whiteshade of blackness 'gaku14 nov, 2007
# 18 Midnight Shade
a basket of gold at the end of a wish
polished the moon to vanish
midnight was the sea of sorrow
as clicking door-knob stabbed like arrow
taunting me, for there'd be no more tommorow
in broken mirror was my glitters of mourn
(Volontariste, EKYU's Chiaroscuro)
Part 1 Virion's Capital
Royal-pride intact, political mask on, spirit recharged up one level.
Deia fastened her cloak flies on her chest.
"Let's hunt some HUMAN-vultures…!" she said in burning mode-ON.
The Beast sighed through his halfface-armor. You realize that that's not what we're sent here for, don't you…?
"I do what I do, my way, Yuy…!" she countered spiritedly.
Although it's good that you're spirited, but we don't need more enemies, right…?
"Eggghh….what makes you think I came all the way here to kick some human-butts…?" she groused with acussing eyes at him.
"Aa…" he answered with knowing stare at nothing at particular.
Deia snorted satisfactorily of herself. This way no one would see her as some open-bargain merchandise anymore. She was a royal Lady, afteral..! Let's teach some dorks of humans their places !
A dark evilish highpitched chuckle heard from upstair made the servant boy dropped his empty tray of shield-to-fend-the-dragon-with onto his feet.
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The Palace was made of grey stones, only the lone tower behind it was made of white stones. Its two 'wings' on top of it performed as landmark as well.
"So that's the capital..!" Deia stared condescendingly at the crater-like city with buildings made as its walls climbing up the cliffside like giant round staircase. At the center, a grand palace with the mark of a pair white wings stood solid in the greylight of the cloudy sky. A ray of light penetrated the clouds shone on the lone tower as if spotlighting it.
"Don't you wonder that it always cloudy since we arrived here, or is it this land's natural weather like this..?" Deia tilted her head up to the sky. The Beast riding at her front didn't answer. It's still a half day ride to get to the capital down the mountains, but she thought it really too thickly enchanted this space was…even for her!
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"Master…!"
The blond head looked up from his desk. "Another royal guest arrived..?". His smooth voice was richly enchanting as well.
"They'll arrive about half day from now, Master."
The blond brows lifted up. "And you report their arrival now, Bland..?"
A bobbing nod.
"That great a presence, hu?" his master smiled knowingly. The ruby eyes under the black hood gleamed unconsciously. "It's alright, you wouldn't have chosen me as your master if I'm that incompetent, right, Bland?"
A blink for answer.
"Who'll be coming?"
"The emissary from Archantra and the escort, Master.."
"Archantra…? We have connection with them?". A slow head tilt for answer. The blond's brows was creased in thinking, a big hand halfconsciously rubbing the chin while he made a humming sound to himself. Those brows arched again as his eyes noticed the ruby eyes of his servant's staring his figure without blinking. His tilting head made the black hood drooped to the side, exposing one of those bizarrely ruby gems that were staring at him with an unconcealed lust gleaming its color to sparkle radiantly.
A knowing halfsmirk-halfsmile, "….I look good in red, Bland?" he purred slowly, taking off the white glove from his hand. His servant gulped once reflexively, answered half dreamily with a sound close to a dove's purring sound. "Good enough to eat..?". A slow dreamy nod. The blond chuckled breathily at his openness, knowing his servant was a little out of this plane. That jerked the said servant to his consciousness, though. Widening his ruby eyes, he bowed stiffly with shame, more than fear, to his smiling master.
Noting a burning color reddened the red skin more from its usual color under the black hood, the blond laughed openly, being a little evil by feeling grateful that it made his servant squirmed in his bowing pose.
Finished loosening the sleeve of his red jacket's arm, he indicated his servant to approach him. A knowing smile bloomed on his handsome face. The black hood squirmed shyly, but complied to his own needs, closed the distance in a few light strides, dropped to his knees in front of his sitting master, and opened his mouth.
Sometime later, a knock on the doors broke the blond's trance. He answered with a dazed voice. A Palace Counselor in white robe identical to what he used to wear in the White-tower came in, he frowned in distaste openly at the faint sucking sound heard from the new (wasn't it supposed to be rightful?) Lord's desk, noticing a blur of black kneeling down with the hooded head bent down at The Lord's lap(1) that could be seen through the transparent red-crystal desk.
"Shire,… we need you to see to some things", the counselor's flat voice said smoothly. The blond lord nodded once, made a light flicking gesture with his shoulder to indicate his servant to stop at what he's doing.
The black hood stiffened at once, prostrating immediately on the side of his Master's way. Then following him close behind, head bowed in submissiveness, hands at his front. The counselor waited The Lord to pass at the door, his eyes burnt with revulsion at the black hooded figure as they passed him, then followed at some distance behind them.
"You should stare back if anyone stares you like that, Bland..!" a very silent whisper, knowing his servant's ears could hear it clearly.
'I have no right, Master..' an answer in his head.
A snort, "Nonsense..! You're mine. You're higher than them if I say so !"
'I wish to be insignificant as usual, Master..!'
"Yeah…suit yourself..!" a childish retort. A happy smile answered it under the black hood. He wished to be significant to his Master only.
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"Nee,…Pru.. What is that ?"
A whisper of wonder intrigued him enough to ignore the land's strange vibes that were bothering his senses more and more to the phase of unignorable. "What..?". Listening to his own voice made him felt better somehow.
"That…blue line of….water?" his Human pointed to the farscape beyond the mountain tops. So his Human could see that, he's quite amazed at her farsight, Archantra just wasn't large enough to use it to the max.
"Sea…"
"Oohh, beach..!" her voice heightened one notch by sudden excitement.
"Seashore…You'd like to go there ?"
"We could go there !"
"If you wish, we could go sightseeing after the trip's over.."
"I'd like to, please !" Deia bobbed her head with a vibrant smile. "No, wait..! You okay with salt water ?"
The Beast snorted silently, he was going to point it out that it was the salt that was produced in his Human's Land that burnt his sensoric nerves, but thought again that he didn't want to spoil his Human's excitement by reminding her about the Land.
"I'll take you to the blackshore, after this. That's my favorite place on the surfacescape awhile back..!"
"Oh,…okay.." she sounded like a little disappointed to stranger's ears, but he knew that she was only trying to reign in her excitement, careful as to not unconsciously intrude his repressed memory he didn't relate to her mind.
That brought a soft smile to his lips.
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"I wonder if I could have something to buy in this boring country…!" a young monarch who looked no older than 17 years old said uncaringly of his surrounding. A younger lady with long blond hair standing in front of him kicked his shin with her stiletto heel under the cover of her long black dress, other than that she showed no sign of being cared of the surroundings either. The blackhaired youth grimaced a little then blew a raspberry to her, despite the fact that he was the older one between them.
The neat lines of white-robed counselors at either side of the court corridor in front of them didn't show any sign of life, just stood still like boring statues. The young monarch gave a loud che, and traveled his eyes at the fine engraving on the walls around them. They were battered by time but still showed their pride, the epic engraved was of the country's ancestors and their battles against magnificent beasts. A small figure carved on one of the corners of the gate's frame caught his eyes, an angel-like figure with goat-like horns adorning its head. It was naked, but the image of winds around it was made as its cover and glory. The many wings engravings were floated behind its humanoid back, while its body carved as if it were made as a part of the winds. Or was it the other way around..?
