Mendacium Speculorum

Chapter 4: Wondered

"Out of the way! I was here first!"

"No, I was here first, you overweight, spoiled lump of lard!"

"THE CAKES ARE MINE! GET OUT!"

"Hey! I was here ever since! Both of you, get in line!"

"WHAT? You do realize that you're of a lower rank than me, don't you? Don't talk to your seniors like that, little girl!"

"Little girl? You're asking for it, aren't you?"

They were squabbling, wrestling and cursing one another as they fought their way to grab even a tiny crumb of the infamous confectioneries and delicacies served in the dining hall. As if the departing ceremony had never happened that morning, the witches of the Senate threw all caution to the wind once they had laid their eyes on the beautifully decorated cakes, cupcakes, muffins, breads, macarons and so on, so forth. But this case was a bit different, because most witches wouldn't run and fight over desserts unless it was made by him, that one particular person whose expertise was held in high regard. He wasn't even a person, a demon in fact, but if you would compare him to a gentleman, he would be around twenty-times far more respectable than any noble around him. Instead of looking grand and elegant, the witches now looked simply out of place in the dining hall with their torn gowns, tussled hair and minor scratches all over their faces. All they wanted was the desserts, more, not less. In the past, they used to form a line for his confectioneries, but it had been a very, very long time since his presence had graced the Senate's dining hall, so no one had bothered to make a line at all and just went with the 'first come, first serve' policy. And when the 27th ranked demon in the 72 pillars walked in the dining hall with his illustrious smile, the witches took their eyes off the food and flocked around him instead.

Of all the demons who had ever existed, Ronove was the most respected among witches and beings alike. He was everything a woman could ask for in a man; excellent cooking skills, superb etiquette, good looks and exceptionally good tea. One of the Great Demons in the 72 pillars, Ronove was a demon who stuck strictly to his principles and never wavers whenever his master instructs him to perform a task. It was an utmost privilege for a witch to employ him, and there must be a suitable compensation once he is under a witch's service. It applies for all demons who make a contract with a human or a witch; should they fail to give the required compensation, they could have the permission to end that human's life or strip a witch off her powers. No exceptions. Witches flocked around him like birds flocking around a loaf of bread on the floor, clad in their torn dresses while disregarding their ruined intricate hairstyles and scratches.

It really did amuse him, and he let himself laugh as demands for more confectioneries filled his ears. But he only came to the Senate of Witches to serve the food after the departing ceremony, and to visit a friend of his. Slinking himself away from the crowd, he walked towards the witch that he was looking for, who was standing by the window. And when Beatrice was too busy trying not to worry about Lambdadelta by drinking cups and cups of tea, he tapped her shoulder lightly, making her jump.

"Ah! O-Oh, it's just you, Ronove..." Beatrice blushed in embarrassment, quickly trying to regain her composure. "Good afternoon," she said formally, curtsying before him as he bowed before her equally to share respects. Ronove kissed her hand, and then decided to break formalities by moving into casual conversation.

"Good afternoon, Lady Beatrice. Are the confectioneries to your liking?"

"They're scrumptious, thank you," Beatrice smiled, nodding her head in approval. "Thank you so much for coming. Lady Hemera made an excellent choice when she had announced you as the caterer after the departing ceremony. How's the princess?"

Ronove merely chuckled. "Pu ku ku, is that so? I was hoping to come a bit earlier to see Lady Lambdadelta, but apparently she had already left with Lady Aurora. I even baked her favorite red velvet cupcakes just in case. Ah...that is regrettable indeed, Lady Beatrice. And the princess is alright, but she's rather hesitant at the fact that I'm leaving for the Senate without her, pu ku ku~"

Beatrice sighed, her face assumed a hopeless expression, just like the silvery locks of her hair. "Lady Lambdadelta would've been among those witches too if she were to be here now. I think all those cupcakes and tea would've been gone in three seconds at the least..."

Imagining Lambdadelta storming in the dining hall and leaping right towards the table full of red velvet cupcakes, wrestling along with those witches despite the weight of her incredibly ornate gown and screaming battle cries just like the rest made Beatrice giggle a bit. If she were here, she would do just that, and Beatrice could picture herself pulling her senior out with much difficulty. It sort of made Beatrice rather melancholy, but her train of thought was suddenly interrupted with Ronove's voice.

"She is truly a marvelous witch, isn't she?" Ronove smiled. "I don't wish to intrude, but I have been wondering about how Lady Hemera wasn't chosen to become Lady Aurora's opponent in the battle for succession. She is, after all, 33 ranks higher than Lady Lambdadelta, and it had made me think more than I should."

The Endless Witch turned in surprise, as if what he was saying made her realize something. "You're right...that is rather intriguing...Why did Lady Aurora-"

"Please keep your voice down, Lady Beatrice," Ronove reminded her. "We wouldn't want others to eavesdrop on us."

