Chapter 7 - Lulu Bell
~ Of all the worldly passions, lust is the most intense. All other worldly passions seem to follow in its train ~
Buddha
…
Pain.
Confusion.
Shouts. Accusations. Harsh words.
'Freak!'
'Why?'
'Burn it all down!'
Red. Everything covered in red.
Anger. Fire. Blood.
So much blood…
Analicia awoke with a start, clutching her chest as her heart continued to beat wildly, threatening to leap out of her chest at any moment.
She stayed that way for what felt like several hours when, in reality, in was only a few minutes. A soft knocking sound came from the door and, after assuring herself that what she'd seen was just a dream and would remain as such, went to open it.
On the other side of the door was a maid - a strange maid, but a maid nonetheless. The maid had gray skin, not quite as dark as one of the Noah clan's, but still gray. A black, flipped pentagram was in the center of her forehead and her eyes stared out at her dully, as if waiting for some order.
"Umm, yes?" she asked, uncertain as to what to do. She'd never had a maid before. She'd seen one or two following demurely behind some of the richer nobles in Venice, but, outside of that, she didn't have much experience when it came to such things.
"The Masters Noah request your presence in the Dining room for breakfast," the maid said in a monotone voice.
"Oh…" she said, a bit surprised by the request. The maid stared at her for a minute, and Analicia realized that she had yet to accept or decline. "I'd love to! But, could you show me the way there? I don't really know-"
"Of course," the maid said, cutting her off mid-sentence. The Akuma-maid bowed and walked off. Analicia quickly followed, vaguely wondering if all of the maids were as off as this one. It was like she couldn't think for herself, like she was a doll. Then again, she really shouldn't have been surprised by anything she saw around here, especially after yesterday.
Analicia's mind wandered as she walked down the seemingly never-ending hallways. She figured that Debitto would have woken up by now. He was probably mad at her for beating him, wounding his pride as she had. She hoped that Lero had calmed down some too. The golem was cute and all, but he had the tendency to go overboard when it came to any form of praise or notice from her.
The maid paused in front of a large double-door. She opened the door and curtsied as Analicia carefully skirted past her…all of this was honestly just too abnormal, even for her.
"Ana-chan~! You're up!" a voice squealed as Analicia was, for what felt like the billionth time, attacked with a crushing hug.
She smiled down at the younger girl. "Good morning, Road."
"Come on, Ana-chan~! You sit over here!" Analicia fought not to stumble as the teen dragged her towards a dining table. She tried not to feel too awkward when she noticed the rest of her family watching.
The girl pulled her to a seat next to Tyki's, which the aristocrat promptly pulled back to offer to her. "Thank you, Tyki," Ana muttered, suddenly feeling grateful for gray skin (a blush was nearly impossible to see).
Tyki chuckled at the girl's shyness. "Any time, Analicia. Any time."
"Look who finally decided to wake up."
Analicia glanced up and nearly winced both at the spiteful tone in Debitto's voice and the hatred she saw in his eyes.
"Devi~!" Jasdero whined. "Don't be mean to Ana-chan~!"
"Yeah, Debitto," Road snickered darkly from her seat. "Just because she kicked you're a-" she paused and mentally rolled her eyes at the shocked look her father was giving her. "I mean, because a girl, who just got here, beat you, doesn't mean you have be spiteful about it."
"Road, I don't think your helping," Tyki muttered as Debitto only seemed to get angrier (a feat Ana hadn't thought possible had she not seen it).
The twin slammed his fists onto the table, causing the silverware and food to rattle. "So what? I went easy on her!"
"More like she went easy on you," Cyril grumbled from down the table.
Debitto stood up, one foot on the table and one on his chair, picked up his drinking glass and chucked it at the mind-reader. "Shut it, turban-head!"
The glass would've hit its target if not for a gloved hand reaching out and seemingly plucking it out of the air. Lulu Bell placed the glass on the table and muttered something about "childish antics."
