Hello everyone and Happy Easter to all of you!
I hope you are all doing fine and had the chance to take a few days off and unwind. As for me, I managed to finish chapter 149 in time, so here we are.
Thanks again for your continuous support of the story, with following/ favoring/ reading it. You are all awesome!
See you all next week in chapter 150. Until then, be well and have fun!
"Just to make sure, that wasn't there when we came, was it?" Ruby's voice asked as she carefully eyed the eerie mansion. Yang nodded "I do sense a high amount of crazy in the air" she replied in a half-joking way.
The childish laughter was still audible, slowly fading in the background. The gleaming moon poured in from the slightly open blinders, dousing the huntresses in its silver-white light. Goosebumps filled Yang's skin.
"Just to let you know" the blonde fixed her gauntlets "this is one damn terrible idea" she stared at Ruby. "Duh" her sister replied, eyes fixed on counting her current ammunition reserves "but we are doing it, no?"
Yang blinked in surprise- and then realized what Ruby meant. "You…" she fixed her hair to hide her embarrassment away. "This is important to both you and us, sis" Ruby holstered her rifle in her utility belt.
"The altar that Tar fellow claimed to have seen is definitely an alarm; if it exists at all. With or without the creepy stories, it's a place we have to investigate" Ruby shook her shoulders while picking up her cloak.
"In addition…" Yang trailed off, trying her best to prevent a pair of shiny reptilian yellow eyes glittering like prismatic gems from forming in her vision "this woman was somehow involved" she spoke in disdain.
"Safira Blue; the former Summer Maiden that went berserk during the Vacuan War against Salem, killing both huntsmen and Grimm in large numbers" the reaper surmised. "She is also the one who-"
Yang finished tying up her hair again and put her hat on "the damned bitch that burned Coco, Yatsu and Fox to death in front of Velvet" she finished her sister's sentence. "I am ready" she pumped her fists.
"After you" Ruby showed her sister out, throwing one last glance at the strangely towering mansion before turning off the lights and leaving the room, following Yang down the stairs and out to the bustling streets.
-o—
"What the-" as soon as they both stepped out, the first thing they did was to correct their previous statement. The streets were anything but crowded. In fact, they were so silent Ruby could easily hear her breath.
The usual crowd was nowhere to be seen. There was no sign of patrols, or any drunkards walking back to their homes after being kicked out of the usual late-night pubs that adorned the roads leading to the market.
"I never imagined this place would be so silent" Ruby whispered. Yang's eyes narrowed. Her hand itched- a faint, annoying scratch she hadn't felt in quite a while. She raised her dark hat with her index metal finger.
The streets were barely lit. The usual powerful dust lamps used in such places had been swapped for old, decrepit-looking ones that barely had any glow to them, casting shadows across the dirty, sand-covered road.
The houses were silent and dark; no light poured out of the weathered windows and no whispers or voices were being carried by the pale crisp night wind. No cars were parked and no footsteps were being heard.
The houses seemed smaller than she remembered them. Their doors were made purely of wooden planks and iron barricades. They spread a bit more organized than the usual mayhem she had experienced in the back alley streets, all of them being dwarfed by the majestic mansion.
Her eyebrow twitched. A red misty hue rose from the dark streets up to the shining moon above their heads. It was so faint; she wasn't sure whether she could see it due to her curse or not. Everything was being doused in thin layers of miasma, enough to send a chill down her spine.
One thing she could be sure of. "Ruby, I have to tell you something" she eyed her sister. "We are not in Vacuo anymore, are we?" the brunette girl asked her. "It's the same feeling like in Avyssos' temple" she added.
"I see" the blonde nodded, accepting her sister's calm reply. "This can only mean one thing; we are on the right track" she cracked her fist and put her gloves on. Ruby took out Thorn and adjusted three shards.
"It also means we are getting no help until we find an exit on our own" she told her sister as they started walking under the faint street light to the mysterious manor. "Weiss is gonna kill me" the brawler exclaimed.
Reaching the place was fairly easy; despite walking carefully and ready for any attack, the path was clear. It took them less than ten minutes to reach the iron-rose fence surrounding the well-kept Victorian garden.
The gray-black walls rose up to three floors high, covered on top by an attic and an extended triangular Mistralian rooftop. Few yellow lights- the only ones they saw in the entire neighborhood- flickered away in an attempt to hide behind the grisly small second floor window panels.
