Prince Stas and Christine
Christine
(Legend of the Cryptids -Laura Sava)
September 5th
Year 18 4AOS
Tourneville. The capital city of the Kingdom of Mondé. A bustling metropolis with tall buildings of white stone with red roofs, extravagant gardens, winding rivers of clean, cool water, and elite universities both academic and magical. Though she lived close to it, twenty-one-year-old Christine De Beaufort spent most of her life in the mountains overlooking the city living in a convent dedicated to the learning the Faith of Yeyu.
The institution was tolerated by the people of Tourneville because the convent was so far to the South and away from the radicalism of the North, that the ladies who lived there minded their own business when they strolled into the markets to buy ingredients for supper. Sometimes, Christine would stop and watch a Duel taking place in the market square. She always admired the matches played by the young lordlings and nobles. Mondé was a land of warriors, so many decks played by the Duelists were warrior monsters.
Christine would marvel at the knights, soldiers, and legendary swordsmen that would be summoned in the afternoon games. She loved their extravagant armor, divine swords, masterly crafted shields, and heavenly faces. Her favorite monsters to be played was Phoenix Gilford and Neo the Magic Swordsman. So tolerant was the convent in Tourneville that the Reverend Mother even allowed Christine to keep a very unusual pet.
As she sat by the fountain in the courtyard of the convent, she ripped pieces of meat off her turkey leg and handed them to baby Duel Monster known as Tyrant Dragon. She found the hatchling's egg in a river when she traveled with the Mothers to the Abbey of Apple Gorge to pray in the Festival of the Harvest Moon.
The Reverend Mother was a kind and thoughtful woman, and let Christine keep the egg and the hatchling when it was born. She named it, Mérieux, after the House of a lordling whom she was supposed to marry when she was thirteen.
However, with the war going on against the Royal Houses of Boislevesques and Fourneauxs, Yeyunism was starting to turn into the main religion in northern Mondé. And with her House being farther north, the practice was forced upon her family without warning. Christine was made to take a vow of chastity and was sent to live in the convent at the command of the Platinum Priest of Mondé.
Despite all this, Christine had led a comfortable life with the Mothers; all of them treating her fairly and raising her properly. They became her family, the convent her home, and her little dragon the baby she would never have.
But, alas, all she knew and loved would never be the same after this day. For in Termnnia, the good souls must suffer with the thorns of life. Whilst the wicked, amass nothing but the sweet and gentle roses.
"Oh, that poor child," a nun said whilst pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace of the Reverend Mother's office. "I cannot bear to tell her the news."
"You won't," the Reverend Mother said while sitting on her chair in front of her desk, littered with scrolls and unfinished letters. "Your only task is to bring her to me. I will tell her the news myself. Go now, and let her know that I must speak with her at once."
"Yes, Reverend Mother," said the nun with a bow.
She ran outside to the courtyard where Christine was feeding her dragon on the wall of the fountain. The nun called out to her multiple times. Unfortunately, Christine was wearing earbuds, which were attached to her cell phone, a device she no doubt got from the merchants in town.
With the Royal House of Trevelyan having aligned itself with the House of Dalton in Domino City, more and more devices such as the one in Christine's pocket were starting to show up in the hands of the city's youth. Being a traditionalist, and a Yeyunist, the nun thought it blasphemous that Christine was carrying the phone. And her dragon. That creature was another story.
She approached the two companions cautiously and tapped Christine on the shoulder. The dragon hissed at the nun, for he despised anyone who got too close with his mother. Christine looked up at the nun and smiled. Her face was heart-shaped and delicate. Her skin was the color of crème and her eyes the lightest shade of green, giving her the appearance of one of the many porcelain dolls she kept in her room. She removed the earbuds from her ears. Her long, curled red hair made getting them out a difficult task.
"Hello, Mother," Christine said blissfully. "What do you need of me?" Her Tyrant Dragon hatchling snarled, crawling across her shoulders to scare the nun.
"Oh!" cried the nun. "That beast! Get it away from me!"
