Bloodborne Twin: Chapter 18
"Welcome to my humble abode!" Selene said happily as they reached her house.
"It looks really nice," Ella noted in compliment.
The house itself looked just as tall as the other houses at two stories, but a bit wider, and it stood out a bit more with its exterior walls being painted a light shade of tan. Its window covers and roofs, one as the porch roof and the next one level up, were painted red. Even the waxed front door was painted a shade of red. Pottery planted near the door gave it a hint of liveliness. A sign hung above the door showing the name in a language she could not understand.
"Mother," she said as she pointed her finger at the hanging sign, "what does that sign say?"
"It says Loukasia: Yoga & Meditation Sessions," her mother answered, but then she remembered something and wanted to know: "Do you remember when I taught you two about my people's written language?"
"I'm sorry," she shook her head in sympathy, smoothly concealing the twinge of embarrassment and pain that the shame for her amnesia caused her,"it's been so long that I can't remember a word of it."
"I see...," she frowned a bit, "I was teaching you the basics back then. So I suppose I can understand."
Seeing her frown had made Ella change the subject back to the current topic. "So, your house is both a class and a home?" She asked curiously with raised brows.
"Mhmm," Selene nodded with her frown disappearing, "One of the rooms was large enough to become a classroom, so I figured I'd put my talents to good use and teach the people here. So I made myself the owner and teacher of this yoga class."
"And it's a business, right? Has it been going well for you?"
"It is indeed, and I've been getting by well enough because of it. You wouldn't believe how many girls attend my class." They both walked up the short steps to the front door, and Selene pulled out her key and unlocked the door before opening it. "After you?" She gestured for her daughter to go in, and she obliged as she stepped on through.
The interior of the house looked rather homely. The main hall in front of her had a staircase to the right side of the wall that led to the second floor. A few furnishings were set against the wall of the short hallway, with a desk drawer having two pictures and a glass vase of fake red flowers, and two decoratively carved chairs set on either side of the drawer. There was a long dark blue carpet on the wood floor beneath her boots. She walked up a little more and looked right to see a very spacious room with hardly anything in it.
"So this must be the yoga room, I take it?" She asked as she pointed to the room.
"Yes," she answered as she closed the door. "That's where I conduct my classes. Your boots, please?" She asked as she took off her sandals.
"Oh," she said as she then went to the corner where her sandals were and went into the process of taking them off. With that done and her boots were set next to the sandals, she followed her mother into the room opposite the classroom. This was obviously both a dining area and a kitchen, complete with the essentials a kitchen needed, including a counter and a sink. The table was round with only two chairs set on opposite ends, and had a glass vase containing real vibrant flowers.
"This looks more rustic than the kitchen I have back home." Ella stated. "I can see it having a charm to it."
"I thank you for the flattery," she chuckled, "But there's no need for that. This kitchen is a little more old fashioned than the kitchens back in Vale." She was behind the counter as she opened up the cupboard. "Would you like some Mistral tea?"
"Yes please." Ella went to take a seat while her mother went about preparing the tea. She moved the chair over to one side close to the other before sitting down.
As she waited, meanwhile, Selene pulled out the iron tea kettle and set it on the stove before grabbing a pitcher. She filled it with clear water, and then poured it into the kettle before turning the knob to light up the gas burner underneath.
"So how were you able to find me if I may ask?" She asked.
"It was Headmaster Ozpin who helped me find you all. He's been a great help to me since I've worked for his academy."
"Oh, I see…," then her tone became a bit somber with her next question, "then I guess you know we're divorced then."
"...Yes," she nodded, quietly sighing as her mood went to being uncomfortably somber as well.
"I'm.. sorry you had to hear that." She apologized.
"It's… It's fine I guess. I've gotten over it." Deep down she was not certain if she was. She then shook her head and mentally pushed the depressing thoughts aside. "Besides, seventeen years could make anything change."
"You're right, what's done is done. But are you sure you're okay?"
"It's been a couple days, so I'm over it now, mother," she tried to reassure her, but Selene was not totally convinced.
"Speaking of which. About that question I asked earlier…," Selene spoke but with no resentment this time as she leaned sideways against the counter. "When did you become a Huntress?"
She felt subtly uncomfortable, but since they were walking to her house she had thought ahead to make a story. "I became a Huntress a few months ago since I joined Beacon, but before that I had been hunting Grimm my whole life. I guess you can say I've been a Huntress since I grew up."