As quickly as she could, Beatrice put her teacup down on one of the tables and beckoned Ronove to a more quiet and private corner of the dining hall, to which it was guaranteed that no one could hear them. Once that was done, Beatrice proceeded to speak her suspicions.

"Continuing where I have left off. Why did Lady Aurora do that? Surely Lady Hemera is more powerful than Lady Lambdadelta herself?"

"Surely. The first ranked witch of the Senate is always the second most powerful witch in the universe, am I correct, Lady Beatrice?"

"But it makes no sense as to why Lady Aurora chose Lady Lambdadelta as her opponent!" Beatrice exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "There's got to be a reason, valid or not. It could be that Lady Aurora did that out of a whim..."

"Possibly," Ronove nodded. "Lady Aurora is famous for doing things solely for her own entertainment. All we can do is hope for the best for Lady Lambdadelta, but of course, she is a smart witch. She has one of the smartest minds I have ever known, in fact, pu ku ku. So I wouldn't worry so much about the Witch of Certainty, Lady Beatrice."

It was evident that Ronove was trying to soothe Beatrice's worries, but it did make both of them curious. Why wasn't the first ranked witch of the Senate chosen as Lady Aurora's opponent in her succession game? And as Beatrice had said, she could be more powerful, smart, cunning and experienced than Lambdadelta herself. What's with the sudden twist of events? What's going on in Lady Aurora's mind?

"Lady Lambdadelta did remind you not to worry so much, Lady Beatrice," Ronove coaxed her. "When Lady Lambdadelta comes back and sees you in this state, you could be scolded very harshly for your misconduct. So please don't worry so much, Lady Beatrice."

Beatrice knew not to worry too much, and thanked Ronove for his concern. But in reality, it's really hard to do so.

Especially when you know that person might not come out alive.

"Tea?"

Lambdadelta looked at the elegant teacup resting on its saucer, inhaled the scent of the tea quietly and drank some. "Thank you."

Featherine smiled pleasantly as she poured herself a cup, making herself comfortable at the tea table in the main room of her infamous library. The scent of books lingered in the air, blending itself with the aroma of the black tea Featherine had conjured up earlier. It's been an hour since Featherine and Lambdadelta arrived in the infamous library of the Witch of Theatergoing and Spectating (to which most would just call 'The Library' for short), and if one were to enter it, they wouldn't know how to navigate themselves in the maze of bookshelves and doors that led to everywhere at once. Featherine had decided that they would just play in a large library full of droll, dull books that she had collected and compiled once upon a time instead of playing in an esteemed location where the entire world could see them play and yell barbarically whenever they were displeased. It was more quiet that way anyways. Solitude was always appreciated. A small, yellowish light would illuminate them and the small pillows on the floor would cushion them should they get tired or just decide to recline on something more comfortable. It was always rather dark in Featherine's main game room, and very, very secluded.

In addition to that, that respective game room was terribly messy when Lambdadelta had first arrived. At least Featherine had the courtesy to clean it up, or Lambdadelta would've lost it on the spot. If Beatrice ever had her room like this (or worse, a quarter of it), there could be no telling how Lambdadelta would activate her rather hot temper at anything disorganized.

"I'm surprised that you didn't select Lady Hemera as your opponent," Lambdadelta spoke, looking at the red curtains that completely hid the windows that it adorned. "It is usually customary for the most powerful witch in the universe to select someone of her own level, and I'm afraid that I don't think that I measure up to your standards."

The Witch of Theatregoing merely smiled with amusement, unfazed at Lambdadelta's mild sarcasm. "Aaah, but I disagree, Lady Lambdadelta. You are a very interesting and intriguing witch, and I wouldn't want you to think so little of yourself~ I could play this game with you for twelve or more centuries if I could and not get bored, hmm..."

"Oh, but I'm not belittling myself, Lady Aurora. I'm merely stating the facts."

"Oh my, that's uncalled for," Featherine giggled mildly, proceeding to pour more tea in Lambdadelta's cup. "In that case then, Lady Lambdadelta, why don't we drop the formalities and start addressing each other as equals? Wouldn't that be so much better? All that etiquette and mannerisms could be put aside~ Don't worry, I don't bite, unlike the past witches who are just so old, wrinkly, uptight, prudish and so on, so forth~"

"I did remind you that I dislike idle conversation, Lady Auror-"

"Featherine, if you may," the Witch of Theatregoing interrupted, totally not minding whatever Lambdadelta had said. "Unless that makes you feel uncomfortable as well, then you may refrain then. I'm merely trying to be a good host, Lady Lambdadelta, and I wonder what would make you feel at home in my library~" With that, Featherine did a childish shrug, sipping her tea nonchalantly. "Seeing that you seem to dislike so many things, get uncomfortable with most things, feel uneasy with anything at all..."

