A/N: Chapter 14 of Mystical Eye of a Savage Hound. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters except my own OC. Revenge of the Sword Clan's Hound belongs to the rightful owner.
Chapter 14: The Eye of Chroma
Inside the classroom...
Camus stared at me blankly as though I had asked her the stupidest question on the planet, which in her case hearing about how a Baskerville hound is interested in learning magic spells when everyone and their mothers know that the entire Baskerville Clan doesn't have a single iota of magical prowess to pull such a feat off is in fact the stupidest thing she's ever heard. She nearly denied me right then and there, but something stopped her from saying words out of her mouth. She stood there for a hot minute, drumming her fingers against her chin with a very thoughtful expression on her face.
"You? Learning magic?" Finally she spoke and squinted her eyes at me in skepticism. Clearly she wasn't expecting such a request to come out of my mouth and a part of her still felt like this wouldn't work. It would be a waste of time and effort on both our part, and she wasn't willing to engage with it if that was the case. "Are you sure you're okay? Did you fall on your head when you got out of bed?"
"Yes yes I'm okay and no I did not fall on my head." I rolled my eyes at her.
"What made you ask me to teach you magic?"
"Well, who better than the genius daughter of the clan head? That would make you the only viable candidate qualified for the job, no one else fits the bill." I grinned cheekily at her. "Besides, you and I make a great team and I think we mash pretty well together. Not to say I wouldn't mash well with others."
"Oh? There's others?" She quirks an eyebrow in my direction, feigning curiosity but I knew she was fishing for names.
"I starting to think that Rose is interested in me, not in a romantic sense by the way but enough to want to engage in conversations should we run into each other. We may end up working together if the opportunity presents itself." The sound of two hands slapping themselves harshly on the desk caught my attention and Camus leaned forward till our noses barely touched, her eyes like two smoldering embers of a fire. "Seems like I touched a nerve there."
"Listen to me very closely for I will only this once."
"Couldn't get any closer than this unless you wanna lay a sweet one on my lips." I tapped my mouth with a finger and smiled, which only made her growl in annoyance.
"You infuriating dog...I'm going to need you to reign in that big head of yours. You may have saved her life once and I am grateful for that, but I will highly advise you to stay away from my pure and innocent cousin. I don't want you to corrupt or be a bad influence on her with your indecent thoughts and primal desires."
"Me? Corrupt her? Now look at who is the one with the big head in this room." I leaned forward, silently praising Camus for not stepping back to create distance. We were so close I could practically turn my head slightly and place my lips on her skin, but that wasn't what this is about nor my intention. I whispered against her, "Tell me what is the real reason why you don't want this big bad hound to be around her."
"Why would you want to be around her...when you're constantly around me?" It was spoken in such a soft whisper but I heard her words as loud as a bell chiming from the top of a cathedral. It was just so crystal clear and I must applaud her for not blushing from embarrassment. "Am I not enough for you as your betrothed?"
"Pfffft! Hahahahahaha!" I couldn't hold back the genuine laughter that bubbled out. Oh this wasn't what I had expected out of her and she didn't expect that either. Once I had calmed down a bit I wiped a stray tear with a finger. "My dear sweet princess, you are so cute when you're jealous!"
"I am not jealous! You take that back!"
"That red blush on your face begs to differ." I smiled at her, leaning lazily on a propped up arm. "Well, it's not like I could hang out with the other members if I wanted to because you said it was your obligated duty to be my guide, and I guess the betrothed part also plays into this role too. But you must agree with me that Rose would be the best next option instead of...oh let's say...the triplets."
"The triplets?" Camus furrowed her brow before her eyes widened and she straightened up immediately as though she got shocked. "Oh my god, the triplets!"
"Yeah? Isn't that what I said?"
"No no no, not what I meant!" She groaned and dragged her hands over her face in annoyance. "Ughhhh, they're gonna be so pissed with me." Turning to me, she said almost in defeat, "Listen, why don't you head to the library and start reading up on some of the basic level books for spells? Mother should've told the librarian ahead of time that you were our esteemed guest and as such you're allowed to gloss over those without her permission. However, for the more advance to expert level spells you'll need to increase your status a bit more, get the clan head's approval and be a pure member of the Morgue Clan...which you aren't so you'll never get to read those."
She says that in the most arrogant and smug way that makes me want to prove her wrong. I blinked my eyes at how she agreed with helping me learn some magic – she didn't necessarily agree verbally per say, but this was a very good start. Perhaps I should sneak in when no one else is around and read when no one else is in the building...
"And don't even think about breaking in to read them when no one else is there. They're heavily secured and armed with all sorts of intricate spells. One wrong touch and it'll go off the alert the guards, you'll be swarmed within minutes before you could even blink."
"...what are you? A mind reader?"
"I don't need to read your mind for that, the answer is just elementary to deduce. I can wager a guess at the next possible action that'll yield me the best results if I were you and couldn't get what I wanted." She states hotly, flipping her hair over her shoulder for a moment. Turning to look at the clock on the wall she frowns, "Haaaaaa, and now I'm super duper late to the triplet's lesson...you know, the agreement I had to make with them to get them off your back? I'm never going to hear the end of their obnoxious nagging and they'll probably pester me for another couple lessons."
"Then you best get going. Don't let me be the reason why you're late."
"I was going to go and you are the reason why I'm late, you damn mutt." There was heavy emphasis on those two words, drawn out to show how annoyed she is at me. Flipping her hair once more with a huff she marched to the door before looking over her shoulder and jabbing a finger in my direction. "I better find you in the library once I'm finished because if I don't then there'll be hell to pay! You can count on it!"
I waited a couple more minutes after she left before I willed my own body to move, walking through the empty hallways and using the markings as a guide towards the library; I did make a quick stop by the cafeteria to grab something to eat, even stuffing a couple wrapped sandwiches into my pocket for snacking. I made it to the building that houses archived records of the Morgue Clan and slipped in.
Their library was equally as impressive as the one in Baskerville, perhaps with an even higher ceiling and a lot more shelves that seemed to be stretched for miles. I had a hunch that what I was looking at was just surface level, the more intricate and high-level books were hidden somewhere else out of plain sight. Making my way to what I assumed was the librarian's desk I saw no one behind the counter, even fact I don't believe I hear anyone in the library. It was too quiet. Looking around I saw a small silver bell, with the note attached to it that says 'Ring for Service' and so I tapped the item twice.
Ding~ Ding~
"Welcome, young Baskerville child. How glad I am to see you pay me a visit." I glanced up to see an older woman looking down at me with a pair of glasses on the bridge of her nose; it was almost like she materialized out of thin air right before me because I was sure she wasn't there when I arrived. Her gray colored hair was pulled up into a bun, and in her fragile fingers she held a nice quill feather pen that seemed to be scratching notes on a large ledger. "My name is Joanna and I am the Keeper of this library. If you need any assistance finding a particular book or books and I'm not around to help you, look for a nice girl named Cordelia. She should be around more often than I to assist you and she's been my assistant since her graduation. A brilliant child she is, you'll be in very capable hands."
"Greetings to you, Joanna. If I may ask you for assistance since you're here before me I would like all the basic level spell books to browse through." I told her politely and her eyes lit up with happiness.