"Really?" she wondered aloud, unwittingly falling for the half truth, but she also showed some concern. "So someone else had taught you besides her?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"Well at least someone looked after you...," she muttered, and after that, an awkward silence loomed over them, moments before she made to comment. "Though I kind of wish you weren't like your sister."
That irked Ella a bit, though she remembered why she was against the idea. "Mother, I understand that you dislike the idea of me being a Huntress," she said diplomatically, "but you must understand that I didn't have much of a choice when I was there. If it weren't for the old man who found me, I would have died. And I do know that my sister wanted to be a Huntress, just so she would go out and find me."
"How did you know that?" Selene asked, a little surprised that her daughter knew that little detail.
"I learned it from father." She answered. "He told me what happened."
"Oh… So you met your father first."
"Well, he was the only relative living close to me, so I took the opportunity to learn more and went to him." Then chuckled a bit as she thought back. "Heh, I had to prove it to him at first that I was his other lost daughter, almost the same way I to you. It feels… better knowing you're both okay."
Her mother softly smiled at the fond assurance. The awkward silence loomed over them again, but it was only for a short moment before she brought up a different subject, one that Ella had been anticipating. "Tell me Ella, why did it take you this long to come home? You had every opportunity to find a way back, so why didn't you?"
She knew this was going to come up sooner or later, but before she could give her speech, the tea kettle began to whistle and blow out steam, signaling that the water was now seriously hot.
"Hold on, let me go get the tea first." Selene moved away from the counter and went back to the kitchen, turning off the stove and lifted the kettle by the handle to the tea set on the counter, along with a bowl of tea leaves, two glass tea cups, two teapots and an empty bowl.
She set to work by scooping up and putting four teaspoons of tea leaves into the first pot, then poured the hot water into the teapot. After taking a minute to brew, she then lifted the brewed tea pot and poured the tea down an exterior strainer set over the second teapot. It was so the tea leaves would be prevented from entering the second pot, and the flavor the flow through. Once the first had been emptied, she set it aside, took the exterior strainer off and set it in the bowl, and then placed the top over the teapot. Then she gently filled the two glass teacups. With all that done, she picked up the two cups by the plates and went over to the table.
"Here," she offered the teacup to her.
"Thank you." With gentle hands, she took hold of the small plate with both hands and, after getting a hold of the handle, she brought the teacup to her lips before gently blowing on the surface to cool it off a little. Although she did not need to on account of her Semblance making her entirely immune to heat and fire, but regardless, she refrained herself from scaring her mother. She did not forget that she still had to answer the question as her mother waited patiently, so she took a sip to calm herself. The taste was sweet and just about right, clearing away her nervousness before, with a heavy heart, she told her the short answer.
"Remember when I said I do not remember the language? There's more to it than that. The truth is… I couldn't remember." She answered solemnly with her eyes looking down at her tea placed on the table.
"You could not remember?" She asked with confusion written on her face. "Ella, I don't understand. What do you mean?"
"When I got kidnapped and tried to escape, my head got hit hard on accident to a point where I couldn't remember anything but my first name found on my locket. I did escape, but I ended up being lost in a foreign place I could not understand. That's when the old man found me and raised me to being what I am before going off alone."
"So… you're saying you have amnesia?" She asked with trepidation as she lightly covered her mouth with one hand.
"Yes, and I'm still recovering. So far, some of my memories have come back to me, thanks to time and my father." Then she sighed with regret. "I'm sorry I've kept you all waiting for so long."
"Ella." The Good Hunter looked up at her mother, who was giving her a caring smile. "There's no need to apologize." She laid her hand on the table, halfway to her. "I know it's still much to take in but… after everything that's happened, all I can say is that I'm glad you're still okay."
That warmed her heart and made her smile as she laid her hand on her mother's. The peaceful atmosphere and silence lasted for almost several seconds before Ella started again. "There's another reason I came to see you, mother. Father told me you kept all the albums. It would certainly help me recover more of myself, so I was thinking maybe we could look through them together."
"If it helps you to remember more, then I'd be happy to bring them out." She replied positively, but then a thought occurred to her as looked down at her wrist watch and realized it was almost noon. "Perhaps after our tea and dinner sweetie."
"Of course," she agreed. "What dish do you have in mind?"
"Hmm." She pulled herself away and thought for a moment until an interesting dinner meal had come to mind. "How about we have Shakshuka fish fillet for dinner, sound good?" She asked optimistically.
