Speech = ``...´´
Thoughts = [... ]
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It was a beautiful day outside.
The sun was shining bright over its absolute reign of blue and white on the horizon.., a rarity when it came to the known rainy days of Fontaine.
The flowers were blooming and the birds were singing their praises to the warm and gentle streams of light stroking the soil with its radiant gift.
A fresh, yet soothing breeze blew everywhere she could see, stroking softly everywhere it went, carrying with it the scent of spring and the joys it brought as she could get lost in the scents of lavender and roses.
All of it made better by the comfortable sound of children playing and laughing with one another with joy in their hearts in the background, their voices reaching her ears as she watched from behind the windows of her own office their cheerful and happy faces.
Warm…
Peaceful…
And the whole place filled with cute happy children...
What was not to like..?
She closed her eyes, focusing on the brief joy of having the light of the afternoon brush so gently against her face.
Sometimes it was easy for her to forget in what kind of situation she was in.
The pain in her skull persisted, though this it had lessened quite a bit, all thanks to the use of several pain killers that had been given to her to make things a little more tolerable.
The doses she had been put through would have put down a normal person...however it seemed that fantasy settings made the body of one a lot more sturdier than normal, that or Crucabenas body had been altered somehow to take it like a champ.
Though given that she had a part of her skull cave in and slowly healing away would probably need a good dose anyway. Now it was more like a weak haze..always at the edge of her sight, but never truly going from there to worse.
Which suited her just fine.
A part from that a few things had changed since she awoke from her last moment of unconsciousness.. Three things to be precise…
First, she had found she had a private office.
Shocking right..? Yeah, she still had some trouble believing that...
In fact, when she had first been aware of it she had dreaded what kind of appearance her own office would have. Which….was kind of warranted given the body she was now living in.
Would it be a large and dark area of the House which no one but a soul could enter under the penalty of death, were secrets flew like corpse flies?
Was it a secret attic covered with rows upon rows of intricate books with heathen information of Tevat or more terrific designs of torture and death, ready to be used in the next victim...?
Or perhaps it was down below a dark basement where most of the experiments on the children took place and the blood of the last victims still remained fresh on the walls, the chilling sound of the dead still echoing behind the thick walls..?
..
..
Ok, perhaps the last one was out of a slasher movie...but could you really blame her?
However, against all odds it was kinda of a nice place.
Not too shabby or luxurious or over the top, in fact it was a bit smaller than she had first believed, not even half as long and wide as her own bedroom had been yet not too cramp either which she was glad.
She had lived most of her adult life in a small flat and throwing her into all these massive open rooms was screwing her a little.
Still, looking around she could not deny that it was a pretty place to work in. The place was cozy and warm yet it still held a utilitarian aura to it that still was able to remind you of its purpose.
There were a myriad of windows that allowed for the sun of day or the moonlight to stream through and illuminate the entire area with their light while also allowing her to see the playground and gardens below where the children played or trained at times.
It was a bit rustic and old school, though without suffering in style and cleanliness, giving it a much needed sensation of proper authority like going to a the principals office. Only that it was this time Fantasy edition and super nice looking too to boot.
And it was all hers…
Nice.
Secondly, she had come to know that she had a personal right hand that worked diligently and follow her each and every-whim.
Yeah...that was a thing now.
Which...should have been obvious from the start given that she was now the Knave and the number FUCKING four of the Harbingers and all the yadayada things that came with that.
..
..
..
But…. the man did not seem to be Fatui.
Why..?
What made her think that was the case..?
Well…, she did not have concrete evidence, in fact she may as-well been pulling that out of her arse.. but did the Fatui allow for old men way pass their primes to serve as warriors?
Well, perhaps she was judging him too quickly, Melus of Spina was a fighter in his years, was he not? This could be the same...
Still, he was definitely a little older than the kind gentleman of Poisson was even in canon.
With not a single speck of any other color but white on top of his head or face, a matter that seemed to double down with the black tuxedo he was wearing. His eyes were tired and grayish, almost sinking a little bit on his face…while he walked around with that British grand father aura hanging over his shoulders everywhere he went.
He was defiantly not a fossil.
..
..
But he was getting there.
And...last but not least…. she had come to realize that she a lot of duties to attend to.
Speaking of which...her eyes opened up and reluctantly looked down on the piles and piles of papers and books and other things now stuck one over the other on the desk she was now working on. There were so many that sometimes she had trouble seeing the other end of the room.