"Oh, Mother," laughed Christine. "Mérieux is only playing with you." Her dragon snapped back at the nun viciously. He tried to breathe fire, but only a puff of smoke with firecrackers came out. Christine twittered and rubbed the bottom of her dragon's neck with her index finger. "Besides, you should be grateful he is here. He's caught more rats in the cellars than any of those cats you own. And dragons desire a woman's touch. It's almost impossible for a man to tame them. Maybe it was the will of the Dragon goddess for that fact."
The nun slapped the back of her hand. "Young lady you will not mention the heathen gods in walls of this hallowed convent! And be grateful? Of that brute? Yeyu give me patience!"
The nun traced the symbol of Yeyu over her breast. "A True Dragon by the looks of him. Ever since that Avellana girl started summoning those…beasts weeks ago, more and more of those little devils are being found. If the Reverend Mother was not such a forgiving woman, we would have had that creature killed and had you disciplined. But I digress, the Reverend Mother wishes to speak to you in her chambers at once."
"Me? Oh, but, I didn't do anything wrong."
"No one said you did, young lady. Now get going. It's best not to keep the Reverend Mother waiting."
"Yes, Mother," said Christine. She wrapped the turkey leg in a purple napkin and placed it inside the picnic basket resting by her feet. She put her arm under the hook and stood up to make her way to the central tower of the convent. She stopped and looked at her dragon, then tapped his snout; one of the many signals she used to display her mood. Tapping on the nose meant she was serious.
"Okay look," she said to Mérieux while going up the stone steps. "We're going to see the Reverend Mother. If you want to continue eating this drumstick" - she held up the basket and waved it in his face - "then you're going to have to behave, understand?"
Mérieux gave a delightful chirp. Christine petted his read, rubbing the bottom of her finger along the smooth stubs on the top of his head, which would one day grow into horns the size of a full-grown man.
"Good boy," she said. She gave him a squeaky kiss on his head. She approached the great wooden door of the Reverend Mother's office.
Two convent paladins, female warriors selected by The Church, stood guard outside the door. When Christine approached, they let her inside. When she stepped into the office, she was immediately approached by the Reverend Mother.
"Come, child, I have grim news for you." She clutched Christine's hands.
"Reverend Mother, what is the matter?" Christine asked.
"Oh, Christine, my poor, poor child. We have just received word that a fortnight ago, your father was forced to leave the country by a group of bankers known as The Big Five."
"What? The Great Termnnian Bank?" Christine cried out loud. "But, my father would never…"
"I'm afraid it is so, my dear," the Reverend Mother interrupted. "He took a large loan from them and failed to pay them back. He was desperate, what with the war going on. He used the money to fund King Richard's campaign up north against the Houses of Boislevesques and Fourneauxs. Now, they've branded him a traitor, and have taken over your estate and your land in the Indigo Mountains with the help of The Big Five so they could get their gold back. Your father has disappeared into the South, and last night, your mother, out of grief, threw herself out of the highest tower in her father's castle. I'm afraid she's gone."
Christine's lips trembled. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. The Reverend Mother embraced her. "My child, you must be strong!"
"But…" Christine backed away from the Mother's embrace and wiped her tears with the white-ruffled sleeve of her blue dress. "Does that mean that I have no parents? No House? No money?"
"No, Christine, not entirely without money." The Reverend Mother walked to an iron safe at the corner of her office. "Some kind-hearted friends of your father's have come together and arranged for you to receive 1000 gold Star Chips, 200 gold Crowns, and 100 Silver Swords. It is more than enough to get you through this time of crisis. You shall receive it immediately."
She opened the safe and handed Christine her money in an expensive leather sack. "Unfortunately, without proper financial provision, there is no way for you to continue your education here with us. So I'm afraid you will have to leave on the morrow?"
"Leave!?" said Christine, taking another few steps back from the Mother.
The Reverend Mother came closer and placed a warm hand on Christine's face. "I will let you stay with us for one more night, but that is the best I can do, beloved."
"But where will I go?" Christine asked feeling fear overtake her. She had never known any other life besides the one she had in the convent.