"That sounds so good!" She replied, feeling excited to try something different. "Would it be all right if I lend a hand? I would very much like to know how make fish fillet."
"Yes, I'd appreciate the help, and I would very much love to teach you." With that said, they both got off their chairs and went to work in the kitchen. This experience brought a near permanent smile on both their faces. Nothing could ever be better than having moments between mother and daughter.
Meanwhile, at the lower level
The young lady had led Eileen to the best inn she recommended, calling it The Hissing Trident Inn. The establishment looked almost like any other inn she had paid a visit to, but the interior had more of a mosaic, rustic beauty to it, and the atmosphere was almost lively with the customers enjoying each other's company and themselves, ranging from sailors to tourists, with hardly a cutthroat in sight. To the Night Huntress, she considered it a rare change of scenery for a two story building. After checking herself in for the night, she bade her temporary tour guide farewell and was now going through the shops which caught her interest, all to enjoy herself and kill some time of course.
While walking near the docks, she came across a statue of a bearded man wearing a toga, and in his right hand he held a paper scroll, and he had his left arm stretched out and pointed toward the ocean. There was a commemorative inscription placed against the pedestal which read:
This statue was crafted in honorable memory of Theodosis Elatorii, founder of Elatorion. From a mere fishing village over 90 years ago, to the Jewel of Mistral today. May his name be forever remembered in glory.
'A little exaggerated, don't you think?' She mused, and as much as she would like to know more, there were other places to be.
Everywhere she went she saw armed guards, patrolling or keeping watch over the streets, stout, stolid, well-drilled. Always serious, always watching, always measuring. Never relaxing.
This caught her curiosity. So she went to the guardsman standing watch over the docks nearby, to ask some questions, if he would have the time to answer them. "Excuse me."
"Hm?" He grunted in question as he looked over Eileen, still with the stone faced expression as the other guards. He was gruff looking with two scars running down the right side of his face. At least he did not tell her to walk away.
"I couldn't help but notice the guardsmen here are all taking their job very seriously. You look more like an army than a police force."
"That's because we're both the military and the police," he answered stoically. "We work to ensure the people's safety, and the law upheld at all times."
"Hmm, So you do this all day and night?" He nodded. "Doesn't it get tiring after a while? Do they ever take a break?"
"We work in shifts, ma'am, of course, but except for that, we only have breaks when given the order. Not otherwise. Our job is important. It's a lesson we've never forgotten since the pirate raid twenty years ago."
"And you were there?"
"Aye, that's where I got my scars. Back then the port town was peaceful as always. There hardly was any crime at all, so we grew complacent. Lax. And then, the pirates came. It happened at night, and we were caught off guard when they stormed the docks. We drove them off, but at the cost of half our men. Most of us were out of shape then and our captain was killed in the fighting, but if it weren't for our lieutenant, and those who took the job seriously, Elatorion would've been ransacked and overrun with Grimm. A lesson was learned that night, and for the next twenty years we pushed ourselves very hard. We can't let our guard down. And the few slackers who don't understand it get the message after being put through retraining."
After hearing his story, these men earned her respect. The police in Vale did their jobs to maintain law and order as best they could, but there would be times when laziness or corruption would be found among a few of them, and she would end up arresting those corrupt officers in her investigation. These guards' attitude for law and order were as if it was apart of their lives. "You have my respect, guardsman."
He grunted as he nodded. "We have a memorial built to honor those who had fallen defending the town. It's on the east side of town if you want to see it yourself."
"I believe I will. Good day to you, guardsman." The guard nodded one more time before turning back to watch over the docks. Eileen walked away and headed east, but not in the direction of the memorial yet. It was tempting to look at a piece of history and to honor the dead, but there were plenty of curiosities grabbing her attention at the moment. She would get to it eventually after being satisfied, and right now she felt a little hungry. After all, this job looked to be a vacation, so why not take the opportunity? 'Let's see what this restaurant has in store for me.'
Twenty minutes after cleaning the dirty dishes and utensils and putting them away, the two were sitting down on the couch looking through the pictures collected in one of the three albums.
"Aww, we looked so cute." Ella gushed at the photo of Cinder and herself when they were just infants.
"The two of you were so adorable back then." Selene gushed and giggled. "I couldn't help but take many pictures of you two."