It seemed that even if you were a Harbinger and you broke your skull no one seemed to be willing to do your part of the job and let it pile up.
[Urgh, life is not fair...even in another world I am beholden to paper work]
She groaned to herself, a thick cloud of depression hanging over her head at the thought of been chained here having to do all of this on her lonesome instead of doing something more fun...like playing with the children or drawing their cute little faces on a notebook!.
Gosh, it was so unfair.
Outrageous.
Nonsensical.
Could she not make someone else do it? Please? Pretty please? She promised it would be for a good cause. Mostly to let her lazy around, but a good cause nonetheless..
No..?
Anyone..?
Fuck.
Anyway, she was aware that Harbingers had a lot of things to do than just bask skulls, play one liners and scheme behind the corner of the plot...she got that already, ok? It was in the resume of any Bad guy evil organization..
..
..
But was necessary for the House of the Hearth to know what kind of "Theater plays" were going to take place on the Opera House..? What kind of waters Neuvillete seemed fond on drinking during the morning..? Or the exact weight on pounds to the most extreme of accuracies of the cakes Furina loved eating in the afternoon..?
Yeah...she had no idea of what use were those for.
Were the Fatui secretly British..?
Nah, probably not. Though it was not like she would understand either why the Arlecchino from canon thought that a handkerchief would come in handy for her operations in the future...or perhaps Lyney was just pulling the players character then, who knew.
Yeah, that feline that was not a cat was a tricky one.
That prick...
Still, if one blatantly ignored such little things there were some things she had come to learn from this.
Not the importance of her status.
But one never really knows shame when you try to slid down the floor in your chair, forgetting that it doesn't have wheels anymore and you end up falling on the floor with a not very professional yelp as a result.
..
..
Yeah….that happened.
Good thing no one was watching when it did though. The embarrassment alone would have Isekaied her to another world faster than truck-kun could if it could even find her in a world where cars did not exist.
With a sigh she tilted her head to the side, looking past the windows, her eyes regarding the children below once more. Watching them walk and run without a care in the world.
So close…
So close..
And yet so far away.
Small or big, gentle or rougher, shy or enthusiastic...they were all having fun outside on the large inner gardens of the House. Some basking in the shades of the trees, others trying to fish or just splatter water around on the ponds while others were merely chasing after each other playing knights and monsters.
Those youthful looks in their eyes
Those sweet smiles plastered on their faces.
It stirred something in her heart, like remembering something that she had long forgotten. Filling a hole that until now she had never realized had been left behind.
She also caught sight of a certain pair at one of the far edges of the garden.
Short, stark white hair with spots of black over her head, while the other could not be any more different with a long and smooth mane of light pink hair.
The two sitting over a thin makeshift blanket that was trying to emulate some sort of picnic. With one listening patiently while the other spoke and waved her arms around rather comically as if telling some sort of story while holding with her a certain bunny plushy that she knew all too well.
Her lips cracked into a smile.
Peruere and Clervie could not have been any more different...and yet it felt so fitting to see them together.
The moon and the sun.
One shining so bright and the other reflecting said light in her own little ways.
They truly were adorable.
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..
The mirth in her eyes started to darken and the up streak edges of her lips slowly twisted away downwards.
If things followed the canon...then the two of them.
..
..
No.
No, that was not going to happen. She would do her best to keep that dreadful scene away from her mind.
``My lady, is there a problem? Is the pain returning? Do you want me to retrieve the pain killers again?´´
Her attention was once again drawn away from the window and the children below and back again those tedious sheets of paper still laying on her desk. Sighing loudly while she used a hand to rub her forehead.
Oh, what she would have given up to just get out of that chair and play with the two of them.
Alas...it was not to be.
Yet….
``No Gerard, I was merely lost in thought…´´
She mused, more to herself than to anyone else as she went to straight her back in place, flexing her fingers and clenching her hands for a few seconds.
For someone that had to work more often than not in front of a screen back then if was surprising that she found herself tiring of sitting here after barely a few hours.
She would need to bring some cushions if nothing else so that her ass would not feel so uncomfortable against the smooth yet hard texture of the wooden chair.
``Lost...in thought?´´
Was the soft, yet weary query that came from Gerard. His brows almost knitting themselves together in what she assumed was either confusion...or just amusement.
