"It's coarse to greet a guest with your back turned," a quiet, well-mannered feminine voice said.
"I have not expected anyone this early," Akali responded reservedly, turning around to face the newcomer. "I assume you are the instructor the Master mentioned?" she questioned, discarding a few other much ruder responses already forming in the back of her throat.
"Isn't it obvious, my dear?" the feminine voice commented. "Oh, forgive me," she halted briefly, faking an apology. "Where did my manners go? I'm Lady Carmilla Noel; for what it's worth, it's a pleasure to meet you, dear," she added, performing a slight courtly bow.
"My name is Akali, but I suspect you already know that," the Ionian woman replied quietly. She took a few steps forward and approached the noblewoman, who was still mostly coated in the lingering shadows. "Nonetheless, the feeling is mutual," she added after a short pause, returning the pleasantry.
As the silence's return was permitted, the assassin took an opportunity to inspect her new instructor with great intent. Even though Akali's face bore no emotions, the same could hardly be said about what was going on inside her head. The nerve-wracking train of thoughts that seemingly could go on and on was not the nicest occurrence she could think about, but she swallowed the gulp forming in her throat, making peace with her chaotic emotions.
Carmilla Noel towered over the dark-haired ninja for more than a head's length, keeping her deep amethyst eyes fixated upon the Ionian woman, openly tantalising. Clad in a fancy and undoubtedly disgustingly expensive dark-feather-embellished coat of emerald colour, she spread an invisible aura that mixed authority and coldness. Underneath it, fragments of a dark golden dress peeked out. From what she could see, the fabric was embroidered in a complex pattern she could not find proper words to describe. Overall, Noel's relatively dark outfit contrasted visibly with her smooth, satin-like, milky skin. To make this contrast even more apparent, Carmilla's long, curly hair was raven-black with only a few strands dyed snowy to make her look fashionable. She had her hair styled into a messy bun. A few of these locks were allowed to fall upon her porcelain-like skin, visibly staining it. Expectedly, as a noblewoman, her facial features were shapely and defined, and she had strong and high cheekbones. A smear of crimson red covering the woman's plump and delicate lips felt out of place, at least in Akali's opinion. Perhaps it was done purposefully to draw people's attention, she reasoned after a few moments of intense thinking about the reasoning behind it. Compared to the apparent contrast between her outfit and her milky skin, this felt forced, a messy mocking attempt.
"It's rude to stare, dear," Noel chuckled, partially covering her bloody-coloured lips with her left hand clad in a black leather glove. "Not that you're the first one I caught staring at me, nor you'll be the last one, but it's rude, nonetheless," she added after a short pause.
"I could have said the same about you, Lady Noel," the dark-haired woman responded immediately. "Inspecting other people is a habit of mine; one saved my life more than once. As you might have already been informed, I am an assassin coming from Ionian," she continued, taking a step forward. "In my case, it is a perfectly understandable behaviour … However, in your case, Lady Noel, I am not so certain. All this time, you have yet to blink or avert your gaze from me. Your amethyst eyes are beautiful, yet they have no power to see through me. Am I wrong?" she questioned with a smirk slowly creeping in.
"My apologies, dear," Carmilla retorted, giggling softly. "When Master asked me to teach you, I wasn't informed that you're this proficient in the 'game'," she explained. "It seems I vastly underestimated you, dear. And … for that, I'd like to apologise. I thought of you as but a beginner, but it'd be a plain insult from my side to call you as such."
"Was it a trial?" the Ionian woman asked, narrowing her eyes and intently seeking any sign of a lie.
"Yes, indeed," the raven-haired instructor replied with a small smile.
Author's notes section:
As I have mentioned previously, the main focus for June and July 2024 will be rewriting as many "My home is where my heart lies" chapters as possible. I'm currently working on rewriting the 5th chapter. As it will take me quite a while to finish, I'm providing you with this piece. I hope you will end up enjoying this chapter while waiting for another rewrite.
Please note that the dialogues written in italics are thoughts.
As always, I would like to thank you for everything. See you soon :)
Changelog:
[2024-07-05] - A preview was released.
References:
- Skycycle - It's Terror Time Again
- Elton John - Sacrifice
- Ratt - Givin' Yourself Away
- Nestor - Last To Know
End of the author's notes section.