Mendacium Speculorum
Chapter 12: Twisted
Addressed to the Endless Witch, Beatrice,
I am not safe, and neither will you be. At this point, I'd normally advise you to immediately quit what you are doing and what you are planning to do, but I really wish that it would be that easy. I have no time to write lengthy words about how the world is droll and dangerous, so I'm just going to get straight to the point.
Don't get hurt.
Protect as many people as you can.
Burn this letter.
Signed,
The Witch of Certainty, Lambdadelta.
Yet again, it was in English.
The third letter surfaced even more questions in Beatrice and Ronove's minds. They thought that it was just-no, they didn't think of that. They knew that Lambdadelta hated using English in her letters, and this was the third time in a row that she had used perfect English in her letters. The Witch of Certainty kept on telling Beatrice the same things in the letters; don't get involved too much, make sure everyone's safe and burn the letters once she had read them. Not only did the letter surface the mountain of questions; it had resurface unwanted feelings of worry in the witch's and demon's hearts. The letter was, as usual, thrown into the furnace by the Endless Witch as she watched the edges of the paper burn oh-so-slowly. Yet before she knew it, the paper was completely burned.
Never to be read again.
It reflected their situation perfectly; everything seemed to be slow, and yet, everything was happening at a dangerously fast pace. Time catches them off guard when they least expect it, and that was a very dangerous thing. It was already morning, and the two Heavenly children went to do their parts in finding those who might be supporting Featherine.
Beatrice felt terrible, but she knew that she had to do something. At least something. Back before she even had a post in the Senate of Witches, she was well known for her magnificent stealth skills, her expertise in assassination and her strong resilience. It even shocked her that she herself felt like withdrawing from her own plans. How did she get so weak? How did she get so scared?
People would get scared too if they were to covertly plan something against someone who has a way higher rank than themselves.
"Are you alright, Lady Beatrice? Are you cold?" Ronove asked, wondering whether the morning air was getting to the witch. The silver haired witch shook her head with a small smile, tugging a few strands of her hair in habitual reassurance.
"Fine. I'm fine," she replied as calmly as she could. "When is Lady Hemera expecting us?"
Ronove laughed a little, taking out his pocket watch. "Did you forget, Lady Beatrice? She's coming here."
At that, Beatrice choked abruptly. She began looking frantically around the room, trying to spot any messes that might bring about Lady Hemera's displeasure, but Ronove merely laughed even more. "Don't worry, the room's spotlessly clean, Lady Beatrice. Pu ku ku!"
"But i-it's Lady Hemera! And if she's coming here-AH!"
There was a knock on the door, causing Beatrice to instantly yelp in fright. As if it was hardwired in her brain, she immediately went to the door, clasped onto the handle as if her life depended on it and slowly turned it to the right.
Or was it to the left?
'Do you turn a doorknob clockwise or anticlockwise?!' came her terribly frantic thoughts-
"Lady Beatrice?" a regal yet obviously drowsy voice came from behind the door. "Are you..." the voice trailed off to a yawn, "...h-here...?"
"I'M HERE!" Beatrice immediately shouted in nervousness, prompting Lady Hemera to temporarily snap out from her drowsy-like state and stare at the door quizzically. She then looked at the doorknob, just waiting to be turned and when she reached out to turn it, Lady Hemera was instantly greeted by a very ecstatic Beatrice who opened the door for her in her excitement.
"A-Ah...Hello...Lady Beatrice...?" Lady Hemera eventually spoke in a terribly confused tone. The Endless Witch nodded vigorously as if she was speaking to a very famous person or even a god and as if she was some sort of robot, Beatrice extended her hand to beckon the first ranked witch of the Senate of Witches into her humble quarters.
"P-Please come in! I-I-I'm sorry for being late...to...um...open the door..." Beatrice simply wished that the earth beneath her would just swallow her up.
The first ranked witch of the Senate walked in with her signature drowsy smile, gracing the room with her presence. Lady Hemera was everything the witches had said about her or had heard about her; beautiful, tall, powerful, but dreadfully drowsy. The Creator witch would've been feared even more if she didn't look so drowsy all the time, but it seemed that Lady Hemera didn't even bother if anyone ever feared her or revered her. Because most of the time, she'd be napping. Sleeping. Away in her dream land. And when Beatrice and Ronove curtsied and bowed before her respectively, Lady Hemera nodded drowsily, but she ended up nodding way too much.
