently took Henrietta's hand and kissed it elegantly, surprising Louise as he was not expected to behave so politely in front of the royalty.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr Saito. So, he's your familiar... It is rare for a magician to summon a human as a familiar, I have to admit that" said Henrietta, although she also had to admit that her familiar was not what you would call "common" either.

"Yes... That reminds me, didn't you do the summoning ceremony lately too?" Louise asked her. "What familiar did you summon, Princess?"

"Ah, you'll have to find that out tomorrow during the Exhibition" commented Henrietta amusingly, winking at her.

"Oh? So, you are participating too?" Saito asked, and Henrietta nodded. "Well, I wish the best of lucks. But it won't matter, for I will be taking the prize with me, I shall warn you beforehand" he proclaimed with a smile, causing Louise to be angry with him for not knowing how to behave in front of the princess and tried to hit him with a whip. Dodging every attack, Saito made her run across the room, laughing as the frustrated rose-haired girl tried to catch up with him. Henrietta smiled. "Louise seems to have summoned a good familiar. I'm happy for you, my dearest friend."

"I beg your pardon for this dog's rudeness! I'm still working on it…" she said, looking sideways and furiously at Saito, who was staring at the ceiling as he whistled, his hands behind his neck, pretending not to notice anything. Henrietta smiled.

"It's all right. My familiar is also a little naughty from time to time." Henrietta held Louise's hands. "When the exhibition is over, I'll introduce you to him, you'll see. He's just so cute..."

"It will be my honour Princess" said Louise, smiling, and squeezing her hand as well.

Saito smiled. Yeah, he liked that Louise better.

Meanwhile, in the princess's bedroom:

"Well, it seems that the princess was really hungry" said one of the knights, gazing in amazement at the mountain of empty plates which the princess had devoured in a matter of minutes. After calling her, the princess had headed for the table with the food prepared for her. Despite having eaten dinner before her, the knights had eaten poorly, preferring to leave most of it for the princess. Though somewhat slow at first, the princess had begun to empty the dishes at an impressive speed, her hands catching the food so quickly that sometimes it was only a blur. In less than three minutes, there was not a crumb left in the table. "Henrietta" giggled.

"More, please" he asked, holding out an empty plate to the knights. Gaping at it, they ordered the servants to bring more food. After a few moments, they appeared with another cart... that barely lasted ten minutes once it was approached to the princess. And a third cart. And a forth. By then, Agnes began to suspect something.

Just as she was about to ask for a fifth, Pariah/Henrietta felt the real princess coming. Finishing the dish he had taken, he rose from the table.

"Excuse me, my dear knights. I have to... change… into something more comfortable" As he tried to go back to the adjunct room, Agnes got in his way.

"One moment, "princess". I have to ask you something..." she said, stressing the word princess. Staring at Henrietta/Pariah with her arms crossed, she noticed that the "princess" seemed to be watching her somewhat nervously as she sweated a lot. It was clear that something was going on there...

"I think that... you see, I... Goodbye!" Suddenly grabbing Agnes by the shoulders, the "princess" took her aside, lifting her effortlessly and depositing her on the other side, under the surprised gaze of the knights and of Agnes herself. Before she could react and say anything, "Henrietta" came into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Princess? Princess!" exclaimed Agnes, banging on the door. While under normal circumstances she would not have addressed the princess so harshly, it was clear that something strange was going on. That strength... it had to be Pariah! Pariah, on the other hand, was leaning against the door, on his back, blocking it so that Agnes could not enter.

The window opened by itself, and the real Henrietta made an appearance, moved by a gentle gust of magical wind. Removing the hood that covered her head, he looked strangely at his familiar blocking the door.

"Pariah… what is…?" she asked quietly, receiving only an apology from his familiar and a shrug. Changing back to his normal appearance, Pariah waited until the princess had put her cloak back in her trunk and closed the window to get away from the door. Then, Agnes came in like an exhalation and quickly approach her.

"All right, Pariah, that's enough! What's going on? Where's the princess?" she asked, trying not to scream, although it was obvious she was quite upset.

"I don't know what you mean, captain" said Henrietta with an innocent air. Pariah, just in case, had become invisible once again.

"Don't try to trick me. I know perfectly that you are..." Just then, Pariah made an appearance, rubbing himself against Agnes' arm as if he was asking her for cuddles. Surprised, Agnes looked alternately at the familiar and the princess, who simply smiled at her innocently.

"Ah, yes, I get it, hahaha!" said Henrietta, laughing somewhat nervously. "You must be exhausted from the trip, captain de Milan."

"Hmmm" grunted Agnes, looking somewhat suspiciously at the princess. However, she was not about to question her words at her face, so she bowed and proceeded to leave the room.

"By the way" called Henrietta ", if there is any food left from the cart, please have it brought to me in the bedroom. I am quite famished" she said in a good mood, causing Agnes to put on a face of circumstance and gawk at the princess. After eating the equivalent of dinner for 15 people... she still wanted more?!

"Either something very strange is happening here... or I've really been affected by the weariness of the journey" was the conclusion reached in the captain's head, leaving the room with a depressed air as the princess said goodbye to her with a smile. Unnoticed by them, Pariah watched them in a corner, salivating at the mention of more food.

That night, inside the Academy's treasure vault:

Silence. Darkness. Airborne dust and cobwebs.

An imperturbable space, full of magical treasures from the past, never seen by more than a handful of people. On its pedestals rested swords that belonged to heroes of other times, volumes full of ancient and dangerous knowledge, remains of terrible creatures that endangered humanity centuries ago... Memories of other times.

Near the end of the vault, on a wide pedestal, rested two strange chests, each with a bronze plate at its base. Under the largest chest, one could read the words "Staff of Destruction", of unknown origin and provenance.

Next to it rested a smaller chest, with an identical plate underneath. This one, on the other hand, had other words engraved underneath, with their origin and provenance also unknown.

Something stirred inside it. Something that had been asleep for years… had finally woke up.

Soon... soon...

Okay, we'll leave it here.

In the next chapter, the Family Exhibit, what will Pariah do? Will he meet Saito? What's in chest number 2?

All this and much more in...

The next chapter!

Also, I'd like to thank user "prenatural" for their advice on the use of another translator to translate "Roses and Throns". Thank you so much!