"Oh my, what a sharp hound to be asking for my help so quickly. Why, some of the other young members here couldn't take a hint if it smacked them in the face!" A toothy grin stretched across the old woman's face and her quill pen came to a stop. She slides down from where she had been perched and I was able to get a full body view when she stood at her full height. Joanna Morgue was a tall woman when she wasn't slouching so much, my guess was she was a little above six foot. She had on a simple dark gray button-up shirt with a long black skirt that slightly dragged across the floor.
"Come along, dear, let old Joanna show you where the first edition book is. It's in the section I haven't been in in decades! Why when I was young I used to ditch class and drown myself within the literature. By the time I went back to the lessons I blew my classmates out of the water! Figuratively and literally! Ohohohoho!"
I fell into step behind the giant of a woman as she shuffled her way through the massive shelves of books, turning my head back and forth to take in the sights. Joanna had made some stops to explain to me various historical events that lead to the existence of the archived records, her voice always inflected whenever she got excited talking about the Morgue history. We were soon joined by a younger Morgue member who had been rummaging around in the next aisle shelving some books, a girl with her red hair tied in a high tail and big round reading glasses. Joanna introduced her as Cordelia and would've delved into the young girl's journey as to how she got to this position had Cordelia hadn't stopped her immediately, murmuring that there were some parts that would be better off unsaid.
We got to the shelf that Joanna indicated was the start of basic training, judging on the spines of the books they were a bit outdated and slightly worn out. The old librarian assured me that the books themselves were actually pristine and new without the rips and tears, she just had to make them look the part. We carefully went about grabbing what would be a good book to start off with, there were a diversity of topics to choose from. Honestly I felt like I wanted to take every single one, but I restrained myself. For example, there were a plethora of books that talked about the basics of conjuring a fire spell – about two shelves worth of basic fire spells – but because I was not sure which one would be the best option I only grabbed about four books to start off with and put them in a pile.
The three of us went through each aisle, grabbing books that talked about the elements to basic spell structures, I figured it wouldn't hurt to reinforce my understanding from the classes. Cordelia found some books that talked about items that stemmed beyond elements such as time manipulation and space distortion, to be clear these were basic spells like changing the clocks and creating force fields; I asked her what the elite level of these spells would entail, and she gave examples such as teleportation or possibly send items or people to alternate dimensions.
"Of course that is way beyond my comprehension, these spells can only be taught under the supervision of the clan head because they are very dangerous." She chuckled, holding a small stack of books in her hands. "Some people who have learned these spells ended up doing some unforgivable deeds, abusing their privilege, and led to widespread panic with the public. As a result our clan head forbid anyone from learning those spells, and those who did learn it had it erased from their memory."
"Erased?" I asked her with curiosity in my voice. "Like wiping a slate clean?"
"Mmhmm something like that, although I have never seen it being used in person, but I can only assume it isn't very pretty. Now only the clan head knows how to wipe someone's memory clean, that's a special spell that's been passed down through her family. Lord Camus may have the potential to learn it when she becomes of age." Cordelia placed the books down before looking at me with absolute seriousness. "I know that look, a hunger for knowledge, but I must implore you to not learn those dangerous spells. I mean I should feel a bit more relief knowing that the rules for outsiders are set in place by the clan head herself..." She bit her lip in thought before continuing, "Just please, don't ask for those forbidden books, I'm begging you. The last thing I want on my conscious is knowing that you learned these forbidden spells and used them to bring harm to others."
"Okay Cordelia, I won't ask." I promised her and her shoulders sagged in visible relief, a smile on her face. With that out of the way we continued to collect more books, Joanna herself relying on her magic to pull books off higher up on the shelf.
"Phew~ It's been a long time since my bones felt something like that in awhile!" The old librarian laughed as she and Cordelia placed the last of the books in the pile that was stretched towards the ceiling. The older woman began to stretch out her lower back with both arms up and let out a loud moan as everyone within the vicinity heard the loudest bone 'crack' they've ever heard in their life time, sounded like a gun being fired. Joanna let out a chuckle and stated with certainty after lowering her arms, "Oh now THAT hits the spot! I haven't gotten that nasty kink out of my spine in over a decade! Ahahaha! I feel like a million bucks!"
Glad she got something out of this small escapade from the paper work, her posture's looking better and she can somewhat stand at her full height now without slouching unconsciously... "How long do you suppose it'll take for me to read all of this? Reckon a month or less? I mean...I'll read as much as I possibly can so I reckon about half the amount here." I asked them to which they gawked at my estimation.
"You? Read all that?" Cordelia pointed from me to the giant tower of books with a disbelief look on her face. "It'll take you at least three or five years – I'm not exaggerating, some of those books are stupidly thick as brick with very dense terminology, like thicker than your forearm – so you best pick one of each, chew on them and try to digest it."
"Best you get started then, young hound, least you be stuck here for centuries like me!" Joanna walked away, stating, "If you're still here by the time I get back from my afternoon relaxation and massage, I'll bring you some candle light and perhaps dinner. You won't be leaving any time soon, I am sure of it."
"You're giving this girl too much credit, Joanna. Even the elite magicians couldn't stomach trying to read one of those death traps. They were out of the door with pale colored faces before they finished the first chapter." Cordelia chortles as she fell in beside her mentor, the two of them deciding to gossip about other things as they disappeared.
"Well...these books aren't going to read themselves." I murmured and began with the first volume of a twenty part series, getting myself comfortable in the large beanbag chair, and opening up to the first page.
Once night has fallen...
The books were indeed quite hard to digest as Cordelia warned me as the volumes got bigger, but between glancing through the words and nibbling on the sandwiches I sneaked in my pockets, it made time go by so quickly; although I may not digest every single word with complete understanding I could somewhat make an educated guess based on the surrounding words. The large stack of books that were just piled up were now structured as a vertical cylindrical pillar, those were made up of the books I've read. It was quite the structure and I'm just as amazed of myself, but it was all thanks to Hugo's teachings.
I only got disturbed twice from Joanna and Cordelia separately, the latter came with a tray of hot tea and some biscuit and sat down for some small talk. Turns out chatting with the latter helped answered some of my questions that came from reading the books, and I was grateful that she decided to stop by when she could. The former one, Joanna, stayed through with her promise with a couple of candle lights and a plate of dinner she whipped together from the cafeteria.
"And to think that the basics of spells were like this...how brilliant, almost seems like the professors here dumb it down a bit for children less than eight years old to understand. But what is a bit concerning is that it seems as though the authors of each book I read couldn't come to a concise solution, therefore there were more than one way of writing a solution to a spell." I muttered to myself, finishing off a book that talked about earth spells and adding it to the ever growing pile. I released a quick yawn and rubbed my eyes briefly. "Well, at least this makes the children unique from each other and a diverse way of thinking that may lead to breakthroughs."
"Hey mutt, you in here!?" I tilted my head up when Camus' voice rang throughout the library. My guess is she used some kind of spell to amplify her voice since it echoed for awhile. "Sorry it took me awhile to get here, the clan head can be quite the chatterbox when she wishes to be."
"Over here, princess!" I answered her and heard the hurried footsteps before seeing her head pop out from beyond the aisle.