'…is that one of the ancestors or one of the beasts !' he thought half sarcastically to himself, 'If they're still around I want to buy one of that kind…!'. Playing with his stuck out tongue on his lips. Another stiletto kick made him yelp a little when he bit it by the surprise.
At the exact time, the lines of counselors gave an instant salutation by slapping their right hands to their chests and kept them at the side of their heads opened as if ready to make a vow. Felt mocked by the unintentionally perfect timing, he gave a beast-growl at the corridor way. At the end of the long hallway the double doors were opened and the blond young Lord walked to their direction.
"I know…!" he whispered fast as he instinctively felt the stiletto heel was raised targeting to his always abused shin, and rearranged his disposition.
The blond girl gave a slow curtsey to the older Lord and kept her slight bow, waiting for the counselor who was following behind him to introduce their names formally.
"Lord Milliard Peacecraft of Virion's."
"Lady Dorothy Catalonia and Master Pluie Calyxas Eyrändisthé IX..!" heard the formal voice of the counselor, without emotion, just like what a wind up doll supposed to sound like.
A small part of the things the Lord didn't like about this cold-aired palace.
The Lord gave a formal bow and the blond girl lifted her face again. The blackhaired youth only blinked once; '….JUST a "Peacecraft" and nothing else..? What a short title for a pure-blooded !'
A stiletto-heel kick made him drop his drifting stare down, but he didn't showed anything else on his face. The Lord smiled at them, while the Lady smiled back with glints in her eyes.
"The representatives written in the acceptance letter that had been delivered to you were unable to come, so we apologies personally for the changes in our members. This is the letter of introduction from our King that states our names as the substitutes…, Lord Peacecraft." A servant presented a scroll on a silver tray at her cue, her voice was clear and spoke with the royal confidence radiating her face, but the way she emphasized the Lord's name sounded a little strange.
His smile didn't falter, "Please, just call me Zechs Marquis, Lady Catalonia. Milliard Peacecraft sounded too formal for my ears..!". He shifted his eyes to the preoccupied monarch behind her, comprehending that the one with the higher position between them was actually him, and she was just acting as his formal spokesperson. Eyränd was a kingdom of slaughter for unworthy heirs of its royal families, they would even openly butcher each other's descendants just for a greater chance for the throne of the vast land, which probably something that had made the changes in their representative members. So, the royal families would get them escorts to babysit them, if you'd rather think of it like that.
At what he said, the counselor who introduced them flicked his head to the Lord the tiniest bit, but the gesture didn't escape the girl's hawk eyes. Using the surname of the relative who took the throne from him, as a mock at his own dignitaries who didn't support him ? Of course the country's background was not in the blinds for her. She smiled wider at this rightful-Lord's boldness, or just plain childishness…?
"Milord, please call me Dorothy..!"
"Very well, Lady Dorothy, I as the Lord of Virion, accepted the letter of introduction from your King and both of you as our honoured guests." He didn't check the scrolled letter, and just indicated his servant to bring the letter inside, and pleased them into the inner palace, "…, Master Eyrändisthé !"
The blackhaired youth, who acted like a child in all the likelyhood, snapped from his contemplation of the ceiling's engravings with a straight face. "Pluie..! I hate that long name !" he replied cheekily.
A soft shuffling sound of fabric, "Aw..! Stop kicking that shin, Dorothy, aim the other one, would you..!" he groused openly.
Dorothy's political smile didn't falter on her face, she flapped open her black lace fan to cover her smile. A louder shuffling sound, a louder yelp. Her eyes narrowed to slits by her hidden smile behind the semitransparent fan. The Lord Marquis caught her cue and politely ignored the limping blackhaired youth behind her. It's for his sakes, anyway, because he could really get killed by his own family if he ever go home to Eyränd with a report that he'd messed this opportunity for them. Who knew about the supposed representatives' well-being, on that fact.
Well, what could he say…every family had one or two skeletons in their closets; of course, that said his closet also had quite a number of them.
A furtive smile bloomed under the cover of the only black-robe's hood at the Lord's thought; he sure could count the number to the exact list, the smile said wordlessly.
---------------
"Do you really think I'm really presentable just like this..?" Deia asked while she smoothened her changed dress.
"Yes. Don't worry about your looks too much. You're fine..!" Yuy said while he tied the ribbon of his Human's formal white cloak at her collar. A pair of large violet eyes stared his face widely. So she didn't really convinced. "….what more ?" the Beast asked after a long pause.
"My looks are fine…?" she asked flatly.
………….. "…you're beautiful !" he answered quietly, then turned his back to her, either by embarrassment or just impassiveness.
But that was more than enough to boost Deia's pride to the level of physically glowing. She grabbed his left arm and held it flat to her body like a deary pet, while she smiled to his face with utter happiness. They stared each other like that for a few long breaths. Breaths without the Air…a sudden ache pricked her heart at that thought, she really didn't want to confine him in her Land anymore after this. But she couldn't say it outloud, or even thought about it. Because what pained her pained him more, so she kept it behind her dark shroud in her heart. Just glow brightly like she used to, because every light kept a dark shadow behind it. "….anything else..?"
The stoic voice startled her a little. Deia blinked and sported a little flush on her cheeks, then blinked it off again. Gentle fingers lifted to touch his firm chin, a sheet of blackness sought her fingertips like a liquid wave, instantly covered his skin as if intentionally intercepting their physical contact. At her astonished wide stare, the liquid blackness eagerly formed the known structure to the front of his face. When the armor head formed completely, it purred with a silent ringing, enthralled at the fact that Deia liked IT, not only the Beast IT covered.
Deia giggled a little, "Cool…!", then occupied herself picking small stones at the edge of the mountain spring.
The Beast stared her figure under the cover of the black armor-head. She didn't even bother to try to figure out what the IT was to him; of what he'd given up to IT in exchange for the shell covering his head. He guessed he didn't really wanted his Human to think about IT, about the bond between him and the thing inside his chest.
Human will figure it out someday… hopefully in a good way..
"Look ! Souvenirs for Lyea and the others..!" Deia lifted several small stones in her hand for him to see, while her other hand loosely holding her dress so it wouldn't sweep the dirt ground.
He smiled, since when did his Human have the knack for collecting stones as souvenirs..? May be his habit rubbed off on her a little..
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The sky lit up with a shade of bright orange and a sheen of red hues and a gradation of purple to the end of the skyline. A black robed figure stood motionless on a small balcony on the white tower facing the cityscape lied under the hill of palace at the center of the crater-like city. A pair of ruby eyes glinted at the warsteed approaching the palace's outer gate on the arch road that curved up from the city level to the palace level. The warsteed walked leisurely along the slope climb, every now and then the elongated shadows of the tall stone pillars that lined up at some interval at either sides of the arch road casted one by one upon the impressive black horse and the two riders on its back, as if counting the shortened distance to the grand gate.
A long sharp cry of a great hawk in the sky heard like a toll. Either it was a welcoming or a danger warning.
