Frustrated, the crimson-haired knight pulls his hand through his hair, sneaking glances at Aisha. The petite girl was curled up in the corner, wearily looking at everything as if it were a bloodthirsty Vanessa. Still, he couldn't believe that a weak girl like her could kill the duke. From rumors, Elsword had heard the duke was very powerful. And – and look at her! Scrawny, clueless, and… well… feminine. No, he wasn't being sexist; he learned his lesson from Elsa.
But this girl – Aisha – looked like she never even stepped out of her hometown before. Scared stiff. She jerks suddenly in her cell, before lying on the floor and curling up. Her iridescent purple eyes were blank and droopy. Well, if they had proof, Aisha could've been the murderer. Elsword had dealt with a weak-looking criminal before.
If Vanessa was right, it'd be only a matter of time until Aisha showed her true colors. Elsword also contemplated on the orders he was given by Vanessa shortly after Aisha was shoved into her cell – he was to question her.
It was the standard orders. It never worked, though. What kind of murderer actually answers questions to why they did what they did? He'd never met anybody like that his entire career as a knight.
In the morning, he decides. Aisha looked pretty bedraggled, and as criminal as she was, Elsword decided he'd let her rest for a few more hours. His armor clinks as he shifts position, and Aisha lifts her gaze, resting on his legs for a moment before sliding back down to the ground. Why was she so… soulless? She'd murdered the duke, apparently. So why did she look empty? Eh, that wasn't for him to know, Elsword decides.
Within an hour or so, Aisha had started to breathe softly, and Elsword was convinced that she'd fallen asleep. A quick glance reaffirms his suspicion. His hand twitches, and he looks down at it, confused. He switches his gaze back to Aisha. She looked a lot younger when she was sleeping. A shallow breeze from the door sifted to him, and he sighs. Now he was officially bored. All he had to do was watch a potentially dangerous little girl in a cell. Wonderful.
He fiddles with the keys until the sun comes up. By then, he was kind of ticked that Raven hadn't come to visit him in this stinky jail. He fumbles with the keys and stomps inside the cell.
Aisha lifts her head, blinking, and then sits up as Elsword slides his chair in. She scrambles up to her feet but ended up teetering and lands on the bed she hadn't bothered to use. "W-what?"
Elsword sits down. Hm. Aisha's voice was a lot softer and higher than he'd thought it'd be. "I'm supposed to question you about your actions. Orders from the boss," He informs her. She sighs.
"A-alright." She murmurs softly, almost to herself. "It's going to be fine, Aisha," She adds quickly. Elsword sighs and Aisha jerks her attention back to him.
He says, "Let's get this over with quickly, shall we?" Elsword glances at the paper down at his hands and asks, "Why did you murder the duke?"
Aisha lets loose a perplexed, nervous laugh. "You really think that I… That I'm going to answer a question like that?"
"No. But I'm required to," He says almost immediately. Most of the criminals liked to ask that question. "So… Are you refusing to answer the question?"
The petite girl mumbles under her breath, swipes a lock of purple hair behind her ear, and says, "Yes. I am. Dammit, I hate Pluone so much."
Elsword cocks his head at her. Did she just say Pluone? "We're in Rurensia."
This time, Aisha looks genuinely confused. "We're in… Rurensia? I-I mean, right. I knew that. Just – just saying that I hate Pluone."
"You're from Pluone? Isn't it hot over there?"
"Um, that's only Sander. Hamel is pretty cool."
Elsword shakes his head in disbelief. "So you came from Pluone to Rurensia just to kill some duke?"
"Aha… Yes? No!" Aisha fumbles with her words, and then turns bright red. "Never mind! Just go away!"
He poked and jabbed at her for another hour, but the girl refused to speak to him again. So he had to give up. Now she was the strangest person he'd ever met, Elsword thinks as he sits back in the chair.
Suddenly the door to the one-celled prison opens and a young man with black hair enters. "Sorry I couldn't come earlier. Amelia needed help getting the pigs off the castle roof."