They exchanged a concerned look "that looks soooo welcoming" Ruby's voice cracked a bit. "I'm sorry Rubes" Yang eyed her sister in concern "I wish we had any other option, but for what matters, I am scared too."
"I just hope it's a horde of Geists haunting the place and not something, well, unnatural" she took a brave step towards the front door. Yang's eyes fell on the garden. For a moment, she thought she heard laughter.
The door was easy to open, but as Ruby pushed it a loud, cacophonous metal sound screeched in the alley. It echoed in the empty streets, was reflected on the antique walls. It resonated with the scarlet fog cloud.
As pale as her partner, the silver-eyed girl turned around to stare at her sister. It was the exact moment they both heard numerous small footsteps running away in a rather playful manner until they faded out.
Yang swore under her breath. She was sure for a moment that she had seen small figures run behind the round, curly bushes and hide behind the ornate swings. Even the wooden merry-go-round was still moving.
Slowly and even more carefully to not make any more noise, Ruby gave a small push to leave enough space for them to move in. She fixed it in place with a small rock and then moved in the garden behind her sister.
Yang couldn't recall the last time her boots made so much noise despite her best attempts to prevent it. Every footstep sounded in the absolute silence like gunfire, alerting every resident of the mansion about them.
"My blood has frozen in my veins" she whispered to Ruby walking just behind her "I feel like we are being watched- and we haven't even got in" she underlined. The reaper grasped her sword in a tighter grip.
They passed by the swings. One of them was slowly moving, slowing down as if someone had just ceased using it. "According to the editor, children were quite often seen playing in this garden" Yang told her.
"Yes; eight decades ago that is" Ruby scowled. Her nerves were already being tested and she didn't like it. "I won't theorize, Rubes. It's not my style" the blonde fixed her hat once more. "I know- sorry" she sighed.
They ignored the paved path and cut through the soft grass. The sound of boots stepping on the lucid yet dim greenery was akin to a symphony of sirens in the lilac-eyed girl's ears. Her hand still itched; she ignored it.
The merry-go-round stood between them and the wooden door with its bright golden handle and bell. The railings were painted a deep red in color. Crimson splashes were visible, akin to having thrown a bucket-
Yang stopped. Ruby's eyes opened wide. The paint was a deep, viscous red. Way too red for the seasoned warriors' tastes. Ruby gulped- and jumped right next to the ornament, forcibly pushing her fears far away.
"No!" trying to both whisper and shout at her, Yang reached out with her left arm the moment she saw her sis land next to it. Her head shook in agony; her eyes stung and her vision became blurry and clouded.
She blinked to clear her head, rubbing her sockets- through the opening of her fingers, her lilac orbs saw faint images of children fade away in the red darkness, standing horrifyingly close to Ruby's thoughtful form.
She quickly dropped her hands and ran towards her sister. The forms had long faded the moment she reached her but her heart was still loud as a jackhammer with all that thumping. "Hey, sis; I think we are both-"
Yang stopped besides her and made a motion with her index finger for Ruby to stop talking and start searching around. The brunette got the message and waited for a few minutes until her sister had finished.
"I saw something stalking the merry-go-round; don't go scouting like this!" Yang hissed at her, making Ruby's eyes open wide in shock. "Oh; sorry" she lowered her gaze in shame "I didn't think of it" she replied.
The taller girl waited for a few more seconds to make sure nothing she could see was around. She then let out a breath she had been holding and rubbed her eyes again to calm her mind down a bit. "Is it blood?"
"Surprisingly, no" Ruby let out a weak laugh, as she knelt and peeled off a few pieces of the red coating "it's red paint, splashed in a way similar to that time we tried to decorate dad's old warehouse" she reminisced.
"It was really painted?" flabbergasted, she knelt and rubbed of a piece. The smell was off, but it was unmistakably some sort of oily red paint. "We are losing it, Rubes" she stood up. "I thought so too" she replied.
The red-caped girl scouted around, her sword ready to defend against any ambush "what did you see?" she asked her sister. She took a bit of time to reply "forms of children, running away from you" she told her.
A deep sigh left Ruby's lips "that's just awesome" she patrolled the very well-kept, despite the abhorrent paintjob, piece of amusement. "I don't think there is any chance of use walking in unseen at this point, Yang."