Lambdadelta couldn't stop thinking whether Featherine was doing this out of spite or out of sheer childish amusement. "Are you mocking me, Lady Aurora?"

"Of course not! How could you think of such a thing? I shouldn't be babbling so much, it just makes you more uneasy, no? And I don't want that, oh no. I don't want you to be uneasy about anything throughout the game, so I shall stop now. Is that to your liking, Lady Lambdadelta?"

"I won't say anything," the blonde-haired witch spoke in a low tone, clearly aggravated. It was rather amusing for Featherine, as most witches wouldn't dare to be so straightforward with her. They would usually hide their hatred in laces of sarcasm, and technically, Lambdadelta wasn't one of them. Just seeing her irritated face was simply so satisfying, so cute, so amusing to look at.

But she wanted more. Featherine wanted to expose every single thing that Lambdadelta ever had. She wanted to crawl in her skin, to feel everything, to just look at her whimpering and crying as her facade would be completely shattered into nothing. Oh, the Witch of Certainty would look so pretty when she's delirious, wouldn't she? The farces would be broken, and Featherine just wanted to break her slowly, gently and ever so carefully, because Lady Lambdadelta is oh-so-fragile. It's not like witches face their Logic Errors head-on every day, so why miss out on the opportunity to play with such an interesting and beautifully broken opponent? That doll-like body, that no-nonsense attitude, that enigmatic personality...

She wanted it all.

Featherine wanted it all. Everything; her body, her heart, her soul. She would make such a beautiful possession.

But alas, it was hard. And that's what she liked about it; having Lambdadelta for herself is quite a challenge, and Featherine Augustus Aurora certainly loved a challenge.

"Alright then," Featherine sat up, putting on her best smile to at least sneak into Lambdadelta's good graces even just a little. "We shall begin with the cross-section of the game. It's supposed to be a game where the piece thinks on how to get out, as I have told you this morning, but we are the ones who will influence her surroundings. In order to win this game, you must draw up a line of logic describing how to reach the goal my miko wants, which is to escape. If you give up, you lose~ Let's just think of it as a currently broken game of Backgammon, so as to not confuse yourself, Lady Lambdadelta."

It felt really good to hear something that was actually productive from Featherine's mouth. For Lambdadelta, it was a great wash of relief.

"May I analyze the situation first, Lady Aurora?" Lambdadelta asked, who in truth felt rather pleased at the fact that Featherine decided to tell her specifically what she had to do in the game. "It won't be...amusing for you if I play without knowing what is the actuality of the game, you see."

"Why of course," Featherine nodded, conjuring up the actual game itself.

The projection of the game appeared right above the tea table, prompting Lambdadelta to look up at it with observant eyes. Once again, she could see that the room was dark, and it was rather impossible to make out the shape of the room due to how dark it was. Graciously (or not), Featherine had made the figure of her miko visible to the other witch, but in tragic reality, the room would be completely dark if one were to put themselves in the blue-haired girl's shoes in there. One can't tell whether the room even had a door, or if it was just four walls towering above the poor girl. But Lambdadelta could still imagine the red drops of blood, the smell of death, the deafening sound of silence and the touch that had numbed over time. The miko must have been cold, scared and fearful among those monstrosities tearing at her flesh, baring their fangs at her as if she had done something unforgivable.

You must've been scared, Lambdadelta thought as she looked at the seemingly lifeless-like body of the despairing girl. You must've been trying so hard to get out, yet you can only do so much.

I understand.

You may give up, but I know that you won't. Everything will be against you. Your own master had turned against you too, but you're still hanging on with that last bit of hope you have left.

...Just like I did.

So please hang on, because I'll try my best too. I'll try my best to get you out of there.

Averting her gaze from the projection, Lambdadelta took a deep breath as she proceeded to talk to Featherine once more. "You seem to have a penchant for creating tragedies, don't you, Lady Aurora? The closed room is making me feel very tragic indeed, because all I can see is your Reader lying there on the ground." Her voice dripped with sarcasm, but it sounded more like she was hiding her pent-up rage against her due to her actions. Featherine merely giggled, waving her hand dismissively.

"Perhaps you would like a handkerchief to wipe away your non-existent tears, Lady Lambdadelta~ Oh, see? I'm acting just like you! What do you think, Lady Lambdadelta? Is this an acceptable interpretation?" Featherine meant no malice really; she only wanted to poke fun at the incredibly stiff witch, but it seemed that it made Lambdadelta even more cross and irritated than before.

"I don't want to waste time, Lady Aurora," Lambdadelta gritted her teeth, showing a bit of her anger at Featherine's aloofness.