The Reverend Mother walked towards one of her windows. She looked out the painted glass, staring down at the capitol below their mountain. "There must be some form of lodging you can find in the city," said the Reverend Mother. "Mayhaps there is a way for you to earn some sort of living down there. But there is nothing more I can do for you here in the convent, my sweet. Do not forget the lessons you have learned with us. May the will of Yeyu guide you to a brighter path, my child."
She traced the symbol of Yeyu over Christine's chest and embraced her one last time.
The sun rose high over the mountains the next day. Christine watched from the white-stone bridge as the iron gates of the convent closed behind her, never to be opened for her again. Mérieux playfully nibbled on a lock of her hair and chirped, a sign that he was hungry, but Christine paid him no heed. It was a long walk down the winding dirt roads of the mountain. It was noon by the time Christine had reached the tall red gates of the capital city. She saw the sixteen high towers of Castile de Trevelyan shining from the lonely mountain overlooking the city. As she crossed over a wide stone bridge, she could make out the harbor and the sails of ships coming to the Port of Guillan, sailing off into the distance to trade. The crowded red cobbled streets were shared with chickens, geese, and pigs.
Smells both delightful and pungent entered Christine's nostrils. The scent of hot meat roasting over a fire and all manner of soups and pastries were mixed with the smell of animal dung and the horses who clopped by pulling carriages smelled awful. The clock tower in the central plaza rang to announce the hour.
"It be noon now monsieurs and madams!" said the town crier, ringing a bronze bell. "All is well!"
Not for Christine. She had no idea where to go or who to look for in this desperate hour. A flood of strangers was all around her, and the buildings towering high over the walls that served who knew what purpose felt like they were closing in on her. Housing, business, she did not know, and it worried her awfully.
"Oh, Mérieux," she said, blinking rapidly to dry her tears. "I don't know what to do."
The dragon only chirped. He had no idea what was going on. Christine felt jealous of him. She wished that their roles were reversed. That she was him and he was her. He was so calm resting on her shoulder yawning and chirping lazily wondering when his next meal was going to be.
The gold tag on his black leather collar jingled with each movement he made. Everywhere Christine walked, merchants would jump out of nowhere shoving their wares in her face. Expensive clothing, fancy jewelry, designer shoes, and Duel Monster cards.
After a while, Christine stopped looked around for lodging in the financial district. The rent was unfairly expensive. She had enough gold to last her for two months, and that was only if she didn't spend her money on other necessities like food, clothes, and feminine care, for it was the time of her monthly course. But she needed a place to stay. Seeing no other alternative, she was forced to go to the slums on the harbor. Because of all the defecation that went on there, it was called Rue de Merde.
The people started getting nastier as she approached the slums. They saw her and offered her bedding for a taste of her buttocks and stated they could teach her new tricks like the frightened puppy that she was. She fled from them and delve deeper into the harbor. It started to smell like fish, piss, and shit. The salty sea air blowing in from the east did no help in eliminating the smell from her nostrils. Mérieux buried his head inside Christine's hair to instead get a whiff of the sweet-scented oils she used in the Convent. Being a dragon, even he did not enjoy the smell of the wharf. At this point, Christine felt like she was never going to find help.
Suddenly an elderly monk approached her. He had wisps of silvery hair and a large bald spot on the dome of his head. "My child," he said with a friendly bow. His voice was honey-sweet and warm. "Is there any way I can help you?"
Christine gasped with joy, relieved to find a pleasant face. Clearly, the monk saw Mérieux on her shoulder and had not a care in the world.
"Oh Father, please, I'm looking for a place to stay for the night."
"A place to stay?" asked the monk. "Well, of course, you must. It's getting dark and you're walking in the wharf. Women who wander these streets at night are never seen again. Have you any money?"
"Oh yes," Christine responded. "A lot of it. 1000 gold Star Chips, some Crowns, and Silver Swords. Father, it's all I have in the world."
"Ah, then you must take very good care of that money. It is not safe to carry such a sum in these parts. There's a lot of vile scumbags and pirates who would take your gold and turn you into a ship whore. Where is the money, my child?"