``Yes, about a certain matter..´´
She said, however when she noticed that the man was unable to bring himself to ask the question about what she meant with how divided he appeared to be between been fearfully respectful to wait for her..or pretending he was aware of what she was talking about.
How did she know that? Well, she... didn't? Well, that did not sound right now, did it? Still, for some reason it just felt that she knew that from the start. That it had always been like that for years and years on end..
[Ok, that does not explain much at all, did it…?] No matter, there was no point in focusing on that right now.
``As...are the children still worried about my situation….or where they even informed at all of their "mothers" whereabouts..?´´
``Oh...about that…´´
``Yes..?´´
``They... know enough´´
[Ok, what kind of half baked answer is that...!? I have seen more complexity in a burger from down the street!]
She groaned inwardly, yet put such thoughts away from letting themselves known in the outside.
Leaning forward, the gloved fingers of her right hand started to toy with a coin of Mora that rested over the desk. Her eyes watching the poor mirrored reflection of herself through its golden frame before her eyes lazily glared back at him.
``Oh? And what would that be..?´´
Gerard swallowed hard, carefully readjusting his tie before he placed his arms behind his back.
``They know you fell a little sick and that you have been bed ridden for just a few days and that it is only now that you have gotten better..´´
[So that is the current story going on, eh?] She thought inwardly at what the man had just said, rubbing her chin.
Nothing flashy or weird it appeared to be.
In a sense it was a rather simple and rather benign way to break it down her absence to the children who would have been worried if not confused about where their "loving" mother was.
Still...it left quite the sting to diminish such a heavy head trauma inducing wound to merely getting a little bit "sick"
Children perhaps were gullible….but she doubted they would not be able to put two and two together when the clues started to pile up.
``I suppose it would be detrimental to their peace of mind by properly informing them of what truly transpired.´´
``Indeed…, it is as you say. I made sure that the children would not feel too anxious of worried about it..´´
He answered with a quick, though courteous nod which pleased her nonetheless.
Though it was not much at least, that meant that the she would not have them breaking down her doors and launching themselves at her.
She then started fumbling with the sheets of paper in front of her, her hands pushing and moving some of them away while drawing others closer. She only stopped when she found a certain symbol that she was very much aware after dozens of hours of gaming in Genshin.
A golden cross plastered over the right corner of sheet. One with a circle that resembled an eye in each blade of the cross, the entire thing surrounded by either a circle or a series of claws if one looked at it from a different perspective.
She bit her lip, undecided with what to do with it before picking it up and then placing inside one of the drawers of her desk.
She would need to look into that one later.
Without prying eyes.
``You did well…Gerard´´
``Thank you, madam...´´
``However, I wonder…. are they still asking or requesting to see me?´´
``What?´´
``Is a simple question, is it not? I don't think it was that hard to comprehend..´´
``N-no, that was not what I meant my lady..just confused about the nature of it´´
The nature? Surely a mother is allowed to wonder about her children's present thoughts?
``Yes…she can…?´´
``Then..?´´
``I just thought that there was no need for you to worry about those annoying p-´´
``Gerard..´´
She coldly, yet paradoxically gently shut the man off with a single word.
Immediately, the old servant physically flinched, a bead of sweat starting to slid down his forehead as he set himself to rapidly shake his head left and right, only stopping to draw in a weary and haggard breath.
``Y-yes...madam, they have.. ´´
She didn't like to treat or even act the part of former Knave….but she had no other choice. They would either think her crazy or just cruelly joking around and wait either in fear or fascination when the other shoe would drop if she said she had no memories of her past self after the head injury.
Let alone say she was actually a soul spirited away Isekai mode into this very body through time and space
However, talking shit about the kids was a RED line she would not allow anyone to cross no matter what which made the sight of an old man quivering in his boots a little better for her own peace of mind.
..
..
..
She closed her eyes, sighing inwardly as she felt a migraine coming a mile away.
Still, acting that everything was the same with the only addition of having a frequent spams of skull numbing and crippling pain was bothersome to her….
But right now a necessity.
And so, her lips creased with what she hoped were a gentle smile, opening her eyes only to a half amused lid.
``That's much better, continue..´´
``As much as we may have eased their worries with the announcement of your waking and regained strength ….children are still children, they want their "Mother" to grace them with her presence, to bask in your affection and magnificence..´´
He was not wrong.
And yet she felt herself cringing on the spot at that last remark.
