Finding You in My Field of Paper Flowers
Chapter 10: Of The Moonlit Garden and Eclipse With Clothes On
Genre: Angst/Horror
Rating: PG (this chapter)
Warnings: The fluff continues…T.T
Notes relevant to text: Sorry, Kalli – this is a short, short chapter. I promise there'll be some angsty gore soon. I'm so sorry for the time between updates and the shortness of this particular offering. Work is out of the way now, so I'll be able to get back in the swing of things. Great, FF.Net have 'fixed' the missing characters by removing more of them. (growls)
Notes not as relevant but still important in my opinion: Thankyou once again for your continued interest in this story. I love you all, even if I can't use an asterisk to hug you! I do feel better.
Kyia: Actually, Raenef IV was older than 150 when he died – there were just 150 years between when he was cursed and his death and he was old enough to be hideously cruel in the Hangma War, so he'd have to be older than that. Silverlie: Sankyuu! (huggles) DaughterofDeath: I did. :P (waves to FireAsh and Strega) Rach: (blushes) Thanks! I'm glad you like it. Scarbie: (glares) Have you been looking at my notes?! Er…I mean…library! Yeah, that's right, she's going to the library! Eh-heh… KoaruFan: Thanks. That was the tone I was aiming for, so I'm glad it's on track. Thankies, Yami-chan! Nozomi: I'm really making you like Krayon? (preens and fluffs) .; Nancy: I think you'll like this chappie. Kiwi Sause: That's some high praise. Thankies! Hoseki Honooko: O.O; Anything but the cattle prod! I got zapped once and it was more than enough…(types frantically) Er, here!
Cool moonlight spilled over the broad windowsill on the other side of the room Erutis had slipped into. The window, though proportional to the rest of the vast space, was enormous by the knight's standards and the delicate stained glass design that arched over it only seemed to add to the grandeur. Once again she was astonished at Krayon's taste, and understood why the demon had insulted Raenef's lack of decorating. Such a window really deserved a lady to look out of it, right?
Her quest for water forgotten, Erutis tiptoed as quietly as she could across the floor and came to a halt as she pressed a hand against the smoothness of the glass and peered out into the night. Below her, a garden grown wild blossomed in the still night air. The wan light gave the glorious mess a ghostly, ethereal appearance, and as a sudden waft of wind surrounded her with the rich scent of cold roses and jasmine, Erutis drew in a sharp, awed breath.
"As much as it should rub against the grain of my more sophisticated tastes," a sleep-thickened voice intoned to Erutis' surprise, "I must admit I've become fond of that garden in my old age."
The knight's heart skipped a beat and she sent a quick prayer that she'd only imagined the utterance. Her socks found purchase in the rug beneath her feet, and she turned hesitantly to survey the rest of the room and the speaker.
"It's…it's beautiful," she admitted carefully, unsure of her welcome.
Erutis was in a bedchamber; that much was obvious. An elegantly carved bed was obscured from direct view with translucent drapes of what she supposed was fine silk, a plush armchair sat by an open fireplace that glowed faintly with dying coals like pieces of fractured ruby, and on the small table beside that was a decanter of what she presumed to be wine and a half-empty glass. Oh yeah. That's what I'm here for and all…Is he still angry with me? More to the point, where is he?
"I'm not angry with you, swordswoman. Although I am led to wonder exactly which servant I shall have to terminate for allowing you to wander into my private chambers," Krayon continued, still invisible to the eye and with a hint of irritation.
/ "My Lord created me…I guess my Lord is my father."/ Erutis bristled as she recalled the Eclipse-like, nameless servant girl.
"She thinks you're her father. You might be a demon, but even you can't be that lousy. I found this place by myself, so quit playing Rased," she growled.
The drapes concealing the bed from view shifted slightly, and Erutis managed to distinguish the Lord of Egae's legs as he swung them carefully over the edge, as if he'd been asleep for days as opposed to hours. His face remained in shadow, and the knight felt a cold sweat break out on her back as she realised that once again she was at the mercy of his pleasure and unable to determine whether he was angry or not.
"I'm no better or worse than your Rased, girl. They exist because I will it so in my domain," he said quietly. "You're the one playing deities if you try to sway the opinion of their god."
The words hung between them for a long moment, until Erutis coughed again.
"Whatever. Since I'm here and you're awake now, where can I find something to drink?"
Krayon's voice was strangely rough, but not unkind or devoid of humour. "Sleep with your mouth open, did you?"
"…No!" Erutis yelped indignantly.
"If you say so, love. Go back out into the corridor and think about a kitchen. The quickest way to get around here is to will the room you want to appear in front of you," the demon advised.
Another pause, less loaded, descended between them, in which Erutis cocked her head curiously and Krayon enjoyed the fact the knight couldn't see his smirk.
"The garden is just as beautiful by day as it is by night. If you behave yourself, I will take you there at a more civil hour. Now scat. It's not as if I need beauty sleep, but you're interrupting it," Krayon quipped.
Erutis moved towards the door without hesitation, but as she put one hand on the doorhandle she cast a strangely longing glance at the moonlight garden beyond the window.
"Good…G'night," she mumbled. Without waiting for a response from the demon, she slipped outside and pulled the door shut behind her.
In the castle with no name, all three residents slumbered easily. Raenef was still chewing his thumb and giggling now and then, Chris had taken up grateful residence on one of the library's highly uncomfortable and chiefly decorative couches, and Eclipse slept more heavily and soundly than he had for days.
A regular fly on the wall of Raenef's castle would have noted that the fact that the demon remained fully clothed and on top of his covers was unusual. Under normal circumstances he would have been under them and wearing significantly less, but said fly would know better than to put his current state of dress down to exhaustion.
Far, far away, Meruhesae scowled and swiped at her crystal ball, stomping a delicate foot at being thwarted again and used as scene-changing filler.
Standing outside Krayon's chambers, Erutis scrutinised the door directly across the corridor. They looked exactly the same as they had when she'd chosen their far more elegant opposites. But Krayon had told her she could make them lead to the kitchens, and she'd wear a pink frilly dress to Raenef and Leeche's wedding before she'd give in and ask for more specific instructions on navigating what was, apparently, not a house with a set layout.
Another cough caught her, and she concentrated fiercely as she smothered it.
"Come on…kitchen!"
Squeezing her eyes shut, she reached out for the door handle and pulled it open. A delicious smell of food met her nose, and she eased the squeeze into a squint.
"Kick ass! I am so good." Merrily, she skipped forward in search of something to soothe her throat.
Settling on a pitcher of water, Erutis hummed as she searched through the cupboards for a glass. Goblets. Figures. They'll do, I guess.
She hoisted herself onto the table running down the centre of the expansive room, and swung her legs through the air as she drank and contemplated.
It's a shame Chris isn't here. Even he could find his way around in this place. Fancy that; if you want it to be there, it is. At least I'm not going to get lost on the way back – I can just make Krayon's doors lead to my room! I could get used to this. If I want it, it's ther—
The pewter goblet slipped from her boneless fingers as she stared open-mouthed at nothing. If I want it, it'll appear. Did I want to see…?
A horrified yowl fit to wake the dead tore through the earthbound palace of the Demon Lord of Egae. "Gods, noooooooo!"
Endnotes: Many apologies again for the short, pointless chapter; I felt it important to indicate I wasn't dead. If I disappear for no apparent reason again, check my update blog for explanations/excuses. I can't believe I wrote something that ambiguously shippy…someone strike me down now. T.T