With their Lord out of the way, the assembled mystics were more bold with their disdain for the human guests. The sideways glances became longer, became outright sneers. Every time Emelia turned to meet a hostile gaze, all she saw was a cold turning of the head.
Some of the gazes weren't quite so hostile. Emelia caught the occasional set of the eyes that seemed more curious than anything else. It was like they were looking at some marvelous creature in a zoo for the very first time. Others seemed to be sizing her up, assessing her value. Or something like that. She wasn't quite sure what they were looking at that was so fascinating. And in a few, a very few, Emelia caught something that might have been fear.
The others noticed the collective cold shoulder, too. Lute and Charlie pretty much huddled next to each other near a wall, alternating between chatting and feeling out of place. Gen, on the other hand, was totally oblivious, chugging more mystic wine, ambling around the dance floor, asking the mystic women to dance, nodding to everyone like they were good friends, and overall making an incredible nuisance of himself. The fact that he seemed to be enjoying himself seemed to infuriate the mystics even more. He even managed to get a dance or two from some of the women. It brought a certain inner smile to Emelia.
For her part, she pretty much stayed out of everyone's way, just a little off to the side from Lute and Charlie, gazing out onto the dance floor, keeping her face as aloof as the mystics that swirled about and made such a show in not noticing her. Time wore on. Then Ildon and the mystic he had been talking approached, Ildon slightly behind.
His armor was black and powerful looking. As he moved, Emelia noted how the armor didn't seem to slow him down in the least. It was as if the armor was merely an extension of his body. He had a warm smile that was strangely out of place in this room. He looked very amused by something, and though Emelia had no idea by what, she got the distinct feeling that maybe it was her.
"Hello," he said, extending his hand. "You're a friend of my Lord's, correct? Emelia, yes? I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
"Uh, hi," Emelia returned, shaking the mailed fist. She did all the shaking, which wasn't much, the mail gloves cold to the touch. "And you are?"
"Rastaban, knight of the realm."
"Oh. Do you knights have to walk around in armor all the time?"
He laughed. "No, of course not. I just felt. . ."
"Like standing out in the crowd," Ildon chimed in with perfect timing. "Like you *always* do."
Rastaban aimed a sideways glance at the other mystic. "Ildon, don't be such an old maid." Emelia couldn't help but smile at the crack. Ildon did sound like a nagging wife. Both men turned their attention back to her. "So tell me, what do you think of the place?"
She gave the same response she gave to Asellus. "It's alright."
"Ha! You obviously haven't been here very long. Believe me, this place could always use a good shaking up." His eyes leered over to the many mystics still on the dance floor. "And don't let any of those petty dogs get to you. They're always jealous of newcomers."
"Jealous? Why would they be jealous of me?"
Rastaban snickered. "Because they're mystics. Narrow minded and short sighted, as always."
Emelia furrowed her eyes. "Huh?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Somehow they believe that existing for several hundred years entitles them to more of life's pleasures than someone who hasn't lived as long." He shrugged. "It's just something you notice after several millennia."
"Yes, it's amazing," Ildon said flatly. "You came up with those astounding insights after two thousand years?"
This time Rastaban didn't bother to answer, keeping his attention to Emelia. "But you know, things aren't all bad here. Facinaturu does have its own. . .pleasures. Will you be staying a while?"
"I don't know. Asellus offered to let me stay, but. . .I don't want to impose."
"Impose?" Rastaban laughed. "Perhaps you haven't seen just how much empty space is in these halls. Believe me, you won't be imposing. I know Lord Asellus would be delighted to have you here with her. The longer, the better. As I've said, this place could use a good shaking up every now and then. I think you might be the one to do it."
"Where have I heard this before?" Ildon intoned dryly.
Rastaban turned to Ildon, a bright smile on his face. "Who was right last time, Ildon?"
"What are you two babbling on about?" Emelia demanded.
"You'll see, maybe," Rastaban grinned.
Now it was Ildon's turn to ignore his friend in favor of Emelia. "Would you like to be shown to your quarters?"
"Ildon, please," Rastaban protested. "Let her have her fun. She's just barely had a taste of the place."