The black robe jumped out the balcony's halfrounded rail, floated like a feather carried by the wind to the roof of lower structures supporting the tower. As the trumpet song of notification of someone important approaching the palace sounded, it jumped down and floated to land on one of the pointed pillars at the side of the arch road behind the warsteed.
Silent sounds of flapping wings attracted Deia's eyes to stray up sweeping the colorful dusk sky, her stare landed on a black figure stood motionless staring them just as the great white bird landed on the figure's shoulder. The robe was fluttering in the winds, it shaped the hidden form of the wearer as the black cloth waved. Even though it looked humanoid, a stray thought surfaced Deia's mind.
'……Crow-Fairs…' she stared the figure as the great hawk gave a highpitched cry again.
You're saying something..?
"What..?" Deia started and snapped her eyes at her Beast, when she looked behind again, the black robed figure was already gone. A lonely feeling crept into her heart after that although she didn't know what had caused it, so she pushed it down to the just-forget-it list and look forward as the grand gate opened for them to enter.
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A relax smile spread on Pluie's face, "Dorothy… I want that Archant that's entering the gate right now..!" he said with eyes closed, lying on his back on his bed with hands spread out at either sides of his body like a crucified butterfly.
Dorothy sideglanced at him from the dresser at the corner of the large room. "You're not here to collect things to your liking, Master Pluie..!", she slid the drawer close after finding nothing suspicious in it.
"Mm-hmm…but Lluvia said he wanted the beasts, instead..!" Pluie answered with a delight tone.
"Lord Lluvia is nowhere to collect things for himself..!" Dorothy said while nonchalantly inspecting the room.
A pleasant chuckle, "But Lluvia said he'd take this country for himself..!"
Dorothy slapped his dangling feet on the edge of bed. "You shouldn't speak about Lord Lluvia like that, Master Pluie. He's not here right now, he'd be very angry if you're gossiping about him behind his back, isn't that right ?", she knew that took the stings out of the facts of what her master had said; it's enough that only she and her master who knew it was indeed a fact, in case the palace's walls were listening.
The black eyelashes fluttered open slowly, his lush green eyes were unfocused like daydreaming, but his lips lost its relax smile in an instant. His face changed to a slack mask, his fingers twitched unconsciously as if feeling a surge of electricity, then stilled. His eyes focused on the bed canopy above his face, but his eyes could see the engravings on the grey ceiling above it.
"…But Lluvia said….he wanted…" his voice trailed off, he blinked once, focusing his eyes on the fabric of the dark red canopy that were crimped at the four corners, rather than the engravings on the ceiling. His eyelids drooped as his eyes distanced again ignoring Dorothy's figure looming at the end of his sight.
"…Lluvia wants everything….!" he said quietly as if to himself. After that, seeing that her master was ignoring the rest of the world and herself, Dorothy left him to his daydreaming alone. She went to the lounge adjoining their rooms and read some book to kill time.
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Silent gasps heard like a thick veil shrouding her senses as they entered the inner vicinity of the Palace court. There were three arch roads connecting the Palace and the city, and they took the one at the back of the Palace. Deia didn't know whether her Beast had picked it intentionally or not, but the white tower's shadow hid them from the smiling white moon she could feel lurking up there in the darkened sky.
Inside the gate was like another city built in the hill's walls, much to Deia's amazement. It seemed like this part of the Palace was for the higher-ups and royal patrons to live. Suddenly she could feel a wave of jealousy and other negative feelings crept up from the commoners city down there that seemingly had piled up for how many long ages, she didn't really eager to find out.
"…Rich….!" she whispered as she noticed the excessive buildings and decorations along the stone road. Empty stares and frightened gasps came from the people wandering on the sides of the road, more likely they were directed at the royal escorts that had been following them since they entered the gate, not at her appearance or her Beast's, nor their beast-ride.
'…the rich's servants or.. slaves….!' Deia thought to herself as she observed their unkempt appearances as an irony to their superfluous surroundings. She sideglanced from under her veil to the royal escorts that were riding behind.
'Seems like the higher-ups and the patrons are not very respected for their virtues, around here…!'
The blond young Lord was already waiting to welcome them at the Palace's inner gate, that said meant they already passed through a couple of gates before they arrived at this one gate. A means of self protection from possible danger from the city, she thought, considering what she saw down there.
The Lord's eyes stared them unblinkingly as Yuy helped her get down from the high back of the warsteed by her unbelievably white hand, the transparent long veil fluttered in the wind half covering her face. A strong presence from somewhere behind the Lord's back made Deia turned her face to him, as Yuy stood stoically behind her.
A royal escort presented the scrolled letter of introduction to the Lord. The counselor at his side introduced them with a formal voice.
"Lord Milliard Peacecraft of Virion's."
"Lady Deia-Saraleighsthē Luna(2) of Archantra and Master Yuy."
The Virion's Lord smiled warmly to her, he's such a beautiful virile Lord; the sarcastic pun made her inner-self laughed madly inside, while in the outside Deia managed a shy smile of a little girl with angelic backgrounds. She swore she heard her Beast and Odin's beast, that was walked by a shivering stable boy to the royal stable, snorted at her act.
"Welcome to Virion, Lady Luna..(?)" the Lord's smooth voice said while he kissed her hand.
Deia gave a slow curtsey, still with her shy smile. "Please call me Deia, Lord Peacecraft.."
"Zechs Marquis. Please, call me Zechs..!" his smile felt somewhat lavishly nice.
Deia gave a small shy bow, "Lord…Marquis..!"
At that the blond Lord chuckled pleasantly, trying to smoothen the sharp air coming from her full-black armored escort behind her. Deia blinked, feeling the same sharp tension coming from behind the virile Lord from none other than the black robed 'Crow-Fairs'. She smiled wider with full-laugh eyes.
"Please excuse my escort. He's a little too possessive of my well-being..!"
Zechs gave the same smile too. "My servant seemed a little too rivalrous, for that reasoning. I apologies…"
"Yuy…!" Deia called out softly to her possessive Beast of escort to give the Lord a greeting, that hopefully wouldn't charge up the fueled situation more than it already was. The black armored Beast moved forward silently and gave the Lord a slow stiff bow from the waist. But apparently he was standing a little too precisely just between his Lady and the smiling Lord.
"This is Bland..!" the smiling Lord said while taking a step back because his black robed servant rushed in between him and the bowing smiling-guest's escort to give the same bow.
A heavy pause downed accompanied with a thick possessiveness cloud and a strong rivalrous currents charging the air. Deia's smile stiffened on her face; impressively, the Lord's smile didn't falter a bit on his face.
Now, it's just plain…childish ! The counselor who introduced them cleared his throat. Or just beasts' territorial instincts, he thought as he inspected the escort in black armor in front of the fairish girl in white.
The welcoming procession continued again after the Lord pleased them into his Palace, and Deia took his invitation politely, and they both initiatively kept the distance not less than two meters away between them. That was an odd distance to keep the polite conversation going on, but was enough (barely) to keep their black 'tails' from convoluting with each other.
……this's a good start..! Deia sighed in her mind.
Then she could swear she heard the black warsteed gave a long highpitched neigh from the stable direction.