"Hahaha, alright then. As you can see, the room is completely dark, and all you have to do is to get her out of the room. Guess for now before making any theories. Make as many commands as you like. Say something like 'Pick up the item below you.' Easy enough, Lady Lambdadelta? Why don't you give the first try?"

Commands are mandatory when playing a game regarding a Logic Error. The first try's always a harmless command to most witches whenever they would play a game as easy as this one. There is an infinite possibility of items appearing in a closed room, but based on what Lambdadelta knew, there was nothing but blood, vermin, dripping water that hasn't been verified about its hygiene and the miko herself. She has no choice but to make commands to come up with a theory on how she can escape the room. And from what Lambdadelta had understood, she was actually being a conscience for the miko in a way, as her theories will whisper in the miko's mind. To the miko, it would be like there is a voice in her head suggesting her to do what Lambdadelta had stated, but there is always a possibility that the miko might not listen to them. And as for now, the heavy context of game rules hasn't been applied yet, so Lambdadelta will be pretty safe when she makes the first guess. Playing it safe as to not let the miko get hurt any further, Lambdadelta surveyed the game before her and concentrated.

There's blood, vermin and water.

What can one do with that in a dark room?

"...Clean your wounds with the water."

Clean your wounds with the water.

The blue-haired girl's purple eyes snapped open in surprise at the sudden voice echoing in her head. Her entire bare body still ached all over, but at least she was woken up by the gentle yet firm voice that she had heard. Everything still looked black, everything still smelled rancid and the girl staggered to get up, looking around to see if there's anyone out there. The voice sounded strangely coaxing and gentle, and to be honest with herself, the miko felt that it was one of the most calming voices she had ever heard during her time in there. It didn't sound like her master's voice; it sounded like someone else's.

But there was no one there.

"H-Hello?" she called, but there was only her echo waving back at her. This time, she called louder. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

No one.

The dripping water from the unseen ceiling of the room caught her eye, and as she walked towards it, she reached out her hand towards the water. It hurt excruciatingly when the liquid came in contact with her wounds, but the miko found herself collecting the water using her two hands, cleansing her wounds as she gritted her teeth due to the pain. The water practically burned their way into her bloodied wounds, but she fought the pain as the water gradually cleaned her rather infected wounds. Repeating the process again, the miko sighed as she suddenly realized something.

She had the energy to clean her wounds.

She wasn't shuddering that much anymore.

But that was the most she could do, and as the miko ceased cleaning her wounds, she knocked out as soon as she woke up.

Oh.

Of all things, that's what she did first.

Featherine was rather surprised at Lambdadelta's first command, which was rather unexpected coming from a witch like her.

Most witches would head in straight into the game, but it seems that Lambdadelta cares more for the pieces's well-being. It was a smart move, since the pieces must have energy to carry on with activities. As Lambdadelta reclined against her chair, Featherine glanced at the dissolving projection of the game with amused eyes. Clapping her hands, Featherine got up from her seat as she walked towards Lambdadelta's, supporting herself by putting her gloved hand on the table while leaning dangerously close to Lambdadelta. The Witch of Certainty immediately had her guard up, ready to take action if Featherine wished to strike her out of dissatisfaction.

"W-What are you doing?" Lambdadelta asked harshly, but she was cut off with the mere presence of Featherine's face just three centimeters away from hers. The Witch of Drama smiled coyly, tutted and did something that completely took Lambdadelta off guard.

Featherine rested her hands on Lambdadelta's shoulders and licked the behind of her ear, slowly and sensually.

The Witch of Certainty could only widen her eyes in shock, and a light tint of pink could be seen adorning her cheeks. Featherine didn't budge at all from where she had licked, and instead reveled at Lambdadelta's reaction. She didn't need to look at it; she already knew. Oh, how tantalizing she seemed right now, and it was really, really hard to resist just having the Witch of Certainty completely hers. The sheer euphoria simply shot a wave of excitement in Featherine, and Lambdadelta really couldn't comprehend what just happened. Featherine then moved a tiny bit to whisper in Lambdadelta's ear, and even that was hard.

"Beautiful start, Lady Lambdadelta," she breathed in the Witch of Certainty's ear, causing her eyes to widen more. "Beautiful, beautiful start."

Depends on your point of view, really.

A/N: I bet all of you are confused, xD. Don't worry, I am too, xD

This game is NOT AT ALL LIKE UMINEKO. No red, no blue. It's merely like the games where you command a character to do something, and they'll either do it or not. If they do it, you win (depending on your smarts), but if they don't, you lose (or in a stroke of luck, you'll win too). So in here, this is just preliminary, and the next few chapters will hopefully be explainable to all of you, xD.

Thanks for reading! I don't own Umineko, this is fanmade.