"Was this ever an option?" the lilac-eyed girl pointed at another flicker of light that vanished away in the windows only after it jumped up and down in a startled way. The sisters braved themselves up and moved.
After throwing tons of worried gazes to the antique garden in their back and not being able to ease their fears of tiny formless bodies appearing behind the bushes and the swings as they averted their eyes, Ruby and Yang found themselves climbing the wooden stairs to the front door.
With every step they took, the ornate planks creaked. The sound was so loud it was unbearable; it forced them to stop every couple seconds to make sure nothing crawled towards the intense, eerie squeaking.
They stood in front of the house and Ruby grabbed the knob. She eyed her sister, who nodded that she had her back, and then pushed the door open wide- and came face-to-face with a pair of glassy blue eyes.
Yang's reaction was extremely fast; having understood at once what this was, she covered her sister's mouth, drowning the abysmal scream of horror that rose from the very depths or Ruby's mortified soul.
In front of them was, as the tall woman had noticed, a porcelain doll. It wore a short dress with no frills in an orange color, accompanied by orange trousers underneath and a pair of brown leather house sandals.
Her skin and hair was dyed brown and her features were slightly plump. A pair of glassy blue eyes was fixed on the open door and her thin red lips were carved in such a manner they looked as if welcoming them in.
They stood there for a couple minutes before they managed to get over the shock. Yang was the first one to get closer and examine the doll. "I can't believe how humane she looks" she rubbed a thin strand of hair.
"Whatever material that Celain guy used, the hair is smooth as fuck. I'm kind of jealous" she meekly joked. "I am all kinds of freaked out" Ruby closed the door behind her, making sure to leave it unlocked and ready.
"Jokes aside, whatever sort of crazy guy puts that behind the door? It's as if you want to scare everyone coming in" Yang scratched her hair. "I am not sure it was here to begin with" she eyed it with frightened eyes.
Yang, on her part, was far more skeptical. If this thing was truly a sort of haunted being, shouldn't she be able to see things around or inside it as it happened with everything else? She rubbed her palm- it still itched.
On the other hand, that empty face and the well-kept hair was creepy, she wouldn't deny it. She didn't share Ruby's aversion to dolls, but she would be a liar if she claimed it didn't make her feel uncomfortable.
She took a look around. Two doors on their left and one on their right were revealed under the dim light of an antique dust lamp hanging on the wall. A narrow corridor, untouched by the light, lead further inside.
Yang gulped. "The darkest places attract the worse beings- and usually the best rewards" Ruby, clearly uncomfortable, advised her. "Words of superior wisdom, sis" the blonde lit her torch and pointed it ahead.
The glassy, shining eyes of another doll reflected her light. This one was wearing a simpler dress in dark brown colors. She had a bright, cheerful smile plastered on her porcelain face. It scared both girls to no end.
She stood at the end of the narrow path, as if waiting to lead guests in. Yang played with her torch a bit, revealing the ceiling to be quite short, especially to her. It was rather clean though, without dust or cobwebs.
The blonde was the first to move, Ruby guarding her back. She walked through the narrow space, careful to not hit any walls or paintings of the serious-looking man with white shirt and black hair adorned by a lot of different children in each one. "This must be him" Ruby concluded.
"Seems like a decent guy" Yang bitterly replied; eyes fixed on the doll in front. "Looks can be deceptive" Ruby replied, not letting the doll in the back out of her sight. "Carmel seemed a decent woman too" she said.
"Weiss claims that Carmel was simply lost in her own sorrow and got taken advantage by Woodrock" the older sister noted, getting closer to the maid doll. Just like Cinder was" the younger one replied bitterly.
"Hey Yang" Ruby asked again. "I want to ask you something." "Sure, tell me what-" the brawler's voice suddenly trailed off and she raised her finger to show her not to advance any more "do you see that, Rubes?"
After throwing a few more glances at the doll in the entrance, the red girl tilted her head to look over her sister's shoulder.
The doll was truly guarding a two-way crossing that lead to either the east or the west wing of the mansion's ground floor. A dried-up potted plant stood behind her, accompanied by a large oval wall mirror with an ornate frame made of a weirdly familiar pure white golden substance.
A soft carpet in rich maroon and brown colors covered the floor. Ruby blinked a few times. Despite the alarming state of things and the creepy doll, she could see nothing of worry- which could only mean one thing.
