Z: It's been ages since we last updated. Cheri's not here since she's still asleep. But here~ Chapter 2.
After a series of twists and turns, Alicia finally knocked on a door.
"Come in"
When she opened it, she saw other than her uncle, Mana Walker.
"Great that you're here Mana. I've got something to report to you" she said as she closed the door.
"Speak"
Alicia quickly filled in the details of Kyle's report and her order to him and Shion (since they only listen to Mana, Elena and her). She also told him her suspicions.
"I've already considered that possibility" Mana confessed "But, to think that person had allowed a Noah to enter is unpardonable."
Alicia tensed. She willed herself to get used to assassinations, espionage and battles with different kinds of people ever since she became a Knight. When she was a little girl, she trained hard to become one to protect Elena and Pandora. But her training definitely did not prepare her to see a furious Mana. The Mana she knew was always smiling.
Sensing Alicia's discomfort, Mana smiled sweetly at her.
"Alice dear," Mana addressed her. He calls her Alice rather than Alicia. "Why don't you meet up with the Exorcists and help Krory in answering their questions. I'll be with you as soon as possible."
"Understood"
With that, she left and went to the room where Krory and those Exorcists where having a meeting. She really thanked that she did not inherit a specific Walker weakness, the ability to get lost easily.
She really marvel the fact that the king and princess of Pandora even get lost at their very own castle! Their memory was quite excellent so why were they lost at their very own castle? That is a mystery that even she cannot answer.
She opened the door without even bothering to knock. She saw the three Exorcists Shion talked.
The red-headed, when he saw her exclaimed "Strike!"
She sweatdropped, Are all red-headed guys womanizers? Cross even flirts with her.
"Lady Alicia?" Krory looked at her skeptically
The three Exorcists were observing her carefully. As the Knight of two, she was already used to this. She hated it though. A lot of them couldn't believe that she, Alicia Walker Akimoto, a seventeen year old noble is the feared Knight of two.
She turned her at them and in an icy voice said, "His Majesty will arrive here later, please prepare yourselves."
She beckoned them to sit and wait. She was a cheerful and happy-go-lucky person but she puts on a façade of a serious person as a knight. She also developed the wolf look which says; no matter how bad you think you are, I am much much more worse than you so don't mess with me.
...
Lenalee was somehow uncomfortable. She kept staring at the knight's silver eyes. It was different from the princess's yet the same. Alicia's eyes were calculating and she seemed to be capable of extracting information by sheer will. The princess's eyes were kind and she seemed to be able to read your soul.
If Lenalee was guilty of something, she doesn't want to look at those eyes.
"Alicia, they are friends so you don't need to be that formal."
They turned to the door and saw the king with a small box. Krory and Alicia kneeled.
"Your Highness,"
Mana sat down with them. It really amazed the Exorcists on how simple Mana looked since they've seen other aristocrats of Pandora who were extravagant.
"Mana's not the same" Alicia said, seeming to hear what they were thinking
"Eh?" Lavi blurted
"Could you be Bookman Junior?" Mana asked Lavi who then nodded.
"The old man?" Alicia raised her eyebrows "So he finally got an apprentice."
"Now this makes everything easier" Lavi's tone was cheerful at first before it became cold "We came here for information most especially regarding your niece, King Mana"
"Hmph, Bookmen are really like hyenas seeking knowledge" Alicia smirked
"I'll take that as a compliment" Lavi beamed. Kanda only said "Che"
"But which niece are you talking about?" Mana asked politely, his confusion was quite evident in his face.
"The princess, she's your only niece right? " Lenalee answered, fidgeting. She hoped she did not get the wrong answer.
"How rude," Alicia huffed "I am also Mana's niece."
"Lady Alicia, they don't know much" Krory reminded
"Most likely. They haven't read much on what that weird eccentric man gave them." She said with contempt "Mana,I think we need to get to the point now."
"Point taken," With that, he opened the box and they saw eight shining crystals.