"How the hell did you make this kind of book fortress?" She gasped once she walked over, glancing from the slightly smaller pile to the ever growing structure, wondering how in the world it hasn't tipped over and crushed me. "You know, I never realized just how many basic level books there were in our archives. A lot more have been added since I've been here."
"I built the book fortress with patience and a lot of time on my hands, obviously. Actually I began to stack those I've read like that and...well, never really paid attention to what I was doing until I had to ask Cordelia to bring me a ladder because it's so tall now." I jovially replied and gestured for her to take a sit across from me. "Would you like to make yourself comfortable and grab a book or two? You can even contribute to the ever growing tower, we'll make it so tall it'll touch the ceiling."
"I highly doubt that, but we'll see how far we'll get."
"Do you want to make your own book tower since I'm sure you wouldn't bother yourself with re-reading the basics?" I asked her, tilting my head to the side before adding, "We could make this a competition to see who has the tallest by morning."
"As if! You had way more of a head start and your tower's already that tall!"
"Scared you'd lose?"
"I know a losing fight when I see one. I think I'm good." She snorted with laughter before disappearing for a second, coming back with a couple of books of her own. She pulled over another beanbag, settled it across from me, and got comfortable herself for the long haul. We fell into a comfortable silence between us, reading our respective books while also stealing glances between each other. Joanna surprisingly made one last pass to check up on me, saw that Camus was there sitting across from me, and went about fussing over her. Once she made sure we were okay for the night – she even made us two cups of hot chocolate, bless her heart – the older librarian bid us good night and disappeared.
The minutes ticked on as we continued our reading. Book after book moved from our hands to the tower, Camus insisted that it didn't matter as long if the higher-level books mingled with the basic levels as we made it reach the ceiling; she did however promise me that we'll do some other competition on the condition that she'll be the one that gets to choose what we'll do. I asked her what she had in mind but she cheekily responded by putting a finger to her lip. Knowing that she'll tell me on her own time I ended up dropping the topic and went back to my reading.
"Ummm...Viktoria?"
"Yeah?" I answered casually, eyes glued to the pages with fingers poised and ready to turn. I don't remember the last time we talked, maybe one or perhaps two hours ago. "What's up?"
"Could you...could you help me get down?" This time I tore my eyes off the book in my hand and looked up. Actually I had to crane my head a bit to see the Morgue child peering over the top of the massive tower, only her eyes and forehead visible. We had to use the ladder to put the books we've read at the top, which wasn't hard to do but we kept an eye to make sure the ladder itself didn't move. It was one of those with wheels on the bottom. "It's quite...a long drop."
"What happened to the ladder?"
"It moved by the time I looked back for it." She pointed to where it had rolled away, ending up leaning against the bookshelf on the far end; I must've been too engrossed with my reading to properly keep track of what was going on. When Camus scrambled on top of a nearby bookshelf to put her book on the tower, perhaps her foot pushed against the ladder slightly without her knowing so it ended up rolling away. "And now it's too far away for me to reach."
"Would you like me to get it?"
"It would be faster if you caught me..." I blinked in silence at what she had said and she added quickly, clearly flustered, "I figured it would be faster if I just jumped from here! I just want a spotter in case something bad happens!"
"...I guess I can do that, although just know that if something bad happens your mother would wring me by my neck. However, witnessing how the genius of Morgue plans to get herself out of this predicament outweighs that risk. Are you serious about jumping?"
"...not really." She replied after thinking about it. Then she said with slightly higher confidence, "B-But I have a plan! Someone taught me this special spell that'll help me get down safely with minimal damage."
"Mmmmm perhaps this spell wasn't one that would be easily taught in a lesson, or at least not taught in a basics lesson. You were taught this spell by a private tutor if I had to wager a guess. So this will be a treat for the both of us to bare witness if you've mastered it." I mused before shouting up to her. "Okay, princess, just give me a second to mark where I left off and then I'll be your spotter if anything happens."
"Don't you even think about putting a dog ear in those pages!" She shouted back down to me, my fingers pausing from doing such action. "These books are one of a kind vintage with laminated coating! And yes, even the ratty tatty crappy looking ones! There's only one copy of each book in the world so we must do our due diligence to maintain them for generations down the line!"
"...sheesh, what good eyesight she has from all the way up there. Thankfully Joanna gave me this to use in this kind of situation." I rummaged around my coat pocket and pulled out a piece of rectangular paper without any intricate designs on it. Using it as a temporary bookmark I placed it gingerly between the pages, closed the book, and set it aside. Standing up to stretch my limbs, letting out a grunt of satisfaction before I shouted with my arms held out, "I'm ready for you."
"You know out of context that sounded very predatory." She dead-panned with the small taste of disgust in her tone of voice. I rolled my eyes in response.
"Get your mind out of the gutter, quit being fussy and come down here. I don't have all night you know."
"Okay, okay, I'm coming down...let me just get the spell ready..." Her lips began to move as she chanted the words that she had been taught by her private tutor before proclaiming loudly, "By the way don't you dare look up!"
"How do you expect me to be your spotter and not look up? Afraid I'll peek and see just what kind of panties you're wearing, princess? It's not my fault you decided to wear skirts all the damn time. You know I would've thought we were way past this nonsense since we're already sleeping in the same room, and may I remind you that whatever you have I have as well. We're females after all." I quipped only to get a shoe thrown at my head, the object barely making a dent before it came to a halt on the floor. The child has very good precision and accuracy. I ambled over, grabbed the shoe and looked up to state with the item held in my hand, "Clearly I was wrong and misread the atmosphere. I thank you for this gift and now you're not getting this back."
"Now you're just being plain childish."
"It takes one to know one."
"I'm ready to come down now!" Saying the last of her spell she took one step forward and plummeted, however she didn't fall like an apple does in the presence of gravity, she was actually floating down like a dandelion in the wind. Her skirt was blown out as if it were catching air, like a mini-umbrella that helped her take control of her descent.
"As much as I enjoy watching you float down like a big jellyfish in the middle of the sea, have you considered another way? The spell you chanted seems to contain a whole lot of words and takes time to prepare." I asked with my back towards her, slightly peeking over my shoulder just to make sure she was okay. "Perhaps some kind of air cushion you could put on the soles of your feet? It'll be like you're walking on air. And if not that, then perhaps some platforms you could step on, like a staircase."
"Your imagination never ceases to amaze me sometimes. Where do you even come up with these sort of things?" She says even though she was pondering the thought. By now she was only half way down, so my guess is she quickened her decent just a bit. "I was under the impression that you mutts only had a one-track mind for swordplay. Am I to infer that you aren't like those other fleabags and picked up a book now and then?"
"I may not be like most of my brothers and some of my sisters who dedicate their time solely to combat, but I tend to enjoy some peaceful moments that don't require wielding a weapon; you don't want to stick around to hear someone who doesn't know how to swing a sword properly, trust me I would know. Besides, it's one of the rare moments I can have time to myself without anyone else around."
"How lackadaisical of you. You're perhaps one of the most unique and mysterious Baskerville mutt I've ever encountered, I have yet to unravel all the secrets you have..."
"I'm technically the only mutt you're comfortable hanging around with...but now that I think about it, you haven't had enough time to get acquainted with the others so that's to be expected. And I'm not about to show you all my secrets for free so what do you have to offer that will make me crack?"