"No," Emelia said. "I think I'm partied out. Let's go."
"Hmm," the knight said with a soft smile. "I hope I'll be seeing you later, Emelia. I know you'd make this realm a much richer place."
Emelia couldn't help but look back as she left the grand room. "OK," she asked. "What was that all about?"
"Rastaban?" Ildon said with just a touch of smiling emotion. "Don't worry about him. He always likes to keep people guessing."
Emelia shook her head. "Very odd."
This time they walked the full length up the sloping steps of Chateau Aiguille, no matter how much Emelia pleaded for Ildon to teleport them around. The distance was long, the steps were steep, and the winds were howling. They walked headway against the wind, so their clothes clung and outlined their figures tightly, the rest trailing behind them in overly dramatic fashion. His reasoning for not teleporting so was that she'd be better off knowing the way around the place, just in case.
"Just in case of what?" Emelia called out over the wind.
"Just in case," Ildon repeated. Even though his voice was raised, it was as flat as ever.
Stepping in through the cavelike entrance, Emelia was relieved to get out of that wind. She did a brief pat of her hair, already knowing that it was in wild disarray. She had no idea how Ildon's long, green hair managed to stay exactly the same through that hurricane outside, but he had no problems. If he was getting a laugh out of the state of her hair, he wasn't showing it.
They were in a great dome of a place, with glowing stones , shadowed alcoves, and ancient tile on the floor, much like the room Emelia had meet Asellus in. There was a slight difference she noticed, however. On the ground, there were dark outlines of various shapes that stained the tile, like long standing furniture had been moved recently and no one had bothered to clean up the ages of grunge that had collected around them. Some of the outlines were very strange looking. They almost looked like the shape of. . .coffins.
Ildon noticed Emelia's eyes lingering over an outline that couldn't have been mistaken for anything else other than a coffin. "This used to be the quarters for the. . .previous tenants," he explained, having difficulty coming up with the proper words to finish his sentence.
"Oh. What happened to them?" Emelia asked, still studying the outline to her left.
"They. . .left," Ildon said stiffly. He looked over some of the outlines himself, apparently occupied in his own thoughts. He snapped out of it quickly and strode up a short number of steps leading into an ornate doorway. "This way, please."
Emelia followed, a bit put off by Ildon's strange reaction to the room. She entered what looked like a pretty basic bedroom, for Facinaturu. There was a bed, a full length mirror, a window, a small dresser, all done up in the sharp shapes and ornate styles the mystics here seemed to love so much. She saw her usual clothes neatly hung over a fold out changing screen. She took one look at herself in the mirror and grimaced. She started straightening out her hair immediately.
"If you need. . ." Ildon started and then stopped, looking around suspiciously. This, in turn, made Emelia suspicious and she eyed her surroundings also.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Ignoring her, the mystic strode to one end of the room and then another, staring at a wall or the floor intently. After a short time of this, he stopped and addressed her again. "If you need anything, just call my name. I will come." He straightened his back and glanced to his left suddenly before speaking again. "Please do not wander around the castle without an escort. Much of the back end of the castle is teeming with monsters and some of them do sneak into the front from time to time." He bowed. "Madam." And faded.
Just a few moments later, a snickering that seemed to come from nowhere echoed through the room. Fading into view, right in the middle of the room, arrived a face that Emelia recognized immediately. The fire colored hair, the rough, worn clothes, but most of all, that cocky look on his face, like he knew you weren't as smart as him, sparked old memories.
She was on Trinity base, wearing next to nothing, with little more than a small ceramic knife hidden within the folds of a mostly see-through harem outfit that didn't leave very much to the imagination. Dancing in front of that literal pig of a man had to have been the most humiliating moment of her life. Even to this day, she hadn't forgiven Roufas for drugging her, selling her as a slave, and essentially tossing her into that hell without her consent. It took a lot of effort from Annie and Liza to convince her not to beat the Gradius leader to a pulp. He did, after all, *eventually* consent to her rescue. She supposed she should have considered herself lucky that dancing was all she had to do for the Trinity commander.