Resulting into her almost falling to the floor to sleep.
Beatrice rushed to hold her up, to which the Witch of Intelligence smiled yet another drowsy smile at her in appreciation and gratitude. She picked herself up, forced herself to muster some strength to reach the nearest chair and sat on it. She wasn't old and decrepit, mind you, but she was just terribly sleepy.
"Are you well, Lady..." A yawn. "...B-Beatrice?"
Beatrice nodded mechanically. "Y-Yes! I'm well, very well, at my utmost wellness..."
Ronove got a pillow for Lady Hemera, but she raised her hand, signalling that she didn't want it. If she were to be given a pillow, she would've dozed off in Beatrice's quarters, and why would she go there to sleep?
But maybe that was a rather good idea...
"I have come here to discuss about the conspiracy," Lady Hemera spoke softly, signifying that she was a little awake. "I do believe that Willard had told you about everything..."
"Yes, he did," Beatrice nodded, getting a little more serious. "...You...know of my plans, right, Lady Hemera?"
"I know of them," she nodded, heaving a distressed sigh. "But it will be dangerous. If you get caught-"
"The Senate will be presiding the court against me, is that correct?"
Lady Hemera said nothing, and that was enough for confirmation. "You must be prepared. And you are a fool, Lady Beatrice. Lady Lambdadelta did tell you to stay put and not do anything..."
She knew that she was contradicting herself. Things had to be done, and both of the witches knew it. They didn't want the entire Senate to be Featherine's doll-house; being controlled whenever she wants, however she wants.
"...Will Lady Lambdadelta be alright...?" Beatrice asked hesitantly.
"...I...I don't know," Lady Hemera shook her head. "Does she send news to you frequently?"
"Letters, but they're in English." Beatrice said. "What does this mean...?"
"I thought Lady Lambdadelta disliked English!"
"But she used it."
Lady Hemera suddenly snapped her fingers, looking at Beatrice with a rather satisfied look on her face. "English! Do you know what this means, Lady Beatrice?"
"W-What?" Beatrice was anxious, and so was Ronove. "What is it, Lady Hemera?"
"Codes! Lady Lambdadelta might be slipping some codes! Do you still have the letters?"
Beatrice gulped. She obviously followed Lambdadelta's instructions and by now, all the letters were burnt. The silver-haired witch shook her head regretfully, to which Lady Hemera, surprisingly, shook that off. "Never mind that," Lady Hemera said in a sing-song voice. "You can at least remember them and rewrite them down, right, Lady Beatrice?"
It was a gift that Beatrice had always had; remembering letters by heart. She was very proud of her gift because it had helped her in numerous situations, and Lady Hemera was rather confident that Beatrice's gift would serve its purpose right there as well. Beatrice nodded with a small smile, seeing a little hope in all the chaos around them.
However, the question was...
What was Lambdadelta trying to tell them?
"Where do we START?"
Dlanor walked along the hallways of the Senate of Witches, holding Will's hand so as to not get separated from each other. The two Heavenly children looked around for any signs of gossiping or whispering people, but to no avail. It seemed that it was the wrong day for them to begin their investigations, since it has been around three hours since they've started.
Three hours, and twenty "Where do we START?"s.
"You've been saying that since the past...three hours," Will sighed. "We'll be sure to find something."
"Have we switched ROLES? How is it that you're the patient one NOW?"
"I'm as impatient as you are, but this is important," Will grumpily replied. "There's got to be something somewhere. I think we're looking in the wrong places."
Knox's daughter shook her head in disagreement. Maybe that wasn't the case. Were they being too obvious to others? Surely some of the witches had realized something, or caught onto something that they wisely exited the premises. She thought of many possibilities; were they going to be ambushed? Caught? Or worse, apprehended?
"...It's too quiet HERE," Dlanor whispered. The children arrived at the main hall of the Senate of Witches, where it was quiet. Terribly quiet. They stood at the middle of the circle at the center of the hall, and there was that feeling in their chests that clearly made them a little more scared.
