For some reason, the world was silent, as if there was no one outside, or inside the building. She stood tall, or at least she tried to, so she would listen to his complaints and orders, but she was too exhausted to make sure she did it right.
Her skin was numb, her eyes were dark, with only the tiniest bit of light in them.
"You can't do anything right! You were made for this purpose! You were made to serve and yet you can't even do that!" He started shouting at her, and she wished she could bring her hand to wipe his disgusting saliva away.
He was walking back and forth, looking completely outraged.
How she hated him, his voice, his face, everything about him.
"You're so irredeemable! It would have been better if I got another one of you!" She flinched at his words, but didn't look at him. "The only good thing about you is your body, but even that got old quick."
Croix fought back the tears that started to form in her eyes. She tried to stop herself from shaking, to even her breaths, but just him mentioning it was enough for her to panic.
"Oh, I know what would redeem you." She could hear the amusement in his voice. Her heart started beating faster, her palms started sweating, and fear took over her, and she waited for his next words, his next order. "How about you bring me one of your sisters?" He said, and her heart stopped.
There was nothing but silence, and after that, All Of Love only saw red.
Croix's eyes shot open, when she a hand gently cup her cheek. She shook the blurriness of sleep away, and looked at the person beside her. Chariot was looking down at her with concern, and from the small lightning in the room, she could tell that the night was still long.
She decided to sleep for once on the couch, missing the comfort of sleeping in her human form. She tried to ignore her sister and hope that she wouldn't rip her head off why she's asleep.
"Are you okay?" Chariot asked, and the servamp just nodded, before sitting up. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd drink some water. But then I checked on you and you looked like you were having a nightmare." She said, before sitting next to her, and looking at her with concern.
"You've been thinking about me?" Croix asked, teasingly, thought it didn't come out like usual.
"Oh please." Chariot scoffed, before asking again. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Croix sighed, then looked at her eve. "Will you go back to sleep?"
"Well, I think I'm wide awake. I thought I'd watch the T.V until sleep takes me again. But you're sleeping here so I'll go back to my room."
"I'll watch with you." The lilac haired woman said, surprising her. "I don't feel like going back to sleep, and maybe you'd like some company." She said, and her answer made the red head smile.
Croix wondered if she'd smile at her again, if she told her the truth, about her misfortune, and about the Eves that died because of her, or about her first Eve… that she killed, herself.
She kept thinking about it, and how no matter what she says, she could not justify that to Chariot, and how some of her Eves considered her to be cursed, or a bringer of misfortune when she told them.
Chariot was the first Eve that she had in the longest time, and she was a good one at that.
She didn't want to fail her.
Croix's eyes widened, when she felt a head resting on her lap. Chariot was trying to stay awake to watch the movie, but the servamp's warmth only made her more comfortable.
Croix's eyes softened, and she ran a hand through her red hair, and the act made Chariot give a small sleepy smile as she gave up and slept. The lilac haired vampire smiled as well, and let out a sigh.
This… was nice.
The warmth, the comfortable silence that filled the room, that was accompanied by the subtle T.V noises, and its soft light being the only thing to illuminate the room. It made her feel slightly peaceful, hopeful even. It felt like home, something she missed for centuries.
"She deserves to know." Croix's thoughts were interrupted by the stoic voice of her sister, always refusing to show the emotions she was feeling.
She wondered if her behavior was one of the reasons Queen was so cold.
"I know." Croix said, refusing to turn to her, but if she did, she would have seen a morbid expression on the servamp of pride's face.
-L&M-
Chariot quietly sipped her coffee, listening to Akko's rambling about how she has been looking with Sloth for an Eve. The red head didn't really mind the servamps, she got used to them, but if it was what sloth wanted, she had no right to stop her.
"And so, we decided on Lotte!"
Chariot spit her coffee and both Croix and Diana leaned back to avoid it.
"Akko! You're not getting Lotte and her family into trouble!" Chariot said, and both Croix and Diana gave her a look, while Akko looked offended. "I… I mean, It's not that you guys are bad but you do destroy a lot of my furniture." She said, trying to avoid everyone's looks, then went back to drinking her coffee.
"Oh, don't worry. I wouldn't hurt my Eves or kill them as long as they feed me." Sloth said, and her words made Diana glance at the lilac haired woman. Croix's eyes wandered to her food.