"Right here, Father," Christine said, taking out the sack of gold and silver she had.
The monk took it from her grasp without asking. He wrapped the cord around his chubby hand and looked at Christine. "I will keep your money safe in the chapel," said he, putting an assuring hand on her cheek. "I know a man who will be more than happy to lend you a room for the night. Monsieur Pépin comes to pray at the chapel of Yeyu every morning. Why don't you join him tomorrow during the morning mass? Once I see you are in good hands, I will return it to you. He lives just down the alleyway a short walk from here. It may not be the Castile de Trevelyan, but you'll find that he has a very pleasant house."
Christine smiled. "A house, Father? Truly?"
The monk nodded. Christine leaped with happiness. "Oh, thank you so much, father!"
The monk held out his fist. Christine kissed it as a sign of respect and went down the alley.
"Go with Yeyu," he called out to her. When Christine was gone, the monk looked at the sack of money in his hand and cackled greedily. "Ha, ha," he chortled. "Sucker."
Meanwhile, as Christine trekked farther and farther into the slums, the world around her became darker. Crazed homeless men passed by muttering to themselves. Bums sitting beside trashcans gawked at her and beckoned her into their hiding places. She stood out from the ugly, raggedy-dressed bums who stalked the dark corners of the alley.
She was still dressed as a highborn girl in a dress of emerald green with gold floral engravings and gold embroidered trim. She saw a house up ahead with a mailbox made from a tin can. The name Pépin was written hastily and with poor penmanship on the side of the tin can. All the windows were illuminated in a warm orange-yellow glow. The silhouettes of the residents inside dashed by every now and then.
From outside the house, Christine could hear a man moaning from somewhere in the house. A desperate and confused howl as though a dog was crying into the night. It was melodious, almost as though the poor fool was trying to sing.
"This is the place," Christine said to her dragon. "This is the largest apartment in the slums. Let's hope that this Pépin character is as nice as the monk said he is."
She rang the bell hanging over the door twice…three times. No answer, save for a series of mournful howls. She knocked on the red wooden door timidly. No answer, but the howl continued to come through the windows. Then, she heard a rumble of thunder in the sky.
"Oh, Aafi, please don't bring your torrents upon me now!" she prayed to the Goddess of Storms and the Seas, despite her faith in Yeyu. She turned around and saw the sea on the other side of the alleyway. Spiderwebs of lightning crisscrossed through the cloudy night sky. Christine knocked again but only another howl responded. The rain finally came and poured down on her with all its fury. Now she banged on the door with her fist, desperate to get an answer.
"Monsieur Pépin! Monsieur Pépin!" she called out frantically. "Oh, where in Zorc's name is he?"
"Ah…buh…wha…Who…Who's there?" called out a shaky, queer, and ill-begotten voice.
"Monsieur Pépin, please. My name is Christine. I've lost my home and I've lost my relatives. I need a place to stay for the night. If not longer. I was told that you could help me. Please, monsieur, it's raining outside."
"Ah…uh…do you have money?" he called out.
"Yes, yes of course," Christine called over the howling wind and the loud blasts of thunder.
"Well, then, come in. Come in!"
Christine opened the door. She pushed it shut against the fierce gale outside. The wind howled through the cracks and the heavy drops of rainwater rapped on the windows, roof, and walls of the house.
It reeked of old soup in there. The furniture was second-rate and dirty. Old clothes littered the ground and a mouse or two ran across the floors causing Christine to shriek. Mérieux licked his chops, ready to pounce and chase the little animals, to which Christine pinched his mouth shut with her fingers.
"There will be none of that, thank you!" she said, tapping her dragon's snout.