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The ball will be held at tomorrow evening, the guests were pleased to take their time in the Palace until then, but they're politely not allowed to go down to the city. Viricidia was more look like a military city where they preparing things for wars, in Deia's opinion. The landscape and surroundings already supported the necessities needed for it.
"…what a giant pudding you could make…!" Deia whispered to herself while looking out of the window, with elbows rested on the window ledge supporting her chin.
"…you're saying something ?" her Beast whispered from somewhere behind her in the room. "You asked me that before..!" she answered to herself still whispering. Now that she thought of it, she didn't feel the mind-link between them since they entered this city.
"Yuy, is something wrong…?" Deia turned her head a little, one of her hand left her chin to rest on the window ledge.
"…giant pudding ?" the muzzle of the armor-head turned to her, the left eye of the slanted fake-eyes of black gemstone was gleaming at its forehead. It reminded Deia of a story from her childhood of a chimera-prince who imprisoned the moon in his left eye because he fell in love with the sky…
The Beast knew his Human had her thought strayed somewhere far again, so he walked to the window and stood closely behind her slim figure, put both hands at either sides of her on the window ledge and looked out the window to the cityscape laid out around them.
"…you're right, this city's basic design resembled a pudding-pan..!" he whispered.
Deia rested her back to his chest. "Isn't it..!" she smiled happily, bumping her head to his armored shoulder softly and rested it there.
'…ne, Yuy…' she thought after a moment's pause, '….why do you think the moon hated me ?'
You really think that..? The Beast rubbed his black-covered chin to the side of her head.
'I felt that firsthand, didn't I…?' Deia closed her eyes, remembering what a torturing feeling the moon's light felt was when it crashed upon her the first time. The unforgiving cold surge of hatred and pains clawing her from the inside…. She thought again, and blinked. Or perhaps, she was the one who hated the moon…?
At the exact moment, the wind blew the layer of clouds to reveal a smiling white moon in the black night sky. The human in white and the beast in black looked up at it in silence.
They just stared, and filling each other's senses with the other's presence. A little uncomfortable feeling swirled in the depth of his Human's mind, the Beast felt it perfectly.
What does it feel like now..?
Deia silenced for sometime, staring at the crescent white moon, wondering what the chimera-prince thought of the round shining object when he saw it. '….like.. it's jealous of you somehow…!'
Jealous of me…?
'Like it would take you away from me..!' a pause, '….but not this moon..'
'…it's supposed to be…. a big round moon..that could swallow you whole….!' Deia thought half awarely, her mind strayed to something her self saw hidden deep in her mind. And because she was too deep in it, she didn't aware of the momentary shiver that ran up her Beast's body despite the fact that she was resting her back on his front. He knew it, and secretly felt grateful for it. Rearranged his emotions and minds in no time.
"What was that…?" Deia said suddenly with her usual light tone, tilting her head back to see his hidden face.
"What ?" her Beast asked.
"I thought you said something !"
He shook his head a little, she creased her brows a little. "Say,…you're not going to change into something different in fullmoon, are you, Yuy ?"
What got that question out…? "Why ?" he whispered.
"Umm… I don't know..!" Deia picked his left hand and played with his fingers with both her hands. "…'heard some things about the outsiders-…", she meant outsider beasts, he grasped it. "And perhaps…well, since we're out here….I thought may be…" she faltered.
"You want me to change into something else…?"
"I'm just curious…..!" Deia stared his face accusingly from the end of her eye, in the back of his mind, he could feel the negation in her mind.
He tilted his head to the side a little. "…aa..", he whispered as if to himself. That didn't answer her in any way, but she thought she might be better off not probing him too much, the outside world must had given him too much to count one by one. She just hoped that he had enough happiness to count for himself.
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The night was at its darkest moment. When the Windpipe's twelfth-tune of the Palace's time-tower sounded like a soft hum of a lullaby to resonance through the whole city by its round walls, a black shadow crept up on the red velvet bed soundlessly, a white smirk bloomed mimicking the smiling white moon in the black night sky outside, showing its long sharp fangs. It crouched above the bed's occupant swiftly like a beast claiming its prey, careful as to not touch the sleeping human to wake.
The shadow bent low to the human's face, breathing in the scent and the significant presence it sensed since they met this morning when they arrived. It tilted its face to the human's ear, enjoying the patience-game since it knew that the human was already awake since it entered the bedroom.
"…my name is Lluvia…." the shadow purred low, "Remember that name..!"
The human's eyes opened calmly, feeling the sudden jerk of the shadow's move who arched its back going to impale a dull-pointed object to the human's chest with its right hand.
A soft breeze..
A wider leer watching the object's plunge towards the breathing chest. Then suddenly a blast hit its body so powerful it flung the shadow to the far wall of the spacious bedroom.
After a loud sound of impact heard, the room lit up by itself, revealing a pair of gleaming ruby eyes staring condescendingly to the black heap on the floor by the far wall. The ruby eyes gleamed brighter for a second, a stronger breeze unleashed from around the black robed figure stood motionless next to the bed, coiling around the black heap and strangling its neck to lift it off the floor, crushing its body to the already broken wall. A flash of satisfaction glinted in the ruby eyes watching the intruder's feet kicked and jolted in the air, both hands tried vainly to pry the solid air from lynching him.
"…it's enough, put him down, Bland..!" a smooth calm voice said from the bed. The ruby eyes sideglanced at the owner and focused on the intruder again, but complied by letting his neck go.
The youth's body hit the floor in a pile, poorly coughing and chocking, trying to regain his breath. The solid air still swirling around his figure, caging him. When his coughing subsided and changed to hard wheezing, small hick ups followed. And short utterance and whimpers of fright heard every now and then, but somehow they sounded dissociated from the reality at present.
Zechs creased his brows a little watching Pluie's frightened figure on the floor that was curled on itself. No, terrified was more like it, but he wasn't terrified of them. As his feverish utterance started to sound more and more louder bordering to broken cries, Zechs got down from the bed. The young monarch was embracing his head with both hands, or seemed like he was trying to cover his ears from something he kept hearing.
The blond Lord eventually felt sorry for his miserable guest, and tried to calm him down. "Master -…"
Suddenly the bedroom double doors flung open and a flash of yellow and black jumped on Pluie's body. Bland was calling out his wind, extremely aware that his cage of swirling air had instantly dissipated once Dorothy's body penetrated it, but his Master's hand stopped him from blasting it to the two crouching bodies on the floor.
"Master Pluie..!" Dorothy called him but he was too out of it, so she shook him by the shoulder hard. "Master Pluie !" and that brought his feverish eyes to snap at hers. He looked stunned at first, like a frozen statue, he even stopped breathing. But suddenly as he recognized her to some extent, he started to shake again, rambling brokenly and hugged her by the waist like a lifeline. Dorothy silenced and just hugged his shuddering body by his shoulders and head as she fell sitting on the carpeted floor.
Zechs managed to dechiper some of his broken words, they were consisted mostly of 'don't', 'help', 'nomore', and 'Lluvia'. That name was the most frequently repeated.
The blond girl seemed aware from the start about their presence. Well, of course..she wouldn't barge in into a Lord's bedroom in the middle of the night and not expected the Lord's alertness on her. What's more, a neighbour Lord's bedroom, and in the middle of latent warfare, to add to the fact.