"Come on sis! Have some faith in me!" The brunette huffed and crossed her arms, making her sister sigh. "Lotte would love to have a vampire as her servant! We're not going to force her either!" Akko was now pouting, and that made the red head let out a chuckle and smile, staring at her lovingly.
"Alright, I'll trust you with this." Chariot said, before getting up to prepare herself. She hugged Akko before grabbing her jacket and leaving the house with her Eve.
"You don't want me to carry you there?" Croix asked when she saw her Eve walking away. She followed her, confused. Chariot just smiled and linked her arm with Croix's.
"I felt like walking today." The red head smiled, then added. "Do you miss cradling me in your arms, already?"
"Oh, look at you, you're learning!" Croix chuckled, and raised an eyebrow. "If anything, I'd say that you enjoyed it."
"Oh, hush." Chariot playfully nudged her shoulder.
"Wow, are you sure you two aren't a couple?" They stopped to find Marjolaine staring at them with crossed arms and a smirk. Chariot yelped while the lilac haired woman looking annoyed. "Before you ask where did i come out from, I was coming to get you because you promised me I'd come with you today."
"I did?" Chariot laughed nervously.
"You did." Marjo said.
"Yeah, you kinda did." Croix added.
"Oh no." Chariot whispered softly and closed her eyes thinking of all the tragedies her best friend could cause. Well, it can't be worse than Akko!
"Besides, while you're modeling, I can spend some time with Croix." Marjolaine said with a not so innocent smile, and the redhead tightened her grip on hers servamp and glared. Croix smiled slightly at her reaction. "Just kidding, vampires might be hot but they're not my type."
"You're not my type either." Croix smiled, and pulled away her arm to wrap it around Chariot's waist and bring her closer to her. The action made the redhead look in confusion.
Marjo eyed the protective gest and smirked. "Oh, is that so? What's your type then?"
"Redheads, dorks with a pure heart, an awkward mess…" Croix started and her Eve nudged her, blushing.
"Alright, that's enough for you two." She said, trying to hide her face, but the two just laughed in amusement. She took Croix by the hand, and Marjo by the arm and dragged them along.
Meanwhile, Akko, Diana, and Sloth headed to meet with Lotte. They agreed to meet with her at the nearby park since they didn't have any classes today.
"I hope your friend isn't like you." Sloth stated, in the brunette's arms. "The only reason I'm going to meet her is because I've ran out of options."
"Or you can stay without an Eve." Diana said, clearly uninterested by this.
"At this rate, All of Love's Eve is going to be broke and no one will feed me anymore, so no thank you." Sloth answered, then yawned and rubbed her ear with her palm.
"Hey! My sister is doing her best!" Akko groaned, before stopping the moment she saw Lotte with a blonde guy. "Who's that?" She wondered, and squinted in hopes she's recognize him, but no use.
"That, is my Eve."
The three girls turned to the intruder, and found Andrew, glaring at the pair. Akko stared at his behind, wanting to spot his tail, fortunately, he hid it.
"Please stop staring at my butt." He muttered, and the brunette flashed and dropped sloth who hissed.
"I wasn't staring! It's not what you think!" The brunette said, and while she was trying to explain herself, Diana picked Sloth up. "Anyway, what is your Eve doing with my friend?"
"He bumped into her and her books fell. You know, the usual cliché." He rolled his eyes, and the others eyed him suspiciously. He was upset. "Turns out he reads the same books as her, and now they're getting along."
"You don't seem to like that." Diana smiled slightly, and uncrossed her arms, making him glare at her.
Akko shrugged and walked towards the pair, while the two siblings glared at each other.
Now that Akko managed to get a closer look at the boy, he look quiet… dorky. His blonde hair was styled and there was a constant smile on his face, perhaps he took a liking to Lotte?
The latter noticed her friend, and smiled at her. "Akko!" She waved, then glanced between her and the boy. "Akko, this is Frank, he's-"
"Andrew's Eve! Nice to meet you! I'm Atsuko Kagari, an Eve too, but you can call me Akko!" Akko said, furiously shaking Frank's head, while her friend looked in confusion, then saw the three servamps walking towards them.