"I can see that." Indeed her mother did have many pictures of the two when they were infants, ranging from the time they came into this world in their mother's arms to being at the age of four, much to her small embarrassment. No memories had come to her so far after looking through them. She would not be surprised, she doubted if even Cinder would remember that far back. She did learn that Cinder turned out to be her older sister by two minutes, so they were not exactly twins per say, but they had been born on the same day and month.
While they were halfway through the album, Selene flipped to the next page to reveal them near the age of five. One picture in particular caught her eyes.
"Mom, how in the world did she and I get so dirty?" Ella asked as she giggled while pointing at the picture of her and Cinder in their rain gear, their heads being covered in mud, and her sister was showing off a frog in her hands.
"Oh, that!" She chuckled at the memory. "The two of you were trying to get the frog as a pet. You both ended up getting dirty in the process."
Ella suddenly had a flashback to that event surprisingly, and she chuckled at the reason behind the fight. "I remember now. We were arguing to see who would have it."
"You remember that, do you?" She asked with a smug look and a raised brow. "It took me a while to get all that mud and dirt off your hair."
"Yes." They then both laughed in reaction to her reply. It took several seconds for them to calm down after that.
"Your sister wanted to keep the frog," Selene spoke after calming herself down enough to talk, "but I made it very clear that wild critters aren't meant to be pets."
"So it ended up being a bitter victory," she chuckled.
"The two of you would sometimes get into trouble, but those events were worth remembering."
"Let's see what else is there then." They continued on looking through the first album, with almost each one opening up one memory after another, and each one being just as interesting, embarrassing, or better than the last. There were pictures of their birthdays and holidays, their vacations to various places in both Vale and Mistral, and others were from their beginning years of preschool. Almost a few hours had past, and after going through photos and talking about the stories of her early childhood, the two were almost finished with the second album. Ella's eyes soon spotted the photos of their sixth birthday. She did not need to know what they both had and how much fun the family had together, for she had already remembered them, even with the copied photo of the birthday cake.
"I already remember this event," Ella said smiling fondly. "Father had the copy of all three of us with the birthday cake."
"Yes, I remember this, too." She looked fondly at the photo and memory. After looking at the pictures of presents being opened, she turned to the next page to show pictures of what looked to be a familiar festival in Mistral.
"Is this the Vytal festival in Mistral?" She asked.
"Yes it was. It was where we watched your older cousin take part in his first tournament." And it was true as she began to remember nearly each event within these photos, but then she remembered the scene with the foreign swordsman.
"Do you also remember that foreign Huntsman?"
"I do, and it was quite a sight to see. I don't think any of us would forget about that."
"... I remember that he winked at me." She said uncomfortably.
"He winked at you?" Her mother asked incredulously when she thought back. "I thought he was winking at me. I made sure to stay next to your father the whole time."
"You thought he was going to sweep you away from him?" She asked with a smug look, knowing the obvious answer already.
"He may be handsome in some ways, but he could never match your father." She retorted.
She chuckled at the small girl talk, then she proceeded to look further into the pages. She soon came across scenes of battle on the floating arena floor with the pictures mostly showing her cousin and his team. From the profiles she read, her cousin's name was Alec Loukas; age 24, former team member of team UGRA (Juggernaut), graduate of Haven Academy, and currently full fledged Huntsman. Her memories of him were rather foggy, so her mother explained to her of the events which happened at the tournament. It was unfortunate that his team had lost in the beginning of the singles round, but she did feel a renewed sense of being proud of her cousin for reaching that far on the first try.
With those memories brought back to her, they continued on with page after page of holidays, school events, and a few trips. The Good Hunter began to notice something about Selene's expression. Each time they move to the next page, her happy expression would look rather forced, and as they went on, they would then start to falter more. She had thought it odd at first, but then thinking back to her sixth birthday had made her understand why. Their sixth birthday had turned into a countdown to the tragic day of her kidnapping.
The pictures were now taking place midsummer, and Ella's hand went to the edge of the page when–
"Ella?" Her mother asked forlornly.
She turned her head to meet her mother's sorrowful gaze. "What is it, mother?"
"I'm sure you remember the day you were taken away, right?"
"I do remember," she nodded. "I remember being picked up and shoved into a large sack full of other children."
Hearing the story from her daughter's perception brought a twisted feeling of disgust and regret to her heart. "So you don't know what happened after that."
"Ozpin told me she gave her testimony of the Kidnapper to the authorities."