She turned her head a little from her Master's body, and gave a low bow to the Lord's direction. She waited for a long pause before started to speak, all the while keeping her eyes to the floor. "Milord..!" she began.
"This is inexcusable…"
A few long breaths, and she got no respond, only two pairs of eyes stared them fixedly on the floor. One pairs stared calmly but authoritatively, another pair of ruby eyes were staring with ardent devotion and possessiveness bordering to anger.
"But..?" the Lord seemed to feel some sympathy for the girl, and decided that he didn't really wanted to make it worse for her.
Dorothy waited a heartbeat before she lifted her face to the standing Lord halfway across the room. "…but we did not come here to make enemies with you right now..!" she said with confidence burning in her straight staring eyes.
"…right now..?" Zechs repeated. The blond girl's steadfastness didn't disappoint the Lord as she stared his eyes with unwavering determination. He smiled, "I like that term… 'as for now' ?"
His servant's gleaming eyes sideglanced at him for a moment, asking what his Master wanted for him to do to the intruders, but finding that he had a pleasant smile on his face instead.
"This is still in the middle of the night, Lady Dorothy. And it seemed that Master Pluie needs some rest..?"
Dorothy blinked.
"Good night, Lady Dorothy..!"
Dorothy blinked again, finding the Lord's smile was a genuine smile. She stunned for a moment, but Pluie's whimpers made her alert again. She bowed fast to the smiling Lord, and dragged Pluie's taller body to his feet.
"Tell Lluvia I'll remember his name..!" Zechs added once they were about to exit the bedroom. Dorothy stopped for a second and then continued dragging Pluie out.
"Oh, and please unfreeze my guards at the doors..!" Zechs called out.
A flat "As you wish, Milord.." answered him before the doors to his chamber being shut. At that Zechs chuckled to himself. Too bad that she was a girl, Eyränd was a country which seemed not very respectful of the idea of a leading female.
"Master, he could really killed you just now…!" Bland's voice sounded uncharacteristically impatient.
"If he wanted to really kill me, he wouldn't wake me up first, Bland..!" his Master said lightly.
"But Eyränd's..-!"
"I'm aware of Eyränd's talents to freeze the time to some extent. And that even though he was going to use a napkin to stab me…" his eyes stared the roll of cloth fell on his bed. "…since it was a substance frozen in time, it could penetrate even the hardest other substance in its state. Which means I'd be dead if I got stabbed by that thing…!" his light voice flattened a little by the end of his words.
"But they're not our enemies for now, Bland..!" he stared his servant in the eyes. The gleaming in his ruby eyes softened, and he casted his stare down. "Yes, Master.." was his soft reply. Zechs smiled gently to him, his servant was still being a little overprotective since he reported the other beast's arrival this morning, half a day before they physically arrived at the city. The fact that he did search for his presence as his Master only because he felt the other's presence had spoke a lot of his anxiety….of apparently some territorial-thing issue…!
Zechs left him to his contemplation alone, and he sat on his bed with a mind of his own.
'….now I'm wide awake. What should I do…?'
---------------
"I really don't think this is a good idea, Master….even though it doesn't matter what I think, Master..!" Bland said with a light crease between his white-fur of brows.
His Master only answered with a light chuckle at those sentences, how his servant's naiveté really entertained him at times. "Master, you're not a child anymore…!" that almost sounded like a whine it made Zechs smirked to himself.
"You don't have to accompany me, Bland. I'm only visiting my guest, see if they need something..!"
"But you're using the Palace's secret passage to get into the guest's room, Master !" Bland pointed it out with almost a pout on his lips. That only fueled his Master's chuckle into laugh.
"Don't follow me, Bland. I promise I'll behave myself..! Go and watch for me from the outside !"
Bland didn't say anything else, but his pout got more visible. A soft breeze marked his leave from the one-person wide passage between the Palace's walls.
A structure in the wall of the fireplace's frame slid open like opened teeth for the Lord to pass. He scanned the dim room first before he stepped out of the wall's passage. Didn't spare a glance at the closing wall behind him, he walked slowly to the bed. A little nervous feeling crept up his heart but it made him more excited.
The wind blew the shrouding clouds for the smiling moon to lit the room a little. The shadow of the tall window frames fell on the pristine bed, and his excitement fell down the city's drains.
"Yuy, are you-…?"
A tentative voice from the door to the adjoining lounge heard suddenly but stopped halfsentence.
The Lord turned in surprise and finding a stunned Deia holding a lit chandelier in her left hand. Her silvery-purple hair halfdone in loose braid with long wavy locks fell down her white longdress and gave some color to it. Her pashmina veiled her head to cover her shoulders, gathered at her elbows, and brushed the floor at its tasseled ends. Zechs blinked his eyes, adjusting his mind. She looked more like a painting than a person.
"Milord..?"
"He's not here..!" Zechs said with a smile, giving an impression that it was normal in all the likelyhood for him to be in one of his guests' bedroom in the middle of the night in his sleeping robe with no one else besides himself.
Deia blinked. "Apparently not..!" she stared the still made bed.
Silence fell awkwardly after that. They both gave tentative smiles in turns and gestured that each of them would go back to where they came from. It nudged Deia's thought a little that the Lord pointed to the fireplace for himself, but she brushed it off thinking that he might be pointing to the direction of his room. They exchanged awkward small bows, and Deia closed the lounge door.
She waited a few heartbeats behind the double doors before her mind told her that she should go back to her Beast's room, pointed out to her that it was odd enough for a host to be surreptitiously visiting his guest's room like that. Deia smoothened her creased brows before knocking the door and opened it again, only to find him gone from the dim room. She creased her brows again deeper from the previous, and went back to her bed, blew the candles and stared the bed canopy with a pout.
"I can't sleep..!"
In the secret passage Zechs walked slowly with a crease between his brows, too. "May be he's a nocturnal…!" he said to himself, "…don't you think, Bland ?" it didn't come to his mind that he might be a spy lurking in his Palace somewhere. A soft breeze behind him reported his servant's arrival tailing him soundlessly.
Bland didn't answer his question, not that it needed answer, anyway. So his Master interested in a new beast… his mind echoed endlessly, halve of his consciousness was aware of his Master's words talking about that other beast, but he couldn't really put them inside his brain.
"..Where is he now, could you sense his presence ?" Zechs stared him pass his shoulder. The ruby eyes under the black robe drooped in indifference, but gleamed for a short second, finding a trace of blank spot in the Palace-map in his senses. That must be him, other beast's signature that was intentionally hidden from his territorial-map.
"On her bed, Master…"
Zechs stopped short, turned his head to him for several seconds, then continued his walk a little faster than before. "….Really ?"
"But she seemed like she was searching for him, though…!"
"You're not a curious boy anymore, Master….!" Bland reminded him with a quiet voice, another part of his mind pointed out to himself that his Master lost his childhood fairly because he was a failure in doing his duty of protecting him. Letting him imprisoned in the White-tower for more than a decade….