The main reason for that was because of the being who had just materialized inside her room. Just as things were looking bad, the base came under attack and all hell broke loose as monsters ran amok around the "impregnable" Trinity base. After running through the chaos of all the soldiers and monsters fighting each other, she ran into this mystic, posing as an officer under attack. When she "rescued" him, he, of course, laughed at her. He tagged along, apparently just for fun, since he had a maniacal grin on his face the whole time, as she bumbled her way back and forth through the base, dodging guards and monsters alike till her comrades managed to pick her up.
Still, she owed him for the distraction, so she was willing to give this mystic the benefit of the doubt as he appeared in the room. It was an effort not to draw her guns, though.
The redhead mystic chuckled to himself, arms crossed over his chest. "Oh, Ildon," he said, shaking his head. "You're always so close."
Emelia's arms were similarly crossed, though she didn't seem quite as amused.
The mystic finally turned her way, as if just noticing her and smiled that same cocky smile. "Yo. Remember me?"
"Yeah. I remember you. Didn't catch your name last time."
"Zozma. And you're Emelia, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Everyone seems to know me around here."
Zozma held up his arms to the side, "What can I say? People like to talk around here." He slowly sauntered around Emelia, his every movement oozing overconfidence. He stopped and pointed at Emelia. "Hey, you really need to fix that hair of yours."
Emelia's arms were still crossed. Slowly, she let a hand go up to fix her hair. It *was* terrible. "What are you doing here?"
Zozma's face mocked innocence. "Just checking up on an old friend."
"Up to now, I didn't even know your name."
Zozma leaned forward. "Did I say anything about you being an old friend?" He leaned back, studying for a reaction. Emelia was composed enough not to give one. Seeing that she wasn't that easy to manipulate, he strolled over to the bed and plopped himself down on it. "Hmm, nice bed. Not really enough room for two, though."
"*What* are you doing here?" Emelia repeated with less patience.
Still lying on the bed, Zozma rolled his head, smiling. "Oh, man, I know I've heard this before."
Come to think of it, so had she. "You were that laugh outside the gates, weren't you?"
Zozma shot up, a wide grin on his face. "Pretty quick, for a human." He pointed a wagging finger at her. "I knew you'd be one of the more interesting ones."
"You were following me?"
"Waiting for an opening. Took long enough. Don't tell me you actually found all those other mystics worth hanging around with?"
"OK, seriously," Emelia said, clearly at the end of her patience. "What are you doing here?"
Zozma held up his hands in front of him, as if pleading for mercy. "OK, OK. Truth is, I'm here to check up on you."
"Why?"
The mystic got to his feet, some of the initial joking manner fading. "I just feel you're entitled to know what you're about to get into, that's all."
"If you don't get to the point, I'm going to. . ."
"Alright, alright." He eyed her seriously now. "It's about 'Lord' Asellus."
"What do you know about her?" Emelia asked guardedly.
"More than you, I think. Like I said, I'm here to make sure you know what you're getting into."
"I'm listening."
"I'm pretty sure you've noticed that she's a lot different from the last time you saw her."
Emelia nodded.
"Well, let me tell you, she is definitely *not* the Asellus you remembered. She's a completely different person."
"I think I know this."
"Oh, I don't think you do. You just don't know what she's capable of now, do you? Tell me, has she made an offer to you to stay here in Facinaturu?"
"That's right," Emelia answered.
"What did you say?"
"I said I'd think about it."
"Right. I think that proves you don't know jack about her."
Emelia frowned. "Can you please move this along?"
Zozma stared at her thoughtfully. "Hmm. I can tell. She's hasn't made you *the* offer just yet."
"What offer?"
"*The* offer."
Emelia blew out a breath. "OK, I am just one step away from. . ."
"She hasn't asked you if you wanted to be turned into a mystic, has she?"
Emelia was silent for a moment. "What makes you think she wants to do that to me?"
"You seem like a dear little trinket to her. I'm sure she'd like to keep you in her possession for forever." He grinned again, though it looked like he didn't find things as funny as before. He strolled to a spot in the room and gazed around it, focusing on the doorway in the end. His face took on a wry, sour look. "Why don't we take a walk? I feel like talking somewhere else."