Frank didn't even have the time to register what he just heard, as the girl violently greeted him.
"Speaking of Eves! I brought you one of the servamps, Lotte!" She said, letting go of the shaken boy. Lotte just blinked, not sure how to answer.
"Nice to meet you…" Frank laughed nervously, before noticing his own servamp. "I didn't expect to meet another Eve today, or more servamps." He turned to them and smiled. "I'm Frank, it's nice to meet you!"
"Frank said that his father is funding the new Nightfall movie!"
"It has a terrible take on vampires." Andrew complained, keeping his anger in check, and Diana started to realize what was upsetting him when he stepped extremely close to his Eve.
He's being protective.
The blonde chuckled and swang an arm around his servamp. "Well, you can always add your touch if you want!" He said, then turned to the girls. "You all seem like cool people! How about i invite you to lunch? I'd like to know Andrew's friends better!"
"No, thanks." Diana said.
"I'm allergic to cheerful people." Sloth said.
"Why are you two like this?" Akko glared at them both, and they just shrugged. "That'd be fun! We'd love that!"
"We wouldn't, but I got nothing to do." Sloth deadpanned, and transformed to her human form, making Frank let out a girly scream at the sight.
Akko squinted at her, trying to understand why everyone found her to be so scary. Sure she had a very pale skin, an eye that stares into your soul, and many fangs, but that was all!
The brunette did not find her answer.
-L&M-
Chariot sighed the moment she walked in along with her 'guests'. She was nervously looking around, wondering what accidents Marjolaine can cause, she was almost as bad as Akko. And she was also a shameless flirt, so she hoped she wouldn't flirt on her coworkers.
"Alright, I have to change, so you better behave, Marjo!" Chariot said, pointing an accusing finger at her friend, who chuckled.
"What would I do?"
"Remember the last time we went to a place together and you literally broke all the tables?"
"Why did I do that?"
"I know! Why did you do that?"
"Can I talk to the people here? Make some friends? Flirt with some people?" Marjolaine asked, with a sweet smile, making the redhead roll her eyes and give her a slight smile.
"As long as it doesn't cost me my job." Chariot said, before walking to talk with one of her coworkers.
The rockstar giggled like some sort of child, then went around talking to people.
"Hey, do you come here often?" She asked some guy.
"I… work here." He said, baffled, and she just gave him a piece of paper prepared beforehand and whispered 'call me'.
Croix stared at her with disappointment. That was not the way to flirt with people, she wasn't even smooth! The lilac haired witch then shook her head in amusement, then turned to her Eve. The latter seemed to be slightly concerned, and both she and the guy she was talked to turned to her, and she raised an eyebrow in return.
Chariot sighed and walked towards her, looking a bit… embarrassed? Annoyed? She couldn't tell.
"Croix, do you think you could do me a favor?" She asked, looking at her nervously.
"Chariot, I'm literally your servant." Croix deadpanned.
"Well… This shot needs two models and, the second model can't make it." The redhead looked at her, rubbing her neck. "They saw you and thought you'd be fit for the job."
There was a pause.
"Are you serious?"
Chariot was indeed serious, and that was how Croix found herself changing her clothes for the shooting. Why did they have to wear suits anyway? That was not original. She fixed her hair, giving it a new look, using some gel. She wasn't fond of this but she had to help her Eve out.
She moved to check on Chariot who was done a while ago but kept failing at doing her tie. Croix snorted, and tapped her shoulder.
"Do you need some help with that?" She asked.
"Yes, please-" Chariot turned and stopped at the sight of her servamp. She stood in shock, not used to seeing her like that, with that hairstyle and in an outfit like that. She quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to stare at her, but she had to admit that she looked gorgeous like that.
Well, she'd be a liar if she said she never thought Croix was gorgeous. And she never thought about it before, she wasn't even thinking about it right now, it was just in plain sight that's all.
Croix looked amused and couldn't resist to tease her. "What? Are my charms too much for you?" Her teasing made Chariot sigh.
"You're so full of yourself, you know that?"
Croix laughed and started working on her tie. Her thoughts started wandering again to her past, to her first Eve, and she had no idea why. Why now of all times? Perhaps she just wished to ruin another good thing in her life?