"You can't make...an exception? Not even a small one?" I bet if I squint hard enough I'd see this sly vixen batting her eyelash in hopes her charm alone would be enough to persuade me. "Just for your lovely partner?"
"Nope~ Nah uh, that's not gonna work on me." I made a pop noise on the 'p' and shook my head, knowing exactly the kind of game Camus was playing. Any other gullible Baskerville child who didn't pick up on the obvious signs would fall for the act in a heartbeat. "Nice try, sweetheart, find some other sucker to swindle."
"Yeah I know this wouldn't work on you. Just goes to show that you aren't just a dumb dog who'd fall for any beautiful face." When Camus was around ten or fifteen feet above the ground – she managed to last this long, probably has a good amount of magic reserves in her body or she's really good at optimizing her output – her magic gave out and she fell the rest of the way at a fast pace.
Mmmmmm right on schedule, she has quite the timing. I grinned as I watched her tuck herself into a curled position and I got myself ready to catch her. With my feet firmly planted and my arms opened and inviting, I was absolutely ready for her. As a bonus I quickly whispered my own words to conjure a simple wind spell, a breeze that would slow her descent further.
"Eeeep!" Camus yelped as she felt two arms wrap themselves around her tight – one wrapped around her back while the other was underneath her knees – saving her from breaking a leg or two. Out of reflex her arms wrapped around my neck and she pressed herself against me tight with her eyes shut, almost waiting for the inevitable to happen. Once she felt herself no longer falling she slowly opened her eyes to look over and then glanced up to see me smirking at her.
"Well hello there, my lovely red angel~ Nice of you to...drop in. Right into my waiting arms." My voice was low as I grinned and teased, quite pleased at what I just said. Can't say I had that bottled up just for this moment and added a little romantic flare to spice things up.
"Ugghhhh! Alright, put me down Casanova, you've had your fun."
"And you have yet to have yours. My evening is free~" With cheeks tinted red at the possible underlying "suggestion" the line of words were insinuating, Camus rolled her eyes and smacked my shoulder in response before attempting to wiggle out of my arms. I merely watched her struggle for entertainment then placed her back on her feet. She quickly dusted off her skirt and acted as if the past five minutes didn't happen.
"I'll take that back now, thank you very much." She snatched her shoe before I could get my hands on it and put it back on her foot while I chuckled in my throat, clearly enjoying our little banters.
"You're welcome, by the way."
"Yeah yeah, thanks for all that. I don't want to even think about what would've happened if you weren't here."
"Glad to be of service." I used a hand to brush a part of my hair out of the way when I caught her looking at me strangely. "What is it? Do I have something on my face."
"Let me take a look at you for a minute." It was more of a statement and not an order, but she leaned over to brush my hair out of my face with her own hand, looking at me directly in the eyes. I watched her own dart from left to right, her lips puckered up as if she was contemplating something. "I never noticed that you had two different eye colors and I don't think you're blind – sorry, it's just that the other eye color made it kinda look as though you were blind. It is quite the pretty color now that I'm looking at it so closely – are you perhaps heterochromatic?"
"Heterochromatic?" I repeated once she removed her hand and shuffled back to give me some personal space. Such a small girl that can pronounce such a difficult word at that age, I'm impressed. "Well it's not too uncommon to have two different colored eyes, even some species of dogs have that trait like huskies for example."
"Are you a husky?"
"You called me a mutt and more generically a dog earlier. So I could be defined as a husky since huskies are dogs, but I could also not be defined as a husky since huskies are not mutts."
"...you're fucking toying with me, aren't you."
"Oh you see, now you're catching on!" I clapped my hands slowly, an almost gleeful expression etched itself on my face. "Well done, princess~"
"Don't patronize me!" She stomped her feet indignantly and folded her arms across her chest with a huff.
"But there are types of 'dogs' in the Baskerville Clan and it all depends on the individual's choice. Who knows, perhaps I'll end up being a husky and not just some mutt." I sat back down on my bean bag, legs crossed and book unopened as we began to discuss our clan traditions. "It depends on where I end up once I finish my own trials by the time I reach the age of fifteen."
"Does Baskerville Clan have their own Rite of Passage?" She asked me as she sat down too, not opening her own book and instead was very interested in what I was saying.
"Well you see, we already went through our Rite of Passage at a tender age when we've been conceived. It all starts with this place called the Cradle of Swords, and then..."
Early the very next morning...
Camus and I had spent the rest of the evening talking instead of reading the rest of the books that were still stacked in the pile, so when we woke up Joanna was towering over us with her glasses still on the bridge of her nose, a curious yet knowing expression on her face. We must have talked until we fell asleep exhausted because there was one large woolly blanket covering both our bodies. The old librarian smiled at our sleepy expressions when she woke us up and gestured to the two cups on the table, two steamy wisps rising up into the air which indicated that the cups were hot beverages.
"I presume you two have had a very productive night? Ahhhh~ the wondrous energy of the youth!" There was a hint of teasing in her voice which I promptly ignored as I sat in one of the chairs and carefully drew a cup towards me. Let the old woman have her fun, teasing and prodding us with her words. "Hmmmm...judging by the sheer size of this goddamn literary tower I wager you two had the night of your life!"
"Oh the most productive, at least partially from the books and partially from us just chatting away, I feel like my head may explode from being overloaded." Camus told Joanna without taking note of the old librarian's tone of voice, covering her mouth quickly as a yawn came out afterwards. She drew her own cup towards her, stirring the liquid with the spoon very carefully. "I've learned of things that no one else in Morgue knows about the Baskervilles."
"That is very good, Lord Camus, always know thy enemy! Now, have this early morning tea for it is the Morgue Clan's famous rose tea. We've brewed this beverage with the roses from our very garden. It'll help rejuvenate and stimulate your brains for the day, I even brought some extra honey and sugar should you need them." Joanna explains to us before using her magic to fold the large blanket and then sending it to rest upon her desk. My guess is that she'll hand over the task for Cordelia to stow it away for later. "Afterwards you children hurry along and make yourselves presentable. My lord, I'll have someone send you breakfast before you go to class since you won't have time to eat in the cafeteria. Young Baskerville child, the clan head actually wants to talk to you so she went ahead and excused you from class today."
"What? Why? We're supposed to stick together, that is the role of being the guide." Camus asked as she and I shared a look before we turned our attention to Joanna. "How come I'm not allowed to go to see Mother?"
"The clan head sought me out and ordered that only our guest is to see her; you remember where her chambers is correct? Same place as before. No one else is allowed to interrupt." Joanna answers before gesturing for us to drink our tea and not let it settle. Even if it turned cold she would use her magic to keep it warm. "As for the topic of the discussion...well, even I am unaware of what it's about. Sometimes secrets are meant to be kept away from the general public and only meant for those involved."
"Then I should be involved!" said Camus after she took a sip and set her cup down, her eyes flashed with brief irritation. "Mother knows she can't possibly keep me out of the loop...especially when it involves Viktoria and possibly the family affairs. Joanna, I implore you to tell the clan head to reconsider."
