Lady Hemera, the Witch of Intelligence as well as the first ranked witch in the Senate of Witches jerked up from her sleep, her eyes wide open with shock.
Right at the door of her quarters was the son of the Chief Inquisitor of the SSVD, standing there as her Reader, Natalie ran in and tried to pull him away. The spoiled child of the Chief Inquisitor elbowed Natalie away rudely, marching in her quarters without a word as he faced a shocked Lady Hemera, who, despite her shock, managed to let out a yawn or two. With a serious yet strangely imploring look on his face, Will looked right at Lady Hemera, as if he had something important to say at 2 am in the morning.
"I-I'm very sorry, Lady Hemera!" Natalie apologized profusely, but looking at her drowsy Master with her brown curls drooping over her face ungraciously somehow made a fuse in her head blow up. Sometimes, Natalie felt that it wasn't her Master who was taking care of her at all; it was the other way around. As expected, Lady Hemera let out yet another yawn, stretched on her bed and stared sleepily at Will.
What shocked them, however, was when Will bent down on one knee with a serious yet imploring look on his face.
"Lady Hemera," he began, showing utmost respect to the witch whom he was addressing to. "I am in need of your assistance."
The way Will dictated his words nearly made Lady Hemera stop yawning, blinking as she realized at how serious this kid was. Here he was at 2 in the morning, having the gall to actually wake the second highest ranking witch in the Senate of Witches with such a serious request...
Lady Hemera smiled, giggling to herself even, as she got up from her bed, stretched yet again and made Will stand up again by gently pushing him upwards. Will could almost sense the air of incessant drowsiness that enveloped the witch, to which he controlled himself so as to not actually be as drowsy as her at such a time. The Witch of Intelligence beckoned for Natalie to come over, to which the blonde-haired Reader crossly came over.
"What is it now?" Natalie wrinkled her nose.
"Oh, Natalie, don't be like that..." Lady Hemera airily giggled, and yawned yet again. "Get some sleeping clothes for Willard and some tea for the both of us. It might be a long night, so after you've done so, you can go back to sleep."
"You'd better stop yawning by the time I get back, okay?" Natalie huffed as she got ready to leave her Master's quarters.
"Mm...okaaay~" was her Master's drowsy response. "Good night, Natalie~"
Exiting her Master's quarters, Natalie sighed. Here, she was serving a witch who could possibly run the entire Senate if she wanted to with the incredible amount of power that she's got, and what does her Master do? Yawn all day. Get all drowsy and walk all wobbly. Sleep through the entire seven hundredth and eighty-first discussion of the Senate of Witches.
Some Master I've got, she thought irritably to herself. Natalie grumpily walked along the corridors to get her Master the things that she whimsically asked for, that is, until she saw a strange figure hurrying towards the library. Following the figure, she sneaked up behind it, grabbed her pocketknife silently and as quickly as she struck, the figure turned to block the knife with another. Natalie's eyes widened as she could think of the only person who was able to perform such a feat.
"L-Lady Beatrice!" Natalie gasped, but instead of silencing her, Beatrice took her hand and hurried to the library.
Mendacium Speculorum
Chapter 9: Forwarded
"So, what would you like to talk about, Willard?" Lady Hemera smiled as she yawned at the end of her sentence.
The brightly lit room illuminated everything, prompting Will to shift a bit in his seat as he tried to keep cool in front of the 1st ranked witch in the Senate of Witches. It wasn't easy to request an audience with the great Lady Hemera, mainly because she is such a powerful witch with a high status, but to Willard and Natalie, the main reason why she's so hard to talk to is because she tends to doze off during conversations. Looking around for anything to munch, Lady Hemera conjured up some cookies and popped one in her mouth with a silly smile on her face.
Will then cleared his throat. "I...apologize for my earlier misconduct. I would like to discuss with you abou-"
"The conspiracy that happened in the Senate of Witches, right?" Lady Hemera smiled serenely. "Every Reader and everyone who wasn't there at the time were dying to ask me about that. I do hope..." she yawned, covering her mouth, "that you wouldn't tell anyone if I told you..." and yawned again.
"Please," Will spoke with a steely resolve in his eyes, "I need to know, Lady Hemera."
"Willard," Lady Hemera uttered, "Information does not come easy, and asking one for such a vital piece of information is not easy either. What makes you believe that I will tell you about the conspiracy?"
"If there are rumors about it, then it's bound to come true," Will answered. "Therefore, I want to help in stopping any consequences related to it."
"A child like you?"
"I am the future Chief Inquisitor of the SSVD. I deserve to know."
Lady Hemera sighed to herself.
"Who sent you to do this, Willard?" she asked, but Will was unfazed.
"I came here on my own accord."
The Witch of Intelligence studied Will's serious face, shocked at the fact that he tried to level his ego down just to get some information. She knew that no one sent him there, however, she knew whom he wanted to relay the information to. It wouldn't hurt telling him about it, and besides...