She heard a fire cracking from the chimney and the bubbling of burned stew over a gas-powered stove. She turned around the corner of the entrance hall and saw a fat, sickly old man cooking the stew. His thick gray beard was cut into messy mutton chops. A white nightcap stood miserably on his head; messed up white pompom hung from the end. He wore an elephant-gray shirt under a torn and dirty black vest stained with dirt and grease. His trousers were also black and stained with all manner of mess. His kitchen was no bigger than Christine's walk-in closet in the convent. Two iron lanterns fueled by whale fat were hung on the ceiling. A portrait of High Queen Kayla and her husband Timaeus was on the wall. Pépin was biting into a hard crust of bread as he stirred the soup in the rusty iron pot with a wooden spoon.
He brought the spoon to his mouth to taste the broth. Satisfied, he added a dash of salt. He must have heard Christine's footsteps, for he called out: "Sit down at the table. I'll be with you in a second."
Christine did as she was told, and pulled up a wooden chair, keeping an eye on the ground for any more mice. So far, there were none in sight. The mouse holes looked empty. Mayhaps the little creatures were afraid of Mérieux. Now she was especially glad for having the little dragon as a pet. Pépin turned around, at last, to face her after he took another large bite of his bread.
"It'll cost you…" he chewed with his mouth open. "One gold Crown a night. Is that okay with you little…" He paused when he saw the pretty girl and her pet dragon sitting at his table. Christine was not who he was expecting to see. He thought of her as another person. "The Summoner of Dragons?" he cried out loud. "Is that you, my lady?" he said with a slight squeak to his voice.
"No, monsieur," said Christine, shaking her head. "I am not Lady Avi. I'm Christine and this is my pet dragon, Mérieux."
Pépin studied her furiously. He snorted like a pig and shouted: "Where's my gold Crown?"
"I gave the money to a monk for safekeeping," said Christine. "He assured me that he would return the money to me tomorrow morning in mass when he saw you."
Pépin looked at her flabbergasted. "Monk? What monk? I don't know any monk!" he started getting angry.
"What monk?" said Christine. "The monk said you two knew each other. He said you would take me to see him tomorrow and collect the money."
"You stupid girl!" shouted Pépin. "If there's one thing the folk of this city must know, it's to never trust those Yeyunist bastards with money! You've been duped! Oh, what to do now? You have no money!"
Mérieux climbed up Christine's shoulder and hissed at Pépin violently, in case the old man meant his mother ill intent.
"So it seems," said Christine. She looked at the ground in shame. She could not believe she could have been so trusting with her money. All that coin and chips came from the friends of her beloved father. What beastly luck. First, the Covenant takes away her family name. Disassemble her House, and take her land. Now, they've taken all the gold she had. "I have no money," she said sadly. "No home. No friends. No one. Well, except my dragon here."
"Well," said Pépin.
He gave a heavy snort when he saw the Tyrant Dragon hatchling giving a yawn on the girl's shoulders. Pépin scratched his reddened cheek, feeling guilt for Christine. "I suppose there could be some way we could arrange for you to stay. I'm old, and I'm the janitor of these here apartments. I could use an assistant. A servant if you will."
Christine looked at Pépin and smiled. "Oh, I could use the work," she said.
"Uh-huh," said Pépin. He tapped his thick bottom lip and scratched the wart on his strawberry-colored round nose. "Well, that means another mouth to feed. I don't have very many ingredients in here for the both of us, or that beast on your shoulders."
Mérieux hissed. Pépin backed away while Christine tapped his snout, telling her dragon to be quiet. When he calmed down, he spoke to Christine again. "Tell me, girl, how much do you eat?"
"Not much," Christine replied.
"No?" said Pépin.
"No, not at all," said Christine. "Some bread and little soup will suffice to keep me happy."
"Well," Pépin said with a mocking snort. "There is no soup for you, silly girl. You're in La Rue de Merde. Not the Green Mermaid's District. We have soup probably once or twice every month. No, it will be bread. Bread, and water you gather from the river. That is all I can provide for you. If you want soup, you're going to have to provide me with some money. Tell me, how much do you have on you now?"
"Well, I did keep this." Christine removed a tiny sack of copper pennies and a chipped ruby from a compartment in the sleeve of her dress.
At once, Pépin snatched the money from her. He shook the contents of the sack onto his greasy, palm and snorted. "This is no good!" he said. "What else you got on you?"