Analicia watched as the Noah of Lust calmly went back to eating. The woman was just so…blank. Sure, she dressed professionally, with her suit unwrinkled and not a single hair out of place. But, the woman never showed so much as an ounce of facial expression. Wait, no, she had given her a small smile last night, but she really couldn't get much out of that except that the woman didn't hate her guts.
Speaking of people who hated her guts...
She snapped back to attention just in time to hear the end of whatever Debitto was ranting about.
"-fight anyway?"
There was complete silence for a moment as everyone turned to stare at the 15th, causing her to sit rigidly in her seat. She hated being stared at.
"Actually, that's not a bad question," Tyki said, giving her a contemplative look.
'What is?' Ana wondered, panic levels rising. Damn, the one time she wasn't paying attention to Debitto and he actually says something important…
"Yes, it is," the Earl said, "But I doubt our precious 15th knows the answer."
'I'd need to know the question first.'
The Earl gave her a piercing look over his glasses. "Analicia, how did you learn to use your power?"
The 15th blinked twice before answering, "I-I don't know."
"Do you remember your fight with the twins?"
Ana closed her eyes, attempting to remember.
The twins standing across from her. Road cheering. Eager faces begging for a fight. The sound of her heartbeat practically deafening her. The feeling of something inside of her, something wanting to break free. The twins raising their guns, firing. A blue bullet flying through the air. A roaring sound in her ears. The bullet-
Blank.
Everything after that was a blank.
She could remember everything when the fight ended. Knocking Debitto out, Jasdero tackling her with a hug, the Earl welcoming her into the Noah family.
But of the fight itself?
Blank.
Analicia opened her eyes, trying not to show how confused she felt.
"I don't remember…"
Another moment of silence.
"Earl?" Tyki asked with a raised eyebrow, hoping for an explanation.
However, the man only chuckled and leaned back in his seat. "Don't worry, Ana-chan~!"
The Earl stood, prompting the others in the room to do the same. "I'm afraid I have to go now, business to get to. But, I'll explain everything to all of you later."
She perked-up at that. She'd take whatever answers she could get at this point.
The Earl gave her another glance before he left the room. Concern for the newest member of the Noah clan filtered into his voice as he asked, "Ana-chan, is that all the clothes you currently have with you?"
"Oh, yes," she looked down at her somewhat battered dress from the fight last night in embarrassment. "I hadn't really thought about that. I suppose I can grab my other things from my old home."
The Earl's smile widened. "Nonsense, Lulu Bell can get you more, can't you dear?"
"Of course, Earl." The Noah of Lust gave a small bow and motioned for the 15th to follow.
"Good, good~!" The Earl replied, leaving the room.
The Noah all went their separate ways with Ana trailing behind Lulu Bell.
"Something wrong, Ana?" the blond asked, confused and slightly annoyed with the girl's dazed look.
"Huh?" Analicia muttered, pulling herself back to reality. She was currently in Lulu Bell's room (surprisingly plush and finely decorated). The woman had said she needed to change into something more appropriate before vanishing with two maids trailing behind her into an adjoining room. Analicia had occupied the time with staring outside a window (not that it helped her figure out where she was; it seemed that the house was also trapped inside Road's dark violet-and-black world). She'd become lost in her thoughts after awhile and hadn't even noticed when Lulu had finally re-entered the room.
"I'm fine! I was just thinking…this place really feels like a home."
"That's because of the Noah memories," The Noah of Lust said simplistically as she buttoned up her suit jacket. "They remember their original birthplace, causing an unnatural feeling of nostalgia in all of us."
Analicia frowned at this. "Well…that's true." Shaking her head she continued, "But, that's not exactly what I was thinking. I meant that, this place, here, with all of you…it really feels like a home…a family, I guess." She whispered the last part. She felt sappy calling them her "family" out loud, but the word was accurate.
"Again," Lulu insisted, unwillingly finding herself being drawn into a full conversation, "That's likely just the Noah-"
"No, it's not," Ana said with complete and utter certainty, causing the Noah of Lust to raise an eyebrow. "I know it isn't. The Noah within me is part of it, but there's still me." She turned back to the window, vaguely able to see her outline in the glass's reflection. "I do have my own thoughts and feelings, not just the Noah's. And, I have never felt this happy..."