That would be unnecessary, Joanna. I can speak for myself. There's no need for me to reconsider, my word is law and is final. Raspane's voice echoed throughout the library chamber, startling us at how loud and clear it sounded. The old librarian however was unfazed as the clan head's voice continued to speak. Daughter, be a good girl and go to your class after you have finished having your drink and eaten breakfast. Then immerse yourself in your studies for the rest of the day, don't even think about dilly dallying. I have matters that involve our young Baskerville guest and her alone.
"But–"
"Now now, as your mother has said her words are law. No one in this clan is above her law, not even her if I'm being honest." Joanna interrupted Camus immediately before she could rebuttal. She even shook her head when the daughter of the clan head opened her mouth to speak. "Although if the clan head wishes, maybe she'll be lenient enough to share some things with you. But...it'll have to be only the two of you in the chamber. Not even Adolf is allowed to know."
Then I'll have to see Mother tonight and ask her after dinner when everyone else is fast asleep in their beds. The young Morgue girl thought to herself with conviction, nodding to herself at the the plan of action she's conjured up for herself. If there's knowledge to be gain then there's nothing Mother can do to keep me away from obtaining it!
"Careful there, deary, I can easily see what you're plotting because your intentions are written all over your face. Sooner or later your expressions will betray you...perhaps you should work on reigning that in, least your enemies use that information to their own advantage." Joanna chuckled at the young girl before turning her attention to me. I haven't spoken a word since Raspane's voice appeared seemingly out of thin air, but I have had consumed a fair amount of the tea in my cup. "How's your drink, dear? Is it to your liking?"
"It's very fragrant and fresh." I mused as I glanced at my own reflection in the reddish-pink liquid in wonder, "It's like the sweet scent after a morning rain, although I don't remember seeing those kinds of clouds in the sky as of late."
"Our gardeners take absolute pride in their work when maintaining the gardens. so whenever they water our gardens they make sure the water from the spell they cast is similar to the properties and attributes of the sweet rain water." Joanna explains to me, pouring Camus another cup when the girl asked for more. "We may not get the rain often, but at least we can continue to taste it within our fresh roses. A lot of the children love this taste because there's also a small hint of –"
"The rays of the sun. I taste what could be described as the faintest hint of a sun's kiss on the petals in the early mornings." I finished for her, a tone of surprise and excitement in my voice. The feeling of the sun's warmth on my skin was a common one whenever I was outside, but it's a whole other experience to actually taste that feeling or something close to it; let's be honest, no one will ever get close to actually tasting the sun's warmth because it's just impractical. Therefore we're left to imagine and fantasize what that taste would be. "I've never tasted anything like this before...how interesting."
"What an astute and inquisitive young hound with very sensitive set of senses." Joanna turned to Camus and leaned down to whisper in her ear, her voice still loud enough for me to hear, "I like this one. You better take really good care of her least she falls into the hands of another." This time the young girl did understand what the old librarian was implying and blushed a fresh red hue, turning her face away from me.
"Please don't tease like that, it is unbecoming of an old timer such as yourself. Ouch!" The younger girl yelps as she was hit over the head by a rolled-up piece of newspaper, conjured out of thin air courtesy of Joanna's magic. The daughter of the clan head grimaces as she rubbed the throbbing ache in the back of her head, scowling at the librarian. "Couldn't you at least try and reign back your attacks? Rattled a couple of my teeth so hard I swear a couple came loose."
"With how many times I've hit you with this rolled up piece of newspaper when you were just a wee toddler going through your naughty stage, I'd assume you would at least develop a thicker skull. Turns out you have not!"
"It's not that I have a thick skull, you just have a strong hand!"
"These weak, bony phalanges? These barely skin-n-bones fingers that can barely throw a measly punch? HA!" Joanna snorted with disbelief at Camus' statement, her eyes twinkle with mischief. Deep down she favored the clan head's daughter the most and dotes on her a lot – just not as much as Adolf because he takes his job as the doting uncle of the family very seriously – but she treats everyone as though they were her children. "Sometimes I think your beauty has clouded your judgment!"
"You take that back!" Camus shouted back with her cheeks puffed up whenever she's throwing her tantrum, waving both arms erratically much to Joanna's amusement. "My judgment is as sharp as my mother's!"
I watched the two bicker with each other with a small smile upon my face. They were acting as though they were grandmother and granddaughter, something I could never experience back in Baskerville. Who'd want to interact with someone like me anyway? Joanna may be strict when she felt like teaching a lesson, but she's actually a very gentle librarian. Once we had finished our drinks we were quickly shooed out of the library without fuss.
We laughed to each other and went back to the room to get ready, a basket of breakfast items with some other goodies already placed on a platter greeted us when we entered. Deciding to save a bit of time we shared the bathroom to brush our teeth and comb our hair – everything else was done separately like the princess favoring her morning showers and of course the use of the toilet. Then we went about eating breakfast, most of the items I let Camus devour while I snacked on a few fruits and crackers, but she was very adamant that I actually eat well; she took her fork and knife, sliced off a piece of her pancakes before pointing the whole thing at me. This little girl was serious in her attempt to feed me...well, at least she wasn't forcing the food down my throat like some psychos would've tried.
"Don't be difficult and say 'ah'." She said sternly, watching with anticipation and slightly hoped deep down that I would follow her orders. "I won't allow you to barely fill your belly before you face the clan head for a whole day." I stared at her for a while, holding her gaze before the corner of my mouth twitched into a smirk. Keeping my eyes on her I leaned forward and nabbed the morsel of food off the fork, making sure to not touch the utensil itself before chewing and swallowing.
"Satisfied, princess?" I questioned a little bit cockily as I wiped my mouth with a napkin. I glanced over to see that Camus hadn't even budged, her eyes big as saucers like she was frozen in place; it's almost as if she didn't expect for me to follow her orders and take her offered food in a gentle manner. Reaching over I grabbed what I deemed to be the juiciest strawberry and slowly dipped it about an inch or two in the bowl of marshmallow crème. Pulling it out and making sure it won't drip on the table cloth, I held the delicious treat close to her lips, my eyes sparkling with glee. "Now it's your turn. Open wide for your treat."
Those crimson eyes, those slightly trembling orbs like a rabbit imagining its last moments of life as it gazes into the eyes of a wolf. A small tongue slowly darted out, wetting chapped lips as though it knows there's something delicious for it to taste and it was ready. Honestly, the whole sequence of events made me want to tease her a bit further, but that would have to be at a later time and perhaps for another day. For now, I just wanted to try my hand at feeding her.
"Come, princess. Give this succulent fruit a good strong bite." I coaxed her once more, keeping my voice low and enticing. Now that I was thinking about it, this princess would make for a very cute animal like a bunny or a kitten...shit, now that would be on my mind for awhile. Shaking my head a bit, I spoke to her, "Its plump red flesh is just asking to be bitten into."
"I-I know how this works, don't tempt or rush me." Camus finally responded to me as if jolted out of her thoughts. Swallowing a bit, she eyed the strawberry and gently tucked a couple strands of hair behind her ear. She slowly parted her lips and moved in to take a tentative bite.
"Huh...isn't your class going to start like real soon?" I asked absentmindedly when my eyes just happened to glance at the clock. "We shouldn't be playing with our food otherwise you'll be late."