Soured as the mood had become she did her utmost best if only to avoid her face frown frowning way too much as if she had just swallowed raw a lemon or two down her throat.
If there was one thing she knew about Crucabena is that the only affection you would get from her was from the sharp end of a razor wire mixed with acid. Though perhaps the worst part of all was that this guy was even unable to even be convinced of his own words when he said that.
Props for even now trying to kiss her ass with such sweet words and all though...but it made her realize that this man was not one to be trusted for the time being.
It wasn't like he was a bad man, she didn't know him long enough to know that for sure...it was more like that the former Knave had surrounded herself with yes men and other things of the sort to have things rolling in the direction she wanted that made her question his words more often than not.
Which meant that she was surrounded by people of dubious morals at best give or take what the House was meant to do for the Fatui as a whole.
Which was bad.
How bad? Pretty bad…, ok? Don't ask for an exact number of bad because she had no idea nor where she would stat if she even tried to do something like that.
``I am sorry madam, it was not my intention to cause you any additional discomfort…, I should have quelled such silly thoughts from their minds´´
He glared at the man with confusion at first, before realization bleed in.
As terrible as misunderstanding were, gods she was glad he had missed the whole point of what had bothered her. Still, it seemed that she should be careful in making sure her emotions did not showed what she was thinking on that moment.
Gods...she was bad a this wasn't, she?
She shook her head in resignation.
``No point in crying over spilled milk Gerard…´´
``What..?´´
``Just try to remember that for the next time you make a mistake.., leave it be this time.´´
``Yes, madam..´´
``Still, I think we should do just that..´´
``W-what thing?´´
``To show the children that their mother is...fine of course.´´ She said with a smile.
``To show the-….you want to say hello?´´
Her smirk only seemed to grow wider at the dumbfounded look he was sending her way, which only made the man sweat a little more as a result.
``That would good for starters, yes…´´
She admitted, shifting on her seat a little bit. She had not yet come with a good idea of what to do afterwards though, but she will cross that bridge when it came to it.
It wasn't like she could avoid them forever….
``I...but your wound-´´
``Wont surely bother me, I am not a Harbinger just for the looks. I can put on a show if needed..´´
She said calmly before her eyes furrowed a little, her arms crossing and pressing against her chest.
``Besides, I merely fell a little ill, or did I not..?´´
She stated, her eyes seemingly glinting with silent aggression at the mere notion of him trying to state, trying to even DARE say the contrary. That seemed to be the final nail to put whatever confused thoughts he had in his head on hold.
Taking a step back he gave her a weak nod, placing one of his arms behind his back just as he started to bow before her.
``Of course, of course how could I not see that? My apologies for speaking out of place madam...I promise I will do better´´
She could not help but feel a bead of sweat slid behind her head at the scene.
[He really takes his job very seriously….or he is shitting himself]
She really did not know what was better or worse...or if she even could pity the man for it. What she knew was that she wanted to end this conversation, it had gone long enough as it was.
She sighed inwardly, before she allowed herself to smirk just a little wider, showing a little more teeth before clasping her hands together in super evil style like all those movies and cartoons she used to watch.
``You are forgiven...this time´´
[Please buy it. Please buy it. Please buy it. Please buy it. Please buy it. Please buy it...]
``Your are too generous..´´
[Yes! YESSS...! He bought that! I AM SO-]
``But if you want to do that, what should I do then madam..?´´
[FUCK!]
He could not just give her a moment of respite and not ask too many questions, couldn't he? Well, it didn't matter.
``You? For now nothing, however I will make sure you know if something does come out..´´
With the flick of her fingers he stood up, his eyes weary, yet an air of determination started to shift around him.
``I will be ready..´´
``I hope so, now...please be in your way..I have things to do here and I would very much prefer a little moment of privacy´´
``As you command, madam Knave…, I will make sure that not even the gods themselves disturb your work´´
He boasted out loud before he left the premises of the room.
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With a final sigh she leaned down on her chair and brought both of her hands to her face, groaning loudly like a wounded beast.
``Urgh….good lord I thought he was never going to leave´´
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A/N
Hi, here comes another chapter, forgive me for any grammar mistakes you may find and I hope you may like it. Feel free to share your thoughts and your opinions about it, I would greatly appreciate them.
BiZ0: I am glad that the story peaked up your interest, your words are very kind. And sorry about the speech markers, I have my reasons for that, but sorry nonetheless