Croix finished the tie, and didn't realize that Chariot has been staring at her… fondly, the whole time. She looked back, confused to why she would be given such a look. Fortunately, Chariot spoke on her own.
"You're good at a lot of things. I'm a little jealous." Chariot chuckled, then looked at her with a warm smile. "Thank you." She said, taking her hands off the tie and in her own. "I feel like I rely on you a lot, I'm sorry for that."
"What are you saying? I'm your servant, you can give me any order and I won't say no." Croix said, surprised. Her Eve just shook her head.
"But you're my friend. You're not a tool for me to use." Chariot admitted, not letting go of her hands.
Croix remained silent, too shocked to answer to that. When her Eve let go and started walking towards the door, she turned to speak.
"What if I'm not as good of a person as you think?" She asked, and Chariot turned to her, surprised. And the servamp stood there, feeling as if time stopped, and like everything depended on what she would say next.
And suddenly she was in that place, centuries ago, with blood on her hands and the terrifying realization sinking in.
Going back to the present, she still saw red, but that red was warmer and softer. That red stared back at her with concern and Croix felt weak for the first time in years.
Did she really need to tell her? Can't she just let her live ignorant of what she did in the past? Couldn't she just spare her the knowledge of her misfortune and of the things that made her what she was today?
A servamp who only brought tragedy to those around her. A servamp who left everyone behind like a coward.
As seconds passed and she found herself closer to the inevitable, she opened her mouth, only to be cut off by someone outside yelling at them to come out and model.
Chariot looked at the door conflicted then at her Eve, she gave her an apologetic look and walked outside. The lilac haired woman closed her eyes and let out a long sigh, not sure if she was relieved or more anxious at the fact that it'd take her more time to tell her.
Chariot was a gentle soul, and she deserved to know, didn't she?
She'd have every reason to hate her… and that thought saddened her.
After opening her eyes and looking at her miserable reflection in the mirror one last time, she walked outside as well.
All she needed to do was to help her through the photo shoot, and then she'd confess everything to her… Well, not everything. One part of her story was enough.
That was the plan, and for the next time period of them working… She couldn't keep her guilty gaze off her.
-L&M-
"Oh? So Andrew served your family for generations? Isn't he sick of you by now?" Akko asked as she walked next to Frank, the two were very talkative people, which was something that Diana did not appreciate but tried to tolerate.
"Well, he had some couple of Eves in between!" Frank answered, ignoring how rude the question came out. Andrew just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
"And here I thought Doubt Doubt was the jealous one." Diana smirked, glancing at her brother, who in return scoffed at her.
"I don't want to hear it. Don't think I forgot what you've done."
"It was just some money, Silence. You have plenty of it."
"I'm talking about All of Love." Andrew said, glaring at her. He felt a bit of pride though when he saw how her mood changed. "You know all the things she has been through and yet you treat her like that. You're acting like a child who can't get over the fact that their mother left them to grow up."
"Well she's not my mother and I'm no child!" Diana snapped, but made sure that her tone was quiet enough that the others wouldn't hear them. "She didn't just leave me, she left all of us!"
"So what? You're not the one who has been treated like a symbol of misfortune."
"No one told her to kill her Eve. She could have talked to us, we would have done something." Diana tried to reason, almost desperate. "This whole thing could have been avoided."
"Do we even know how far her Eve pushed her for her to snap and kill him?" He asked, and stopped walking. "There are things that she never told us!"
"Why didn't she trust us? I've trusted her with all my heart, and you can't lie to me and say that didn't hurt you as well." She said, almost whispering, and her brother simply looked down.
Lotte who has been walking awkwardly next to Sloth, looked at them hesitant, before asking. "Is… everything okay?"
"Oh, you know. It's just family drama." Sloth commented, her tone lacked the teasing for once. She was able to hear their entire conversation, but chose not to comment on it. She herself had no idea what exactly happened in the past, so she couldn't judge.
Frank sent Andrew a worried and questioning look, but the latter just adjusted his tie and pretended that nothing has happened.
Before Akko could ask her servamp what happened, someone passed between them, pushing Frank away, and while no one realized what that meant because of their state, Akko did.
"Hey!" She yelled before running after the person.