"You see things in the mirror again?" she whispered, observing the pure golden-white frame that was molded to resemble rose vines and other creeper vines. "Yes" Yang replied, visibly distraught "but not images."
Yang's eyes narrowed in a mix of awe and shock. Inside the mirror were clearly formed words. The letters were thin and made of scarlet mist, with sharp points around their edge, as if carved by a dagger or knife.
"Life is a fleeting, ephemeral dream" she informed her sister. "That's what I read in it." They walked out, each standing on one corner of the crossing, as far away from the mirror and its guard doll as possible.
"That's a first one" Ruby tried to comment without letting her sister see her worries. "Yeah- also, what the heck" she replied "who wrote this and why am I the only one who can see it?" she asked in pure wonder.
"Well, it must have to do with your eye" Ruby took a peek at the front door again; happy to see the doll hadn't moved at all. "Maybe they are scribed in magic? Dunno" she offered her opinion. Yang nodded again.
"Fair point, Rubes" they both opened their lights to light up both paths.
"I see a door on the right" Yang commented. "And I see a path leading to a large room on the left- this place is quite narrow for a mansion" her sister replied "at least compared to Weiss' house or Red's manor."
"Maybe they made it like this when they wanted to turn it into a resort for the homeless; also, don't compare Schnee Manor to any house in Remnant save for Blake's" Yang joked at her. Ruby let out a small laugh.
"Let's try the open path first to the left" she then urged. "I am coming" Yang moved away from the closed door and passed carefully by the creepy doll, eyeing the mirror one last time before following after Ruby.
Life is a fleeting, short dream... what do you want to show me? She let her thoughts run wild for a split second before returning back to their exploration. The girls moved ahead, letting the dolls' eyes fall back into the abysmal darkness of the manor.
They had shown the guests in. Their work here was done for now.
-o—
The small light rays illuminated a large room. The ceiling was a bit taller yet too short for such an extended space. The walls were wooden and quite clean and the tiled floor lacked the fluffy carpet from before.
Yang's eyes fell on the closest illuminated spectacle; an old stove, with a set of black shiny frying pans carefully hanging above it. Next to them was a cutting board, clean and neatly equipped with a full set of knives.
In the middle, Ruby's silver pools spotted a large table with orderly and tightly placed sets of pots, cutlery, spoons and other pieces of cooking utensils. Three dolls, dressed in old-fashioned cooking robes, reflected the light with their backs turned. Two more were half-visible further in.
"I assume we found the kitchen" Yang pointed out the obvious, letting her torch dance on the creepy, yet thankfully unmoving dolls that stood dutifully, as if they were tiny little cooks working hard to feed them.
She turned around, following through the notably tidy appliances until her light fell on a large pot at the left right corner. It was right on their left as they stepped in, so they hadn't immediately noticed the doll that stood in its front- "Rubyyy!" she let out a scared, shocked cry of terror.
Always on alert, the brunette spun on her heels and ran to her sister's aid at the terrified sound of her name. "What?" She stood right next to her, aiming with her torch at the same doll that had terrified Yang.
And she was immediately confused. The doll was eerie, for sure, with a large chef hat on top of a weathered leather cooking robe and a large crack on her porcelain skin, right below her nape. It had short crop-cut hair and long, thick arms that held a large ladle as if stirring the soup.
"What's the matter, Yang? Did you see something?" still on high alert, despite her confusion, Ruby side-eyed her sister whose terrified gaze was fixed on the same spectacle. She tried to reply, but failed to.
Because, in her own vision, enhanced by Grand Mother's horrible curse, she could see what Ruby was missing. She could see the pot boiling and horrifying goo bubbling inside the large container, stirred by the doll.
She could see the doll- God, the doll! She could see her arms for what they truly were; long, made not of porcelain but of dark gelatinous skin. They formed thin hands with thin bone-white nails stirring the ladle.
The crack at her nape was pulsing with black flesh, as if breathing. Its face was turned to the other side, but from her angle she could easily see the corners of a Grimm bone mask covering the entirety of its face.
And then, the creature saved Yang the need to explain anything as it turned its head around and stared at the two huntresses with a pair of shining, glassy human-like eyes shining in primordial hunger behind a full-face bone mask covered in dried-up splatters of thick red paint.