"… Again?"
"Yeah, except it wasn't Lightning this time, it was Limelight. So, enjoying your time with the murderer?" Raven glances pointedly at Aisha, who gives him a fierce stare back. It was an improvement from that dull glance from before.
"She's… Difficult," Elsword sighs, lacing his hands behind his head. "She won't speak to me."
"For a good reason!" Aisha says from the cell, glaring at both men. "Now go shut up and leave me alone! I want some me time!"
"Jeez, I didn't know the murderer of Velder's duke was emo," Raven says, completely humorlessly. "But no, we're required to sit here and watch you like hawks 24/7."
"That's not creepy at all." Aisha retorts, before curling into a ball. "Just shut up or something."
Raven faintly smiles, and then says, "It can't be boring with someone like her in a cell, hm?"
"Well, aside from the fact that she's a murderer, I guess not."
Aisha winces.
Eve clasps her hands over her head. "I don't know how to feel about this. I really don't know."
Her maid, Ara, shifts from one foot to another. "U-um… Do you need anything?" On Eve's other side, her butler Add makes a scoffing motion that she doesn't miss.
"Maybe if you think being with me is a pain, you should leave," Eve snaps, then collapses into her chair. "How am I going to rule Velder all by myself? This is… Ugh. When is Dad's funeral again?" She gestures wordlessly at Add, who lifts an eyebrow.
"Next week, Eve."
"Do not call me by my first name."
Add smirks. "Too late, Evey."
Ara looks at them both. As childhood friends, one would expect them to be very close, but it wasn't really like that for them. More like it was Add trying to keep up the friendship and Eve pushing him away. She couldn't blame Eve; Add could sometimes be a little… difficult. But she thought it was sweet how Add tried so hard.
She speaks up, "So is there really nothing I can do for you?"
Eve shakes her head, waving her two friends off. "No. Just – just need to think. Thank you, though. I appreciate it."
Ara nods and leaves the room, gently tugging on Add's sleeve as she goes. Add frowns, but follows her into the hallway. "She needs to loosen up," He remarks when Ara shuts the door.
She sighs. "Her father just died, the duke! You can't blame her. It must be hard. She lost him, and now she has Velder to rule." Ara fiddles with her thumbs, and Add sighs.
"Whatever. I'm going to get something to eat, you?" He asks nonchalantly.
Ara blushes, slightly pleased that he'd bother to ask her that, and says, "No, thanks."
Add nods and disappears down the spiral staircase. Ara, to say, has long admired the older male. She smiles when his footsteps echo off into the distance. Now, she should probably go clean her room. It looked like a tornado had come in.
As she walked down the stairs to her room, Ara caught a strand of billowing red hair. "Oh, Elesis!" The beautiful knight turns and smiles when she sees the maid.
"Hi, Ara. What are you doing?"
"I'm going to clean my room. But you know, I've been meaning to ask…" Ara breathes in and releases it shortly after. "How is Elsword? I-I mean, with the murderer and all that."
Elesis's mood seems to darken. "Oh. Apparently she's quite the amusing captive." She crosses her arms, tapping her feet, and sighs. "No trouble from her yet."
"Yet?"
The girl nods. "She may seem like any other girl, but don't forget that she's a murderer. Nothing like you, Ara."
A murderer.
Nothing like her.
"Got it," Ara says. "I got it. Anyways, what were you doing?"
Elesis laughs wryly. "I was going to check up on my little brother, actually. I should be going."
"I'm s-sorry for taking up your time."
"Not at all."
Elesis smiles and leaves. Ara continues to her room, thinking about what Elesis said. When she arrives, she immediately starts cleaning up. As she's shaking the pillows, she wonders, I wonder if Eve's okay.
Then Eve screams from her room above.
It didn't quite end as I'd like it, but I guess I'm okay with it.
This gets better later on, I promise. It's just the buildup here.