"Yes she did, but that's not what I meant." Ella did not know what to say other than to look at her questioningly, that is until she watched Selene turn the page for her. She gasped in petrified shock. She looked down at the picture of Cinder lying in a hospital bed, covered in bandages and an arm cast. She looked battered and bruised, and she could see dry tears staining her cheeks showing she was heartbroken and in pain.
"What happened?!" She asked in shock as she returned to her mother's gaze. "How did she end up this way?!"
She stayed quiet for just a second to work up the courage to speak of it. "... She tried to save you, Ella."
The Good Hunter was taken aback and was struck with guilt hearing about this. She did not remember anything of what happened after being thrown into the sack, but her mother continued.
"She tried to tear open the sack…," she explained, but each word slowly became harder to say due to the horror. "But that monster broke your sister's arm and… smacked her away… as if she were nothing." A tear rolled down from her mother's eye for reciting that painful memory of seeing their daughter, unconscious on the ground with a bent arm, as if it were a fresh wound. She wiped away her tears. "She spent weeks in the hospital recovering, but from that day on, nothing would ever be the same."
Then suddenly, Ella had a flashback to that day. "I… only remember the cries and moans of the children inside the sac, but I think I heard my sister.. trying to do something. Then I heard a crack, then I heard her scream, and then… I heard nothing else." A tear rolled down her cheek. So there was a memory of her struggle to save her, but it was all in vain.
"I am so sorry." Selene apologized. "If only I had stayed…"
She shook her head denying the idea. "I don't think there was anything you could've done to stop him. In fact, the alternative would've had us be orphans. I know that it is grim to say that, but I'd rather you all be alive than dead. But I'm back now, and that should be something to be glad for. Right, mother?" She tried to relieve the gloomy atmosphere.
"You're right about that," Selene replied with a soft smile, but then returned to a frown and sighed. "If only your sister thought the same thing if she were still here."
"I was told she ran away," she thought back out loud.
"After everything we went through and what we did, I would not blame her." She answered with some guilt.
"It was because you were being overprotective, right?"
"That… could be a reason, but it wasn't that."
'There was more to it?' Ella gave her a raised eyebrow, curiously wondering if her father had told her the truth or the whole story. 'Maybe the answer will lie in these pages,' she theorized.
Instead of asking her mother, she looked back down at the album and went through the pages, and with careful examination, she was laying witness to Cinder's slow transformation. There was a picture of her at age thirteen, with her first combi-weapon she ever made during her years at Combat School. It was a single edged sword which, upon activation, could be split into twin blades, and upon a different activation, can turn into a bladed bow. She had made a few amateur poses to look cool, which made her giggle inside. However, the change in both attitude and behavior had begun to become more noticeable. She changed from having a smile which looked almost forced, to eventually looking emotionless. Cold. Distant. And at some points even rebellious. She could understand that being rebellious was a natural behavior in teens, but she felt that her behavior had a reason behind it.
Meanwhile, Selene had remained oddly silent after their short talk. With each picture after her absence, she did not make any comment. It was as if she had decided to let her daughter learn the truth with her own eyes through these pages.
Ella was finished with the last page, and the third and final album laid next to her mother.
"May I…?" She asked when she looked back at her mother, gesturing with an open, waiting palm for the third album. Selene nodded in silence, not even saying a single word as she passed the last album to her. With the album now on her lap, she flipped over the cover to see Cinder just like before, but even more cold and rebellious to her parents. She looked through the next few pages, with them showing her great accomplishments and trophies. She had read that her sister was at the top her class in Combat School for both her grades and her skill in combat. Only the occasional loss disrupted what would otherwise had been an uninterrupted string of victories.
She then turned the page to only see a few photos, marking an early abrupt end to the third album. What startled her inside was one picture in particular, showcasing Cinder and Selene in a heated argument during her sister's birthday. She finally looked to her mother questioningly. "What happened, mother?"
"Your sister and I were having an argument over her future," she reminisced. "We all knew why she had been training so hard, but at that point I wanted her to follow a different path. She and I both missed you, but I couldn't stand the thought of losing the only daughter we had left. One thing led to another, and then…," she sighed remorsefully, "I… accidentally told her that it was better to be weak than dead."
"And that's why she ran away." She stated/guessed.
"I would think so. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to keep her from going out into that dangerous world… But I guess, in the end I failed as a mother." She looked away. Tears began to stream down from her watering eyes again as the pain of both sorrow and regret swirled within her heart. She suddenly saw her daughter's hand set over her own. This surprised her a bit as she looked up to see her second daughter smiling sadly back at her. The album was already set aside. Neither one made a word, and Ella laid her head on her mother's shoulder to comfort her. She accepted the gesture without resistance, and she in turn gently brushed her hair with her left hand.