"WHAT?!" The young Morgue girl turned quickly to look for the time, and in her haste the corner of her mouth rubbed against the strawberry because of how close it was. Now she has a very prominent streak of white cream on her face from the corner of her mouth to the middle of her cheek. "I can't be late! I've had a clean, strong record of attendance and I will NOT dare be marked as late! I'll see you when I see you!"
"Ah..." I watched as she ran out in a hurry without wiping her face before I could warn her. Shaking my head I made sure to clean myself up before heading off to meet with Raspane, and prayed that the princess wouldn't get too much grief for her unkempt appearance.
At the clan head's chamber...
I wouldn't say I was fashionably late, but I also wasn't fashionably early...to be fair, I wasn't really given an actual time to meet Raspane. Regardless I took a deep breath, raised a hand and knocked three times against the door before waiting for the clan head to acknowledge my presence.
"Enter." Hearing the clan head's permission to come in, I did just that. I made my way to where the older woman was currently in a discussion with an attendant, a young maid who carried a long scroll in her hands. They seemed to be talking about a couple different topics, but that did not concern me in the slightest.
"You summoned me, clan head?" I asked, minding my manners and bowed before the throne, keeping my eyes on her carpeted floor. I took note that upon my arrival I didn't sense Adolf around, he must be away dealing with his own responsibilities; I snorted softly to myself, almost chastising myself for even thinking about whether or not I'll see that man in the clan head's chamber.
"Ah yes, perfect timing. You may go, we'll discuss the rest later." The last words the clan head said was directed towards her attendant who she dismissed with a wave of her hand. Once Raspane was certain there was no one else in the chamber she continued speaking, "I heard my daughter's starting to teach you some of the basic elemental spells, giving you insight to possible questions brought up while you were in the library. On top of teaching those hot-headed triplets and you, I can only imagine that she isn't lacking in the basics herself...however, I do hope that these charity work won't be detrimental to her learning and honing more expert-level spells."
"Yes, she's been extremely helpful in helping me with strengthening my understanding of the basics. And I assure you that Camus is also taking the time to self train herself, she's not the type who would neglect her own growth. She's a hard worker." She even practices on the balcony in the late evenings when she thinks I'm not awake and no one is watching...but I'll never tell her that she is anything but silent.
"May I see a demonstration of what you have learned?" I nodded my head slightly at her request and straightened my back and thought about a simple spell to cast. Closing my eyes I took a deep breath before reopening them, my right hand lifted half-way with the palm facing up. I whispered the words under my breath and watched as the spark of fire flickered into existence, its pearly red color wiggled and danced even when there was no wind in the room.
"Satisfied?" I asked Raspane while the small fire still burned brightly in the palm of my hand.
"Quite remarkable that a Baskerville hound is able to use magic. It is a known fact that a sword expert cannot be a magic expert, and the vice versa is true as well. But here you stand before me as a sword expert and a beginner magician..." The clan head stroked her chin in wonder, thinking about her next course of action. "Can you do other basic spells? Or is the fire spell the only one you know."
"Glad you ask because I can do more than just fire. I shall now demonstrate other spells before you." I extinguished the small flame before whispering different words. A small trickle of water dribbled from my hand to the floor, they were small enough that they wouldn't stain the carpet. Then the droplets turned into small white snowflakes, fluttering down in marvelous splendor. Smiling as I continued my demonstration, I whispered a couple more words and the snowflakes turned into small particles of golden dust before it swirled like a mini-tornado. Finally the gold dust disappeared and left behind only a small whirlwind in the palm of my hand.
"To think you are able to cast so many basic spells of elements one after the other. Exquisite and simply marvelous." Raspane commented, her eyes glued to the small cyclone whirling in my hand. "I must applaud you for this feat – not to mention you were able to read all those books in the library in less than a day – it took Camus about a month to three months to do this...but then her intuition peaked and now she's able to cast four spells together simultaneously, as you are well aware during your match."
"Yes." I nodded and dispelled the miniature cyclone with a flick of the wrist. She may be able to cast four spells all together, but like I told her on that day it would've been better to focus on one specifically and improve upon it. Casting all four spells at that level no matter how impressive it was, ended up being less effective since she couldn't land a hit on her opponent.
"Makes me wonder if you're also capable of such a feat...but I'm certain you're aware of the rules to learning such expert level spells."
"Yes, clan head."
"Good. Now on to the topic at hand..." Raspane rose from her throne and walked down till she was on the same level as I. She gestured with her head for me to follow her and we sat at a circular table with an lavish cloth covering the top. "I've been having...visions lately, especially when I sleep. And I normally don't have these sort of things – don't mistake them for dreams because I assure you they are not. Dreams are messages from the deep but this is something deeper. Since you've arrived these visions only intensified and last night I couldn't ignore these visions so I must tell you what I saw."
"And this was something Camus couldn't be present for?" I asked and the clan head of Morgue Clan shook her head.
"Knowing my daughter she'll most likely come and pester me tonight about what I'm going to talk to you, so I'll probably end up telling her then. Now, have you heard of the Eye of Chroma?" I shook my head no at the unknown name, which brought a small smirk to the corner of Raspane's mouth. The clan head continued speaking, "Legend says that any descendant or holder of this eye is able to produce all sorts of miracles; we of the Morgue Clan have little record of such a phenomena, but I'm under the impression that most of the holders were members of this clan."
"Is it possible for other clans to hold this eye?"
"Aren't you a perfect example to your question?" Raspane smiled when she answered my question with a rhetorical one.
"Yes in this era I am the holder of this eye, but my question is more towards those who came before me." I clarified and she nodded her head in understanding. "Are there records of previous holders who existed in the other clans and possibly even with the barbarians in the mountains? Is it even possible for animals, normal to demonic creatures, to have this gift too?"
"Mmmmm, even if the possibility existed we don't have records of it. Tracking animals who have it is even rarer, especially if it were a wild animal or demonic creature because it could easily slaughtered before the power manifested itself." Raspane frowned as she pondered the question. "Of course if the animal managed to harness its power it could be difficult to defeat. But luckily for us the Eye of Chroma only shows itself in humans."
"Do you know what else this eye can do?" I asked her.
"Well...other than giving the user an affinity to use spells regardless of who they are or where they're born, I hear it can also perform some indescribable miracles. This ranges from either magic spells, cheating death, or possibly living a second life."
"Pppppfffft!" Hearing the last part caught me unaware and I choked on my own spit.
"Are you alright?" The clan head looked at me with concern as I continued coughing.
"Y-Y-Yeah, just spit going down the wrong pipe." I assured her and quickly wiped my mouth with a napkin once I got myself under control. How unsightly of me but that statement really was something out from left field; if Hugo was unaware of my reincarnation, then there's no way Raspane was aware of it as well. I made a mental note to keep an eye on her for the near future. "Apologies to you for witnessing me try and hack out a lung. Please do continue."
"Mmmmm, like I was saying, the last part is just pure speculation. There haven't been any records about individuals who reincarnated from a past life with their memories intact, so it is something young children love to conjure up in their imaginations. I told you I had visions and within those visions I saw the Baskerville Clan insignia and a pair of different colored eyes quite like yours staring into the depths of my very soul. The Eye of Chroma, the non-red one that signified a Baskerville lineage...it's something that has very little records in our history; I only know of it's existence because the topic has been brought up during stories by the elders, a word by mouth if you will. An unknown item that not even the Empire is unaware of, truly an object of splendor and mystery. Millions of individuals crawl this planet, and you were blessed with such a gift..."
