Ch2. A Child of Promise
{Lady Albedo, I have an urgent [Message]}
{What is it, Lupus? I'm busy.} The irritated voice echoed in the mind of the red-haired maid.
{There's been a spatial disturbance in the orphanage, some kind of teleportation.}
{Do you know who is responsible?}
{N-no, I do not. I'm ashamed of myself.} Lupus hung her head low. {Lady Albedo! I've failed the task given by the Supreme One! What do I do now?} She asked desperately.
There was silence on the other side for a long second before the answer came. {I'll investigate. Keep an eye out in the meantime. We cannot fail Lord Ainz.}
(…)
Evelyn rummaged through the books on the shelves, however she had to be disappointed. Although, the orphanage had over a few dozen books, without exception, all of them were writings devoid of pictures. Like whom would give books to kids without drawings?! They would never be interested in reading boring pages of explanation, not to mention, only the bigger kids could read! She fumed silently, placing back the dreary books on the shelf.
She heard footsteps. She climbed down the ladder leaning on the high shelf, and in her hurry fell to her bottom. Thankfully, she was already close to the ground, so no real injury affected her escape as she dashed behind the shelves and stifled her breath with both palms.
She didn't know what kind of punishment would be inflicted upon her if she were to be caught, but it's better to be safe than sorry, she reasoned. While Miranda wouldn't be so cruel as to punish her curiosity, there were many other caretakers here, and some of them, if she was honest, gave her the creeps. They held a perfect smile, or an expressionless image, but she could swear she caught side glances when they grinned unnervingly wide and spoke to thin air like madmen.
She didn't know much about them, apparently, they were sent here by his majesty the Sorcerer King, but that didn't put the little girl at ease. If even half of the rumors were true, then his majesty was a monster through and through. And what else would work under a monster than other monsters? The thought unnerved the little girl as the wooden tiles creaked, and a girl, slightly higher in stature turned the corner.
She wore an eye-path over her left eye, while her right eye had an emerald color and a target-mark on her pupil. She was very-very pretty, as if hand-crafted by higher beings, and Evelyn found herself entranced by the delicacy of her intrinsic features.
Evelyn was envious. To the stark contrast with her black and ashen hair, this girl's hair was a golden-red color and reached down her waist, Evelyn caught herself in the act, it would be a bad idea to pull on it, she was already in trouble, she didn't want to prolong the list of charges…
"…hi?" She asked weakly, as the target-mark focused on her.
(…)
"What were you thinking, staying up so late?!"
The little girl sat on her bedside as Miranda, her designated caretaker reprimanded her. The girl who had found her already left, after introducing herself as CZ Delta, and delivering her to her room. The other kids seemingly disappeared, and that unnerved the little girl much more effectively than any words her good meaning Miranda could tell her. After all, she meant good for her, and though her words may have been harsh, no real punishment would be due.
Miranda deflated and sighed. "What if something happened to you? What then?"
Evelyn simply remained silent. There was no good answer she could come up with, and silence, if anything, was the second-best thing. She would wait for the storm to pass, and hope everything would be alright. And this incident would be soon forgotten.
Her caretaker suddenly hugged her and whispered into her ears. "Promise me. You won't do anything foolish again. You know agents of the Sorcerer King are here, we can't afford to be noticed."
Who knows what an unfeeling undead or his minions would do to them if she knowingly broke their rules? Fortunately, the 'maid' this time seemed reasonable, and she didn't demand any further punishment. She would be sentenced to a few days without roommates, but to some that may have been a reward. Children… she couldn't believe some would snore at this age, as far as she knew, only old men snore in their sleep.
Miranda let go of the young girl, and left the room, stealing one last glance as she turned the corner. She walked past several rooms, and finally entered her office. She checked for anyone nearby, before shutting close the door, and stepping closer to the desk in the middle of the room.
She removed the key from her neck and twisted it inside the lock.
She carefully reached inside, her hands trembling in anticipation, and pulled out a book.
It was a book written in a language unknown to the woman, but for some unexplainable reason she felt the book call out to her, and she couldn't resist the temptation.
She found the book underneath the pillow of her most prized possessions, Evelyn. She was smart for her age, but where could she get her hands on such an artefact? Miranda couldn't be certain, but this book very well be imbued with some kind-of magic as the pages changed. She could sell this book, and never have to work again in her life! Or she could use it to get her hands on precious magic, whatever she chose, it would be great for her, but who was to say, she could only choose one?
She turned the pages, and with each depiction of violence her heart beats more franticly, and she held onto the book more and more obsessively.
The battles raged on, and whispers drowned out her surroundings as entranced, Miranda caressed the spine of the ancient grimoire, and suddenly a silent shriek stuck in her throat as a flash of light sucked her inside the book, and she disappeared without a trace.
A moment later a wormhole collapsed around the book, and it reappeared where it had been taken from. Right under Evelyn's pillow. The book laid there, deceptively unresponsive, as if to say, it was a normal book, nothing out of the ordinary here.
Meanwhile Evelyn drifted off to sleep, her mind returning to that dark room where the hanged man resided. She didn't understand why he wanted her to keep this little secret, however ultimately, she agreed. He didn't seem like he was in much pain anymore, and he was quite adamant about being able to free and heal himself, given Evelyn made a few other visits.
She recalled the wall next to the kitchen where she heard the whispers originate, and how easily the solid object rippled and swallowed her body as she stepped closer. She had to admit, it was a frightening experience. Walls weren't supposed to do that! However, it turned out to be great.
Not only did she find new toys, which presumably are all potential gifts, she also made a new friend!
Right, he was different, and the lack of eyes and bloody spikes still unsettled the little girl, but she had seen equally, or at least close to, such gruesome displays on the streets of the town during the famine that swept through the kingdom.
Some rumors hinted it was a prelude to something much-much worse that would befall the kingdom in the near future, however it wasn't something a child of her age should worry about. After all, she was here, in E-Rantel, under the protection of the frightening Sorcerer King who single-handedly made the kingdom's army bend the knee, if it was under such a monster, there was nothing to fear. Finally, dreams claimed the little girl, and she dreamt of angels and demons in a world, far-far away.
(…)
The hallway was engulfed by gloom as a set of footsteps could be heard. Two figures walked side by side, and both, weirdly enough, boasted a maid's outfit.
"So, you were sent here as back-up, until Narberal arrives, and we are to find the cause of this disturbance?" The red-head asked, and the smaller one nodded.
"Affirmative. She will pose as Narberal from the adventurer group Darkness and will teach magic to the children as a pretense. We are to resolve this matter as soon as possible." The target-mark on the little one's pupil focused on Lupus, "orders of the Overseer."
"Oka-y. Anything out of the ordinary?"
"Nothing of note." Came the emotionless reply of the automaton.
The two disappeared in the hallway, while elsewhere, the night was rent with the screams of nightmare, as an overambitious caregiver exhaled her soul.
A/N: Let me know your thoughts! Review! Be nice!
Take care,
Eternity 999