"I don't think so. I'm not going anywhere with you."
Zozma's lips curled slightly, then formed a tight grin. "Fair enough. If that makes you feel any safer. You're not, you know." He sat on the bed again, arms crossed, not looking nearly as cocky as before.
"How do you know Asellus?" Emelia asked.
"I'd been keeping an eye on her for a long time, before all this Charm Lord stuff. Never thought she'd turn out like this." He looked over at Emelia, who had taken a seat next to him. "I hooked up with her a little after that whole thing at Trinity Base. She'd just lost White Rose and everyone else just left after that." He laughed. "All she had left was that weird turnip for company. She looked like she could've used my company." He shook his head. "Thought I finally found a friend. Just fell under her spell like everyone else."
"Spell?"
Zozma threw up his hands. "One of the many powers of the Charm Lord. Love her or hate her, people feel an instant attraction to the Lord of Mystics. Whatever you feel about her, you can't get her out of your mind. All of a sudden, your whole life revolves around this one person. Surely you've felt it when you were on the road with her?"
Emelia cast her gaze to the side, eyes unsure. She remembered all the drama that had played out between everyone when she'd been traveling with Asellus. She remembered thinking how much Asellus needed someone to watch out for her. Gen and Lute felt very much the same. That's why they stayed for so long. That's why Emelia had blown off her duties to Gradius for so long. They'd based their decisions on Asellus's needs. It couldn't have been the effects of a spell, could it? The feelings had to have been genuine. Still, she felt the doubt tugging at her.
Zozma chuckled. "It's amazing, don't you think? It's not even something she has to try at. She's like a magnet or something." He shook his head. "Should've been smarter than that. I played myself like a fool."
"Sounds like Asellus really hurt you," Emelia remarked.
"It's mostly my own fault. Don't worry about it, I'm resilient."
"So what are you trying to warn me about? What's so dangerous about Asellus?"
"First off, you're already forgetting the fact that she's not Asellus. Let me make this clear to you: Asellus does not exist anymore. She's an all consuming monster. If you stay here and let her trick you, you're just going to another victim of her appetites."
"What, you're saying Asellus is going to eat me?"
This sent Zozma into a round of laughs. He had to hold his hand over his gut as he finished. "In oh so many ways, yes. You'd do well to keep your distance from her. Run as far as you can."
"So when she makes 'the offer', I should refuse?"
"Don't be silly! Of course you should take her up on it! Why in the regions would you even consider passing up the chance to become a mystic? What, you'd rather stay as some lowlife human?" He shook his head. "What you ought to do is accept Asellus's gift, then run away and don't look back."
"That seems ungrateful." Emelia lowered her chin on her hand, thoughtful. A smile crept up. "You're just telling me all this to get back at Asellus for whatever she did to you, right? You don't really care what happens to me."
Zozma pretended shock. "Oh, that's just a horrible thing to say!" He smirked. "You're not completely right. You are one of the more entertaining humans. It would be a shame to have you end up as just another part of the Charm Lord's collection. Even staying human would be better than that." He stretched out his arms. "Freedom, Emelia. That's what life's all about. Endless opportunity. Don't imprison yourself with any one thing. Or any one person. Just look at all the mystics who live here. All their lives revolve around their Lord. Tell me how happy they look? What's all their devotion gotten them?" He blew out a breath. "Well, enough of this. You've been warned." He rose from the bed and reached into his worn clothing and produced a small green crystal. He tossed it to her and she caught it with one hand.
"What's this?"
"Just in case you actually decide to take my advice. If you want to leave this dreary place, you'll need help hiding from Asellus. Just take this crystal to the Eternal Flame and toss it in the fire. Don't ask, I'm sure you'll get the tour soon enough. It'll signal me to come for you."
"How charitable," Emelia said sarcastically, looking down at the crystal.
"Just keep it. Just in case." With that, he faded from view, leaving Emelia alone in her room.
Emelia looked down at the crudely cut crystal of deep green. She wasn't sure what to make of the visit. So much of it fit into her suspicions, yet she didn't want to believe that her friend had changed that much. Deep inside, she was still the same Asellus. She could see it. Still, she hid the crystal inside the folds of her dress. Just in case.
