Hello~
So I have good new and bad news. Good news is that today's a new chapter! Yay :D The bad news is that this weekend will be only one upload x3 Because I haven't gone around to writing much Im not as ahead as I wished to be. I only have 3 more prewritten after this one c:
So hopefully by next week, it'll be a double upload but no promises. But before going to the chapter let's give some thanks to some wonderful people :D
-Ellerinae: Bonjour, ma petite :D Merci so much for the review, cher :) As for Claire and Cloude's language, it's half-and-half. Half is from other languages like Greek, some Spanish and French, and some words I really like from other novels (Sherrylin Kenyon my idol!) but the other half are words that I just make up.
-LightandDarkHeart: Nice to hear from you again :D Yeah, since I was a little bummed after the maiming that happened the last arc, I decided to add some new people into the bunch :3 Angele might be odd but who he is will be revealed in due time (like two chapters maybe cx) So hang in there for those c:
Now that that's over with, let's get to what ya'll have been waiting for :D
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lesson Number One
We entered one of the many vacant rooms of Pandora. On the East Wing which was where most of the ones in relation with the Rainsworths would reside. The room was quite bland and vanilla; he must have really just arrived now.
Angele entered first and I followed while Oz closed the door behind us. We stood in the middle of the study while Angele made himself at home and leaned on the desk behind him. Crossing his arms, he gazed at us with a smile on his face.
Really, if all he wanted from us was a home visit, he was really wasting my time. Evening was quickly setting and I still needed to search for Leo. I do not have time for this!
"Would you care to sit?" he offered and motioned his hands towards the free chairs close to the tea table.
"No, thank you." Was really what I said but it sounded more like a 'hurry your ass up and say what you want to'. But, you know, to each their own.
"I will, thank you." Oz grabbed the chair nearest to him and took a sit.
A groan escaped me out of irritation and it didn't let me contain my ire. "All right, I see the need of talking to me but why is Oz here?"
"What I am to tell you concerns the two of you," he replied and took the sit behind the desk.
"Spill it then."
"Very well, then, I'll start by asking you, are you aware of the place known as the Court of Miracles?"
That name again. I turned to Oz this time when I answered. "Didn't you say it was a haven for thieves?"
He nodded but didn't meet my gaze, deeply thinking. "But Duchess Rainsworth said that it was a mere decoy from Pandora."
"And it is," Angele assured us. "Thieves aren't what reside there. Our people—the corvus—reside there."
"Like...the constellation?" Oz inquired being a little perplexed by the name.
"Yes." He turned towards me when he spoke this time. "That is the name of yore that our people were referred to. Exitium is just a label placed on us by Pandora when the eradication took place. Our people are pacific by nature and it was by it that we obtained the abilities that some of us posses. In our court, we stand as factions. Six in all."
"What are they?" I asked wanting to know a little more and also to ascertain something I had in my mind.
"Terra, Aquam, Ignis, Anima, Vita, Mortem."
"Earth, water, fire, spirit, life, and death," I repeated noticing the language I learned to recognize.
"Exactly. I originate from the mortem and am their Lord," Angele continued. "In all there are six lords and five that uphold the court."
"Five?" Oz repeated a little confused.
"I know what you're thinking," I say and glare at Angele. "He said six but only mentioned five being lords. A ruler stands over them."
"Very well, you two," Angele appraised with a grin. "It doesn't seem much explanation is needed. Well, the point that I'm trying to arrive at is that we have been missing that leader for over one hundred years now. And, now that we have found her descendent, it is imperative that the lords stand to gather to perform the rite."
"Rite?" I asked feeling a little unsure about that.
"Think of it like more of a test. You are the White Sage's heir and of that there's no doubt. But if you are to take her place as our leader is still up to question. A ceremony has always taken place in order for that to be confirmed."
"So, like a coming of age ceremony," Oz summarized to what he knew. Angele gave a curt nod as his answer.
"Well whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait," I interrupted when this conversation started to really get on my nerves. "Right now, my concern is finding Leo."
"Ah, yes. The boy." At that, Angele turned to Oz before anything and continued. "Oz-kun, were you aware that Miss Clarice was affiliated to the Baskerville Household."
At hearing him mention that I cringe a bit inside. Many things happened between the instances that I found out about those things and now. So the time hadn't really arisen for me to say anything to them much less publicly.
"She never really mentioned it, but I figured as much," Oz answered to his question. Oz has always been the smart one of the group so it didn't surprise me he knew. "Why does it matter now?"
Angele then turned to me with a grin. "Have you ever wondered why you didn't remain with the other Baskervilles? Why you were the only one that found herself stranded away from the family?"
It took me a minute to search through my head for the answer. And when I finished I noticed what was peculiar about the answer to his question. There was none. "No. It never occurred to me."
"That you arrived at the House of the White Angel at age eight. That you found your way out of the chasm of Sablier. Those all were not happenstances."
"How do you know all that?" I asked a bit skeptic.
"Willow's fountain has shown me much of the past you remember," Angel explained with a wick of his finger. Through the window glass behind him something shimmered through.
"Willow is your Chain?" Oz asked apparently having seen the same thing that I had.
"Yes. Although, she isn't one to fight."
"Why would Claire's past as a Baskerville—" Oz quickly started before I could even have a say in the matter. "Have anything to do with how she ended up at the House of Fiana's?"
"You were the soldier that followed her master after death. Or more precisely, after incarnation."
"Incar...nation?"
Out of the blue, Oz began to chuckle and lowered his gaze before saying. "Guess Leo and I have more in common that I first thought."
"I am completely lost..." I groaned while trying to understand these two.