Suddenly a pair of strong hands grabbed his smaller body and lifted it flat to a solid chest. "I'm not a curious boy anymore, but I'm still curious..!" Zechs pointed openly staring straight to his slanted ruby eyes. He dropped his black robed charge brusquely to his own feet, and turned sharply leaving him standing stunnedly at his sudden act.
His mind blanked….
"I like you like this more, Bland..!"
The far voice sounded farther in his ears. His feet felt rooted to the stone ground.
"….Master..?"
"You could criticize me now..!"
That jolted his body to a run, "Are you angry at me, Master..!"
Zechs laughed, "I said I like you like this. Pay more attention to my words, Bland..!"
"Apologies, Master, but I'm jealous..!"
"I know, don't make it a bad feeling, alright ?" he smiled. His servant was more childish than himself, he liked his naiveté more than anything else. One of the thing he'd lived in the exile for, so that his naiveté wouldn't be corrupted by the Palace's life, that's why he was mad when he reported the Marquises' conditions back then, suspected that it was his doing.
"….Master…" a tentative voice sounded like a quiet whine, "Jealous don't feel good…!"
Zechs laughed again, more to himself, feeling instinctively the presence of a black robed hand gripping his sleeping robe from behind, and it made him feel good that someone thought of his existence was vitally needed.
…But may be he didn't have to specify where 'on her bed' meant, Bland thought to himself quietly.
---------------
The morning came peacefully with the sound of the sixth-tune of the Windpipe hummed marking the dawn. Deia's creased brows were already got more deeper than last night, her mind thought about the dawn that was came too soon in her opinion, while her senses told her that the Lady's-dawn displays were usually started from around five in her Land. So that meant that 'this' dawn came too late, mocked the other's mind.
"….shut up..!" she whispered on her bed, still staring at her bed canopy with reddened eyes. She didn't manage to get even a little sleep the whole night.
-…you shouldn't be this angry about him not worshiping you on the first pedestal anymore, this is his world…not yours..!- whispered another-mind in her head.
Deia growled at it and tried to ignore. But the more she tried, the voice got more louder and bolder at the fact that she couldn't ignore it.
-…or may beeee….- it began, -..the MOON stole him last night..!-
Deia's face froze sensing the voice's leer in her head. She sat up joltingly, tossing the velvet blanket to her feet on the bed. And just stared at nothing, instinctively knew that the more she tried to focuse her mind at something, the more the other-mind would get its freedom to induce hers.
Soft knocks sounded at the doors, and then heard the polite voice of the head-maid asking for entrance. A chamberlain-counselor in yet another white robe standing stoically in front of the doorway of her bedroom, as to not cross her privacy while the maids made the morning preparations. Seeing that she did not bring her own personal maid with her, the head-maid politely introduce an appointed young maid to be her personal maid while she stayed in the Palace. Deia accepted the hospitality politely and let the girl provide her necessities. After she was ready, the chamberlain-counselor read her the agenda of the day, which was the morning assembly for all the guests after breakfast to get everyone introduced properly. That's the only important program for that day, aside for the ball in the evening.
After that they left her with the breakfast in her chamber. Sensing the smell and activities in the other room too, she expected they done the same thing with her Beast's room despite his unknown whereabout. She guessed she couldn't ask to have breakfast together with him since he's not around, so she ate it in silence while the maid standing at her side in case she ask for anything.
Deia dismissed her after she finished, feeling a little frustrated more and more with each passing time as she looked out the window. A blackgloved hand touched her pashmina tentatively from behind. That snapped her to turn around and faced the missing Beast.
"Where were you…!" Deia almost barked, already recognized his presence once she felt the familiar touch on her personal space.
The Beast didn't say a word, or even thought of anything. Deia scowled at the blankness in their link, she reached out her hands to cup the armor-headed face, and impulsively covered his mouth with hers the moment the blackthing left his face bare. They drowned in each other's familiarity for some long moments, reconnecting the loose ends of their links, and filling themselves with each other's presence. She was finished with her share when she felt his mind in the back of her mind again, but let him breathe in her presence more than the usual share.
Deia pulled her face back, but still cupping his face with her hands. Her violet eyes had brighter sheen after that, but the crease between her brows was still visible.
'…I told you not to get drunk by this land's vibes, right…!' she thought to him.
He flattened his lips together but said nothing. His face was an impassive mask, but she could feel his possessiveness in the back of her mind. So she decided not to get worried about them, and sighed all of it out into the air. "Really, I feel like I could never understand you sometimes…!" she whispered.
Unrealized by her, a pair of sharp eyes watched them from a far building's rooftop. Then a pair of strong wings flapped several times to loosen up their flight muscles in the morning breeze. Then the great hawk flew to a black robed shoulder up in the White-tower's balcony.
A pair of blond brows loosened up their concentration crease, the eyelashes fluttered open slowly, with eyelids halfdrooped as if sleepily staring farther at nothing in the spacious room. A smile of amazement bloomed on the handsome face as his mind puzzled out what was related to his sight.
"Interesting relationship you have there with your guardian-beast, Lady Deia of Archantra…!"
---------------
The morning assembly for introductions turned out becoming an opening to the political bargain at the end. Deia thought it bound to develop to that kind of situation remembering each country were actually in a bind with their own war with the OWLs. In fact, the whole ball-thing was really unnecessary, she thought, if they really came there to make allies, deciding which country needed and which country thought to be just burdens instead; then they could just skip this ridiculous smiling-contest and came with it in the open. Right, so much for politician's smile, her face started to feel like jello…!
She smiled in her seat quietly the whole time, assessing each representative from each country. She counted that there were a total of 28 countries' representatives, including the citystates, that came to the Virion's capital. With the exception of 3 other countries that declined the political invitation regarding their own reasons, including Rűdern; which Deia thought only natural that their people might trust their own land's magic repellent more than people of other countries.
"…What do you think, Lady Luna ?" suddenly a bearded mid-aged man asked her opinion. He was Lord Servyll from Grandmongrel, she recalled. Deia already heard his names several times in the Castile, this was the first time she saw him up close, another-mind's memories popped out in her head as it recalled the report from Seventh that said Thrice had blown his Governor's chamber when the boorish man openly asked Thrice his price when he was sent there to see to his OWL-poisoned wound.
While the other-mind chuckled endlessly at the memory, Deia thought that the Lord Servyll himself was actually a charismatic man, aside from the other thoughtless Grandmongrels reported, that including the singed boorish Governor, but she didn't know whether he was really asking her opinion or was just testing her. Just assume it as both, she thought to herself.
Deia smiled wider as the other people's eyes focused at her, waiting for her reply.
"From my ingenuous perspective, Lord Servyll, I believe that everyone here needs something for their own benefits, including the OWLs. That's why they attacked everyone, in the first place. And that's why all of you Guests of Honor came to this city, including myself.. " she didn't say 'we'.
"But in vagrant perspective, the things needed by each other, including the OWLs, are not the same." Suddenly a blond girl in black dress added. It was still a generic addition that could develop whether to a supporting aid or to attack her, Deia thought. "So, what do you think the OWLs needed from Archantra, Lady Luna ?"
"Regarding that Archantra's nature was uninhabitable for most humans…". Lady Catalonia was her name, Deia's mind supplied. She had intentionally left her words there, to see which direction Deia would place her country in the whole situation.