Some of the gazes weren't quite so hostile. Emelia caught the occasional set of the eyes that seemed more curious than anything else. It was like they were looking at some marvelous creature in a zoo for the very first time. Others seemed to be sizing her up, assessing her value. Or something like that. She wasn't quite sure what they were looking at that was so fascinating. And in a few, a very few, Emelia caught something that might have been fear.
The others noticed the collective cold shoulder, too. Lute and Charlie pretty much huddled next to each other near a wall, alternating between chatting and feeling out of place. Gen, on the other hand, was totally oblivious, chugging more mystic wine, ambling around the dance floor, asking the mystic women to dance, nodding to everyone like they were good friends, and overall making an incredible nuisance of himself. The fact that he seemed to be enjoying himself seemed to infuriate the mystics even more. He even managed to get a dance or two from some of the women. It brought a certain inner smile to Emelia.
For her part, she pretty much stayed out of everyone's way, just a little off to the side from Lute and Charlie, gazing out onto the dance floor, keeping her face as aloof as the mystics that swirled about and made such a show in not noticing her. Time wore on. Then Ildon and the mystic he had been talking approached, Ildon slightly behind.
His armor was black and powerful looking. As he moved, Emelia noted how the armor didn't seem to slow him down in the least. It was as if the armor was merely an extension of his body. He had a warm smile that was strangely out of place in this room. He looked very amused by something, and though Emelia had no idea by what, she got the distinct feeling that maybe it was her.
"Hello," he said, extending his hand. "You're a friend of my Lord's, correct? Emelia, yes? I don't believe I've had the pleasure."
"Uh, hi," Emelia returned, shaking the mailed fist. She did all the shaking, which wasn't much, the mail gloves cold to the touch. "And you are?"
"Rastaban, knight of the realm."
"Oh. Do you knights have to walk around in armor all the time?"
He laughed. "No, of course not. I just felt. . ."
"Like standing out in the crowd," Ildon chimed in with perfect timing. "Like you *always* do."
Rastaban aimed a sideways glance at the other mystic. "Ildon, don't be such an old maid." Emelia couldn't help but smile at the crack. Ildon did sound like a nagging wife. Both men turned their attention back to her. "So tell me, what do you think of the place?"
She gave the same response she gave to Asellus. "It's alright."
"Ha! You obviously haven't been here very long. Believe me, this place could always use a good shaking up." His eyes leered over to the many mystics still on the dance floor. "And don't let any of those petty dogs get to you. They're always jealous of newcomers."
"Jealous? Why would they be jealous of me?"
Rastaban snickered. "Because they're mystics. Narrow minded and short sighted, as always."
Emelia furrowed her eyes. "Huh?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Somehow they believe that existing for several hundred years entitles them to more of life's pleasures than someone who hasn't lived as long." He shrugged. "It's just something you notice after several millennia."
"Yes, it's amazing," Ildon said flatly. "You came up with those astounding insights after two thousand years?"
This time Rastaban didn't bother to answer, keeping his attention to Emelia. "But you know, things aren't all bad here. Facinaturu does have its own. . .pleasures. Will you be staying a while?"
"I don't know. Asellus offered to let me stay, but. . .I don't want to impose."
"Impose?" Rastaban laughed. "Perhaps you haven't seen just how much empty space is in these halls. Believe me, you won't be imposing. I know Lord Asellus would be delighted to have you here with her. The longer, the better. As I've said, this place could use a good shaking up every now and then. I think you might be the one to do it."
"Where have I heard this before?" Ildon intoned dryly.
Rastaban turned to Ildon, a bright smile on his face. "Who was right last time, Ildon?"
"What are you two babbling on about?" Emelia demanded.
"You'll see, maybe," Rastaban grinned.
Now it was Ildon's turn to ignore his friend in favor of Emelia. "Would you like to be shown to your quarters?"
"Ildon, please," Rastaban protested. "Let her have her fun. She's just barely had a taste of the place."
"No," Emelia said. "I think I'm partied out. Let's go."