Christine shrugged. "I've got nothing else, that's all the money I have, sir."
Pépin then eyed Mérieux avidly. He cackled and rubbed his hands together. "Ah, your dragon would sell nicely. Dragons are rare creatures indeed. I know a man in town who could pay us 20,000 gold Star Chips for that beast. Come now, help me restrain it and…"
He approached, but Mérieux stood up on Christine's shoulder, spread his little wings, and screeched waving his front claws up and down to keep Pépin away.
Pépin cursed something awful after he jumped and backed away towards the counter, knocking over pots and pans.
"You leave my dragon alone, sir!" ordered Christine. "Surely there must be something else I can do to pay you for supper."
"Well," Pépin said, grasping his chest to soothe his beating heart. "Hmm, those clothes you're wearing. They're much too fine for a servant girl. Give them to me, and I can sell them to the tailor for at least five Crowns. That would buy us a weeks' worth of food for some soup and perhaps a slice of gooseberry pie from Madame Anjou's bakery. What do you say?"
Christine whined, examining her fine clothes. The emerald dress she wore was a gift from her mother for her twenty-first birthday. She found it hard to believe that just a few months ago, she was living the life of luxury at the convent. Hot food at the table. A room all to herself. But what choice did she have now? It was either starve or sell the dress. She chose the latter.
At least with a handful of Crowns, she could buy a bottle of clean water imported from Domino or a pitcher of fruit punch. River water was not recommended to drink seeing as how the city bums wandered around and did their business in the water.
But Pépin assured her that they could no longer do that. King Richard made it illegal to pollute the water under pain of death. The last fool who broke the law was never found, but more than twenty beggars were rounded up and taken to the dungeon as a warning. Since then, no one ever pissed in the river. Still, it did not make Christine feel any better about drinking from it. She smiled, for this was better than nothing.
"Well, I don't mind what I eat," she assured Pépin. "So long as I have a bed to sleep in and a roof over my head. I am just fine. And my dragon would prove most useful in catching the mice in the apartment."
"Very good, very good," said Pépin. "Well, come on now. I will show you to your room. Come. Come."
He waved his arm, signaling her to follow him into a small bedroom on the other side of the kitchen. All that separated her room was a red drape over the doorway. There was not much in privacy, for there was a window with a view into her room right by the stove where Pépin cooked.
"Take all your clothes off. Hurry up and give them to me when you're done."
He left the room to give her privacy as she changed, more for his own sake because Mérieux was perched on the bed snarling at Pépin as if commanding him to leave. Pépin stood on the other side of the drape and gave Christine her instructions for the next morning's chores. He could still see her through the thin drape.
He grinned and said: "At sunrise!" he said sternly. "The house must be absolutely clean! I want the furniture dusted. I want the floors swept. And I expect that dragon of yours to catch every single mouse in this house!"
He saw Christine pulling her dress down, revealing her ruffled undergarments. Slowly, she started taking that off, too.
"Anything else?" she asked, wondering why he had gone quiet.
"Ah yes, I want the floors upstairs polished for the other residents. They can pay you well if they like the job you've done. Any earnings you receive, you will give to me! Am I understood!?"
"Oui, monsieur," Christine said, changing into a pathetic linen nightgown with slits at the side that showed off her thighs. She did this as she cowered at the corner of her room to keep away from the prying eyes of her employer, stretching his beefy neck as far as he could to get a better glimpse of her. He cackled when he spotted her bottom sticking out from behind the drape. When he saw the dragon walking out, he ducked his head back in the kitchen.
He heard Christine sniffling. The nightgown would be the only clothes she would wear from now on. She leaped onto the bed and started crying. How her life dropped so low in so little time was overwhelming. Pépin came into the room with a look of disdain on his face.
The girl was no doubt a blessing who could earn him a few coins every now and then, but she was still human. He watched her sobbing as he picked up her clothes. Mérieux chirped sadly, licked her forehead, and cuddled up right next to her. Christine put an arm around her dragon and cried herself to sleep.