"If only that never happened, mother," she affirmed. After everything she learned from the aftermath of her kidnapping, she never once thought that the scars of their past would one day tear her family apart. If anything, this should not be her parent's fault in all this. Yet at the same time it was, she simply did not know what to feel about it.
"... I would like to wish that…," her mother muttered as she then remained silent and continued to brush her hair, trying to take comfort in the fact that a part of her did come home… but it still felt incomplete.
The sun was halfway over the horizon. Throughout the entire day, Eileen had simply been indulging herself. After her and her apprentice met up in an alleyway and pulled out their luggage while no one was looking, the former Crow Hunter went back to the inn to relax for the night. She opened the doors to be greeted by the sight of more patrons than before, all sitting around having a drink, a meal, a conversation, or all of the above. She felt tempted to lounge around and have a drink, but she was already feeling full, and her own priorities came first. She greeted the receptionist as she walked by, and kept on going to the stairs leading to the second floor. She soon turned the corner down the hall and eventually stopped and turned to the door on her right.
This was to be her room for the night, so she pulled out her keycard, slid it through the scanner as it then turned green and the door was unlocked. She headed on through, closing the door behind her. Her room had two beds, only because the single bedrooms were all occupied. It also had all the essentials and furniture which almost all the other inns had, containing a desk, two chairs and a round table, a nightstand and lamp, and a bathroom. She sighed in relief of the whole day of walking around town. She set the bag of souvenirs she bought from some of the various stores on the desk to her left, and was thinking about getting ready to change into her sleepwear… when suddenly a twisting portal manifested in the room across from her.
She immediately recognized that portal and begrudgingly knew who summoned it. There was no one in the world who would have a unique Semblance to create a portal, and so she stood there tensely as the one who summoned the portal walked out into her eyesight, wearing a Grimm mask that almost resembled a bird of prey, and carrying her customized sheathed Odachi strapped to her left hip.
"It's been too long, Eileen." She greeted as if she were seeing an old friend after she took off her mask. She looked very similar to Yang sharing the same facial shape. However, her long messy hair was jet black, her brows were a little bit higher, her complexion was significantly lighter and her age lines slightly showed under her crimson red eyes. Her hair was tied by a red and white bandana, and loosely done into a ponytail with the ends resembling curved black feathers. Her outfit consisted of a shallow cut red and black dress with black shorts underneath, with a series of beaded necklaces and a belt that wrapped around her waist which would carry her sword sheath. Her forearms were bearing red armored gauntlets that protruded outwards and solid black, fingerless gloves. She wore black mid-thigh high leggings and black heels with red soles.
"Not long enough, unfortunately," the former Crow Hunter said coldly as she crossed her arms. "What do you want, Raven?"
"Now is that any way to treat an old friend?" Raven Branwen asked mockingly.
"You still call me that, after you turned your back on Ozpin?" She shot back.
Raven snorted dismissively. "I see you're still just as blindly loyal to him. You and I both know of his agenda and the secrets he's kept hidden, even from you."
"That's for me to decide, and as far as I'm concerned, I still go my way," she countered, and grew impatient. "Tell me what you want and leave."
She gestured to the bed across from her after sitting down on one, and gave a sly smile. "Can't I just have a chat with an old colleague?"
She would rather not, but with reluctance, Eileen sat down on the bed. "Sure, we have tons to talk about. How much do you know?"
She crossed her legs. "As much as I've seen and heard. Word had reached me through your old acquaintances that you had come back to Anima. Of course, your so called acquaintances were also wanting to hire me to kill you."
"I see this place is still infested with loose-mouthed fools," Eileen sneered, then asked lightly, already guessing the answer: "Did you take the deal?"
"Now why would I go through all this trouble just to kill you?" She replied condescendingly. "No, I didn't take the deal. Otherwise, what would be the point?"
"Considering you've turned your talents to banditry and contract killing, I wouldn't be surprised."
"I do what is necessary for myself and the tribe." She admitted freely. Eileen had learned that she had returned to her old ways and founded her own bandit tribe in Anima, and said tribe had steadily grown in power, turning from nuisance to annoyance to real concern, as one of the strongest, if not the most notorious, raiding tribes for the kingdom to deal with. She had once tried to hunt her and her tribe down, but somehow they always managed to stay one step ahead of her. There was something to be said of a gang of raiders led by a former Huntress."But enough of that, let's talk about you. I'm surprised you have a new apprentice under your wing."