She turned her attention back to the blond, a small smile on her face and a faraway look in her eyes, as if she wasn't entirely there. "I like it here, not just because it's here, but because everyone else is here with me. It feels safe…"
Lulu Bell stared at the girl for another moment. Her face remained stoic, giving nothing away to the surprise she was feeling. Analicia was odd. She had seemed perfectly innocent to Lulu, a sheltered girl. But now, she wondered. That sadness…what was she hiding?
When the silence began to feel awkward, Analicia wondered if she had said something she shouldn't have (or had she given something away?). "It's just a nice feeling, I guess," she said quickly, hoping to turn the conversation back around to the original topic, "Sorry if I wasn't paying attention."
Lulu Bell shrugged, pushing her thoughts of Analicia's personality away for later. "Perfectly alight."
"So, what exactly are we doing?"
A loud slamming of doors was followed by Lulu dragging her out of the room by her wrist. "Let's go."
The blond didn't leave much room for arguing (or comments for that matter), still, as Lulu came to a door and pulled out a gold key with a heart shaped handle, she found she couldn't help herself, "Where are we going?"
"Shopping." The woman deftly placed the key into the lock and turned.
"Oh…"
The horror of the situation sunk in as Lulu continued to drag her through the door into the black-and-violet realm that she had come to associate with the Noah's.
"Wait…"
'Shopping. Lulu Bell's perfect looks. Must take hours to find the right clothes. Shopping. Cost a fortune too. Shopping…'
Ana's conclusion? A shopping trip with Lulu Bell would take hours on end and cause her a massive migraine from having to deal with the controlling Noah for a long period of time.
"Can't I just grab my old clothes?" the Noah of Life asked desperately as the door closed ominously behind her.
Chapter 7 - End (Review!)
Next Chapter Title: Chapter 8 - Tyki Mikk
Notice: I NEED A BETA! Please drop me a message! Thanks!
A/N and to all Reviewers:
…Ok, I'm sorry, alright? I don't do this whole 'no updating for five months' thing on purpose, really I don't.
Oh and, also, the next chapter…you can't tell me you're not looking forward to it? I know I am and I'm the one writing it.
Now, onto reviews…12 reviews for one chapter? I love you people! XD
You all make me so happy!
And here you all are:
Starfire8001 - Glad you thought so! :)
p3paula - Happy you liked the fight. Also, thanks for being understanding about my slow updating issues…
JediChristian899 - Ummm, I'm actually thinking of using your idea, maybe. Or at least something around those lines. My original plan made her into too much of a Mary Sue -shutters-
anonymous - Awww~! That's such a nice complement! You get a cookie! -throws cookies at-
Ren - Well, you're powers of hypnosis seem to be a bit slow…still took awhile for me to update. Lol, but thanks for reviewing anyway! ;)
story expert mel13 - Thanks for commenting on the emotional aspects of the chapter, I think you were the first one to do so…I think.
AcPa xox - You commented on the love triangle! Yay! -throws cookies at- Everyone only ever focuses on Tyki or the 14th, but you mentioned both. Again, yay! :D
Centillion - Yeah, the 14th should show up in chapter…eleven I believe, maybe ten, I'm not quite sure what I want to do for chapter ten. Also, thank you! You are one of the few other fans of the 14th out there!
Woopa - To your OMG (Oh, my god), I up you an NMG (No, my god!) ;P
luv strawberries named daisuke - Guess what? I posted! Yay me! -eats a cookie-
yuky16 - Aww~! Thanks! But, why do all of my stories wind-up being cutsie?
Wicken25 - Don't worry, there will be more Tyki action, but let's not forget the 14th! Oooh, I can sense the future angst from here! XD
Thanks to all of you wonderful people!
Now, go, review…please? It makes me happy. -insert puppy dog look that no one can resist-