"Blessed isn't something we'd call it, unless a hound from the direct lineage inherited this sort of eye and Hugo was aware that such a thing existed right underneath his nose." I butted into her monologue, taking note at how elated she sounded when she talked about this apparent gift as if she were a pirate who had stumbled upon some treasure trove full of riches. "However, because an illegitimate bastard child such as I ended up with this gift...everyone calls it a curse instead."
"Tsk tsk tsk, a shame to call such a thing and unfortunate for you to shoulder that burden. Humans by nature will only call things as such because they simply don't understand. As researchers it is in our nature to examine and experiment everything inside and out, until we fully comprehend and understand." The clan head of the Morgue Clan clicked her tongue in disappointment. "You also mentioned that Sir Baskerville was unaware...is he that obtuse or does he not care about this treasure right before him?"
"As far as you and I are concerned, he is not aware of any of this.." I spoke before looking Raspane right in the eyes and she flinched slightly at the underlying warning that crawled its way out of my throat, coating the next few words like deadly poison. "And I would like for it to be that way. Don't even think about informing him of such a thing, that would be inexcusable behavior."
"Why?" Now that steely ice expression settled back and she looked at me with all seriousness.
"That's strictly business between him and I. The more I continue to leave him in the dark, the more advantageous I'll be later down the road." I replied and didn't disclose any further information, there was no reason to bring in someone who had nothing to do with my revenge. We continued to stare each other down before she released a weary sigh, lifting a hand to rub her temple.
"I understand, this is a personal matter to you. Very well, I won't question you anymore on the topic."
"I appreciate it, clan head." I dipped my head towards her to show my gratitude. Then I put my elbows up on the table and leaned close, putting my chin daintily on folded hands, "Now...please tell me more about this special eye of mine, as much as you're willing to give."
Later in the evening...
"Buzz~ Buzz!"
"Yeah yeah, I know you were starving. This is why we're out here now." I mumbled as I watched the tendrils of Beelzebub eagerly embed themselves into a couple of corpses. The Morgue patrol group had gone out to exterminate a few creatures that wondered too close to the territory and dragged them back to the area Camus mentioned to me from before. I figured since the princess was off to talk to her mother I could take the chance to sneak out and feed the parasite in my hand.
Before I allowed the feeding to happen I asked to analyze if any of the creatures that were brought back had any skills and if they did what grade level were they. Luckily for me none of them had any notable skills worth taking, so I was still stick with the three skills I obtained. This is why I allowed Beelzebub to have its fill, however deep down I knew I'd have to cut it off otherwise the Morgue magicians would become suspicious.
I let my thoughts wonder to before I left Camus room, it was about two or three hours after my talk with Raspane. I stopped by the cafeteria for a quick dinner, and usually I ate alone whenever the princess doesn't accompany me to the cafeteria, but color me surprise when a certain young morgue girl was mulling around the entrance as if she was waiting for someone. Rose had been waiting for me and when she saw me, that girl's face lit up immediately. She grabbed my hand in a vice-tight grip before I could open my mouth and practically dragged me to an unoccupied table. Those who were in attendance just stared at the scene in silence, watching us like a pack of hungry hellhounds.
I watched Rose grab one of each item off the shelves, counters and round tables and placed them before me; of course she had to ask for help from the servants because there was only so much she could carry with her little arms, which was like one plate at a time. I stared at the seemingly whole buffet before looking at Rose as she took her spot and locked eyes with me. There was an awkward five to ten minutes of non-verbal exchange between us.
"You know neither one of us can possibly eat this much." I spoke since I was pretty sure she wasn't going to break the silence first. "And if Camus was with us that still is too much for the three of us."
"No one said you should eat everything in front of you, it's the thought that counts." She replied before clapping her hands twice. The servants that were on standby now came and took some of the dishes away, leaving behind enough for two people. Rose grinned and said, "Please, dig in. You're my guest for the night."
"Mmmmm and to what do I owe you the pleasure?"
"I tried to get Camus to tell me what happened that night once I was able to meet with her...you know that night, the one where I was showing my cousin what I could do with my ice spells. I was very excited to show her what I could do, but I knew I needed to start off small." Rose began to speak as I was helping myself to a spaghetti dish, she herself went for a turkey sandwich and began to cut it in manageable size. "My memory is kind of fuzzy so I don't remember much after my mana went out of control, I only remember trying to pull off a more expert level spell and then blacked out. However, when I asked my cousin when she came to visit me in the medical ward, she had this guilty expression on her face and she said that she couldn't tell me what happened. Told me that she kept a promise to you not to say anything."
"And that's why you were waiting for me, this meeting can't be a coincidence. You're trying to exploit me for more information."
"Clever. Then will you give me what I want?" I paused mid-bite to look at her, watching as she nonchalantly chewed her own food and waited for my response. I snorted with mild laughter and proceeded to continue eating. Rose allowed me to eat in silence, but I could tell that she was getting a bit anxious. I wiped my mouth slowly of any sauce residue.
"Unfortunately I cannot give you what you want."
"And why not?"
"Because even I don't have enough information myself to relay to you. Sorry to say but you are wasting your time." I answered plainly. It was a slight lie, but I firmly believe there's more about the Eye of Chroma that Raspane is letting on while we discussed in her chambers. Part of me thinks she's simply testing me and watching how I handle such a gift, while another part of me thinks the clan head is withholding information because she's making sure with absolute clarity that I wouldn't abuse this gift for something foolish like world domination.
"...why does my gut tell me that you're either lying to me or you're stalling for time right now?" Rose accused with her eyes narrowed, watching me like a hawk. Before I could open my mouth to retort, she added, "And I assure you that my gut intuition is never wrong. Now cough it up before I make you."
"Unless you want me to cough up what I just ate..."
"Not that! The information!"
"I already told you I don't have what you want."
"Bullcrap!" I blinked at what she said, slightly taken aback by the ferocity behind the word; she really intended for me to stay with her here until I tell her what happened word for word. Rose quirked an eyebrow in my direction, confused by my reaction for a bit. "What? I can say those words too you know, don't be so surprised."
"Oh I had no doubt you'd have quite the mouth on you. It was more of how you enunciated the word with such seriousness that caught me by surprise."
"That just means I am all business and you shouldn't play with fire, least you get burnt."
"If Camus' fireball could barely put a scratch on me, what makes you think your tiny flame could?" I waggled a finger at her for a bit, a small smirk on my face. "But you're more than welcome to try. I promise I won't move an inch from this spot so there's no way you'll miss."
"Seems like you two are enjoying yourselves to the extent of running everyone else out of the cafeteria with how hostile your auras are. I don't remember the last time this place so empty at this hour." We looked to see the aforementioned Morgue heir standing by our table with her hands folded across her chest, her eyes darting between us suspiciously. We took the time to look around and realized that aside from the cooks and the servants, every single table was indeed empty, the last bodied member of the clan disappearing around the corner. "Care for a third party moderator for this little dispute?"