Then, Will heard some muttering from the seventh pillar to the right.
He closed his eyes and tightened his hold on Dlanor's hand as a signal for her to carry on keeping quiet. It was quiet enough for Will to hear from a distance, and Dlanor looked around rather wildly in her silence. What Will caught, however, was terribly shocking.
Kakeras for us! Is Lady Aurora really going to bestow kakeras to us?
After she takes over, of course! All we have to do is keep convincing!
Convincing? That's...that's only when Lady Aurora wins this succession game!
Oh, don't worry. She always wins. Especially against that Lady Lambdadelta. That snobbish witch always sticks her nose up high ever since she left. Who does she think she is?
Hang on.
Those weren't words.
Those were thoughts!
Will immediately pulled Dlanor, causing her to let out a small yelp under her breath. He dragged her from the hall and out as fast as he could, praying silently in his heart that no one had heard them.
We have to convince the witches that there's no conspirac-
"We have to tell them," Will spoke under his breath as he ran, hoping that Dlanor could hear him. Dlanor looked terribly bewildered and scared, but she ended up nodding her head as she ran. And as they ran...
"Who do we have here?"
Two witches looked at the children, who stopped dead in their tracks. Fearing for the worst, Will conjured up his black sword and pointed it at the two of them. "Don't come any closer!"
"W-Wilhemina...it's the son of Van Dine! And the daughter of Knox!"
"So? They heard us. Bet they were eavesdropping. Just kill them both."
Dlanor was about to scream, but Will ended up gritting his teeth in anger. Brandishing his sword, he urged Dlanor to fight by looking at her with that very same anger in his eyes, and when she got her blue sword ready, Will hissed under his breath.
"You will not kill us," he declared.
"Aaaah, I'm almost ready to give up, Lady Aurora~" Lambdadelta said in a rather drunken trill, looking at the ceiling with rather hazy, red eyes.
"Ready to give up?" Featherine lazily brushed her fingers through the former's hair. "Surely you don't mean it, dear Lady Lambdadelta..."
The Witch of Certainty truly looked like a mess. Not so much like a mess, but her expressions looked as if she was terribly euphoric. Euphoric for all the wrong reasons. She was giggling, sighing, smiling in such a silly manner that Featherine didn't even expect such expressions from such a witch. She was usually so strict, so uptight, but now, she was giggling like there was no tomorrow. However, inside the Witch of Certainty's mind, she was thinking. Thinking a lot. Thinking too much, even. Lambdadelta draped her body over Featherine's on the cushioned floor, feeling Featherine's skin against her fingers.
"Of course I don't mean it~! I don't mean it at all~! It would be so funny, however, if I were to suddenly give up!~"
"Yes, yes, that's true," the ebony-haired witch smiled, lifting Lambdadelta's chin up gently. "Such an intoxicating witch like you, giving up?"
"Oh, you flatter me~! You flatter me so much, Lady Aurora~! It would be so nice if you could keep me forever, right?~ Right?" With that, Lambdadelta stood up rather lazily, walked over to the projection and leaned against the table in a rather sultry manner.
Featherine couldn't believe her luck. There must've been something that made Lambdadelta like this, but she really didn't mind. Why would she let her go anyways? "Yes, you're right; you're always right, my dear."
"But..." Lambdadelta raised her gloved hand to point at the game projection, and then looked at Featherine with a naughty smile on her face. "You see, my almighty witch...I'm one to love voyaging here and there~! I do hope...that you won't get lonely without me for a while~!"
At that, she quickly said a spell, and the room started to distort very badly. Featherine's eyes widened in shock, and Lambdadelta gave Featherine one of her usual, triumphant smiles. The most powerful witch in the universe realized that she was tricked, and attempted to say another spell to counter it, but alas, it was too late.
Lambdadelta found herself right in the game.
And what shocked her the most was the fact that she was face to face with the miko herself, who was as shocked as she was.
"...You...!" they said in unison, and at that very moment, they felt as if the world had stopped, only for them.
A/N: I'M SO SORRY I'M LATE! THANKS FOR REVIEWING AND PUTTING UP WITH ME AKSJDHASJDKH i love all of you you have no idea aksjdhasjd
-Densetsu-no-Maguro.