So they're still assessing her Land whether it's their enemy or ally-worthy.
"Truthfully, in my opinion, even though the people of Archantra could seek refuge to places out of Archantra, but ours cannot find shelter in your land, Lady Luna." That was Lord Barqiss of the Citystate of Nux-Via, it's located just behind Grandmongrel separated only by The Abyss of Myriads.
"That's right, even if you could benefit from humans, we are unsure whether we could benefit from you except for some particular magic-crafts of yours.."
"..Which I understand are not very dependable outside your land..!"
"So what do you think the OWLs wanted from your land, Lady Luna ?" Lord Servyll asked again and got the questioning back to the first track, ignoring the nattering chicken-males (which was her other-self's term for them).
Deia smiled warmly to him, "I am unsure about that, Lord Servyll, but I'm sure the Charms could find out something…". -So these humans wanted to know what you're selling, hu ?- the other-mind echoed her thought.
"I assumed that your land could fend off their attacks just fine, but what if they wanted someone from your land instead of some nature sources or the land itself ?" Lord Barqiss asked again, the other chicken-males who likely rooted for him nodded their heads without being commanded.
-What ? You saying just a speck of white-dot in the map doesn't show in their map…!- the other-mind sneered flatly.
"What if I say that my investigators had achieved that piece of information, even though they still not sure of who they wanted..?" Lord Barqiss added before Deia could answer.
Deia blinked, "Really ?" she faked a mild-surprised (innocent) face. "It's the first time I heard of it, right Yuy..?" Deia tilted her head up a little, somehow including her Beast who was standing behind her in such a subject made her feel relief as she ignored her other-mind that was pointing some happenstances about him and the OWLs in the past.
The discussants fell silent for a short while, flicking their stares at the full-armored guardian of hers that was always literally standing on her shadow since the first moment they spotted them.
"I don't think just giving them what they want would make them signing a peace-treaty with their enemies..!" a quiet male voice reasoned, but it was drowned in other's erupting murmurs.
'…are you sure you're not saying come-with-me-I'll-protect-you, Lord Barqissss…!' Deia's mind mocked inside.
A soft snort, "…they'll ask for more if you give them something..!" –just like you the servile-guests-of-honors; the quiet voice added. "Though I'm not into wars and fights…!" the voice droned on ignoring other voices, but Deia could hear him despite all.
"So, what would you do with that piece of information..?" Lord Barqiss asked again, smiling wide but not quite sincerely. The other guests quieted staring at her.
"Hmmm…" Deia hummed to herself, "I guess I haven't decided about any happenstances like that, even though it's a probability which already crossed my mind from some time ago…!"
"….happenstances..?" a woman's voice asked unbelievably at her term of the whole situation, but Deia didn't care of whose it was.
"But if you people of great experiences thought of it as something that could avoid the war between my Land and the OWLs.." she touched her chin lightly with one finger, feigning her innocent pampered-princess act to the fullest. Well, if these humans really thought that she would let them bargain her Land after what happened in the city the other day, they must be some fossiled hipo-faced speciments…! That thought brought the memory of The Collector to the surface for a fraction of second, now she thought she could understand of his incredulousness of other species' stupidity from his point of view even for a little bit.
"Then the ones I need to discuss it with are the people at home..!" she smiled brightly with her final deduction, with a closing tone. Then she stood up and cued her Beast to go, ignoring the surprise murmurs from the people on the long table.
"While I'm thinking of what words I should report that subject with to the people at my home, I'd suggest you Guests of Honor to decide what you truely take of Archantra.." Deia said staring down at the table, "Since I'm strictly reminded that I am to not make enemies here..!" and added as if to herself. Then smiled to her Beast to cue him that she had finished in there, bowed once to the room in general, then leave.
"Haahaa… and there goes the star of this OWLs-fending matter with her sweet words…!" the quiet male voice said with a flat boring tone, almost like mocking the gaping chicken-males and some hen-politicians that were staring her disappeared from the room through the doors.
There was the sound of low chuckles heard from the end of the table direction. Most of the eyes of the guests' were directed at the chuckling sound after that, finding the Virion's Lord lounging on his chair with one hand on his mouth covering his quiet laugh.
"….please…., ArrenBone, you shouldn't make it sounded funny…!" the blond Lord said between his deep chuckles, wiping the laughing-tears from his eyes.
"I didn't, you're the one who thought of it that way…!" the quiet bored voice retorted with a soft snort. Then all eyes turned to a young man who looked more like a sickly-ruffian than a politician. He was playing with the lit chandelier in his one hand, watching the molten candle dripped into his wineglass, while the other hand stirring the glass with a table knife. His dim grey eyes recognized the others' stares at him. At first glance anyone wouldn't believe the sickly bluish-black color under his eyes was natural, he looked like a zombie of a sick-ruffian, even, what with his dark ragged garbs. He wore a thick tattered black pelt as his coat even in the journey through the desert.
"…Wine-coloured candlewax….?" he offered flatly to the others who stared him mutely, lifting a bead of wax on his table knife. That only fueled the Lord's chuckles into repressed laugh.
"Master ArrenBone.., we are discussing some serious matters, here..!" the Lord Barqiss said rebukingly.
"…you mean 'ere'….!" he retorted quietly to himself matter of factly.
"Bone, it's not polite to mumble out your comments like that..!" Zechs cut before it gets to a word-fight.
"Hungggh…you're right. Since I'm dying-bored already, I'll take my leave now..!" his sickly-hunched figure stood from his chair, "See you, Blondy..!" with that mumbled greeting to the Lord he excused himself from the room. The said Lord lifted his hand a little to his greeting, watching with a smile of amusement at his wobbly walk that made him bump his body to the doorframe once before he's out of his sight.
The Lord Barqiss glowered at the closed doors, glancing at the blond Lord secretly. He didn't like to be looked down by others, especially by youngsters.
---------------
Deia half ran through the long corridors, ignoring the lining counselors in white robes, as she instinctively found a secluded area which was a small corner garden, with copse of red-leaved trees sheltering its surrounding. There were four stone benches under the shade of the trees, arranged in a diamond pattern, which basically made a semi surrounded space in the middle.
Feeling the breeze bringing the land's vragrances to her senses, Deia stopped abruptly in the small space in the middle of the stone benches, looking down at her feet a little rigidly. Blowing out her breath a couple times. A soundless presence behind her stopped just a step distance, Deia gave a recognition headtilt a little, and cupped her face with both hands. She stood motionless for several seconds, then turned sharply at her stoic Beast.
"….my face huuurts…..!" she whined with tears in her eyes. "I think the face muscles are cramped or something…!". Her fake-sweetsmile still plastered on her face..
The black-armored Beast didn't move a fraction.
A long frozen pause, the breeze blew playing with her wisps of hair and dress.
…so ?
"…'so' ? ….I said my face hurt..!"
…..You shouldn't smile at them for that length of time..!
"…you want me to singe them, instead..!" Deia creased her brows, a strange mixture with her stiff smile.
I don't think you developed a muscle-lock…
"Hahaa…funny, Yuy !" Deia showed him her fangs. A few arteries popped on her temples.