"Hmm," the knight said with a soft smile. "I hope I'll be seeing you later, Emelia. I know you'd make this realm a much richer place."
Emelia couldn't help but look back as she left the grand room. "OK," she asked. "What was that all about?"
"Rastaban?" Ildon said with just a touch of smiling emotion. "Don't worry about him. He always likes to keep people guessing."
Emelia shook her head. "Very odd."
This time they walked the full length up the sloping steps of Chateau Aiguille, no matter how much Emelia pleaded for Ildon to teleport them around. The distance was long, the steps were steep, and the winds were howling. They walked headway against the wind, so their clothes clung and outlined their figures tightly, the rest trailing behind them in overly dramatic fashion. His reasoning for not teleporting so was that she'd be better off knowing the way around the place, just in case.
"Just in case of what?" Emelia called out over the wind.
"Just in case," Ildon repeated. Even though his voice was raised, it was as flat as ever.
Stepping in through the cavelike entrance, Emelia was relieved to get out of that wind. She did a brief pat of her hair, already knowing that it was in wild disarray. She had no idea how Ildon's long, green hair managed to stay exactly the same through that hurricane outside, but he had no problems. If he was getting a laugh out of the state of her hair, he wasn't showing it.
They were in a great dome of a place, with glowing stones , shadowed alcoves, and ancient tile on the floor, much like the room Emelia had meet Asellus in. There was a slight difference she noticed, however. On the ground, there were dark outlines of various shapes that stained the tile, like long standing furniture had been moved recently and no one had bothered to clean up the ages of grunge that had collected around them. Some of the outlines were very strange looking. They almost looked like the shape of. . .coffins.
Ildon noticed Emelia's eyes lingering over an outline that couldn't have been mistaken for anything else other than a coffin. "This used to be the quarters for the. . .previous tenants," he explained, having difficulty coming up with the proper words to finish his sentence.
"Oh. What happened to them?" Emelia asked, still studying the outline to her left.
"They. . .left," Ildon said stiffly. He looked over some of the outlines himself, apparently occupied in his own thoughts. He snapped out of it quickly and strode up a short number of steps leading into an ornate doorway. "This way, please."
Emelia followed, a bit put off by Ildon's strange reaction to the room. She entered what looked like a pretty basic bedroom, for Facinaturu. There was a bed, a full length mirror, a window, a small dresser, all done up in the sharp shapes and ornate styles the mystics here seemed to love so much. She saw her usual clothes neatly hung over a fold out changing screen. She took one look at herself in the mirror and grimaced. She started straightening out her hair immediately.
"If you need. . ." Ildon started and then stopped, looking around suspiciously. This, in turn, made Emelia suspicious and she eyed her surroundings also.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Ignoring her, the mystic strode to one end of the room and then another, staring at a wall or the floor intently. After a short time of this, he stopped and addressed her again. "If you need anything, just call my name. I will come." He straightened his back and glanced to his left suddenly before speaking again. "Please do not wander around the castle without an escort. Much of the back end of the castle is teeming with monsters and some of them do sneak into the front from time to time." He bowed. "Madam." And faded.
Just a few moments later, a snickering that seemed to come from nowhere echoed through the room. Fading into view, right in the middle of the room, arrived a face that Emelia recognized immediately. The fire colored hair, the rough, worn clothes, but most of all, that cocky look on his face, like he knew you weren't as smart as him, sparked old memories.
She was on Trinity base, wearing next to nothing, with little more than a small ceramic knife hidden within the folds of a mostly see-through harem outfit that didn't leave very much to the imagination. Dancing in front of that literal pig of a man had to have been the most humiliating moment of her life. Even to this day, she hadn't forgiven Roufas for drugging her, selling her as a slave, and essentially tossing her into that hell without her consent. It took a lot of effort from Annie and Liza to convince her not to beat the Gradius leader to a pulp. He did, after all, *eventually* consent to her rescue. She supposed she should have considered herself lucky that dancing was all she had to do for the Trinity commander.