It was a favor to the two witches whom she loved seeing two years ago.
"Ahahaha, did you actually think that I wouldn't tell you?" Lady Hemera laughed, yawning at the middle of her sentence. "Of course I'll tell you, Willard. But don't say a word to anyone else, okay?"
Will felt as if he'd hit the jackpot.
"T-Thank you, Lady Hemera!" Will exclaimed, bowing before her. Lady Hemera drowsily brought him up and sat him on his seat again, and as expected, the tea and sleeping clothes that she had requested from Natalie appeared. Sipping the tea, she had a pensive look on her face, and laughed softly to herself.
Natalie must have met Lady Beatrice, she thought. What a resourceful young witch.
"Alright then, I'll start," Lady Hemera smiled. "The conspiracy plaguing the Senate of Witches actually began way before the seven hundred and eighty-first discussion of the Senate of Witches. I think it was around...the seven hundredth? Before you were born, it had already started.
"Now, there was a witch who was selected to go against Lady Aurora for the position of the Most Powerful Witch in the Universe. She despised Lady Aurora's ways as much as we did, but she was the only one who actually took initiative of it. So, Lady Aurora set up a game for her, and it was made in such a way that the only way out was to declare a Logic Error.
"The witch refused, of course. Her remaining sanity was driving at her to not declare it. And to the very end, she didn't. The witch's knew Lady Aurora's true intentions; to turn the entire Senate of Witches into her personal theater. But at the cost of her retaliation, Lady Aurora tricked her into being trapped in the game that she played with her so as to not ruin her plans.
"Her plans were mainly for her own amusement, really. And the Heavenly Court didn't want any of that. No one wanted that. Because to turn the Senate of Witches into a theater would cause all of the witches to become marionettes in her little show. They would be completely under her control, and Lady Aurora's not even doing this for a purpose! Archbishop Ronald Knox, Wright of the SSVD and the other Heavenly courts did go against Lady Aurora before the witch got trapped, but after she did, they stopped. Lost hope. Gave up. The conspiracy went on slowly but surely, and what made it accelerate was the next succession game that we decided to finally bring up. We thought that she would choose me, but...
"She picked Lady Lambdadelta, and it was to our greatest disadvantage."
Lady Hemera looked away, to which Will widened his eyes in shock. Lady Lambdadelta had the power to...
"Is it...because Lady Lambdadelta is the personification of certainty?" Will hesitantly asked.
"Yes, Willard. With Lady Lambdadelta's unfailing certainty, Lady Aurora can fully utilize her power to make sure this happens. And all the better because she is a personification witch."
"A...personification witch?"
"One who personifies the very traits of a being. Every universal being embodies a certain trait, and a few witches here happen to be their personifications. Lady Lambdadelta's certainty is rather powerful, and it's not something to be taken lightly," Lady Hemera explained seriously. "Now that you know this, Willard...please tell Lady Beatrice and be discreet about it," she smiled.
Will suddenly choked on his tea. "H-How did you...!"
"Oh, I know, Willard," she giggled. "Come on. Finish up your tea, brush your teeth and change. If you come out of my quarters at this time," to which she started yawning again, "it might be...suspicious..."
And after showing him to the bathroom, Lady Hemera yawned, hauled herself to bed and slept.
The world around her was blurry.
After that night, Lambdadelta was thoroughly disgusted with herself. She stood at the door of Featherine's quarters clad in a gown that she had recently changed in, and when she looked back, Featherine was still sleeping. Closing the door behind her silently, the Witch of Certainty closed her eyes and as she walked through the corridor that led to the main game room, she frustratingly took out her right glove and brushed her index finger against her uncovered skin.
It was disgusting, feeling her own skin.
Walking past the many bookshelves in the City of Books, Lambdadelta licked her bottom lip, tasting the metallic taste of blood on her wound that she had inflicted upon herself that night. Opening the door to the main game room, she locked it, slumped down on the floor in a sitting fashion and gritted her teeth in anger. There's got to be a way to escape this, and with a snap of her fingers, the projection of the game emerged.
And to Lambdadelta's surprise, the miko didn't look like a shadow anymore. She wasn't even chasing the doppelganger anymore, rather, she was hugging her knees at a dark spot.
Hm, Lambdadelta thought. Maybe the game just comes and goes even without us playing it.
Good morning, Lambdadelta spoke.
The miko looked up, and she seemed quite happy to hear the voice again. However, she caught a peculiar tone in Lambdadelta's voice, and the miko's face looked rather worried.
"G-Good morning...Are you alright?"
Yeah, I'm fine, Lambdadelta answered with a small smile. Having a rest?
"Not really..." the blue-haired girl murmured. "I reached the room where the typewriter is, so here I am again. I'm trying to think of what to do next..."
That's not your job, the Witch of Certainty sighed. It's mine.
