Diana and Saero's Route.
Stacy took her time as she wandered through the party; grabbing a small amount of food, socialising with the guests and accepting a dance with someone she didn't know but Stacy was growing restless. Her constant studying and working had taken a toll on her; she was secretly exhausted to no end and usually she could deal with it but her head was pounding tonight.
"You feeling alright?" Mika asked her when finding her sometime later and Stacy had politely nodded in return but Mika knew her too well.
"Go and get some fresh air, go out the small sitting room's door… Take the thick blanket with you if you want" Mika suggested and Stacy gratefully accepted, giving her a soft pat on the arm before leaving the dining room area. Stacy took the route Mika suggested, remembering to grab the blanket on her way out.
The air was chilling to her skin as she wrapped the large blanket around her, thankful that the roaring music behind her dimmed down as she approached the lone bench some distance away. She took no notice of her surroundings as she took the seat, letting out a long heavy sigh. She closed her eyes, tilting her head upwards in the hopes of removing her headache but instead it merely got worse.
"And what's such a beautifully dressed up lady such as yourself doing out here alone?" a strong beautiful voice spoke. Stacy peaked one eye open, looking up at a woman she had never met before.
"Am I truly alone if you're here?" Stacy blankly questioned back to the newcomer before opening both eyes.
"But if you want the truth I wanted some fresh air" she added onto her sentence making the woman grin.
Stacy was surprised that the woman had caught her off guard – she hadn't heard her approaching her and she had thought she was alone when coming here originally. Stacy also didn't recognise her from the party, she would have definitely spotted her long flowing hair and sparkling purple dress from a mile off.
"I'm surprised you're not cold" Stacy offhandedly commended as she returned to her original position, her eyes reclosing. The woman seemed to hum at her words thoughtfully.
"You're more than welcome to join me, the blanket is surprisingly large… Unless you plan to return to the party" Stacy offered and unknown to her a look of surprise flashed over the strangers face.
"You'd offer that to someone you've only just met?" the woman asked, her voice carefully controlled and Stacy shrugged.
"Stacy" she simply said, not bothering to look her way.
"Pardon?" the woman replied but Stacy was unfazed by her confusion.
"You can't consider me as a complete stranger if you know my name" Stacy blankly told her and she was met with complete silence.
Stacy had wondered if the stranger simply left, perhaps not getting her quirky sense of humour but shuffling from beside her gained her attention. Stacy opened both of her eyes, glad she was no longer alone.
"Diana" was the name she spoke when facing the younger out of the two and Stacy smiled, shifting slowly to allow the blanket to reach out to her. The one named Diana accepted the offer, draping the object over her shoulders as her eyes moved to the sky.
"You're quite the oddball" was the only thing that left Diana's lips. Stacy gently laughed at her statement, her eyes leaving her form as she too looked at the sky.
"Seems we're a match then, I can't help but notice you hide behind your name" Stacy simply told her and in the darkness of the night Diana raised a brow.
"Anything else you can't help but notice?" Diana pushed on, wondering what her limitations were.
"That you're not exactly invited to the event" Stacy continued on.
"But that's none of my concern" she added on.
The pair fell into a small silence that overtime they felt comfortable with.
"How is she? The huma- Mika" the woman asked, breaking the silence between them. Stacy noticed her slip of the tongue, her face scrunching in question but she didn't voice it aloud.
"She's doing well, it won't be long until she's done with college. As far as I know she doesn't know what she wants to do afterwards but I'm sure she'll be fine either way. It's not like she's alone" Stacy slowly informed her. Stacy had carefully chosen her words, giving her enough information to satisfy her but not too much that it would breach the trust she had with Mika. After all she wasn't sure if Mika knew this woman.
"And what about you? I'm sure Mika would be curious to how you are… You have a reason for coming here, don't you?" Stacy said after a moment, keeping the conversation flowing while trying to find out more about her. Stacy could feel the air shift slightly, a tension that had appeared.
"It's probably best not to know" Diana murmured softly, a touch of sadness to her tone.
Stacy was naturally good at reading people; although Diana may seem suspicious Stacy was wise enough to know that Diana truly cared about Mika. It was not her place to ask why she wanted to remain hidden so she left it unasked. They both fell into silence once more but once again Diana was the one to speak.
"And what of the boys?" she slowly asked and Stacy took the time to look her way.
"The ones living with her?" she asked and the woman nodded.
"I can't say… I don't know them" Stacy honestly replied making the woman sigh. One again Stacy did not question her why she asked, she knew that she wouldn't get a true answer either way.
"It's strange how all of you can be so different" Diana whispered and Stacy placed her eyes back to the sky, curious to what she meant.
"Yet it is comforting to know that there is still purity in this world" Diana continued on. Stacy parted her lips, wanting to ask her where the topic was heading but she closed her lips again, letting her think.