"Hey Akko!" Both Frank and Lotte yelled, and the blonde checked his pocket, only to find his money gone.
Two of the servamps groaned, realizing who the thief was, while the other stood there emotionless, unsure if she should show her excitement.
She truly loved to see the world burn.
Akko ran after the thief as fast as she could. From what she could see, it was a girl with wild hair, and she seemed like she could be her age.
Gritting her teeth, the brunette pushed herself harder to catch up to her.
"Hey! Give back my friend's stuff!" She yelled, reaching to catch her only for the girl to chuckle and avoid her, running to cross the street.
"Don't get yourself involved in these games kid!" The girl yelled, causing many cars to stop as she ran without a care of getting hit.
Akko just groaned and followed her lead.
"What, kid? You think you can catch up to me?"
"You're a kid too!" Akko yelled before jumping towards the girl and wrapping her arms around her waist. Unfortunately, she chose that moment to jump as well, and her jump was much higher than any human could do.
The brunette regretted her actions as she found herself in the air clinging to this thief and so close to falling to her death, she let out a yell before dropping on a building next to the girl.
"I'm centuries old, you dunce!" The girl laughed. Then turned to the two figures who followed her. "Hey there siblings, I heard you were in this town so I came to say hi." She chuckled, upon seeing the scowl on Diana's face.
"Lawless… Why are you here?" She asked, while Andrew fixed his tie, angrily staring at the person who stole his Eve's money.
"Like I said, to say hi to my siblings. And to All of Love of course, I heard there were some people who wanted her? Maybe I should bring her and see how much I'd get paid or something." Lawless joked, and the servamp of pride glared at her.
Before she could say anything, Akko punched the new servamp in the face, making her drop the money. Lawless stood in shock before attempting to punch her back, fortunately, Diana took her Eve in her arms and jumped away.
"What are you doing? She's a servamp! She could kill you!" Diana scolded her Eve who pulled away and stared at Lawless.
"You're a servamp, he's a servamp, Croix and the cat are servamps! What is up with you all? Are there any other servamps I should know about that could kill me or steal stuff from my friends?" Akko complained. "This one stole something from a friend and I don't care if I'm no match! If I don't fight for something then what's the point?!"
"Don't tell me that's your Eve! Your standards have sunk so low, Queen! Are you even a Queen anymore?" Lawless snorted.
Diana simply grabbed her Eve by the arm to stop her from running towards her. "At least my Eve has things she values. You were just talking about selling off one of your siblings."
"Learn to take a joke, Queen. No one would buy a servamp of misfortune." Lawless said before throwing back the money at Andrew, who has been silently wrathful.
"I'll see you around soon, losers!" She said and looked at them one last time with a devious smirk, before jumping away.
Both Diana and Andrew sighed, and they were obviously annoyed with this encounter. If there was one servamp that rarely got along with anyone, it was her.
"Hey, Diana…" Akko suddenly said, looking thoughtful, and her servamp's eyes shot wide with what she said next. "All of Love is… Croix, isn't she?"
And at that moment, All of Love stood behind Chariot who just finished the photoshooting. The red head let out a long sigh, and they were alone in the room.
Croix couldn't keep her eyes off her the whole time, she was beautiful and kind… She was unreachable to a sinner like her, and she certainly deserved better than someone who only brings misfortune.
Sighing, she knew this was it, what she had to do. Like the fool she was, she got attached to her Eve, and she knew how it always ends. At least it'd be better if her Eve hated her, right?
"Thanks Croix, you saved me." Chariot said, taking off her tie, before turning to the lilac haired woman and being caught into a hug. "Croix…?" She asked, surprised, but her servamp did not move.
"I'm about to tell you something important, okay?" Croix said, holding closer, refusing to look at her. There was a slight crack in her voice, and the redhead noticed. She wrapped her arms around her waist, and relaxed into her the embrace. Chariot didn't say anything, she just waited for her to speak, but Croix wasn't ready to, she wasn't ready to let go yet.
She wasn't ready to lose her, so she held her as tight as she could, before she'd have to let her go.
"I…" Croix started, as the embrace started to make her lose her resolve. Sighing, she closed her eyes and slowly pulled away as she confessed…
"I killed my first Eve."
Lawless is Amanda, and we'll see more of sloth next time!