"Oh...yeah..." the miko's embarrassed voice came. "Um...Do I know you from anywhere? You sound like someone I knew, or at least had spoken to before..."
The Witch of Certainty found herself smiling. Yes.
"R-Really?" came the girl's shocked reply. "F-From where? Since you're a witch...o-oh...I don't talk to any of them much...What's your name?"
You wouldn't know even if I told you.
"W-Well, at least say your name!" the miko burst out in irritation. "What's the use of having a name if you won't say it?"
Lambdadelta blinked for a moment, temporarily taken aback by the miko's outburst.
Just because I don't want to tell you my name, that doesn't mean you have to exclaim so loud.
"I'm not exclaiming!"
There was an unsettling pause afterwards, and Lambdadelta found herself gazing at the projection of the game as if it was some kind of a puppet show. It was only her on the floor, looking up while hugging her knees, indirectly assuming the same position as the miko. For a moment there, it seemed as if two girls were about to be friends, but in reality, it was just a witch and a miko sitting while thinking of things.
'This is your first time watching a puppet show, isn't it, dear?'
All of a sudden, Lambdadelta's eyes widened.
The voice was faint, and it was as if it ghosted right past her. She couldn't even tell who spoke, and as she looked around, there was nothing. No spirits, no ghosts, no witches, nothing. The miko wondered why was it so quiet, and decided to open her mouth to speak. She was used to the solitary silence, but for some reason, she really wanted to talk to this witch who's trying to help her.
"Um...are you okay?"
...Mm? Yeah.
"You don't seem to be okay..."
I'm fine.
"You don't sound fine!" the miko insisted. "There's something wrong, right? Why won't you tell me? Maybe I can help!"
Lambdadelta found herself laughing softly. You can't help in this sort of thing. I just had a rough night, that's all.
"Rough nights don't make you this grumpy," the blue-haired girl crossed her arms, and she stood up, looking upwards as if she was talking straight from the ground to a God. "The witches who've been contending with my Master went through a rough patch like you. Most of them would complain that their heads might burst, or even state that my Master's game's all mixed up and jumbled to pieces. But...as much as this may sound cheesy...um...think out of the box! There are many ways to save me, you know!"
Your enthusiasm is surprisingly abundant today, Lambdadelta giggled softly.
"Because it keeps you and me company!" the miko laughed. "And cheer up! Since you've got the fact that you're currently on my side, and I'm currently on yours, let's try to solve this together, okay?"
Lambdadelta didn't want to say it, but the enthusiasm that the miko had made her remember what she's here for.
She came here to save the miko. And keep her company...somehow. Because...
...She, the great Witch of Certainty, needed someone to understand her. Someone whom she can understand as an equal. It may sound selfish, but when one has someone to understand with, they feel more...
Content.
...Okay, Lambdadelta smiled, agreeing to work together with the miko. Let's work this out.
"See? Wasn't that easy?" the blue-haired girl clapped her hands, leaning forward this time. "So what have you learned during the previous game?"
The doppelganger issue is not hard to understand, is not a supernatural issue, and is NOT disguising herself as you at all. I'm having a bit of doubts about the 'not a supernatural issue' part.
"Hmm..." the miko started thinking. "You could be right about that. The supernatural is attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature...so try thinking of something scientific!"
...I know. Thanks.
"Glad I could help!" the miko smiled triumphantly.
I mean, I know that I'm right.
And with that, Lambdadelta waved the projection away with a tiny smile on her face, leaving the miko in the game to silently sulk.
"W-Who do you think you are, h-huh?" she huffed. "Sheesh!"
"W-What are you doing here, Lady Beatrice?" Natalie whispered, looking around as they entered the library, rummaging through a few shelves.
"I'm doing some research," Beatrice smiled, taking a few books and making them vanish to her quarters. "About the conspiracy."
Natalie widened her eyes in response. "I-It's actually real? Lady Beatrice, is this true?"
"They're talking a lot about it, so it must be," Beatrice nodded, putting on her cloak again as she and Natalie went out from the library as fast and as silent as they could. "Both of us weren't there when it happened, and the conspiracy might happen any time soo-"
"About Lady Lambdadelta..." Natalie suddenly spoke, prompting Beatrice to actually walk even faster. If there's one thing she's learned, it's not to stop in the middle of the corridor at night. "I...had a vision of her."
"What did you see?" the Endless Witch asked. Natalie's visions were always true, as Natalie was very gifted in foretelling. In a hushed whisper, she spoke, knowing that no one was around.
"I saw her...getting stabbed, Lady Beatrice."
Beatrice's blood ran cold.
A/N: I FINISHED THIS AT 12 AM- NO IT'S 12:01 FUUUUUUU
Chapter 9 everyone! Please listen to 'Finding the Balance' by Kevin Macleod while reading this chapter~ Thanks for all the reviews and please tell me what you think!
-Densetsu-no-Maguro. (My cold's gone!)