The main reason for that was because of the being who had just materialized inside her room. Just as things were looking bad, the base came under attack and all hell broke loose as monsters ran amok around the "impregnable" Trinity base. After running through the chaos of all the soldiers and monsters fighting each other, she ran into this mystic, posing as an officer under attack. When she "rescued" him, he, of course, laughed at her. He tagged along, apparently just for fun, since he had a maniacal grin on his face the whole time, as she bumbled her way back and forth through the base, dodging guards and monsters alike till her comrades managed to pick her up.
Still, she owed him for the distraction, so she was willing to give this mystic the benefit of the doubt as he appeared in the room. It was an effort not to draw her guns, though.
The redhead mystic chuckled to himself, arms crossed over his chest. "Oh, Ildon," he said, shaking his head. "You're always so close."
Emelia's arms were similarly crossed, though she didn't seem quite as amused.
The mystic finally turned her way, as if just noticing her and smiled that same cocky smile. "Yo. Remember me?"
"Yeah. I remember you. Didn't catch your name last time."
"Zozma. And you're Emelia, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "Everyone seems to know me around here."
Zozma held up his arms to the side, "What can I say? People like to talk around here." He slowly sauntered around Emelia, his every movement oozing overconfidence. He stopped and pointed at Emelia. "Hey, you really need to fix that hair of yours."
Emelia's arms were still crossed. Slowly, she let a hand go up to fix her hair. It *was* terrible. "What are you doing here?"
Zozma's face mocked innocence. "Just checking up on an old friend."
"Up to now, I didn't even know your name."
Zozma leaned forward. "Did I say anything about you being an old friend?" He leaned back, studying for a reaction. Emelia was composed enough not to give one. Seeing that she wasn't that easy to manipulate, he strolled over to the bed and plopped himself down on it. "Hmm, nice bed. Not really enough room for two, though."
"*What* are you doing here?" Emelia repeated with less patience.
Still lying on the bed, Zozma rolled his head, smiling. "Oh, man, I know I've heard this before."
Come to think of it, so had she. "You were that laugh outside the gates, weren't you?"
Zozma shot up, a wide grin on his face. "Pretty quick, for a human." He pointed a wagging finger at her. "I knew you'd be one of the more interesting ones."
"You were following me?"
"Waiting for an opening. Took long enough. Don't tell me you actually found all those other mystics worth hanging around with?"
"OK, seriously," Emelia said, clearly at the end of her patience. "What are you doing here?"
Zozma held up his hands in front of him, as if pleading for mercy. "OK, OK. Truth is, I'm here to check up on you."
"Why?"
The mystic got to his feet, some of the initial joking manner fading. "I just feel you're entitled to know what you're about to get into, that's all."
"If you don't get to the point, I'm going to. . ."
"Alright, alright." He eyed her seriously now. "It's about 'Lord' Asellus."
"What do you know about her?" Emelia asked guardedly.
"More than you, I think. Like I said, I'm here to make sure you know what you're getting into."
"I'm listening."
"I'm pretty sure you've noticed that she's a lot different from the last time you saw her."
Emelia nodded.
"Well, let me tell you, she is definitely *not* the Asellus you remembered. She's a completely different person."
"I think I know this."
"Oh, I don't think you do. You just don't know what she's capable of now, do you? Tell me, has she made an offer to you to stay here in Facinaturu?"
"That's right," Emelia answered.
"What did you say?"
"I said I'd think about it."
"Right. I think that proves you don't know jack about her."
Emelia frowned. "Can you please move this along?"
Zozma stared at her thoughtfully. "Hmm. I can tell. She's hasn't made you *the* offer just yet."
"What offer?"
"*The* offer."
Emelia blew out a breath. "OK, I am just one step away from. . ."
"She hasn't asked you if you wanted to be turned into a mystic, has she?"
Emelia was silent for a moment. "What makes you think she wants to do that to me?"
"You seem like a dear little trinket to her. I'm sure she'd like to keep you in her possession for forever." He grinned again, though it looked like he didn't find things as funny as before. He strolled to a spot in the room and gazed around it, focusing on the doorway in the end. His face took on a wry, sour look. "Why don't we take a walk? I feel like talking somewhere else."
"I don't think so. I'm not going anywhere with you."