"Innocence!" the three Exorcists burst out. They were surprised but who wouldn't? An innocence shard is quite hard to find. How difficult would it be to find eight Innocence shards?
"The rumors regarding Elena and Innocence are somewhat true" Mana confirmed their suspicion.
"In total, she found nine shards" Alicia concluded
"Nine?" Kanda repeated
"The ninth refers to me" Krory said "Elena-sama was the one who found me"
...
"Aleistar-sama!" a beautiful blonde woman exclaimed "The townspeople have arrived. Please hurry and escape. I'm just a servant so they would not think highly of me"
"Eliade, there is no way I would just leave you here!" Krory insisted "A world without you is meaningless!"
Outside there were angry cries heard,
"Monster!"
"Vampire!"
The people were storming his manor at night carrying torches. They branded him as a vampire and he belived him. Eliade said the same but she loved him. He himself believed for there are times when he gets back to his senses to find himself sucking blood from the villagers. This terrified him for he doesn't even have a heart to hurt a fly.
"Aleistar-sama!" Eliade exclaimed as they were running away from the villagers. She has noticed the distant look in his eyes.
"Eliade, I-" Krory wasn't able to finish since Eliade kissed him on his lips.
"Aleistar, remember that you are you. I love you for who you are even if you're what they call a vampire"
Then she widened her eyes and pushed Krory to the side. She was shot and fell to the ground.
"Aleistar" Eliade's voice was faltering "Sorry"
"Eliade, please live!" Krory cried as he hugged her
"Aleistar, I'll always be with you…"
...
"And what happened after?" Lavi and Lenalee asked, clearly interested.
"Honestly, I don't remember it. I only remembered waking up in the castle and Rama briefed me on what happened. From that moment, I vowed to serve the princess. " Krory admitted with a low bow on his head.
The incidents that happened to the count shocked him and his mind blocked bits and bits of his memories, Lavi reasoned. The other part of his mind was thinking that maybe the Innocence has something to do with it... or maybe even the princess.
"The princess has nothing to do with this." Alicia said, clearly understanding Lavi's trail of thoughts.
Lavi saw a flash of horror in her face but was quickly replaced by an expressionless face.
"And why so?" Lavi raised his brows, challenging the lady.
Alicia was already at her peak. She would really want to chop the red-head's hair right off. She's the Knight of Two and furthermore a Duke's daughter. She kept her cool though. She looked at Mana who nodded encouragingly. She faced Lavi and saw in his eye the look that saw plentiful meaningless deaths.
"And why not?" She sighed "But… That girl… she does not know much power inside her. Those guys are after her"
"Those guys?" the three Exorcists repeated and leaned forward.
Alicia chuckled darkly and bitterly. They looked at her questioningly, except Mana who knew that they had trespassed a sensitive subject. Krory, finally realizing it, cleared his throat to get the attention of the Exorcists.
"The Noah wants her"
Then Alicia stopped laughing. "You know Bookman Junior, you knew it from the start. The samurai one was a little slow. And Miss Lenalee, as what you may have feared, yes, a Noah had entered this territory."
The three Exorcists looked at the Knight of Two carefully. She seemed to be releasing a sadistic aura.
"Why don't you attend the party, Exorcists. You would get some clues on those monsters, right?"
...
"Lady Elena?" Rama studied her mistress. She seemed to be paler than usual. Her silver eyes flickered. He tensed.
The warm eyes became colder until it turned golden in color.
Then the kind silver eyes came back, "Ah! Rama sorry, I was not paying attention. You were saying?"
He was still in shock after seeing those viper-like eyes in the warm lady he serves again. He need to hide it from her. She doesn't know about herself.
"My lady, you need to prepare for he ball. A lot of aristocrats would be present."
She sighed. "I know. As Pandora's princess I should have the correct image. "
"I'm glad you understood."
This time, the princess's smile was melancholic. "It would be nice if I wasn't like this right? Having this so called gift… it's a curse."