"Oh? Surprised that I no longer work alone, are you?" She smirked a bit.
"I thought you would no longer take an apprentice after you failed the first time. Why the sudden change of heart? Did Ozpin order you to recruit her to be his new agent?"
"She works with me. She chose to on her own volition and I took her in. I'm just a tutor." She evaded, somewhat telling half of the story in order to cover Ella's secret, but...
"Oh really? And that would be after the event in Huckleberry, correct? Since June?" The only answer she had in return was silence, which made the bandit leader smile. "You wanted to know why I'm here, and this is why. I'm here to talk about the Masked Huntress, or should I say "Good Hunter Ella"."
Eileen frowned. She and Raven had once been good friends, back in their teenage years in Beacon Academy. Bonds had been formed and secrets exchanged. That was why Raven had come to deduce her identity right away. Plus she had been known in the inner circle as their best information gatherer. It was almost surprising to her that she would still remember the stories she told her after so long.
"You know, I almost did not recognize her without the mask, but when it comes to being someone who has gotten out of such a hellish place, I'm disappointed she's not the efficient killer you made her out to be."
"Appearances can be deceiving." She rebutted. "You were never around to see her progress, but I can assure you, she has gotten far better since her return."
"Since her return..." She repeated the words with a chastising tone. "Has she even taken a life yet?"
"What's it to you?" She asked evenly, feeling that she knew where this was going.
"Hmph, it seems like you and Ozpin have kept her on a short leash. It's as if he's afraid of her; afraid that she will one day go back to being the old slayer she used to be. Don't you think you're holding her back from gaining her full potential?"
"And let her be a full blown killer? She would never want to go back to that life."
"Like she has that choice. You and I both know how cruel the world is. Being a softie will only get her chewed to pieces and spat out. One day, she's gonna have to understand when to cross that line and where her loyalties lie, and only then will she know what being strong truly means."
"Being strong, huh…?" She stressed those words. She knew full well about her methods of manipulating a person's emotions. It was one of the ways she would gain information. In retaliation, she shot back with a barb of her own, one she knew would hurt. "That has to be a joke coming from you."
"Tch!" Eileen knew she touched a nerve, and she continued to push it. If Raven was going to try and manipulate her view point, then why not fire back?
"You speak of strength, but all I see is hypocrisy behind those words. Are you strong when you run from those stronger than you?" Now she started getting angry, yet she did not let up. "Were you strong when you ran away from the family you could've had?" At that moment, the sharp tip of Raven's Odachi was at her throat in a flash, but the Night Huntress did not flinch. She only narrowed her eyes at the glaring red irises of an angry Raven standing in front of her.
"That is enough!" She seethed. "You... know nothing about me… or about strength for that matter!" She had a moment of clarity when she glanced down to see Eileen holding her blade firmly beside her. She could very well follow through with the job and kill her right then and there for insulting her, payment be damned. But instead, to her surprise, she reined in her anger as she breathed in, then exhaled through her nostrils as she pulled the blade away from her throat and sheathed it back in. "Family…," she said with controlled hate of the name, "... is nothing more than a weakness. I've gotten what I needed. We're done here."
The bandit chief went around the bed and stood four feet in front of the wall. She pulled out her blade again, she concentrated on her Semblance and then sliced downward at the air. As if she had cut through an invisible wall that is reality, a portal appeared where she used her Odachi. Eileen watched her step toward, but suddenly she stopped. The woman stood still, being rather quiet as if in thought, and this made the Night Huntress raise an eyebrow curiously, but otherwise she stayed quiet as well. After a moment of awkward silence…
"Tell me…," Raven started in an oddly calm, melancholic manner. "How is she?"
She knew who Raven was referring to, so she answered honestly for her. "She's made it to Beacon Academy, and is now in a team along with her half sister."
"... I see." She replied neutrally.
"She's as reckless as you were back then."
"...Then it'll be her downfall, sooner or later." Raven finally replied. Then, without another word, she went through the portal, and just as she left, it disappeared.
Eileen stared at the spot where her erstwhile best friend had stood a moment ago.
"That pride of yours is going to kill what's left of you," she said quietly to the empty room. "If you care so much about your daughter…"
But she had not let go of her pride in all these years. She was not going to do it now.