Zozma's lips curled slightly, then formed a tight grin. "Fair enough. If that makes you feel any safer. You're not, you know." He sat on the bed again, arms crossed, not looking nearly as cocky as before.
"How do you know Asellus?" Emelia asked.
"I'd been keeping an eye on her for a long time, before all this Charm Lord stuff. Never thought she'd turn out like this." He looked over at Emelia, who had taken a seat next to him. "I hooked up with her a little after that whole thing at Trinity Base. She'd just lost White Rose and everyone else just left after that." He laughed. "All she had left was that weird turnip for company. She looked like she could've used my company." He shook his head. "Thought I finally found a friend. Just fell under her spell like everyone else."
"Spell?"
Zozma threw up his hands. "One of the many powers of the Charm Lord. Love her or hate her, people feel an instant attraction to the Lord of Mystics. Whatever you feel about her, you can't get her out of your mind. All of a sudden, your whole life revolves around this one person. Surely you've felt it when you were on the road with her?"
Emelia cast her gaze to the side, eyes unsure. She remembered all the drama that had played out between everyone when she'd been traveling with Asellus. She remembered thinking how much Asellus needed someone to watch out for her. Gen and Lute felt very much the same. That's why they stayed for so long. That's why Emelia had blown off her duties to Gradius for so long. They'd based their decisions on Asellus's needs. It couldn't have been the effects of a spell, could it? The feelings had to have been genuine. Still, she felt the doubt tugging at her.
Zozma chuckled. "It's amazing, don't you think? It's not even something she has to try at. She's like a magnet or something." He shook his head. "Should've been smarter than that. I played myself like a fool."
"Sounds like Asellus really hurt you," Emelia remarked.
"It's mostly my own fault. Don't worry about it, I'm resilient."
"So what are you trying to warn me about? What's so dangerous about Asellus?"
"First off, you're already forgetting the fact that she's not Asellus. Let me make this clear to you: Asellus does not exist anymore. She's an all consuming monster. If you stay here and let her trick you, you're just going to another victim of her appetites."
"What, you're saying Asellus is going to eat me?"
This sent Zozma into a round of laughs. He had to hold his hand over his gut as he finished. "In oh so many ways, yes. You'd do well to keep your distance from her. Run as far as you can."
"So when she makes 'the offer', I should refuse?"
"Don't be silly! Of course you should take her up on it! Why in the regions would you even consider passing up the chance to become a mystic? What, you'd rather stay as some lowlife human?" He shook his head. "What you ought to do is accept Asellus's gift, then run away and don't look back."
"That seems ungrateful." Emelia lowered her chin on her hand, thoughtful. A smile crept up. "You're just telling me all this to get back at Asellus for whatever she did to you, right? You don't really care what happens to me."
Zozma pretended shock. "Oh, that's just a horrible thing to say!" He smirked. "You're not completely right. You are one of the more entertaining humans. It would be a shame to have you end up as just another part of the Charm Lord's collection. Even staying human would be better than that." He stretched out his arms. "Freedom, Emelia. That's what life's all about. Endless opportunity. Don't imprison yourself with any one thing. Or any one person. Just look at all the mystics who live here. All their lives revolve around their Lord. Tell me how happy they look? What's all their devotion gotten them?" He blew out a breath. "Well, enough of this. You've been warned." He rose from the bed and reached into his worn clothing and produced a small green crystal. He tossed it to her and she caught it with one hand.
"What's this?"
"Just in case you actually decide to take my advice. If you want to leave this dreary place, you'll need help hiding from Asellus. Just take this crystal to the Eternal Flame and toss it in the fire. Don't ask, I'm sure you'll get the tour soon enough. It'll signal me to come for you."
"How charitable," Emelia said sarcastically, looking down at the crystal.
"Just keep it. Just in case." With that, he faded from view, leaving Emelia alone in her room.
Emelia looked down at the crudely cut crystal of deep green. She wasn't sure what to make of the visit. So much of it fit into her suspicions, yet she didn't want to believe that her friend had changed that much. Deep inside, she was still the same Asellus. She could see it. Still, she hid the crystal inside the folds of her dress. Just in case.