"Actually I was just about ready to head back to the room since I finished my meal. No reason for me to overstay my welcome." I immediately rose from my seat, pushing the chair back and held up the empty plate that I ate my meal upon as proof for my words.
"Ah! You liar, you moved more than an inch!" Rose commented after observing my movement and Camus had a puzzled expression at her cousin's comment. I snickered when I looked at the older girl's reaction.
"Sorry, little bird, but when the princess is here I must exit the stage least it becomes too crowded with all these star actresses. We'll have to continue our conversation a bit later, but don't be in such a hurry to seek me out." I then turned to Camus and said, "You can take my place and keep Rose company, you must be starving."
"Don't think for a minute that tucking your mongrel tail between your legs and running away will save you from me!" The younger Morgue girl accused me while pointed a finger in my direction, her cheeks puffed out in a stern pout. "I will get what I want no matter what! You better watch your back at all times!"
"Wow now where have I seen that sort of behavior before? She certainly reminds me of a certain somebody with those puffed up chipmunk cheeks..." I kept my voice low for Camus to hear and snickered when I received a death glare in return, she knew who I was talking about. Leaning close I added, "Thank you for keeping your promise, please continue to do so."
"Bzzzz~!"
"Hmmm?" Jolted out of my thoughts from the sudden buzzing from my right hand, I noticed Beelzebub had retracted its tendrils; I glanced over at the mountain of corpses and was slightly relieved that it didn't look too badly worn down, Beelzebub could have easily devoured everything because it is gluttonous. "Finished already or are you holding yourself back because you're worried I'll hit you like last time?"
"Bzzzzzz~"
"Huh, so you actually stopped without me hitting you, and you didn't take too much from the pile. A first time I must admit and it feels very nice."
"Bzzt!"
"Someone's coming?" A familiar presence caught my attention and I looked to see Camus making her way towards me with an unreadable expression on her face; she wasn't angry or happy, just present in the moment...which is hard to put into words. Once she was within hearing distance I asked her, "A bit late for a nightly stroll, what brings you out here?"
"Don't think you can use your charming sweet talk to weasel your way out of this, you already left me with Rose and she was difficult to get away from. I went to the room and saw that you weren't there, so I left to find you." The daughter of the Morgue Clan head huffed before glancing over my shoulder to look at the dump pile. She pulled a look of disgust and covered her nose for a minute before asking, "Eww, what were you thinking of coming all the way out here?"
"I was thinking I could stop to smell something other than roses."
"Something like a pile of demonic corpses? Weirdo." I shrugged my shoulders in response, not at all bothered by her remark and made sure to keep my right hand slightly out of view. She shook her head and motioned for me to follow her, clearly unable to withstand the smell. "After dinner I brought Rose with me to see mother, since I couldn't really shake her off and she was persistent and persuasive when she wants to be. But because the two of us sort of ganged up on her we got her to spill what she spoke to you about. The Eye of Chroma is considered an urban legend, only a few people were lucky to even come close to someone who had it."
"Well now the two of you and perhaps the rest of Morgue and Baskerville can add themselves to that list of lucky individuals." I commented with a laugh.
"This is clearly not a joke, don't you understand just how important that eye of yours is?!" Camus gave me an incredulous look. "You can learn so much more than just the basic spells, much...much more. There's a reason why mother forbid you from learning too much from the library, other than the rules applied to anyone outside the Morgue Clan, but because she's–"
"Trying to decide whether I will become a friend or foe in the future?" I offered immediately, but the red-haired princess merely shook her head.
"No, well yes that's also a valid point...I guess she has her own misgivings because there's so much that can come out of researching the eye. It's quite possible that she may...pull you aside for some experimentation and research. The researcher in her could hardly be contained, like a child receiving gifts on the day of their birth she was very enthusiastic about having a living specimen to collect data on."
"But you'll protect me from her, right?" There was a small ball of apprehension and anxiety that ended up pooling in the depths of my stomach. I could handle the grueling and torturous childhood Hugo put me through, could handle eating monster gruel for every single meal, could handle endless silence within a room with no windows, but being subjected to endless experiments like a lab rat was not what I wanted to endure or experience. "Your mother would go easy on me...won't she?"
"You're not getting nervous are you?" asked Camus, clearly enjoying watching me squirm a bit. We managed to make our way back to the main building, scurrying quickly back to the princess' room without being spotted by the guards. The red-haired princess quietly disengaged the alarm trap on her door before ushering us in, closing the door and re-engaging the spell.
"Wouldn't you if you were in my shoes and in unfamiliar territory?" I answered her question with one of my own. The red-haired princess disappeared into the bathroom to prepare for bed while I did the same by changing into my sleepwear. The sleeping bag was still on the bed, untouched and unmoved which meant the princess now preferred my presence next to her for the rest of my stay instead of at the foot of the bed; we were still separated by the thick but sleek soft wall but I have a suspicious hunch it'll disappear.
"Hmmmmm I guess I would be too if I were you, just based on the interaction I had with Sir Baskerville." She had mulled over my question before answering, coming out dressed in her night gown. She hopped onto the bed and proceeded to tuck herself in, fluffing up the blanket a bit. "Honestly, between you and I, I don't believe I could handle whatever he had you go through. Sounds like too much physical work."
"Mmmhmm. You'll probably crash and burn during the trail run, not even make it to the actual test. And even if you did I wager you wouldn't make it to the top ten." I made a noise of agreement before entering the bathroom to complete my night routine. Once I had finished I made my way back over and tucked myself into the sleeping bag, leaning over to close up the opening. "Hugo likes to make his hounds go through an intensive trail run before the actual test itself, it's to weed out those with weak mentality or lacking in physical strength and stamina."
"Rude!" She attempted to smack me in the arm, but her open palm hit the sleeping bag instead which cushioned the blow. I inwardly snickered and laid down, dragging a pillow close to put underneath my head. Camus huffed in annoyance before copying me and laid down, her eyes gazing straight into mine. "Anyways, tomorrow's combat class and that's all we'll be doing. Mother said you are more than welcome to watch, but can't participate. Our Rite of Passage trials involve heavy amounts of magic combat and not physical, which you excel at."
"I don't mind sitting and watching." I said with conviction in my voice.
"She suggested...well it was actually more like she demanded that you spend time with her after you've have had your fill of magical combat. The clan head assumes you wouldn't want to stay for the entire duration because it gets quite repetitive and boring real fast." Both of us knew exactly what Raspane was implying so we ended up sighing simultaneously.
"Guess I have my work cut out for me." I took moment to gather up my thoughts. "Oh just so we're clear Rose waited for me at the cafeteria, I didn't contact her or anything. I was just minding my own business and didn't realize she was there until she pounced me."
"Relax, she told me what she did. It was all in the name of filling in the gaps of what happened." Camus smiled, trying to fight off sleep so she could talk to me a bit longer. "But sooner or later she'll have to know how you saved her, she probably already figured out the what based on our discussions with mother. Have you gotten all the answers you need though?"
"Mmmmm not enough as I would like, but it was still a great start of self discovery." I admitted before letting out an unladylike yawn, too tired to bother covering my mouth. I nestled my face a little deeper into the pillow before saying, sleep soon taking over my conscious, "And hopefully hanging out with Raspane tomorrow...will yield some more results."