She sighed sadly. "Guess I'll be having that drink after all." She stood up from her bed and went out of the bedroom to join the bar.
The night had finally come, and the lights inside the homes of nearly all the natives have been snuffed out, as everyone had already gone to rest. Not Ella, though. She could be seen leaning forward against the railing on the second floor as she looked beyond the port town and out over the sea, illuminated by the shattered moon to give the water a more serene scenery. It was a pretty picture no doubt, and one she would want to take a photo right now for the memories, but sadly that was not on her mind. Though feeling relaxed from watching the scenery, her thoughts had been troubled still after seeing the albums. Sure, the memories she regained were wonderful to her, but the story of what happened after had made her heart ache.
What happened after… she could only remember very little of her time on Earth. It made her feel incomplete, like parts of her were still yet to be found. Perhaps her time there was horrible, or perhaps not, but in her opinion, it felt like nothing compared to the tragedy of her family's fate. Her family did not deserve to endure such a fate, truly, but she had to convince herself to face the reality that it happened. Coming home to a separate family, a missing sister who could either be dead or alive; the latter made her worry. If only the Kidnapper did not die that night, then perhaps…
She paused. What would have happened if Eileen and her team did manage to rescue her? Would she still want be a Huntress? And for Eileen and the others being brought back to life here, during a time before her capture, would she and those the Good Hunter met still exist? Or would they cease to exist?
The deeper she pondered on this new topic, the more she felt as if there was a reason behind it all. And if that were so, was she truly fated to be taken away, and to survive in that dreadful world? If that were truly the case, it would have made her blood boil to the point of wanting to scream up at the gods for this cruel fate… if they existed that is. Now she was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth when it came to faith and religion, yet after learning and seeing all there was of the Eldritch Truth, and battling Great Ones whom were worshiped as gods by the church, the experience changed her perception of how things are in the universe. This had suddenly become a new curiosity to her, but the answers could not easily be sought.
Looking up at the moon one more time, she then decided to turn herself in as she let go of the railing and returned to her room, closing the window doors behind her. At least she could finally be in her usual sleepwear after spending two days of travel in her outfit. She lifted the covers of the bed and crawled herself in. She reached out and turned off the lamp sitting next to her on a nightstand before laying face up at the ceiling. The comfort of both the blanket and mattress had started their spell to make her feel very tired, but before she could close her dreary eyes, there was something in the back of her mind that needed attention, but she was becoming too tired to even care. She figured she would address it some other time. Her eyes finally closed, and she was off to dreamland once again.
A/N: Ugh, after months, it's finally DONE! I can understand that you all may be wondering why this took so long to finish. Well, the answers are quite simple really; I've been too busy with my life, I've been a bit lazy, and the dialogue was very difficult to jot down because of certain characters. As for my life, I've been dating someone until it ended badly. We're still friends, it's just never gonna happen again. I've joined a HEMA group (Historic European Martial Arts), so I'll be joining them in training sessions every Wednesday. I used to work third shift as a janitor at Walmart, but since the company has shut that shift down in my store, I'm now working first shift. I suppose it's a nice change for day time, and I no longer have to be called a vampire, but it's still something I'm trying to get used to. I've been working on both stories so far, and I'm still gonna keep working on them when I get the chance. So no worries on having them being left unfinished.
So it looks like Ella has almost caught up with her family… almost. Her sister is the last one on the list to find, but we all know where she really is at the moment. I figured that since Ella still has a surviving family, I figured I would add in another member of the family, her cousin Alec Loukas. I know that not much is said about him, and he won't be making an appearance in a long while. Still, I'm thinking about adding more members of her family, if only a few.
I hope you guys liked the lore I've added to the port town, including the guards. I always wondered where their culture had started from. Well, I know they all live in Anima but where in Anima, so I figured maybe they're all spread out along the coasts like the Greek colonies of ancient Europe. That was until season 6 came out, but I kept my idea of it anyways. (Correct me if I'm wrong)
I had a difficult time with the dialogue between Raven and Eileen, since I'm not too good with canon characters in my opinion. Had to change the whole thing once because their conversation didn't make much sense to me, and plus how Raven got inside the inn was also something I had to change to make sense. I hope this was all well, and you all now know they have a history together.
The next chapter will be about Ella making her decision to either quit the Beacon job or continue with it.
I would like to give a shoutout to my buddy CruxMDQ for his amazing proofreading.
This is Kyro2009, signing off.