"You are the only soldier of your household that followed your Master after death. You were the one that found him, and six years there after, protected him. That master, the one responsible for the Tragedy of Sablier; his soul now resides in its new suitor. The next head of the Baskervilles therefore would be the boy you know as Leo."
Leo...has Glen's soul... Then— "The reason why it felt so familiar around him..."
"Your soul followed after your Master even when your mind wasn't aware of it," Angele kept explaining. "I thought telling you would be for the best. So that you would know what it was you were fighting against."
"You aren't just telling us this out of the goodness of your heart." Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared his way. "Knowing Barma and that you were friends with him says plenty. You're not saying this without having something to gain."
Angele blinked once, twice before he began to chuckle. After he was done with his fit he turned our general way and admitted the truth. "Yes. I am looking to gain something out of this."
I clicked my tongue already annoyed with his cryptic crap. "What do you want, Apostles?"
"A meeting, with you."
Now that caught me completely by surprise. "With me? Why?"
"You are the daughter of the White Sage. In exchange for this information and what other you might wish, I require that first you go through the rite that I mentioned earlier."
"The test?"
"Indeed. The other Lords have been informed beforehand and are to arrive the midday of the morrow. If you wish to accept we will test you for the Mark of Mastery and it will decide whether you are truly one of us or not and whether you are capable of being our leader," he finished explaining whilst playing with a pen he must have found somewhere around the drawers.
"Mark of Mastery, huh?" A grin came out on my lips with utter expectancy and vigor. "Sure, why not. I can kick some old geezers around."
"Then name your witnesses."
"Witnesses?" I thought about it for a minute before I answered, "Gilbert Nightray, Alice B-Rabbit, and—" I turned to look at Oz. "Oz Vessalius."
Oz almost chocked on nothing when she mentioned his name. When Angele started talking about the test, he had begun to zone out. This was a matter that concerned Claire after all and wasn't really his business. But the moment those three names came out of her, he was baffled.
"What's that...?"
"The Mark of Mastery will show us if she is capable of following in her mother's footsteps," Angele explained while standing up and skirting about the desk to stand before them. They stood up, taking it as an indication that they were to leave. "The witnesses are simply that. They will bare witness to the test as an affidavit that it was fair and honorable."
"So, nothing out of the ordinary then," he confirmed while taking a deep sigh of relief.
"You could say that," Angele assured with a grin. Oz, however, wasn't too convinced with that assurance. The sound of the grandfather clock in the room ringing nine bells took their attention. "Well, look how late it's become." His expression suddenly changed to one of bewilderment. "Oh, before I forget." He reached out with his palm out towards Claire who only glared peevishly.
Angele scoffed before clearing his intentions. "Would you allow me to see Radiant Dawn?" At that request, Claire accepts after a few minutes of debate and summons the blade only to hand it over to him. "Mm, quite an antic." He snickered at his own thoughts. "Doesn't really suit the era we're in or the user, now does it."
"What of it?" Claire asked annoyed.
"Well, perhaps something more suitable for you would be best." Angele pressed his palm over the blade before both began glowing and then burst in the blue hue of light from before.
Once she opened her eyes, Claire stared awestruck at the blade that she now saw in his hands. The broad sword was now a thin saber. The hilt was that of a cutlass sword but the wings were still engraved onto it in gold. The blade itself was much thinner than it used to and was double-edged. On the blade were carvings of petals, thorns, and roses all along the edge. What remained the same was the incandescent glow that emanated from the blade.
Angele nodded to himself before he pulled out of nowhere a scabbard for the sword. It was of a cobalt color overall. He sheathed it and passed it on to me, "There. Much better."
"Thank you," I say still appalled at how it looked.
"As for Oz-kun—" we came to face him once more while he searched through his belongings and took out another sheathed saber. The sheath was of white and gold engravings. At taking it out, Oz gaped at the blade that wasn't of any metal he had seen before. It seem to shimmer in the light and play with the colors of a prism. "Take it as a present for your coming of age."
"Thank you very much." He sheathed the sword and gasped when he saw something on the hilt that he hadn't before. "This—"
"What's wrong?" I inquired a bit taken aback.
He rummaged through his pockets and finally brought out his pocket watch. "It's the same insignia as the pocket watch."
"That's a craft of the best blacksmith I have come to know. He was an old friend of mine and he made it at my request." He let out a yawn while covering his mouth with his hand. "Well, it's been a long day and the courtyard's empty. So if you don't mind, I would like to get some rest." He opened the door and we walked out with him still at the threshold. "Now, children, I bid you goodnight."
After a few minutes of silence, Oz grinned at Claire "Did you hear what he said?"
"Yeah, goodnight."
"No, before that," he reiterated. "He said the courtyard's empty." Claire did recall those words Angele had said and found them a little odd. "Say Claire—" she turned at hearing the boy calling her. "Would you mind giving me a little lesson."
"Lesson?" she asked and say him rise his newly acquired sword. "Right now?"
"What better time than the present," he agreed. "It could be early training for your test. Since Break's bedridden you can't get his help, but I'm still here."
Claire grinned at the idea before turning to the boy. "All right, but I'll warn you now I'm not like Break. I won't hold back."
He laughed at her idle threat. "I'll learn what you teach me, Professor. I am a good student."
"Then get ready, Vessalius," she called while placing the sheath over her shoulders. "Because I'm about to wipe the floor with your face."
How was it? :3 Maybe if I get to writing another chapter tomorrow I'll upload another Sunday but that's a what if -w-
For now hope you guys liked it. And stayed tuned for the next chapter :D