Seeing that he didn't have the initiative to aid her, Deia took his hands to cup her face and rubbed them gently to smoothen her stiff muscles. Staring his armor-head's face widely from her lower line of sight. "….why are you angry..?" she asked flatly.
I'm not.
"You are…!"
"…,de ? 'Nandemonai'…?" she asked, embracing his waist flat to her body after her fake-smile loosened from her face.
Aa…nandemonai.. His mind-whisper sounded distracted somehow.
"Uso daro..?"(3) Deia frowned.
The armor-head tilted down a little at her face. Why was his Human acussing him lying ?
….the trees are watching..!
"That's not something I-….!"
Suddenly a small repressed yelp heard accompanied with the sounds of broken branches and a dull thud from behind her.
Deia turned leaving one hand still embracing his waist. A boy about her age sat on the soft grass, a light flush on his face. He was scratching his head of blond hair with embarrassment.
"…..I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude…!" he said while being pulled up to his feet by his friend who jumped down from the same tree he'd fallen from.
Deia blinked.
They're here first..!
"You're here first..!" Deia echoed half stunnedly.
"Yes..!" the blond said fast, "..and we didn't mean-"
"To watch..!" Deia finished his sentence. The blond boy sported a brighter flush, he bowed.
"I'm terribly sorry, I didn't mean-"
"To fall down..!" Deia stared. The boy froze with sweatdrop and even brighter flush. His taller friend stood behind him stoically.
Deia gave genuine wide smile at him, "It's alright, I apologize that it seemed like we were the ones who intrude you, instead..!"
"Don't apologize, Milady, we are just lowly mercenaries..!" the boy bowed again.
Deia's brows shot up. "Mercenaries ? ..at your age ?"
The blond boy blinked, and bowed his affirmation. "Seems like fun…!" Deia said brightly. The blond boy stared.
"Yes….?"
"Like, you don't have to have your face muscles cramp from smiling too much in a political meeting where you really don't want to smile…!" –more like, you really don't have to smile..!- the other-mind said sarcastically at her.
The blond boy gave a tolerating smile of symphaty, welcoming her friendliness, "….I guess..!"
After that the conversation didn't lengthen.
"Oh..! I'm sorry, my name's Quartz. My friends call me Q…!"
"Deia..!"
"This is Trowa..!" he offered his stoic friend's name, who bobbed his head at them.
"Yuy..!" Deia offered while tightening her embrace around his waist with both hands again. Q noticed his armor-head turned to the bushes under the trees for some times now.
"They are my subordinates..-" he said while two men crawled out from the bushes. But Deia cut him before he could introduce their names.
"You have subordinates..! But you don't look like a muscle-type..!"
Q grinned at her term, "I'm more like a tactician and negotiator rather than muscle-worker, Milady..!"
"Just Deia ! –So you're basically someone like a politician too, yes..?"
Q sweatdropped, "……I suppose..!"
"Hummm…poor us..!" Deia muttered to herself. "You received an invitation too..?" Deia asked while under her question she pointed out that he wasn't in the meeting.
"We were commissioned. It's a safeguarding job through the desert..!"
"Just the four of you..?" Deia raised her brows.
"We work more by finding a safe route rather than fending off dangers.." Q offered.
"Hmmm, right..!" Deia nodded her head several times, "…especially if the politicians you're guarding were mouthy, yes…?" then whispered conspiratorially to his ear.
Q gave a deeper tolerating smile, understanding that she was at her limit of tolerating the said politicians in the meeting. "…Master Arre-B isn't the mouthy-type you'd hate, though..!"
"Arre-B..? ArrenBone ?" she asked flatly. At the boy's nod Deia recalled the person's description. Then tilted her head to the side like a bird, "Oh, that guy…!"
Q blinked again at her, realizing that she was actually more of a boisterous girl than a sheltered princess. Suddenly Deia's straight stare fell on his eyes, "You are more of a gentleman's sheltered son than a mercenary, Young Master Q..!" she said appraisingly.
---------------
"Found something interesting than some boring politicians, Bone…?"
ArrenBone glanced from the ends of his eyes, the blond Lord stood at the side of his hunched figure rested on the balcony wall. "I never thought you'd be the type to arrange this kind of party..!" he countered in a little raspy voice.
A deep sigh, "I didn't..!" he rested his back to the pillar, folding his hands at his chest.
"You're not the type to come to this kind of party yourself..!"
"I'm here for your dragon !" he said openly. He wasn't one who'd like to beat around the bush. "How's your uncle ?"
"Bedridden. My dragon..?"
"He said in the letter that he'd give me the dragon if I aid him. But I thought it's not his to give so I intended to confirm it with you….saying that you're available in the place I could meet..!"
"I wouldn't give away the dragon for everything, Bone..!"
"You wouldn't trade it even for your own life, I know. But I want it even if I have to steal it from you..!"
Zechs smirked. "So what's so interesting ?"
ArrenBone's dim eyes still focused on the people in the corner garden down. "That sweet-brat…" he pointed at Deia with his chin. Zechs curved his brows up in toleration at his vocabulary. "…had alter-mind I can't ignore..!"
"That's new. I wouldn't thought there'd be someone who's compatible with you somewhere..!"
"That's not someone !"
"Something..?" Zechs arched his brows in question. ArrenBone only snorted softly, as if he didn't have enough air to be snorted out in his lungs.
"You're interested with that beast..". Not a question.
Zechs hummed to himself, his eyes stared the black-armored figure cravingly. "You know him ?"
"I might. But since I don't have the obligation to answer you, I'm not telling you anything..!"
Zechs chuckled. They knew each other long enough to not make enemies out of each other. "So, how's the University…?"
"Like always..!"
"The OWLs are adept learners, aren't they ?"
"More than upsiders..! So whose side you'd be rooting for ?"
"My people. Whose side are you ?"
"Mine."
"That's even more selfish than me, Bone..!"
"I'm a self-centered creature, that's why I exist..!"
"Yeah, I guess you should live like that. When are you going to try to steal my dragon ?"
"Do you really think I'd tip you off about that..?" the dim eyes glanced at his smiling face.
"You're not one who'll lurk behind my back."
"…..It's stirring to wake..!" with that the black-pelted hunched figure left in his wobbly walk.
"…and you shouldn't worry too much about your country's people. They're in good hands…-but not yours..!" ArrenBone said to the soft breeze. Not minding the Lord who was watching his back, or the lines of counselors as he entered the Palace corridor again.
A tentative hand grasped his red jacket's arm from behind. Zechs glanced pass his shoulder, finding a pair of wideeyed ruby eyes stared almost vulnerably at his. "His presence is far greater than mine, so you couldn't intrude his space without his consent. I'm just a mere human, after all..!" he offered without needing to be asked.
The hand gripped tighter, lowering his black hooded head, a feeling of helplessness emanating from his submissive figure. Zechs pulled that head to rest its forehead on his arm that he's gripping, "You shouldn't worry about me, Bland. I'm not..!"
"Besides, above all of this country's people, you're the closest to me….", that sounded like an unfinished promise.
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it's really NOT what you think it is…! n"n; (ummm…what it made you think of, actually..?)
as if I would give my superfluous full-name to strangers…! –Deia said-
Deia picked up Heero's language, so she used masculine form