"I think you can find purity anywhere if you look hard enough, even if it is rare" Stacy quietly told her, her words brief.
"It never leaves souls, it just gets tainted" she added to her words with a sigh.
Diana glanced her way thoughtfully, a look of curiosity on her face. Stacy's eyes were still firmly set to the sky, analysing one star from another. Diana wasn't sure why she still remained here but her gut told her that she was of importance.
"You said that we were a match" Diana quietly said, recalling their short conversation.
"You also hide behind a name" she told her and even though Stacy was unmoving Diana noticed the tight smile on her face.
"You wonder if it's for the same reason" Stacy commented. Diana hummed to herself, knowing it couldn't be.
"It could be" Stacy murmured but then frowned before Diana could voice her opinion.
"But I wouldn't know" she truthfully murmured.
Diana couldn't help but grow sceptical, thinking the girl was now toying with her but Stacy deeply sighed.
"Do you know what it's like to lose everything?" Stacy asked her, not expecting any kind of answer.
"To lose all memories, all trails of thoughts… just… completely lose yourself?" Stacy continued on, pinpointing her previous question.
"No…" Diana blankly replied yet Stacy knew that Diana had experienced a different kind of loss during her life.
"You don't even wake up… You're just simply stood there, in a middle of a cemetery with no knowledge what-so-ever. You don't know what objects or feelings are called yet you unknowingly recognise them. You can read things yet you don't know the language or why you knew it" Stacy told her, speaking of past experiences.
"Yet no doctor could find the cause or treatment. I had only one wound to my body yet it wasn't the cause" Stacy told her. Diana listened to her words carefully.
"They also can't explain why I learn so fast and know a collection of languages. Apparently I had been speaking Latin to them" she continued on with a frown.
"What was the wound?" Diana slowly asked, her heart tightening.
"A simple cross burnt into the skin, no other marks or scars were seen. It's placed on my back…" Stacy told her and she forgot her thoughts as she looked at Diana.
The woman had completely frozen, as if she had put all the pieces together. Stacy sighed at her expression, shaking her head.
"You are not the first person I've seen react like that" Stacy told her which seemed to soften Diana's body. Before the pair could further their conversation another joined them, their appearance one that they both knew.
"You still seem to have good timing" Stacy openly said to the male who grinned in return. Diana looked between the two in surprise, the male being the one to talk.
"I was the one to first see her" the male told Diana who still seemed to be surprised. The male look and sounded no different to the last time Diana had seen him.
"What are you doing here? Where's your glamour!" Diana quickly spoke in panic, shiftily looking at Stacy but he chuckled.
"She's permitted to see us in our true forms" the male explained to her.
"And Saero and I had planned to meet" Stacy told Diana. At the sound of his name the male smiled in her direction before looking at Diana, questioning her presence here.
"Checking on the human again?" he asked as he took a seat closely next to Diana, grinning as he already knew the answer. It was now that Stacy decided to stand, leaving the blanket draped over Diana. She looked back at the pair in wonder before her eyes fell to the mansion.
"She's already debating if she should come and find you" Saero lowly said making Stacy sigh.
"I should probably return before Mika comes then" she told them, Saero nodding knowingly.
"We can arrange another day" he told her, knowing they wouldn't have time to catch up now. She nodded in agreement, turning her eyes to Diana who remained silent.
"Do well to look after him" she quietly told him, smiling.
"I do hope we will meet again one day" Stacy continued on and her voice was hopeful. Diana was still silent, trying to figure out what was going on.
"I'm sure that can be arranged" Saero softly said and with a simple nod Stacy left the pair, clearing her thoughts as she made her way back to the mansion.
Both Saero and Diana remained on the bench, only moving when Stacy fell out of sight.
"Was she once…" Diana softly went to ask but immediately halted as her eyes fell on Saero. Tears were threatening to leave his eyes and the warmth in his face was completely gone as he stared in the direction of Stacy's faded form.
"Yes" he quietly informed.
"She was once pure… But now tainted" he continued on before weakly sighing.
"It never gets any easier seeing her this way. She wears herself out by studying and working just to survive in a world she never came from" Saero continued on but his words were bitter. Diana softly placed her hands on his arm, the males face relaxing as he looked across at his lover.
"What happened to her?" Diana gently asked and Saero sadly shook his head, tears finally falling down his cheeks.
"She did what she does best… she protected the one she loves" Saero told her. Diana pulled him into an embrace, hoping to sooth him.
"She did it all for him… her brother…" he weakly told her but Diana heard the bitterness again, the resentment. Saero leaned into her.
"The worst part is… she forgave him" he murmured, burrowing his head into her shoulder.
The pair remained that way for quite some time, quietly embracing one another. Diana was wise enough to connect the dots, her heart twisting at the possibilities that caused the incident.
"One day I'll clear her true name" Saero murmured into her shoulder.
"No…" Diana breathed,
"One day we will clear it… together".